Why five northern govs are after Jonathan - Presidency

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From left: Mr Amodu Shuaibu Ex. Super Eagles coach , Amb. & Mrs Wisdom Aminu, former Nigerian Ambassador to Ecowas and parent of bride, the High Chief & Mrs Raymond Dokpesi, Chairman of the occasion, the couple, Mr & Mrs Clement Onyia and Nze Marcus Onyia, parent of groom, during the wedding between Clement Chijioke Onyia and Chioma Aminu at Ogudu, Lagos. Photo By Diran Oshe.

From L-R: Head, Customer Relationship Management at INVESTMENT ONE; Sheila Onwughara, 1st runner up, MBGN 2013, Stephanie Okwu, winner, MBGN 2013, Anna Banner, Kemi Abili, Assistant Group Head, Wealth Management and Joseph Edgar, Group Head, Retail Marketing & Up Country at INVESTMENT ONE, during a courtesy visit by winners of Silverbird MBGN Pageant 2013.

APGA suspends Gov Okorocha over anti-party activities *Sacks Imo State chapter exco

BY CHRIS OCHAYI

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HE National Executive Committee, NEC, of All

Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, yesterday suspended Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, from the party for engaging in anti-party activities.

Rising from an emergency NEC meeting in Abuja, the party said NEC unanimously decided to dissolve the Imo State chapter of the party and a 21- man Committee will be appointed to oversee the party until a congress is held. ”The NEC unanimously resolved to suspend with immediate effect the governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, from the party, for gross anti-party activities, bordering on his involvement with the All Progressive Congress, APC, contrary to the clear provisions of the APGA constitution. ”The NEC also unanimously resolved to dissolve the Imo State executive committee of APGA with immediate effect. A 21-man caretaker committee shall be appointed to run the affairs of the party in Imo pending the conduct of state congress”, the statement said.

The party also approved the party’s electoral guidelines for the Anambra State governorship primary election for 2013 and afterwards adjourned its next siting to August 31, 2013.

The National Vice Chairman of APGA, South-West, Alhaji Tayo

Sowunmi, who read out the resolutions of the NEC meeting, said the party leaders discussed preparations for the Anambra gubernatorial election and approved guidelines for the exercise.

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Meanwhile, the former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Professor Charles Soludo and former Minister of State for Transportation, Chief Emeka

Okechukwu were among the 14 aspirants who collected and submitted their expression of interest form.

THE KANO MASSACRE

Govt, security agencies are culpabale — Ohanaeze

BY ABDULSALAM MOHAMMED

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RESIDENT of the Kano State Chapter of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Tobias Michael Idika, has alleged that high government officials and security agencies are benefitting from the terrorist acts by members of the Boko Haram in parts of the north and would therefore want the crisis to continue.

Chief Idika, who is also the President-General of leaders of ethnic communities resident in Kano State in an interview with Sunday Vanguard did not spare northern politicians as well as religious leaders and traditional rulers in what he described as blackmail to ensure the violent attacks do not come to an end.

According to him, “the Nigerian government has not shown sincerity in the fight against terrorism. So many people within the government and security agencies want this trend to continue because they are reaping from it. Who are the Boko Harams? Who are their sponsors?

The Federal Government has answers to these

SOLUTION

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Speaking shortly after the NEC meeting, National Chairman of APGA, Chief Victor Umeh, said the meeting was summoned to prove that the party’s crisis has come to an

questions, and if they mean it, these killers would be rounded up in a matter of minutes”.

Chief Idika who also blamed the northern leaders for the crisis said, “every right-

thinking Nigerian who witnesses the killing of innocent citizens must have reservations. I sense a high level of compromise, connivance and blackmail. Some northern politicians want these

killings to continue, using it as a bargain for power. What pains me so much is that they are hiding under the cloak of religion to perpetrate this evil.

Why five Northern governors are after Jonathan — Presidency Continued from page 1 political interest”.

According to the Presidency, the so-called consultations by the governors, which had not been authorised by any organ of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, or the Presidency, was a selfish political move aimed solely at distracting President Jonathan from his people-oriented programmes and heat up the polity, so as to give the erroneous impression that the country was on fire.

Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak, made the accusation in an exclusive interview with Sunday Vanguard – SEE FULL INTERVIEW ON PAGES 75 & 76.

The accusation by the Presidency notwithstanding, the governors, yesterday took their grievances against President Jonathan and the Tukur-led PDP, to former Vice President and founding member of the party, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, in Abuja.

Sunday Vanguard gathered that four out of the five governors - Sule Lamido, Murtala Nyako, Rabiu Kwankwaso and Aliyu Wamakko, met behind closed doors for several hours on Saturday with the former Vice President on what a source close to the governors described as a 'further consultation' with the founding fathers of the PDP. "We met with the former VP and explained our grievances to him as a member of the G34, which founded the PDP," one of the governors said, without

disclosing the details of their discussion.

The meeting with Ekwueme brought to five the number of top profile Nigerian leaders that the aggrieved governors had so far visited and explained their grievances to.

The Presidency, which initially spat fire over the action of the governors for their audacity to confront the President on issues relating to the PDP and the 2015 election, has however softpedaled and begged them to give peace a chance.

The Presidency which, though accused the five governors of having a hidden agenda against President Jonathan, also admonished them to desist from such antics in the interest of the

nation.

The Political Adviser also pleaded with the quintuplet to sheathe their sword and allow peace to reign in the land.

Gulak said, “I want to plead with the four or five governors from the north, who are trying to precipitate crisis to give peace a chance and spare the country avoidable trouble.

“They should realise that without peace none of them would be governors. They should subsume their interest. That is my plea to them”.

Reflecting on the current crisis in the ruling party culminating in predictions about Nigeria’s disintegration in 2015, Gulak stated that the nation would wax stronger rather than break up.

Nigeria never lacked manpower to move the country forward — IBB

BY WOLE MOSADOMI

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ORMER military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, has described Nigeria as a blessed country that never lacked people that can work tirelessly for its progress.

Gen. Babangida, who made this observation while receiving the Governing Board of National Examination Council, NECO, in his Hill Top mansion in Minna, stated that the present Board members of NECO have convinced Nigerians that the country has capable hands to turn around the fortunes of Nigeria’s education sector.

“What you are doing has

reinforced my belief in the educational system of the country. I am impressed by the performance of the new Board because to me, it has (some of) the best persons on Board. It is on record that you have engaged all stakeholders and this is the first time such a Board is trying to carry everybody along for the betterment of our education and this clearly shows that Nigeria never lacks people that will work for the Nation,” the former military president remarked.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Board, Dr. Paddy Njoku, said that the Examination body has repositioned itself to meet the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians.

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National President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists,NUJ, Garba Mohammed, (m) consoling the Lagos State chapter chairman,Deji Elumoye, (lying in bed) who was inolved in an auto crash along Ilesa-Ife bypass, Osu, Osun State, on their way from Abuja, Friday - three lives were lost. Photo by Dare Fasube

From left: The Lay President, Diocese of Lagos Methodist Church Nigeria and the perm sec. Lagos State motor vehicles administration authority, Otunba Morakinyo Hanson, with the Methodist Church World Council Representative in Palestine, Sister Jane Lahr Lewis, and the host Bishop, Rt. Revd. Isaac Ayo Olawuyi, at the Diocesan, 2013 Annual Synod, hosted by the Opebi Circuit, Ikeja, Lagos.

KEEP-FIT DISASTER

15 children crushed to death

BY TAYE OBATERU, Jos

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ifteen children aged between 12 and 16 years were yesterday crushed to death in Barkin-Ladi, Plateau State, by a commercial vehicle conveying maize to a nearby market.

Nine others were injured and have been hospitalized.

The children who were said to be members of the Boys and Girls Brigade of about three churches in the local government headquarters were on an early morning keep-fit exercise when the incident occurred.

It was gathered that the youths from three churches usually gather for the exercise by jogging to and from nearby villages but it was an unlucky day as a vehicle carrying maize from Bokkos lost control and ran into the children numbering about 40 killing the 15 instantly.

An eye witness told Sunday Vanguard that parents whose children were in the team rushed to the scene to ascertain the well-being of their children. This created its own commotion. The bodies of the deceased and the injured were later taken to a nearby

health centre where the injured were given first aid treatment before they were transferred to the Plateau Specialist Hospital in Jos. Police Public Relations Officer in the state,

DSP, Felicia Anslem confirmed the incident, adding that investigations had commenced and efforts were on to track down the fleeing driver of the vehicle.

BY CLIFFORD NDUJIHE, FESTUS AHON & GODWIN OGHRE, UGHELLI, Ughelli

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lder statesman and Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark and political leaders of Delta State and the Urhobo ethnic

27-year old wins N1m in MultiChoice competition •As company unveils 20th anniversary logo

BY CHARLES KUMOLU

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WENTY Sevenyear old Kanso Ogbolu, has emerged the winner of the Special Logo Design Competition in commemoration of the 2oth anniversary of MultiChoice Nigeria.

At the event which was held yesterday in Lagos, the Pay TV giant also unveiled a new logo.

Those in attendance include; Chairman Senate Committee on Information, Media and Public Affairs, Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe, Managing Director, MultiChoice Nigeria, Mr. John Ugbe, Managing Director of First City Monument Bank, FCMB, Mr. Ladi Balogun, Managing Director of Zenith Bank, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, among others.

Ogbolu, who won the sum of one million naira with

one year free DStv subscription, emerged winner in the competition which was open to creative people with innovative artistic designs, who were ready to pit such against similarly creative ones.

The first runner-up, Mr. Gabriel Efe won the sum of five hundred thousand naira and six months free DStv subscription , just as Oguntobi Ayoola went home with two hundred and fifty naira, a DSTV decoder and three months free DStv subscription as the second runner-up.While expressing appreciation to the company, a delighted Ogbolu described the award as a reward for creativity.

He further commended MultiChoice for remaining the leading Pay TV giant in Nigeria, just as he encouraged youths to be creative.

Earlier, Ugbe stated that in the last twenty years, the company had not relented in

its efforts at exporting the country’s innovation globally. ‘’When we introduced mobile digital TV in Nigeria, It was the first in Africa. Our story has not just been bringing international content to Nigeria, rather we have also been taking Nigeria’s innovation the rest of the world.

That is our story in the last twenty years. This event is just to unveil the 20 the anniversary logo and honour all those, who have been part of our success story,’’ he noted.

In addition, the MutiChoice boss, said, ‘’when we wanted to put up a logo, the normal thing was to invite our agencies and brief them to bring us a logo.

But because we see innovation locally and also the strength of the Nigerian, we had to put up the competition. We were overwhelmed by the seventeen thousand entries we received.’’

Deportation saga

BY DANIEL GUMM

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HE Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, CN PP, L agos State Chapter, has pleaded with Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi, not to allow the return of 14 destitute people to degenerate to a level of creating rancour among the peace-loving Igbo people, who have settled in the state transacting their legitimate business and happily living with Lagosians. CNPP Chair-

man, Lagos Chapter, Hon. Akinola Obada, told journalists, Friday, that “it is on record that in this exercise, three states were involved, and to ensure respect for the dignity of human person, Lagos State Government have notified the government of each affected states at least 90 days ahead of time to enable them make adequate arrangements for accommodation and re-

habilitation of the individuals.”

2015: Clark, Uduaghan, Gbagi, Urhobo, others insist on Jonathan nationality, including Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan and Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi, yesterday endorsed President Goodluck Jonathan for the 2015 polls.

Speaking at a rally held at Sapele Athletics Club, Sapele, which was organized by Gbagi to unite the Urhobo nation and mobilise support for President Jonathan’s transformation agenda, the leaders said it was an insult to the SouthSouth for some sections of the country to advise Jonathan not to seek reelection.

Clark, who was represented by Chief Godwin Ogbetuo, said they were committed to

President Jonathan in 2015.

Governor Uduaghan, who was represented by Delta State Commissioner for Housing, Chief Paulinus Akpeki, assured the President that Delta State, the Urhobo, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had resolved to work for total victory for him and the PDP in 2015.

On his part, Gbagi said it was sad that a section of the country, which believed that it had the birthright to rule Nigeria had laid a siege on the president. It is an insult to the South-South zone to ask Jonathan not to run for second term,” he said.

BRIEFS Edo 2016: ‘It is the turn of Esan’ HEAD of the 2016 governorship election in Edo State, the Esan people in Edo Central Senatorial District have insisted that it was their turn to produce the next governor of the state, saying that equity, fairness and justice demand such.

Addressing journalists at Uromi, the administrative headquarters of Esan

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North-east Local Government at the end of a meeting Esan Elders Forum, the Esan people noted that apart from the four years of late Prof. Ambrose Alli in the Second Republic and the 18 months of Prof. Oserieme Osunbor, no Esan man or daughter has held the position of governor in the state.

NOHL graduates 206 specialist nurses S part of its resolve to focus on training of sub-specialisation in orthopaedics as well as improve orthopaedic care, the School of Post Basic Nursing Studies, National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos, NOHL, recently graduated 206 nurses from its Post Basic Orthopaedic Nursing and Post Basic Accident and Emergency

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Nursing Programmes.

Speaking during the 11thconvocation ceremony, Medical Director, NOHL, Dr. Olurotimi Odunnubi, who explained that the graduates were already qualified nurses that have come into the school to sub-specialise in Post Basic Orthopaedic Nursing and Accident and Emergency Programmes.

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BY SUFUYAN OJEIFO

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EYOND the song and dance that will accompany his 80th birthday today, Anthony Akhakon Anenih, must engage in obligatory introspection. Having successfully managed his personal, business and family lives all these years, his conversation with the self must centre on how best to define his eon in politics, for posterity, by putting in place a cohesive succession structure for his political machinery before he finally bows out.

He has, with time, garnered legerdemain and attained a grand old age that is being celebrated today in style. This-succession plan - which is one area that has not enjoyed vast flourish in politics - comes after mentoring and leadership. Anenih has mentored so many in politics; he has provided dependable leadership; what is remaining is succession.

Sustaining political machinery superintended over by Anenih, is certainly financially demanding. So, those in line to assume the responsibility should be well advised to have, by now, understudied and understood the Anenih persona, principle, diligence and discipline.

They might not have experienced the kind of social tempers and economic environments that produced Anenih, or faced the vicissitudes that shaped his outlook of life while growing up; there are great lessons to learn from his later public life as a politician, which will be invaluable assets as they take steps to commit themselves to the service of the nation, humanity and God as he has done over the years. Welcome to the life of the Iyasele (Prime Minister) of Esanland.

Declassification

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ontrary to the claim by a newspaper columnist in 2011, Anenih does not have an aristocratic background. But the sheer determination to succeed in life had propelled him, the last of five children, born on August 4, 1933 in Arue, Uromi, by a village farmer, the late Mr Anenih Oguese and Madam Obhafuoso, to resort to positive ways of making the best out of debilitating situations and circumstances. Due to his humble background, Anenih who attended Eguare Primary school and Government School, Uromi, could not proceed to Saint Thomas’ Teacher Training College, Ibusa, after passing the qualifying examination. His parents could not afford the six British pounds required by the Catholic Mission for scholarship.

He headed for Benin City to stay with and serve, for one year, Lance Corporal Omeben, the father of retired Deputy Inspector General of Police, Christopher Omeben, who according to an account, was then in Edo College, Benin City. It was the late Lance Corporal Omeben that advised and encouraged Anenih to enlist in the Nigeria Police Force in 1951. This was after he had taken to rubber tapping to raise funds for his education.

He attended the Police College, Ikeja and subsequently sat for and passed his General Certificate in Education (GCE) O’ Level while he was a Constable and the Advanced Level while he was a Corporal. He proceeded to the United Kingdom and the United States of America where he

distinguished himself at the various training programmes at the Hendon and Scotland Yard Training School in 1963; Bramshill Police College Basingstoke, Hampshire, England from 1966 to 1967, where he was awarded a Certificate of Merit; and, International Police Academy, Washington DC, USA from 1970 to 1971, where he received a Certificate of Achievement.

Anenih, who rose to the position of Commissioner of Police, was the first indigenous Commandant of the Police College, Ikeja, replacing Mr. LE-Clair, a Briton. He was also at the Administrative and Staff College (ASCON), Topo-Badagry, a year before his voluntary retirement from the Police Force in 1976.

He ventured into private business and superintended over his group of companies, among them, Yakon Group of Companies and A & Hatman Limited. And, for his business acumen, he was first appointed President, Benin Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture from 1978 to 84; and was subsequently elected Life VicePresident of the Chambers in 1990.

He was Director, Adrian Volker Civil Engineering Co. Nigeria Limited, a Company that built the famous ONNE Port.

PROLOGUE A SPECIAL PROJECTS UNIT PUBLICATION

Foray into politics Anenih went into politics in 1979 with his means;

•Anenih

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How six pounds robbed him of teacher training education and, in recognition of his integrity and forthrightness, the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in the old Bendel State elected him state chairman from 1981 to 1983; in that capacity, he worked for the election of Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia as civilian Governor in 1983, dislodging from the State House the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) government of the late Professor Ambrose Alli. The victory was, however, short-lived due to military takeover of power.

In the ill-fated Third Republic, he was appointed National Campaign Director of Shehu Yar’Adua Presidential Campaign Organization from 1990 to 1991. From 1992 to 1993, he was elected National Chairman of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) and worked for the victory of Chief John Oyegun as governor of Edo State in 1992 and the victory of Chief M.K.O. Abiola in the historic presidential election of June 12, 1993.

Unfortunately, the result of that election was annulled by the military government. In the confusion that trailed the annulment, Anenih did not compromise the unity and stability of the Nigerian nation. When the late General Sani Abacha regime unfolded a transition programme and emplaced

a National Constitutional Conference to fashion a new constitution for the nation, Anenih was appointed member of the Conference in 1995.

He devoted his energies to the success of his participation at the conference and emerged a strong voice in promotion of the interests of southern minorities within the context of national interests.

Recognitions

As minister, he prepared a memo which was approved by the Federal Executive Council that led to the formulation of critical policies for governance in Nigeria. He stepped aside as minister in 2002 to work in the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation for the re-election of President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003. He propagated the “no-

Due to his humble background, Anenih who attended Eguare Primary school and Government School, Uromi, could not proceed to Saint Thomas’ Teacher Training College, Ibusa, after passing the qualifying examination

With the death of Abacha and the emergence of General Abdulsalami Abubakar as Head of State, a new panorama in national political experimentation was opened. Within eleven months, a programme of transition was concluded. Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which formation had Anenih’s imprimatur, had won the presidential election. He was appointed member of the Presidential Policy Advisory Committee (PPAC) of the PDP in 1999 consequent upon the victory of the Party and thereafter Minister of Works and Housing from 1999 to 2002.

vacancy campaign” in the Presidential Villa and coordinated the strategies that gave victory to Obasanjo and the PDP. It was in recognition of his invaluable political contributions that he had the unique privilege of being chosen, by consensus, as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP twice between March 2004 and June 2007 and from Continues on page 18

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Continues from page 17 February 2013 till date. He is currently deploying the platform of the office to bring about genuine reconciliation, peace and stability in the party. He has similarly been appointed Chairman, Board of Directors of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) from 2009 to 2011 and 2012 till date.

Celebrations A recipient of the Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR), he means different things to different people in the ecology of Nigerian politics.

Some call him “Mr Fix It”; some others refer to him as “The godfather”. Many call him “The Leader”. But it is the appellation“The Leader”- that Anenih relates to simply because that is what he truly is. People, who are close to him, address him as such to emphasise their loyal followership; and, this, resonates well in his consciousness because it conveys the essential content of his persona.

As I wrote last year, the deprecating aura that “Mr Fix It” and “The godfather” exude in the nation’s political arena does not aptly convey the essential content of the Anenih persona. Yet, the other camps have always played them up in their deliberate schema to demonize him within and outside the cosmos of political affairs where he hit the limelight. It is, indeed, paradoxical that politics, which brought him fame,

BY TONY NWANKWO

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e worked in Singapore as a chief marine engineer but prayed for a more fulfilling, more rewarding enterprise. And his prayer was answered through a chance meeting with a former colleague who had resigned and returned to his country to engage in Forever business as a distributor.

That meeting changed his life.

Engineer Vincent Udoye relives that experience and the venture he says had exceeded all his expectations.

How did this Chief Marine Engineer come into Forever business?

I was working in Singapore as a marine engineer when I came across this business opportunity for the first time. It was at a point in my life when I was looking for something else to do. I was sick and tired of my job: the long hours, so much stress and not enough time for myself and my family.

I was searching for what else to do that could actually give me financial and time freedom. Then I was fortunate to come across the FLP business through a colleague who worked with me in the same company. But when he left the company he went back to his country and joined Forever. I met him about 10 months after he left. I saw that the man had changed completely. He was driving a Jaguar.

He wore a solid gold Rolex wrist watch. I could see money written all over him. I asked him what had happened, ‘Had he robbed a bank?’.

He said, no, he never robbed a bank.

But that he had discovered a lucrative business opportunity. Of course, I wanted to know all about it. He began talking about Forever Living Products and showed me ‘Aloe Vera’. I said, ‘No, you are not saying I should go

How six pounds robbed Anenih of teacher training education has also earned him scorn in the camps of the opposition elements.

But then, he has chosen to bear the cross, his own cross, philosophically: politics is in his blood and he plays it with all the passion and devotion of a religious aficionado. He accepts the compliments that come with it as well as the bashings. He relishes the victories, the accomplishments and the bravura performances of his party and candidates during electoral contests. He has also learned to live with the pains of defeat whenever he suffers any.

This is his disposition to politics, which is far flung from the myth of invincibility that has been created around him by his traducers who have tried to create the erroneous impression in the minds of those who do not know him (Anenih) that he behaves as a god in human flesh as far as politics and electoral contestations are concerned.

But here is the true portrait of the man: a grand and archetypal politician who is consistently and persistently loyal to his leadership and followership; an ardent mobiliser of human resources; a political strategist with the can-do spirit, who believes in positive thinking as well

as the force of great and reasonable expectations.

Silent chapter of his life However, an aspect –a silent chapterof Anenih’s life which is hardly celebrated is his philanthropy.

Among countless individuals and institutions, both academic and religious, that have benefitted from his eleemosynary are: Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma; the University of Benin; Igbinedion University, Okada; and Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta.

Only last year, he endowed a multimillion naira Geriatric Centre at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, the first Geriatric Centre in Africa, to bolster the care of the aged and senior citizens.

What many family members, associates and well wishers are celebrating today is a man that is reputed for legendary generosity and catholic conviviality, which are the core of the humanity component of his persona. He has leveraged on these to play the role of a dependable leader, which fact was recognized way back in 1992 by the late General Yar’Adua, who first addressed him (Anenih) as “Leader” in recognition

‘I quit my lucrative job as a chief marine engineer in Singapore’ day, I didn’t sleep again. The man murdered sleep in my life. I took a honest look at myself: a professional, slaving, working hard for 30 days and 30 nights each month and I had little to show for it. And here was this man, who was even my junior on the job, he was making ten times more money than myself. And what did I do? I resigned my job.

I came back from Engr. Vincent Udoye flanked by FLP InternaSingapore to Nigeria tional Inc. chairman, Mr. Rex Maughan and Mr. against everybody’s Gary Maughan advice – my wife, my mother, my father. They were all and start selling Aloe Vera! A welladvising against my starting this known chief engineer like myself? I business, but I turned deaf ears. I said, ‘No, I had no time for that, I was came back into the country and began busy’. He said, of course, that I was the business. In my very first month busy being broke. Indeed, I was truly as FLP distributor, I did not do quite busy. I had a big office, I had a big well. Some people were laughing at title. But I had no money. And this me. My first FLP bonus cheque was a guy asked me how much I was poor N4,300. But by the time I ended earning. I told him. And he asked if I my first year, I was earning over wanted to know what he earned the N500,000.00 each month. By the end previous month. I said, of course. And of the second year, my cheque be showed me his bonus cheque for exceeded N1 million per month. And $33,000…just for one month. $33,000, then, of course, all the dreams I had if you convert that to Naira, was about which I could not achieve in 15 years N4 million for one month. From that

•Anenih of his ability to galvanize men and harness resources for results.

Yar’Adua was at the time jostling for the presidency of Nigeria on the platform of the defunct SDP, while Anenih was the National Campaign Director of the presidential project.

The description, since then, has stuck like the old adhesive tape and Anenih has continued to apply himself to the rigours and dictates of the position.

Surely, it is all about his humanity: this is a leader who is always touched by the feelings of the “infirmities” of his associates and followers and he always acts in accordance to bring joy into their grieving hearts. Happy birthday, Leader!

•Ojeifo, journalist and publisher, sent this piece from Abuja.

of hard work as a marine engineer everyone of them became a reality in less than four years with Forever Living Products.

On his being instrumental to management bringing the business to Enugu.

I was based in Lagos and I had come to Enugu to work and soon built a team of down lines there. But the members of my team were having a very difficult time getting the products to Enugu. Either they travelled all the way to Lagos or went to Port Harcourt.

In each case, they were going through a lot of stress, danger and much expense. And it occurred to me that the Igbo people are very industrious and very hard working. How come we have FLP Centers in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Warri, yet we didn’t even have one in the whole of Igboland – in Imo, Ebonyi, Anambra, Abia, Enugu States? Then I approached the Managing Director and said, ‘Sir, I give you a promise. If you can come to Enugu, within a couple of years, you will be amazed at what you will see”. And he took me up on that challenge. Luckily, the management opened a Distribution Center here in Enugu in 2011; and today you can see for yourself how well Forever is doing.

The hall is jam-packed. Everyone is celebrating success of Forever in Eastern Nigeria.

Now, I am vindicated. You can see it was a very good decision to come to Enugu. The MD is very happy, the company is very impressed, the people are excited. What you are seeing here is just the beginning. I can assure you that

in a couple of years to come, this hall will be too small to convene a Success Showcase event because more people are coming from Imo, Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi States to do FLP business.

SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 4, 2013, PAGE 19

BY JOHNBOSCO AGBAKWURU

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fter intrigues, controversies, accusations and counter accusations, the Independent National electoral Commission, INEC, on Wednesday, announced the registration of the All Progressive Congress, APC, as one of the political parties in the country.

Before the nation’s electoral body pronounced APC registered, there had been mounting tension following the claim that the powers- that -be were mounting pressure on the INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, to abort the APC registration. Specifically, the Presidency and the ruling People’s Democratic Party, PDP, were accused of perfecting plans to thwart the registration process.

Consequently, those behind the formation of the APC threatened fire and brimstone should INEC refuse to register the party after fulfilling all the requirements. The APC members, in fact, last weekend, promised to mobilize millions of its supporters to occupy the INEC head office as well as the National Assembly if by Thursday INEC did not register the party.

There was the insinuation that the electoral umpire may advise the merger group to adopt a new name as there were pending litigations at the Federal High Court by the rival African People’s Congress, another political association laying claim of the APC acronym. With the tension the registration APC generated, INEC, last week, beefed up its premises with heavily armed security.

Then, on Wednesday, it announced that, after going through the documents submitted by the merging political parties and the inspection of its office, APC has been registered as a political party.

The genesis As the PDP, the acclaimed biggest party in Africa, continued to bestride the political landscape like a colossus, there were fears that the country was heading for a one -party state, hence the need to check the slide before the country is plunged into dictatorship. The leadership of some of the opposition political parties, the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, and a faction of All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, led by the Imo State Governor Owelle Rochas Okorocha, decided to go into merger by floating what they described as a mega party.

The merger talks came to fruition on Wednesday, February 6, 2013 as the four parties, in the spirit of the alliance, proposed to change their names to APC. Briefing journalists at the residence of the ACN leader, Chief Tom Ikimi, in Abuja, the parties said they resolved to uphold the principles of internal democracy, focused on serious issues of concern to the people and also determined to rid the country of corruption.

According to the text read by Ikimi, the chairman of ACN Merger Committee, “At no time in our life has radical change become more urgent. And to meet the challenge of that change, we the following progressive political parties, namely, ACN, ANPP, APGA and CPC, have resolved to merge forthwith and become the All Progressive Congress and offer to our beleaguered people a recipe for peace and prosperity.

“We resolve to form a political party committed to the principles of internal democracy, focused on serious issues of concern to our people, determined to bring corruption and insecurity to an end, determined to grow our economy and create jobs in their millions through education, housing, agriculture, industrial growth etc, and stop the increasing mood of despair and hopelessness

The making of APC and the storm ahead among our people.

“The resolution of these issues, the restoration of hope, the enthronement of true democratic values for peace, democracy and justice are those concerns which propel us. We believe that by these measures only shall we restore our dignity and position of preeminence in the committee of nations.

This is our pledge.” The resolution was signed by the representatives of the parties: Ikimi, for CAN, representative of APGA, Senator Annie Okonkwo,

former governor of Kano State, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, who was the Chairman, Merger Committee of ANPP and Garba Sadi, Chairman, Merger Committee of CPC. Ikimi explained that each party involved in the merger selected a merger committee at its highest level which was published at the points of their inauguration, noting that it was the agreement of the leaders of the parties that qualified them to be part of the merger.

He said that the decision taken will be immediately communicated to the

Sun story of the week 01/08/2013

appropriate authorities which include INEC so that the new mega party will commence political activities as one entity.

He said that all the parties involved in the merger talks agreed on the name All Progressive Congress through consensus and that the party had involved women in all the committees it set up to ensure gender balance.

Reactions Shortly after the announcement of the new mega party, the National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, while speaking to journalists, said APC was not a threat to his party.

Tukur described the coming together of the opposition parties as a good development and that the move would inspire the ruling party, describing the PDP as the Barcelona’s Lionel Messi in the forthcoming elections.

He said, ‘’It is beautiful. The more the merrier. Let me tell you, there is no polling in the whole Nigeria where you do not have one member of the PDP. The PDP is the only party in the country that fields candidates in every polling booth.”

Prayer for merger Continues on page 20

PAGE 20—SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 4, 2013

Continued from page 19 The governor of Niger State, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, a PDP member, said he had prayed that merger of the opposition political parties should come to reality, adding that with a strong party on stream, the politics of the country would be rationalized.

Aliyu advised leaders and those in positions of authority to always be loyal to the country and not individuals while bearing in mind that one day they must leave office and give account of their stewardship.

‘Marriage for divorce without a child’ One of the founding members of the PDP from Cross River State, Dr. Dorncklaimz Enamhe, said that the merger was a marriage that will head for divorce soon without any issue.

He said the merger was an official umbrella of all the parties in the country but will not last as a result of the selfish interests of the individual parties that formed the merger, noting that it was a gun powder that will soon explode. ‘’PDP is battle ready for the merger parties which is a good thing for our democracy. It is now the influence of PDP in all the units and wards will manifest like, in my Atubulum unit and Gakem ward in Bekwarra, all the parties always come together against PDP and we always come out victorious.

They are a bunch of strange bed fellows that will soon disintegrate,” he said

Fears There were fears within the ranks of the four parties that formed the APC, that the former Head of State and the CPC presidential candidate in the 2011 elections, General Mohammed Buhari, and the leader of the ACN, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu , may use the party as their personal property.

This belief had fueled the speculation that the merger was not going to work out, but the secretary of the CPC Merger Committee, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla Obono-Obla, while saying the ambitions of General Buhari and Asiwaju Tinubu will not, in any way, affect the new party as the APC was set up to rescue the country from the PDP. “I can assure you that the two leaders, General Muhammadu Buhari and Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu and all the leaders of the opposition parties agreed that the parties should merge to rescue Nigeria from the pit and no Jupiter will change it”, he said “Bola Tinubu is a democrat to the core; he was in NADECO; he was a senator; he was governor; he is a democrat; so he cannot impose his will on anybody; likewise General Buhari.

He has contested presidential elections, he went to the Supreme Court three times, he has been the most vocal voice for change in Nigeria, so they

• Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, PDP Nationasl Chairman

• Attahiru Jega

The making of APC and the storm ahead are not going to impose their wish on anybody. “ You know that Nigeria is on the brink. We are going to change it: railway, petroleum sector, infrastructure, etc. These are the details the merger committees worked out. The comprehensive work plan to ensure that real democracy is entrenched in Nigeria.

“We are also concerned about the independence of the judiciary. This is very important.

You can see that the judiciary is not independent, it is dependent and you cannot have a just society without the independence of the judiciary, you cannot have a democratic society without the judiciary; so we worked out ways on what the party will do to strengthen the judiciary and make it truly independent.”

Rival APC About one month after the merging political parties announced the fusion plan, another political association, African People’s Congress, with the same acronym, APC, applied to INEC to be registered as a political party. On March 14, the rival APC unveiled its logo, constitution, emblem and acronym.

This unveiling of the acronym, constitution and logo by the rival APC led to confusion even within the ranks of the All Progressive Congress. At this point, some critics described the APC as a group of unserious and undiplomatic politicians who only wanted to intimidate the ruling party and the Presidency without following proper channel.

It was as if the merging po-

litical parties were oblivious of the Igbo adage that says whoever is eating with the devil must use a long spoon. As it was displaying its intimidating posture and what some described as a ‘road show’, efforts were made to ensure that the registration of the name did not see the light of day as it was evidenced in the application of the rival APC. Speaking at the unveiling of the logo, constitution and manifesto, the Acting National Chairman of African People’s Congress, Chief Onyinye Ikeagwuonu, lamented what he described as poverty of leadership in the country since 1999, saying that his APC was on rescue mission.

Commenting on the controversy surrounding the acronym, APC, the Legal Adviser, Mr. Kingsley Nnadi, said that it should not be the problem but it should be the name, adding that any other group making claim to the acronym APC had not made any official request to INEC which, he said, his African People’s Congress had made.

He debunked the allegation that the African People’s Congress was hurriedly floated by some members of the PDP to scuttle the registration of All Progressive Congress, stressing that, if the PDP had performed, there would have not been any need to float his APC. “My party has no link with PDP. In fact, our intention is to take over power from the ruling party. If PDP is ruling well, there would have been no need to come up. We are out because PDP has failed to touch the lives of Nigerians”, he said.

“We have just one APC (African People’s Congress). The other one does not exist and INEC is aware of our party.

The other APC only did merely negotiation, but we started our party over two years ago with the documents submitted to the INEC; we have met the requirements of the constitution and the Electoral Act. “I believe that the unveiling of our party today has finally put to rest the contention over APC, which one is authentic or not and we are waiting for INEC’s reply. We have our offices in over 26 states of the federation including our national headquarters and our support is massive.”

Disqualification Despite the claim by the African People’s Congress to have fulfilled all necessary requirements before INEC, the Commission, on March 25, 2013, rejected its application, saying that the association breached Section 222 (a) of the 1999 Nigeria Constitution as amended.

Confirming the rejection of the application, the then Director of Public Affairs of the commission, Emmanuel Umenger, said, “The Commission has written to this political association and had stated in very clear terms that they are in breach of section 222 (a) of the constitution with the additional explanations stated in the letter.

“The Commission also observed that the submission made on for PA 1 does not contain the addresses of the national officers of the political association as stipulated it means this association has the responsibility to prove, because these are the things the commission has observed and the law says if you do not meat any of these requirements you will not be registered as a political

party “The Commission has gone ahead to explain in its letter I have on my table. The letter we have sent today duly signed by the Secretary to the Commission Abdulahi Kaugama and it is self- explanatory, the letter is dated 21, 2013 which was signed and collected by one Micheal Ogani of APC.” According to the letter under reference number INEC/ DPPM&L/APC/490/V.1/76, dated 21st March, 2013, and addressed to “The Chairman, Proposed African People’s Congress,” and with the title, ReApplication for Registration as a political party, it stated that African People’s Congress breached Section 222 (a) of the Nigerian Constitution. Reacting to the disqualification, Ikeagwuonu accused the merging parties of being behind the rejection of its application.

Controversy deepens Even as the dust raised by the surreptitious manner the rival APC applied for registration was yet to settle, another group rushed to apply to INEC with the name All Progressive Congress on March 5th but the application was immediately rejected by the INEC with the reason that another group had applied with the same acronym, and they decided to change to All Peoples Congress of Nigeria, APCN. The group however re-applied for registration in March 28 with the name All Progressive Congress of Nigeria, APCN, but INEC again advised its promoters to still change the name to avoid conflict in acronym.

Battle taken to the temple of justice Still in a spirited attempt to reclaim the acronym and en Continues on page 21

PAGE 20—SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 4, 2013

Continued from page 19 The governor of Niger State, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, a PDP member, said he had prayed that merger of the opposition political parties should come to reality, adding that with a strong party on stream, the politics of the country would be rationalized.

Aliyu advised leaders and those in positions of authority to always be loyal to the country and not individuals while bearing in mind that one day they must leave office and give account of their stewardship.

‘Marriage for divorce without a child’ One of the founding members of the PDP from Cross River State, Dr. Dorncklaimz Enamhe, said that the merger was a marriage that will head for divorce soon without any issue.

He said the merger was an official umbrella of all the parties in the country but will not last as a result of the selfish interests of the individual parties that formed the merger, noting that it was a gun powder that will soon explode. ‘’PDP is battle ready for the merger parties which is a good thing for our democracy. It is now the influence of PDP in all the units and wards will manifest like, in my Atubulum unit and Gakem ward in Bekwarra, all the parties always come together against PDP and we always come out victorious.

They are a bunch of strange bed fellows that will soon disintegrate,” he said

Fears There were fears within the ranks of the four parties that formed the APC, that the former Head of State and the CPC presidential candidate in the 2011 elections, General Mohammed Buhari, and the leader of the ACN, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu , may use the party as their personal property.

This belief had fueled the speculation that the merger was not going to work out, but the secretary of the CPC Merger Committee, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla Obono-Obla, while saying the ambitions of General Buhari and Asiwaju Tinubu will not, in any way, affect the new party as the APC was set up to rescue the country from the PDP. “I can assure you that the two leaders, General Muhammadu Buhari and Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu and all the leaders of the opposition parties agreed that the parties should merge to rescue Nigeria from the pit and no Jupiter will change it”, he said “Bola Tinubu is a democrat to the core; he was in NADECO; he was a senator; he was governor; he is a democrat; so he cannot impose his will on anybody; likewise General Buhari.

He has contested presidential elections, he went to the Supreme Court three times, he has been the most vocal voice for change in Nigeria, so they

• Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, PDP Nationasl Chairman

• Attahiru Jega

The making of APC and the storm ahead are not going to impose their wish on anybody. “ You know that Nigeria is on the brink. We are going to change it: railway, petroleum sector, infrastructure, etc. These are the details the merger committees worked out. The comprehensive work plan to ensure that real democracy is entrenched in Nigeria.

“We are also concerned about the independence of the judiciary. This is very important.

You can see that the judiciary is not independent, it is dependent and you cannot have a just society without the independence of the judiciary, you cannot have a democratic society without the judiciary; so we worked out ways on what the party will do to strengthen the judiciary and make it truly independent.”

Rival APC About one month after the merging political parties announced the fusion plan, another political association, African People’s Congress, with the same acronym, APC, applied to INEC to be registered as a political party. On March 14, the rival APC unveiled its logo, constitution, emblem and acronym.

This unveiling of the acronym, constitution and logo by the rival APC led to confusion even within the ranks of the All Progressive Congress. At this point, some critics described the APC as a group of unserious and undiplomatic politicians who only wanted to intimidate the ruling party and the Presidency without following proper channel.

It was as if the merging po-

litical parties were oblivious of the Igbo adage that says whoever is eating with the devil must use a long spoon. As it was displaying its intimidating posture and what some described as a ‘road show’, efforts were made to ensure that the registration of the name did not see the light of day as it was evidenced in the application of the rival APC. Speaking at the unveiling of the logo, constitution and manifesto, the Acting National Chairman of African People’s Congress, Chief Onyinye Ikeagwuonu, lamented what he described as poverty of leadership in the country since 1999, saying that his APC was on rescue mission.

Commenting on the controversy surrounding the acronym, APC, the Legal Adviser, Mr. Kingsley Nnadi, said that it should not be the problem but it should be the name, adding that any other group making claim to the acronym APC had not made any official request to INEC which, he said, his African People’s Congress had made.

He debunked the allegation that the African People’s Congress was hurriedly floated by some members of the PDP to scuttle the registration of All Progressive Congress, stressing that, if the PDP had performed, there would have not been any need to float his APC. “My party has no link with PDP. In fact, our intention is to take over power from the ruling party. If PDP is ruling well, there would have been no need to come up. We are out because PDP has failed to touch the lives of Nigerians”, he said.

“We have just one APC (African People’s Congress). The other one does not exist and INEC is aware of our party.

The other APC only did merely negotiation, but we started our party over two years ago with the documents submitted to the INEC; we have met the requirements of the constitution and the Electoral Act. “I believe that the unveiling of our party today has finally put to rest the contention over APC, which one is authentic or not and we are waiting for INEC’s reply. We have our offices in over 26 states of the federation including our national headquarters and our support is massive.”

Disqualification Despite the claim by the African People’s Congress to have fulfilled all necessary requirements before INEC, the Commission, on March 25, 2013, rejected its application, saying that the association breached Section 222 (a) of the 1999 Nigeria Constitution as amended.

Confirming the rejection of the application, the then Director of Public Affairs of the commission, Emmanuel Umenger, said, “The Commission has written to this political association and had stated in very clear terms that they are in breach of section 222 (a) of the constitution with the additional explanations stated in the letter.

“The Commission also observed that the submission made on for PA 1 does not contain the addresses of the national officers of the political association as stipulated it means this association has the responsibility to prove, because these are the things the commission has observed and the law says if you do not meat any of these requirements you will not be registered as a political

party “The Commission has gone ahead to explain in its letter I have on my table. The letter we have sent today duly signed by the Secretary to the Commission Abdulahi Kaugama and it is self- explanatory, the letter is dated 21, 2013 which was signed and collected by one Micheal Ogani of APC.” According to the letter under reference number INEC/ DPPM&L/APC/490/V.1/76, dated 21st March, 2013, and addressed to “The Chairman, Proposed African People’s Congress,” and with the title, ReApplication for Registration as a political party, it stated that African People’s Congress breached Section 222 (a) of the Nigerian Constitution. Reacting to the disqualification, Ikeagwuonu accused the merging parties of being behind the rejection of its application.

Controversy deepens Even as the dust raised by the surreptitious manner the rival APC applied for registration was yet to settle, another group rushed to apply to INEC with the name All Progressive Congress on March 5th but the application was immediately rejected by the INEC with the reason that another group had applied with the same acronym, and they decided to change to All Peoples Congress of Nigeria, APCN. The group however re-applied for registration in March 28 with the name All Progressive Congress of Nigeria, APCN, but INEC again advised its promoters to still change the name to avoid conflict in acronym.

Battle taken to the temple of justice Still in a spirited attempt to reclaim the acronym and en Continues on page 21

SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 4, 2013, PAGE 21

BY CLIFFORD NDUJIHE

W

EDNESDAY’S registration of the All Progressive Congress (APC) by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is historic and symbolic in many respects. It is the first time that strong political parties are shedding their identities and merging into one party in the history of electioneering in Nigeria. It is also the first time the coalescing groups cut across the major political divides of the country.

Nigeria’s political history is replete with failed alliances and mergers. In the First Republic, the United Progressive Grand Alliance (UPGA), consisting mainly of the National Council for Nigerian Citizens (NCNC) and the Action Group (AG), attempted to form an alliance to stop the Northern People’s Congress (NPC). The effort died before it could bear fruit because UPGA leaders could not sink their ambitions and differences and so could not present a joint presidential candidate to tackle then Prime Minister, the late Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.

In the Second Republic, the Nigerian People’s Party (NPP), Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), People’s Redemption Party (PRP)

Of mergers and alliances and the Great Nigerian People’s Party (GNPP) formed the People’s Progressive Alliance (PPA) which also failed to click against the National Party of Nigeria (NPN).

In 1999, the Alliance for Democracy (AD), which had swept the Southwest in earlier polls, aligned with the All Peoples Party, APP, that dominated elections in the North with the intention of beating PDP at the presidential poll. It gave the PDP a good fight but failed to win the election.

In 2007, about 15 parties came together and formed the Action Congress, AC, but the party made little or no impact in the presidential election.

Before the 2011 elections, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) attempted to join forces in order to field a joint presidential candidate to challenge President Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP. The move fell like a pack of cards when the parties could not reach agreement on who to field. While the CPC fielded Major General Muhammadu Buhari, ACN handed its ticket to Nuhu Ribadu.

Before then, Buhari had pulled out of the ANPP on which platform he

contested the presidential seat in 2003 and 2007.

