Bayelsa Governorship Elections: Four Feared Deaqd, scores injured

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PAGE 2 — SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 6, 2015

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SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 6, 2015 — 3

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PAGE 4 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 6, 2015

KOGI GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION

INFERNO IN LAGOS!

A fork lift removing the charred remains of the ill-fated fuel truck

Fire fighters battling the fire

Balls of fire raging from road drainage

One of the burnt cars

Fire fighters after extinguishing the fire

MIDNIGHT HORROR

Synpathisers trying to rescue a vehicle

Fire fighters attempting to put out the fire

A fire fighter pouring water on the fire.

PHOTOS: Biodun Ogunleye

One feared dead, four building razed in tanker explosion

BY OLASUNKANMI AKONI, MONSUR OLOWOOPEJO & TIVERUAHOR UFUOMA

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ANDEMONIUM broke out, yesterday, in the Ojuelegba area of Lagos State after a tanker carrying 33,000 liters of Premium |Motor Spirit, PMS (petrol) fell off the Ojuelegba bridge, spilling its contents and bursting into flames. One yet to be identified person was feared dead while three others were injured in the accident.

Also, five cars and four buildings were razed.

The accident occurred at about 1.30am.

The inferno raged for several hours before the situation was brought under control.

When Sunday Vanguard visited the scene, it was gathered C M Y K

•Ambode orders integrity test on Ojuelegba bridge that residents of the affected houses situated about 400 meters away from the explosion spot, had vacated.

In an interview, Mr. Okon Macaulay, Assistant Controller, Federal Fire Service, narrated how the incident happened. He said: “At 1.30 am, we sighted a vehicle, towing a tanker carrying fuel on the bridge. Few minutes later, the chain attached to the tanker snapped forcing the tanker to detach.

“We discovered that the entire area was enveloped with the smell of fuel. We moved our truck to the scene immediately to forestall any outbreak of fire, while deploying necessary equipment.

At that time, residents had run away to escape the disaster.

“Then commercial bus drivers under the bridge began to scoop the fuel that flowed from the fallen tanker into the drainages and store them in their vehicles.

While this went on, there was an explosion.

We had to attack the resultant fire with foam.

Several vehicles were razed by the inferno.

The content in the drainage further escalated the spread of the fire.”

Macaulay claimed that a lady died due to the explosion, even as he declined to explain how the death happened.

General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, Michael Akindele, in his own account of the fire, said that the incident occurred at about 2.15

am, while the tanker was ascending the bridge.

Akindele, who said no life was lost, however, confirmed that one house was razed while three others were partially burnt. He added that five vehicles were burnt.

He thanked God that the tragedy occurred in the night, saying more lives might have been lost if the fire had happened in day time.

The LASEMA boss appealed to tanker drivers to be careful while conveying inflammable products, adding that vehicles used in conveying such products must be roadworthy.

He said Governor Akinwumi Ambode had ordered integrity test to be conducted on the Ojuelegba bridge to determine its strength.

Meanwhile, the Director, L agos State Fire Service, Mr. Rasak Fadipe, said the tanker was conveying 33,000 litres of petrol , saying

his men moved to the scene as soon as distress call was received.

According to him, timely intervention of fire men saved the situation.

Majekodunmi Foundation Scholarship awards

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HE 2014/2015 Scholarship Awards and Fund Raising of the Ajesola Solarin Majekodunmi Foundation took place on Thursday. Immediate Past Chief Judge of Lagos State, Rt. Hon. Justice Ayotunde Phillips, was the Chairperson of the day, while the key note address was delivered by the 2015 Merit Award Winner as the Best Administrator in Nigeria, Mrs. Abiodun Sheri Ogunniyi, Recipients of the scholarship awards were Miss Badariya Ibrahim

Kassim, an accounting student from Kano State, Miss Omilani Anuoluwapo Dorcas, a pharmacy Student from Osun State and Miss Jaiyeoba Adenireti Deborah, a physiotherapy student from Ekiti State.

The foundation appealed to individuals and corporate bodies to assist it realize its aim of supporting the education of brilliant but financially handicapped females in tertiary institutions across the country.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 6, 2015, PAGE 5

Bayelsa poll: Four feared dead, scores injured

BY SAMUEL OYADONGHA, AKPOKONA OMAFUAIRE & EMEM IDIO

the mayhem and escalating tension in the area.

However,the election was generally peaceful in Ye n a g o a , K o l o k u m a / Opokuma, Ogbia, and parts of Sagbama local government areas.

A community leader in Sagbegeria in Kolokuma/ Opokuma, Ongore Joshua,who decried the low turnout of voters,described the situation as unfortunate.

In parts of Yenagoa,Ogbia and Kolokuma/Opokuma local councils, accreditation started around 8:30am, although there were complaints of failure of card readers in Kolokuma/Opokuma Units 6 and 7 of Ward 10.

In Otuan community in Southern Ijaw, the locals were yet to sight INEC officials and materials at press time. Unconfirmed reports said INEC had cancelled the exercise in Southern Ijaw.

HE Bayelsa T governorship election was, yesterday, marred by

violence, inducement of voters and apathy in parts of the state, particularly in the riverine and coastal areas. Malfunctioning of card reader machines was also rampant.

Southern Ijaw, Ekeremor, Brass and Nembe local councils were worst hit as thugs unleashed mayhem on rival supporters.

In Southern Ijaw, although four persons were reportedly killed, an indigene of the area told Sunday Vanguard that those confirmed dead were more.

Gunmen were said to have invaded the riverside community in the early hours of the day ostensibly to hijack election materials.

Three of the invaders were reportedly killed as security forces battled to restore normalcy while the fourth victim was said to have been felled by stray bullets.

Elsewhere in the riverine Nembe and Brass local councils,the election day eve witnessed shootings and disruption of the peace,which prompted reinforcement of security personnel in the area.

Although normalcy returned to Nembe on election day, the tension and security uncertainty caused voters to remain indoors, resulting in voter apathy.

It was gathered that the spate of shootings forced many of the residents indoor for fear of being caught in the cross fire just as election materials, according to a source, could not leave the highly tensed area.

“Several shots were fired to scare the people and this paved the way for the carting away of election materials but security operatives attached to the area were up to the task,” said an eye witness.

According to the eye witness, no fewer than 45 suspects were arrested by security operatives.

At the time of filing this report, a source in the community told Sunday Vanguard that the exercise might be suspended due to T

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Sylva optimistic Chief Timipre Sylva, the All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate, was accredited at 11.41am alongside his wife, Alayingi, at Eseni Square, Unit 4, Ward 4, Okpoama-Brass.

Sylva condemned the

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Dickson decries faulty card readers, violence against supporters The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate, Governor Seriake Dickson, who led his wife, Rachael, and mother, Goldcoast, to do accreditation at about 10.38am at Oruere-Ware Unit 5 of Sagbama Ward 2, lamented that the card reader failed to capture their finger prints .

Dickson, after accreditation, expressed worry over the alleged spate of failure of the card readers and violent attacks on his supporters in Oporoma, Brass, Ekeremor and other parts of the state.

The governor noted that the report of violence was disturbing and described them as pre-meditated in spite of the presence of heavy security agents.

“We are taking note of the violence against our people.

Everyone knows who they are and security agents are watching while they carry out the mayhem,” he said.

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•Election continues today – INEC •Dickson worried, Sylva optimistic, Jonathan faults card reader

The flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Timipre Sylva, voting Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate, Governor Seriake Dickson casting his vote

Chief Timi Alaibe of the APC votes attack on the house of the Minister of State for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Chief Heineken Lokpobiri, at Oporoma by suspected thugs.