After the 2011 elections, leaders of the merging parties kick-started another move and set up various committees. The highlight of the moves was when 11 progressive governors, drawn from the six geopolitical zones, stormed Lagos in February in support of the merger efforts and vowed to rescue Nigeria from the PDP. Having successfully jettisoned their identities and differences to merge, the APC is now saddled with the onerous task of succeeding where previous attempts failed.

Will merger work this time?

Given past failures, the polity has been awash with debates on whether or not the current move would stand the test of time and achieve results.

Proponents of the merger said that they have the political wherewithal and public support to sink the ship of the PDP. They also boasted that they would avoid the pitfalls that derailed similar exercises in the past.

For instance, the main drivers of the process, such as Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of ACN and veteran presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari of the CPC,

have pledged to sacrifice their ambitions for APC’s collective good.

Buhari is known to have always contested the presidential election on the platform of any party he joined since 2003, twice with ANPP and once under the CPC banner.

Speaking on a Kaduna-based Desmin Independent Television (DITV) recently, Buhari said he would offer himself for the next presidential race if the APC members and his supporters gave him the opportunity again, adding that only death would stop him from aspiring.

However, he said APC would follow due process in selecting candidates for elective positions.

His words: “Many people, especially from my party, are really disturbed.

The joyful thing is that I didn’t say I quit politics. I will never quit politics as far as I am live. I only said that I will not present myself to contest but if my party members said they want me to remain in the race. I will.

“Since I am in the new party as a member, if, after consultations, they included me among their aspirants, I will not reject their offer. This is what I want people to know. I want people to be patient with what we are doing now. They should allow the merger to succeed first. I am sure the new party leaders will know those that are relevant and sellable to the Nigerian electorate.”

The making of APC and the storm ahead Continued from page 20 sure that the association is registered as a political party, African People’s Congress dragged INEC to the Federal High Court, Abuja, seeking an order of the court to compel the Commission to register it as a political party.

In the suit number, FHC/ ABJ/CS/224/2013, the association prayed for a declaration that the defendant (INEC) lacked the discretion and/or had no power to refuse to register an association as a political party once the conditions stipulated by the said defendant for such registration were met. Other reliefs sought were a declaration that the plaintiffs being the principal members and promoters of the association known as African People’s Congress had met all conditions of eligibility for the registration of African People’s Congress as a political party. An order commanding/directing the defendant to register the association known as and called the African People’s Congress as a political party forthwith; and an order of prohibition prohibiting the registration of any other association known as and called African People’s Congress or having the acronym ‘APC’ as a political party pending the hearing and determination of the suit.

• Chief Tom Ikimi, an APC elder An order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendant from registering any other association or known as and called African People’s Congress or having the acronym ‘APC’ as a party.

INEC claimed that the association did not supply information on the residential addresses of its national officers

• Babangida Aliu although the association said the office addresses of its officials were contained in the form it filled and submitted to the Commission.

New party emerges

D

espite the pending mat ter in court, INEC, on Wednesday registered the All Progressive Congress thereby

closing all the allegations that the Presidency had mounted pressure on INEC not to register it which, for now, appears to be the only opposition party to the ruling PDP as the 2015 is fast approaching.

Secretary of INEC, Abdulahi Kaugama, in a letter endorsing APC, said, “The Independent National Electoral Com-

mission has approved the application by three political parties-the Action Congress of Nigeria (CAN), the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP), and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) to merge into one to be known as the All Progressives Congress.

“On considering the application, the Commission found that the applicant-parties have met all statutory requirements for the merger and has accordingly granted their request.

“Consequently, the Commission has approved the withdrawal of the individual certificates of the applicant-parties and the issuance of a single certificate to the All Progressives Congress.”

Reacting to the registration of the All Progressive Congress, National President of African People’s Congress, Ikeagwuonu, said the decision

by INEC register the other APC did not take away its legal right over the APC acronym. The group also lampooned the Commission saying the registration of APC despite the pending court matter was a deliberate plan by INEC to plunge the country into anarchy.

Briefing journalists at the association’s headquarters in Abuja, Ikeagwuonu said despite what he described as a setback, his group would continue with the preparations to contest the Anambra governorship election slated for November.

PAGE 22 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 4, 2013

Her ex lives next door to me!

I

’M a 25, a worker.

I’m dating an I8year -old secondary school girl. We have been in love for four months now and plan to get married. I have gone to see her parents and they have given me permission to be coming to their house to see her. I never knew that my girl’s ex-boy friend lives in the same compound with me.

He told me I should date her outside our compound or leave her alone, otherwise he would get the soldiers to arrest me.

Aunty, she is the only one I love and she can’t leave me because of the love she has for me, but I’m afraid of this man.

Please, how can I handle the situation?

Dede, Rivers State

turn nasty.

I suggest you quietly investigate her and her family so that you would know more about them.

In Africa, we don’t just marry our partners, but his/her family as well.

Only God knows the future, but we should look well before we leap, and we should prayerfully choose a marital partner.

Keep this relationship light until you are quite sure about what to do.

As for your neighbour

who used to be this girl’s boyfriend, don’t quarrel with him. After all he has not expressed any intention of taking her from you. He just doesn’t want the embarrassment of seeing her come to visit you in a compound she probably used to come to, to see him, hence he told you to date her outside there.

He has no right to dictate to you, and in a just society where the law

enforcement officers are supposed to be honest, he can’t have you arrested for that sort of thing, but we know what happens in our country. Keeping the girl out of your premises doesn’t make you a coward. The girl herself should be embarrassed to be visiting you at a place where she used to visit another boyfriend. Actually, she should have told you that you’re living on the same premises as her ex.

REPLY

l

SUGGEST you cool down in this rela tionship and suspend all talk of marriage for the time being, while you study this 18- yearold school girl properly. l know you said that you love each other, plan to marry, and the parents have given you permission to be visiting her, but four months is too short a period for you to be sure that she is your ideal girl. Afterall, she’s only 18, still at school, and she’s already had a boyfriend, who you later discovered to be your own neighbour!

He may or may not have been her first boyfriend. She’s still in the process of studying boys and getting to understand them, and she may not be truly in a position to know her ideal man for a husband. I don’t know if you are ready for marriage now, or, if she would be, as soon as she leaves secondary school, but her parents must have found you a good suitor for her, hence they’re encouraging you by allowing you to visit them. However, be careful.

Allow the girl time to grow up so that she’s sure of who to marry, and also train or learn a trade so that she can be in a position to contribute financially in the home. On no condition should you take over her training before marrying her. Some men have done this, only for the girl to fall in love with another man later and refuse to marry her sponsor. There would then be quarrels. which could

She just switched off!

Dear Rebecca

I

’M a 21-year-old guy deeply in love with a 20-year-girl I knew from secondary school. We left school together and have been dating for the past one year. I went to see her some months ago in the company of my brother to find out if she had received the gift I sent her on her birthday, and I saw her coming out of a house in her neighborhood. I asked her what she was doing there but she didn’t answer me. I went back the next day to see her but I met her younger ones who told me that she was in same house where I had seen her the previous day. I waited for two hours for her, but she didn’t show up. I was upset and dropped her a note explaining how I felt. Later, I went to check on her when I got back from a trip but met nobody in the house. I ran into her one day but all attempts to hold a conversation with her proved futile as she re-

I love both of them Dear Rebecca

I

’M an eighteenyear-old girl who is actually going out with two guys. I’ve been dating one for four years now and the other for two years. They’ve been nice to me especially the first guy. He appreciates the fact that I want to keep myself until I’m ready.

He loves me more than I can imagine. He tries his best to please me. But he scares me about marriage.

We had a disagreement two years ago. It was then I met the other guy.

Since we got back togetgainsgain, he’s been calling me his wife and mother of his unborn child. The other guy is okay but all he wants is sex. It is not as if he doesn’t love me but he is used to it. He is 22 years old just like the first guy.

I can’t give in to his demand because I’ve made

up my mind to have sex only with the guy I marry. I really love him but I can’t leave the first guy because he doesn’t ask for sex. Please Rebecca, help me out of my predicament.

I’m deeply in love with the two of them and they’re bent on marrying me. I can’t go on double dating though I make them happy and satisfied. They don’t know I’m cheating on them. I wanted to let them off the hook but they are really nice guys.

Aunty, How can I handle this?

Rosie Lagos.

REPLY

P

oor you! It must be heady for a young lady to have two young men chasing her. Enjoy the feeling of being in love, but let your feet stay

firmly on the ground and be wide awake. Now, until a man actually goes with his people to ask for your hand in marriage, take his offer of marriage very lightly. Men know that girls like to hear marriage proposals, so, when they want a girl; for whatever purpose they have in mind, they dangle a marriage proposal in her face. This is supposed to convince her that they seriously love her so that she would yield. A few do mean their words, but many don’t.

Telling you that you are the mother of his unborn children, means nothing, though it is nice to hear.

He may not be asking for sex yet, but watch out.

You started dating when you were only 14, so, now that you are becoming mature, his attitude may change. As you already know, the other man believes that having a girlfriend means easy ac-

cess to sex. Don’t confuse sex with love, and don’t believe men who say that you should use sex to prove that you love them. A man who truly loves you would respect your decision not to have sex. I advise you remove romance from your relationship with boys, and make casual friends with several responsible boys so that you can have the opportunity to study and understand them well.

When you are more emotionally mature, you can begin to date boys, but, stick to ‘no sex’ until you marry. I don’t know what you’re doing to make the two men ‘happy and satisfied “ but, take care. Let your parents know who your friends, boys and girls, are. What are you doing about your future career? That’s more important now than boys.

fused to talk to me, even when I shouted at her.

Since then, she has been avoiding me. Aunty, I see her in my dreams.

I’ve tried to wipe her off my memory but I just can’t. I love her because she is my kind of girl.

She is special but has changed suddenly.

Please, what should I do because I don’t want to lose her?

REPLY

A

frequent mis take our young people make in relationships is attempting to take possession and control of the other person’s life as soon as they meet. That you have been dating for a year and you gave her a birthday gift does not make this girl your property. You’re neither married nor engaged to her, so you have no right to query her about her movements. Where she goes to and whatsoever she does there are her business. She too should not ask you similar questions. Our young people need to learn how to behave in a civilized manner when they are in relationship and treat each other with some decency and respect. It’s only your married partner that you can be possessive about to an extent because there is a legal emotional commitment.

Nigerians are becoming aware of their rights in these days of democracy and human rights campaigns, and shortly, boys who harass their girlfriends about their movements, about strange men’s photographs or addresses and telephone numbers, could be charged to court for violation of privacy and human rights. A good relationship should involve trust and respect. When you saw her coming from a neighbor’s house, you should not have asked her where she was coming from. Now, I suggest you apologize to her verbally or through a card for shouting at her. If she returns to you; fine. If not, leave her alone and make friends with other girls. When you behave like a gentleman, you won’t lose worthy girls, hopefully.

•All letters for publication on this page should be sent to: Dear Rebecca, Vanguard Media Ltd, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B 1007, Apapa, Lagos, Nigeria. E-mail: dearrebecca2@yahoo.com

SUNDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 4, 2013, PAGE 23

When your lover’s ex is a thug!

I

T never fails to amuse me how men behave when they’re on the ‘chase’ for a a new catch. A few months back, Joshua a younger brother’s friend who works with one of the banks we used told me excitedly he’d struck gold. His girlfriend of almost nine months had finally agreed he could spend the night in her flat after attending the birthday party of one of her friends together.

Joshua had always been a ladies’ man - and he knows how to pick his women - older women with their own flat and a comfortable income. If there were no kids in the horizon, it makes his choice a one.

When he told me of his encounter with Monica, I warned him to be careful.

Monica is in her early 40s and recently separated from her husband.

Joshua had met her in one of his sisters’ shop and hadn’t let the 10-year age difference faze him.

He always looks more matured for his thirtysomething anyway. On his way to pick up his

‘date’ he showed up at my place looking good enough to eat. He was casually dressed in expensive clothes and wafting an exotic aftershave. .

‘Tonight is the night with Monica,’ he gloated, rubbing his hands with glee. “After the party tonight, I’ll take her home - and you can guess what wild things we’ll do together. I have a few bottles of chilled choice wine in the car and a well-preserved me of course!”

I was a bit amused.

From what I’ve heard, Monica’s husband was a violent thug. She might have moved out of her matrimonial home, but they were not divorced yet. He still stalked her under the guise of visiting Joke, the only child of the marriage who is eight years old. I warned him to be careful. “What could go wrong Aunty C?” he asked, rolling his eyes at me. “The flat is Monica’s. It’s not as if we’ll be visiting her ex on his turf!’ I had a social event of my own to attend and I’d already

last for it when I realised I’d left my mobile phone at home. What if Joshua was in trouble and needed to talk?

It was a relief when I got back and there weren’t any missed-calls from Joshua. Did he get on alright with Monica?

I wondered the next day.

As if on cue, there was an impatient shrill of the doorbell and there he was, looking fit to be tied. What happened to his night of passion?

“You’re right, Monica’s husband is a thug!” he fumed. “After we left the

party, we went to her place as agreed and we couldn’t wait to tear each other ’s clothes off. We made passionate love and I happily dozed off afterwards. This was around 2:30 a.m. All of a sudden, I was being pummelled by this angry looking man who ordered me to ‘get out of my house.’ I was enraged. ‘Your house?’ I challenged. That infuriated him more and he punched me in the nose.

He was a burly man and as I attempted to ward off his attack, he dragged

me to the front door, still in my boxers, and threw me out of the flat, shutting the door frrmly in my face! I was really terrified.

What would happen to Monica with this maniac locked up in the flat with her? They were both shouting angrily at each other as I quickly got into my car and fled. Thank God, it was dark and there were no nosey policemen on the now deserted streets. How could I have explained driving in the night in nothing but my boxers?”

Heavens only knew

how I suppressed the laughter that threatened to burst as I imagined Joshua being tossed out of his lover’s flat like a piece of rubbish! After he’d calmed down, he asked me to call Monica, reeling off her number.

If he called, he feared her ex could still be around and he might smash her mobile if he knew it was him. So, I called Monica whom I’d never met and introduced myself. I said I was Joshua’s ‘big sister, and she gabbled she’d heard a lot about me from Joshua. Was he alright? I gave the phone to him and left the room.

When I came back, he was on his way out - to hers! -”Again?” I asked him. “Shouldn’t you allow things to cool a bit?

What happens if her ex was lurking somewhere, waiting to pounce again?”

“I’m only going to wait outside her flat, honk the horn and take her to my place,” he explained, perking up all of a sudden. Just how much punishment should you take in the name of love?

Lust”’.

08052201867(Text Only)

Improve your blood circulation

A

FRIEND stopped me the other day to ask me about what could possibly be the cause of a pain he feels in his right calf anytime he stretches and tenses his body as a form of exercise before getting out of bed. He also complained of going thumb in the fingers after holding an item for quite sometime.

He said he would notice his fingers being awkwardly set and that he would have to massage that hand with his other hand to restore feeling and movement.

Well I said to the fellow that I suspected his blood circulation must have gone sluggish and that exercises to improve his circulation would be what would help him.

Infact I told my friend I was rather familiar with his latter symptoms – numbness and a grotesque setting of the fingers.

Blood vessels must C M Y K

never be clogged. When they do become clogged in the heart for instance, that leads to angina, a strangulating pain in the heart.

When the cloggue’ vessels are found in the parts of the body furthermost from the heart meaning the arms and legs yet what is called interminat claudstron. This is infact the symptom phase of artenal disease.

When you have arterial disease in the heart, you get angina and heart attacks. When you have it in the head circulation, you get strokes.

The same process can occur in the legs and arms. Once you have this affliction, if you smoke you most endeavour to stop. Nicotine narrows the arteries which further restricts blood flow possibly harming arteries themselves and leading to blood clots.

Next to stepping smoking, the most important thing is exercise. Walk-

ing is highly recommended. Set out for an hour of walking. Walk till the pain in the leg comes on then rest for a while to case the pain and then continue walking again.

Rest yet again when the pain comes on. Keep the pain/walk cycle on during your hour of daily walking.

If you’re patient with yourself and exercise regularly for two to three months, you should see improvement.

If on the other hand you’re not cut out for walking there are some yoga exercise that should help with your circulation.

Let consider the following: The shoulder stand (Against a wall).

Technique: Lie on your back with knees drawn.

Take a deep breath and raise the feet up placing them against the wall with the knees locked, support the trunk with the hands placed on the

hips.

Stay in the posture for a minute or a bit more.

Breath deeply in this position.

Benefits: The shoulder stand stimulates the endocrine glands and strengthens the heart for more efficient performance.

Suptavajrasana Technique: Sitting on your heels, part the feet wide apart and get your buttocks on the floor.

* Suptavajrasana Pose

Place your hands by your sides. Stay in this posture for some 10-20 seconds, get up and straighten up the legs, rest a while and repeat.

Benefits: This exercise tones up the muscles of the legs leading to improved venous return. It will also help you shed excess fat about the thighs.

The writers pose Sit on your heels and get your left hand from

below your back, hold the left hand with the right from above so that the right elbow points upward.

Stay in the position for a minute and alternate with the left hand above and the right below.

Benefits: The writers pose strengthens the shoulders and tones up the muscles of the arms improving the circulation there.

Yoga classes at 32 Adetokunbo Ademola, Victoria Island, Lagos, 9.10am on Saturdays

PAGE 24—SUNDAY Vanguard , AUGUST 4 , 2013

bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk

08056180152,

SMS only

The father who couldn’t save his daughter from her abusive husband

L

AST week, we car ried the pathetic let ter of late Omodolapo Olotu-Jagha. to a husband who stripped her of all human dignity, even as she laid on her death bed. Today, her father warns other parents of the consequences of falling for abusive partners. This oration given at his daughter’s grave-side in Dublin is carried unedited ...

The father ’s Oration reads: It is indeed agonizing to write this story; it is about our beloved daughter Yetunde Omodolapo Olotu-Jagha, she had a happy and enviable childhood, committed parents, a dream secondary school, her dream university and graduated a truthful, fulfilled, Christ-loving adult.

Yetunde Omodolapo had just gained an admission into the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria for a master’s degree programme when suddenly she brought Mr. Noble Oritsemeyin Jagha (Oti) for marriage. It was marriage or nothing as they had agreed to suspend that admission for another year which never materialized.

The entire (Idano) betrothal obligation that was expected to be provided by the husband’s family according to Yoruba tradition was not provided. We bore the cost of these betrothal obligations: the entertainment at the engagement ceremony and the after marriage party. This was done in good faith just as we accepted the husband in all sincerity not minding his financial status. We took him as a son.

Not long after the birth of their first child, news started filtering to my wife and I that Oti as the husband was fondly called stayed out late and had at some stages beat his wife even with belt. “I wonder why my daughter had to undergo this brutish act, despite the fact that she was betrothed to him a virgin; a virtuous woman she was!

In this quest my daughter departed to Dublin, he continued in his night crawling; leaving their little child alone all the time.

He was also involved in loads of unhealthy rela-

tionship with strange women. This information became known to us through his driver when my wife and I stayed a night in his house while he was said to have travelled. He even brought home women laundry. We did not inform our daughter about this discovery because we wanted to save their marriage which was at the verge of dissolution. Hence, we encouraged Oti to join his wife.

The first sign of financial unreliability we experienced from Mr. Jagha was when my wife’s nephew who lived in London sent Oti some money to be deposited into his bank account in a bank where Oti worked in Ibadan, Nigeria. Up till date, the money has not been recovered from him.

Then came his involvement in fraud which led to his fleeing from Nigeria.

My wife also loaned him an amount of Nl.2 million to repay his debt but he did not. Instead, he used the money as fare to flee Nigeria to London while he abandoned the entire family belongings. The Criminal Investigation Department officers that were laying siege on their home were subsequently led to us in Akure from Ibadan by his office driver with a view to apprehending me. This great loss of assets and dignity was another reason our late daughter became fed up with the unwholesome corrupt life style of this ignoble Oti as a husband. But after his pressure on us by incessant telephone calls and the fact that their innocent first, nursery age child was with him, also suffering in London, we persuaded our daughter to allow him join her in Dublin hoping that he would change for the better. Unfortunately, he never changed, he proved correct the Yoruba adage which says “the character of a man never leaves him because it is in-borne.” He started his ignoble life style; fighting his wife over allowances from government that was meant for the children’s maintenance, the wife’s earnings from her daily toils, and his free life style. Rather than pick up a job to join in the maintenance of the family, he prefers to loiter the street in quest for flings and speak-

ing on the phone for hours with women.

He finally made his wife to have another pregnancy that gave them the twin baby girls for which reason the stone-hearted husband abandoned the wife in the hospital because none of the twins is a male child. From that time, he boasted to me several times on telephone, that he must have a male child from any other source. He hated the idea of our daughter not having a male child, he blamed and frustrated her for it even unto death. I pleaded with him that countries like Britain, Germany, India, Liberia, etc. had females as head of governments of their countries but this meant nothing to his resolute decision.

Jagha was accused severally of having affairs with married women in the church whose husbands in return made Dolapo’s life a living hell sending her texts and e-mails of curses and of threatening nature coupled with what she was facing at home and having to work 6 days a week to maintain the whole family, not long after, our daughter was diagnosed of breast cancer. According to Mr. Jagha, he knew when the attack (Satanic Arrow) was sent to him and the wife but he dodged it while his wife could not. He did not agree with the wife to see a doctor when the lump was initially found and disagreed it should be removed when advised by doctors. He insisted on prayer alone and our daughter succumbed to his wicked advice wanting to be obedient. However, when it worsened she had to be hospitalized. The husband’s main concern all the time had not always been the

health of the wife but to extort money for his free life style, even though he refused to take up any Job. The wife finally had to approach the court for a safety and protection order/judicial separation when she could no longer bear the physical and mental abuse she suffered in the hands of Oti. The church persuaded our daughter to withdraw any legal action which she did in obedience. The church claimed that Oti resolved to be of good behaviour and pleaded to return back to their home which he had abandoned with the family car so that Dolapo had to trek with the children to school in bad weather while under treatment until her condition grew worse. He was never supportive despite all appeal to him from quarters including his wife until she was moved to the hospice.

From the Yoruba perspective, it should be inferred that the so-called arrow of cancer was Oti’s diabolic act. So that once the wife was eliminated; he would be free to marry another wife as permitted

by Christian faith, he had promised a certain lady in the church he was having an affair with that he would marry her when his wife dies, this was revealed to Dolapo by the lady’s friends. It may surprise you that this man is a “PASTOR.” One is therefore surprised that such an ignoble Mr. Noble Jagha could be appointed a Pastor of that reputable church in which he worships even against his wife’s plea that he needed

A tribute to all women Respect a woman because….

Y

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"

You can feel her INNOCENCE in the form of a daughter, you can feel her CARE in the form of a sister…. You can feel her WARMTH in the form of a friend…..You can feel her PASSION in the form of a beloved……You can feel her DEDICATION in the form of a wife….

You can feel her DIVINITY in the form of a mother…..

You can feel her BLESSING in the form of a grandmother, yet she is so TOUGH too…

Her heart is so TENDER, so NAUGHTY, so CHARMING… So SHARING… so MELODIOUS… She is a WOMAN.. And she is life!!! To all the wonderful women, hope you won’t forget how special

to change, grow and restitute (she was ignored). As the father of late Yetunde Omodolapo, it is my conclusion that her husband was responsible for her untimely cruel death; out of demonic acts and charms, long drawn oppression and neglect even on her final sick bed.

Oti was the primary killer while cancer was just a secondary cause of death, and why is this not a surprise for someone who tried to kill his own blood sister.

Throughout the time she was hospitalized her friends and church members drew a 24hrs. roaster to take turns in taking care of her. The husband turned up once in a while to see if she was still breathing and urges her to transfer money to his account every week.

He stole her bank card at the hospital and robbed her a sum of One Thousand Euros plus and transferred money from the deceased’s account to an unknown account of a man in Athlone (An elder in the church whom we gathered he owes) and also fuelled his car and enjoyed the luxury of our daughters stipend in company of her girlfriends in Athlone on the grounds that he was getting paid for looking after his own children. We reliably gathered that on the day our daughter died, her estranged husband’s first concern was seizure of the death certificate and the approach of her late wife’s office for information of how to collect her terminal retirement financial benefits. How dare you lay claim on the benefit of a woman you cruelly hated and sent to her early grave, and whose corpse was yet to be buried? This is unacceptable Mr. Jagha!

When Mr. Jagha arrived Dublin, I advised him to engage himself in a meaningful employment from which he would be able to earn good money from which he could repay and restitute the embezzled money from the bank and become a free man rather than hide in Europe. He bluntly refused; the image of a wanted criminal meant nothing to him.

One could see, therefore, why late Yetunde could never be comfortable with

a man without a conscience. A man who chose to cover his slothful, ignoble, secret and sinful life style with the title of a “PASTOR”. This accounts for his hidden agenda to eliminate his wife for not bearing a male child.

Mr. Noble Oritsetimeyin Jagha boasted several times that he would assemble his prayer warriors and hold vigils to hasten her death; no wonder my daughter was not shocked when she saw the prayer points in Noble Jagha’s purse which he forgot at the hospice while he came to ask for money from the wife as usual; the prayer-point stated that God should strike Yetunde’s heart and that she should do no other thing except what he (Jagha) orders her to do.

Little wonder, if this is the ideal prayer that a dying woman required on her sick bed. When she even pleaded with her husband to pray for her, he bluntly refused.

On the night before the death of my daughter, while my daughter could hardly speak, he was in another bout of accusations about who said what about who reported to the child-protection agency that he left the kids at home for two days on a row to go to school and sleep all by themselves while he visited his concubine in Athlone while Yetunde was at the hospice. Now that she is dead, how then, can Mr. Noble Jagha suddenly develop sincere love and concern for these innocent female children after the death of their mother? We are aware that you see them as your meal ticket/money bag and nothing else ...

As our daughter is interred into her eternal rest, all parents, friends, on lookers must strive hard that their children, and relations do not fall into the nets of the satanic wicked spouse. Christian churches of the living God should strive hard that they do not hire pastors like the ignoble; Satan-possessed Mr. Noble Jagha that will send their innocent worshippers into eternal doom.

Yetunde, my beloved daughter, rest in perfect peace, in the bosom of the living God of vengeance till we meet to part no more”.

you are!"

Chris Onunaku dekris4real@gmail.com 08032988826/08184844015.

You captured my heart How you captured and enveloped my heart with so much tender and passionate love still surprised me till today to the extent that everywhere I go I feel your loving presence. You are indeed a criminal because you stole my heart with an undiluted love, I am glad I caught you. Akachukwu Ferdinand.08063819314

Akachukwu Ferdinand. aka5forever85@gmail.com 08063819314

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SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 4, 2013, PAGE 33

All letters bearing writers' names and full addresses should be typed and forwarded to: The Editor, Sunday Vanguard, Kirikiri Canal, P. M. B. 1007, Apapa, Lagos. E-mail: sunvanguardmail@yahoo.com

An appeal to Gov Uduaghan on shutdown private schools Dear Sir,

T

HE transformation and the modernization drive of the Delta State schools especially in the primary and secondary by Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan is gigantic and deserved encomiums.

Already the governor is etching his name in gold and whatever misgivings, genuine or fake critics may have against him is gradually ebbing out. With Enerhen Junction in Warri becoming a beautification master piece, Uduaghan’s name is positively echoing loud and clear.

Our take therefore on the closure of some unregistered private schools may not jell with the government's action.

Yes, it is quite illegitimate to run a school without approval but when you think about 600 schools closed with a conservation estimate of 10 teachers per school, it means about 6,000 indigenes of the state have lost their jobs whether well remunerated or not.

Government alone cannot provide jobs.

And taking government’s stance that other schools approved by it but have no playing fields will receive the hammer two months’ time. Though government’s intention may be good but the end result would lead to agony and penury.

The unemployment fallout from the proposed schools shut down would be enormous.

Our advice to government is to tarry and if possible intervene as was done

in pre and early post-colonial period when government provided assistance to private schools. Don’t forget that we have travelled this way before and the end result was regrets as we later

discovered that it would have been better if the government had encouraged the private entrepreneurs.

It is disadvantageous if government’s policy thought to be

palliative now results in putting young people into more unemployment and criminality.

Anagbo Temienor (Jnr) Jesse Town, Delta State

Kudos to banks in Nigeria Dear Sir,

T

HERE has been a turn around in our banking sector since all th e banks in the country

received the second baptism of fire from the apex bank. Thanks to Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi who instigated the move.

This edifying scenario has contributed immensely in restoring confidence to depositors and other persons who have one thing or the other to do with the bank.

More interestingly, no single bank in the country now is sick. In other words, one can safely bank with any bank in the country. The sanity instilled into banks so far is so fantastic that depositing and withdrawing of cash, which are the areas that mostly attract customers to the banks are now done with ease, unlike in the past when customers went to bank with their mats, especially during payment of salaries to workers. Prior to this period under review commercial banks used to close to their customers by 3.00pm on Mondays, while they shut their doors by 1.30pm on Tuesdays to Fridays, but now they close there doors by 4.00pm from Mondays to Fridays. This shift in time has impacted a remarkable improvement on the business of their numerous customers.

Nevertheless, there is the need to improve on their services especially in the area of cash withdrawal. Often times customers complain of not being attended to due to network problem, Under normal circumstances it should not be so, for every customer deserves prompt service.

The usual excuse banks give for not being

able to access their customers account as a result of network problem should not arise as there are other alternatives to take in that regard.

Against this backdrop, I suggest to the management of all commercial banks to create an emergency customers withdrawal department in their head offices where this kind of problem could be handled. In this regard any branch that has network problem could pay their customers through their head offices assistance.

Another important area that can contribute immensely to improving their staff efficiency borders on professionalism. Banks should in addition to the courses they send them, encourage their staff to enroll with the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria.

This development would help to create an enabling environment to making them professional on the job.

Nkemakolam Gabriel , Port Harcourt, 08072257360 gabchiz56@yahoo.com

Military posts in Urhobo land Dear Sir,

M

AY I use your high source of news to commend the Joint Task Force (JTF) for doing a great work in the Niger Delta as they deserve encomiums for their effort.

However, we wish to draw their attention to ubiquitous presence of the JTF in most Urhobo ethnic nationality roads. The checkpoints at Okirighwe, Amukpe, Uvwie, Ughelli, Udu and others, show a pattern of military occupation. The Urhobo may have their share of the current criminality ravaging the nation but suffice to state that other non- Urhobo communities with higher criminal quotients are not besieged by the military.

The frustration experienced by the Urhobo people on the account of deliberate creation of checkpoints of grid locks that do not arrest criminals is worrisome. Blood pressure had risen; vehicles engines have packed up and well up anger against man-made hold-ups can easily lead to death.

The JTF has done marvelous work on the Oghara, Mosogar, Jesse, Amukpe and Warri express way. They should kindly free the people from their fruitless “go slow” at Effurun, Ughelli, Okirighwe, Amukpe and others.

The Urhobo elite should wake up from their slumbers.

Jude Olotu Township Stadium Quarters, Sapele .

PAGE 34—SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 4, 2013

Alabi-Isama Versus Obasanjo: Will a duel follow?

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ty of ridding the nation of a big PEST. On a more serious note, I remain one of the few Nigerians who have read the book from page to page.

General Alabi-Isama invited me to help edit the book last year and get it ready for publication. I was ready.

But there was a problem.

The General wanted the book published in four months from the date of receipt of manuscript. Even if that was all the work I had on hand, it would have been either impossible or dangerous to rush the assignment. As it turned out, I was at the last stage of getting an autobiography DOCTOR ON BICYCLE published; then I was discussing with General Ogbemudia about revising his book about the Civil War (which I was also reading page by page at the time) and I was working on an original biography to be published this year. General Alabi-Isama’s book was fourth in line. So when he issued the ultimatum, “Four months or nothing”, I answered, “With due respect General “nothing””. The reason was simple.

Apart from time constraint, the book is a lengthy rejoinder to Obasanjo’s book, MY COMMAND. And, it was full of accusations against the former President. Although I don’t like Obasanjo, I believed that it would amount to intellectual dishonesty and injustice to edit Alabi-Isa-

From the Master to a Columnist: A tribute

M

Y daughter, Ad erenle, asked me: can you write a bit about Alhaji Alade, please? We need to honour him, sir. Don’t you think?

Alhaji Alade Odunewu (Allah De) who passed away on Thursday July 25, 2013 is unforgettable. And noone will need any prompting.

He left footprints in journalism, administration and politics that cannot be erased. He was a master prose and logic as this fore word from my book- Voice of Reason (Volume 1) will show: I once sojourned in a small town called Worthing, in Sussex, on the south coast of the United Kingdom. I was an intern working with the local newspaper, THE WORTHING HERALD, preparatory to my moving to London for a schedule professional course. I was a familiar figure on the streets of Worthing as I sauntered between my landla-

dy ’s apartment and the newspaper house every day.

I had the habit of reading the posters in the grocery, one of which shouted the question at me: What DOES Cassandra say? That was all that the DAILY MIRROR chose to advertise the day’s edition. Not the robbery at Oxford Street, or the massacre in China. But what the man who says what others wish they could say had in his column for the day. This, to my mind, speaks volumes for the place of the powerful columnist in the print media. The Mirror treated Cassandra like a film star; they panegyrised him. For writing a damn good column uninterrupted for decades, he was knighted by the Queen and his is the only bust on the ground floor of the MIRROR building; not that of his editor or publisher. On one occasion, the MIRROR celebrated libel by the columnist rather than publish a retraction or an apology.

I once asked the question

ma’s book without reading Obasanjo’s book page by page and without placing side by side the maps and facts adduced by the two Generals. But, Alabi-Isama was in a hurry to get the book published. I live and die by my own principles and we parted ways.

While I wish the General all the best with the book, he had at least discovered

,

“There is such a thing as a man being too proud to fight”. Woodrow Wilson,1856-1924, 28th President of the US. (VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS p 60).

OODROW Wil son was an aca demic, President of Princeton University before he became President of the United States and he was the originator of the League of Nations – the precursor to the current United Nations and a man of peace. He was not a soldier; so he could not possibly understand certain things about soldiers. One of them is, no soldier, especially a General, retired or not, would ignore being called “a coward” and “a liar ” – two words which General Alabi-Isama (rtd) had used recently while promoting his book THE TRAGEDY OF VICTORY, against General Obasanjo (rtd). In the past, such an open insult called for a duel.

Military honour demanded that the disgraced party must challenge his attacker to a duel to settle the matter.

Unless duels have been outlawed in Nigeria, this is one case that should revive the military tradition.

And, should the idea be accepted, I want to be the promoter. The venue is already chosen; it is the National Stadium, Surulere.

Gate fees will be announced later. The duel might provide us with one opportuni-

After all, unlike Alabi-Isama, who was a combatant soldier, Obasanjo had never fired a shot in anger. He ran for cover when Murtala Mohammed was shot.

POWER AND NIGERIAN POLITICIANS -- 1 “Having power destroys the sanity of the powerful. It allows their irrationalities to leave the sphere of dream and come into the real world”. Saul Bellow. (VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS p 195).

“You are a dictator”, Rivers State Commissioner of Police, referring to Governor Amaechi.

Rivers State Commissioner of Police was reported to have made that remark a few weeks ago. I waited for several weeks to read a disclaimer from the Police Chief. There was none. So,

Unless duels have been outlawed in Nigeria, this is one case that should revive the military tradition.

And, should the idea be accepted, I want to be the promoter

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that I was right that nobody can get the book to the stand in four months. I only hope the people who worked on the book later on took the trouble to read MY COMMAND also. Even Obasanjo, detested as he is by his military colleagues, deserves fair hearing before being condemned. From the gang-up at the book launch, it would appear that Baba Iyabo is on his own. For once, OBJ has my sympathies and if there is going to be a duel, I wish him good luck. No soldier wants to be called a “coward” for God’s sake.

On the other hand he can abide by Woodrow Wilson’s dictum and consider himself “too proud to fight”.

it can be safely assumed that he was correctly reported. If so, the CP Rivers State should receive a gold medal for speaking the truth. It is a fact; not only about Amaechi, but, about all the governors of Nigeria. What we have in all the government mansions and offices, from Abia to Zamfara, are people wielding powers that would make Attila the Hun or Alexander the Great grin with envy. Unless checkmated by the Federal might, a state government has power over everything living and inanimate in his state. He can do and undo – limited only by his own conscience or lack of it. And when the Commissioner of Police is complaisant, the

– who is a columnist?

A columnist, according to one of those terse sources of information – THE OXFORD DICTIONARY OF CURRENT ENGLISH – is a journalist who regularly contributes to a newspaper a column of miscellaneous comment on people and events. But I wish to impose a tougher qualification than the dictionary permits.

A columnist is one who devotes his entire time to writing a regular column and

break caused by illness – “this is Williams Connor, licensed to write a column five days a week under the name CASSANDRA.” And it was common knowledge that CASSANDRA’s salary was the envy of many Prime Ministers.

There were great columnists who fit into the dictionary and publisher/editor category mentioned earlier. I refer to the founding fathers of Nigerian journalism of the colonial era and

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He left footprints in journalism, administration and politics that cannot be erased. He was a master of prose and logic

nothing else for appropriate reward by his employer.

I guess there must be few staff contributors, if any, in our part of the world who can scale through this test.

Most journalists of the postindependence Nigeria who took to column writing derived inspiration from immortal William Neil Connor, CASSANDRA of the DAILY MIRROR to whom reference has already been made or his peers in other climes. CASSANDRA, whose specialities were combat and satire, ran his column almost non-stop for 30 years. As the old warrior “introduced” himself after a

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their immediate successors, whose explosive essays were decorated with hybrids and archaism laced with the sweet smell of words of Greek and Latin derivatives.

A few examples of powerful demagogic writers who qualified as columnist of the time will suffice.

Haratio Jackson and Herbert Macauly were devastatingly polemical in their onslaught against the British representatives in the colonial era. But by far the most remarkable personality on the stage after the missionary role of the Herbert Macaulys of the

death grip on the people is almost total.

State Houses of Assembly are totally useless; they provide no checks and balances against the excesses of the Executive branch.

The judiciary is worse. It is virtually impossible for a state government to lose a case in its own court. Let me start with an example from the 1999-2003 set and Kogi State.

Journalists, especially state correspondents in Kogi, during those evil days, could only write and get published, stories that were favourable to the government. A state correspondent who deviated, was, first, ostracized by being declared persona non grata, in State’s News Centre; then he was threatened.

His paper was asked to remove him, and if, like GUARDIAN that request was not granted unpleasant consequences followed.

Even today, it requires a stone-hearted correspondent, in any state, to write unfavourable, even if true stories about the government which hosts him. That explains why virtually all the unfavourable comments about a governor come from outside or political opposition. Let me provide another example.

When in 2009 to 2010, Imo, Abia and Akwa Ibom became the arch of evil in terms of political killings and kidnapping, no single correspondent in those states dared to write the reports I did and got published.

Their lives were in danger and the danger was the state government, each and every time, irrespective of political affiliation. Adedibu’s vice grip over Oyo state was effective only because it served the purposes of the governors and Obasanjo. Today, the thugs engaged then are still mostly alive in Ibadan. But, the

change of governor has rendered them ineffective.

Return their former sponsors to power and all hell will break loose again.

State governors are all dictators and the first group of people governors capture is the legislators in their states who become glorified errand boys. There is no state in Nigeria where the House of Assembly is truly independent of the Governor; not one. I challenge any member of any House to dispute it.

We should thank the CPRivers State for telling the truth about one of the 36 dictators we “elected” to subjugate us. How else do you explain former Governor Ohakim of Imo State publicly assaulting a Catholic priest? No American governor will try it without being impeached by all the members of the State House of Assembly; even if they belong to the same political party. That is the difference between the rule of law and men….

PDP RECONCILIATION COMMITTEE “If you want to make peace, you don’t talk to your friends; you talk to your enemies”. General Moshe Dayan, hero of Israel’s six-day war victory over the Arabs, in 1967.(VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS p 183).

The announcement of a PDP Reconciliation Committee, headed by Governor Dickson of Bayelsa State is symptomatic of all that is wrong with the leadership of the party today. With the President (Bayelsa), Chairman of BOT (Edo), Chairman of PDP Governors Forum (Akwa Ibom) and now Dickson, the question anybody sensible should ask is: has PDP become a SouthSouth party only? Why are the leaders of the PDP making the same mistakes all the time?

Visit:www.Delesobowale.com

time was Nnamdi Azikwe, famous for his INSIDE STUFF in the WEST AFRICAN PILOT, It was a favourite reading of anyone who was literate enough to read a newspaper, students scrambled for it to pick up strange words and jawbreaking sentences.

And then there was WEEK-END CATECHISM, also carried by the WEST AFRICAN PILOT. Apart from reader questions, the author, boycott apostle Mbonu Ojike, asked himself heavily loaded political questions and provided answer. HERE, THERE AND YONDER, by Tom Tinkle was another Zik’s group product. And the Tony Enahoros, the Marshall Kebbys. Ajuluchukwu’s column, MONGER was a classic example of what grammarians call journalese. Monger never spoke of a tail, but a candal appendage, never the nose, but olfactory organ. MONGER’s barber is a capillary artist, an untrue statement belongs to the realm of fiction.

The next generation of columnists consisted of those who want to write like CASSANDRA or Walter Lipman and, of course, we have had the hard core political commentators. The difference should be clear.

Whereas the William Connors and Nigerian writers who wanted to imitate them dealt with all manner of subjects, from baby’s toys to insomnia, the political

contributors wrote in promotional interest of the parties of their fancy.

I read Kola Animasaun every week. His column does what a good column should do – take on all manner of people as well as all manner of subjects, yes, all manner of subjects, from the sublime to the ridiculous. As I myself attempted to do decades ago, the column is about men and matters; it is history; it is about politics and politicians, morality, about religion, government and the governed, about endless struggle between the powerful and the weak; about man’s inhumanity to man, about Class Divide; about those strange elements you find in George Orwell’s 1984 We look forward to the day when a columnist is a columnist, first and last and remunerated accordingly.

If you ask me to award an Oscar for the most durable columnist in Nigeria, it will go to late YPO Sodeinde who wrote his column up to the age of 80 years plus.

This book is a MUST for all higher institution where the English language is taught, as well as the various departments that make up the Faculty of Arts or Social Science in our universities.

Hadj Alade Odunewu Lagos 27 May 1999 Farewell thee Alade. May Allah repose your soul in Aljanah Firdaus.

SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 4, 2013, PAGE 35

sick bed in Saudi Arabia, the budget taken to him from Nigeria by one of his key aides. On the President’s return home, it was arranged for the nation’s leading clerics to visit him ostensibly to convince the rest of us that all hope was

not lost. What the clerics said at the end of the visit could only pass for a good researchable topic.

In the case of Governor Suntai, the original stories are hard to forget. At first, it was alleged that he was brain damaged. Some of those who later visited him were quoted to have said he lost his memory. He is now said to be very conscious and can see, stand, eat and recognize all the people around him by their names.

But the Governor who has been away for more than 9months cannot come home now because his doctors are yet to certify that he can withstand a long distance journey. What this suggests is that Taraba is likely to be without a Governor for no less than one year. The core issue which this situation brings to the fore is the uncommon nature and scope of Nigeria’s type of democracy. Ours is probably the only nation in the world where an elected political leader can be away from his duty post for as long as his cronies can procure intrigues to sustain him in office in absentia. At such times, the aides design several tales to deflate rumours of their principal’s whereabouts while the pace of development is reduced to snail’s speed because the deputy governor can hardly approve any meaningful funds.

When Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State was away from his desk for a couple of months on what

was described as “accumulated leave” no one knew the duration. The anxiety caused by his absence was obviously short-lived when compared to the much longer period of disappearance of Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State. This latest one of Governor Suntai which is stretching for longer than makes sense is irritating.

The suggestion by frontline lawyer, Fred Agbaje that a period of incapacity to be statutorily allowed a Governor should not be more than 3 weeks has its merits but it will not work in Nigeria even if put in the constitution.

In Nigeria legal provisions have no efficacy because our political leaders hold-on only to the letter and never the spirit of a law. That is why for instance, a Governor would appoint members of his political party into an electoral commission to conduct elections between his own party to which the electoral commissioners also belong and other parties.

Any objection by the opposition is usually brushed off with the argument that the commissioners were cleared by the legislature as provided by the constitution. Do we need a constitution to tell us that the referee of a contest should be neutral and not be picked from one of the teams in the contest?

Our problem is not really whether we have a good constitution or not; the real

problem is our unpreparedness to abide by the provisions of the constitution.