He also picked holes in the many incidents of failed card reader but expressed optimism that, having had a successful campaign, he was certain of victory .

The APC candidate, disclosed that several thugs were apprehended by the Joint Task Force (JTF) at Odioma while floating in the river waiting for him.

He said that intelligence led to the arrests.

“We got security reports of infiltration by PDP thugs but it seemed to be ignored by security agencies owing to conflicting reports. Here, there is peace, everyone is allowed to exercise his franchise. You can see that there is peace here.

“My card was read well but, while on the line, I noticed that many people were failed by the card reader. I want INEC to up this technology, it gives me some worry, but, overall, everything is going well.

“The other party didn’t want election from what we can see with the deployment of thugs and violence. A minister was attacked. He called me to say his house had been attacked. We called for security reinforcement and he is safe now.”

Sunday Vanguard gathered that the houses of the Acting State Chairman of the PDP, HRH Serena Dokubo, and another party stalwart were attacked by opposition supporters at Brass in the morning but Dokubo could not be reached for comments at press time.

I’m quite worried about card reader issue – Jonathan Immediate past president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, after suffering card reading hitches as he and his wife, Patience, faced during the last general elections, called for the review of the concept of the card reader before the 2019 elections.

Jonathan made the call after his accreditation at Otazi Playground Polling Unit 039, Ward 13, Otuoke, in Ogbia local council.

The former President and his wife’s first attempt at accreditation, at about 8:45a.m, was unsuccessful on account of the malfunctioning of a card reader They were later accredited when a back-up machine was brought at 10 am. However, the card reader failed to capture Jonathan’s mother and two other associates.

Answering a question on his impression of the situation, the former President said: “I advise that before the 2019 elections, the whole concept of card reader and the technology must be reviewed. I’m quite worried about the card reader issue this morning.

Luckily, this is an isolated, one-state election. But from my experience today, INEC must review this issue of PVC and card reader very well before we go into the next elections.

“In the last presidential election, myself and my wife’s PVCs were rejected by the card reader. Today, because they changed mine and that of my wife, it was successful. Five people came with me including a former commissioner known to me in the state.

The card reader rejected three others. They could not

Former President Goodluck Jonathan participating in the election have been carrying clone cards.”

Jonathan, who looked calm, admonished Bayelsans to be calm and see politics as a duty to bring about change in the society.

He averred that transparent and credible elections are hallmarks of democracy, adding that when elections are not peaceful, they cannot be said to be credible.

Urging Bayelsans to go about yesterday ’s poll peacefully, he said whoever emerged governor after the voting exercise should govern the state well.

How thugs attacked Lokpobiri’s home Few hours before the commencement of accreditation of voters, the country home of the Minister of State for Agriculture and DirectorGeneral of the Sylva/Igiri Campaign Organization, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, was attacked by gunmen.

The gunmen were said to have stormed the house in the early hours of the day but were repelled by security operatives.

The attackers, according to sources, overpowered security men deployed to Ekeremor and made their way into the minister ’s compound, causing mayhem, with Lokpobiri and others trapped inside the house.

While the security personnel attached to the minister were making attempts to restore normalcy, the the invaders intensified the attacks and reportedly took over the entire community.

It was however gathered that the military had restored normalcy in the community

at the time of filing this report.

Bayelsa APC chieftain loses polling unit, hijacks election box In the meantime, a chieftain of the APC and a former governorship aspirant from Kpansia in Yenagoa local council allegedly hijacked election materials including results sheets after losing his polling unit at the poll.

According to eye witnesses, confusion started when the result was in favour of the PDP in Ward 9, Unit 7 in Yenagoa.

Suddenly, the APC chieftain, a former government official, alighted from a vehicle, with suspected thugs, in a commando style, hijacked the election materials and forced the INEC officials to go with him.

Voters, who gave the vehicle a hot chase in vain, lamented the absence of security personnel at the polling unit.

In the meantime,INEC has declared, last night,that election will continue in parts of Bayelsa where the poll was marred by violence or late arrival of materials, today.

INEC National Commissioner representing South-South, Mr Mustapha Leckey, who disclosed this in Yenagoa during a press briefing, said the election in Southern Ijawlocal council ran into hitches due to clashes between rival parties.

Lecky,who was flanked by the Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC in Bayelsa State, Baritor Kpagih, commended the election process in part of the state. He said that the election in Southern Ijaw had not been cancelled but will continue today.

PAGE 6 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 6, 2015

Kogi supplementary poll: APC in massive lead *Bello: I’m looking forward to developing state *Wada, aides keep mum

BY BOLUWAJI OBAHOPO AND KINGSLEY FANWO

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A former gov. of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi (left), with Dr. Tim Menakaya(right), during the requiem mass for the late Dr. JPC Nwokolo at St. Michael the Arch Angel Catholic Church, Abagana, at the weekend.

F results from most of the 91 polling units where supplementary governorship poll was held in Kogi State, yesterday, are anything to go by, the All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, is as good as having won the election.

Bello, who replaced the late Prince Abubakar Audu, went into yesterday’s makeup election with about 41,000 votes lead over Governor Idris Wada of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. To cancel the APC’s lead, Wada needs at least 46,000 votes. However, results from the supplementary election indicated that hurdle was insurmountable for the PDP candidate.

Apart from disruption of voting at Eti Aja 2 in Dekina Local Council where the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office was set ablaze on Friday and some polling units in Kogi East where voting started late because of security and logistics hitches, the supplementary exercise was generally peaceful.

In Kogi East, card readers were not generally effective and electoral officials were instructed to use incident forms where card readers failed.

There was low turnout of voters in Ankpa, Igalamela/ Odolu local councils The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the low turnout was visible in Ankpa Local Government Area where results from nine polling units with 6,018 registered voters were cancelled in the Nov.21, election.

Although polling officers in various units visited confirmed that electoral materials arrived the polling units before 8:00 a.m., the officers were relaxed.

The situation was, however, different from what happened during the November 21 election.

An electoral official at RCM Primary School Polling Unit, Ankpa, who preferred anonymity, said “the materials were distributed at the early hours of the day”.

He added: “Although there is low turnout, the card readers are working perfectly and the exercise has been very peaceful; no security threat. You can see that the security men are relaxing,” he said.

Also, at Oforachi Ward 1, Unit 001, in Igalamela/Odolu local government area, the exercise recorded low turnout as only 10 eligible voters turned up for accreditation at about 10:30 a.m.

The Presiding Officer at the unit, who preferred anonymity, said he was hopeful

that more people would turn out later, blaming the situation largely on the biting cold in the area.

Early results In Odo Ape Ward of Kabba/Bunu Local Council, where election was taking place in one unit, the APC scored 41 votes against PDP’s 18. APC also won by a margin of three votes in the unit where election took place at Ayetoro Kiri Ward.

The APC was also leading massively in some of the units in Kogi Central, the home of the party’s candidate.

Bello equally recorded victory in the only unit in Bariki Ward, Okene local council, where APC got 201 votes to PDP’s two.

At Ituwa Ipaja Unit, Ajaokuta local council, it was APC, 247 votes, PDP, eight.

Other results include: • Ajigi/Ofinran/ Okedisin Polling Unit, Yagba West: APC 86, PDP 73.

• Aiyetoro Ward I, the only polling unit in Ijumu LGA where the election held: APC-86, PDP 102.

• Oboroke Ward II, Okehi LGA: APC 110, PDP 0 • Apanko polling unit, Okehi LGA: APC 212, PDP 2 • Oboroke Uvete II Polling Unit 10, Okehi LGA: APC 108 PDP 2.

• Ituwa Ipaja,

*Engr. & Mrs Ayo Alabi, with their daughter, Oyindamola Ayo-Alabi (m), at the graduation ceremony of Lagos Business School, where Oyindamola bagged a master’s degree in business administration, yesterday.

Ajaokuta zone: APC 247, PDP 8 • Ikende, in Bassa Local Council: APC 52 PDP -14.

• Eforo Ward, Bassa: APC: 169 PDP 100 I’m looking forward to developing Kogi – Bello Ahead of the declaration of the winner of the poll today, Bello said he was already looking forward to developing the state.

The APC candidate who disclosed this while speaking with journalists on the supplementary election, also said the tussle for power between him and Abiodun Faleke (the APC deputy governorship candidate in the November 21 election) is a family affair that will be settled amicably.

He also promised to use his office when he assumes power to bridge the sectional gap in the state.

He expressed satisfaction with the organization of the election, urging the people of the state to eschew violence.

Exercise free and fair – PPA The Chairman of the Progressive Peoples Alliance, PPA, in the state, Hon. Simeon Ojonuba, hailed the process and INEC’s near perfect organization. He said the party decided to participate in the supplementary poll in recognition of the rule of law.

Wada, aides keep mum The PDP candidate, Wada, and his aides were not forthcoming with comments on the poll. The governor’s efforts to be declared re-elected and stop yesterday’s supplementary election were aborted by the court on Friday.

How thugs disrupted voting at Eti Aja II, Dekina Meanwhile, thugs disrupted the voting process in Eti Aja in Anyigba, the commercial nerve centre of Igalaland.

Trouble started when thugs stormed some polling units in the area, shooting into the air after accreditation.

However, normalcy was returned by security agents.

But as soon as voting started, the thugs stormed the place again and chased voters on queue away, disrupting voting. Electoral officers and prospective voters were seen scampering to safety.

AS LAWMAKERS GATHER IN PARIS:

We must lead war to save environment — Saraki

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enate President Abubakar Bukola Saraki, at the weekend, in Paris, urged his counterparts from across the world to lead the move to save the environment.

Saraki, while presiding over a session of the Globe COP 21 legislators summit inside the French National Assembly Complex, under the theme: “Developments in National Legislation on Climate Change, Disaster, Risk Reduction, Energy and Sustainable Development Towards Integrated National Planning on the 2015 Agenda” said the success of the move to make the environment safer required effective

leadership which legislators were better placed to provide.

He said legislators at the global summit had a challenge to go back to their home countries and domesticate the issues raised and share the experiences gathered so as to spread the success recorded in some places and avoid the mistakes encountered in some other countries.

“We must make changes through our parliaments. Parliamentarians are better placed to lead the campaign through legislations and advocacy programmes for the needed change of

attitude, required investment and consistent attention necessary to reduce

global warming and its dangerous consequence”, Saraki said.

The late Mrs Anakwenze for burial

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hief Mrs. Suss ie Nwakaegeo Anakwenze (nee Okigbo), Onodu ugo adiro egbe nma, is dead. She passed on to eternal glory on November 27.

She will be buried on Saturday, December 12 at her home town in Ojoto, Anambra State.

The deceased is survived by three children, in-laws, many grand

children and great grand children, including Chief Eugene Anakwenze Igiligi 1 of Ojoto. She was aged 89.

The late Mrs Anakwenze

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 6, 2015, PAGE 7

•L-R: Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi; Minister of State, Abubakar Bwari; Permanent Secretary, Istifanus Fuktur; and Director General, National Steel Raw Materials Exploration Agency, Alex Ohikere; during the ministers visit to the agency in Kaduna…last week.

•From left: Executive Director/Chief Financial Officer of First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Mrs. Yemisi Edun; Special Adviser on Education in Lagos State, Mr. Obafela Bank-Olemoh; Group Managing Director/CEO of the Bank, Mr. Ladi Balogun and the Vice Chancellor of Pan Atlantic University, Professor Juan Manuel Elegido, during the commissioning and hand-over ceremony of a Students'Centre built by FCMB and donated to the University. The ceremony took place at the University's Campus, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos on Friday.

Bamanga Tukur escapes attempt on his life

By Henry Umoru

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former National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, narrowly escaped an attempt on his life along Nnamdi Azikiwe International Air-

port, Abuja, yesterday.

In a statement, his Media Assistant, Oliver Okpala said the incident occurred while the elder statesman was on his way to Owerri via the Abuja airport to receive a doctorate award the Federal

We’ll continue to pay teachers by 15th of the month — Gov. Umahi

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HE Ebonyi State Gov ernor David Umahi has restated his commitment to the payment of teachers salaries on the 15th of every month .

Umahi, who received a delegation of the state council of Nigeria Union of Teachers in Abakaliki, said his directive was in spite of the fact that allocation from the Federation Account get to the states a month after.

He explained that his administration was not prepared to toy with the welfare of teachers because of their importance to the upbringing of future leaders.

Umahi frowned at the poor performance of Ebonyi State students in the West African Examination Council evaluation and charged the NUT to re-evaluate its members first before the middle of January 2016.

According to him, his administration would also be re-evaluate the teachers next year, because “ we can’t continue to come last in WAEC evaluation. We need to come from between one and three.”

He noted that the re-evaluation of teachers was necessary to arrest the dwindling academic standard in

Amudo Development Union holds end of the year party

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HE Great Amudo Development Union Lagos Branch holds its end of the year party today, at Ebonyi House, opposite the Military Cantonment, Ikeja, Lagos.

The event which features a launching of its N10 million development project begins by 12 noon.

the state since “we cannot afford to mortgage the future of our children.”

The governor however assured that no teacher would be disengaged as a result of the re-evaluation.

Umahi told the NUT to liaise with the Commissioner for Education, Prof. John Eke, to come up with a programme that would enable the government mount consistent and effective supervision of schools.

He said that in spite of the economic hardship in the country, the state government had resolved to put smiles on the faces of its workforce.

He said, “ During this Christmas, every teacher must go home with a bag of rice. In this Christmas every senior civil servant must receive 50 per cent salary bonus and every junior civil servant must receive 100 per cent salary bonus.”

University of Technology, FUTO, Imo State.

Okpala said, “As his convoy, made up of four vehicles, were driving to the airport, a tinted – Toyota Hilux van emerged and attempted to break into the convoy heading towards Tukur ’s vehicle when his security escort blocked it.

“Because of the resistance, the Hilux forcefully ran into the convoy hitting and damaging three of the jeeps including that of Tukur. The occupants of the Hilux demanded that the door of the car should be opened and the occupant pulled out.

“The Hilux occupants fought to dispossess the security men in the convoy of their guns and this was met with resistance. “In the process, the occupants of the Hilux, whoever they were, manhandled the policemen, but Tukur and his driver escaped from the scene.

“Before he alighted to board the aircraft, at the airport, the same people again tried to reach him, possibly to execute their motive but the airport security now joined his security details to subdue them, before Tukur was rushed to the departure hall.

“The police have been notified of this ugly and development.”

Nigeria needs climate change fund — Rep

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HAIRMAN of the House of Representatives Committee on Climate Change, Hon. Sam Onuigbo, has advocated the setting up of a dedicated fund for climate change issues facing the country.

Onuigbo also said the reality of the consequences of climate change has made it imperative for urgent solutions to be mobilized following adequate awareness and appreciation of the challenges.

Speaking at the inaugural meeting of the committee at the National Assembly, Onuigbo said given the multifarious

nature of climate change, it requires a multi-stakeholder approach in seeking and implementing solutions, one of which is the establishment of a special fund.

He said: “Essentially, the participatory requirement for climate change management may not be solved by new and dedicated institution but by new partnership and financing mechanisms. An innovative solution might be the creation of a National Climate Fund to finance new partnerships and initiatives that will lead to fulfilling Nigeria’s intended commitment to climate change management.”