For example, Section 183 of our constitution says that a Governor shall not; during the period of his office hold any other office or employment. Section 308 of the same constitution protects the same Governor from any civil or criminal proceedings during the same period. The combined spirit of the two sections is that nothing should distract a Governor in the performance of his duty. Yet, the same Governor who has all it takes to remain committed to governance is, as in the case of Suntai, not even around let alone to be distracted!

Again, because our constitution envisaged that only persons with ample integrity would be appointed as Commissioners in a state, they were empowered

by Section 189 to determine when a Governor becomes incapable of performing his duties. How can that happen in a country where State Commissioners worship a Governor’s children?

Interestingly, rather than encourage Taraba Commissioners to live up to their mandate, their party - the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP - with its own hidden agenda sought to investigate Suntai’s health status which a court stopped. So, Nigeria watches as Taraba State battles with stunted growth in the absence of full-time governance.

in holy books. For instance values, especially moral and aesthetic values, are inseparable from the good life.

Both Christian and Islamic scriptures preach moral values purportedly derived from God. But the two systems of morality are clearly inadequate; they reflect the fears, hopes, dreams and aspirations of ancient superstitious pastoral peoples who lived in Mediterranean world, and cannot cope with the complexities of con-

dote for the rampant fanaticisms that plague the world today. Those who are eager for quick returns and for precise balance sheet of effort and reward may be impatient with philosophy because of its slow and rationalistic approach to issues of vital concern to the individual and the community.

Still, the subject is the best guide for tackling certain perennial questions of vital concern for which science has yet to provide conclusive answers. Such questions include; do we survive death, and if so do we survive temporarily or forever?

Does the universe have an underlying purpose or is it fundamentally a stochastic phenomenon on an unim-

swers were accepted without satisfactory evidence. One of the important functions of philosophy is to keep alive interest in them, and to examine proposed answers. The way I see it, one can have all the material possessions in the world and remain intellectually and spiritually malnourished if the person fails to ponder these topics from time to time. Dogmatism and exaggerated skepticism cannot help anyone in the quest for the good life. A dogmatist is cocksure and certain of what he claims to know, which is why dogmatism of any kind is dangerous. On the other hand, the extreme skeptic is certain that we do not know anything. Philosophy, appropriately imbibed, dissipates certainty, and teaches a healthy dose of skepticism that enables any person that studies it develop the habit of thinking things through before reaching a conclusion which should be accepted in a tentative spirit. This means that philosophy can inculcate the intellectual virtue of acting based on the best hypothesis available anytime we are confronted with a practical problem. As we stated earlier, the good life depends partly on knowledge, even if what is known is painful or disturbing. Because what we claim to know comes from various sources with no guarantee of absolute truth, it is necessary for us to be critical of our beliefs, particularly those that we accept wholeheartedly and unquestioningly.

Self-criticism is a virtue that philosophy can nurture in an individual, a virtue that helps people to disagree in a benign spirit devoid of the acerbity that characterises human interactions at every level. Human beings

are essentially social. As a result, ethical parochialism is an obstacle to the good life in a globalising world.

What the world needs urgently right now, if humanity is to avoid complete annihilation of civilisation with weapons of mass destructions scattered in different parts of the world, is intellectual and ethical generality. For instance, social or political issues are naturally emotion-laden, which most times prevents people from discussing them rationally. Philosophy helps one to cultivate intellectual and ethical impartiality in such matters. If we make effort to increase our level of intellectual and ethical impartiality, chances are that we will be more objective and reasonable in responding to situations that tend to arouse belligerent feelings.

Thus, philosophy promotes humane and tolerant attitude, which is essential for the realisation of the good life. In conclusion, the quest for the good life is the centre of gravity in what Teilhard de Chardin called "the phenomenon of man."

The existential condition in Nigeria is so distressing that it would be too much to expect young people trying to eke out a living and mesmerised by the soporific miasma of false religiosity to have enough time for philosophy, a subject usually neglected by students in our universities. From my own experience, however, I hereby affirm that philosophy can give certain things that will increase the value of anyone that engages with it, as a human being and as a citizen. As far as I am concerned, the discipline is the best nourishment for humans - intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. CONCLUDED.

Happy Birthday to Governor Suntai of Taraba State to-life posture of Suntai was a reception hosted in his honour by the former Nigerian Ambassador to the United Nations, Ambassador Kennedy F. Apoe at Staten Island, New York.

With no new stories on Governor Suntai in the last one month, it is probably time to have faith in the man’s alleged miraculous recovery. If so, we should join

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N Sunday June 30, 2013, Gover nor Danbaba Suntai marked his 52nd birthday in far away New York, USA where he is recuperating from the injuries he sustained from a plane crash in October 2012. On the occasion, his deputy, Garba Umar who is currently acting as Governor of the State sent him a goodwill message on behalf of himself and the people of Taraba State. Was Suntai in a position to appreciate the gesture? It seems he was; going by media reports that he had greatly recovered from his poor health. The reports in earnest corroborated that of Governor Gabriel Suswan of Benue State who had visited Suntai a few days earlier. As if to further paint a brighter picture of an improved state of health, Suntai was reported to have spoken on telephone with President Goodluck Jonathan and Vice President Namadi Sambo.

Perhaps the most concrete evidence of a come-back-

subject because, it is a familiar route that we have passed before.

When the late President Yar’Adua was similarly in a critical health condition in 2010, there were “eyewitness” reports of how his condition had greatly improved until the nation lost him. On one occasion, a story was circulated of how the then President signed on his

Ours is probably the only nation in the world where an elected political leader can be away from his duty post for as long as his cronies can procure intrigues to sustain him in office in absentia

millions of Nigerians particularly his teeming supporters in Taraba to thank God for Suntai’s life and to wish him many more years in the service of the fatherland. But then, we will not chastise anyone who still habours some doubt on the

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PhD, Department of Philosophy, University of Lagos,

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HEREFORE, we in terpret the idea of love contained in Russell's definition as containing the elements highlighted by Fromm. However, making allowances for the turbulent and deep emotional attachment characteristic of romantic love, the kind of love intended by Russell involves tolerance, kindness, and feeling of solidarity for fellow human beings. Now, thinkers have hotly debated the problem of knowledge since the earliest beginnings of philosophy. In spite Edmund Gettier's influential critique of the traditional notion of knowledge, there is a broad consensus among philosophers that knowledge is justified true belief. Hence, Russell's definition boils down to the notion that the good life is one inspired by love and guided by justified true beliefs. Philosophy contributes positively to the practice of love by enabling those that study it acquire the habit of careful thought, thereby enabling them to have a better understanding of the phenomenon of love as an essential component of human experience. Of course, it is impossible to lead a good life without knowledge, because knowledge is fundamental to selfactualisation and fulfillment. As human beings, we must have adequate knowledge of the aims conducive

to happiness and growth. In addition, we need to know the best means of actualising them. Therefore, although people talk glibly about the blissfulness of ignorance, it is necessary to recognise that ignorance is definitely a hindrance to the attainment of good life. Philosophy is extremely important in this regard, since it integrates and synthesises fundamental insights from various domains of knowledge into a coherent and comprehensive system for constructing an intelligible weltanschauung. Nigeria is a religion-intoxicated society, dominated especially

by Christian and Muslim fanatics. The capitalistmercantilist orientation that dominates religious practice in the country has, paradoxically, given rise to deceitful and pernicious pseudo spirituality that parades material possession as an index of divine blessing. Without shame, socalled men and women of God have turned Christianity, and to a lesser extent Islam, into casino spirituality where prosperity preaching has supplanted the gospel of love and human solidarity. For those Nigerians that earnestly seek an intellectual-spiritual roadmap for the good life, philosophy offers a much better alternative than the illusory and intellectually stultifying superstitions contained

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Philosophy and unceasing quest for the good life (2)

Those who are eager for quick returns and for precise balance sheet of effort and reward may be impatient with philosophy because of its slow and rationalistic approach to issues of vital concern

temporary life. Moreover, the taboo morality that they promote, not to talk of the absurd doctrines of everlasting punishment in hell fire, cannot withstand the searchlight of philosophical scrutiny. We must frankly admit that the antiquated values prescribed by Christianity and Islam are unsuitable in our scientific age.

This is where philosophy comes in, with its unrelenting insistence that the values we adopt must be such that ministers to enlightened human interests since, as Protagoras of Abdera aptly remarked more than two thousand years ago, man is the measure of all things.

Philosophy is the best anti-

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aginable scale? Given the immensity of the cosmos revealed by contemporary astronomy, what is the status of life in it? How did life emerge - by creation or by evolution? How did the universe originate in the first instance? In the day-to-day preoccupation with the quotidian details of life in a distressed country like Nigeria, people are apt to either neglect these questions or seek answers in ancient superstitions codified as holy books. This would be a terrible error, for as Russell stated and I agree completely, human life would be impoverished if such questions were forgotten or if definite an-

PAGE 36—SUNDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 4, 2013

One can only imagine the extent of dependence on ROAD for transportation in Nigeria of approximately 150160 million people.

Expectedly, therefore, the interests and concern are as engaging, vast and expressive, for reasons of economic benefits, social interaction, ease of simple/ common movement of people and goods, community development….So the extent of general concern is understood.

Personal experience will immediately include the Apapa - Oshodi Express Way and the 3rd Mainland Bridge, MakurdiGboko-Yandev road and IfeIjebu Jesa road in Osun State.

Reports have thrown up other road users’ experiences with Ekparakwa - Azumini road in Akwa-Ibom State, Lalin Bridge along Langtang - Lalin - Tunkus - Shendam road in Plateau State. Nation-wide, the concerns, experiences and comments are as widely inclusive. These experiences are swayed sharply between sadness and joy, in line with the state and condition of these roads and bridges (so many others that have been rehabilitated along the over 35,00km long federal roads across Nigeria, in the last three years).

The extent of Federal government’s concern and investment on roads construction, maintenance and rehabilitation - is open to

FERMA: A Convergence of Intent, Engagement & Perception individual interpretation.

Records have consistently shown inadequacy in this regard, and to that extent, the general perception has been negative. Understandably however, resource allocation and investment on roads is a function of determination and commitment, especially among developing nations such as ours. The pattern of federal government investment from immediately post-independence Nigeria has been selective, based on urbanization and satellite allocation, economic viability, social impact and population.

With the post-military political era, this pattern became tainted with political calculations - the need for representatives to report political gains and benefits.

Notwithstanding the method of resource allocation for ROAD as a component of infrastructural development, it became evident that for meaningful impact, emphasis should shift from road construction to road maintenance (and rehabilitation). Road usage increased as a direct consequence of population explosion and growth in economic activities, exerting excessive pressure on the ‘few’ roads available. It was only a matter of time before the shift in emphasis. There needed to be a deliberate effort to maintain existing roads.

In year 2002, the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency FERMA - was borne (Federal Government Act Number 7, 2002). The Act stipulated the To Agency ’s mandate: MONITOR AND MAINTAIN all existing Federal roads in the country, EFFICIENTLY and EFFECTIVELY. As a policy shift of direct consequence, FERMA inherited enormous responsibility. In its ten years of operation since it started operation in 2003, the critical issues of impact assessment and perception have lingered.

In line with its mandate, however, FERMA can be credited with good measure of remarkable success.

Especially within the last three years, the Agency achieved about 80% of its achievements since inception.

On the whole, 67% of Federal roads (about 35,000 km nationwide), have been put back use as a result of FERMA’s efficient and effective maintenance. This effective intervention includes bridges that had hitherto been in state of near-damage. From between 2003 to date, FERMA has reduced the bad portion

increase funding of FERMA, for better performance. Let us put in proper perspective the recent successful transportation of those turbines and the other equipment in the face of cost and convenience, as we appreciate FERMA’s relevance in our development efforts as a nation.

Add to that is the Agency’s proactivity and expanded scope of engagement. Today, the Agency has engaged in the production of cold asphalt, to make up for the hitherto persistent shortfall in its supply. Shortage of cold asphalt is largely responsible for most of the portion of roads that should have been patched and covered up. The Agency had to commit its expertise and material resources into producing this very important material for adequate nationwide distribution, to enable contractors’ efficient discharge of their duty of intervention on surface failure.

of Federal road across the country from 29,750km to 11,900km, representing over 66% of the entire federal road network nation-wide (and still counting).

The big test of FERMA’s character came, when it became expedient upon the Federal Government, to move power turbines, generators and other heavy power equipment from Onne port, in Rivers State, to Kaduna, in the drive towards increased power generation. The critical issue was deciding between the options of road and air transportation, considering attendant cost implication, convenience at handling and safety. At the end when the federal government made the tough choice of road transportation, Engineer

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OAD is a very important resource ingredient of infrastructure for various important reasons. As a basic factor, it is a crucial part of resource system essential for collective development. Apart from its primary benefits of transportation, it is a key element in global economic rating of nations, as a measure of economic growth and development.

Economic development experts’ worldwide, have remained consistent in pushing for aggressive economic development of nations through diversification, industrialization, human capacity development, careful resources allocation and innovativeness. Despite the wonderful achievements in technology and internetenabled communication technology/system, ROAD has seen no replacement, as a driver of the much-needed economic growth and development, for its role as a facilitator of transportation.

President Olusegun Obasanjo, in his inaugural address of May 1999, stated: “…

Transport is the lifeline of the economy and social interactions. An inefficient transport system implies stagnation in all sectors. Our priorities in this sector will be the design and implementing a new policy on road maintenance …”

went through the 950 km road distance between Onne Port in Rivers State and Kudenda Industrial district in Kaduna State. That impressive feat was a result of FERMA’s direct involvement and engagement.

While we commend FERMA’s good showing, it is important to articulate the critical issues that must be addressed, being essentials in complement of FERMA’s efforts at ensuring usable or good federal roads, and the gains recorded so far. We must set our goals at optimizing the returns on our collective investment on road infrastructure as a nation.

Constant in international economic rating of nations, is the extent of economic growth and development, based on resource allocation. For

Shortage of cold asphalt is largely responsible for most of the portion of roads that should have been patched and covered up. The Agency had to commit its expertise and material resources into producing this very important material

Gabriel C. Amuchi (the MD/ CEO of FERMA) and his management team had to prove themselves. As the Agency charged with road maintenance, FERMA had to deliver on good roads strong enough to carry the weight of the turbines and its component equipment, over the distance.

As we know, nothing damages roads as much as excessive weight. It was amazing, the amount of competence demonstrated by the FERMA team, to ensure the turbines, batteries and other equipment

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comparative advantage, therefore, individual nations make deliberate efforts to channel investment into sectors with greater potentials to propel their over-all economic growth and development. Nigeria must be pragmatic in this regard, carefully articulating investment policies and decisions, based on comparatively better reward potentials. With the present team at FERMA, it will cost Nigeria less per kilometer of road over time, to appreciably

As we count FERMA’s gains, however, there is, clearly, a need for attitude adjustment on the part of road users, if we must continue on the path of improvement. The average roads user is guilty of road abuse. Apart from excessive vehicular weight on our roads, dumping of refuse, leaking sewage/pipe, cutting across road for purposes of laying pipes and cables, street trading and all such negative practices, combine to pressure our roads towards damage and short life-span. We need to contribute to ensuring good roads, by adjusting our attitude.

That leads us to the convergence point for all stakeholders - the federal government, roads maintenance Agency and the road users: we are almost equally indebted to ensuring usable roads, as we are entitled to the benefits of a network of good roads. Road users must adopt the right attitude, appreciate the common investments we all make to have good roads and commit our collective efforts towards protecting our investment. On the part of government (federal, states and local government), investment decision/policy on roads, must be carefully considered for the common good of all, in the face of scarce resources. Policy on roads must amply be supportive of continuous maintenance, as in the case of FERMA. The last line: FERMA’s gains can be easily replicated in all the states of the federation if similar agencies are established to complement its role at the state level. Such move will speed up the actualization of FERMA’s OPERATION ZERO POTHOLE campaign on federal government roads, nation-wide.

SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 4, 2013, PAGE 37

Nigerians should resist negative labelling of their country – Ada Stella Apiafi, I-Nigerian Initiative Coordinator

BY MCPHILLIPS NWACHUKWU

In realisation of negative perceptions about Nigeria, a group concerned about the situation launched a campaign to promote the country. Ada Stella Apiafi is the National Coordinator of INigerian Campaign under an initiative called The Nigerian Renaissance Project. She speaks, in this interview, on the need for Nigerians to project the nation in good light.

Excerpts: HAT is the INigerian project all about?

I-Nigerian is a privately initiated perception transformation initiative set up to drive what we have chosen to call The Nigerian Renaissance Project (TNRP) into the consciousness of Nigerians at home and abroad, and to the global community, with special emphasis on the positives. It is both a process, and a series of programmes designed to recapture the heart, soul and concept of being Nigerian, by showcasing, in every sphere, the good in Nigeria, and Nigerians, by Nigerians themselves.

What are the reasons behind this initiative?

Nigerians are by nature very vocal about everything, especially about their country – for good or for bad.

Therefore, it is necessary to transpose our minds, such that the stories that we tell of Nigeria, and the image we present of our country, give the country a ‘new’ name that reflects some ‘new order’ among Nigerians themselves.

The truth is most times what we see is the negative. How can that be addressed?

It is not what we see but what is being reported. There are many good and positives that could, and should be reported as well. When Nigeria recently made it into the list of the 50 Most Reputable Countries in the World, not many media outfits celebrated it! Before now, the

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country was not even considered for ranking. A 24year-old Nigerian, Uwa Osamede Imafidon, just graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) in the US with a master ’s degree in microbiology, with a 4.0 CGPA out of maximum 4.0 CGPA. Before her sojourn abroad, she had made First Class in crop science from University of Benin, as the best graduating student in her department. A few years ago,

Jelani Aliyu from Sokoto State, who schooled in Kebbi, won a global design competition organised by General Motors.

Sadly, the good attention that we should be basking in is being tainted by the news of insurgency, challenges to our national security, and a myriad of issues that spark more and more negative news about Nigerians as a people.

Nigerians – individually and collectively - are left with a battered trust and confidence in their Nigerianness.

But how do you see these achievements compared to the internal crises and challenges that we are faced with daily?

We have challenges...that is true! But you will agree that our country is at a very critical stage of growth and development. We have evolved as a new ‘democratic’ country, and a fast-growing economy. Global attention on Nigeria, today, is at an all-time high, something that should easily bring pride to the heart of every Nigerian wherever we are across the world.

Today, there is a deep dent on the collective psyche of the average Nigerian, as he finds it increasingly difficult to speak positively or confidently about our dearly beloved county – the psyche of the nation is plummeting more and more, with all the negative stories coming out of, and about Nigeria, many being told by Nigerians themselves.

What is the solution, or what is the good news?

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* Ada Stella Apiafi....Nigerians are by nature very vocal

The good news is that there are lots of positives! Nigeria is about to emerge as the largest economy in Africa.

GDP is a powerful political tool as the most important global governance institutions, from the G8 to the G20, are based on GDP credentials. So far, South Africa has been the only African country represented in the G20 on the grounds of the scale of its economy.

Is this initiative intended to promote the government?

Whether in government or out of government, we are all Nigerians that should promote Nigeria.

There are commendable initiatives from the government and the private sector. For instance, there is this Youth Enterprise With Innovation in Nigeria (YouWin), the entrepreneurship development scheme of the Federal Government launched

Therefore, most of the inspiration for promoting this initiative will be coming from private individuals who have made positive impact locally and internationally. The richest black man today, Aliko Dangote, is a story of grass to grace. Forbes recently rated him 25th richest man in the world. He has within a single generation translated a medium scale business into a multinational conglomerate!

He has a Foundation that addresses youth unemployment and women empowerment. There is also the Elumelu Foundation that promotes entrepreneurship development and other collaborative efforts between the government and the private sectors under PublicPrivate Partnership. This is good news that should be widely related. But we don’t get to celebrate these.

It is necessary to transpose our minds, such that the stories that we tell of Nigeria, and the image we present of our country, give the country a ‘new’ name that reflects some ‘new order’ among Nigerians themselves

just over a year ago, and has become so successful that each of the 1,200 first set of beneficiaries are now employing an average of eight staff! The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) has just announced that Nigeria has successfully halved the number of hungry people in line with the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals. Very cheering news is emanating from our land, and should be commended and celebrated.

But doesn’t it mean your group will be focusing more only the activities of government?

I-Nigerian is a privately initiated perception transformation initiative.

,

Do we now say your inspiration will centre on public service and players in the business sector?

Like I said, this is a private initiative to promote the positives on Nigeria and Nigerians. Let me give you more examples from the social or entertainment industry.

Mosunmola ‘Mo’ Abudu recently launched EbonyLife TV, Africa’s first Global Black M u l t i - B r o a d c a s t Entertainment Network, with programmes showcasing Nigeria’s burgeoning middle class. Home girl Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde recently emerged one of TIME’s top 100 most influential personalities. Nigeria’s Ice Prince Zamani won the 2013

Best International Act (Africa) Award. These are just a few inspiring stories coming from within Nigeria and they are all extraordinary! Some of our stories don’t get to make news headlines. These are everyday Nigerians doing noble deeds, surviving against all odds, and who just believe in maintaining the dignity of being Nigerians.

How do you address the negative perceptions of Nigerians abroad who are into criminal activities?

There are many Nigerians doing great outside the country. Of the 541 athletes employed by Great Britain for the 2012 Olympics, 16 reportedly are Nigerians including some that are world champions. None of them was referred to them as Nigerianborn British athletes. BUT, when two miscreants, born and bred in Britain, killed a soldier, the British press was so quick to dub them Nigerians.

What do you then expect from Nigerians?

Our ‘mandate’ to Nigerians is very simple: We must speak about positives and be proud of them rather than insist on the negativities. Negatives are present, and even more prevalent in other climes, but are not often screamed on the front pages. There is a saying that ‘no body can make you

inferior without your consent!’

Over the years, a subtle inferiority has crept into the consciousness of the average Nigerian, especially in the way we talk about ourselves we tend to spend more time talking about the bad than the good.

Nigerians should begin to resist negative labelling of our country, even amongst ourselves. It is also a charge to retune our minds to being dignifying in our thinking, speech, and deeds (our work) about Nigeria and being Nigerians as a whole.

Do we foresee your NGO being influenced politically?

This is a different kind of NGO, we have chosen to call this The Nigerian Renaissance Project (TNRP). Renaissance means rebirth, reawakening, re-energizing. So it is a different thing entirely. Most of our activities will centre on awareness creation through all the major media channels: Print, electronic and online.

PAGE 38—SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 4, 2013

TERROR:

Indonesia has

experiences Nigeria can learn from -Ambassador Haseng

•’My home country’s economic, industrialisation and agricultural success story’

T

he Indonesian ambassador to Nigeria, Surdiman Haseng, speaks, in this interview, how his nation is collaborating with his host-country in a mutually benefitting manner. Excerpts:

BY VICTORIA OJEME

W

hat is the state of relations between Nigeria and Indonesia?

Since the diplomatic relations were established in 1965, Nigeria and Indonesia have enjoyed warm relations based on mutual respect and understanding. Both countries are members of multilateral organizations such as the Non-Aligned Movement, World Trade Organization (WTO), Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Developing 8 Countries.

What is the volume of trade between Nigeria and Indonesia?

Bilateral trade between the two emerging economies reached US$2.1 billion in 2011and, during the JanuaryOctober period last year, it totalled $2.7 billion. The trade volume is expected to reach $5 billion by 2015. Both countries would work together to double the trade volume by 2015. Nigeria and Indonesia will come up with strategic and implementable action plans to ensure that both countries leverage the cordial bilateral trade relationship to boost trade and increase Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Just this February, Nigeria - Indonesia bilateral trade meeting and business luncheon was held in Abuja.

What areas of improvement is the Indonesian government looking at in its

relations with Nigeria at the moment?

We are looking for improvement in cooperation in economic fields such as trade, investment, agriculture, aviation and services, education, politics, defence and security cooperation.

What is the volume of Foreign Direct Investment from Indonesia to Nigeria in the last three years?

Nigeria has become a destination for investment from Indonesia with around 11 local firms having already entered certain sectors such as food and beverage, petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals.

In what way can Indonesia assist Nigeria in the fight against terrorism, given its very successful history of combating terrorism?

Indonesia has shown the best practices in its efforts to combat terrorism and has developed cooperation with many countries, including through tripartite agreements.

Indonesia’s success story in combating terrorism has and shall always remain a strong point of Indonesian foreign policy. The country’s efforts to tackle acts of terror since the year 2000 - when three bombs wreaked havoc on Jakarta, followed by other bombings in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 - mean the Indonesian authorities have ample experiences as they continue their efforts to find and bring to justice those responsible

•Ambassador Haseng

for the Marriott-Ritz bombs, while meanwhile ensuring the situation returns to normal. The strategy of law enforcement in combating terrorism in Indonesia puts the police in the frontline of the anti-terrorism operations.

The roles of the police have been enhanced through the establishment of the Special Detachment 88 anti-terrorism unit. Keeping on the progress,

What lessons can Nigeria learn from Indonesia in its bid to industrialize?

Indonesia has the largest economy in south-east Asia and is one of the emerging market economies of the world. The country is also a member of G-20 major economies and classified as a newly industrialized country.

It has a market economy in which the government plays a significant role through

The strategy of law enforcement in combating terrorism in Indonesia puts the police in the frontline of the antiterrorism operations President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono issued regulation No. 46/2010 on the establishment of the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) as coordinator of all country’s legal instruments: the police, the prosecutors, the courts, the imprisonment system. Indonesian Military (TNI) has been participating as well in the process, especially in collecting, providing, and exchanging intelligence information with other legal instruments.

ownership of state-owned enterprises (the central government owns more than 160 enterprises) and the administration of prices of a range of basic goods including fuel, rice, and electricity. In the aftermath of the financial and economic crisis that began in mid-1997, the government took custody of a significant portion of private sector assets through acquisition of non-performing bank loans and corporate assets through the debt

restructuring process. Since 2004, the economy has recovered and growth has accelerated to over 6% in recent years.

What is the major agricultural export of Indonesia and how can Nigeria benefit from the Indonesian experience in boosting agricultural production?

The Indonesian government is still weighing the offer from the Nigerian government to develop agricultural businesses in the West African country. The study of the investment would continue. I cannot yet disclose what kinds of plantations would be developed, and how much investment would be needed to meet the Nigerian government’s offer. Investing in Nigeria’s agricultural sector should be part of a bilateral trade cooperation agreement with Indonesia, which could include the lowering of import tariffs and cuts in tax and trade barriers.

Nigeria has offered 4 million hectares of land to Indonesia which could be used for crude palm oil or other plantations. Developing a crude palm oil plantation in the country will be quite promising given the country’s high demand for cooking oil.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 4 2013 —39

Pizzazz on parade for Ma. Wilkinson @ 80 Vera and Best

B

enin City was virtually brought to standstill when Madam Dorothy Wilkinson, mother of Chairman of All Progressives Congress, APC celebrated her 80th birthday. It was like a convention of power brokers from every corner of the nation as eminent Nigerians graced the occasion.

From the St. Francis Catholic Church to the venue of the reception, it was celebration galore, spruced with glamour and glitz. Photos by Barnabas Uzosike

B

est Ojo, son of Archbishop Joseph Ojo of Calvary Kingdom Church, has signed off his name from the league of bachelors when he was joined in Holy matrimony with his sweetheart, Vera Erikowa.

The celebrant, Madam Dorothy Wilkinson flanked by children and friends

The couple: Best and Vera Ojo

L-R: Pastor Ize-Iyamu and Chief Adolo OkotieEboh, Chairman, All Progressives Congress, APC, Delta State.

R-L Mama; Chief Willy Edema-Ofoni and Chief F.O. Omatseye.

L-R: Archbishop Joseph Ojo, his wife, the couple and, bride’s parents, the Erikowas

L-R: Chief Patrick Yalaju (JP); Chief Brown Mene and Chief S.S. Ronne .

L-R: Chief Yaya Pessu and Prof. Tony Afejuku

Fun galore as Aler o Amuk a mar ks one Alero Amuka marks

I

t was meant to be the first birthday celebration of little Alero Amuka-Pemu, daughter of Lucky and Chioma Amuka-Pemu and it was, in every respect but the parents stretch it further wide and big as they also entertained not only Alero friends but their own friends as well. Photos by Sola Oyelese

From left ; Mr Ogene Igihorodje, Mrs Chioma Amuka-Pemu,Mr Richard Okotie, carrying little Alero Amuka-Penu, celebrant and Mr Lucky Amuka-Pemu C M Y K

From left; Mr Ojo Olushola Ogunleye , Mrs Elizabeth Hayward, Mr Kunle Adekoya and Mr Sam Oghor

Mrs Chioma Amuka-Pemu, mum, helping little Alero Amuka-Pemu, celebrant ,to cut her birthday cake

PAGE 40— SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 4, 2013

C M Y K

SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 4, 2013, PAGE 41

C M Y K

PAGE 42—SUNDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 4, 2013

By BENJAMIN NJOKU

njokujamin@yahoo.com

Nollywood actresses nearly stopped my marriage — Producer Lancelot Imasuen

C

elebrated Nolly Oduwa Imasuewood director and producer, for his professi n, is one man you cannot buLancelot t onal exploits. lovely wife, Osa He got marriedadmire s, so m e si to his x ye The marriage ars ago, at the initial dream wis blessed with three kids. Laage of 36 years. takes us througas to get married at the age of ncelot says his 27 h After six years their matrimonial journey. . The couple of m ar ri ag e , the journey ha and memorable ab ou t ea ch ot . “I and my wife are gettings been exciting h challenges, we er. T h ou gh m ar ri ag e co to know more getting really exthank God we have come thm es w it h it s to marry someb citing. It’s not an easy thin is far and it’s of the job. This ody in our business becaus g for a woman as an artiste. Sois my 18th year in Nollywoo e of the nature I’m doing to ea , my wife understands the nad and 32 years rn a living.’ ture of the job

Late wedding!

I married at the age of 36. But if you ask me what my regret in life is, I would tell you I have one or two. I wanted to pursue my academic program up to the PhD level. But that never happened.

Again, I thought I would marry at the age of 27. At 26, I was already contemplating settling down. But because of the extended family system that is peculiar with Africans, I couldn’t actualise that dream. I have always envisaged a small but united immediate family for myself.

So, I wanted to see how much I could be of assistance to my extended family members before setting out to build my own nuclear family. For me, late marriage comes with its own price. I was into a relationship for seven years that did not work out. The ex-lover walked out of the relationship without any cause. It was so devastating for me.

I never believed I could remain a bachelor beyond the age of 29 or 30. But it wasn’t so. The important thing is not how far, rather it is how well .For six years now, I have been married with three kids. My wife is a treasure to me .Over the years, I have watched her perfect the art of understanding the kind of man she got married to.

Each time she sees me, she’s very happy and I try as much as possible to play my role as a husband to her.

Finding a wife in Nollywood!

There was no way I could have married an actress because I’m somebody that is greatly misunderstood. I cherish my wife so much because if she had listened to what my female colleagues told her about me, perhaps, I wouldn’t have been married by now.

However, it was after our wedding that I got to know how much some actresses tried to discourage my wife from

marrying me. I was shocked when one of them came to my house after our white wedding to apologise to me.

I didn’t know she was my wife’s friend. She visited us in the house; while my wife was in the kitchen, she approached me to confess some of the negative things she told her about me that were not true.

The opposite sex would admire more from a distance, but they thought I was too strict to be called somebody ’s husband. I suffered that fate because of the movie industry.

So , any woman that creates time to be with me could not understand that I’m a man that has taken time to create a dichotomy between my private life and my job. It was only very few of them who understood my position.

As a matter of fact, my disposition to the job was to get to where I am today; to make a name for myself and the industry. My insistence on

professionalism robbed me of the opportunity to be romantically linked to my female colleagues in the industry. In fact, any woman I approached then would tactically avoid having anything to do with me.

But today, time is proving all that wrong. I have been able to create that demarcation. When we are on location, all those professional ethics must be observed; I don’t allow sentiment to come between my job and love life, because if I’m emotionally attached to you ,I wouldn’t want to get you on the same production that I’m involved in .That’s me, and a lot of actresses did not understand my position.

In fact, when I was getting married, they told my wife I was married with kids because, at the time I met my wife, I had travelled to over 20 countries.

And during that period, people thought I had a family of my own. But they didn’t understand the important of the saying that you must lay your bed the way you want to lie on it. That has been my guiding principle.

Tempted to quit I was of marriageable age before I got married. I didn’t dabble into marriage. I was ready mentally, psychologically and emotionally. That’s not to say we have not had our issues.

But I’m never too proud to say, ‘honey I’m sorry,’ whenever I gaffe. And, on her own, she never feels too proud to say, ‘daddy, I’m sorry,’ whenever I’m able to prove that she has offended me. That has worked

for us. My wife is loving, peaceful and extremely loyal to me. She loves what I do for a living and she’s my number one fan and critic. I’m always inquisitive to hear her comment on my new productions.

Most times, I believe that marriages to celebrities are always for the wrong reasons. I did a thorough research to come up with a title of a film, “In Between the Lines”, which is a promotional film I did for the Federal Inland Revenue Service. The film is a love story on how and why most celebrity

marriages don’t last. There is always a misunderstanding, especially when men who are not Nollywood practitioners, marry female celebrities. They watch a love scene, or see their wives kiss in a film, they tend to misinterpret her role in that film and real life situation. For us in the industry, it’s always the problem of never being around home. We are jumping from one movie location to another. It takes the grace of God and discipline for your spouse to understand your predicament.

Our relationship had so many detractors — wife Attraction Lancelot is somebody that is very different from the way he looks. When I first met him, I had my impression about him. More so, a couple of other people had told me a lot of negative things about him. But despite that, I took my time to understudy him.

Basically, he’s a nice person, very down to earth .He does not like anything to bother him and he’s a sincere person at heart.

How I met him I met him at a bus station in BeninCity. I was on my way to Lagos, just like he was. I sat beside him, somehow, we got talking and, along the line, we exchanged phone numbers. The rest is history.

Familiar with his name!

Yes, I think I was particularly interested in him and his works. This is because of where he comes from (Benin). In fact, before I met my husband, I wasn’t a big fan of Nigerian movies. But whenever I saw any movie

directed by him, I wanted to watch that movie because I knew it would be a good movie.

Moreover, my sister, who used to be a very big fan of Nollywood movies encouraged me to watch movies directed by Lancelot. That’s how I really got to know him and his works on screen.

My reaction at the bus station Actually, I sighted him from a distance. I had seen him a couple of times on television. I just said in my mind, ‘oh! This is Lancelot’. Then, I walked pass him and acted as if nothing happened. Fortunately, I was privileged to sit beside him in the bus.

I didn’t allow the joy of sitting beside a superstar overwhelm me.

Proposal Initially, I rejected his proposal. But much later, I accepted him. What happened was that, at first, I really didn’t know much about his person.

Again, because he was already a superstar, I had to seek advice from friends and well- wishers, who tried to discourage me from marrying him.

Somehow, I was confused but, on second thought, I said to myself, ‘let me get to know more about this man that everybody is trying to castigate’.

And when I did, I discovered that he wasn’t that kind of person many people thought he was. When I found out he was much more different and a nice person, I accepted his marriage proposal.

But even during our introduction, some detractors told me he was married with kids, but I was not bothered.

What it takes to be his wife It takes someone who is peaceful, kind and who will always be there for him.

What I don’t like about him I used to complain that he’s always busy and that he throws his clothes around in the house.

SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 4, 2013, PAGE 43

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A L L E G E D D E A D LY A T T A C K BY F I A N C E

Mary fights for life *Police accused of bias

zThe victim before tragedy struck

BY JOSEPHINE IGBINOVIA “I need justice. My case was unjustly closed by the police!” That was the persistent cry of Mary Sunday, a graduate of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, on whom a pot of stew and the kerosene stove, upon which it was boiling, were allegedly thrown at by her fiancé, a serving officer of the Nigeria Police, Corporal Isaac Gbanwuan.

The incident, which left Mary with grievous bodily harm including the loss of her two ears with her upper neck glued to her arms, led to two surgeries while she needs N5million to undergo another in India.

The victim told Sunday Vanguard she was on the verge of being recruited into the police before trouble began when her fiancé was allegedly diagnosed with low sperm count, lamenting that she has been unjustly treated by the police and denied access to justice.

As a result of the medical report, Gbanwuan allegedly became aggressive and suspicious. An argument which arose from his suspicion of a telephone call Mary received on August 24, 2012, became the last straw that broke the camel’s back.

“On our way home from hospital on that fateful day, an argument ensued over a telephone call I received. He didn’t want to believe the call was from my sister. The argument degenerated and Isaac started beating me by the time we got home. When I could no longer take the kicking and dragging, I tried to escape the scene and I ran to the second floor of the building where we resided at Pedro Barracks, Shomolu, Lagos. We had actually done our introduction and were preparing to get married.

z...immediately after alleged attack

He pursued me and I ran to a kitchen on the second floor to escape.

He however broke the kitchen door. In a fit of rage, he carried the cooking stove of the neighbor, with boiling stew on it, and poured all the content on my body He pursued me and I ran to a kitchen on the second floor to escape. He however broke the kitchen door. In a fit of rage, he carried the cooking stove of the neighbor, with boiling stew on it, and poured all the content on my body. The stove exploded, setting me on fire”, Mary said.

z...in hospital The Lagos State Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Damascus Ozoani, in a newspaper report, dated February 18, 2013, however cleared Gbanwuan of the allegation on the grounds that the police had carried out and closed investigation on the matter.

In the report, the police described the condition of Mary as a self-inflicted one.

“The allegation that Gbanwuan assaulted Sunday is misleading. This case has been investigated by the Provost Office of the command. The police have taken statements from Mary, Gbanwuan and other eye witnesses at the Pedro Police Barracks. The Lagos State Police Command is not insensitive. I can tell you that, at this moment, the Commissioner of Police is interested in this case and has passed instructions to the Provost to conclude investigations”, Ozoani was quoted as saying.

However, Mary, who was until June 2013 on admission at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos, said the police did not at any time visit her to get information from her after a com-

plaint was lodged by one of her relatives. When contacted, Gbanwuan, who did not deny knowing Mary, refused discussing the subject but rather, referred Sunday Vanguard to the police headquarters for any details.

Foremost human rights activist, Dr.(Mrs.)Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, Executive Director, Women Advocates Research & Documentation CentreWARDC, suspects a bias in the matter.

“One would wonder why a woman who was running for her dear life and seeking help and assistance from neighbours would suddenly become suicidal and inflict such wanton harm on herself.

Beyond this investigation, Mary has no other option of redress since the police have closed investigation on her case”, Abiola, who decried the insensitivity of the police towards issues of domestic violence, said.

She continued: “We suspect there is an attempt to subdue the case because of the multiple conflicts of interest associated with the matter. We believe that the Lagos State Police Command has been hasty in coming to the conclusion and that the newspaper report affirms the bias of the police on this matter. We believe that the response was also to cover up the several violations that take place at various police barracks. Also, the fact that this abuse took place at the police barracks, to us, is enough reason for the Lagos police to cover up. We would have expected that the police would have, in accordance with the criminal law in the country, subjected Corporal Isaac to a court of law before an unbiased umpire of this case, so that justice can be seen as done.”

Abiola, who lamented the continued violence against women with perpetrators going unpunished, regretted that several other issues of domestic violence had got stuck at the police without victims getting justice.

“We’ve written twice to the Police Service Commission but got no response.

We’ve also written to the Lagos State House of Assembly from whom we’re yet to get an acknowledgement. To us as human rights activists, we’re getting convinced that despite its domestic violence laws, the state is not interested in reducing violence against women. We’re therefore planning to do a petition to the African Commission and the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Violence and Discrimination against Women - CEDAW, on this matter, to state that the Nigerian government has failed in the protection of women’s rights.”

Ex-bank official drags wife to court for stealing

BY ADEOLA ADENUGA A-64-year old man, Mr. Femi Eboda, prayed an Agege Grade ‘A’ Customary Court sitting in Lagos to dissolve his 21-year-old marriage to Bolanle Eboda over stealing and embarrassing him publicly.

Mr. Eboda, who lives at No, 14 Amusan, Oko-Oba, Abule Egba, claimed to have been suffering from stroke, diabetes and ulcer for the past two years, saying the wife failed

to take care of him.

Saying he resigned from Union Bank some years ago because of illhealth, the husband said his health challenges were compounded by his wife and his family. He said his efforts to ensure that his children got good education were frustrated by Bolanle. While reacting to the allegations, the wife urged the court to beg her husband on her behalf. She denied the allegations but said she

not ready for divorce. She said the marriage was been blessed with two children and her husband should consider her and resolve it. In his rulling, the court president, Mr. Emmanuel Shokunle, asked the couple to go back home and see how to settle it amicably because the woman still believed in the marriage. He adjourned the case till August 13 for further hearing.

PAGE 44— SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 4, 2013

08116759757 We are old and weak — Mr. Quadri Abdullahi retired in 2010 as a head teacher

“Those in charge of the administration of pension should remember that retirement will be their turn, sooner or later. It is disheartening seeing us being treated this manner. We pay the same transport, buy from the same market, families issues are not left out with dependent relatives. Things we took care of when we were in service are not reducing but increasing.

“We are getting older and weaker and here we are, our gratuity and other payments are not remitted. I am appealing to government to give us our right so that we can enjoy it before we die.

PUNISHING THE PENSIONERS! z‘W e look up tto o God ffor or int er ‘We inter ervvention’

BY OLAYINKA LATONA

I

magine the picture of old men, their eyes closed in prayer. Mind you, this is not a prayer for the success of their children as many senior citizens are wont to do. This is a prayer for their survival, a prayer to God to touch the heart of government to pay their entitlements after labouring in their youth in the public service but made to suffer in their old age.

Their lot has been non- payment of their entitlements, omission of their names from the payroll, under-payment, and delayed payment. Sometimes they are even called for verification exercise to exorcise ghosts from the payroll, in the course of which many of the retirees collapse and die on queue.

As one of the measures to address their plight, over 200 pensioners, under the umbrella of Lagos State Council of Nigeria Union of Pensioners, NUP, gathered, in Lagos, for fasting, seeking God’s intervention on the payment of the backlog of their arrears.

Some of the senior citizens, in their 60s and 80s, prayed government to pay their pensions, gratuities that have accumulated for several years.

They also criticised the non-implementation of pension increase of six percent from 2003, 15 percent from 2007 and non-review of pension for the past10 years which is a contradiction of the 1999 constitution.

Chairman of Lagos NUP, Alhaji Nojeemdeen Adebayo Ibrahim, and the planning committee chairman of the prayer meeting, Mr. Isaac Ogunlade, both of whom spoke during the prayer programme, said the union resolved to prayer since human efforts had failed in tackling their challenge.

Ibrahim lamented that majority of Lagos pensioners had been subjected to untold hardship and that the union had had series of meetings with state officials which all proved abortive.

His words: “The Lagos government has remained resolute in not paying the balance of 142 per cent which is 36 months’ pension. We have been on this for over five years. We held meetings with government officials pleading that they should allow us to talk with the governor but they refused. But for us not to dent the image of the state, we have been pleading but all we are getting is non-challant attitude.

“Probably the government wants all pensioners to die. I have told them to get all of us together and bomb us which is a quicker way to kill us in-

service and, when they calculated my gratuity, it was over one million Naira but I was paid N709,000. When I complained, I was asked to write a letter which I did but, on getting to the secretariat, I was told they had paid the balance which I did not receive. I have been going to the secretariat for years but nothing was done. All I get after serving the government is suffering.

Since 2001, there has been no increment of any sort. It is like government derives pleasure in punishing us.”

Pension staff asked for bribe – Mrs. Ebun Oyenekan, 68, served in Somolu Local Government under the Ministry of Education

“The truth is that these yearnings are constantly dashed by exposing the retirees to a life of untold hardship and penury that could be better imagined as they are constantly subjected to lots of hardship under the old pension scheme, as neither the Pension Act of 1979 nor the NSITF put in place could guarantee regular payment of pension stipends”.

I am down with stroke – Mr Jimoh Balogun, 72 , retired in 2007

‘”I retired as a teacher in Mushin Local Government Area where I served for 35 years. I have been down with partial paralysed of my right side for years and I was assisted to partake in this prayer programme despite my physical challenge because I have not been paid my gratuity since I retired. I do not have money to take a good care of myself. I don’t know why government is treating us this way; maybe they forget that the position they are occupying is temporary and we will all give account of our activities while on earth”.

“Since 2009 when I retired, I have not

Since 2009 when I retired, I have not received my gratuity. Some pension staff even asked me to bring 10 per cent for them to help me stead of allowing us to suffer to death after serving the state. They should remember that when a nursing mother is not at home, it was somebody that took care of the baby. We have exhausted our patience. Commissioners will come and tell us same story which we have been hearing for the past three years”.

Some of the senior citizens narrated their woes and how they had been coping with life after serving government, many of them for 35 years.

I was short paid by government officials - Mrs Eluaju Chika

“I retired in 2001 from the teaching

received my gratuity. Some pension staff even asked me to bring 10 per cent for them to help me. Where will I get such money from? I don’t have accommodation since my house in Somolu was demolished. I am presently squatting with a family member. I am begging Governor Fashola to compel them to pay my gratuity and other benefits. I served this state with black hair, is it fair that I am suffering now when I am supposed to be eating the fruit of my labour? My gratuity is only a peanut because I retired as a non-teaching staff; government should have mercy and pay our money”.

Mr Jimoh Balogun

Mr. Quadri Abdullahi

SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 4, 2013, PAGE 45

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Staff seek enabling law, governing council for French Village

BY ADEOLA ADENUGA

Gov Uduaghan...delivering health care

UDU AGHAN: Ho w a go UDUA How govv is using healthcare tto o combat po ty povver erty

BY EJIRO IDAMA

T

he healthcare portfolio of Delta State has witnessed a steady and upward boost since its inception on August 27, 1991.

The progress recorded in the healthcare sector in the past 22 years, especially since 1999, can be described as phenomenon.

The sector, however, witnessed fundamental policy engineering under the administration of Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan which further enhanced healthcare delivery in the state. Today, Delta stands out as one of the healthcare conscious states in the federation on account of the accessibility of healthcare facilities to its citizens both in the urban and rural areas.

Delta State, pursuant to one of the Uduaghan administration’s three-point agenda of human capital development, was the first among the 36 states of the federation to introduce and successfully implement the free maternal health care and the free rural scheme now being studied for implementation by some other states.

This is in keeping with the millenium goals.

Delta State today boasts of six Central Hospitals, one General Hospital each in the 25 local government areas of the state, and comprehensive health centres spread across the states as well as primary health centres in almost every community. It also has a world class Oghara University Teaching Hospital.

To ensure adequate manpower for the sector, government under the Uduaghan administration has established some nursing and midwifery schools as well as schools of health technology across the three senatorial districts of the state.

In icing the cake of its health care policies, the Uduaghan administration introduced the free rural health programme which ensures that health care delivery (men, materials and accessories) are moved from one rural area to another, dispensing quality healthcare service, covering all ailments, including surgeries.

Evidence of the success of the Delta government healthcare programme comes from the testimonies of those it has impacted the most.

Ogechukwu Monye, 24, from Ibusa, in Oshimili North local government area, regained her sight after she was treated by the medical team on the rural health programme. After the treat-

ment, she said, “As you can see me now, I can see with both eyes. I am short of words to express my sincere gratitude to the state, our governor, Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan, for making it possible for me to see again and for saving the lives of many people like me”.

Another example is the case of an-85-year-old farmer, Mr. Raphael Enebeli, from Emuhu in Ika South local government area. He was successfully operated of cataract and hernia. Enebeli said, “My family will forever remain grateful to Governor Uduaghan for saving lives. May God continue to guide him and protect him as he pilots the affairs of the state”.

Another beneficiary, Mrs Mary Igbiwie, 42, from Kolokolo, Warri North local government area said, “I was married for many years but could not bear children due to fibroid. I had no money to go for the surgery. I managed to get pregnant after a long time but since I had my child 11 years ago, I could not conceive again. I was advised to go for surgery to enable me conceive again but could not afford N150,000 charged in a hospital in Benin-City, Edo State and N120,000 in another hospital in Warri.

“When I heard of the state free rural health scheme, I did not believe that such expensive surgery could be done free of charge. I finally encountered them at K wale. Initially I was afraid but the medical team calmed me down. They were very humane and kind hearted. The surgery was done successfully”.

Mrs. Rosemary Obuseh lived with fibroid due to her inability to afford N100,000, before the regime of free rural healthcare.

I was impressed with the explanation of Dr. Akpe Aghogho, a member of the medical team who revealed that over 60 persons had undergone surgeries at the Mobile Field Hospital between 2011 and 2013.

I agree with Mrs Esewezie, wife of the Ika South transition committee chairman, who observed that records showed that since the inception of this scheme mobidity and life expectancy have improved in Delta. Good life is here.

Overall, I want to say that Delta State under the watch of Uduaghan has established herself as a pace setter in the health sector through a sound and people oriented health policy. *Ejiro Idama lives in Asaba, Delta State.

Nigeria French Language Village teaching and nonteaching staff are demanding transparency in the choice of a new Director General as the incumbent Professor Samuel Aje, leaves office on July 31 after being in office since August 2003.

They also called for a governing council and an enabling law for the institution.

The staff oftentimes during the ten-year tenure of Aje, were at logger-heads with him on virtually all issues pertaining to the college, especially on the title of Director-General for the head of the school which the lecturer claimed is an anomaly in the Village, a part of the university system. And to stall any attempt by D-G to overstay his tenure, the staff want government to appoint an Acting Director since the process of appointing a new substantive one may take some time.

The absence of a governing council and enabling law, according to the staff, has also affected the administration of the Village. They called on government to urgently appoint a governing council and put in place an Act to legalize the institution established over twenty-five years ago.

Aje, however, told journalists in an interview: “ The choice of the title of Director General was approved by the Federal Ministry of Education”. He also denied any attempt to extend his tenure.

Oil marketer drags Kwara agency to court

BY DEMOLA AKINYEMI, ILORIN.

A chieftain of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria(IPMAN)in Kwara State, Alhaji Abdulkakeem Kunle Sanni, has dragged the State Signage and Advertising Agency (KWASSAA) before an Ilorin High Court over alleged destruction of his company’s property.

The businessman, according to the suit filed by his counsel, Dr Dauda Ariyoosu, claimed that officials of KWASSAA destroyed the signboard of his company SANRAB Ventures Limited along University of Ilorin Road, Ilorin despite the fact that he had paid the annual permit fee.

The plaintiff stated that officials of KWASSAA the day, May 22, 2013, they brought a letter of reminder,about four months to August 2013, the expiration date as indicated in the receipt KWASSAA earlier issued him, destroyed his signboard and carted it away. Sanni therefore sought declaration of the court that the destruction, removal and carting away of his sign board by the officials of KWASSAA is illegal, bizarre and unconstitutional and constitutes a gross violation and or infringement of his right to own property. He sought another order compelling the defendants to restore the signboard.

The petrol marketer further sought declaration from the court that Kwara State government has no power to enact any law for the control and regulation of outdoor advertising,hoarding signnage and signage structures.

He demanded N100m as general and exemplary damages.

Counsel to the defendants, M.A.I. Akande, said he was not prepared for the commencement of the suit and sought adjournment to enable him file his client’s response. Justice Mahmud Gafar adjourned the case to July 24, for hearing.

Welders tasked on members welfare

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HE Izon Ebe Welders/Fitters Association Ogbo of Nigeria, Zone C, Delta State chapter, has been charged to work toward the gainful employment of its members.

Comrade David Itiemogha, National President of the Association made this charge during the inauguration of an eight-man executive in Warri to run the affairs of the body for the next four years with a mandate to make the welfare of its members paramount and ensure unalloyed loyalty to the national body.

Some of the newly inaugurated members included; Comrade Isaac Ebifogha, Chairman; Comrade Ebi Brian Iseru, Vice Chairman; Comrade Frank Adokeme, Secretary General; Comrade Misoro Austine, Assistant Secretary.

Others are Comrade Oti Ighosuehe, Financial Secretary; Comrade Johnbull Ebimiene, Treasurer; Comrade Tissa Mitini, Public Relations Officer, and Comrade Francis Ebbel as Provost Newly sworn in Chairman, Comrade Isaac Ebifogha in his acceptance speech, said: “On behalf of the new executive, I heartily express our joy at the bold and gallant effort you put in to ensure that our emergence was smooth. We will work to enthrone peace with the oil companies in the state as we expect mutual cooperation and understanding from them.

PAGE 46—SUNDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 4, 2013

SURE-P: The stop-gap employment option for vulnerable persons, by Emeka Wogu, Labour Minister *‘2,000 more jobs to be created’

What is the reason behind the tour?

HE purpose of my visit is to sensitize the public on what we aredoing to fufil the promise of President Goodluck Jonathan to Nigerians to use part of his savings from the partial removal of oil subsidy to cushion the effect of that policy. The President promised to deliver this promise through the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme, SURE-P, of which the Community Service, Women and Youth Employment, CSWYE, project is a subcomponent under the Social Safety Net Programme, SSNP. We are also trying to explore areas of possible partnerships between the federal, state and local governments on the CSWYE project in tackling the hydra-headed problems of unemployment. We also want to see how it is impacting positively on the people in their communities, see and seek further involvement of our royal fathers, the traditional rulers.

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What is CSWYE project of SURE-P all about?

This project is aimed at providing stop-gap employment opportunities to women, youths and other vulnerable persons, including people with disabilities, in their various communities. It was designed with unique features that ensure direct impact on these members of the society, who form the majority of the poor, unskilled and unemployed Nigerians, by transferring parts of the wealth saved from the partial removal of oil subsidy directly to them seamlessly, thereby empowering them economically. The programme is a social security intervention by the Federal Government,

A crucial aspect of the budget is the need for the payment of stipends and running cost in each of the 36 offices of the CSWYE aspect of the SURE-P including the FCT

the first if its kind in the history of the country.

You have inspected some of the project sites and you met some of the beneficiaries of the CSWYE project. Has it been in the zone?

In the North-west, what we gathered at the stakeholders forum shows that a lot has been done in the zone. You know we did not go to the whole zone, rather we had representatives from each of the states there coming to Kaduna. But we had full attendance from Kaduna State of the beneficiaries. In Kaduna State, we had approximately 3,000 people who have benefitted attending the forum. Before the stakeholders forum, I was taken to the work sites though I could not go to all the work sites because there are more than a hundred and sixty of them. I could see people doing what they are supposed to do there. So, reasonably, even on the sites that were completed, the visuals we saw showed that they had done ninety per cent of the work. In terms of the obligations of government to the beneficiaries, we have paid them up to June 2013, that is the stipends that are supposed to be paid and the tools that are supposed to be given. I am

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Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, was the head of Federal Government delegation comprising three other ministers and representatives of five other ministers on a sensitization and appraisal visit as well as tour of project sites in Kaduna and the Northwest Zone on the Community Services, Women and Youths Employment, CSWYE, project of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme, SURE-P. In this interview, Wogu speaks on the assessment.

Excerpts:

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BY VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG

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Emeka Wogu....I will rate it as highly successful came up to improve on what we would do in other geopolitical zones.

Some of them have complained of inadequate tools?

Those complaints, we have noted them and you know these tools are not tools that are

There were a lot of areas that were put across to the National Assembly for amendment so that governance will continue to run smoothly. This aspect of SURE-P is part of it

highly impressed; I am equally highly impressed with the feedback we are getting.

Even the criticism from some of the beneficiaries, we are looking at it, because that is the essence of this sensitization and appraisal tour of all the geo-political zones. The outing here, I will rate it as highly successful.

It is an improvement on what we saw in the South-south. I think as we progress to the other zones, we will see more improvements. The number of complaints is reducing because we have a handsome approach to issues. Soon, I and my colleagues in the interministerial committee would look at some of the issues that

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supposed to last forever. So, it depends on handling. Some could be careless with the handling of the tools; you don’t expect them to last for a long time. Most of the complaints we got concern the replacement of the ones that got spoilt.

What you are doing to accommodate youths who still want to be involved?

You could see at a point when I was talking, the beneficiaries went wild jubilating; they were shouting “mungode! mungode!!” (thank you) to Mr. President for putting this in place and that if this thing has not been put in place, most of them would still have

remained unemployed. In fact, they were so happy, coming at the time of fasting when you expect them to be weak. They asked for more and we are going to address the issue.

2,000 more people are going to be engaged all over the country. But the message is clear that government has done well, but that we should equally open it up so that more people will be engaged.

How sustainable is the programme?

This is a programme that has to be sustained as far as we keep receiving budgetary allocation from the National Assembly as appropriated. We would make estimates of what it would take us to continue the project. So, the rest depends on legislative approvals.

Still on sustainability, what was required for the year is about N20 billion. But, so far, it is said that only N5 billion has been released. Is this not affecting the implementation of the programme?

Let me put the record straight. There are a lot of figures that have been brandished about in the public.

Actually, we asked for an approximately N28 billion in the estimate that went to the National Assembly, N9 billion was appropriated. That shows that there is a deficit of about N18 billion. A crucial aspect of the budget is the need for the payment of stipends and running cost in each of the 36 offices of the CSWYE aspect of the SURE-P including the FCT. The amendment proposal to the Appropriation Act by the

National Assembly which was sent by Mr. President included that of augmentation and completion of what was budgeted for SURE-P and other aspects. There were a lot of areas that were put across to the National Assembly for amendment so that governance will continue to run smoothly. This aspect of SURE-P is part of it. So, you can see that there is a huge deficit between what we proposed as estimates and what was appropriated. It is not a question of releases now, it is a question of inadequate budgeting appropriation for the project.

What is your message to the beneficiaries and those yet to benefit?

From what I gathered, they are saying that they are supporting Mr. President and the transformation agenda and we say for Mr. President to have given them this opportunity to be engaged, we expect a reciprocal attitude to the project and to what Mr. President has done, by being law abiding citizens, keeping away from crime, shuning violence and remaining focused and government will continue to support them in whatever way we can through this process of social safety net.

How do you rate the involvement of traditional rulers?

There was a large turnout of different levels of traditional institutions because I understand that in this part of the country, there are stratifications, Grade One, Grade Two or Grade A or Grade B. You could see everybody turning out, the impression, and from the statements of the representatives of the Emirs, the traditional institutions that spoke, you can see that they are overwhelmingly supporting this programme.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 4, 2013, PAGE 47

BY JONAH NWOKPOKU

R

AIL transport all over the world has played vital roles in public transportation. It’s most attractive advantage is the ability to move large volumes of goods and passengers to far distances. As a result, the developed economies of the world rely extensively on it.

It was to meet similar objective of economic development that the government, through the 1955 Railway Act, established the Nigeria Railway Corporation, NRC, to run the railway to foster economic development through effective transportation, especially the movement of goods from the rural areas to the urban centers and vice versa.

Throughout the remaining colonial days and shortly after independence, the corporation tried to meet this objective. But this was not to continue as corruption set in and crippled the sector. The corporation went into bankruptcy. By the time the administration of Sani Abacha tried to revive the sector, it had become comatose.

The regime invested about $500 million, but this proved inadequate to bring the railway back. When the state transited to civil rule in 1999, former President Olusegun Obasanjo embarked on another attempt to revive the railway. His administration invested huge sums of money in the rehabilitation effort, but the trains could still not return to the tracks.

When the late President Yar Adua came into power in 2007, he also pledged his administration’s commitment to the rehabilitation of the sector. His government increased budgetary allocations to the sector while his successor, President Goodluck Jonathan, is making attempts to revitalise the railway.

Jonathan’s efforts saw the rehabilitation of the Lagos to Kano 1,126 km rail line that brought the trains back in December 2012. This was about thirty years after NRC grounded such major operations.

But it was not long the challenges returned and poor service delivery because the order of the day. Rolling stocks were inadequate and overwhelming demand led to congestion. With inadequate manpower, the ticketing process was infiltrated by touts and journeys by the trains marred by delays and stoppages.

The NRC assessed the situation and came to the reality that the resources overcome the challenges are huge for government alone to provide. Managing Director of NRC, Engr. Adeseyi Sijuade, alluded to this when he said the authorities had come to the realization that the corporation could no longer cope with the challenge of transforming the sector alone, especially as it targets a 25-year strategic goal of making the NRC a world-class transport organisation providing safe, efficient, affordable, reliable, widely linked network and customer oriented service. He said the corporation was therefore proposing a public, private partnership for the railway.

At the launch of this initiative in Lagos, Sijuade said, “It has dawned on us that NRC alone can no longer handle the enormous challenge of revolutionising the sector, having suffered long years of neglect. So it has become expedient to involve the private sector if we ever intend to meet our objective of attaining a worldclass rail service.”

“Our strategic direction now is PPP as the way forward. We have reached a point where it has become so glaring that primary funding from government alone cannot take us to where we need to be,” he added.

Under this new arrangement, private individuals will be granted access to run some of the vital aspects of the railway while the corporation retains its regulatory power over facilities and the activities of the private operators. Already, the corporation is outsourcing some of its services like on-board cleaning, cleaning of major train stations and on-board

Can PPP save the Railway?

A train catering.

It has also commenced the procurement process for selecting potential logistics service providers in the areas of design, building, operation, and transfer, DBMOT of warehousing to provide suitable, safe and secure storage space for goods; finance, supply and operation of modern facilities and provision of services for loading and offloading of goods; finance, supply in joint management with NRC, railway coaches to enhance freight haulage capacity.

The corporation is also considering concessioning. The corporation has finalized the presentation of OBC for Western and Eastern lines concessions and is moving to the next stage of selecting

transaction advisor.

The implication of this initiative, according to the NRC boss, “is that the authorities are opening railway arms for investors in the sector while awaiting the approval of the new railway bill that will broaden the scope of the PPP initiative and make for the total transformation of the sector.”

But will the PPP really save the Nigeria Railway?, Olubodun Kolawale, an industrialist and Managing Director, Golden Kay Ventures, says, “Yes, it is a welcome development. This is what we have been agitating for because there is no way we would ever hope to achieve efficient rail service in Nigeria without involving the private sector. On his part, Mustapha

Abdulazeez, an electrical engineer with Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, says the initiative would solve a lot of service delivery issues having traveled through the railway upon rehabilitation and had rough experience.

“I believe this initiative would save the railway. The arrangement would help to solve lots of service delivery issues.

Governments especially in Nigeria have never got it right when it comes to the management of such ventures. And you can imagine the economic boom we shall see in that sector if this arrangement is given a chance. It will be like what we currently have in the telecommunication sector,” he adds.

Okechukwu Ezeanya, a business man, believes the initiative is good but expresses concern about the transparency of its execution.

“This is the wisest decision ever taken by any government agency. But I want them to make the process transparent so that the objective would see the light of day”.

Further explaining the rationale behind the decision, Sijuade notes, “Right now, wise government ministries, agencies and corporations are channeling their energy towards private sector participation and, to me, we are ripe enough for that.

“NRC has a 25-year strategic plan of system transition and modernization. With this plan, we expect the railway to stabilize by 2017. We want to make rail a major mover of freights in this country and link all International airports, seaports and inland container depots to the rail network”.

This course of action may be the last option for the transformation of the rail sector but successful implementation requires support from government and all Nigerians in order to achieve the goal of an efficient and globally competitive railway service.

Customs intercepts offensive items in Oyo

BY UDEME CLEMENT

T

WO months after mindboggling seizures of 56,750 rounds of live ammunition, Oyo/Osun Command of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intercepted 181 prohibited goods, even as the Command revealed a new trend of smuggling contraband items into the country with a vehicle designed to convey frozen products for cold-room operations.

When Sunday Vanguard visited the Command, what could be described as a harvest of textile materials was seen in various compartments in the warehouse, along with over eight vehicles loaded with assorted textile materials. While some textile materials were packed in vehicles used to convey them, others were displayed in the open. Spectacular among the textile seizures was a 20-footer truck designed for frozen products business, loaded with 213 belts of African prints, and each belt has 600 yards of the material.

It was also observed that the warehouse, was filled to capacity with seizures like used tyres, vegetable oil, rice, shoes, imported vine among numerous prohibited items. The prohibited goods were so many that a workshop within the office premises was converted to a temporary warehouse for seized goods, as more seizures were still coming in during the visit.

The Command also arrested three

suspected smugglers, in connection with the seizures and has commenced investigation into the case. Our investigations revealed that the Customs Area Controller (CAC) of the Command and his team are focusing on strategic locations like Bakatari, Saki, Kchi, Aiyegun and other volatiles places within the state, where smugglers use as frequent routes for economic sabotage.

The CAC, Deputy Comptroller, Oteri Richard, said, “Our primary duty is to protect our economic environment and that is exactly what we are doing and must not relent, because smuggling is not healthy for the local industries. I reiterate our determination in anti-

smuggling operations in order to reduce smuggling to the barest minimum in the state. The Command within few months made a total of 181 seizures with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N315.1million. This comprises of assorted fairly used cars, trucks and buses loaded with prohibited items. Comparatively, in 2012, between the months of April and July, a total of 399 vehicles were brought for duty payment, while within the same period in 2013, duty was paid on 636 vehicles, which shows an increase of almost 50 percent. A total of 3,263 bags of rice were also intercepted within the short period under review, with a DPV of N49.3million.”

DC Oteri Richard (right), displaying the seizure made by the Customs command.

PAGE 48—SUNDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 4, 2013

Pursuing zero tolerance for corruption in corporate Nigeria I

T is no longer enough for multinational corporations to be profitable. They are also expected to be good corporate citizens, engage in ethical business, demonstrate sound corporate governance practices and care for the environment.

Profitability combined with adherence to the codes of corporate governance, corporate social responsibility and care for the environment are becoming important yardsticks for measuring business success around the globe.

These codes, most especially sound corporate governance and ethical business practices are becoming imperative for multinational corporations doing business in Nigeria, a challenging environment with tainted public sector institutions that wield enormous powers and resources.

In the last decade since the bankruptcy of Enron in 2001, and the more recent United States of America subprime mortgage crisis which wrecked many businesses, leaders of thought and regulatory bodies in Nigeria have been strident in their calls for ethical business practices and adherence to good corporate governance principles.

This led to the establishment of the business integrity movement and the subsequent birthing of the Convention on

Business Integrity (CBi) with the support of leaders of thought like Dr. Christopher Kolade, Dr. Michael Omolayole, Mr. Akintola Williams, and Prof. Pat Utomi, among others. CBi was established to promote ethical business practices, transparency and fair competition in the private and public sectors.

Living up to its billing, the business integrity movement has since won converts among illustrious Nigerians and institutions. Guinness Nigeria Plc., Access Bank, GTBank, MTN Nigeria Communications Limited, BusinessDay Media Limited, and SAP Nigeria, among others are signatories to its Code of Business Integrity which aims to move the Nigerian business community towards a state of visible zero tolerance for corruption.

To further engage business leaders in Nigeria on the need to imbibe sound corporate governance principles and ethical business practices, CBi instituted the Christopher Kolade Annual Lecture on Business Integrity in honour of its chairman, Dr. Christoper Kolade, who celebrated his eightieth birthday earlier in the year. Apart from serving as a strong platform for discourse and celebrating Dr. Kolade’s exemplary life of integrity in private and public office, the maiden lecture in the series also celebrated past and present display of exemplary

More tales out of Lagos L

AST week, I drew the attention of readers of the “Orbit” to theunconstitutional action of the Lagos state government in deporting sixty-seven Nigerians to Onitsha. That action in my view marks the lowest point, since the end of the Nigerian civil war, in the effort at nation-building. The Lagos state government under the ACN Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, seems to be highly charged and fueled by a strange form of paranoid xenophobia; a need to cleanse the streets of Lagos of “strangers.”

These “strangers” amount to no more than scum in the serious, executive minds at work in Lagos. They are dangerous foreign bodies; vermin sucking out the lifeblood of Lagos. That is what we have been told, and that is why you hear the word “nuisance” frequently thrown about in justification for their forced removal to Onitsha. The most cynical of these statements contend that the Lagos State government had merely “rehabilitated and resettled” these deportees by “reuniting” them with their families. Various official and unofficial spokesmen have been pressed to the service of the Lagos State government to retail this bogus doctrine, among them, Joe Igbokwe: engineer, businessman, politician and spokesman for the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the political party in power in Lagos, and under whose government this policy of deportation is now perfected and taking shape. Joe Igbokwe certainly knows where his bread is buttered and he wrote this past week in glib praise of Lagos as a welcoming and tolerant place under a “detribalized” Governor Fashola; a place where every graduate to higher callings runs to for jobs at graduation, and where he has been resident himself since 1986, apparently very satisfied picking his crumbs.Until Joe wrote, I had no inkling of the more sinister side to this development – that “deportation and resettlement” is a cardinal policy of

the ACN as a political party and that it is considered humane. Hell, no! Joe: Lagos is neither welcoming nor tolerant of the over two hundred street beggars transported to the North in 2009 and the sixty-seven sent to Onitsha in 2013, among them, a hardworking and legitimate trader, picked up arbitrarily by Fashola’s brownshirts, on his way to his shop in December 2012. It was no “resettlement and rehabilitation,” it was a forced march at 2 a.m. out of Lagos. How on earth do you “reunite” people with their families by dropping them in darkness after the Onitsha Bridge? The Lagos State government should be made to bear the burden of emotional injury suffered by this poor folk made unwelcome in their own land. If indeed the government of Lagos state were about “ rehabilitation and resettlement,” it would be talking about establishing soup kitchens, group homes, half-way homes; accessible housing for the disabled, and transitional facilities for the city’s homeless, as well as serious modern mental health programs in cases that demand it and a serious process of reintegration into the social and productive fabric of the city; all aimed at re-dignifying the city poor, beyond the crude disregard of their human rights. That is what civilized societies do. That is part of the reason citizens pay tax too. But the Lagos program of deportation seems clearly driven by a dangerous impulse. It is the kind of impulse that might sooner, if unchecked, lead to the introduction of the “pass” – government assigned papers to determine who is “indigenous” and who is an “alien” in Lagos, and who thus gets what, lives where, does what, and has what in Lagos.What Lagos is doing is certainly nothing more than cleansing the ethnic poor, and it does seem obvious to any discerning mind who the real targets are at this point. I am guided to this thinking by another development which must be

leadership in business and public life.

Lead sponsor of the inaugural lecture was Guinness Nigeria Plc, a Diageo company, with reputation for commitment to the highest standards of corporate governance and ethical business practice. Guinness Nigeria was awarded the Great Place to Work in Nigeria in 2012, while its parent company, Diageo Plc was also the most admired company in the United Kingdom during the same period, affirming the corporation’s reputation for doing good business in markets in which it operates.

Reiterating this at the 1st Christopher Kolade Lecture on Business Integrity, Mr. Seni Adetu, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Guinness Nigeria said “At the core of our business and our values is the commitment to be one of the world’s most respected companies with a reputation of integrity, fairness and trustworthiness. At Guinness Nigeria, we have a vision to be the most iconic company in Nigeria, and we recognise that we would not achieve that by just delivering strong financials or by engaging our people for optimum performance, but also by our reputation in shaping the ethical destiny of Nigeria.”

Irrespective of size and operations, Adetu advised entrepreneurs and business leaders in the country to emulate the Guinness Nigeria model by embedding codes, brought to the glare of public scrutiny: a piece of news last week in the Sun newspaper tells the story very succinctly with its headline: “Igbo Traders asked to Accept Yoruba Leadership or Leave.” It is the unfolding story of the Ladipo Automotive Spare Parts Market in Mushin.

There the mostly Igbo traders in the market have continued to resist the imposition of Alhaji Oladotun Abibu-Oki as the leader of the Market. Abibu-Oki claims to have been “installed” as the “Baba Oloja” – that is “royal father of the market” crudely translated, by the late Alhaja Abibat Mogaji, the late mother of former governor Tinubu, and former “IyaOloja” of Lagos. We note duly that Tinubu’s daughter is now, we are told, the new IyaOloja of Lagos, appointed by her father on behalf of the Lagos State government, in the place of her grandma. So, with this imprimatur, Abibu-Oki claims leadership of the Ladipo spare parts market. But the Igbo traders will have none of that. In fact, a leader of the market, Chief Nwosu did

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BY PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU

No elected government should treat hardworking citizens demanding their rights like war criminals

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say very clearly, “99% of the traders at Ladipo Market are Igbo. To be fair to all, he (Abibu-Oki) should come and contest; if elected he will be accepted.” It is a fair and reasonable demand. But what does the Lagos State government do? “They asked us to go back to our villages if we are not ready to accept the leadership of Alhaji Oki…we pay our taxes in Lagos and we have every right as Nigerians to buy and sell anywhere in the state.” What is at stake really is the clash of values: one is essentially monarchical and closed, the other is open and democratic; one values governance by conclave and patronage, the other values transparency, equal opportunity anda freedom of choice.In a way, it might prove providential afterall, that Lagos in its program of deportation and selective harassment brings to the forefront the constitutional debates about democracy, federalism, citizenship and

processes and structures that promote ethical practice and good corporate governance in their operating models.

According to Mr. Adetu, there are internal codes, processes and structures embedded in every Diageo business which ensures ethical business practice and sound corporate governance by employees, management and board of directors. For instance, he disclosed that employees of Guinness Nigeria are guided by the Diageo Code of Business Conduct which is adhered to by all Diageo employees in about 180 countries. This ensures that Guinness Nigeria employees always act lawfully and with integrity at all times.

Highlighting the benefits of ethical business practice and sound corporate governance principles, Mr. Adetu said it is the reason first generation Nigerian CEOs like Dr. Christopher Kolade, Michael Omolayole and Akintola Williams are celebrated as role models and mentors by the present generation of business leaders in Nigeria.

“The exemplary life of integrity led by Dr. Christopher Kolade, Dr. Michael Omolayole and Mr. Akintola Williams, during their careers in private and public service is the reason they are admired, loved, respected and often cited as role models and mentors by the present generation of business leaders in Nigeria.

It is integrity and the ability to uphold sound corporate governance principles that transformed them into national icons, and birthed the Convention on Business Integrity to which multinational corporations and homegrown blue chips doing business in Nigeria are proudly associated,” Adetu said.

In his remarks, Dr. Christopher Kolade noted that corruption is more difficult to fight today than when they fought it during the military era.

He said: “Today, the struggle is more bitter than it was during the military era.

The people you are trying to fight over corruption are the same people that claim to be fighting corruption. But there is no way we can fight it if we do not realise that it is a real fight.” nationhood. To a certain category of politicians, all the talk about “true federalism” is nothing more than revanchism and crude nativism, all of which have no place in a modern national republic such as Nigeria. Igbo traders in Lagos have been intimidated and serially harassed by the Lagos State government.

They have borne the brunt of selective ethnic humiliations. A most telling picture that circulated worldwide recently is of Igbo traders in Ladipo forced under arms to lie on dirt at Ladipo market by government agents. No elected government should treat hardworking citizens demanding their rights like war criminals.The two events – the deportation to Onitsha and the harassment of Igbo shopkeepers in Ladipo – seem too closely tied to be ignored. The Igbo traders in Ladipo insist on democratic choice. What they lack is adequate representation. No one speaks for them in the State Assembly or in the Executive chambers at Alausa.

But there must be no taxation without representation. These traders and their allied interests are in part to blame also.

They have thus far failed to effectively use their power reserve. In legal theory we say, “Equity protects the vigilant.” Since the end of the civil war in 1970, the Igbo and various minorities in Lagos have been wallflowers in the political landscape in Lagos, and Lagos has been run like an ethnic patronage system in spite of its breathtaking diversity. Moreover, the “indigenous” poor have also been left out of the so called prosperity train in Lagos, and have been recruited mostly as “Area boys” to harass other poor Nigerians out of Lagos. Enough of whingeing – all those who feel their interests not fully and adequately protected at Alausa must organize and use every means necessary – legal methods, defiance campaigns, street protests,petitions, and other countermeasures to seek the protection of government. The Igbo in Lagos must rise and participate fully in municipal and statewide elections in Lagos. They must vote with their wallets. Resist taxation without benefits. Organize, raise funds, and back their own candidates who must speak for them as clear stakeholders in the affairs of Lagos.The Nigerian constitution fundamentally guarantees citizenship over indigenous rights. This must be made consistently clear.

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SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 4, 2013, PAGE 59 sameyoboka@yahoo.com

08023145567 (sms only)

CCC UNIFICATION:

Opaleye committee proffers solution

By OLAYINKA LATONA HE 33-member unification committee set up in July 2010 to bring all the fashions of Celestial Church of Christ, CCC under one umbrella, have submitted its report with recommendations that would hopefully transform the church to become forward looking and give hope through which to draw nearer God. Addressing newsmen in Lagos, chairman of the unification committee, Major General Ekundayo Opaleye (rtd), emphasized the need for prudent leadership with improved financial manage-ment to promote accounta-bility and transparency to address popular concerns.

The leadership tussle tear-ing the Celestial Church apart dated back to 1985 when the founder, Rev. S.B.J. Oshoffa over the remission of two third of all collections for the pastor, leaving only one third for the maintenance of the church. The crisis got to a head when some leaders had take the case to the Pre-sidency, seeking for a quick intervention, with a view to keeping the crisis-rocked spiritual church united.

Speaking at the media parley

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L-R: Member, Celestial Church of Christ (CCC), Unification Committee, Most Venerable Evangelist Josiah Ifelaja; Sup. Evangelist Paul Jaiyeola; Committee Chairman, Most Venerable Ekundayo Opaleye and Sup. Evangelist Fredrick Nana, at a press conference at Celestial Church of Christ, Makoko, Yaba, Lagos. on Thursday, Opaleye said: “A proposal to improve financial management to promote accountability and transparency was advised to address popular concerns. A unique model of sound ecclesiastic administration and equitable remuneration that would .serve the pecu-liarities of

the church has been proffered.

“Our considerations upheld the tenets and liturgy of the church; adequate provisions have been suggested to eradicate abuse of church liturgy; issue of welfare of all members of the church was given adequate attention and appropriate recommendations were made.”

Continuing, the former Ondo State military governor, said his committee was not unmindful of the importance of education and the equipping of all members of the church to ensure best practices in playing roles assigned, believing that human capital development is adequate panacea for growth, not forgetting social corporate responsibility, making greater social impact within the community.

He commended the elders of the church, to whom the recommendations have been made, for their avowed commitment to ensure the emergence of a united, virile and spirit filled Celestial Church of Christ during their lifetime by inaugurating a unification committee to unite all the fashions of the church.

According to him, this committee comprising men and women of proven integrity commenced work on August 12, 2010 at Celestial Church of Christ, Makoko, Lagos and there have been serious deliberations amongst members and robust consultation with many interested groups within the church.

Bishop urges FG to end ASUU strike

By CALEB ANYANISA

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BUJA - The Bishop of Kubwa Diocese, An glican Communion, Rt Rev. Duke Akamisoko, has charged the Federal Government to immediately resolve the issues concerning the strike of the Academic Staff Union of the University (ASUU).

Akamisoko, who gave the charge in a communique issued at the end of the Second Session of the Second Synod of the Diocese, held in Abuja, said this had become necessary in the interest of children and the collective future of the nation.

The bishop commended the efforts of President Goodluck Jonathan in widening the admission space for Tertiary Education by establishing 13 more Federal universities spread across the country since his assumption of office.

The communique further observed that "the recent revelation by the Minister of Power that about 120 million Nigerians are without access to power is rather embarrassing for a nation that is at the verge of celebrating 100 years of her corporate existence". The Synod also urged all stakeholders in the amendment of the 1999 Constitution to make it truly a "We, the people of Nigeria" document.

RCCG flags off 61st annual convention

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HE sprawling Redemption City along the LagosIbadan Expressway has again

By SAM EYOBOKA and OLAYINKA LATONA come alive bubbling with excitement and vibrancy as it

prepares to host the 61 st edition of the Redeemed Christian Church of God’s annual convention which

begins tomorrow with the ordination of deacons and deaconesses.

The Camp is said to be a

manifestation of a prophecy uttered by the General Overseer himself when he was staying in a one-room apartment given to him by the late founder of the church, Rev. Josiah Akindayomi several years ago, when he declared that his Daddy (God Almighty) would give him a city to the bewilderment of the elders who were praying for a flat or at best a bungalow.

Today, even the adjoining villages in what used to be a den of armed robbers, have been incorporated into what is now regarded as a Redemption City. There is no place as peaceful and secure as the Redemption Camp, the authorities of the church say.

Writing in The New York Times, Andrew Rice once described the Redeemed Christian Church of God “one of (Africa’s) most vigorously expansionary religious movements, a homegrown Pentecostal denomination that is crusading to become a global faith”.

Tomorrow, thousands of church members, friends, relations and well wishers of those to be ordained deacons and deaconesses will join Continued on Page 60

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WAS invited to conduct a 10-day teaching programme at a church in Lagos. Out of the blue, at the beginning of the session, the Lord asked me to lead the congregation in singing a popular Christian song. This continued every day for the first five days of the programme.

Each day, the Lord gave me a song that pertained to the topic at hand. However, every song He gave me turned out to be based on a misunderstanding of the word of God. He would then require me to explain to my audience that the song-writer was not schooled in kingdom dynamics.

Whose report?

The very first song He asked me to sing was given a major boost by the gospel singer, Ron Kenoly. It is entitled: Whose report will you believe? It goes something like this: “Whose report will you believe?

We shall believe the report of the Lord. His report says I am healed.

His report says victory.”

You may well ask what could possibly be wrong with this song. Does the report of the Lord not say we are healed, according to the words of the songwriter? No, it does not! Isaiah says: “By his stripes we are healed.”

(Isaiah 53:5). He does not say: “By his stripes we have been healed.”

Isaiah’s report is actually that we are still terribly sick. He kicks off his ministry with this negative diagnosis: “The whole head is sick, and

CHRISTIAN WISHFUL-THINKING the whole heart faints.

From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores.” (Isaiah 1:5-6).

Indeed, the report of the Lord does not only say we are sick, it also maintains we will not be healed. Isaiah says our wounds and sores have “ not been closed or bound up or soothed with ointment.” (Isaiah 1:6).

Jeremiah concurs: “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved! For the hurt of the daughter of my people I am hurt. I am mourning; astonishment has taken hold of me. Is there no balm in Gilead, is there no physician there? Why then is there no recovery for the health of the daughter of my people?” (Jeremiah 8:20-22).

In spite of Jesus’ healing ministry, the Jews remained unhealed.

Those healed in the body were not healed in the soul. John says: “Although (Jesus) had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” (John 12:37-

Since we are sick, confessing that we are healed is not going to heal us 38). As it was in the days of Isaiah and Jesus, so it is today.

Foolish Christians The report of the Lord says we are gravely sick and identifies Jesus as our healer. However, if we don’t admit we are sick, we cannot be healed. Indeed, if we don’t know we are sick, we would not even go to see the doctor. Accordingly, Jesus says: “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.” (John 9:39). If we don't admit we are sick, the question of our healing becomes merely academic.

The prophecy that we will not be healed is fulfilled because we continue to fool ourselves that “by his stripes we have been healed.”

Thus, God told Isaiah: “Tell my people this: ‘You will hear my words, but you will not understand. You will see what I do, but you will not

perceive its meaning.’

Harden the hearts of these people. Close their ears, and shut their eyes.

That way, they will not see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn to me for healing.” (Isaiah 6:9-10).

For this reason, Jesus would sometimes stand in front of a sick man and ask him: “What would you like me to do for you?” (Mark 10:51). If the man asked for healing, that would be acknowledgement that he agreed with the report that he was sick. Or Jesus might ask: “Would you like to be healed?”

(John 5:6). The question is not as impertinent as it might seem. Most sick people don’t want to be healed. Most sinners don’t want to be sinless.

The sickness or sin is a lifestyle.

If the man asked for healing, Jesus might then ask him: “Do you believe I am able to do this?” (Matthew 9:28).

We are back full circle here to the question of Isaiah. “Do you believe the report of Isaiah? Do

Ademowo: 'It's honourable to serve God'

By AKOMA CHINWEOKE

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EAN Church of Nigeria, (Anglican Communion), Most Rev. Ephraim Ademowo, has advised those at the leadership positions to shun pride and humble themselves in the discharge of their duties.

Ademowo made the call recently at the Catheral Church of Christ, Marina Lagos, during the induction of the president and admission of officers/ re-dedication of members of Lagos Anglican Diocesan Guild of Stewards, LADGOS. He urged members to remain steadfast in the service of God, adding that it is honourable to be a servant of God. "Let it remain in your memory that you are a servant. The very moment you shift from that, you have gotten it wrong. The concepts of humility and servive are interwined. So, from time to time, as servants of the the Lord, your watchword should be

humility, smile and dedication.

"You must be ready to give without counting the cost. The work you are doing is joyous and glorious and you must see it as such,” he stated.

Also speaking, newly in-

stalled president of LADGOS, Brother Olumuyiwa Adefope, explained that to pilot the affairs of the Guild efficiently requires the grace of God as it is a job that cannot be done with human knowledge alone.

“Guild, in itself, is aimed at

Bamidele speaks at RCCG Couples’ Night S part of activities marking its week, The Excellent Men’s Fellowship of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Soul Winners’ Cathedral, Lagos Province 32 has concluded plans to hold a couples’ dinner. The event is scheduled for August 25, 2013 at Golden Tulip Hotel, Lagos with a theme; “Conflict resolution in marriages and good parenting”.

Guest minister is Rev. Mike Bamidele, a highly sought after marriage minister whose

A

unique anointing has helped in the restoration of marriages and homes.

A statement by the fellowship chairman, Bro Chigozie Okwuosa, stressed the need to keep the marital flame burning and rekindle love amongst couples, adding that the couples’ dinner is conceived as an event where couples come together in a convivial atmosphere to unwind, interact and relax in the presence of God with music ministration and comedy.

you believe you are sick?

Do you believe I am Jesus the Messiah? Do you believe I can make you stop telling lies; make you stop fornicating; make you stop being covetous? Have you received the heart of a believer?”

Therefore, the mistake of the song-writer is in writing a wishful-thinking song, in direct contradiction of biblical prophecy. The prophecy says we are not healed but the song-writer says we are healed. Precisely because we sing songs claiming we are healed when we are actually chronically sick with sin, we are making sure we will not ask Jesus for healing. We are making sure we will remain sick.

We are making sure the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says we will not be healed.

The Lord’s hospital The church is a hospital. Imagine you walked into the General Hospital, only to find all the patients singing at the top of their lungs: “God’s report says we are healed.” After that, some took their last gasps and died. Others remained in hospital as sick as ever. Would you not

uniformity in all the churches.

We are now in uniform in our dress code and we are striving to ensure uniformity of conduct and behaviour in all the churches so that if you attend any Anglican service you are likely to have the same standard of conduct.

The event featured the pres-

have concluded you were in a psychiatric ward?

That is how we Christians fool ourselves today. Since we are sick, confessing that we are healed is not going to heal us. God says in Jeremiah: “You can't heal a wound by saying it's not there!” (Jeremiah 6:14).

That is why Isaiah says of Israel: “These people are stubborn rebels who refuse to pay any attention to the LORD's instructions. They tell the prophets, ‘Shut up! We don't want any more of your reports.’ They say, ‘Don't tell us the truth.

Tell us nice things. Tell us lies.’” (Isaiah 30:910).

This word is applicable to Christians today who are inclined to abuse and insult anyone who dares to identify the transgressions of the church. Instead, in the modern-day church-service, a gathering of pick-pockets, liars, cheats, fornicators, adulterers; in short, people in varying degrees of sin, jump up and down singing: “His report says we are healed.” Who are we fooling? The truth is that we are yet to be healed of sin. With the result that we come to church sick and go back home sick. In cases, we remain in the same sinsickness for 38 years, going from bad to worse.

(John 5:5).

Jesus says of our futile bible studies: “You search the Scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of me. But you are not willing to come to me that you may have life.”

(John 5:39-40).

entation of awards to distinguished friends of the Guild and other outstanding members of the group.

The awardees included Mr. Goodie Ibru, Dr. Olumide Philips, Chief Dele Fajemirokun, Mr. Tunde Afolabi and Barrister Chinedu Ebo.

RCCG flags off 61st annual confab Continued from Page 59 others from different parts of the world to begin a spiritual voyage.

The event is billed for the massive Holy Ghost Arena measuring about three kilometers by three kilometers and capable of accommodating an estimated crowd of six million persons during the peak celebration of the week long event.

For those who have not already booked their accommodation in the Camp for the week long event, accommodation is very tight, especially during major programmes at the Camp. For many people away from

Lagos, booking can be very challenging.

The programme with a theme; ‘Jesus’ will feature 10 plenary sessions; group seminars for youths, elders, children/teenagers, women forum as well as men forum; special events like House Fellowship leaders, ordination of ministers and graduation of Bible College and 10 special seminars tailored towards the main theme, ‘Jesus’.

General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adeboye had earlier cautioned non-serious Nigerians to stay away from the progrmme because it would be a moment for committed people ready to seek God's face.