•Convener of Experience and Senior Pastor of House on the Rock Church, Paul Adefarasin(in grey native attire), briefing newsmen in Lagos alongside international gospel artist, Don Moen, and other artistes shortly before the comencement of The Experience.

Customs officials, soldiers raid Lagos rice stores

By Ikenna Asomba & Bashir Adefaka

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OLLOWING the al leged invasion of their stores by about 30 officials of the Nigerian Customs Service, NCS, Federal Operations Unit, FOU, Zone A, Ikeja, accompanied by soldiers, market women, who deal in parboiled rice at Mile 2 Oke/Under-bridge Market, in Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State, staged a peaceful protest to the head office of Vanguard Media Limited, yesterday.

The women, who wept uncontrollably, complained that the armed Customs men and soldiers, who drove in two trucks, invaded their stores at about 1.00am yesterday, carting away about 1,200 bags of rice.

Speaking through Mrs Suwebatu Akorede, the women, who arrived the Vanguard’s office at about 1.00pm, lamented that the Customs men and soldiers broke into their stores without indicating what their offences were.

Akorede said, “The armed security operatives met our workers who slept in the market, when they drove in at about 1.00am. During their operation, they beat our workers up and even

injuring two of them with gun butts. They drove away with two-trailer load of bags of parboiled rice, as well as cartons of juice drinks, that we had in our stores.”

When Sunday Vanguard visited the market around 3.00pm yesterday, the market women, numbering over 100 wore forlorn faces, even as others were seen discussing in hushed tones.

Semiu Akeem, one of the workers who alleged that he was beaten by the armed security operatives, said: “I was sleeping when the Customs officials and soldiers woke me at about 1.00am. After identifying myself as a worker in the market, one of the soldiers started ransacking my pockets. When I asked what the problem was, what I saw was that he used his gun’s butt to hit me on my knee. At that moment, the soldier took from me the N150, 000 that I had on me, as well as my two phones.”

Semiu added that “after the armed security operatives finished loading their two trucks with the bags of parboiled rice, they drove me and three of my co-workers to the Customs office at Ikeja.”

Also speaking, another trader, Mrs Chi Okeke said: “We pay Customs duty to bring in our rice through the Seme bor-

der. So, we are surprised that the same Customs officials who had collected duty from us will still come to invade our stores and carting away our products.”

Chairman of the market, Mr. Idowu Akanbi, said: “We have gone to Customs office at Ikeja to bail our workers that were arrested, and they asked us to come back on Monday, to secure their release, stating that it was already weekend.”

When contacted, the spokesperson, NCS, FOU, Zone A, Ikeja, Uche Ejesieme said: “Sequel to an intelligence information, that large quantity of smuggled goods were kept in an open location at Mile 2, the headquarters monitoring team led by Assistant Comptroller Jatau Micah swooped on the location in an operation that lasted between 01.30am to 03.30am of Saturday.

“The team evacuated 580 bags of suspected smuggled 50kg parboiled rice and 151 pieces of used tyres. The seized items and the suspects have been brought down to our facility in Ikeja for further investigation. On the joint operation with the Army, it is in line the policy of inter agency synergy and there is nothing untoward about that.”

PAGE 8—SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 6, 2015

Judicial robbery of electorate in Taraba State (2) “An organization has no pants to kick and no soul to damn. And, by God, it should have both.” US Justice Wendell Holmes, Snr, 1809-1894, VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, VBQ, p 179. he Judiciary is one of the prime organizations in any democracy which is designed to dispense justice. Generally, in Nigeria, this had been done.

But, occasionally, a case comes up which demonstrates that some elements in the organization deserve to have a kick in the pants, as the Americans say. The other arms of government – the Executive and the Legislature cannot often deliver the kick without being accused of trying to intimidate the judiciary.

That leaves only the Fourth

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Estate of the realm as Thomas Carlyle, 17951881, called the press, to do the job. We should not shy away from it. Justices must be tackled with the same ferocity we address the other two branche. Justices Musa Abubakar, V.I. Ofesi and W.I. Kpochi constituting the Taraba State Election Tribunal had failed woefully to dispense justice to the people whose interests are fundamental in this case. Those are the people of Taraba State who made clear their wish on Election Day. “Salus populi suprema est lex (Latin), meaning, “The good of the people is the chief law”, according to Cicero, 106-43 BC. (VBQ p 120). In a national, state or local government election, only the people within the constituency can determine what is in their best interest. Nobody else,

the imagination that it escaped the attention of the Tribunal. The voters, all 645,302 of them, could not be accused of wasting their votes because they all com0lied totally with the constitution and the various act of the National Assembly, NASS, in order to become eligible voters and to exercise their sovereignty. There was no violence; neither were there reported cases of ballot box snatching and stuffing by any party. The voters of Taraba were peaceful and

patriotic citizens of which Nigeria can be proud. Almost all of them were accredited

by INEC officials and given ballot papers.

They were also provided with a list of candidates CLEARED by INEC for their decision, as in every state of the Federation of Nigeria.

About fifty-seven per cent of them voted for the PDP candidate and against any other candidate of any other party. Surely, the justices at the Tribunal know that voters cannot on Election Day query the list of candidates handed to them by INEC. There is no provision in the

group of justices. Since the voters were the victims of a fake INEC form which they could not challenge how could they be told they have “wasted their votes”? Can a buyer who can identify the merchant who sold the counterfeit product to him be told, by a fair judge, that he has wasted his money when the merchant (read INEC) is still in business and goes away unpunished? This is a clear case of punishing the victims (read Taraba State voters) twice – first

by INEC and then the Tribunal. They forfeit

Nigeria despite its protestations but now it has to put its operation in order because times are changing !This will send signals to those who do or want to do business in Nigeria, that they cannot exploits its people and get away with it.

through that they pay every single cent of the fine or face even stiffer penalty.

While they are at it, they should have reconsidered the renewal of MTN license to operate in Nigeria, and should rescind it, if they do not cough up the fine in full. The fine when it materialises, should be put to good use; to rebuild and create employment and it is pertinent that the changes are visible and used to transform the lives of ordinary Nigerians for the better.

of my friends about their encounters with customs officers and all described a common observations: mean, hungry looking and always extracting money off travellers with menace.

Some of them described them as vultures, who are so rotund, that the uniform they wear is groaning at the seams, with their middles struggling to break free. Everyone that I know have their own stories of woes to tell and because they are the first port of call and first contact or encounter, they are a bad representative of Nigerians, in fact, an encounter with one of these miscreants, you are always guaranteed it mars your entrance to the country and sets the pace on how the rest of your journey in Nigeria will be.

With the new Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Hameed Ali, perhaps the common impression of the customs officer will be a thing of the past. Mr Ali has declared that he would either discipline, dismiss or jail any officer found guilty of corrupt practices. That is a big declaration but a welcomed one and about time these avaricious vipers are handled and disciplined from top to bottom. This is a breath of fresh air!

And I hope for their sake, that they heed the warning as Mr. Ali is determined that things will have to change: "be of good conduct and show professionalism while carrying out their duties."

He said that his administration: "would have zero tolerance for

Show me the money!

The world says: "You have needs -- satisfy them. You have as much right as the rich and the mighty. Don't hesitate to satisfy your needs; indeed, expand your needs and demand more." This is the worldly doctrine of today.

And they believe that this is freedom. The result for the rich is isolation and suicide, for the poor, envy and m u r d e r. " — F y o d o r Dostoyevsky y apologies, I am not a crooner and my children will attest to that, but I know a good and meaningful lyrics when I hear one, and this particular one by Bob Dylan comes to mind and it goes like this: "The Times They Are A-changin" that best describes the sweeping changes in Nigeria to a tee; "..Then you better start swimmin', Or you'll sink like a stone, For the times they are a-changin'..

Come senators, congressmen, please heed the call, don't stand in the doorway.

Don't block up the hall, for he that gets hurt, Will be he who has stalled, there's a battle outside ragin', and it'll soon shake your windows, and rattle your walls. For the times they are a-changin' It is very apt don't you think? and I understand that

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the changes are sweeping the once movers and shakers, the great and powerful and everyday brings up new revelation and arrest,so those who are guilty and had their fingers in the national pie, so they better not ask for who the bell tolls, because next time it will definitely toll for them!

MTN, Africa's largest telecommunications operator, has been slapped with a hefty fine, although they have begged the government for leniency, they will still have to cough up $3.4 billion, and with it they have also offered the scalp of its CEO, its Nigerian subsidiary( who subsequently resigned).

Despite what the critics have said, that it will deter foreign investors from doing business in Nigeria, I believe, yes for those investors, who may think that Nigeria is a soft touch and it will definitely send a signal to them, that if they try they will get served.

MTN has a large share in Nigeria and with 62 million subscribers before the deactivations and it makes more than one third of overall profits in Nigeria, it will not pay them if they pack up shop and go. No, there is still money to be made in

constitution or laws for that. Voters should assume that what INEC places before them is an authentic list of candidates. They had no other alternative to make their wishes known than to go ahead and vote.

Clearly, the people who paid dearly in money, sweat and tears to register and to vote on Election Day, leaving other personal concerns, cannot now be accused of labouring in vain by a

not even three people in black robes and white wigs can or should impose on them a candidate they don’t want. The rest of the nation might not like it if the people of a state decide to elect an orangutan into office when the opponent is a sage. But, that is their choice. No amount of judicial sleight of hand can alter the fact that fifty seven percent of the people of Taraba state declared on Election Day that they don’t want the APC candidate.

Imposing the APC candidate on Taraba State amounts to substituting the wishes of the judiciary for those of the people. That is why it should not stand.

It might be of interest to ask how the justices arrived at this unjust decision. They declared that the votes cast by 369,318 voters of Taraba State were “wasted votes”.

Justices don’t even have a monopoly of the interpretation of the law; they definitely don’t have a monopoly of the meaning and the use of words. Some of us will contend with the three justices that, in order to evade the horrors of their verdict, they left a sentence uncompleted. They failed to tell the whole world who wasted the votes. Obviously, votes, like any precious property of human beings, can only be wasted by somebody and that party must bear the responsibility and suffer the consequences of doing so.

Let us quickly remove one group that could not have wasted the votes – the voters themselves. The reasons are so clear that it staggers

For the South Africabased MTN Group, it has begun to lick its wounds and has promised "to change the way it operates and strengthen what it calls its "oversight and regulatory compliance" not only in Nigeria but across all 22 countries of its operations in Africa and the Middle East.

For so long, the firm, with majority of Nigerians using its network has been milking the cash cow and was practically given a license to print money. The Nigerian Communications Commission fined the firm for failing to deactivate 5.2 million unregistered mobile SIM cards by the August deadline.

It is known fact that unregistered SIM cards possess a national security risk and in particular, in cases where extremists often use mobile phones to detonate bombs and criminals use it for their nefarious kidnappings and armed robbery activities.

The initial hefty fine was much more, from $5.2 Billion ,down to $3.4 billion fine, it remains the heftiest fine meted out to any telecommunications industry to date and also ever by a Nigerian administration and I do hope that they follow it

Before we reach the point of no return, we better pause to consider some of the consequences of escalating tension. All wars don’t start with a formal declaration.

Most start with skirmishes and escalate into full blood shed. The Biafran issue is moving gradually towards taking us to hell again

This is definitely a new broom and Mr Ali has promised that he will serve errant officers with dismissals and jail time and he is not afraid to mete out this as a deterrent to others and result in the reformation of the service A warning to big brands that sell out of date food stuff in Nigeria, the country will no longer tolerate the dumping of substandard and unhygienic goods to be peddled to its people. Nigeria values its people and has set a standard of practice to operate in Nigeria and long may it continue.

No to bribery and no to greedy customs officers

"The covetous man is always in want". - Horace I had discussions with some

their fundamental rights to choose because of INEC’s rascality.

INEC did not regard the votes as wasted also because the commission counted all of them, recorded them and presented a certificate to the choice of the people.

Like in al elections, a few votes were voided by INEC. Those were the ones INEC “wasted”. And nobody else could have declared the votes of the people wasted but the justices of the Tribunal. They are the ones trying to disenfranchise the majority of Taraba State voters by imposing the APC candidate rejected by fiftyseven per cent of them. It is the Tribunal which is trying to impose a candidate who did not only fail to gather at least fifty percent of the votes, but, who won in only five Local Government Councils and lost in eleven.

They call that justice; I call it robbery of the innocent majority.

WAR DRUMS IN BIAFRA AGAIN? -- 1

“I am tired of war. Its glory is all moonshine….War is hell.”General Sherman, US Army, 1820-1891.

(VANGUARD BOOK…).

Before we reach the point of no return, we better pause to consider some of the consequences of escalating tension. All wars don’t start with a formal declaration. Most start with skirmishes and escalate into full blood shed. The Biafran issue is moving gradually towards taking us to hell again…

corruption, hence the need for officers and men of the service to shun all forms of corruption. "I want to make it clear to all of you that I have zero tolerance for indiscipline and corruption.

I will dismiss and jail any officer found guilty of such.

"Indiscipline will no longer have a place in the NCS. We must have officers and men with impeccable character to promote the image of the service. "Anyone caught falsifying any documents or compromising with fake imported goods will also be dismissed and jailed.

"The NCS has resolved that anyone caught in an unprofessional conduct, no matter the circumstances, will be dismissed and jailed for the offence," This is music to my ears and those who travel that there is a new sheriff in town and that he won't stand for nonsense. We will need more Allis in other places, like the police and the civil service. I know it is a running joke in my household when I tell them that I cannot stand customs officers and their greedy and lecherous ways. If this is the sign of things to come, I will gladly change my mind and look forward to my encounter with them.

This is definitely a new broom and Mr Ali has promised that he will serve errant officers with dismissals and jail time and he is not afraid to mete out this as a deterrent to others and result in the reformation of the service.

He said that; "I am determined to undertake reforms and reorganise the service, so we can generate more revenues into the Federal Government's coffers".

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 6, 2015, PAGE 9

Politicians who abuse judges are unwise!

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igerian politicians are probably the freest in the world as they now and again do whatever pleases them with no one able to call them to order. Anytime a judge is assaulted or being abused in the country, it is always the handiwork of a politician or someone acting on his behalf. The only politician that does not abuse a judge is the one who secures a favourable court judgment. Meanwhile, the Nigerian politician is that citizen who is always able to recruit the highest and most expensive lawyers known as Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN). Why then are these so-called most senior lawyers never able to counsel their clients to appreciate that our laws require that judges be accorded ample respect? In Nigeria as in many other countries of the world, any person who lowers someone in the estimation of people by disparaging him in his office, profession or calling is said to have breached the

provisions of the law of defamation.

Nigerian politicians do this regularly to our judges either in writing which is libel or verbally which is slander, yet nothing happens to such an offending politician. Again, although it is seditious to bring into hatred or excite disaffection against the administration of justice in a country, our powerful politicians can publicly impugn the integrity of judges and get away with it.