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From left: Mr Amodu Shuaibu Ex. Super Eagles coach , Amb. & Mrs Wisdom Aminu, former Nigerian Ambassador to Ecowas and parent of bride, the High Chief & Mrs Raymond Dokpesi, Chairman of the occasion, the couple, Mr & Mrs Clement Onyia and Nze Marcus Onyia, parent of groom, during the wedding between Clement Chijioke Onyia and Chioma Aminu at Ogudu, Lagos. Photo By Diran Oshe.

From L-R: Head, Customer Relationship Management at INVESTMENT ONE; Sheila Onwughara, 1st runner up, MBGN 2013, Stephanie Okwu, winner, MBGN 2013, Anna Banner, Kemi Abili, Assistant Group Head, Wealth Management and Joseph Edgar, Group Head, Retail Marketing & Up Country at INVESTMENT ONE, during a courtesy visit by winners of Silverbird MBGN Pageant 2013.

APGA suspends Gov Okorocha over anti-party activities *Sacks Imo State chapter exco

BY CHRIS OCHAYI

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HE National Executive Committee, NEC, of All

Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, yesterday suspended Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, from the party for engaging in anti-party activities.

Rising from an emergency NEC meeting in Abuja, the party said NEC unanimously decided to dissolve the Imo State chapter of the party and a 21- man Committee will be appointed to oversee the party until a congress is held. ”The NEC unanimously resolved to suspend with immediate effect the governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, from the party, for gross anti-party activities, bordering on his involvement with the All Progressive Congress, APC, contrary to the clear provisions of the APGA constitution. ”The NEC also unanimously resolved to dissolve the Imo State executive committee of APGA with immediate effect. A 21-man caretaker committee shall be appointed to run the affairs of the party in Imo pending the conduct of state congress”, the statement said.

The party also approved the party’s electoral guidelines for the Anambra State governorship primary election for 2013 and afterwards adjourned its next siting to August 31, 2013.

The National Vice Chairman of APGA, South-West, Alhaji Tayo

Sowunmi, who read out the resolutions of the NEC meeting, said the party leaders discussed preparations for the Anambra gubernatorial election and approved guidelines for the exercise.

e n d .

Meanwhile, the former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Professor Charles Soludo and former Minister of State for Transportation, Chief Emeka

Okechukwu were among the 14 aspirants who collected and submitted their expression of interest form.

THE KANO MASSACRE

Govt, security agencies are culpabale — Ohanaeze

BY ABDULSALAM MOHAMMED

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RESIDENT of the Kano State Chapter of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Tobias Michael Idika, has alleged that high government officials and security agencies are benefitting from the terrorist acts by members of the Boko Haram in parts of the north and would therefore want the crisis to continue.

Chief Idika, who is also the President-General of leaders of ethnic communities resident in Kano State in an interview with Sunday Vanguard did not spare northern politicians as well as religious leaders and traditional rulers in what he described as blackmail to ensure the violent attacks do not come to an end.

According to him, “the Nigerian government has not shown sincerity in the fight against terrorism. So many people within the government and security agencies want this trend to continue because they are reaping from it. Who are the Boko Harams? Who are their sponsors?

The Federal Government has answers to these

SOLUTION

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Speaking shortly after the NEC meeting, National Chairman of APGA, Chief Victor Umeh, said the meeting was summoned to prove that the party’s crisis has come to an

questions, and if they mean it, these killers would be rounded up in a matter of minutes”.

Chief Idika who also blamed the northern leaders for the crisis said, “every right-

thinking Nigerian who witnesses the killing of innocent citizens must have reservations. I sense a high level of compromise, connivance and blackmail. Some northern politicians want these

killings to continue, using it as a bargain for power. What pains me so much is that they are hiding under the cloak of religion to perpetrate this evil.

Why five Northern governors are after Jonathan — Presidency Continued from page 1 political interest”.

According to the Presidency, the so-called consultations by the governors, which had not been authorised by any organ of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, or the Presidency, was a selfish political move aimed solely at distracting President Jonathan from his people-oriented programmes and heat up the polity, so as to give the erroneous impression that the country was on fire.

Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak, made the accusation in an exclusive interview with Sunday Vanguard – SEE FULL INTERVIEW ON PAGES 75 & 76.

The accusation by the Presidency notwithstanding, the governors, yesterday took their grievances against President Jonathan and the Tukur-led PDP, to former Vice President and founding member of the party, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, in Abuja.

Sunday Vanguard gathered that four out of the five governors - Sule Lamido, Murtala Nyako, Rabiu Kwankwaso and Aliyu Wamakko, met behind closed doors for several hours on Saturday with the former Vice President on what a source close to the governors described as a 'further consultation' with the founding fathers of the PDP. "We met with the former VP and explained our grievances to him as a member of the G34, which founded the PDP," one of the governors said, without

disclosing the details of their discussion.

The meeting with Ekwueme brought to five the number of top profile Nigerian leaders that the aggrieved governors had so far visited and explained their grievances to.

The Presidency, which initially spat fire over the action of the governors for their audacity to confront the President on issues relating to the PDP and the 2015 election, has however softpedaled and begged them to give peace a chance.

The Presidency which, though accused the five governors of having a hidden agenda against President Jonathan, also admonished them to desist from such antics in the interest of the

nation.

The Political Adviser also pleaded with the quintuplet to sheathe their sword and allow peace to reign in the land.

Gulak said, “I want to plead with the four or five governors from the north, who are trying to precipitate crisis to give peace a chance and spare the country avoidable trouble.

“They should realise that without peace none of them would be governors. They should subsume their interest. That is my plea to them”.

Reflecting on the current crisis in the ruling party culminating in predictions about Nigeria’s disintegration in 2015, Gulak stated that the nation would wax stronger rather than break up.

Nigeria never lacked manpower to move the country forward — IBB

BY WOLE MOSADOMI

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ORMER military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, has described Nigeria as a blessed country that never lacked people that can work tirelessly for its progress.

Gen. Babangida, who made this observation while receiving the Governing Board of National Examination Council, NECO, in his Hill Top mansion in Minna, stated that the present Board members of NECO have convinced Nigerians that the country has capable hands to turn around the fortunes of Nigeria’s education sector.

“What you are doing has

reinforced my belief in the educational system of the country. I am impressed by the performance of the new Board because to me, it has (some of) the best persons on Board. It is on record that you have engaged all stakeholders and this is the first time such a Board is trying to carry everybody along for the betterment of our education and this clearly shows that Nigeria never lacks people that will work for the Nation,” the former military president remarked.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Board, Dr. Paddy Njoku, said that the Examination body has repositioned itself to meet the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians.

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National President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists,NUJ, Garba Mohammed, (m) consoling the Lagos State chapter chairman,Deji Elumoye, (lying in bed) who was inolved in an auto crash along Ilesa-Ife bypass, Osu, Osun State, on their way from Abuja, Friday - three lives were lost. Photo by Dare Fasube

From left: The Lay President, Diocese of Lagos Methodist Church Nigeria and the perm sec. Lagos State motor vehicles administration authority, Otunba Morakinyo Hanson, with the Methodist Church World Council Representative in Palestine, Sister Jane Lahr Lewis, and the host Bishop, Rt. Revd. Isaac Ayo Olawuyi, at the Diocesan, 2013 Annual Synod, hosted by the Opebi Circuit, Ikeja, Lagos.

KEEP-FIT DISASTER

15 children crushed to death

BY TAYE OBATERU, Jos

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ifteen children aged between 12 and 16 years were yesterday crushed to death in Barkin-Ladi, Plateau State, by a commercial vehicle conveying maize to a nearby market.

Nine others were injured and have been hospitalized.

The children who were said to be members of the Boys and Girls Brigade of about three churches in the local government headquarters were on an early morning keep-fit exercise when the incident occurred.

It was gathered that the youths from three churches usually gather for the exercise by jogging to and from nearby villages but it was an unlucky day as a vehicle carrying maize from Bokkos lost control and ran into the children numbering about 40 killing the 15 instantly.

An eye witness told Sunday Vanguard that parents whose children were in the team rushed to the scene to ascertain the well-being of their children. This created its own commotion. The bodies of the deceased and the injured were later taken to a nearby

health centre where the injured were given first aid treatment before they were transferred to the Plateau Specialist Hospital in Jos. Police Public Relations Officer in the state,

DSP, Felicia Anslem confirmed the incident, adding that investigations had commenced and efforts were on to track down the fleeing driver of the vehicle.

BY CLIFFORD NDUJIHE, FESTUS AHON & GODWIN OGHRE, UGHELLI, Ughelli

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lder statesman and Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark and political leaders of Delta State and the Urhobo ethnic

27-year old wins N1m in MultiChoice competition •As company unveils 20th anniversary logo

BY CHARLES KUMOLU

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WENTY Sevenyear old Kanso Ogbolu, has emerged the winner of the Special Logo Design Competition in commemoration of the 2oth anniversary of MultiChoice Nigeria.

At the event which was held yesterday in Lagos, the Pay TV giant also unveiled a new logo.

Those in attendance include; Chairman Senate Committee on Information, Media and Public Affairs, Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe, Managing Director, MultiChoice Nigeria, Mr. John Ugbe, Managing Director of First City Monument Bank, FCMB, Mr. Ladi Balogun, Managing Director of Zenith Bank, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, among others.

Ogbolu, who won the sum of one million naira with

one year free DStv subscription, emerged winner in the competition which was open to creative people with innovative artistic designs, who were ready to pit such against similarly creative ones.

The first runner-up, Mr. Gabriel Efe won the sum of five hundred thousand naira and six months free DStv subscription , just as Oguntobi Ayoola went home with two hundred and fifty naira, a DSTV decoder and three months free DStv subscription as the second runner-up.While expressing appreciation to the company, a delighted Ogbolu described the award as a reward for creativity.

He further commended MultiChoice for remaining the leading Pay TV giant in Nigeria, just as he encouraged youths to be creative.

Earlier, Ugbe stated that in the last twenty years, the company had not relented in

its efforts at exporting the country’s innovation globally. ‘’When we introduced mobile digital TV in Nigeria, It was the first in Africa. Our story has not just been bringing international content to Nigeria, rather we have also been taking Nigeria’s innovation the rest of the world.

That is our story in the last twenty years. This event is just to unveil the 20 the anniversary logo and honour all those, who have been part of our success story,’’ he noted.

In addition, the MutiChoice boss, said, ‘’when we wanted to put up a logo, the normal thing was to invite our agencies and brief them to bring us a logo.

But because we see innovation locally and also the strength of the Nigerian, we had to put up the competition. We were overwhelmed by the seventeen thousand entries we received.’’

Deportation saga

BY DANIEL GUMM

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HE Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, CN PP, L agos State Chapter, has pleaded with Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi, not to allow the return of 14 destitute people to degenerate to a level of creating rancour among the peace-loving Igbo people, who have settled in the state transacting their legitimate business and happily living with Lagosians. CNPP Chair-

man, Lagos Chapter, Hon. Akinola Obada, told journalists, Friday, that “it is on record that in this exercise, three states were involved, and to ensure respect for the dignity of human person, Lagos State Government have notified the government of each affected states at least 90 days ahead of time to enable them make adequate arrangements for accommodation and re-

habilitation of the individuals.”

2015: Clark, Uduaghan, Gbagi, Urhobo, others insist on Jonathan nationality, including Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan and Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi, yesterday endorsed President Goodluck Jonathan for the 2015 polls.

Speaking at a rally held at Sapele Athletics Club, Sapele, which was organized by Gbagi to unite the Urhobo nation and mobilise support for President Jonathan’s transformation agenda, the leaders said it was an insult to the SouthSouth for some sections of the country to advise Jonathan not to seek reelection.

Clark, who was represented by Chief Godwin Ogbetuo, said they were committed to

President Jonathan in 2015.

Governor Uduaghan, who was represented by Delta State Commissioner for Housing, Chief Paulinus Akpeki, assured the President that Delta State, the Urhobo, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had resolved to work for total victory for him and the PDP in 2015.

On his part, Gbagi said it was sad that a section of the country, which believed that it had the birthright to rule Nigeria had laid a siege on the president. It is an insult to the South-South zone to ask Jonathan not to run for second term,” he said.

BRIEFS Edo 2016: ‘It is the turn of Esan’ HEAD of the 2016 governorship election in Edo State, the Esan people in Edo Central Senatorial District have insisted that it was their turn to produce the next governor of the state, saying that equity, fairness and justice demand such.

Addressing journalists at Uromi, the administrative headquarters of Esan

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North-east Local Government at the end of a meeting Esan Elders Forum, the Esan people noted that apart from the four years of late Prof. Ambrose Alli in the Second Republic and the 18 months of Prof. Oserieme Osunbor, no Esan man or daughter has held the position of governor in the state.

NOHL graduates 206 specialist nurses S part of its resolve to focus on training of sub-specialisation in orthopaedics as well as improve orthopaedic care, the School of Post Basic Nursing Studies, National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos, NOHL, recently graduated 206 nurses from its Post Basic Orthopaedic Nursing and Post Basic Accident and Emergency

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Nursing Programmes.

Speaking during the 11thconvocation ceremony, Medical Director, NOHL, Dr. Olurotimi Odunnubi, who explained that the graduates were already qualified nurses that have come into the school to sub-specialise in Post Basic Orthopaedic Nursing and Accident and Emergency Programmes.

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SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 4, 2013, PAGE 17

BY SUFUYAN OJEIFO

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EYOND the song and dance that will accompany his 80th birthday today, Anthony Akhakon Anenih, must engage in obligatory introspection. Having successfully managed his personal, business and family lives all these years, his conversation with the self must centre on how best to define his eon in politics, for posterity, by putting in place a cohesive succession structure for his political machinery before he finally bows out.

He has, with time, garnered legerdemain and attained a grand old age that is being celebrated today in style. This-succession plan - which is one area that has not enjoyed vast flourish in politics - comes after mentoring and leadership. Anenih has mentored so many in politics; he has provided dependable leadership; what is remaining is succession.

Sustaining political machinery superintended over by Anenih, is certainly financially demanding. So, those in line to assume the responsibility should be well advised to have, by now, understudied and understood the Anenih persona, principle, diligence and discipline.

They might not have experienced the kind of social tempers and economic environments that produced Anenih, or faced the vicissitudes that shaped his outlook of life while growing up; there are great lessons to learn from his later public life as a politician, which will be invaluable assets as they take steps to commit themselves to the service of the nation, humanity and God as he has done over the years. Welcome to the life of the Iyasele (Prime Minister) of Esanland.

Declassification

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ontrary to the claim by a newspaper columnist in 2011, Anenih does not have an aristocratic background. But the sheer determination to succeed in life had propelled him, the last of five children, born on August 4, 1933 in Arue, Uromi, by a village farmer, the late Mr Anenih Oguese and Madam Obhafuoso, to resort to positive ways of making the best out of debilitating situations and circumstances. Due to his humble background, Anenih who attended Eguare Primary school and Government School, Uromi, could not proceed to Saint Thomas’ Teacher Training College, Ibusa, after passing the qualifying examination. His parents could not afford the six British pounds required by the Catholic Mission for scholarship.

He headed for Benin City to stay with and serve, for one year, Lance Corporal Omeben, the father of retired Deputy Inspector General of Police, Christopher Omeben, who according to an account, was then in Edo College, Benin City. It was the late Lance Corporal Omeben that advised and encouraged Anenih to enlist in the Nigeria Police Force in 1951. This was after he had taken to rubber tapping to raise funds for his education.

He attended the Police College, Ikeja and subsequently sat for and passed his General Certificate in Education (GCE) O’ Level while he was a Constable and the Advanced Level while he was a Corporal. He proceeded to the United Kingdom and the United States of America where he

distinguished himself at the various training programmes at the Hendon and Scotland Yard Training School in 1963; Bramshill Police College Basingstoke, Hampshire, England from 1966 to 1967, where he was awarded a Certificate of Merit; and, International Police Academy, Washington DC, USA from 1970 to 1971, where he received a Certificate of Achievement.

Anenih, who rose to the position of Commissioner of Police, was the first indigenous Commandant of the Police College, Ikeja, replacing Mr. LE-Clair, a Briton. He was also at the Administrative and Staff College (ASCON), Topo-Badagry, a year before his voluntary retirement from the Police Force in 1976.

He ventured into private business and superintended over his group of companies, among them, Yakon Group of Companies and A & Hatman Limited. And, for his business acumen, he was first appointed President, Benin Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture from 1978 to 84; and was subsequently elected Life VicePresident of the Chambers in 1990.

He was Director, Adrian Volker Civil Engineering Co. Nigeria Limited, a Company that built the famous ONNE Port.

PROLOGUE A SPECIAL PROJECTS UNIT PUBLICATION

Foray into politics Anenih went into politics in 1979 with his means;

•Anenih

A N E N I H AT 8 0 :

How six pounds robbed him of teacher training education and, in recognition of his integrity and forthrightness, the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in the old Bendel State elected him state chairman from 1981 to 1983; in that capacity, he worked for the election of Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia as civilian Governor in 1983, dislodging from the State House the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) government of the late Professor Ambrose Alli. The victory was, however, short-lived due to military takeover of power.

In the ill-fated Third Republic, he was appointed National Campaign Director of Shehu Yar’Adua Presidential Campaign Organization from 1990 to 1991. From 1992 to 1993, he was elected National Chairman of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) and worked for the victory of Chief John Oyegun as governor of Edo State in 1992 and the victory of Chief M.K.O. Abiola in the historic presidential election of June 12, 1993.

Unfortunately, the result of that election was annulled by the military government. In the confusion that trailed the annulment, Anenih did not compromise the unity and stability of the Nigerian nation. When the late General Sani Abacha regime unfolded a transition programme and emplaced

a National Constitutional Conference to fashion a new constitution for the nation, Anenih was appointed member of the Conference in 1995.

He devoted his energies to the success of his participation at the conference and emerged a strong voice in promotion of the interests of southern minorities within the context of national interests.

Recognitions

As minister, he prepared a memo which was approved by the Federal Executive Council that led to the formulation of critical policies for governance in Nigeria. He stepped aside as minister in 2002 to work in the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation for the re-election of President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003. He propagated the “no-

Due to his humble background, Anenih who attended Eguare Primary school and Government School, Uromi, could not proceed to Saint Thomas’ Teacher Training College, Ibusa, after passing the qualifying examination

With the death of Abacha and the emergence of General Abdulsalami Abubakar as Head of State, a new panorama in national political experimentation was opened. Within eleven months, a programme of transition was concluded. Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which formation had Anenih’s imprimatur, had won the presidential election. He was appointed member of the Presidential Policy Advisory Committee (PPAC) of the PDP in 1999 consequent upon the victory of the Party and thereafter Minister of Works and Housing from 1999 to 2002.

vacancy campaign” in the Presidential Villa and coordinated the strategies that gave victory to Obasanjo and the PDP. It was in recognition of his invaluable political contributions that he had the unique privilege of being chosen, by consensus, as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP twice between March 2004 and June 2007 and from Continues on page 18

PAGE 18— SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 4, 2013

Continues from page 17 February 2013 till date. He is currently deploying the platform of the office to bring about genuine reconciliation, peace and stability in the party. He has similarly been appointed Chairman, Board of Directors of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) from 2009 to 2011 and 2012 till date.

Celebrations A recipient of the Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR), he means different things to different people in the ecology of Nigerian politics.

Some call him “Mr Fix It”; some others refer to him as “The godfather”. Many call him “The Leader”. But it is the appellation“The Leader”- that Anenih relates to simply because that is what he truly is. People, who are close to him, address him as such to emphasise their loyal followership; and, this, resonates well in his consciousness because it conveys the essential content of his persona.

As I wrote last year, the deprecating aura that “Mr Fix It” and “The godfather” exude in the nation’s political arena does not aptly convey the essential content of the Anenih persona. Yet, the other camps have always played them up in their deliberate schema to demonize him within and outside the cosmos of political affairs where he hit the limelight. It is, indeed, paradoxical that politics, which brought him fame,

BY TONY NWANKWO

H

e worked in Singapore as a chief marine engineer but prayed for a more fulfilling, more rewarding enterprise. And his prayer was answered through a chance meeting with a former colleague who had resigned and returned to his country to engage in Forever business as a distributor.

That meeting changed his life.

Engineer Vincent Udoye relives that experience and the venture he says had exceeded all his expectations.

How did this Chief Marine Engineer come into Forever business?

I was working in Singapore as a marine engineer when I came across this business opportunity for the first time. It was at a point in my life when I was looking for something else to do. I was sick and tired of my job: the long hours, so much stress and not enough time for myself and my family.

I was searching for what else to do that could actually give me financial and time freedom. Then I was fortunate to come across the FLP business through a colleague who worked with me in the same company. But when he left the company he went back to his country and joined Forever. I met him about 10 months after he left. I saw that the man had changed completely. He was driving a Jaguar.

He wore a solid gold Rolex wrist watch. I could see money written all over him. I asked him what had happened, ‘Had he robbed a bank?’.

He said, no, he never robbed a bank.

But that he had discovered a lucrative business opportunity. Of course, I wanted to know all about it. He began talking about Forever Living Products and showed me ‘Aloe Vera’. I said, ‘No, you are not saying I should go

How six pounds robbed Anenih of teacher training education has also earned him scorn in the camps of the opposition elements.

But then, he has chosen to bear the cross, his own cross, philosophically: politics is in his blood and he plays it with all the passion and devotion of a religious aficionado. He accepts the compliments that come with it as well as the bashings. He relishes the victories, the accomplishments and the bravura performances of his party and candidates during electoral contests. He has also learned to live with the pains of defeat whenever he suffers any.

This is his disposition to politics, which is far flung from the myth of invincibility that has been created around him by his traducers who have tried to create the erroneous impression in the minds of those who do not know him (Anenih) that he behaves as a god in human flesh as far as politics and electoral contestations are concerned.

But here is the true portrait of the man: a grand and archetypal politician who is consistently and persistently loyal to his leadership and followership; an ardent mobiliser of human resources; a political strategist with the can-do spirit, who believes in positive thinking as well

as the force of great and reasonable expectations.

Silent chapter of his life However, an aspect –a silent chapterof Anenih’s life which is hardly celebrated is his philanthropy.

Among countless individuals and institutions, both academic and religious, that have benefitted from his eleemosynary are: Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma; the University of Benin; Igbinedion University, Okada; and Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta.

Only last year, he endowed a multimillion naira Geriatric Centre at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, the first Geriatric Centre in Africa, to bolster the care of the aged and senior citizens.

What many family members, associates and well wishers are celebrating today is a man that is reputed for legendary generosity and catholic conviviality, which are the core of the humanity component of his persona. He has leveraged on these to play the role of a dependable leader, which fact was recognized way back in 1992 by the late General Yar’Adua, who first addressed him (Anenih) as “Leader” in recognition

‘I quit my lucrative job as a chief marine engineer in Singapore’ day, I didn’t sleep again. The man murdered sleep in my life. I took a honest look at myself: a professional, slaving, working hard for 30 days and 30 nights each month and I had little to show for it. And here was this man, who was even my junior on the job, he was making ten times more money than myself. And what did I do? I resigned my job.

I came back from Engr. Vincent Udoye flanked by FLP InternaSingapore to Nigeria tional Inc. chairman, Mr. Rex Maughan and Mr. against everybody’s Gary Maughan advice – my wife, my mother, my father. They were all and start selling Aloe Vera! A welladvising against my starting this known chief engineer like myself? I business, but I turned deaf ears. I said, ‘No, I had no time for that, I was came back into the country and began busy’. He said, of course, that I was the business. In my very first month busy being broke. Indeed, I was truly as FLP distributor, I did not do quite busy. I had a big office, I had a big well. Some people were laughing at title. But I had no money. And this me. My first FLP bonus cheque was a guy asked me how much I was poor N4,300. But by the time I ended earning. I told him. And he asked if I my first year, I was earning over wanted to know what he earned the N500,000.00 each month. By the end previous month. I said, of course. And of the second year, my cheque be showed me his bonus cheque for exceeded N1 million per month. And $33,000…just for one month. $33,000, then, of course, all the dreams I had if you convert that to Naira, was about which I could not achieve in 15 years N4 million for one month. From that

•Anenih of his ability to galvanize men and harness resources for results.

Yar’Adua was at the time jostling for the presidency of Nigeria on the platform of the defunct SDP, while Anenih was the National Campaign Director of the presidential project.

The description, since then, has stuck like the old adhesive tape and Anenih has continued to apply himself to the rigours and dictates of the position.

Surely, it is all about his humanity: this is a leader who is always touched by the feelings of the “infirmities” of his associates and followers and he always acts in accordance to bring joy into their grieving hearts. Happy birthday, Leader!

•Ojeifo, journalist and publisher, sent this piece from Abuja.

of hard work as a marine engineer everyone of them became a reality in less than four years with Forever Living Products.

On his being instrumental to management bringing the business to Enugu.

I was based in Lagos and I had come to Enugu to work and soon built a team of down lines there. But the members of my team were having a very difficult time getting the products to Enugu. Either they travelled all the way to Lagos or went to Port Harcourt.

In each case, they were going through a lot of stress, danger and much expense. And it occurred to me that the Igbo people are very industrious and very hard working. How come we have FLP Centers in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Warri, yet we didn’t even have one in the whole of Igboland – in Imo, Ebonyi, Anambra, Abia, Enugu States? Then I approached the Managing Director and said, ‘Sir, I give you a promise. If you can come to Enugu, within a couple of years, you will be amazed at what you will see”. And he took me up on that challenge. Luckily, the management opened a Distribution Center here in Enugu in 2011; and today you can see for yourself how well Forever is doing.

The hall is jam-packed. Everyone is celebrating success of Forever in Eastern Nigeria.

Now, I am vindicated. You can see it was a very good decision to come to Enugu. The MD is very happy, the company is very impressed, the people are excited. What you are seeing here is just the beginning. I can assure you that

in a couple of years to come, this hall will be too small to convene a Success Showcase event because more people are coming from Imo, Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi States to do FLP business.

SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 4, 2013, PAGE 19

BY JOHNBOSCO AGBAKWURU

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fter intrigues, controversies, accusations and counter accusations, the Independent National electoral Commission, INEC, on Wednesday, announced the registration of the All Progressive Congress, APC, as one of the political parties in the country.

Before the nation’s electoral body pronounced APC registered, there had been mounting tension following the claim that the powers- that -be were mounting pressure on the INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, to abort the APC registration. Specifically, the Presidency and the ruling People’s Democratic Party, PDP, were accused of perfecting plans to thwart the registration process.

Consequently, those behind the formation of the APC threatened fire and brimstone should INEC refuse to register the party after fulfilling all the requirements. The APC members, in fact, last weekend, promised to mobilize millions of its supporters to occupy the INEC head office as well as the National Assembly if by Thursday INEC did not register the party.

There was the insinuation that the electoral umpire may advise the merger group to adopt a new name as there were pending litigations at the Federal High Court by the rival African People’s Congress, another political association laying claim of the APC acronym. With the tension the registration APC generated, INEC, last week, beefed up its premises with heavily armed security.

Then, on Wednesday, it announced that, after going through the documents submitted by the merging political parties and the inspection of its office, APC has been registered as a political party.

The genesis As the PDP, the acclaimed biggest party in Africa, continued to bestride the political landscape like a colossus, there were fears that the country was heading for a one -party state, hence the need to check the slide before the country is plunged into dictatorship. The leadership of some of the opposition political parties, the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, and a faction of All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, led by the Imo State Governor Owelle Rochas Okorocha, decided to go into merger by floating what they described as a mega party.

The merger talks came to fruition on Wednesday, February 6, 2013 as the four parties, in the spirit of the alliance, proposed to change their names to APC. Briefing journalists at the residence of the ACN leader, Chief Tom Ikimi, in Abuja, the parties said they resolved to uphold the principles of internal democracy, focused on serious issues of concern to the people and also determined to rid the country of corruption.

According to the text read by Ikimi, the chairman of ACN Merger Committee, “At no time in our life has radical change become more urgent. And to meet the challenge of that change, we the following progressive political parties, namely, ACN, ANPP, APGA and CPC, have resolved to merge forthwith and become the All Progressive Congress and offer to our beleaguered people a recipe for peace and prosperity.

“We resolve to form a political party committed to the principles of internal democracy, focused on serious issues of concern to our people, determined to bring corruption and insecurity to an end, determined to grow our economy and create jobs in their millions through education, housing, agriculture, industrial growth etc, and stop the increasing mood of despair and hopelessness

The making of APC and the storm ahead among our people.

“The resolution of these issues, the restoration of hope, the enthronement of true democratic values for peace, democracy and justice are those concerns which propel us. We believe that by these measures only shall we restore our dignity and position of preeminence in the committee of nations.

This is our pledge.” The resolution was signed by the representatives of the parties: Ikimi, for CAN, representative of APGA, Senator Annie Okonkwo,

former governor of Kano State, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, who was the Chairman, Merger Committee of ANPP and Garba Sadi, Chairman, Merger Committee of CPC. Ikimi explained that each party involved in the merger selected a merger committee at its highest level which was published at the points of their inauguration, noting that it was the agreement of the leaders of the parties that qualified them to be part of the merger.

He said that the decision taken will be immediately communicated to the

Sun story of the week 01/08/2013

appropriate authorities which include INEC so that the new mega party will commence political activities as one entity.

He said that all the parties involved in the merger talks agreed on the name All Progressive Congress through consensus and that the party had involved women in all the committees it set up to ensure gender balance.

Reactions Shortly after the announcement of the new mega party, the National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, while speaking to journalists, said APC was not a threat to his party.

Tukur described the coming together of the opposition parties as a good development and that the move would inspire the ruling party, describing the PDP as the Barcelona’s Lionel Messi in the forthcoming elections.

He said, ‘’It is beautiful. The more the merrier. Let me tell you, there is no polling in the whole Nigeria where you do not have one member of the PDP. The PDP is the only party in the country that fields candidates in every polling booth.”

Prayer for merger Continues on page 20

PAGE 20—SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 4, 2013

Continued from page 19 The governor of Niger State, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, a PDP member, said he had prayed that merger of the opposition political parties should come to reality, adding that with a strong party on stream, the politics of the country would be rationalized.

Aliyu advised leaders and those in positions of authority to always be loyal to the country and not individuals while bearing in mind that one day they must leave office and give account of their stewardship.

‘Marriage for divorce without a child’ One of the founding members of the PDP from Cross River State, Dr. Dorncklaimz Enamhe, said that the merger was a marriage that will head for divorce soon without any issue.

He said the merger was an official umbrella of all the parties in the country but will not last as a result of the selfish interests of the individual parties that formed the merger, noting that it was a gun powder that will soon explode. ‘’PDP is battle ready for the merger parties which is a good thing for our democracy. It is now the influence of PDP in all the units and wards will manifest like, in my Atubulum unit and Gakem ward in Bekwarra, all the parties always come together against PDP and we always come out victorious.

They are a bunch of strange bed fellows that will soon disintegrate,” he said

Fears There were fears within the ranks of the four parties that formed the APC, that the former Head of State and the CPC presidential candidate in the 2011 elections, General Mohammed Buhari, and the leader of the ACN, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu , may use the party as their personal property.

This belief had fueled the speculation that the merger was not going to work out, but the secretary of the CPC Merger Committee, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla Obono-Obla, while saying the ambitions of General Buhari and Asiwaju Tinubu will not, in any way, affect the new party as the APC was set up to rescue the country from the PDP. “I can assure you that the two leaders, General Muhammadu Buhari and Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu and all the leaders of the opposition parties agreed that the parties should merge to rescue Nigeria from the pit and no Jupiter will change it”, he said “Bola Tinubu is a democrat to the core; he was in NADECO; he was a senator; he was governor; he is a democrat; so he cannot impose his will on anybody; likewise General Buhari.

He has contested presidential elections, he went to the Supreme Court three times, he has been the most vocal voice for change in Nigeria, so they

• Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, PDP Nationasl Chairman

• Attahiru Jega

The making of APC and the storm ahead are not going to impose their wish on anybody. “ You know that Nigeria is on the brink. We are going to change it: railway, petroleum sector, infrastructure, etc. These are the details the merger committees worked out. The comprehensive work plan to ensure that real democracy is entrenched in Nigeria.

“We are also concerned about the independence of the judiciary. This is very important.

You can see that the judiciary is not independent, it is dependent and you cannot have a just society without the independence of the judiciary, you cannot have a democratic society without the judiciary; so we worked out ways on what the party will do to strengthen the judiciary and make it truly independent.”

Rival APC About one month after the merging political parties announced the fusion plan, another political association, African People’s Congress, with the same acronym, APC, applied to INEC to be registered as a political party. On March 14, the rival APC unveiled its logo, constitution, emblem and acronym.

This unveiling of the acronym, constitution and logo by the rival APC led to confusion even within the ranks of the All Progressive Congress. At this point, some critics described the APC as a group of unserious and undiplomatic politicians who only wanted to intimidate the ruling party and the Presidency without following proper channel.

It was as if the merging po-

litical parties were oblivious of the Igbo adage that says whoever is eating with the devil must use a long spoon. As it was displaying its intimidating posture and what some described as a ‘road show’, efforts were made to ensure that the registration of the name did not see the light of day as it was evidenced in the application of the rival APC. Speaking at the unveiling of the logo, constitution and manifesto, the Acting National Chairman of African People’s Congress, Chief Onyinye Ikeagwuonu, lamented what he described as poverty of leadership in the country since 1999, saying that his APC was on rescue mission.

Commenting on the controversy surrounding the acronym, APC, the Legal Adviser, Mr. Kingsley Nnadi, said that it should not be the problem but it should be the name, adding that any other group making claim to the acronym APC had not made any official request to INEC which, he said, his African People’s Congress had made.

He debunked the allegation that the African People’s Congress was hurriedly floated by some members of the PDP to scuttle the registration of All Progressive Congress, stressing that, if the PDP had performed, there would have not been any need to float his APC. “My party has no link with PDP. In fact, our intention is to take over power from the ruling party. If PDP is ruling well, there would have been no need to come up. We are out because PDP has failed to touch the lives of Nigerians”, he said.

“We have just one APC (African People’s Congress). The other one does not exist and INEC is aware of our party.

The other APC only did merely negotiation, but we started our party over two years ago with the documents submitted to the INEC; we have met the requirements of the constitution and the Electoral Act. “I believe that the unveiling of our party today has finally put to rest the contention over APC, which one is authentic or not and we are waiting for INEC’s reply. We have our offices in over 26 states of the federation including our national headquarters and our support is massive.”

Disqualification Despite the claim by the African People’s Congress to have fulfilled all necessary requirements before INEC, the Commission, on March 25, 2013, rejected its application, saying that the association breached Section 222 (a) of the 1999 Nigeria Constitution as amended.

Confirming the rejection of the application, the then Director of Public Affairs of the commission, Emmanuel Umenger, said, “The Commission has written to this political association and had stated in very clear terms that they are in breach of section 222 (a) of the constitution with the additional explanations stated in the letter.

“The Commission also observed that the submission made on for PA 1 does not contain the addresses of the national officers of the political association as stipulated it means this association has the responsibility to prove, because these are the things the commission has observed and the law says if you do not meat any of these requirements you will not be registered as a political

party “The Commission has gone ahead to explain in its letter I have on my table. The letter we have sent today duly signed by the Secretary to the Commission Abdulahi Kaugama and it is self- explanatory, the letter is dated 21, 2013 which was signed and collected by one Micheal Ogani of APC.” According to the letter under reference number INEC/ DPPM&L/APC/490/V.1/76, dated 21st March, 2013, and addressed to “The Chairman, Proposed African People’s Congress,” and with the title, ReApplication for Registration as a political party, it stated that African People’s Congress breached Section 222 (a) of the Nigerian Constitution. Reacting to the disqualification, Ikeagwuonu accused the merging parties of being behind the rejection of its application.

Controversy deepens Even as the dust raised by the surreptitious manner the rival APC applied for registration was yet to settle, another group rushed to apply to INEC with the name All Progressive Congress on March 5th but the application was immediately rejected by the INEC with the reason that another group had applied with the same acronym, and they decided to change to All Peoples Congress of Nigeria, APCN. The group however re-applied for registration in March 28 with the name All Progressive Congress of Nigeria, APCN, but INEC again advised its promoters to still change the name to avoid conflict in acronym.

Battle taken to the temple of justice Still in a spirited attempt to reclaim the acronym and en Continues on page 21

PAGE 20—SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 4, 2013

Continued from page 19 The governor of Niger State, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, a PDP member, said he had prayed that merger of the opposition political parties should come to reality, adding that with a strong party on stream, the politics of the country would be rationalized.

Aliyu advised leaders and those in positions of authority to always be loyal to the country and not individuals while bearing in mind that one day they must leave office and give account of their stewardship.

‘Marriage for divorce without a child’ One of the founding members of the PDP from Cross River State, Dr. Dorncklaimz Enamhe, said that the merger was a marriage that will head for divorce soon without any issue.

He said the merger was an official umbrella of all the parties in the country but will not last as a result of the selfish interests of the individual parties that formed the merger, noting that it was a gun powder that will soon explode. ‘’PDP is battle ready for the merger parties which is a good thing for our democracy. It is now the influence of PDP in all the units and wards will manifest like, in my Atubulum unit and Gakem ward in Bekwarra, all the parties always come together against PDP and we always come out victorious.

They are a bunch of strange bed fellows that will soon disintegrate,” he said

Fears There were fears within the ranks of the four parties that formed the APC, that the former Head of State and the CPC presidential candidate in the 2011 elections, General Mohammed Buhari, and the leader of the ACN, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu , may use the party as their personal property.

This belief had fueled the speculation that the merger was not going to work out, but the secretary of the CPC Merger Committee, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla Obono-Obla, while saying the ambitions of General Buhari and Asiwaju Tinubu will not, in any way, affect the new party as the APC was set up to rescue the country from the PDP. “I can assure you that the two leaders, General Muhammadu Buhari and Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu and all the leaders of the opposition parties agreed that the parties should merge to rescue Nigeria from the pit and no Jupiter will change it”, he said “Bola Tinubu is a democrat to the core; he was in NADECO; he was a senator; he was governor; he is a democrat; so he cannot impose his will on anybody; likewise General Buhari.

He has contested presidential elections, he went to the Supreme Court three times, he has been the most vocal voice for change in Nigeria, so they

• Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, PDP Nationasl Chairman

• Attahiru Jega

The making of APC and the storm ahead are not going to impose their wish on anybody. “ You know that Nigeria is on the brink. We are going to change it: railway, petroleum sector, infrastructure, etc. These are the details the merger committees worked out. The comprehensive work plan to ensure that real democracy is entrenched in Nigeria.

“We are also concerned about the independence of the judiciary. This is very important.

You can see that the judiciary is not independent, it is dependent and you cannot have a just society without the independence of the judiciary, you cannot have a democratic society without the judiciary; so we worked out ways on what the party will do to strengthen the judiciary and make it truly independent.”

Rival APC About one month after the merging political parties announced the fusion plan, another political association, African People’s Congress, with the same acronym, APC, applied to INEC to be registered as a political party. On March 14, the rival APC unveiled its logo, constitution, emblem and acronym.

This unveiling of the acronym, constitution and logo by the rival APC led to confusion even within the ranks of the All Progressive Congress. At this point, some critics described the APC as a group of unserious and undiplomatic politicians who only wanted to intimidate the ruling party and the Presidency without following proper channel.

It was as if the merging po-

litical parties were oblivious of the Igbo adage that says whoever is eating with the devil must use a long spoon. As it was displaying its intimidating posture and what some described as a ‘road show’, efforts were made to ensure that the registration of the name did not see the light of day as it was evidenced in the application of the rival APC. Speaking at the unveiling of the logo, constitution and manifesto, the Acting National Chairman of African People’s Congress, Chief Onyinye Ikeagwuonu, lamented what he described as poverty of leadership in the country since 1999, saying that his APC was on rescue mission.

Commenting on the controversy surrounding the acronym, APC, the Legal Adviser, Mr. Kingsley Nnadi, said that it should not be the problem but it should be the name, adding that any other group making claim to the acronym APC had not made any official request to INEC which, he said, his African People’s Congress had made.

He debunked the allegation that the African People’s Congress was hurriedly floated by some members of the PDP to scuttle the registration of All Progressive Congress, stressing that, if the PDP had performed, there would have not been any need to float his APC. “My party has no link with PDP. In fact, our intention is to take over power from the ruling party. If PDP is ruling well, there would have been no need to come up. We are out because PDP has failed to touch the lives of Nigerians”, he said.

“We have just one APC (African People’s Congress). The other one does not exist and INEC is aware of our party.

The other APC only did merely negotiation, but we started our party over two years ago with the documents submitted to the INEC; we have met the requirements of the constitution and the Electoral Act. “I believe that the unveiling of our party today has finally put to rest the contention over APC, which one is authentic or not and we are waiting for INEC’s reply. We have our offices in over 26 states of the federation including our national headquarters and our support is massive.”

Disqualification Despite the claim by the African People’s Congress to have fulfilled all necessary requirements before INEC, the Commission, on March 25, 2013, rejected its application, saying that the association breached Section 222 (a) of the 1999 Nigeria Constitution as amended.

Confirming the rejection of the application, the then Director of Public Affairs of the commission, Emmanuel Umenger, said, “The Commission has written to this political association and had stated in very clear terms that they are in breach of section 222 (a) of the constitution with the additional explanations stated in the letter.

“The Commission also observed that the submission made on for PA 1 does not contain the addresses of the national officers of the political association as stipulated it means this association has the responsibility to prove, because these are the things the commission has observed and the law says if you do not meat any of these requirements you will not be registered as a political

party “The Commission has gone ahead to explain in its letter I have on my table. The letter we have sent today duly signed by the Secretary to the Commission Abdulahi Kaugama and it is self- explanatory, the letter is dated 21, 2013 which was signed and collected by one Micheal Ogani of APC.” According to the letter under reference number INEC/ DPPM&L/APC/490/V.1/76, dated 21st March, 2013, and addressed to “The Chairman, Proposed African People’s Congress,” and with the title, ReApplication for Registration as a political party, it stated that African People’s Congress breached Section 222 (a) of the Nigerian Constitution. Reacting to the disqualification, Ikeagwuonu accused the merging parties of being behind the rejection of its application.

Controversy deepens Even as the dust raised by the surreptitious manner the rival APC applied for registration was yet to settle, another group rushed to apply to INEC with the name All Progressive Congress on March 5th but the application was immediately rejected by the INEC with the reason that another group had applied with the same acronym, and they decided to change to All Peoples Congress of Nigeria, APCN. The group however re-applied for registration in March 28 with the name All Progressive Congress of Nigeria, APCN, but INEC again advised its promoters to still change the name to avoid conflict in acronym.

Battle taken to the temple of justice Still in a spirited attempt to reclaim the acronym and en Continues on page 21

SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 4, 2013, PAGE 21

BY CLIFFORD NDUJIHE

W

EDNESDAY’S registration of the All Progressive Congress (APC) by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is historic and symbolic in many respects. It is the first time that strong political parties are shedding their identities and merging into one party in the history of electioneering in Nigeria. It is also the first time the coalescing groups cut across the major political divides of the country.

Nigeria’s political history is replete with failed alliances and mergers. In the First Republic, the United Progressive Grand Alliance (UPGA), consisting mainly of the National Council for Nigerian Citizens (NCNC) and the Action Group (AG), attempted to form an alliance to stop the Northern People’s Congress (NPC). The effort died before it could bear fruit because UPGA leaders could not sink their ambitions and differences and so could not present a joint presidential candidate to tackle then Prime Minister, the late Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.

In the Second Republic, the Nigerian People’s Party (NPP), Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), People’s Redemption Party (PRP)

Of mergers and alliances and the Great Nigerian People’s Party (GNPP) formed the People’s Progressive Alliance (PPA) which also failed to click against the National Party of Nigeria (NPN).

In 1999, the Alliance for Democracy (AD), which had swept the Southwest in earlier polls, aligned with the All Peoples Party, APP, that dominated elections in the North with the intention of beating PDP at the presidential poll. It gave the PDP a good fight but failed to win the election.

In 2007, about 15 parties came together and formed the Action Congress, AC, but the party made little or no impact in the presidential election.

Before the 2011 elections, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) attempted to join forces in order to field a joint presidential candidate to challenge President Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP. The move fell like a pack of cards when the parties could not reach agreement on who to field. While the CPC fielded Major General Muhammadu Buhari, ACN handed its ticket to Nuhu Ribadu.

Before then, Buhari had pulled out of the ANPP on which platform he

contested the presidential seat in 2003 and 2007.

After the 2011 elections, leaders of the merging parties kick-started another move and set up various committees. The highlight of the moves was when 11 progressive governors, drawn from the six geopolitical zones, stormed Lagos in February in support of the merger efforts and vowed to rescue Nigeria from the PDP. Having successfully jettisoned their identities and differences to merge, the APC is now saddled with the onerous task of succeeding where previous attempts failed.

Will merger work this time?

Given past failures, the polity has been awash with debates on whether or not the current move would stand the test of time and achieve results.

Proponents of the merger said that they have the political wherewithal and public support to sink the ship of the PDP. They also boasted that they would avoid the pitfalls that derailed similar exercises in the past.

For instance, the main drivers of the process, such as Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of ACN and veteran presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari of the CPC,

have pledged to sacrifice their ambitions for APC’s collective good.

Buhari is known to have always contested the presidential election on the platform of any party he joined since 2003, twice with ANPP and once under the CPC banner.

Speaking on a Kaduna-based Desmin Independent Television (DITV) recently, Buhari said he would offer himself for the next presidential race if the APC members and his supporters gave him the opportunity again, adding that only death would stop him from aspiring.

However, he said APC would follow due process in selecting candidates for elective positions.

His words: “Many people, especially from my party, are really disturbed.

The joyful thing is that I didn’t say I quit politics. I will never quit politics as far as I am live. I only said that I will not present myself to contest but if my party members said they want me to remain in the race. I will.

“Since I am in the new party as a member, if, after consultations, they included me among their aspirants, I will not reject their offer. This is what I want people to know. I want people to be patient with what we are doing now. They should allow the merger to succeed first. I am sure the new party leaders will know those that are relevant and sellable to the Nigerian electorate.”

The making of APC and the storm ahead Continued from page 20 sure that the association is registered as a political party, African People’s Congress dragged INEC to the Federal High Court, Abuja, seeking an order of the court to compel the Commission to register it as a political party.

In the suit number, FHC/ ABJ/CS/224/2013, the association prayed for a declaration that the defendant (INEC) lacked the discretion and/or had no power to refuse to register an association as a political party once the conditions stipulated by the said defendant for such registration were met. Other reliefs sought were a declaration that the plaintiffs being the principal members and promoters of the association known as African People’s Congress had met all conditions of eligibility for the registration of African People’s Congress as a political party. An order commanding/directing the defendant to register the association known as and called the African People’s Congress as a political party forthwith; and an order of prohibition prohibiting the registration of any other association known as and called African People’s Congress or having the acronym ‘APC’ as a political party pending the hearing and determination of the suit.

• Chief Tom Ikimi, an APC elder An order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendant from registering any other association or known as and called African People’s Congress or having the acronym ‘APC’ as a party.

INEC claimed that the association did not supply information on the residential addresses of its national officers

• Babangida Aliu although the association said the office addresses of its officials were contained in the form it filled and submitted to the Commission.

New party emerges

D

espite the pending mat ter in court, INEC, on Wednesday registered the All Progressive Congress thereby

closing all the allegations that the Presidency had mounted pressure on INEC not to register it which, for now, appears to be the only opposition party to the ruling PDP as the 2015 is fast approaching.

Secretary of INEC, Abdulahi Kaugama, in a letter endorsing APC, said, “The Independent National Electoral Com-

mission has approved the application by three political parties-the Action Congress of Nigeria (CAN), the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP), and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) to merge into one to be known as the All Progressives Congress.

“On considering the application, the Commission found that the applicant-parties have met all statutory requirements for the merger and has accordingly granted their request.

“Consequently, the Commission has approved the withdrawal of the individual certificates of the applicant-parties and the issuance of a single certificate to the All Progressives Congress.”

Reacting to the registration of the All Progressive Congress, National President of African People’s Congress, Ikeagwuonu, said the decision

by INEC register the other APC did not take away its legal right over the APC acronym. The group also lampooned the Commission saying the registration of APC despite the pending court matter was a deliberate plan by INEC to plunge the country into anarchy.

Briefing journalists at the association’s headquarters in Abuja, Ikeagwuonu said despite what he described as a setback, his group would continue with the preparations to contest the Anambra governorship election slated for November.

PAGE 22 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 4, 2013

Her ex lives next door to me!

I

’M a 25, a worker.

I’m dating an I8year -old secondary school girl. We have been in love for four months now and plan to get married. I have gone to see her parents and they have given me permission to be coming to their house to see her. I never knew that my girl’s ex-boy friend lives in the same compound with me.

He told me I should date her outside our compound or leave her alone, otherwise he would get the soldiers to arrest me.

Aunty, she is the only one I love and she can’t leave me because of the love she has for me, but I’m afraid of this man.

Please, how can I handle the situation?

Dede, Rivers State

turn nasty.

I suggest you quietly investigate her and her family so that you would know more about them.

In Africa, we don’t just marry our partners, but his/her family as well.

Only God knows the future, but we should look well before we leap, and we should prayerfully choose a marital partner.

Keep this relationship light until you are quite sure about what to do.

As for your neighbour

who used to be this girl’s boyfriend, don’t quarrel with him. After all he has not expressed any intention of taking her from you. He just doesn’t want the embarrassment of seeing her come to visit you in a compound she probably used to come to, to see him, hence he told you to date her outside there.

He has no right to dictate to you, and in a just society where the law

enforcement officers are supposed to be honest, he can’t have you arrested for that sort of thing, but we know what happens in our country. Keeping the girl out of your premises doesn’t make you a coward. The girl herself should be embarrassed to be visiting you at a place where she used to visit another boyfriend. Actually, she should have told you that you’re living on the same premises as her ex.

REPLY

l

SUGGEST you cool down in this rela tionship and suspend all talk of marriage for the time being, while you study this 18- yearold school girl properly. l know you said that you love each other, plan to marry, and the parents have given you permission to be visiting her, but four months is too short a period for you to be sure that she is your ideal girl. Afterall, she’s only 18, still at school, and she’s already had a boyfriend, who you later discovered to be your own neighbour!

He may or may not have been her first boyfriend. She’s still in the process of studying boys and getting to understand them, and she may not be truly in a position to know her ideal man for a husband. I don’t know if you are ready for marriage now, or, if she would be, as soon as she leaves secondary school, but her parents must have found you a good suitor for her, hence they’re encouraging you by allowing you to visit them. However, be careful.

Allow the girl time to grow up so that she’s sure of who to marry, and also train or learn a trade so that she can be in a position to contribute financially in the home. On no condition should you take over her training before marrying her. Some men have done this, only for the girl to fall in love with another man later and refuse to marry her sponsor. There would then be quarrels. which could

She just switched off!

Dear Rebecca

I

’M a 21-year-old guy deeply in love with a 20-year-girl I knew from secondary school. We left school together and have been dating for the past one year. I went to see her some months ago in the company of my brother to find out if she had received the gift I sent her on her birthday, and I saw her coming out of a house in her neighborhood. I asked her what she was doing there but she didn’t answer me. I went back the next day to see her but I met her younger ones who told me that she was in same house where I had seen her the previous day. I waited for two hours for her, but she didn’t show up. I was upset and dropped her a note explaining how I felt. Later, I went to check on her when I got back from a trip but met nobody in the house. I ran into her one day but all attempts to hold a conversation with her proved futile as she re-

I love both of them Dear Rebecca

I

’M an eighteenyear-old girl who is actually going out with two guys. I’ve been dating one for four years now and the other for two years. They’ve been nice to me especially the first guy. He appreciates the fact that I want to keep myself until I’m ready.

He loves me more than I can imagine. He tries his best to please me. But he scares me about marriage.

We had a disagreement two years ago. It was then I met the other guy.

Since we got back togetgainsgain, he’s been calling me his wife and mother of his unborn child. The other guy is okay but all he wants is sex. It is not as if he doesn’t love me but he is used to it. He is 22 years old just like the first guy.

I can’t give in to his demand because I’ve made

up my mind to have sex only with the guy I marry. I really love him but I can’t leave the first guy because he doesn’t ask for sex. Please Rebecca, help me out of my predicament.

I’m deeply in love with the two of them and they’re bent on marrying me. I can’t go on double dating though I make them happy and satisfied. They don’t know I’m cheating on them. I wanted to let them off the hook but they are really nice guys.

Aunty, How can I handle this?

Rosie Lagos.

REPLY

P

oor you! It must be heady for a young lady to have two young men chasing her. Enjoy the feeling of being in love, but let your feet stay

firmly on the ground and be wide awake. Now, until a man actually goes with his people to ask for your hand in marriage, take his offer of marriage very lightly. Men know that girls like to hear marriage proposals, so, when they want a girl; for whatever purpose they have in mind, they dangle a marriage proposal in her face. This is supposed to convince her that they seriously love her so that she would yield. A few do mean their words, but many don’t.

Telling you that you are the mother of his unborn children, means nothing, though it is nice to hear.

He may not be asking for sex yet, but watch out.

You started dating when you were only 14, so, now that you are becoming mature, his attitude may change. As you already know, the other man believes that having a girlfriend means easy ac-

cess to sex. Don’t confuse sex with love, and don’t believe men who say that you should use sex to prove that you love them. A man who truly loves you would respect your decision not to have sex. I advise you remove romance from your relationship with boys, and make casual friends with several responsible boys so that you can have the opportunity to study and understand them well.

When you are more emotionally mature, you can begin to date boys, but, stick to ‘no sex’ until you marry. I don’t know what you’re doing to make the two men ‘happy and satisfied “ but, take care. Let your parents know who your friends, boys and girls, are. What are you doing about your future career? That’s more important now than boys.

fused to talk to me, even when I shouted at her.

Since then, she has been avoiding me. Aunty, I see her in my dreams.

I’ve tried to wipe her off my memory but I just can’t. I love her because she is my kind of girl.

She is special but has changed suddenly.

Please, what should I do because I don’t want to lose her?

REPLY

A

frequent mis take our young people make in relationships is attempting to take possession and control of the other person’s life as soon as they meet. That you have been dating for a year and you gave her a birthday gift does not make this girl your property. You’re neither married nor engaged to her, so you have no right to query her about her movements. Where she goes to and whatsoever she does there are her business. She too should not ask you similar questions. Our young people need to learn how to behave in a civilized manner when they are in relationship and treat each other with some decency and respect. It’s only your married partner that you can be possessive about to an extent because there is a legal emotional commitment.

Nigerians are becoming aware of their rights in these days of democracy and human rights campaigns, and shortly, boys who harass their girlfriends about their movements, about strange men’s photographs or addresses and telephone numbers, could be charged to court for violation of privacy and human rights. A good relationship should involve trust and respect. When you saw her coming from a neighbor’s house, you should not have asked her where she was coming from. Now, I suggest you apologize to her verbally or through a card for shouting at her. If she returns to you; fine. If not, leave her alone and make friends with other girls. When you behave like a gentleman, you won’t lose worthy girls, hopefully.

•All letters for publication on this page should be sent to: Dear Rebecca, Vanguard Media Ltd, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B 1007, Apapa, Lagos, Nigeria. E-mail: dearrebecca2@yahoo.com

SUNDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 4, 2013, PAGE 23

When your lover’s ex is a thug!

I

T never fails to amuse me how men behave when they’re on the ‘chase’ for a a new catch. A few months back, Joshua a younger brother’s friend who works with one of the banks we used told me excitedly he’d struck gold. His girlfriend of almost nine months had finally agreed he could spend the night in her flat after attending the birthday party of one of her friends together.

Joshua had always been a ladies’ man - and he knows how to pick his women - older women with their own flat and a comfortable income. If there were no kids in the horizon, it makes his choice a one.

When he told me of his encounter with Monica, I warned him to be careful.

Monica is in her early 40s and recently separated from her husband.

Joshua had met her in one of his sisters’ shop and hadn’t let the 10-year age difference faze him.

He always looks more matured for his thirtysomething anyway. On his way to pick up his

‘date’ he showed up at my place looking good enough to eat. He was casually dressed in expensive clothes and wafting an exotic aftershave. .

‘Tonight is the night with Monica,’ he gloated, rubbing his hands with glee. “After the party tonight, I’ll take her home - and you can guess what wild things we’ll do together. I have a few bottles of chilled choice wine in the car and a well-preserved me of course!”

I was a bit amused.

From what I’ve heard, Monica’s husband was a violent thug. She might have moved out of her matrimonial home, but they were not divorced yet. He still stalked her under the guise of visiting Joke, the only child of the marriage who is eight years old. I warned him to be careful. “What could go wrong Aunty C?” he asked, rolling his eyes at me. “The flat is Monica’s. It’s not as if we’ll be visiting her ex on his turf!’ I had a social event of my own to attend and I’d already

last for it when I realised I’d left my mobile phone at home. What if Joshua was in trouble and needed to talk?

It was a relief when I got back and there weren’t any missed-calls from Joshua. Did he get on alright with Monica?

I wondered the next day.

As if on cue, there was an impatient shrill of the doorbell and there he was, looking fit to be tied. What happened to his night of passion?

“You’re right, Monica’s husband is a thug!” he fumed. “After we left the

party, we went to her place as agreed and we couldn’t wait to tear each other ’s clothes off. We made passionate love and I happily dozed off afterwards. This was around 2:30 a.m. All of a sudden, I was being pummelled by this angry looking man who ordered me to ‘get out of my house.’ I was enraged. ‘Your house?’ I challenged. That infuriated him more and he punched me in the nose.

He was a burly man and as I attempted to ward off his attack, he dragged

me to the front door, still in my boxers, and threw me out of the flat, shutting the door frrmly in my face! I was really terrified.

What would happen to Monica with this maniac locked up in the flat with her? They were both shouting angrily at each other as I quickly got into my car and fled. Thank God, it was dark and there were no nosey policemen on the now deserted streets. How could I have explained driving in the night in nothing but my boxers?”

Heavens only knew

how I suppressed the laughter that threatened to burst as I imagined Joshua being tossed out of his lover’s flat like a piece of rubbish! After he’d calmed down, he asked me to call Monica, reeling off her number.

If he called, he feared her ex could still be around and he might smash her mobile if he knew it was him. So, I called Monica whom I’d never met and introduced myself. I said I was Joshua’s ‘big sister, and she gabbled she’d heard a lot about me from Joshua. Was he alright? I gave the phone to him and left the room.

When I came back, he was on his way out - to hers! -”Again?” I asked him. “Shouldn’t you allow things to cool a bit?

What happens if her ex was lurking somewhere, waiting to pounce again?”

“I’m only going to wait outside her flat, honk the horn and take her to my place,” he explained, perking up all of a sudden. Just how much punishment should you take in the name of love?

Lust”’.

08052201867(Text Only)

Improve your blood circulation

A

FRIEND stopped me the other day to ask me about what could possibly be the cause of a pain he feels in his right calf anytime he stretches and tenses his body as a form of exercise before getting out of bed. He also complained of going thumb in the fingers after holding an item for quite sometime.

He said he would notice his fingers being awkwardly set and that he would have to massage that hand with his other hand to restore feeling and movement.

Well I said to the fellow that I suspected his blood circulation must have gone sluggish and that exercises to improve his circulation would be what would help him.

Infact I told my friend I was rather familiar with his latter symptoms – numbness and a grotesque setting of the fingers.

Blood vessels must C M Y K

never be clogged. When they do become clogged in the heart for instance, that leads to angina, a strangulating pain in the heart.

When the cloggue’ vessels are found in the parts of the body furthermost from the heart meaning the arms and legs yet what is called interminat claudstron. This is infact the symptom phase of artenal disease.

When you have arterial disease in the heart, you get angina and heart attacks. When you have it in the head circulation, you get strokes.

The same process can occur in the legs and arms. Once you have this affliction, if you smoke you most endeavour to stop. Nicotine narrows the arteries which further restricts blood flow possibly harming arteries themselves and leading to blood clots.

Next to stepping smoking, the most important thing is exercise. Walk-

ing is highly recommended. Set out for an hour of walking. Walk till the pain in the leg comes on then rest for a while to case the pain and then continue walking again.

Rest yet again when the pain comes on. Keep the pain/walk cycle on during your hour of daily walking.

If you’re patient with yourself and exercise regularly for two to three months, you should see improvement.

If on the other hand you’re not cut out for walking there are some yoga exercise that should help with your circulation.

Let consider the following: The shoulder stand (Against a wall).

Technique: Lie on your back with knees drawn.

Take a deep breath and raise the feet up placing them against the wall with the knees locked, support the trunk with the hands placed on the

hips.

Stay in the posture for a minute or a bit more.

Breath deeply in this position.

Benefits: The shoulder stand stimulates the endocrine glands and strengthens the heart for more efficient performance.

Suptavajrasana Technique: Sitting on your heels, part the feet wide apart and get your buttocks on the floor.

* Suptavajrasana Pose

Place your hands by your sides. Stay in this posture for some 10-20 seconds, get up and straighten up the legs, rest a while and repeat.

Benefits: This exercise tones up the muscles of the legs leading to improved venous return. It will also help you shed excess fat about the thighs.

The writers pose Sit on your heels and get your left hand from

below your back, hold the left hand with the right from above so that the right elbow points upward.

Stay in the position for a minute and alternate with the left hand above and the right below.

Benefits: The writers pose strengthens the shoulders and tones up the muscles of the arms improving the circulation there.

Yoga classes at 32 Adetokunbo Ademola, Victoria Island, Lagos, 9.10am on Saturdays

PAGE 24— SUNDAY Vanguard , AUGUST 4 , 2013

bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk

08056180152,

SMS only

The father who couldn’t save his daughter from her abusive husband

L

AST week, we car ried the pathetic let ter of late Omodolapo Olotu-Jagha. to a husband who stripped her of all human dignity, even as she laid on her death bed. Today, her father warns other parents of the consequences of falling for abusive partners. This oration given at his daughter’s grave-side in Dublin is carried unedited ...

The father ’s Oration reads: It is indeed agonizing to write this story; it is about our beloved daughter Yetunde Omodolapo Olotu-Jagha, she had a happy and enviable childhood, committed parents, a dream secondary school, her dream university and graduated a truthful, fulfilled, Christ-loving adult.

Yetunde Omodolapo had just gained an admission into the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria for a master’s degree programme when suddenly she brought Mr. Noble Oritsemeyin Jagha (Oti) for marriage. It was marriage or nothing as they had agreed to suspend that admission for another year which never materialized.

The entire (Idano) betrothal obligation that was expected to be provided by the husband’s family according to Yoruba tradition was not provided. We bore the cost of these betrothal obligations: the entertainment at the engagement ceremony and the after marriage party. This was done in good faith just as we accepted the husband in all sincerity not minding his financial status. We took him as a son.

Not long after the birth of their first child, news started filtering to my wife and I that Oti as the husband was fondly called stayed out late and had at some stages beat his wife even with belt. “I wonder why my daughter had to undergo this brutish act, despite the fact that she was betrothed to him a virgin; a virtuous woman she was!

In this quest my daughter departed to Dublin, he continued in his night crawling; leaving their little child alone all the time.

He was also involved in loads of unhealthy rela-

tionship with strange women. This information became known to us through his driver when my wife and I stayed a night in his house while he was said to have travelled. He even brought home women laundry. We did not inform our daughter about this discovery because we wanted to save their marriage which was at the verge of dissolution. Hence, we encouraged Oti to join his wife.

The first sign of financial unreliability we experienced from Mr. Jagha was when my wife’s nephew who lived in London sent Oti some money to be deposited into his bank account in a bank where Oti worked in Ibadan, Nigeria. Up till date, the money has not been recovered from him.

Then came his involvement in fraud which led to his fleeing from Nigeria.

My wife also loaned him an amount of Nl.2 million to repay his debt but he did not. Instead, he used the money as fare to flee Nigeria to London while he abandoned the entire family belongings. The Criminal Investigation Department officers that were laying siege on their home were subsequently led to us in Akure from Ibadan by his office driver with a view to apprehending me. This great loss of assets and dignity was another reason our late daughter became fed up with the unwholesome corrupt life style of this ignoble Oti as a husband. But after his pressure on us by incessant telephone calls and the fact that their innocent first, nursery age child was with him, also suffering in London, we persuaded our daughter to allow him join her in Dublin hoping that he would change for the better. Unfortunately, he never changed, he proved correct the Yoruba adage which says “the character of a man never leaves him because it is in-borne.” He started his ignoble life style; fighting his wife over allowances from government that was meant for the children’s maintenance, the wife’s earnings from her daily toils, and his free life style. Rather than pick up a job to join in the maintenance of the family, he prefers to loiter the street in quest for flings and speak-

ing on the phone for hours with women.

He finally made his wife to have another pregnancy that gave them the twin baby girls for which reason the stone-hearted husband abandoned the wife in the hospital because none of the twins is a male child. From that time, he boasted to me several times on telephone, that he must have a male child from any other source. He hated the idea of our daughter not having a male child, he blamed and frustrated her for it even unto death. I pleaded with him that countries like Britain, Germany, India, Liberia, etc. had females as head of governments of their countries but this meant nothing to his resolute decision.

Jagha was accused severally of having affairs with married women in the church whose husbands in return made Dolapo’s life a living hell sending her texts and e-mails of curses and of threatening nature coupled with what she was facing at home and having to work 6 days a week to maintain the whole family, not long after, our daughter was diagnosed of breast cancer. According to Mr. Jagha, he knew when the attack (Satanic Arrow) was sent to him and the wife but he dodged it while his wife could not. He did not agree with the wife to see a doctor when the lump was initially found and disagreed it should be removed when advised by doctors. He insisted on prayer alone and our daughter succumbed to his wicked advice wanting to be obedient. However, when it worsened she had to be hospitalized. The husband’s main concern all the time had not always been the

health of the wife but to extort money for his free life style, even though he refused to take up any Job. The wife finally had to approach the court for a safety and protection order/judicial separation when she could no longer bear the physical and mental abuse she suffered in the hands of Oti. The church persuaded our daughter to withdraw any legal action which she did in obedience. The church claimed that Oti resolved to be of good behaviour and pleaded to return back to their home which he had abandoned with the family car so that Dolapo had to trek with the children to school in bad weather while under treatment until her condition grew worse. He was never supportive despite all appeal to him from quarters including his wife until she was moved to the hospice.

From the Yoruba perspective, it should be inferred that the so-called arrow of cancer was Oti’s diabolic act. So that once the wife was eliminated; he would be free to marry another wife as permitted

by Christian faith, he had promised a certain lady in the church he was having an affair with that he would marry her when his wife dies, this was revealed to Dolapo by the lady’s friends. It may surprise you that this man is a “PASTOR.” One is therefore surprised that such an ignoble Mr. Noble Jagha could be appointed a Pastor of that reputable church in which he worships even against his wife’s plea that he needed

A tribute to all women Respect a woman because….

Y

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"

You can feel her INNOCENCE in the form of a daughter, you can feel her CARE in the form of a sister…. You can feel her WARMTH in the form of a friend…..You can feel her PASSION in the form of a beloved……You can feel her DEDICATION in the form of a wife….

You can feel her DIVINITY in the form of a mother…..

You can feel her BLESSING in the form of a grandmother, yet she is so TOUGH too…

Her heart is so TENDER, so NAUGHTY, so CHARMING… So SHARING… so MELODIOUS… She is a WOMAN.. And she is life!!! To all the wonderful women, hope you won’t forget how special

to change, grow and restitute (she was ignored). As the father of late Yetunde Omodolapo, it is my conclusion that her husband was responsible for her untimely cruel death; out of demonic acts and charms, long drawn oppression and neglect even on her final sick bed.

Oti was the primary killer while cancer was just a secondary cause of death, and why is this not a surprise for someone who tried to kill his own blood sister.

Throughout the time she was hospitalized her friends and church members drew a 24hrs. roaster to take turns in taking care of her. The husband turned up once in a while to see if she was still breathing and urges her to transfer money to his account every week.

He stole her bank card at the hospital and robbed her a sum of One Thousand Euros plus and transferred money from the deceased’s account to an unknown account of a man in Athlone (An elder in the church whom we gathered he owes) and also fuelled his car and enjoyed the luxury of our daughters stipend in company of her girlfriends in Athlone on the grounds that he was getting paid for looking after his own children. We reliably gathered that on the day our daughter died, her estranged husband’s first concern was seizure of the death certificate and the approach of her late wife’s office for information of how to collect her terminal retirement financial benefits. How dare you lay claim on the benefit of a woman you cruelly hated and sent to her early grave, and whose corpse was yet to be buried? This is unacceptable Mr. Jagha!

When Mr. Jagha arrived Dublin, I advised him to engage himself in a meaningful employment from which he would be able to earn good money from which he could repay and restitute the embezzled money from the bank and become a free man rather than hide in Europe. He bluntly refused; the image of a wanted criminal meant nothing to him.

One could see, therefore, why late Yetunde could never be comfortable with

a man without a conscience. A man who chose to cover his slothful, ignoble, secret and sinful life style with the title of a “PASTOR”. This accounts for his hidden agenda to eliminate his wife for not bearing a male child.

Mr. Noble Oritsetimeyin Jagha boasted several times that he would assemble his prayer warriors and hold vigils to hasten her death; no wonder my daughter was not shocked when she saw the prayer points in Noble Jagha’s purse which he forgot at the hospice while he came to ask for money from the wife as usual; the prayer-point stated that God should strike Yetunde’s heart and that she should do no other thing except what he (Jagha) orders her to do.

Little wonder, if this is the ideal prayer that a dying woman required on her sick bed. When she even pleaded with her husband to pray for her, he bluntly refused.

On the night before the death of my daughter, while my daughter could hardly speak, he was in another bout of accusations about who said what about who reported to the child-protection agency that he left the kids at home for two days on a row to go to school and sleep all by themselves while he visited his concubine in Athlone while Yetunde was at the hospice. Now that she is dead, how then, can Mr. Noble Jagha suddenly develop sincere love and concern for these innocent female children after the death of their mother? We are aware that you see them as your meal ticket/money bag and nothing else ...

As our daughter is interred into her eternal rest, all parents, friends, on lookers must strive hard that their children, and relations do not fall into the nets of the satanic wicked spouse. Christian churches of the living God should strive hard that they do not hire pastors like the ignoble; Satan-possessed Mr. Noble Jagha that will send their innocent worshippers into eternal doom.

Yetunde, my beloved daughter, rest in perfect peace, in the bosom of the living God of vengeance till we meet to part no more”.

you are!"

Chris Onunaku dekris4real@gmail.com 08032988826/08184844015.

You captured my heart How you captured and enveloped my heart with so much tender and passionate love still surprised me till today to the extent that everywhere I go I feel your loving presence. You are indeed a criminal because you stole my heart with an undiluted love, I am glad I caught you. Akachukwu Ferdinand.08063819314

Akachukwu Ferdinand. aka5forever85@gmail.com 08063819314

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All letters bearing writers' names and full addresses should be typed and forwarded to: The Editor, Sunday Vanguard, Kirikiri Canal, P. M. B. 1007, Apapa, Lagos. E-mail: sunvanguardmail@yahoo.com

An appeal to Gov Uduaghan on shutdown private schools Dear Sir,

T

HE transformation and the modernization drive of the Delta State schools especially in the primary and secondary by Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan is gigantic and deserved encomiums.

Already the governor is etching his name in gold and whatever misgivings, genuine or fake critics may have against him is gradually ebbing out. With Enerhen Junction in Warri becoming a beautification master piece, Uduaghan’s name is positively echoing loud and clear.

Our take therefore on the closure of some unregistered private schools may not jell with the government's action.

Yes, it is quite illegitimate to run a school without approval but when you think about 600 schools closed with a conservation estimate of 10 teachers per school, it means about 6,000 indigenes of the state have lost their jobs whether well remunerated or not.

Government alone cannot provide jobs.

And taking government’s stance that other schools approved by it but have no playing fields will receive the hammer two months’ time. Though government’s intention may be good but the end result would lead to agony and penury.

The unemployment fallout from the proposed schools shut down would be enormous.

Our advice to government is to tarry and if possible intervene as was done

in pre and early post-colonial period when government provided assistance to private schools. Don’t forget that we have travelled this way before and the end result was regrets as we later

discovered that it would have been better if the government had encouraged the private entrepreneurs.

It is disadvantageous if government’s policy thought to be

palliative now results in putting young people into more unemployment and criminality.

Anagbo Temienor (Jnr) Jesse Town, Delta State

Kudos to banks in Nigeria Dear Sir,

T

HERE has been a turn around in our banking sector since all th e banks in the country

received the second baptism of fire from the apex bank. Thanks to Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi who instigated the move.

This edifying scenario has contributed immensely in restoring confidence to depositors and other persons who have one thing or the other to do with the bank.

More interestingly, no single bank in the country now is sick. In other words, one can safely bank with any bank in the country. The sanity instilled into banks so far is so fantastic that depositing and withdrawing of cash, which are the areas that mostly attract customers to the banks are now done with ease, unlike in the past when customers went to bank with their mats, especially during payment of salaries to workers. Prior to this period under review commercial banks used to close to their customers by 3.00pm on Mondays, while they shut their doors by 1.30pm on Tuesdays to Fridays, but now they close there doors by 4.00pm from Mondays to Fridays. This shift in time has impacted a remarkable improvement on the business of their numerous customers.

Nevertheless, there is the need to improve on their services especially in the area of cash withdrawal. Often times customers complain of not being attended to due to network problem, Under normal circumstances it should not be so, for every customer deserves prompt service.

The usual excuse banks give for not being

able to access their customers account as a result of network problem should not arise as there are other alternatives to take in that regard.

Against this backdrop, I suggest to the management of all commercial banks to create an emergency customers withdrawal department in their head offices where this kind of problem could be handled. In this regard any branch that has network problem could pay their customers through their head offices assistance.

Another important area that can contribute immensely to improving their staff efficiency borders on professionalism. Banks should in addition to the courses they send them, encourage their staff to enroll with the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria.

This development would help to create an enabling environment to making them professional on the job.

Nkemakolam Gabriel , Port Harcourt, 08072257360 gabchiz56@yahoo.com

Military posts in Urhobo land Dear Sir,

M

AY I use your high source of news to commend the Joint Task Force (JTF) for doing a great work in the Niger Delta as they deserve encomiums for their effort.

However, we wish to draw their attention to ubiquitous presence of the JTF in most Urhobo ethnic nationality roads. The checkpoints at Okirighwe, Amukpe, Uvwie, Ughelli, Udu and others, show a pattern of military occupation. The Urhobo may have their share of the current criminality ravaging the nation but suffice to state that other non- Urhobo communities with higher criminal quotients are not besieged by the military.

The frustration experienced by the Urhobo people on the account of deliberate creation of checkpoints of grid locks that do not arrest criminals is worrisome. Blood pressure had risen; vehicles engines have packed up and well up anger against man-made hold-ups can easily lead to death.

The JTF has done marvelous work on the Oghara, Mosogar, Jesse, Amukpe and Warri express way. They should kindly free the people from their fruitless “go slow” at Effurun, Ughelli, Okirighwe, Amukpe and others.

The Urhobo elite should wake up from their slumbers.

Jude Olotu Township Stadium Quarters, Sapele .

PAGE 34—SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 4, 2013

Alabi-Isama Versus Obasanjo: Will a duel follow?

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ty of ridding the nation of a big PEST. On a more serious note, I remain one of the few Nigerians who have read the book from page to page.

General Alabi-Isama invited me to help edit the book last year and get it ready for publication. I was ready.

But there was a problem.

The General wanted the book published in four months from the date of receipt of manuscript. Even if that was all the work I had on hand, it would have been either impossible or dangerous to rush the assignment. As it turned out, I was at the last stage of getting an autobiography DOCTOR ON BICYCLE published; then I was discussing with General Ogbemudia about revising his book about the Civil War (which I was also reading page by page at the time) and I was working on an original biography to be published this year. General Alabi-Isama’s book was fourth in line. So when he issued the ultimatum, “Four months or nothing”, I answered, “With due respect General “nothing””. The reason was simple.

Apart from time constraint, the book is a lengthy rejoinder to Obasanjo’s book, MY COMMAND. And, it was full of accusations against the former President. Although I don’t like Obasanjo, I believed that it would amount to intellectual dishonesty and injustice to edit Alabi-Isa-

From the Master to a Columnist: A tribute

M

Y daughter, Ad erenle, asked me: can you write a bit about Alhaji Alade, please? We need to honour him, sir. Don’t you think?

Alhaji Alade Odunewu (Allah De) who passed away on Thursday July 25, 2013 is unforgettable. And noone will need any prompting.

He left footprints in journalism, administration and politics that cannot be erased. He was a master prose and logic as this fore word from my book- Voice of Reason (Volume 1) will show: I once sojourned in a small town called Worthing, in Sussex, on the south coast of the United Kingdom. I was an intern working with the local newspaper, THE WORTHING HERALD, preparatory to my moving to London for a schedule professional course. I was a familiar figure on the streets of Worthing as I sauntered between my landla-

dy ’s apartment and the newspaper house every day.

I had the habit of reading the posters in the grocery, one of which shouted the question at me: What DOES Cassandra say? That was all that the DAILY MIRROR chose to advertise the day’s edition. Not the robbery at Oxford Street, or the massacre in China. But what the man who says what others wish they could say had in his column for the day. This, to my mind, speaks volumes for the place of the powerful columnist in the print media. The Mirror treated Cassandra like a film star; they panegyrised him. For writing a damn good column uninterrupted for decades, he was knighted by the Queen and his is the only bust on the ground floor of the MIRROR building; not that of his editor or publisher. On one occasion, the MIRROR celebrated libel by the columnist rather than publish a retraction or an apology.

I once asked the question

ma’s book without reading Obasanjo’s book page by page and without placing side by side the maps and facts adduced by the two Generals. But, Alabi-Isama was in a hurry to get the book published. I live and die by my own principles and we parted ways.

While I wish the General all the best with the book, he had at least discovered

,

“There is such a thing as a man being too proud to fight”. Woodrow Wilson,1856-1924, 28th President of the US. (VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS p 60).

OODROW Wil son was an aca demic, President of Princeton University before he became President of the United States and he was the originator of the League of Nations – the precursor to the current United Nations and a man of peace. He was not a soldier; so he could not possibly understand certain things about soldiers. One of them is, no soldier, especially a General, retired or not, would ignore being called “a coward” and “a liar ” – two words which General Alabi-Isama (rtd) had used recently while promoting his book THE TRAGEDY OF VICTORY, against General Obasanjo (rtd). In the past, such an open insult called for a duel.

Military honour demanded that the disgraced party must challenge his attacker to a duel to settle the matter.

Unless duels have been outlawed in Nigeria, this is one case that should revive the military tradition.

And, should the idea be accepted, I want to be the promoter. The venue is already chosen; it is the National Stadium, Surulere.

Gate fees will be announced later. The duel might provide us with one opportuni-

After all, unlike Alabi-Isama, who was a combatant soldier, Obasanjo had never fired a shot in anger. He ran for cover when Murtala Mohammed was shot.

POWER AND NIGERIAN POLITICIANS -- 1 “Having power destroys the sanity of the powerful. It allows their irrationalities to leave the sphere of dream and come into the real world”. Saul Bellow. (VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS p 195).

“You are a dictator”, Rivers State Commissioner of Police, referring to Governor Amaechi.

Rivers State Commissioner of Police was reported to have made that remark a few weeks ago. I waited for several weeks to read a disclaimer from the Police Chief. There was none. So,

Unless duels have been outlawed in Nigeria, this is one case that should revive the military tradition.

And, should the idea be accepted, I want to be the promoter

,

that I was right that nobody can get the book to the stand in four months. I only hope the people who worked on the book later on took the trouble to read MY COMMAND also. Even Obasanjo, detested as he is by his military colleagues, deserves fair hearing before being condemned. From the gang-up at the book launch, it would appear that Baba Iyabo is on his own. For once, OBJ has my sympathies and if there is going to be a duel, I wish him good luck. No soldier wants to be called a “coward” for God’s sake.

On the other hand he can abide by Woodrow Wilson’s dictum and consider himself “too proud to fight”.

it can be safely assumed that he was correctly reported. If so, the CP Rivers State should receive a gold medal for speaking the truth. It is a fact; not only about Amaechi, but, about all the governors of Nigeria. What we have in all the government mansions and offices, from Abia to Zamfara, are people wielding powers that would make Attila the Hun or Alexander the Great grin with envy. Unless checkmated by the Federal might, a state government has power over everything living and inanimate in his state. He can do and undo – limited only by his own conscience or lack of it. And when the Commissioner of Police is complaisant, the

– who is a columnist?

A columnist, according to one of those terse sources of information – THE OXFORD DICTIONARY OF CURRENT ENGLISH – is a journalist who regularly contributes to a newspaper a column of miscellaneous comment on people and events. But I wish to impose a tougher qualification than the dictionary permits.

A columnist is one who devotes his entire time to writing a regular column and

break caused by illness – “this is Williams Connor, licensed to write a column five days a week under the name CASSANDRA.” And it was common knowledge that CASSANDRA’s salary was the envy of many Prime Ministers.

There were great columnists who fit into the dictionary and publisher/editor category mentioned earlier. I refer to the founding fathers of Nigerian journalism of the colonial era and

,

He left footprints in journalism, administration and politics that cannot be erased. He was a master of prose and logic

nothing else for appropriate reward by his employer.

I guess there must be few staff contributors, if any, in our part of the world who can scale through this test.

Most journalists of the postindependence Nigeria who took to column writing derived inspiration from immortal William Neil Connor, CASSANDRA of the DAILY MIRROR to whom reference has already been made or his peers in other climes. CASSANDRA, whose specialities were combat and satire, ran his column almost non-stop for 30 years. As the old warrior “introduced” himself after a

,

their immediate successors, whose explosive essays were decorated with hybrids and archaism laced with the sweet smell of words of Greek and Latin derivatives.

A few examples of powerful demagogic writers who qualified as columnist of the time will suffice.

Haratio Jackson and Herbert Macauly were devastatingly polemical in their onslaught against the British representatives in the colonial era. But by far the most remarkable personality on the stage after the missionary role of the Herbert Macaulys of the

death grip on the people is almost total.

State Houses of Assembly are totally useless; they provide no checks and balances against the excesses of the Executive branch.

The judiciary is worse. It is virtually impossible for a state government to lose a case in its own court. Let me start with an example from the 1999-2003 set and Kogi State.

Journalists, especially state correspondents in Kogi, during those evil days, could only write and get published, stories that were favourable to the government. A state correspondent who deviated, was, first, ostracized by being declared persona non grata, in State’s News Centre; then he was threatened.

His paper was asked to remove him, and if, like GUARDIAN that request was not granted unpleasant consequences followed.

Even today, it requires a stone-hearted correspondent, in any state, to write unfavourable, even if true stories about the government which hosts him. That explains why virtually all the unfavourable comments about a governor come from outside or political opposition. Let me provide another example.

When in 2009 to 2010, Imo, Abia and Akwa Ibom became the arch of evil in terms of political killings and kidnapping, no single correspondent in those states dared to write the reports I did and got published.

Their lives were in danger and the danger was the state government, each and every time, irrespective of political affiliation. Adedibu’s vice grip over Oyo state was effective only because it served the purposes of the governors and Obasanjo. Today, the thugs engaged then are still mostly alive in Ibadan. But, the

change of governor has rendered them ineffective.

Return their former sponsors to power and all hell will break loose again.

State governors are all dictators and the first group of people governors capture is the legislators in their states who become glorified errand boys. There is no state in Nigeria where the House of Assembly is truly independent of the Governor; not one. I challenge any member of any House to dispute it.

We should thank the CPRivers State for telling the truth about one of the 36 dictators we “elected” to subjugate us. How else do you explain former Governor Ohakim of Imo State publicly assaulting a Catholic priest? No American governor will try it without being impeached by all the members of the State House of Assembly; even if they belong to the same political party. That is the difference between the rule of law and men….

PDP RECONCILIATION COMMITTEE “If you want to make peace, you don’t talk to your friends; you talk to your enemies”. General Moshe Dayan, hero of Israel’s six-day war victory over the Arabs, in 1967.(VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS p 183).

The announcement of a PDP Reconciliation Committee, headed by Governor Dickson of Bayelsa State is symptomatic of all that is wrong with the leadership of the party today. With the President (Bayelsa), Chairman of BOT (Edo), Chairman of PDP Governors Forum (Akwa Ibom) and now Dickson, the question anybody sensible should ask is: has PDP become a SouthSouth party only? Why are the leaders of the PDP making the same mistakes all the time?

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time was Nnamdi Azikwe, famous for his INSIDE STUFF in the WEST AFRICAN PILOT, It was a favourite reading of anyone who was literate enough to read a newspaper, students scrambled for it to pick up strange words and jawbreaking sentences.

And then there was WEEK-END CATECHISM, also carried by the WEST AFRICAN PILOT. Apart from reader questions, the author, boycott apostle Mbonu Ojike, asked himself heavily loaded political questions and provided answer. HERE, THERE AND YONDER, by Tom Tinkle was another Zik’s group product. And the Tony Enahoros, the Marshall Kebbys. Ajuluchukwu’s column, MONGER was a classic example of what grammarians call journalese. Monger never spoke of a tail, but a candal appendage, never the nose, but olfactory organ. MONGER’s barber is a capillary artist, an untrue statement belongs to the realm of fiction.

The next generation of columnists consisted of those who want to write like CASSANDRA or Walter Lipman and, of course, we have had the hard core political commentators. The difference should be clear.

Whereas the William Connors and Nigerian writers who wanted to imitate them dealt with all manner of subjects, from baby’s toys to insomnia, the political

contributors wrote in promotional interest of the parties of their fancy.

I read Kola Animasaun every week. His column does what a good column should do – take on all manner of people as well as all manner of subjects, yes, all manner of subjects, from the sublime to the ridiculous. As I myself attempted to do decades ago, the column is about men and matters; it is history; it is about politics and politicians, morality, about religion, government and the governed, about endless struggle between the powerful and the weak; about man’s inhumanity to man, about Class Divide; about those strange elements you find in George Orwell’s 1984 We look forward to the day when a columnist is a columnist, first and last and remunerated accordingly.

If you ask me to award an Oscar for the most durable columnist in Nigeria, it will go to late YPO Sodeinde who wrote his column up to the age of 80 years plus.

This book is a MUST for all higher institution where the English language is taught, as well as the various departments that make up the Faculty of Arts or Social Science in our universities.

Hadj Alade Odunewu Lagos 27 May 1999 Farewell thee Alade. May Allah repose your soul in Aljanah Firdaus.

SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 4, 2013, PAGE 35

sick bed in Saudi Arabia, the budget taken to him from Nigeria by one of his key aides. On the President’s return home, it was arranged for the nation’s leading clerics to visit him ostensibly to convince the rest of us that all hope was

not lost. What the clerics said at the end of the visit could only pass for a good researchable topic.

In the case of Governor Suntai, the original stories are hard to forget. At first, it was alleged that he was brain damaged. Some of those who later visited him were quoted to have said he lost his memory. He is now said to be very conscious and can see, stand, eat and recognize all the people around him by their names.

But the Governor who has been away for more than 9months cannot come home now because his doctors are yet to certify that he can withstand a long distance journey. What this suggests is that Taraba is likely to be without a Governor for no less than one year. The core issue which this situation brings to the fore is the uncommon nature and scope of Nigeria’s type of democracy. Ours is probably the only nation in the world where an elected political leader can be away from his duty post for as long as his cronies can procure intrigues to sustain him in office in absentia. At such times, the aides design several tales to deflate rumours of their principal’s whereabouts while the pace of development is reduced to snail’s speed because the deputy governor can hardly approve any meaningful funds.

When Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State was away from his desk for a couple of months on what

was described as “accumulated leave” no one knew the duration. The anxiety caused by his absence was obviously short-lived when compared to the much longer period of disappearance of Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State. This latest one of Governor Suntai which is stretching for longer than makes sense is irritating.

The suggestion by frontline lawyer, Fred Agbaje that a period of incapacity to be statutorily allowed a Governor should not be more than 3 weeks has its merits but it will not work in Nigeria even if put in the constitution.

In Nigeria legal provisions have no efficacy because our political leaders hold-on only to the letter and never the spirit of a law. That is why for instance, a Governor would appoint members of his political party into an electoral commission to conduct elections between his own party to which the electoral commissioners also belong and other parties.

Any objection by the opposition is usually brushed off with the argument that the commissioners were cleared by the legislature as provided by the constitution. Do we need a constitution to tell us that the referee of a contest should be neutral and not be picked from one of the teams in the contest?

Our problem is not really whether we have a good constitution or not; the real

problem is our unpreparedness to abide by the provisions of the constitution.