The latest trend which influenced this article concerns contempt of court involving politicians who personally abuse judges, misrepresent court proceedings; openly accuse judges of partiality and also author publications which are prejudicial to fair trial.

Anytime a Nigerian journalist gets close to doing any of these, he is immediately summoned and dealt with, but if it is repeatedly done by a politician, nothing happens making it look like our politicians have some form PhD,Depar tment of Philosophy, University of Lagos 08116759758 opuruiche2000@yahoo.com

Was there a country?

Agitation for Biafra and its enemies (1)

W

hen one of Africa's f o r e m o s t storytellers, late Prof. Chinua Achebe, published his account of the civil war entitled There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra three years ago, agitation for the actualisation of a sovereign state of Biafra was in a state of suspended animation.

Indeed, from May 29, 1999 to May 29, 2015 when Dr. Goodluck Jonathan left office, pro-Biafran activities were low-key, unlike what is happening right now in some major towns and cities in the South-East. As is well known, the Movement for Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) was founded by Ralph Uwazuruike and his cohorts as a platform for realising the Biafran dream violently aborted in January 1970 by the Nigerian armed forces led by Gen. Yakubu Gowon. Throughout the tenure of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, MASSOB was largely inactive, probably because there was a fair representation of Ndigbo in government at the time, although the serious problem of low federal presence in the South-East, particularly in i n f r a s t r u c t u r a l development, heavy industries and solid investment in agriculture remained largely unaddressed. In addition, MASSOB has been weakened by internal

disputes and lack of clear vision among its leaders.

Presently, the organisation is factionalised: one of the factions led by its National Director of Information has expelled Uwazuruike and installed Uchenna Madu as the new leader of MASSOB. In fact, a new group known as the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has emerged which appears to be more militant than MASSOB in the forefront of current protests for an independent country for the Igbo and their immediate neighbours.

The recent upsurge in proBiafra agitations has generated a lot of discussion both within the country and around the world: the Nigerian media have reported it extensively because it challenges the arrogant pronouncement by our rulers, both military and civilian, that "Nigeria's unity is sacrosanct and nonnegotiable."

More significantly, every movement for resurrecting Biafra brings back memories, both pleasant and largely unpleasant, for Ndigbo who experienced the short-lived euphoria when Lt. Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu announced the secession of Eastern Nigeria and the disastrous war that followed. As I noted earlier, MASSOB's quest for the establishment of Biafra has been ineffectual, but it started gaining momentum

of immunity. For ease of reference let us undertake a review of the reactions of politicians to the decisions of election tribunals concerning the last general elections in two states in the country and appreciate the posture of the average Nigerian politician. In Rivers State, the government acted as if it was itself another tribunal as it published official comments during the

Our politicians should therefore apply restraint to their tendency to always instigate other people’s children into violence once an election petition is not in their favour hearing of the election petition. For example, as soon as the military gave evidence at the tribunal which did not favour the governor, his special adviser on media, Opunabo Inko-Tariah issued a press statement to condemn the evidence. The statement since the "second coming" of President Muhammadu Buhari. In order to understand better what is happening right now, it is appropriate to consider the problem in its historical context by identifying the major cause of the renewed agitation for Biafra and comparing it with the reasons why, on May 26, 1967, the 335-member Consultative Assembly of Chiefs and Elders in Eastern region mandated Ojukwu to pull Eastern Region out of Nigeria "at an early practicable date."

In my opinion, the most important reason for the ongoing pro-Biafran agitations is the I-don't-care or indifferent attitude of President Muhammadu Buhari to the concerns and aspirations of Ndigbo in general - he has not overcome his penchant for treating Ndigbo as "the last among equals," so to speak.

The clearest demonstration of Buhari'`s disdain for the Igbo is that he completely left out the South-East geopolitical zone in the first twenty-four key appointments he made as President, a decision which is so discriminatory that only someone with stunted moral intuition of fairness who hates Ndigbo passionately can condone or accept it with equanimity.

Were it not for the constitutional requirement that the President must appoint one minister at least from each state of the federation, Buhari would probably have nominated only one or two ministers from the South-East for his cabinet to prove to the Igbo that he can govern without them just as he was elected President without substantial votes from the South-East. In addition, by excluding the zone, the President was actually keeping the promise he

similarly attacked the “unfavourable” testimony of Charles Okoye, the head of the INEC monitoring team in the state who also claimed the elections were marred by violence and intimidation At the end of the hearing, the tribunal annulled the election. This time it was the governor himself who addressed the people of the state. Among other things he said: “despite the woeful failure of the Petitioners to discharge the burden of proof with respect to their contradictory, wild and false allegations against the conduct of the election, the State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal nullified my election on the basis of INEC’s alleged infraction of its administrative guidelines on the use of card readers.”

Any visitor to the country or foreigners who heard Governor Wike’s address would obviously be confused. First, it would be difficult to understand why such a statement would be made after the ruling of a court of competent jurisdiction. How can a party to a case say that his opponent failed woefully to prove an allegation which a court had found to be true-is such an allegation still false, wild and contradictory? Would it not have been more decent and in line with the rule of law for such arguments to be raised during appeal or did Wike whom we hear is a lawyer constitute himself

into an appellate court? If the statement was made to the court of public opinion, the author probably discountenanced the earlier report by local and international observers, that the Rivers governorship election, witnessed widespread violence before and after the elections.

In Taraba State, where the incumbent governor suffered the same fate, similarly worded but unnecessary inflammatory statements were made. On his part, the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Rebo Usman, imagined that the election tribunal “derailed from its constitutional responsibilities and “dived into something else” adding that the tribunal ruling “plunged the state into chaos which led to wanton destruction of lives and property.”

Unfortunately, Usman did not reveal who organized the chaos thereby imputing that the people of Taraba State are yet to know that rash mob action is an uncivilized approach to an unfavourable judgment.

Otherwise, the people might extend the chaos beyond their state if a higher court confirms the earlier judgment. Indeed, there would likely be similar chaos organized the other political party if the higher court reinstates the governor. From this argument, it is obvious that if the current posture of gangsterism by politicians

who lose court cases is not checked, many innocent souls would be lost while the politicians keep their own children in safe haven in Europe and America.

Our politicians should therefore apply restraint to their tendency to always instigate other people’s children into violence once an election petition is not in their favour. They should at the same time allow our judges to do their work and go on appeal where necessary.

Against this backdrop, we consider as appropriate and timely last Wednesday ’s publicly expressed concern by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, about attacks unleashed on judges by politicians following the judgments delivered by some election petitions tribunals in the country.

Calling on governors to be more sensitive to the plight of judges, the CJN aptly said that it was not enough to attack judges over corruption and bribery allegations and look away when “thugs enter courts to beat judges, tear court processes and bomb the courts to prevent the delivery of some judgments.” Lets us always remember this writer ’s often quoted statement that in every case of corruption, there are at least two sides, the giver and the taker.

Politicians who give cannot morally chastise judges who take. Both are wrong.

made in the United States that he would treat various parts of the country differently based on the number of votes he received from them during the presidential election.

Therefore, for those with Stone Age antediluvian mentality codified in the Mosaic law of "an eye for an

Muslim like himself, was placed under house arrest in a cosy house in Ikoyi owned by the federal government. I do not have information on the exact composition of Buhari's Supreme Military Council. But I am almost certain that Igbo representation in it was either zero or one at most.

Available data show that PTF under Buhari constructed 13,870 kilometres of roads in the North, representing 76%, whereas the South-East and South-South together got only a paltry 2,472 kilometres or 13.5%.

The ill-advised discriminatory anti-Igbo decisions by President Buhari must have compelled thousands of mostly unemployed Igbo youths to feel that Ndigbo are not equal stakeholders with their compatriots in the Nigerian project, that they have nothing to gain in Buhari's administration.