For example, Section 183 of our constitution says that a Governor shall not; during the period of his office hold any other office or employment. Section 308 of the same constitution protects the same Governor from any civil or criminal proceedings during the same period. The combined spirit of the two sections is that nothing should distract a Governor in the performance of his duty. Yet, the same Governor who has all it takes to remain committed to governance is, as in the case of Suntai, not even around let alone to be distracted!

Again, because our constitution envisaged that only persons with ample integrity would be appointed as Commissioners in a state, they were empowered

by Section 189 to determine when a Governor becomes incapable of performing his duties. How can that happen in a country where State Commissioners worship a Governor’s children?

Interestingly, rather than encourage Taraba Commissioners to live up to their mandate, their party - the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP - with its own hidden agenda sought to investigate Suntai’s health status which a court stopped. So, Nigeria watches as Taraba State battles with stunted growth in the absence of full-time governance.

in holy books. For instance values, especially moral and aesthetic values, are inseparable from the good life.

Both Christian and Islamic scriptures preach moral values purportedly derived from God. But the two systems of morality are clearly inadequate; they reflect the fears, hopes, dreams and aspirations of ancient superstitious pastoral peoples who lived in Mediterranean world, and cannot cope with the complexities of con-

dote for the rampant fanaticisms that plague the world today. Those who are eager for quick returns and for precise balance sheet of effort and reward may be impatient with philosophy because of its slow and rationalistic approach to issues of vital concern to the individual and the community.

Still, the subject is the best guide for tackling certain perennial questions of vital concern for which science has yet to provide conclusive answers. Such questions include; do we survive death, and if so do we survive temporarily or forever?

Does the universe have an underlying purpose or is it fundamentally a stochastic phenomenon on an unim-

swers were accepted without satisfactory evidence. One of the important functions of philosophy is to keep alive interest in them, and to examine proposed answers. The way I see it, one can have all the material possessions in the world and remain intellectually and spiritually malnourished if the person fails to ponder these topics from time to time. Dogmatism and exaggerated skepticism cannot help anyone in the quest for the good life. A dogmatist is cocksure and certain of what he claims to know, which is why dogmatism of any kind is dangerous. On the other hand, the extreme skeptic is certain that we do not know anything. Philosophy, appropriately imbibed, dissipates certainty, and teaches a healthy dose of skepticism that enables any person that studies it develop the habit of thinking things through before reaching a conclusion which should be accepted in a tentative spirit. This means that philosophy can inculcate the intellectual virtue of acting based on the best hypothesis available anytime we are confronted with a practical problem. As we stated earlier, the good life depends partly on knowledge, even if what is known is painful or disturbing. Because what we claim to know comes from various sources with no guarantee of absolute truth, it is necessary for us to be critical of our beliefs, particularly those that we accept wholeheartedly and unquestioningly.

Self-criticism is a virtue that philosophy can nurture in an individual, a virtue that helps people to disagree in a benign spirit devoid of the acerbity that characterises human interactions at every level. Human beings

are essentially social. As a result, ethical parochialism is an obstacle to the good life in a globalising world.

What the world needs urgently right now, if humanity is to avoid complete annihilation of civilisation with weapons of mass destructions scattered in different parts of the world, is intellectual and ethical generality. For instance, social or political issues are naturally emotion-laden, which most times prevents people from discussing them rationally. Philosophy helps one to cultivate intellectual and ethical impartiality in such matters. If we make effort to increase our level of intellectual and ethical impartiality, chances are that we will be more objective and reasonable in responding to situations that tend to arouse belligerent feelings.

Thus, philosophy promotes humane and tolerant attitude, which is essential for the realisation of the good life. In conclusion, the quest for the good life is the centre of gravity in what Teilhard de Chardin called "the phenomenon of man."

The existential condition in Nigeria is so distressing that it would be too much to expect young people trying to eke out a living and mesmerised by the soporific miasma of false religiosity to have enough time for philosophy, a subject usually neglected by students in our universities. From my own experience, however, I hereby affirm that philosophy can give certain things that will increase the value of anyone that engages with it, as a human being and as a citizen. As far as I am concerned, the discipline is the best nourishment for humans - intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. CONCLUDED.

Happy Birthday to Governor Suntai of Taraba State to-life posture of Suntai was a reception hosted in his honour by the former Nigerian Ambassador to the United Nations, Ambassador Kennedy F. Apoe at Staten Island, New York.

With no new stories on Governor Suntai in the last one month, it is probably time to have faith in the man’s alleged miraculous recovery. If so, we should join

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N Sunday June 30, 2013, Gover nor Danbaba Suntai marked his 52nd birthday in far away New York, USA where he is recuperating from the injuries he sustained from a plane crash in October 2012. On the occasion, his deputy, Garba Umar who is currently acting as Governor of the State sent him a goodwill message on behalf of himself and the people of Taraba State. Was Suntai in a position to appreciate the gesture? It seems he was; going by media reports that he had greatly recovered from his poor health. The reports in earnest corroborated that of Governor Gabriel Suswan of Benue State who had visited Suntai a few days earlier. As if to further paint a brighter picture of an improved state of health, Suntai was reported to have spoken on telephone with President Goodluck Jonathan and Vice President Namadi Sambo.

Perhaps the most concrete evidence of a come-back-

subject because, it is a familiar route that we have passed before.

When the late President Yar’Adua was similarly in a critical health condition in 2010, there were “eyewitness” reports of how his condition had greatly improved until the nation lost him. On one occasion, a story was circulated of how the then President signed on his

Ours is probably the only nation in the world where an elected political leader can be away from his duty post for as long as his cronies can procure intrigues to sustain him in office in absentia

millions of Nigerians particularly his teeming supporters in Taraba to thank God for Suntai’s life and to wish him many more years in the service of the fatherland. But then, we will not chastise anyone who still habours some doubt on the

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PhD, Department of Philosophy, University of Lagos,

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HEREFORE, we in terpret the idea of love contained in Russell's definition as containing the elements highlighted by Fromm. However, making allowances for the turbulent and deep emotional attachment characteristic of romantic love, the kind of love intended by Russell involves tolerance, kindness, and feeling of solidarity for fellow human beings. Now, thinkers have hotly debated the problem of knowledge since the earliest beginnings of philosophy. In spite Edmund Gettier's influential critique of the traditional notion of knowledge, there is a broad consensus among philosophers that knowledge is justified true belief. Hence, Russell's definition boils down to the notion that the good life is one inspired by love and guided by justified true beliefs. Philosophy contributes positively to the practice of love by enabling those that study it acquire the habit of careful thought, thereby enabling them to have a better understanding of the phenomenon of love as an essential component of human experience. Of course, it is impossible to lead a good life without knowledge, because knowledge is fundamental to selfactualisation and fulfillment. As human beings, we must have adequate knowledge of the aims conducive

to happiness and growth. In addition, we need to know the best means of actualising them. Therefore, although people talk glibly about the blissfulness of ignorance, it is necessary to recognise that ignorance is definitely a hindrance to the attainment of good life. Philosophy is extremely important in this regard, since it integrates and synthesises fundamental insights from various domains of knowledge into a coherent and comprehensive system for constructing an intelligible weltanschauung. Nigeria is a religion-intoxicated society, dominated especially

by Christian and Muslim fanatics. The capitalistmercantilist orientation that dominates religious practice in the country has, paradoxically, given rise to deceitful and pernicious pseudo spirituality that parades material possession as an index of divine blessing. Without shame, socalled men and women of God have turned Christianity, and to a lesser extent Islam, into casino spirituality where prosperity preaching has supplanted the gospel of love and human solidarity. For those Nigerians that earnestly seek an intellectual-spiritual roadmap for the good life, philosophy offers a much better alternative than the illusory and intellectually stultifying superstitions contained

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Philosophy and unceasing quest for the good life (2)

Those who are eager for quick returns and for precise balance sheet of effort and reward may be impatient with philosophy because of its slow and rationalistic approach to issues of vital concern

temporary life. Moreover, the taboo morality that they promote, not to talk of the absurd doctrines of everlasting punishment in hell fire, cannot withstand the searchlight of philosophical scrutiny. We must frankly admit that the antiquated values prescribed by Christianity and Islam are unsuitable in our scientific age.

This is where philosophy comes in, with its unrelenting insistence that the values we adopt must be such that ministers to enlightened human interests since, as Protagoras of Abdera aptly remarked more than two thousand years ago, man is the measure of all things.

Philosophy is the best anti-

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aginable scale? Given the immensity of the cosmos revealed by contemporary astronomy, what is the status of life in it? How did life emerge - by creation or by evolution? How did the universe originate in the first instance? In the day-to-day preoccupation with the quotidian details of life in a distressed country like Nigeria, people are apt to either neglect these questions or seek answers in ancient superstitions codified as holy books. This would be a terrible error, for as Russell stated and I agree completely, human life would be impoverished if such questions were forgotten or if definite an-

PAGE 36—SUNDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 4, 2013

One can only imagine the extent of dependence on ROAD for transportation in Nigeria of approximately 150160 million people.

Expectedly, therefore, the interests and concern are as engaging, vast and expressive, for reasons of economic benefits, social interaction, ease of simple/ common movement of people and goods, community development….So the extent of general concern is understood.

Personal experience will immediately include the Apapa - Oshodi Express Way and the 3rd Mainland Bridge, MakurdiGboko-Yandev road and IfeIjebu Jesa road in Osun State.

Reports have thrown up other road users’ experiences with Ekparakwa - Azumini road in Akwa-Ibom State, Lalin Bridge along Langtang - Lalin - Tunkus - Shendam road in Plateau State. Nation-wide, the concerns, experiences and comments are as widely inclusive. These experiences are swayed sharply between sadness and joy, in line with the state and condition of these roads and bridges (so many others that have been rehabilitated along the over 35,00km long federal roads across Nigeria, in the last three years).

The extent of Federal government’s concern and investment on roads construction, maintenance and rehabilitation - is open to

FERMA: A Convergence of Intent, Engagement & Perception individual interpretation.

Records have consistently shown inadequacy in this regard, and to that extent, the general perception has been negative. Understandably however, resource allocation and investment on roads is a function of determination and commitment, especially among developing nations such as ours. The pattern of federal government investment from immediately post-independence Nigeria has been selective, based on urbanization and satellite allocation, economic viability, social impact and population.

With the post-military political era, this pattern became tainted with political calculations - the need for representatives to report political gains and benefits.

Notwithstanding the method of resource allocation for ROAD as a component of infrastructural development, it became evident that for meaningful impact, emphasis should shift from road construction to road maintenance (and rehabilitation). Road usage increased as a direct consequence of population explosion and growth in economic activities, exerting excessive pressure on the ‘few’ roads available. It was only a matter of time before the shift in emphasis. There needed to be a deliberate effort to maintain existing roads.

In year 2002, the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency FERMA - was borne (Federal Government Act Number 7, 2002). The Act stipulated the To Agency ’s mandate: MONITOR AND MAINTAIN all existing Federal roads in the country, EFFICIENTLY and EFFECTIVELY. As a policy shift of direct consequence, FERMA inherited enormous responsibility. In its ten years of operation since it started operation in 2003, the critical issues of impact assessment and perception have lingered.

In line with its mandate, however, FERMA can be credited with good measure of remarkable success.

Especially within the last three years, the Agency achieved about 80% of its achievements since inception.

On the whole, 67% of Federal roads (about 35,000 km nationwide), have been put back use as a result of FERMA’s efficient and effective maintenance. This effective intervention includes bridges that had hitherto been in state of near-damage. From between 2003 to date, FERMA has reduced the bad portion

increase funding of FERMA, for better performance. Let us put in proper perspective the recent successful transportation of those turbines and the other equipment in the face of cost and convenience, as we appreciate FERMA’s relevance in our development efforts as a nation.

Add to that is the Agency’s proactivity and expanded scope of engagement. Today, the Agency has engaged in the production of cold asphalt, to make up for the hitherto persistent shortfall in its supply. Shortage of cold asphalt is largely responsible for most of the portion of roads that should have been patched and covered up. The Agency had to commit its expertise and material resources into producing this very important material for adequate nationwide distribution, to enable contractors’ efficient discharge of their duty of intervention on surface failure.

of Federal road across the country from 29,750km to 11,900km, representing over 66% of the entire federal road network nation-wide (and still counting).

The big test of FERMA’s character came, when it became expedient upon the Federal Government, to move power turbines, generators and other heavy power equipment from Onne port, in Rivers State, to Kaduna, in the drive towards increased power generation. The critical issue was deciding between the options of road and air transportation, considering attendant cost implication, convenience at handling and safety. At the end when the federal government made the tough choice of road transportation, Engineer

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OAD is a very important resource ingredient of infrastructure for various important reasons. As a basic factor, it is a crucial part of resource system essential for collective development. Apart from its primary benefits of transportation, it is a key element in global economic rating of nations, as a measure of economic growth and development.

Economic development experts’ worldwide, have remained consistent in pushing for aggressive economic development of nations through diversification, industrialization, human capacity development, careful resources allocation and innovativeness. Despite the wonderful achievements in technology and internetenabled communication technology/system, ROAD has seen no replacement, as a driver of the much-needed economic growth and development, for its role as a facilitator of transportation.

President Olusegun Obasanjo, in his inaugural address of May 1999, stated: “…

Transport is the lifeline of the economy and social interactions. An inefficient transport system implies stagnation in all sectors. Our priorities in this sector will be the design and implementing a new policy on road maintenance …”

went through the 950 km road distance between Onne Port in Rivers State and Kudenda Industrial district in Kaduna State. That impressive feat was a result of FERMA’s direct involvement and engagement.

While we commend FERMA’s good showing, it is important to articulate the critical issues that must be addressed, being essentials in complement of FERMA’s efforts at ensuring usable or good federal roads, and the gains recorded so far. We must set our goals at optimizing the returns on our collective investment on road infrastructure as a nation.

Constant in international economic rating of nations, is the extent of economic growth and development, based on resource allocation. For

Shortage of cold asphalt is largely responsible for most of the portion of roads that should have been patched and covered up. The Agency had to commit its expertise and material resources into producing this very important material

Gabriel C. Amuchi (the MD/ CEO of FERMA) and his management team had to prove themselves. As the Agency charged with road maintenance, FERMA had to deliver on good roads strong enough to carry the weight of the turbines and its component equipment, over the distance.

As we know, nothing damages roads as much as excessive weight. It was amazing, the amount of competence demonstrated by the FERMA team, to ensure the turbines, batteries and other equipment

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comparative advantage, therefore, individual nations make deliberate efforts to channel investment into sectors with greater potentials to propel their over-all economic growth and development. Nigeria must be pragmatic in this regard, carefully articulating investment policies and decisions, based on comparatively better reward potentials. With the present team at FERMA, it will cost Nigeria less per kilometer of road over time, to appreciably

As we count FERMA’s gains, however, there is, clearly, a need for attitude adjustment on the part of road users, if we must continue on the path of improvement. The average roads user is guilty of road abuse. Apart from excessive vehicular weight on our roads, dumping of refuse, leaking sewage/pipe, cutting across road for purposes of laying pipes and cables, street trading and all such negative practices, combine to pressure our roads towards damage and short life-span. We need to contribute to ensuring good roads, by adjusting our attitude.

That leads us to the convergence point for all stakeholders - the federal government, roads maintenance Agency and the road users: we are almost equally indebted to ensuring usable roads, as we are entitled to the benefits of a network of good roads. Road users must adopt the right attitude, appreciate the common investments we all make to have good roads and commit our collective efforts towards protecting our investment. On the part of government (federal, states and local government), investment decision/policy on roads, must be carefully considered for the common good of all, in the face of scarce resources. Policy on roads must amply be supportive of continuous maintenance, as in the case of FERMA. The last line: FERMA’s gains can be easily replicated in all the states of the federation if similar agencies are established to complement its role at the state level. Such move will speed up the actualization of FERMA’s OPERATION ZERO POTHOLE campaign on federal government roads, nation-wide.

SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 4, 2013, PAGE 37

Nigerians should resist negative labelling of their country – Ada Stella Apiafi, I-Nigerian Initiative Coordinator

BY MCPHILLIPS NWACHUKWU

In realisation of negative perceptions about Nigeria, a group concerned about the situation launched a campaign to promote the country. Ada Stella Apiafi is the National Coordinator of INigerian Campaign under an initiative called The Nigerian Renaissance Project. She speaks, in this interview, on the need for Nigerians to project the nation in good light.

Excerpts: HAT is the INigerian project all about?

I-Nigerian is a privately initiated perception transformation initiative set up to drive what we have chosen to call The Nigerian Renaissance Project (TNRP) into the consciousness of Nigerians at home and abroad, and to the global community, with special emphasis on the positives. It is both a process, and a series of programmes designed to recapture the heart, soul and concept of being Nigerian, by showcasing, in every sphere, the good in Nigeria, and Nigerians, by Nigerians themselves.

What are the reasons behind this initiative?

Nigerians are by nature very vocal about everything, especially about their country – for good or for bad.

Therefore, it is necessary to transpose our minds, such that the stories that we tell of Nigeria, and the image we present of our country, give the country a ‘new’ name that reflects some ‘new order’ among Nigerians themselves.

The truth is most times what we see is the negative. How can that be addressed?

It is not what we see but what is being reported. There are many good and positives that could, and should be reported as well. When Nigeria recently made it into the list of the 50 Most Reputable Countries in the World, not many media outfits celebrated it! Before now, the

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country was not even considered for ranking. A 24year-old Nigerian, Uwa Osamede Imafidon, just graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) in the US with a master ’s degree in microbiology, with a 4.0 CGPA out of maximum 4.0 CGPA. Before her sojourn abroad, she had made First Class in crop science from University of Benin, as the best graduating student in her department. A few years ago,

Jelani Aliyu from Sokoto State, who schooled in Kebbi, won a global design competition organised by General Motors.

Sadly, the good attention that we should be basking in is being tainted by the news of insurgency, challenges to our national security, and a myriad of issues that spark more and more negative news about Nigerians as a people.

Nigerians – individually and collectively - are left with a battered trust and confidence in their Nigerianness.

But how do you see these achievements compared to the internal crises and challenges that we are faced with daily?

We have challenges...that is true! But you will agree that our country is at a very critical stage of growth and development. We have evolved as a new ‘democratic’ country, and a fast-growing economy. Global attention on Nigeria, today, is at an all-time high, something that should easily bring pride to the heart of every Nigerian wherever we are across the world.

Today, there is a deep dent on the collective psyche of the average Nigerian, as he finds it increasingly difficult to speak positively or confidently about our dearly beloved county – the psyche of the nation is plummeting more and more, with all the negative stories coming out of, and about Nigeria, many being told by Nigerians themselves.

What is the solution, or what is the good news?

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* Ada Stella Apiafi....Nigerians are by nature very vocal

The good news is that there are lots of positives! Nigeria is about to emerge as the largest economy in Africa.

GDP is a powerful political tool as the most important global governance institutions, from the G8 to the G20, are based on GDP credentials. So far, South Africa has been the only African country represented in the G20 on the grounds of the scale of its economy.

Is this initiative intended to promote the government?

Whether in government or out of government, we are all Nigerians that should promote Nigeria.

There are commendable initiatives from the government and the private sector. For instance, there is this Youth Enterprise With Innovation in Nigeria (YouWin), the entrepreneurship development scheme of the Federal Government launched

Therefore, most of the inspiration for promoting this initiative will be coming from private individuals who have made positive impact locally and internationally. The richest black man today, Aliko Dangote, is a story of grass to grace. Forbes recently rated him 25th richest man in the world. He has within a single generation translated a medium scale business into a multinational conglomerate!

He has a Foundation that addresses youth unemployment and women empowerment. There is also the Elumelu Foundation that promotes entrepreneurship development and other collaborative efforts between the government and the private sectors under PublicPrivate Partnership. This is good news that should be widely related. But we don’t get to celebrate these.

It is necessary to transpose our minds, such that the stories that we tell of Nigeria, and the image we present of our country, give the country a ‘new’ name that reflects some ‘new order’ among Nigerians themselves

just over a year ago, and has become so successful that each of the 1,200 first set of beneficiaries are now employing an average of eight staff! The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) has just announced that Nigeria has successfully halved the number of hungry people in line with the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals. Very cheering news is emanating from our land, and should be commended and celebrated.

But doesn’t it mean your group will be focusing more only the activities of government?

I-Nigerian is a privately initiated perception transformation initiative.

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Do we now say your inspiration will centre on public service and players in the business sector?

Like I said, this is a private initiative to promote the positives on Nigeria and Nigerians. Let me give you more examples from the social or entertainment industry.

Mosunmola ‘Mo’ Abudu recently launched EbonyLife TV, Africa’s first Global Black M u l t i - B r o a d c a s t Entertainment Network, with programmes showcasing Nigeria’s burgeoning middle class. Home girl Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde recently emerged one of TIME’s top 100 most influential personalities. Nigeria’s Ice Prince Zamani won the 2013

Best International Act (Africa) Award. These are just a few inspiring stories coming from within Nigeria and they are all extraordinary! Some of our stories don’t get to make news headlines. These are everyday Nigerians doing noble deeds, surviving against all odds, and who just believe in maintaining the dignity of being Nigerians.

How do you address the negative perceptions of Nigerians abroad who are into criminal activities?

There are many Nigerians doing great outside the country. Of the 541 athletes employed by Great Britain for the 2012 Olympics, 16 reportedly are Nigerians including some that are world champions. None of them was referred to them as Nigerianborn British athletes. BUT, when two miscreants, born and bred in Britain, killed a soldier, the British press was so quick to dub them Nigerians.

What do you then expect from Nigerians?

Our ‘mandate’ to Nigerians is very simple: We must speak about positives and be proud of them rather than insist on the negativities. Negatives are present, and even more prevalent in other climes, but are not often screamed on the front pages. There is a saying that ‘no body can make you

inferior without your consent!’

Over the years, a subtle inferiority has crept into the consciousness of the average Nigerian, especially in the way we talk about ourselves we tend to spend more time talking about the bad than the good.

Nigerians should begin to resist negative labelling of our country, even amongst ourselves. It is also a charge to retune our minds to being dignifying in our thinking, speech, and deeds (our work) about Nigeria and being Nigerians as a whole.

Do we foresee your NGO being influenced politically?

This is a different kind of NGO, we have chosen to call this The Nigerian Renaissance Project (TNRP). Renaissance means rebirth, reawakening, re-energizing. So it is a different thing entirely. Most of our activities will centre on awareness creation through all the major media channels: Print, electronic and online.

PAGE 38—SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 4, 2013

TERROR:

Indonesia has

experiences Nigeria can learn from -Ambassador Haseng

•’My home country’s economic, industrialisation and agricultural success story’

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he Indonesian ambassador to Nigeria, Surdiman Haseng, speaks, in this interview, how his nation is collaborating with his host-country in a mutually benefitting manner. Excerpts:

BY VICTORIA OJEME

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hat is the state of relations between Nigeria and Indonesia?

Since the diplomatic relations were established in 1965, Nigeria and Indonesia have enjoyed warm relations based on mutual respect and understanding. Both countries are members of multilateral organizations such as the Non-Aligned Movement, World Trade Organization (WTO), Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Developing 8 Countries.

What is the volume of trade between Nigeria and Indonesia?

Bilateral trade between the two emerging economies reached US$2.1 billion in 2011and, during the JanuaryOctober period last year, it totalled $2.7 billion. The trade volume is expected to reach $5 billion by 2015. Both countries would work together to double the trade volume by 2015. Nigeria and Indonesia will come up with strategic and implementable action plans to ensure that both countries leverage the cordial bilateral trade relationship to boost trade and increase Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Just this February, Nigeria - Indonesia bilateral trade meeting and business luncheon was held in Abuja.

What areas of improvement is the Indonesian government looking at in its

relations with Nigeria at the moment?

We are looking for improvement in cooperation in economic fields such as trade, investment, agriculture, aviation and services, education, politics, defence and security cooperation.

What is the volume of Foreign Direct Investment from Indonesia to Nigeria in the last three years?

Nigeria has become a destination for investment from Indonesia with around 11 local firms having already entered certain sectors such as food and beverage, petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals.

In what way can Indonesia assist Nigeria in the fight against terrorism, given its very successful history of combating terrorism?

Indonesia has shown the best practices in its efforts to combat terrorism and has developed cooperation with many countries, including through tripartite agreements.

Indonesia’s success story in combating terrorism has and shall always remain a strong point of Indonesian foreign policy. The country’s efforts to tackle acts of terror since the year 2000 - when three bombs wreaked havoc on Jakarta, followed by other bombings in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 - mean the Indonesian authorities have ample experiences as they continue their efforts to find and bring to justice those responsible

•Ambassador Haseng

for the Marriott-Ritz bombs, while meanwhile ensuring the situation returns to normal. The strategy of law enforcement in combating terrorism in Indonesia puts the police in the frontline of the anti-terrorism operations.

The roles of the police have been enhanced through the establishment of the Special Detachment 88 anti-terrorism unit. Keeping on the progress,

What lessons can Nigeria learn from Indonesia in its bid to industrialize?

Indonesia has the largest economy in south-east Asia and is one of the emerging market economies of the world. The country is also a member of G-20 major economies and classified as a newly industrialized country.

It has a market economy in which the government plays a significant role through

The strategy of law enforcement in combating terrorism in Indonesia puts the police in the frontline of the antiterrorism operations President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono issued regulation No. 46/2010 on the establishment of the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) as coordinator of all country’s legal instruments: the police, the prosecutors, the courts, the imprisonment system. Indonesian Military (TNI) has been participating as well in the process, especially in collecting, providing, and exchanging intelligence information with other legal instruments.

ownership of state-owned enterprises (the central government owns more than 160 enterprises) and the administration of prices of a range of basic goods including fuel, rice, and electricity. In the aftermath of the financial and economic crisis that began in mid-1997, the government took custody of a significant portion of private sector assets through acquisition of non-performing bank loans and corporate assets through the debt

restructuring process. Since 2004, the economy has recovered and growth has accelerated to over 6% in recent years.

What is the major agricultural export of Indonesia and how can Nigeria benefit from the Indonesian experience in boosting agricultural production?

The Indonesian government is still weighing the offer from the Nigerian government to develop agricultural businesses in the West African country. The study of the investment would continue. I cannot yet disclose what kinds of plantations would be developed, and how much investment would be needed to meet the Nigerian government’s offer. Investing in Nigeria’s agricultural sector should be part of a bilateral trade cooperation agreement with Indonesia, which could include the lowering of import tariffs and cuts in tax and trade barriers.

Nigeria has offered 4 million hectares of land to Indonesia which could be used for crude palm oil or other plantations. Developing a crude palm oil plantation in the country will be quite promising given the country’s high demand for cooking oil.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 4 2013 —39

Pizzazz on parade for Ma. Wilkinson @ 80 Vera and Best

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enin City was virtually brought to standstill when Madam Dorothy Wilkinson, mother of Chairman of All Progressives Congress, APC celebrated her 80th birthday. It was like a convention of power brokers from every corner of the nation as eminent Nigerians graced the occasion.

From the St. Francis Catholic Church to the venue of the reception, it was celebration galore, spruced with glamour and glitz. Photos by Barnabas Uzosike

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est Ojo, son of Archbishop Joseph Ojo of Calvary Kingdom Church, has signed off his name from the league of bachelors when he was joined in Holy matrimony with his sweetheart, Vera Erikowa.

The celebrant, Madam Dorothy Wilkinson flanked by children and friends

The couple: Best and Vera Ojo

L-R: Pastor Ize-Iyamu and Chief Adolo OkotieEboh, Chairman, All Progressives Congress, APC, Delta State.

R-L Mama; Chief Willy Edema-Ofoni and Chief F.O. Omatseye.

L-R: Archbishop Joseph Ojo, his wife, the couple and, bride’s parents, the Erikowas

L-R: Chief Patrick Yalaju (JP); Chief Brown Mene and Chief S.S. Ronne .

L-R: Chief Yaya Pessu and Prof. Tony Afejuku

Fun galore as Aler o Amuk a mar ks one Alero Amuka marks

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t was meant to be the first birthday celebration of little Alero Amuka-Pemu, daughter of Lucky and Chioma Amuka-Pemu and it was, in every respect but the parents stretch it further wide and big as they also entertained not only Alero friends but their own friends as well. Photos by Sola Oyelese

From left ; Mr Ogene Igihorodje, Mrs Chioma Amuka-Pemu,Mr Richard Okotie, carrying little Alero Amuka-Penu, celebrant and Mr Lucky Amuka-Pemu C M Y K

From left; Mr Ojo Olushola Ogunleye , Mrs Elizabeth Hayward, Mr Kunle Adekoya and Mr Sam Oghor

Mrs Chioma Amuka-Pemu, mum, helping little Alero Amuka-Pemu, celebrant ,to cut her birthday cake

PAGE 40— SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 4, 2013

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SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 4, 2013, PAGE 41

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PAGE 42—SUNDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 4, 2013

By BENJAMIN NJOKU

njokujamin@yahoo.com

Nollywood actresses nearly stopped my marriage — Producer Lancelot Imasuen

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elebrated Nolly Oduwa Imasuewood director and producer, for his professi n, is one man you cannot buLancelot t onal exploits. lovely wife, Osa He got marriedadmire s, so m e si to his x ye The marriage ars ago, at the initial dream wis blessed with three kids. Laage of 36 years. takes us througas to get married at the age of ncelot says his 27 h After six years their matrimonial journey. . The couple of m ar ri ag e , the journey ha and memorable ab ou t ea ch ot . “I and my wife are gettings been exciting h challenges, we er. T h ou gh m ar ri ag e co to know more getting really exthank God we have come thm es w it h it s to marry someb citing. It’s not an easy thin is far and it’s of the job. This ody in our business becaus g for a woman as an artiste. Sois my 18th year in Nollywoo e of the nature I’m doing to ea , my wife understands the nad and 32 years rn a living.’ ture of the job

Late wedding!

I married at the age of 36. But if you ask me what my regret in life is, I would tell you I have one or two. I wanted to pursue my academic program up to the PhD level. But that never happened.

Again, I thought I would marry at the age of 27. At 26, I was already contemplating settling down. But because of the extended family system that is peculiar with Africans, I couldn’t actualise that dream. I have always envisaged a small but united immediate family for myself.

So, I wanted to see how much I could be of assistance to my extended family members before setting out to build my own nuclear family. For me, late marriage comes with its own price. I was into a relationship for seven years that did not work out. The ex-lover walked out of the relationship without any cause. It was so devastating for me.

I never believed I could remain a bachelor beyond the age of 29 or 30. But it wasn’t so. The important thing is not how far, rather it is how well .For six years now, I have been married with three kids. My wife is a treasure to me .Over the years, I have watched her perfect the art of understanding the kind of man she got married to.

Each time she sees me, she’s very happy and I try as much as possible to play my role as a husband to her.

Finding a wife in Nollywood!

There was no way I could have married an actress because I’m somebody that is greatly misunderstood. I cherish my wife so much because if she had listened to what my female colleagues told her about me, perhaps, I wouldn’t have been married by now.

However, it was after our wedding that I got to know how much some actresses tried to discourage my wife from

marrying me. I was shocked when one of them came to my house after our white wedding to apologise to me.

I didn’t know she was my wife’s friend. She visited us in the house; while my wife was in the kitchen, she approached me to confess some of the negative things she told her about me that were not true.

The opposite sex would admire more from a distance, but they thought I was too strict to be called somebody ’s husband. I suffered that fate because of the movie industry.

So , any woman that creates time to be with me could not understand that I’m a man that has taken time to create a dichotomy between my private life and my job. It was only very few of them who understood my position.

As a matter of fact, my disposition to the job was to get to where I am today; to make a name for myself and the industry. My insistence on

professionalism robbed me of the opportunity to be romantically linked to my female colleagues in the industry. In fact, any woman I approached then would tactically avoid having anything to do with me.

But today, time is proving all that wrong. I have been able to create that demarcation. When we are on location, all those professional ethics must be observed; I don’t allow sentiment to come between my job and love life, because if I’m emotionally attached to you ,I wouldn’t want to get you on the same production that I’m involved in .That’s me, and a lot of actresses did not understand my position.

In fact, when I was getting married, they told my wife I was married with kids because, at the time I met my wife, I had travelled to over 20 countries.

And during that period, people thought I had a family of my own. But they didn’t understand the important of the saying that you must lay your bed the way you want to lie on it. That has been my guiding principle.

Tempted to quit I was of marriageable age before I got married. I didn’t dabble into marriage. I was ready mentally, psychologically and emotionally. That’s not to say we have not had our issues.

But I’m never too proud to say, ‘honey I’m sorry,’ whenever I gaffe. And, on her own, she never feels too proud to say, ‘daddy, I’m sorry,’ whenever I’m able to prove that she has offended me. That has worked

for us. My wife is loving, peaceful and extremely loyal to me. She loves what I do for a living and she’s my number one fan and critic. I’m always inquisitive to hear her comment on my new productions.

Most times, I believe that marriages to celebrities are always for the wrong reasons. I did a thorough research to come up with a title of a film, “In Between the Lines”, which is a promotional film I did for the Federal Inland Revenue Service. The film is a love story on how and why most celebrity

marriages don’t last. There is always a misunderstanding, especially when men who are not Nollywood practitioners, marry female celebrities. They watch a love scene, or see their wives kiss in a film, they tend to misinterpret her role in that film and real life situation. For us in the industry, it’s always the problem of never being around home. We are jumping from one movie location to another. It takes the grace of God and discipline for your spouse to understand your predicament.

Our relationship had so many detractors — wife Attraction Lancelot is somebody that is very different from the way he looks. When I first met him, I had my impression about him. More so, a couple of other people had told me a lot of negative things about him. But despite that, I took my time to understudy him.

Basically, he’s a nice person, very down to earth .He does not like anything to bother him and he’s a sincere person at heart.

How I met him I met him at a bus station in BeninCity. I was on my way to Lagos, just like he was. I sat beside him, somehow, we got talking and, along the line, we exchanged phone numbers. The rest is history.

Familiar with his name!

Yes, I think I was particularly interested in him and his works. This is because of where he comes from (Benin). In fact, before I met my husband, I wasn’t a big fan of Nigerian movies. But whenever I saw any movie

directed by him, I wanted to watch that movie because I knew it would be a good movie.

Moreover, my sister, who used to be a very big fan of Nollywood movies encouraged me to watch movies directed by Lancelot. That’s how I really got to know him and his works on screen.

My reaction at the bus station Actually, I sighted him from a distance. I had seen him a couple of times on television. I just said in my mind, ‘oh! This is Lancelot’. Then, I walked pass him and acted as if nothing happened. Fortunately, I was privileged to sit beside him in the bus.

I didn’t allow the joy of sitting beside a superstar overwhelm me.

Proposal Initially, I rejected his proposal. But much later, I accepted him. What happened was that, at first, I really didn’t know much about his person.

Again, because he was already a superstar, I had to seek advice from friends and well- wishers, who tried to discourage me from marrying him.

Somehow, I was confused but, on second thought, I said to myself, ‘let me get to know more about this man that everybody is trying to castigate’.

And when I did, I discovered that he wasn’t that kind of person many people thought he was. When I found out he was much more different and a nice person, I accepted his marriage proposal.

But even during our introduction, some detractors told me he was married with kids, but I was not bothered.

What it takes to be his wife It takes someone who is peaceful, kind and who will always be there for him.

What I don’t like about him I used to complain that he’s always busy and that he throws his clothes around in the house.

SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 4, 2013, PAGE 43

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A L L E G E D D E A D LY A T T A C K BY F I A N C E

Mary fights for life *Police accused of bias

zThe victim before tragedy struck

BY JOSEPHINE IGBINOVIA “I need justice. My case was unjustly closed by the police!” That was the persistent cry of Mary Sunday, a graduate of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, on whom a pot of stew and the kerosene stove, upon which it was boiling, were allegedly thrown at by her fiancé, a serving officer of the Nigeria Police, Corporal Isaac Gbanwuan.

The incident, which left Mary with grievous bodily harm including the loss of her two ears with her upper neck glued to her arms, led to two surgeries while she needs N5million to undergo another in India.

The victim told Sunday Vanguard she was on the verge of being recruited into the police before trouble began when her fiancé was allegedly diagnosed with low sperm count, lamenting that she has been unjustly treated by the police and denied access to justice.

As a result of the medical report, Gbanwuan allegedly became aggressive and suspicious. An argument which arose from his suspicion of a telephone call Mary received on August 24, 2012, became the last straw that broke the camel’s back.

“On our way home from hospital on that fateful day, an argument ensued over a telephone call I received. He didn’t want to believe the call was from my sister. The argument degenerated and Isaac started beating me by the time we got home. When I could no longer take the kicking and dragging, I tried to escape the scene and I ran to the second floor of the building where we resided at Pedro Barracks, Shomolu, Lagos. We had actually done our introduction and were preparing to get married.

z...immediately after alleged attack

He pursued me and I ran to a kitchen on the second floor to escape.

He however broke the kitchen door. In a fit of rage, he carried the cooking stove of the neighbor, with boiling stew on it, and poured all the content on my body He pursued me and I ran to a kitchen on the second floor to escape. He however broke the kitchen door. In a fit of rage, he carried the cooking stove of the neighbor, with boiling stew on it, and poured all the content on my body. The stove exploded, setting me on fire”, Mary said.

z...in hospital The Lagos State Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Damascus Ozoani, in a newspaper report, dated February 18, 2013, however cleared Gbanwuan of the allegation on the grounds that the police had carried out and closed investigation on the matter.

In the report, the police described the condition of Mary as a self-inflicted one.

“The allegation that Gbanwuan assaulted Sunday is misleading. This case has been investigated by the Provost Office of the command. The police have taken statements from Mary, Gbanwuan and other eye witnesses at the Pedro Police Barracks. The Lagos State Police Command is not insensitive. I can tell you that, at this moment, the Commissioner of Police is interested in this case and has passed instructions to the Provost to conclude investigations”, Ozoani was quoted as saying.

However, Mary, who was until June 2013 on admission at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos, said the police did not at any time visit her to get information from her after a com-

plaint was lodged by one of her relatives. When contacted, Gbanwuan, who did not deny knowing Mary, refused discussing the subject but rather, referred Sunday Vanguard to the police headquarters for any details.

Foremost human rights activist, Dr.(Mrs.)Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, Executive Director, Women Advocates Research & Documentation CentreWARDC, suspects a bias in the matter.

“One would wonder why a woman who was running for her dear life and seeking help and assistance from neighbours would suddenly become suicidal and inflict such wanton harm on herself.

Beyond this investigation, Mary has no other option of redress since the police have closed investigation on her case”, Abiola, who decried the insensitivity of the police towards issues of domestic violence, said.

She continued: “We suspect there is an attempt to subdue the case because of the multiple conflicts of interest associated with the matter. We believe that the Lagos State Police Command has been hasty in coming to the conclusion and that the newspaper report affirms the bias of the police on this matter. We believe that the response was also to cover up the several violations that take place at various police barracks. Also, the fact that this abuse took place at the police barracks, to us, is enough reason for the Lagos police to cover up. We would have expected that the police would have, in accordance with the criminal law in the country, subjected Corporal Isaac to a court of law before an unbiased umpire of this case, so that justice can be seen as done.”

Abiola, who lamented the continued violence against women with perpetrators going unpunished, regretted that several other issues of domestic violence had got stuck at the police without victims getting justice.

“We’ve written twice to the Police Service Commission but got no response.

We’ve also written to the Lagos State House of Assembly from whom we’re yet to get an acknowledgement. To us as human rights activists, we’re getting convinced that despite its domestic violence laws, the state is not interested in reducing violence against women. We’re therefore planning to do a petition to the African Commission and the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Violence and Discrimination against Women - CEDAW, on this matter, to state that the Nigerian government has failed in the protection of women’s rights.”

Ex-bank official drags wife to court for stealing

BY ADEOLA ADENUGA A-64-year old man, Mr. Femi Eboda, prayed an Agege Grade ‘A’ Customary Court sitting in Lagos to dissolve his 21-year-old marriage to Bolanle Eboda over stealing and embarrassing him publicly.

Mr. Eboda, who lives at No, 14 Amusan, Oko-Oba, Abule Egba, claimed to have been suffering from stroke, diabetes and ulcer for the past two years, saying the wife failed

to take care of him.

Saying he resigned from Union Bank some years ago because of illhealth, the husband said his health challenges were compounded by his wife and his family. He said his efforts to ensure that his children got good education were frustrated by Bolanle. While reacting to the allegations, the wife urged the court to beg her husband on her behalf. She denied the allegations but said she

not ready for divorce. She said the marriage was been blessed with two children and her husband should consider her and resolve it. In his rulling, the court president, Mr. Emmanuel Shokunle, asked the couple to go back home and see how to settle it amicably because the woman still believed in the marriage. He adjourned the case till August 13 for further hearing.

PAGE 44— SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 4, 2013

08116759757 We are old and weak — Mr. Quadri Abdullahi retired in 2010 as a head teacher

“Those in charge of the administration of pension should remember that retirement will be their turn, sooner or later. It is disheartening seeing us being treated this manner. We pay the same transport, buy from the same market, families issues are not left out with dependent relatives. Things we took care of when we were in service are not reducing but increasing.

“We are getting older and weaker and here we are, our gratuity and other payments are not remitted. I am appealing to government to give us our right so that we can enjoy it before we die.

PUNISHING THE PENSIONERS!

z‘W e look up tto o God ffor or int er ‘We inter ervvention’

BY OLAYINKA LATONA

I

magine the picture of old men, their eyes closed in prayer. Mind you, this is not a prayer for the success of their children as many senior citizens are wont to do. This is a prayer for their survival, a prayer to God to touch the heart of government to pay their entitlements after labouring in their youth in the public service but made to suffer in their old age.

Their lot has been non- payment of their entitlements, omission of their names from the payroll, under-payment, and delayed payment. Sometimes they are even called for verification exercise to exorcise ghosts from the payroll, in the course of which many of the retirees collapse and die on queue.

As one of the measures to address their plight, over 200 pensioners, under the umbrella of Lagos State Council of Nigeria Union of Pensioners, NUP, gathered, in Lagos, for fasting, seeking God’s intervention on the payment of the backlog of their arrears.

Some of the senior citizens, in their 60s and 80s, prayed government to pay their pensions, gratuities that have accumulated for several years.

They also criticised the non-implementation of pension increase of six percent from 2003, 15 percent from 2007 and non-review of pension for the past10 years which is a contradiction of the 1999 constitution.

Chairman of Lagos NUP, Alhaji Nojeemdeen Adebayo Ibrahim, and the planning committee chairman of the prayer meeting, Mr. Isaac Ogunlade, both of whom spoke during the prayer programme, said the union resolved to prayer since human efforts had failed in tackling their challenge.

Ibrahim lamented that majority of Lagos pensioners had been subjected to untold hardship and that the union had had series of meetings with state officials which all proved abortive.

His words: “The Lagos government has remained resolute in not paying the balance of 142 per cent which is 36 months’ pension. We have been on this for over five years. We held meetings with government officials pleading that they should allow us to talk with the governor but they refused. But for us not to dent the image of the state, we have been pleading but all we are getting is non-challant attitude.

“Probably the government wants all pensioners to die. I have told them to get all of us together and bomb us which is a quicker way to kill us in-

service and, when they calculated my gratuity, it was over one million Naira but I was paid N709,000. When I complained, I was asked to write a letter which I did but, on getting to the secretariat, I was told they had paid the balance which I did not receive. I have been going to the secretariat for years but nothing was done. All I get after serving the government is suffering.

Since 2001, there has been no increment of any sort. It is like government derives pleasure in punishing us.”

Pension staff asked for bribe – Mrs. Ebun Oyenekan, 68, served in Somolu Local Government under the Ministry of Education

“The truth is that these yearnings are constantly dashed by exposing the retirees to a life of untold hardship and penury that could be better imagined as they are constantly subjected to lots of hardship under the old pension scheme, as neither the Pension Act of 1979 nor the NSITF put in place could guarantee regular payment of pension stipends”.

I am down with stroke – Mr Jimoh Balogun, 72 , retired in 2007

‘”I retired as a teacher in Mushin Local Government Area where I served for 35 years. I have been down with partial paralysed of my right side for years and I was assisted to partake in this prayer programme despite my physical challenge because I have not been paid my gratuity since I retired. I do not have money to take a good care of myself. I don’t know why government is treating us this way; maybe they forget that the position they are occupying is temporary and we will all give account of our activities while on earth”.

“Since 2009 when I retired, I have not

Since 2009 when I retired, I have not received my gratuity. Some pension staff even asked me to bring 10 per cent for them to help me stead of allowing us to suffer to death after serving the state. They should remember that when a nursing mother is not at home, it was somebody that took care of the baby. We have exhausted our patience. Commissioners will come and tell us same story which we have been hearing for the past three years”.