Many of them believe that it is better to fight and possibly die in the struggle for a country they can truly call their own where they can be reckoned with as important stakeholders in the scheme of things rather than endure continuously the humiliations of being treated as second class citizens. From comments in the media regarding the agitations, a sizeable percentage of Nigerians from other parts of the country, including top government officials, seem to be either ignorant of the depth of pro-Biafra feelings driving the agitators or are mischievously hoping that the protests would become destructive to provide a convenient excuse for violent clampdown on the Igbo.

Meanwhile, some of the actions taken by the federal government thus far, instead of solving the problem, are actually escalating it. For

example, despite the hyperbolic anti-Nigeria statements broadcast by Radio Biafra, the Directorate of State Services (DSS) made a tactical error by arresting and detaining Nnamdi Kanu, Director of Radio Biafra, which means that the present government did not learn any lesson from the ineffectual heavyhanded attempts by the Abacha regime to silence Radio Kudirat, the clandestine radio station established by elements of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) to help actualise the truncated mandate of Chief M.K.O. Abiola. Detention of Kanu by operatives of the DSS has not reduced the clamour for Biafra: on the contrary, it has triggered more protests and inadvertently made Kanu a hero for thousands of his admirers. Before his arrest, Kanu was relatively an unknown figure: now, he is very popular, and many young men and women in Igboland and beyond see him as a role model. Femi Aribisala captured this point succinctly when he observed that "those who were not disposed to Biafra before are now shouting Biafra. For weeks on end Biafra has become the biggest news item nationwide, with agitations, demonstrations, threats and arrests."

Although the glaring discriminatory leadership style of Buhari against the South-East is the most important cause of the ongoing struggle for Biafra, we should not lose sight of the pent-up emotions and nostalgia for a separate homeland by a significant proportion of Ndigbo because they suffer the biggest casualties whenever there is uprising in the North since the civil war ended in 1970.

In my opinion, the most important reason for the ongoing pro-Biafran agitations is the Idon't-care or indifferent attitude of President Muhammadu Buhari to the concerns and aspirations of Ndigbo in general eye and a tooth for a tooth," Buhari is justified in neglecting the Igbo.

However, his proclivity for treating Ndigbo like a conquered people or vassals who deserve only crumbs that fell from their Northern master's table did not start today. As I have argued severally in this column, it was manifest when he served as military head of state, and several years later as chair, Petroleum (Special) Trust Fund (PTF). To buttress my point: after the coup that brought him to power in December 31, 1983, Buhari locked up Vice President Alex Ekwueme in Kirikiri prison whereas Ekwueme's boss, President Shehu Shagari, a Fulani and

To be continued

PAGE 10—SUNDAY

Vanguard , DECEMBER 6, 2015

...All about the North

The 'hell way' to the North!

BY WOLE MOSADOMI, MINNA

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LORIN – Jebba – Mokwa – Minna Road links the South of Nigeria with the North.“The alternative route is the Okene – Lokoja Road bursting out at the federal capital and then to other parts of the North.

The two major roads are busy throughout the year and that is why government has to pay attention to them.

Ordinarily, a journey from Ilorin to Jebba should take about one hour's drive if the road is good, but it takes cars between three to four hours while heavy duty vehicles spend three to four days, if not one week The experience can be agonizing.

Many years ago, it was easy to determine how many hours it would take for a journey from Minna to Ilorin and back. In fact, many commuters, especially traders, travelled to Ilorin from Minna to transact businesses and come back same day without stress.

That is history.

Today, one is only sure of the time of departure but certainly not when to return home.“Sunday Vanguard's trip from Minna to Ilorin, last week, was traumatizing.

The road was in bad shape with huge potholes while the traffic was devoid of orderliness. There was heavy traffic at different points. No movement as vehicles stayed bumper to bumper. No respect for simple traffic regulations.

Motorists drive in whatever lane of the highway that caught their fancy. No driver complained over the “recklessness or lawlessness” on the road because they were all guilty of the offence.“The order of the day on the road that is “smartness” on the part of motorists desperate to get out of the “death traps and agonizing” situation.

Boldly written on the faces of motorists and passengers were discomfort, stress and frustration with no one to provide answers to the

painful situation.“Law enforcement agents, especially Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), were nowhere in sight to give succour.

Some motorists, particularly truck drivers, conveying foodstuff, cows and ram from the North to the South, interviewed on the situation, described the development as very sad.

They called on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on the road and embark on repairs immediately.

One of the truck drivers, Isah Muhammed, lamented that he had been stranded on the road for four days with no hope of getting out.

“A female passenger, Bukola Adeoye, travelling from Ilorin to Kaduna, said," How do you want me to speak well of this country? I graduated three years ago but jobless and travelling to the North for the first time in search of job and experiencing this type of

Some motorists, particularly truck drivers, conveying foodstuff, cows and ram from the North to the South, interviewed on the situation, described the development as very sad.

thing. How do you explain the situation?

One particular truck driver complained he had been stuck between Jebba and Mokwa axis of the road for days, and, to make matters worse, the pepper, onions and yams he was transporting from the North to Lagos were perishing.

He was not sure when he would make it out of the road in one week. According to him, his fate told the stories of his fellow truck drivers.

Meanwhile, villagers on the route cashed in on the situation to sell water and food from questionable sources to the stranded commuters and drivers.

Because of lack of security on the route, robbers take advantage of the situation to unleash terror on travellers.

Analysts fear the situation may take a toll on the economy as trucks carrying foodstuff from the North encounter difficulties making it to the South owing to the impassable state of the Ilorin-JebbaUokwa-Minna Road.

Deputy Corps Commander

of the FRSC in Niger State, Nma Magana, in an interview, said the bad state of the road, coupled with impatience of motorists, was contributing to the serious traffic on the highway.

“No doubt that the road is so bad but the impatience of the motorists who want to get out of the situation, by all means, further compounds the situation and accentuates road traffic jam. We have mobilised our men from Jebba and Bode Saadu offices to bring sanity back to the road, but the drivers have made the situation to get out of control but we will continue to do our best,"the Deputy Commander.

With Christmas and New Year festivities inching closer and the wind of change blowing across the nation with the Buhari regime, the prayer from Nigerians is that, even if it is to grade the worst hit areas, the President must be seen to be doing something as a first step to bringing succour to motorists plying the road.“

SUNDAY

Vanguard, DECEMBER 6 6, 2015 PAGE — 11

...All about the North

Benue: The Onwe move to demystify David Mark

BY PETER DURU, MAKURDI

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HE ruling All Pro gressives Congress, APC, and the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in Benue State are back in the trenches following last weekend’s nullification of Senator David Mark’s election by the Court of Appeal sitting in Makurdi.

The appellate court had, in that ruling, also ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to conduct a fresh election in Benue South within 90 days.

Mark’s victory in the Benue South senatorial election on March 28, 2015 had been challenged by Daniel Onjeh of the APC, who petitioned the Benue State Legislative Houses Elections Tribunal, asking for the cancellation of the election and the conduct of a fresh poll in the district.

The Justice Mosunmola Dipeolu-led panel, on October 7, 2015, dismissed Onjeh’s petition on the grounds that the evidence tendered before the tribunal was documentary hearsay.

But, in a unanimous judgment read by Justice Peter Ige, the appellate court dismissed the verdict of the tribunal and upheld the plea of the appellant that Mark’s election failed substantially to meet the provisions of paragraphs 39 and 40 of the INEC approved electoral guidelines and Sections 73and 74 of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.

Sunday Vanguard sought the reaction of the INEC Returning Officer at that election, Prof. Latif Tiamiyu, on the position of the Court of Appeal that he declared the result of that election while collation was ongoing in seven of nine local government areas of the senatorial zone.