Some of the senior citizens narrated their woes and how they had been coping with life after serving government, many of them for 35 years.

I was short paid by government officials - Mrs Eluaju Chika “I retired in 2001 from the teaching

received my gratuity. Some pension staff even asked me to bring 10 per cent for them to help me. Where will I get such money from? I don’t have accommodation since my house in Somolu was demolished. I am presently squatting with a family member. I am begging Governor Fashola to compel them to pay my gratuity and other benefits. I served this state with black hair, is it fair that I am suffering now when I am supposed to be eating the fruit of my labour? My gratuity is only a peanut because I retired as a non-teaching staff; government should have mercy and pay our money”.

Mr Jimoh Balogun

Mr. Quadri Abdullahi

SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 4, 2013, PAGE 45

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Staff seek enabling law, governing council for French Village

BY ADEOLA ADENUGA

Gov Uduaghan...delivering health care

UDU AGHAN: Ho w a go UDUA How govv is using healthcare tto o combat po ty povver erty

BY EJIRO IDAMA

T

he healthcare portfolio of Delta State has witnessed a steady and upward boost since its inception on August 27, 1991.

The progress recorded in the healthcare sector in the past 22 years, especially since 1999, can be described as phenomenon.

The sector, however, witnessed fundamental policy engineering under the administration of Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan which further enhanced healthcare delivery in the state. Today, Delta stands out as one of the healthcare conscious states in the federation on account of the accessibility of healthcare facilities to its citizens both in the urban and rural areas.

Delta State, pursuant to one of the Uduaghan administration’s three-point agenda of human capital development, was the first among the 36 states of the federation to introduce and successfully implement the free maternal health care and the free rural scheme now being studied for implementation by some other states.

This is in keeping with the millenium goals.

Delta State today boasts of six Central Hospitals, one General Hospital each in the 25 local government areas of the state, and comprehensive health centres spread across the states as well as primary health centres in almost every community. It also has a world class Oghara University Teaching Hospital.

To ensure adequate manpower for the sector, government under the Uduaghan administration has established some nursing and midwifery schools as well as schools of health technology across the three senatorial districts of the state.

In icing the cake of its health care policies, the Uduaghan administration introduced the free rural health programme which ensures that health care delivery (men, materials and accessories) are moved from one rural area to another, dispensing quality healthcare service, covering all ailments, including surgeries.

Evidence of the success of the Delta government healthcare programme comes from the testimonies of those it has impacted the most.

Ogechukwu Monye, 24, from Ibusa, in Oshimili North local government area, regained her sight after she was treated by the medical team on the rural health programme. After the treat-

ment, she said, “As you can see me now, I can see with both eyes. I am short of words to express my sincere gratitude to the state, our governor, Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan, for making it possible for me to see again and for saving the lives of many people like me”.

Another example is the case of an-85-year-old farmer, Mr. Raphael Enebeli, from Emuhu in Ika South local government area. He was successfully operated of cataract and hernia. Enebeli said, “My family will forever remain grateful to Governor Uduaghan for saving lives. May God continue to guide him and protect him as he pilots the affairs of the state”.

Another beneficiary, Mrs Mary Igbiwie, 42, from Kolokolo, Warri North local government area said, “I was married for many years but could not bear children due to fibroid. I had no money to go for the surgery. I managed to get pregnant after a long time but since I had my child 11 years ago, I could not conceive again. I was advised to go for surgery to enable me conceive again but could not afford N150,000 charged in a hospital in Benin-City, Edo State and N120,000 in another hospital in Warri.

“When I heard of the state free rural health scheme, I did not believe that such expensive surgery could be done free of charge. I finally encountered them at K wale. Initially I was afraid but the medical team calmed me down. They were very humane and kind hearted. The surgery was done successfully”.

Mrs. Rosemary Obuseh lived with fibroid due to her inability to afford N100,000, before the regime of free rural healthcare.

I was impressed with the explanation of Dr. Akpe Aghogho, a member of the medical team who revealed that over 60 persons had undergone surgeries at the Mobile Field Hospital between 2011 and 2013.

I agree with Mrs Esewezie, wife of the Ika South transition committee chairman, who observed that records showed that since the inception of this scheme mobidity and life expectancy have improved in Delta. Good life is here.

Overall, I want to say that Delta State under the watch of Uduaghan has established herself as a pace setter in the health sector through a sound and people oriented health policy. *Ejiro Idama lives in Asaba, Delta State.

Nigeria French Language Village teaching and nonteaching staff are demanding transparency in the choice of a new Director General as the incumbent Professor Samuel Aje, leaves office on July 31 after being in office since August 2003.

They also called for a governing council and an enabling law for the institution.

The staff oftentimes during the ten-year tenure of Aje, were at logger-heads with him on virtually all issues pertaining to the college, especially on the title of Director-General for the head of the school which the lecturer claimed is an anomaly in the Village, a part of the university system. And to stall any attempt by D-G to overstay his tenure, the staff want government to appoint an Acting Director since the process of appointing a new substantive one may take some time.

The absence of a governing council and enabling law, according to the staff, has also affected the administration of the Village. They called on government to urgently appoint a governing council and put in place an Act to legalize the institution established over twenty-five years ago.

Aje, however, told journalists in an interview: “ The choice of the title of Director General was approved by the Federal Ministry of Education”. He also denied any attempt to extend his tenure.

Oil marketer drags Kwara agency to court

BY DEMOLA AKINYEMI, ILORIN.

A chieftain of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria(IPMAN)in Kwara State, Alhaji Abdulkakeem Kunle Sanni, has dragged the State Signage and Advertising Agency (KWASSAA) before an Ilorin High Court over alleged destruction of his company’s property.

The businessman, according to the suit filed by his counsel, Dr Dauda Ariyoosu, claimed that officials of KWASSAA destroyed the signboard of his company SANRAB Ventures Limited along University of Ilorin Road, Ilorin despite the fact that he had paid the annual permit fee.

The plaintiff stated that officials of KWASSAA the day, May 22, 2013, they brought a letter of reminder,about four months to August 2013, the expiration date as indicated in the receipt KWASSAA earlier issued him, destroyed his signboard and carted it away. Sanni therefore sought declaration of the court that the destruction, removal and carting away of his sign board by the officials of KWASSAA is illegal, bizarre and unconstitutional and constitutes a gross violation and or infringement of his right to own property. He sought another order compelling the defendants to restore the signboard.

The petrol marketer further sought declaration from the court that Kwara State government has no power to enact any law for the control and regulation of outdoor advertising,hoarding signnage and signage structures.

He demanded N100m as general and exemplary damages.

Counsel to the defendants, M.A.I. Akande, said he was not prepared for the commencement of the suit and sought adjournment to enable him file his client’s response. Justice Mahmud Gafar adjourned the case to July 24, for hearing.

Welders tasked on members welfare

T

HE Izon Ebe Welders/Fitters Association Ogbo of Nigeria, Zone C, Delta State chapter, has been charged to work toward the gainful employment of its members.

Comrade David Itiemogha, National President of the Association made this charge during the inauguration of an eight-man executive in Warri to run the affairs of the body for the next four years with a mandate to make the welfare of its members paramount and ensure unalloyed loyalty to the national body.

Some of the newly inaugurated members included; Comrade Isaac Ebifogha, Chairman; Comrade Ebi Brian Iseru, Vice Chairman; Comrade Frank Adokeme, Secretary General; Comrade Misoro Austine, Assistant Secretary.

Others are Comrade Oti Ighosuehe, Financial Secretary; Comrade Johnbull Ebimiene, Treasurer; Comrade Tissa Mitini, Public Relations Officer, and Comrade Francis Ebbel as Provost Newly sworn in Chairman, Comrade Isaac Ebifogha in his acceptance speech, said: “On behalf of the new executive, I heartily express our joy at the bold and gallant effort you put in to ensure that our emergence was smooth. We will work to enthrone peace with the oil companies in the state as we expect mutual cooperation and understanding from them.

PAGE 46—SUNDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 4, 2013

SURE-P: The stop-gap employment option for vulnerable persons, by Emeka Wogu, Labour Minister *‘2,000 more jobs to be created’

What is the reason behind the tour?

HE purpose of my visit is to sensitize the public on what we aredoing to fufil the promise of President Goodluck Jonathan to Nigerians to use part of his savings from the partial removal of oil subsidy to cushion the effect of that policy. The President promised to deliver this promise through the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme, SURE-P, of which the Community Service, Women and Youth Employment, CSWYE, project is a subcomponent under the Social Safety Net Programme, SSNP. We are also trying to explore areas of possible partnerships between the federal, state and local governments on the CSWYE project in tackling the hydra-headed problems of unemployment. We also want to see how it is impacting positively on the people in their communities, see and seek further involvement of our royal fathers, the traditional rulers.

T

What is CSWYE project of SURE-P all about?

This project is aimed at providing stop-gap employment opportunities to women, youths and other vulnerable persons, including people with disabilities, in their various communities. It was designed with unique features that ensure direct impact on these members of the society, who form the majority of the poor, unskilled and unemployed Nigerians, by transferring parts of the wealth saved from the partial removal of oil subsidy directly to them seamlessly, thereby empowering them economically. The programme is a social security intervention by the Federal Government,

A crucial aspect of the budget is the need for the payment of stipends and running cost in each of the 36 offices of the CSWYE aspect of the SURE-P including the FCT

the first if its kind in the history of the country.

You have inspected some of the project sites and you met some of the beneficiaries of the CSWYE project. Has it been in the zone?

In the North-west, what we gathered at the stakeholders forum shows that a lot has been done in the zone. You know we did not go to the whole zone, rather we had representatives from each of the states there coming to Kaduna. But we had full attendance from Kaduna State of the beneficiaries. In Kaduna State, we had approximately 3,000 people who have benefitted attending the forum. Before the stakeholders forum, I was taken to the work sites though I could not go to all the work sites because there are more than a hundred and sixty of them. I could see people doing what they are supposed to do there. So, reasonably, even on the sites that were completed, the visuals we saw showed that they had done ninety per cent of the work. In terms of the obligations of government to the beneficiaries, we have paid them up to June 2013, that is the stipends that are supposed to be paid and the tools that are supposed to be given. I am

,

Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, was the head of Federal Government delegation comprising three other ministers and representatives of five other ministers on a sensitization and appraisal visit as well as tour of project sites in Kaduna and the Northwest Zone on the Community Services, Women and Youths Employment, CSWYE, project of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme, SURE-P. In this interview, Wogu speaks on the assessment.

Excerpts:

,

BY VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG

,

Emeka Wogu....I will rate it as highly successful came up to improve on what we would do in other geopolitical zones.

Some of them have complained of inadequate tools?

Those complaints, we have noted them and you know these tools are not tools that are

There were a lot of areas that were put across to the National Assembly for amendment so that governance will continue to run smoothly. This aspect of SURE-P is part of it

highly impressed; I am equally highly impressed with the feedback we are getting.

Even the criticism from some of the beneficiaries, we are looking at it, because that is the essence of this sensitization and appraisal tour of all the geo-political zones. The outing here, I will rate it as highly successful.

It is an improvement on what we saw in the South-south. I think as we progress to the other zones, we will see more improvements. The number of complaints is reducing because we have a handsome approach to issues. Soon, I and my colleagues in the interministerial committee would look at some of the issues that

,

supposed to last forever. So, it depends on handling. Some could be careless with the handling of the tools; you don’t expect them to last for a long time. Most of the complaints we got concern the replacement of the ones that got spoilt.

What you are doing to accommodate youths who still want to be involved?

You could see at a point when I was talking, the beneficiaries went wild jubilating; they were shouting “mungode! mungode!!” (thank you) to Mr. President for putting this in place and that if this thing has not been put in place, most of them would still have

remained unemployed. In fact, they were so happy, coming at the time of fasting when you expect them to be weak. They asked for more and we are going to address the issue.

2,000 more people are going to be engaged all over the country. But the message is clear that government has done well, but that we should equally open it up so that more people will be engaged.

How sustainable is the programme?

This is a programme that has to be sustained as far as we keep receiving budgetary allocation from the National Assembly as appropriated. We would make estimates of what it would take us to continue the project. So, the rest depends on legislative approvals.

Still on sustainability, what was required for the year is about N20 billion. But, so far, it is said that only N5 billion has been released. Is this not affecting the implementation of the programme?

Let me put the record straight. There are a lot of figures that have been brandished about in the public.

Actually, we asked for an approximately N28 billion in the estimate that went to the National Assembly, N9 billion was appropriated. That shows that there is a deficit of about N18 billion. A crucial aspect of the budget is the need for the payment of stipends and running cost in each of the 36 offices of the CSWYE aspect of the SURE-P including the FCT. The amendment proposal to the Appropriation Act by the

National Assembly which was sent by Mr. President included that of augmentation and completion of what was budgeted for SURE-P and other aspects. There were a lot of areas that were put across to the National Assembly for amendment so that governance will continue to run smoothly. This aspect of SURE-P is part of it. So, you can see that there is a huge deficit between what we proposed as estimates and what was appropriated. It is not a question of releases now, it is a question of inadequate budgeting appropriation for the project.

What is your message to the beneficiaries and those yet to benefit?

From what I gathered, they are saying that they are supporting Mr. President and the transformation agenda and we say for Mr. President to have given them this opportunity to be engaged, we expect a reciprocal attitude to the project and to what Mr. President has done, by being law abiding citizens, keeping away from crime, shuning violence and remaining focused and government will continue to support them in whatever way we can through this process of social safety net.

How do you rate the involvement of traditional rulers?

There was a large turnout of different levels of traditional institutions because I understand that in this part of the country, there are stratifications, Grade One, Grade Two or Grade A or Grade B. You could see everybody turning out, the impression, and from the statements of the representatives of the Emirs, the traditional institutions that spoke, you can see that they are overwhelmingly supporting this programme.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 4, 2013, PAGE 47

BY JONAH NWOKPOKU

R

AIL transport all over the world has played vital roles in public transportation. It’s most attractive advantage is the ability to move large volumes of goods and passengers to far distances. As a result, the developed economies of the world rely extensively on it.

It was to meet similar objective of economic development that the government, through the 1955 Railway Act, established the Nigeria Railway Corporation, NRC, to run the railway to foster economic development through effective transportation, especially the movement of goods from the rural areas to the urban centers and vice versa.

Throughout the remaining colonial days and shortly after independence, the corporation tried to meet this objective. But this was not to continue as corruption set in and crippled the sector. The corporation went into bankruptcy. By the time the administration of Sani Abacha tried to revive the sector, it had become comatose.

The regime invested about $500 million, but this proved inadequate to bring the railway back. When the state transited to civil rule in 1999, former President Olusegun Obasanjo embarked on another attempt to revive the railway. His administration invested huge sums of money in the rehabilitation effort, but the trains could still not return to the tracks.

When the late President Yar Adua came into power in 2007, he also pledged his administration’s commitment to the rehabilitation of the sector. His government increased budgetary allocations to the sector while his successor, President Goodluck Jonathan, is making attempts to revitalise the railway.

Jonathan’s efforts saw the rehabilitation of the Lagos to Kano 1,126 km rail line that brought the trains back in December 2012. This was about thirty years after NRC grounded such major operations.

But it was not long the challenges returned and poor service delivery because the order of the day. Rolling stocks were inadequate and overwhelming demand led to congestion. With inadequate manpower, the ticketing process was infiltrated by touts and journeys by the trains marred by delays and stoppages.

The NRC assessed the situation and came to the reality that the resources overcome the challenges are huge for government alone to provide. Managing Director of NRC, Engr. Adeseyi Sijuade, alluded to this when he said the authorities had come to the realization that the corporation could no longer cope with the challenge of transforming the sector alone, especially as it targets a 25-year strategic goal of making the NRC a world-class transport organisation providing safe, efficient, affordable, reliable, widely linked network and customer oriented service. He said the corporation was therefore proposing a public, private partnership for the railway.

At the launch of this initiative in Lagos, Sijuade said, “It has dawned on us that NRC alone can no longer handle the enormous challenge of revolutionising the sector, having suffered long years of neglect. So it has become expedient to involve the private sector if we ever intend to meet our objective of attaining a worldclass rail service.”

“Our strategic direction now is PPP as the way forward. We have reached a point where it has become so glaring that primary funding from government alone cannot take us to where we need to be,” he added.

Under this new arrangement, private individuals will be granted access to run some of the vital aspects of the railway while the corporation retains its regulatory power over facilities and the activities of the private operators. Already, the corporation is outsourcing some of its services like on-board cleaning, cleaning of major train stations and on-board

Can PPP save the Railway?

A train catering.

It has also commenced the procurement process for selecting potential logistics service providers in the areas of design, building, operation, and transfer, DBMOT of warehousing to provide suitable, safe and secure storage space for goods; finance, supply and operation of modern facilities and provision of services for loading and offloading of goods; finance, supply in joint management with NRC, railway coaches to enhance freight haulage capacity.

The corporation is also considering concessioning. The corporation has finalized the presentation of OBC for Western and Eastern lines concessions and is moving to the next stage of selecting

transaction advisor.

The implication of this initiative, according to the NRC boss, “is that the authorities are opening railway arms for investors in the sector while awaiting the approval of the new railway bill that will broaden the scope of the PPP initiative and make for the total transformation of the sector.”

But will the PPP really save the Nigeria Railway?, Olubodun Kolawale, an industrialist and Managing Director, Golden Kay Ventures, says, “Yes, it is a welcome development. This is what we have been agitating for because there is no way we would ever hope to achieve efficient rail service in Nigeria without involving the private sector. On his part, Mustapha

Abdulazeez, an electrical engineer with Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, says the initiative would solve a lot of service delivery issues having traveled through the railway upon rehabilitation and had rough experience.

“I believe this initiative would save the railway. The arrangement would help to solve lots of service delivery issues.

Governments especially in Nigeria have never got it right when it comes to the management of such ventures. And you can imagine the economic boom we shall see in that sector if this arrangement is given a chance. It will be like what we currently have in the telecommunication sector,” he adds.

Okechukwu Ezeanya, a business man, believes the initiative is good but expresses concern about the transparency of its execution.

“This is the wisest decision ever taken by any government agency. But I want them to make the process transparent so that the objective would see the light of day”.

Further explaining the rationale behind the decision, Sijuade notes, “Right now, wise government ministries, agencies and corporations are channeling their energy towards private sector participation and, to me, we are ripe enough for that.

“NRC has a 25-year strategic plan of system transition and modernization. With this plan, we expect the railway to stabilize by 2017. We want to make rail a major mover of freights in this country and link all International airports, seaports and inland container depots to the rail network”.

This course of action may be the last option for the transformation of the rail sector but successful implementation requires support from government and all Nigerians in order to achieve the goal of an efficient and globally competitive railway service.

Customs intercepts offensive items in Oyo

BY UDEME CLEMENT

T

WO months after mindboggling seizures of 56,750 rounds of live ammunition, Oyo/Osun Command of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intercepted 181 prohibited goods, even as the Command revealed a new trend of smuggling contraband items into the country with a vehicle designed to convey frozen products for cold-room operations.

When Sunday Vanguard visited the Command, what could be described as a harvest of textile materials was seen in various compartments in the warehouse, along with over eight vehicles loaded with assorted textile materials. While some textile materials were packed in vehicles used to convey them, others were displayed in the open. Spectacular among the textile seizures was a 20-footer truck designed for frozen products business, loaded with 213 belts of African prints, and each belt has 600 yards of the material.

It was also observed that the warehouse, was filled to capacity with seizures like used tyres, vegetable oil, rice, shoes, imported vine among numerous prohibited items. The prohibited goods were so many that a workshop within the office premises was converted to a temporary warehouse for seized goods, as more seizures were still coming in during the visit.

The Command also arrested three

suspected smugglers, in connection with the seizures and has commenced investigation into the case. Our investigations revealed that the Customs Area Controller (CAC) of the Command and his team are focusing on strategic locations like Bakatari, Saki, Kchi, Aiyegun and other volatiles places within the state, where smugglers use as frequent routes for economic sabotage.

The CAC, Deputy Comptroller, Oteri Richard, said, “Our primary duty is to protect our economic environment and that is exactly what we are doing and must not relent, because smuggling is not healthy for the local industries. I reiterate our determination in anti-

smuggling operations in order to reduce smuggling to the barest minimum in the state. The Command within few months made a total of 181 seizures with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N315.1million. This comprises of assorted fairly used cars, trucks and buses loaded with prohibited items. Comparatively, in 2012, between the months of April and July, a total of 399 vehicles were brought for duty payment, while within the same period in 2013, duty was paid on 636 vehicles, which shows an increase of almost 50 percent. A total of 3,263 bags of rice were also intercepted within the short period under review, with a DPV of N49.3million.”

DC Oteri Richard (right), displaying the seizure made by the Customs command.

PAGE 48—SUNDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 4, 2013

Pursuing zero tolerance for corruption in corporate Nigeria I

T is no longer enough for multinational corporations to be profitable. They are also expected to be good corporate citizens, engage in ethical business, demonstrate sound corporate governance practices and care for the environment.

Profitability combined with adherence to the codes of corporate governance, corporate social responsibility and care for the environment are becoming important yardsticks for measuring business success around the globe.

These codes, most especially sound corporate governance and ethical business practices are becoming imperative for multinational corporations doing business in Nigeria, a challenging environment with tainted public sector institutions that wield enormous powers and resources.

In the last decade since the bankruptcy of Enron in 2001, and the more recent United States of America subprime mortgage crisis which wrecked many businesses, leaders of thought and regulatory bodies in Nigeria have been strident in their calls for ethical business practices and adherence to good corporate governance principles.

This led to the establishment of the business integrity movement and the subsequent birthing of the Convention on

Business Integrity (CBi) with the support of leaders of thought like Dr. Christopher Kolade, Dr. Michael Omolayole, Mr. Akintola Williams, and Prof. Pat Utomi, among others. CBi was established to promote ethical business practices, transparency and fair competition in the private and public sectors.

Living up to its billing, the business integrity movement has since won converts among illustrious Nigerians and institutions. Guinness Nigeria Plc., Access Bank, GTBank, MTN Nigeria Communications Limited, BusinessDay Media Limited, and SAP Nigeria, among others are signatories to its Code of Business Integrity which aims to move the Nigerian business community towards a state of visible zero tolerance for corruption.

To further engage business leaders in Nigeria on the need to imbibe sound corporate governance principles and ethical business practices, CBi instituted the Christopher Kolade Annual Lecture on Business Integrity in honour of its chairman, Dr. Christoper Kolade, who celebrated his eightieth birthday earlier in the year. Apart from serving as a strong platform for discourse and celebrating Dr. Kolade’s exemplary life of integrity in private and public office, the maiden lecture in the series also celebrated past and present display of exemplary

More tales out of Lagos L

AST week, I drew the attention of readers of the “Orbit” to theunconstitutional action of the Lagos state government in deporting sixty-seven Nigerians to Onitsha. That action in my view marks the lowest point, since the end of the Nigerian civil war, in the effort at nation-building. The Lagos state government under the ACN Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, seems to be highly charged and fueled by a strange form of paranoid xenophobia; a need to cleanse the streets of Lagos of “strangers.”

These “strangers” amount to no more than scum in the serious, executive minds at work in Lagos. They are dangerous foreign bodies; vermin sucking out the lifeblood of Lagos. That is what we have been told, and that is why you hear the word “nuisance” frequently thrown about in justification for their forced removal to Onitsha. The most cynical of these statements contend that the Lagos State government had merely “rehabilitated and resettled” these deportees by “reuniting” them with their families. Various official and unofficial spokesmen have been pressed to the service of the Lagos State government to retail this bogus doctrine, among them, Joe Igbokwe: engineer, businessman, politician and spokesman for the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the political party in power in Lagos, and under whose government this policy of deportation is now perfected and taking shape. Joe Igbokwe certainly knows where his bread is buttered and he wrote this past week in glib praise of Lagos as a welcoming and tolerant place under a “detribalized” Governor Fashola; a place where every graduate to higher callings runs to for jobs at graduation, and where he has been resident himself since 1986, apparently very satisfied picking his crumbs.Until Joe wrote, I had no inkling of the more sinister side to this development – that “deportation and resettlement” is a cardinal policy of

the ACN as a political party and that it is considered humane. Hell, no! Joe: Lagos is neither welcoming nor tolerant of the over two hundred street beggars transported to the North in 2009 and the sixty-seven sent to Onitsha in 2013, among them, a hardworking and legitimate trader, picked up arbitrarily by Fashola’s brownshirts, on his way to his shop in December 2012. It was no “resettlement and rehabilitation,” it was a forced march at 2 a.m. out of Lagos. How on earth do you “reunite” people with their families by dropping them in darkness after the Onitsha Bridge? The Lagos State government should be made to bear the burden of emotional injury suffered by this poor folk made unwelcome in their own land. If indeed the government of Lagos state were about “ rehabilitation and resettlement,” it would be talking about establishing soup kitchens, group homes, half-way homes; accessible housing for the disabled, and transitional facilities for the city’s homeless, as well as serious modern mental health programs in cases that demand it and a serious process of reintegration into the social and productive fabric of the city; all aimed at re-dignifying the city poor, beyond the crude disregard of their human rights. That is what civilized societies do. That is part of the reason citizens pay tax too. But the Lagos program of deportation seems clearly driven by a dangerous impulse. It is the kind of impulse that might sooner, if unchecked, lead to the introduction of the “pass” – government assigned papers to determine who is “indigenous” and who is an “alien” in Lagos, and who thus gets what, lives where, does what, and has what in Lagos.What Lagos is doing is certainly nothing more than cleansing the ethnic poor, and it does seem obvious to any discerning mind who the real targets are at this point. I am guided to this thinking by another development which must be

leadership in business and public life.

Lead sponsor of the inaugural lecture was Guinness Nigeria Plc, a Diageo company, with reputation for commitment to the highest standards of corporate governance and ethical business practice. Guinness Nigeria was awarded the Great Place to Work in Nigeria in 2012, while its parent company, Diageo Plc was also the most admired company in the United Kingdom during the same period, affirming the corporation’s reputation for doing good business in markets in which it operates.

Reiterating this at the 1st Christopher Kolade Lecture on Business Integrity, Mr. Seni Adetu, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Guinness Nigeria said “At the core of our business and our values is the commitment to be one of the world’s most respected companies with a reputation of integrity, fairness and trustworthiness. At Guinness Nigeria, we have a vision to be the most iconic company in Nigeria, and we recognise that we would not achieve that by just delivering strong financials or by engaging our people for optimum performance, but also by our reputation in shaping the ethical destiny of Nigeria.”

Irrespective of size and operations, Adetu advised entrepreneurs and business leaders in the country to emulate the Guinness Nigeria model by embedding codes, brought to the glare of public scrutiny: a piece of news last week in the Sun newspaper tells the story very succinctly with its headline: “Igbo Traders asked to Accept Yoruba Leadership or Leave.” It is the unfolding story of the Ladipo Automotive Spare Parts Market in Mushin.

There the mostly Igbo traders in the market have continued to resist the imposition of Alhaji Oladotun Abibu-Oki as the leader of the Market. Abibu-Oki claims to have been “installed” as the “Baba Oloja” – that is “royal father of the market” crudely translated, by the late Alhaja Abibat Mogaji, the late mother of former governor Tinubu, and former “IyaOloja” of Lagos. We note duly that Tinubu’s daughter is now, we are told, the new IyaOloja of Lagos, appointed by her father on behalf of the Lagos State government, in the place of her grandma. So, with this imprimatur, Abibu-Oki claims leadership of the Ladipo spare parts market. But the Igbo traders will have none of that. In fact, a leader of the market, Chief Nwosu did

,

BY PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU

No elected government should treat hardworking citizens demanding their rights like war criminals

,

say very clearly, “99% of the traders at Ladipo Market are Igbo. To be fair to all, he (Abibu-Oki) should come and contest; if elected he will be accepted.” It is a fair and reasonable demand. But what does the Lagos State government do? “They asked us to go back to our villages if we are not ready to accept the leadership of Alhaji Oki…we pay our taxes in Lagos and we have every right as Nigerians to buy and sell anywhere in the state.” What is at stake really is the clash of values: one is essentially monarchical and closed, the other is open and democratic; one values governance by conclave and patronage, the other values transparency, equal opportunity anda freedom of choice.In a way, it might prove providential afterall, that Lagos in its program of deportation and selective harassment brings to the forefront the constitutional debates about democracy, federalism, citizenship and

processes and structures that promote ethical practice and good corporate governance in their operating models.

According to Mr. Adetu, there are internal codes, processes and structures embedded in every Diageo business which ensures ethical business practice and sound corporate governance by employees, management and board of directors. For instance, he disclosed that employees of Guinness Nigeria are guided by the Diageo Code of Business Conduct which is adhered to by all Diageo employees in about 180 countries. This ensures that Guinness Nigeria employees always act lawfully and with integrity at all times.

Highlighting the benefits of ethical business practice and sound corporate governance principles, Mr. Adetu said it is the reason first generation Nigerian CEOs like Dr. Christopher Kolade, Michael Omolayole and Akintola Williams are celebrated as role models and mentors by the present generation of business leaders in Nigeria.

“The exemplary life of integrity led by Dr. Christopher Kolade, Dr. Michael Omolayole and Mr. Akintola Williams, during their careers in private and public service is the reason they are admired, loved, respected and often cited as role models and mentors by the present generation of business leaders in Nigeria.

It is integrity and the ability to uphold sound corporate governance principles that transformed them into national icons, and birthed the Convention on Business Integrity to which multinational corporations and homegrown blue chips doing business in Nigeria are proudly associated,” Adetu said.

In his remarks, Dr. Christopher Kolade noted that corruption is more difficult to fight today than when they fought it during the military era.

He said: “Today, the struggle is more bitter than it was during the military era.

The people you are trying to fight over corruption are the same people that claim to be fighting corruption. But there is no way we can fight it if we do not realise that it is a real fight.” nationhood. To a certain category of politicians, all the talk about “true federalism” is nothing more than revanchism and crude nativism, all of which have no place in a modern national republic such as Nigeria. Igbo traders in Lagos have been intimidated and serially harassed by the Lagos State government.

They have borne the brunt of selective ethnic humiliations. A most telling picture that circulated worldwide recently is of Igbo traders in Ladipo forced under arms to lie on dirt at Ladipo market by government agents. No elected government should treat hardworking citizens demanding their rights like war criminals.The two events – the deportation to Onitsha and the harassment of Igbo shopkeepers in Ladipo – seem too closely tied to be ignored. The Igbo traders in Ladipo insist on democratic choice. What they lack is adequate representation. No one speaks for them in the State Assembly or in the Executive chambers at Alausa.

But there must be no taxation without representation. These traders and their allied interests are in part to blame also.

They have thus far failed to effectively use their power reserve. In legal theory we say, “Equity protects the vigilant.” Since the end of the civil war in 1970, the Igbo and various minorities in Lagos have been wallflowers in the political landscape in Lagos, and Lagos has been run like an ethnic patronage system in spite of its breathtaking diversity. Moreover, the “indigenous” poor have also been left out of the so called prosperity train in Lagos, and have been recruited mostly as “Area boys” to harass other poor Nigerians out of Lagos. Enough of whingeing – all those who feel their interests not fully and adequately protected at Alausa must organize and use every means necessary – legal methods, defiance campaigns, street protests,petitions, and other countermeasures to seek the protection of government. The Igbo in Lagos must rise and participate fully in municipal and statewide elections in Lagos. They must vote with their wallets. Resist taxation without benefits. Organize, raise funds, and back their own candidates who must speak for them as clear stakeholders in the affairs of Lagos.The Nigerian constitution fundamentally guarantees citizenship over indigenous rights. This must be made consistently clear.

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SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 4, 2013, PAGE 59 sameyoboka@yahoo.com

08023145567 (sms only)

CCC UNIFICATION:

Opaleye committee proffers solution

By OLAYINKA LATONA HE 33-member unification committee set up in July 2010 to bring all the fashions of Celestial Church of Christ, CCC under one umbrella, have submitted its report with recommendations that would hopefully transform the church to become forward looking and give hope through which to draw nearer God. Addressing newsmen in Lagos, chairman of the unification committee, Major General Ekundayo Opaleye (rtd), emphasized the need for prudent leadership with improved financial manage-ment to promote accounta-bility and transparency to address popular concerns.

The leadership tussle tear-ing the Celestial Church apart dated back to 1985 when the founder, Rev. S.B.J. Oshoffa over the remission of two third of all collections for the pastor, leaving only one third for the maintenance of the church. The crisis got to a head when some leaders had take the case to the Pre-sidency, seeking for a quick intervention, with a view to keeping the crisis-rocked spiritual church united.

Speaking at the media parley

T

L-R: Member, Celestial Church of Christ (CCC), Unification Committee, Most Venerable Evangelist Josiah Ifelaja; Sup. Evangelist Paul Jaiyeola; Committee Chairman, Most Venerable Ekundayo Opaleye and Sup. Evangelist Fredrick Nana, at a press conference at Celestial Church of Christ, Makoko, Yaba, Lagos. on Thursday, Opaleye said: “A proposal to improve financial management to promote accountability and transparency was advised to address popular concerns. A unique model of sound ecclesiastic administration and equitable remuneration that would .serve the pecu-liarities of

the church has been proffered.

“Our considerations upheld the tenets and liturgy of the church; adequate provisions have been suggested to eradicate abuse of church liturgy; issue of welfare of all members of the church was given adequate attention and appropriate recommendations were made.”

Continuing, the former Ondo State military governor, said his committee was not unmindful of the importance of education and the equipping of all members of the church to ensure best practices in playing roles assigned, believing that human capital development is adequate panacea for growth, not forgetting social corporate responsibility, making greater social impact within the community.

He commended the elders of the church, to whom the recommendations have been made, for their avowed commitment to ensure the emergence of a united, virile and spirit filled Celestial Church of Christ during their lifetime by inaugurating a unification committee to unite all the fashions of the church.

According to him, this committee comprising men and women of proven integrity commenced work on August 12, 2010 at Celestial Church of Christ, Makoko, Lagos and there have been serious deliberations amongst members and robust consultation with many interested groups within the church.

Bishop urges FG to end ASUU strike

By CALEB ANYANISA

A

BUJA - The Bishop of Kubwa Diocese, An glican Communion, Rt Rev. Duke Akamisoko, has charged the Federal Government to immediately resolve the issues concerning the strike of the Academic Staff Union of the University (ASUU).

Akamisoko, who gave the charge in a communique issued at the end of the Second Session of the Second Synod of the Diocese, held in Abuja, said this had become necessary in the interest of children and the collective future of the nation.

The bishop commended the efforts of President Goodluck Jonathan in widening the admission space for Tertiary Education by establishing 13 more Federal universities spread across the country since his assumption of office.

The communique further observed that "the recent revelation by the Minister of Power that about 120 million Nigerians are without access to power is rather embarrassing for a nation that is at the verge of celebrating 100 years of her corporate existence". The Synod also urged all stakeholders in the amendment of the 1999 Constitution to make it truly a "We, the people of Nigeria" document.

RCCG flags off 61st annual convention

T

HE sprawling Redemption City along the LagosIbadan Expressway has again

By SAM EYOBOKA and OLAYINKA LATONA come alive bubbling with excitement and vibrancy as it

prepares to host the 61 st edition of the Redeemed Christian Church of God’s annual convention which

begins tomorrow with the ordination of deacons and deaconesses.

The Camp is said to be a

manifestation of a prophecy uttered by the General Overseer himself when he was staying in a one-room apartment given to him by the late founder of the church, Rev. Josiah Akindayomi several years ago, when he declared that his Daddy (God Almighty) would give him a city to the bewilderment of the elders who were praying for a flat or at best a bungalow.

Today, even the adjoining villages in what used to be a den of armed robbers, have been incorporated into what is now regarded as a Redemption City. There is no place as peaceful and secure as the Redemption Camp, the authorities of the church say.

Writing in The New York Times, Andrew Rice once described the Redeemed Christian Church of God “one of (Africa’s) most vigorously expansionary religious movements, a homegrown Pentecostal denomination that is crusading to become a global faith”.

Tomorrow, thousands of church members, friends, relations and well wishers of those to be ordained deacons and deaconesses will join Continued on Page 60

PAGE 60—SUNDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 4, 2013

I

WAS invited to conduct a 10-day teaching programme at a church in Lagos. Out of the blue, at the beginning of the session, the Lord asked me to lead the congregation in singing a popular Christian song. This continued every day for the first five days of the programme.

Each day, the Lord gave me a song that pertained to the topic at hand. However, every song He gave me turned out to be based on a misunderstanding of the word of God. He would then require me to explain to my audience that the song-writer was not schooled in kingdom dynamics.

Whose report?

The very first song He asked me to sing was given a major boost by the gospel singer, Ron Kenoly. It is entitled: Whose report will you believe? It goes something like this: “Whose report will you believe?

We shall believe the report of the Lord. His report says I am healed.

His report says victory.”

You may well ask what could possibly be wrong with this song. Does the report of the Lord not say we are healed, according to the words of the songwriter? No, it does not! Isaiah says: “By his stripes we are healed.”

(Isaiah 53:5). He does not say: “By his stripes we have been healed.”

Isaiah’s report is actually that we are still terribly sick. He kicks off his ministry with this negative diagnosis: “The whole head is sick, and

CHRISTIAN WISHFUL-THINKING the whole heart faints.

From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores.” (Isaiah 1:5-6).

Indeed, the report of the Lord does not only say we are sick, it also maintains we will not be healed. Isaiah says our wounds and sores have “ not been closed or bound up or soothed with ointment.” (Isaiah 1:6).

Jeremiah concurs: “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved! For the hurt of the daughter of my people I am hurt. I am mourning; astonishment has taken hold of me. Is there no balm in Gilead, is there no physician there? Why then is there no recovery for the health of the daughter of my people?” (Jeremiah 8:20-22).

In spite of Jesus’ healing ministry, the Jews remained unhealed.

Those healed in the body were not healed in the soul. John says: “Although (Jesus) had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” (John 12:37-

Since we are sick, confessing that we are healed is not going to heal us 38). As it was in the days of Isaiah and Jesus, so it is today.

Foolish Christians The report of the Lord says we are gravely sick and identifies Jesus as our healer. However, if we don’t admit we are sick, we cannot be healed. Indeed, if we don’t know we are sick, we would not even go to see the doctor. Accordingly, Jesus says: “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.” (John 9:39). If we don't admit we are sick, the question of our healing becomes merely academic.

The prophecy that we will not be healed is fulfilled because we continue to fool ourselves that “by his stripes we have been healed.”

Thus, God told Isaiah: “Tell my people this: ‘You will hear my words, but you will not understand. You will see what I do, but you will not

perceive its meaning.’

Harden the hearts of these people. Close their ears, and shut their eyes.

That way, they will not see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn to me for healing.” (Isaiah 6:9-10).

For this reason, Jesus would sometimes stand in front of a sick man and ask him: “What would you like me to do for you?” (Mark 10:51). If the man asked for healing, that would be acknowledgement that he agreed with the report that he was sick. Or Jesus might ask: “Would you like to be healed?”

(John 5:6). The question is not as impertinent as it might seem. Most sick people don’t want to be healed. Most sinners don’t want to be sinless.

The sickness or sin is a lifestyle.

If the man asked for healing, Jesus might then ask him: “Do you believe I am able to do this?” (Matthew 9:28).

We are back full circle here to the question of Isaiah. “Do you believe the report of Isaiah? Do

Ademowo: 'It's honourable to serve God'

By AKOMA CHINWEOKE

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EAN Church of Nigeria, (Anglican Communion), Most Rev. Ephraim Ademowo, has advised those at the leadership positions to shun pride and humble themselves in the discharge of their duties.

Ademowo made the call recently at the Catheral Church of Christ, Marina Lagos, during the induction of the president and admission of officers/ re-dedication of members of Lagos Anglican Diocesan Guild of Stewards, LADGOS. He urged members to remain steadfast in the service of God, adding that it is honourable to be a servant of God. "Let it remain in your memory that you are a servant. The very moment you shift from that, you have gotten it wrong. The concepts of humility and servive are interwined. So, from time to time, as servants of the the Lord, your watchword should be

humility, smile and dedication.

"You must be ready to give without counting the cost. The work you are doing is joyous and glorious and you must see it as such,” he stated.

Also speaking, newly in-

stalled president of LADGOS, Brother Olumuyiwa Adefope, explained that to pilot the affairs of the Guild efficiently requires the grace of God as it is a job that cannot be done with human knowledge alone.

“Guild, in itself, is aimed at

Bamidele speaks at RCCG Couples’ Night S part of activities marking its week, The Excellent Men’s Fellowship of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Soul Winners’ Cathedral, Lagos Province 32 has concluded plans to hold a couples’ dinner. The event is scheduled for August 25, 2013 at Golden Tulip Hotel, Lagos with a theme; “Conflict resolution in marriages and good parenting”.

Guest minister is Rev. Mike Bamidele, a highly sought after marriage minister whose

A

unique anointing has helped in the restoration of marriages and homes.

A statement by the fellowship chairman, Bro Chigozie Okwuosa, stressed the need to keep the marital flame burning and rekindle love amongst couples, adding that the couples’ dinner is conceived as an event where couples come together in a convivial atmosphere to unwind, interact and relax in the presence of God with music ministration and comedy.

you believe you are sick?

Do you believe I am Jesus the Messiah? Do you believe I can make you stop telling lies; make you stop fornicating; make you stop being covetous? Have you received the heart of a believer?”

Therefore, the mistake of the song-writer is in writing a wishful-thinking song, in direct contradiction of biblical prophecy. The prophecy says we are not healed but the song-writer says we are healed. Precisely because we sing songs claiming we are healed when we are actually chronically sick with sin, we are making sure we will not ask Jesus for healing. We are making sure we will remain sick.

We are making sure the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says we will not be healed.

The Lord’s hospital The church is a hospital. Imagine you walked into the General Hospital, only to find all the patients singing at the top of their lungs: “God’s report says we are healed.” After that, some took their last gasps and died. Others remained in hospital as sick as ever. Would you not

uniformity in all the churches.

We are now in uniform in our dress code and we are striving to ensure uniformity of conduct and behaviour in all the churches so that if you attend any Anglican service you are likely to have the same standard of conduct.

The event featured the pres-

have concluded you were in a psychiatric ward?

That is how we Christians fool ourselves today. Since we are sick, confessing that we are healed is not going to heal us. God says in Jeremiah: “You can't heal a wound by saying it's not there!” (Jeremiah 6:14).

That is why Isaiah says of Israel: “These people are stubborn rebels who refuse to pay any attention to the LORD's instructions. They tell the prophets, ‘Shut up! We don't want any more of your reports.’ They say, ‘Don't tell us the truth.

Tell us nice things. Tell us lies.’” (Isaiah 30:910).

This word is applicable to Christians today who are inclined to abuse and insult anyone who dares to identify the transgressions of the church. Instead, in the modern-day church-service, a gathering of pick-pockets, liars, cheats, fornicators, adulterers; in short, people in varying degrees of sin, jump up and down singing: “His report says we are healed.” Who are we fooling? The truth is that we are yet to be healed of sin. With the result that we come to church sick and go back home sick. In cases, we remain in the same sinsickness for 38 years, going from bad to worse.

(John 5:5).

Jesus says of our futile bible studies: “You search the Scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of me. But you are not willing to come to me that you may have life.”

(John 5:39-40).

entation of awards to distinguished friends of the Guild and other outstanding members of the group.

The awardees included Mr. Goodie Ibru, Dr. Olumide Philips, Chief Dele Fajemirokun, Mr. Tunde Afolabi and Barrister Chinedu Ebo.

RCCG flags off 61st annual confab Continued from Page 59 others from different parts of the world to begin a spiritual voyage.

The event is billed for the massive Holy Ghost Arena measuring about three kilometers by three kilometers and capable of accommodating an estimated crowd of six million persons during the peak celebration of the week long event.

For those who have not already booked their accommodation in the Camp for the week long event, accommodation is very tight, especially during major programmes at the Camp. For many people away from

Lagos, booking can be very challenging.

The programme with a theme; ‘Jesus’ will feature 10 plenary sessions; group seminars for youths, elders, children/teenagers, women forum as well as men forum; special events like House Fellowship leaders, ordination of ministers and graduation of Bible College and 10 special seminars tailored towards the main theme, ‘Jesus’.

General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adeboye had earlier cautioned non-serious Nigerians to stay away from the progrmme because it would be a moment for committed people ready to seek God's face.

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