Tiamiyu insisted that he applied himself to the provisions of the laws.

The university don, who said he was ready to defend his role in that election at any for a, said, “The senatorial election result in Benue South was announced by me after the

•Former Senate President, David Mark

•Onjeh...launched offensive collation of the result in the nine local government areas that make up the district.

“The information that the result was announced while collation was still going on is not correct.That didn’t happen. I have an integrity to protect and I am ready to

defend that anytime.”

Also reacting to the appellate court ruling, the APC candidate at the election, Onjeh, said it was a verdict that he had longed for after the senatorial election which he said was skewed in favour of the former Senate President.

Onjeh, who took a swipe at Mark and the electoral process that ushered him into the Senate for a record fifth time, making him the longest serving senator in the history of the country, said he was the victorious candidate in that election.

Onjeh said, “I am ready for a rerun against Senator Mark because I know I will defeat him if an election is conducted today because we have not enjoyed any dividends from his stewardship .”

Meanwhile, the Media Director of Senator Mark Campaign Organization, Dr. Adakole Elijah, faulted the judgment of the appellate court describing it as ‘shallow and defiling all legal logic.”

“Onjeh merely complained that results were declared while collation was ongoing just because he noticed an error where the Returning Officer who signed the result dated it April 28., 2015,”Elijah stated.

“That does not in any way invalidate the result because the result that was announced did not in any way conflict with the figures appended to by all the agents of the parties after the collation of the

While the people await the decision of INEC on the data for the rerun, political activities are gradually building up in the senatorial district as the parties prepare to engage in a battle that may decide where Benue tilts in future elections

result of that election.

“The Appeal Court relied on a result sheet which was not pleaded and listed by the petitioner. An evidence that was rejected by the trial court and was not pleaded at the Appeal Court by the appellant was relied upon by the court to nullify an election that was adjudged credible, free and fair. It clearly showed that the court had vested interest”.

While referring to Justice Zainab Adamu Bulkachuwa’s (now President of the Appeal Court) judgment in Senator Mark against Alhaji Usman Abubakar in 2007, the Media Director recalled that she held succinctly that an election was like pyramid which grows from bottom to top, stating that the Appeal Court misapplied the judgment.

He highlighted the achievements of his principal to include the construction of Agatu-Oweto Road which, he said, was at 75 percent completion stage, and the Loko bridge linking Benue State with Nasarawa State.

Other achievements, according to him, are construction of a multipurpose dam with hydro component in Otobi/Akpa in Otukpo LGA at the cost of N17 billion, construction of blocks of classrooms in the nine local government areas of the senatorial district including Onjeh’s country home of Adum Onah Ipega, Orokam, Ogbadibo LGA. He added that Mark attracted an earth dam to Otobi Onobi, Otukpo LGA, influenced the construction of rural roads in Oju as well as constructed a borehole in the College of Education, Oju to stem the incessant clash between students and the host community and also awarded scholarship to over 12,000 students of Benue State.

While the people await the decision of INEC on the data for the rerun, political activities are gradually building up in the senatorial district as the parties prepare to engage in a battle that may decide where Benue tilts in future elections.

PAGE 12— SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 6, 2015 rexmarinus@hotmail.com

The Road to Philipi

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li Okechukwu, D e p u t y Superintendent of Police, and Public Relations Officer of the Anambra State Command of the Nigerian Police Force, Awka, denied it all. The Joint Task Force had not shot at protesters, and has not killed anyone among the peaceful demonstrators in Onitsha calling for the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, and a referendum for the secession of Biafra from the federation of Nigeria. The police denial of any killings seems rather odd because, floating since Wednesday on the internet, and the wider blogosphere, are very gory images of protesters shot and killed by the Joint Task Force, comprising the police, the Navy and the Army, deployed in Onitsha to quell the protests. Among the dead, lying in the pool of her own blood on the streets, and now circulating internationally is the picture of a young woman, Anthonia Nkiruka Ikeanyionwu, killed on Wednesday. Newspaper reports indicate that Nkiruka was returning from the Asaba end of the Niger bridge which had been blocked by protesters, when JTF Operatives began to shoot at the crowd. In a bid to escape the hail of bullets, she made to run into a restaurant but was shot by one of the JTF squad. A beautiful, innocent, young woman was thus summarily dispatched to untimely death. Who gave the orders to shoot at a crowd of peaceful, non-violent protesters? This is the questions that Nigerians must collectively ask. The members of the National Assembly representing Anthonia Nkiruka Ikeanyionwu in the House of Representatives and the Senate, must compel a Joint House Investigations on Police Conduct on this matter, and bring those who have exerted needless violence on an unarmed civilian population to justice. This is a democracy, not a military dictatorship. People have a right to protest without the deployment of armed personnel to shoot at them with life bullets. Mr. Solomon Arase, if he did give the order to shoot, must be forced to resign for irresponsible leadership of the Police Force at this very critical time requiring sensitive approaches that are more mediatory than confrontational with a public geared towards increasingly public protests of their condition. Miss Ikeanyionwu, has officially become the first martyr of this new Biafran movement that is evolving right before our very eyes. Her death will create new myths of personal and fearless sacrifice, and she’ll soon become a great heroine, celebrated in poetry, protest music, and drama. The Police has drawn the first blood, and is likely to draw again, and again, and in the long run, compel the protesters to defend themselves militarily too. It is after all the right and

obligation of every citizen to arm and rise against an oppressive government. We know exactly how this has played out in other places and at other times: in the Niger Delta, the relentless brutality of the JTF and the police led the youth to re-strategize and arm themselves, and begin a fight that took the late President Yar Ardua and Jonathan to quell. Nigeria’s security forces do not seem to learn anything from their history of engagement with radicalized movements. The killing of the leaders of the Boko Haram, we now know, triggered a re-strategizing, which saw the expansion of the operations and missions of Boko Haram which has since dug-in, in the North East of Nigeria. If the Federal government continues to play into the script of the organizers of the IPOB, it will have to face a situation similar to the Irish Republican Army, the IRA. This is exactly where I predict the IPOB to evolve towards.

And I should sketch the grounds of my speculation. As

Do the Igbo want out, or do they want a better Nigeria?

The Igbo themselves must put it to vote through an internal plebiscite discontent grows in the East with increasing economic and social pressures, and we are already seeing the clear signs in a state like Imo State, where Governor Okorocha has basically lost legitimacy, the new Biafra movement will morph into the shadow government of the East. They will acquire legitimacy by doing two things, and these are glaring: filling the vacuum of grassroots governance, the most important segment of government, long abandoned, and long neglected by preceding governments. Already the IPOB is establishing Provincial Committees alongside the old Biafran provincial structure, and are appointing provincial administrators. Currently these provincial administrators are pro-tem, but as the movement grows, and begins to train its members more strategically, they will appoint more competent people as provincial Administrators and Divisional Officers who will organize the grassroots, mobilize, and administer the new movement. Two, if they are smart, as I think they are, they will quickly dust up the

old Biafran organizational programs: the Relief Committees, the Divisional and Town Intelligence Committees, the Education Committees, the Security Committees, the Research and Production Committees, the Town Development Committees, etc, and deploy these widely at the grassroots to carry out the kind of direct services that governments have long forgotten to provide the people in the last 35 years.

They will effectively become the real government in the East by circumventing the current political order, and they will take charge and act from the position of strength.

Their inevitable control of the Eastern states will be decisive in forcing Nigeria to a referendum. The IPOB will accomplish this as it moves toward clearer organisation, along the IRA model, and as it builds upon its strength.

This, admittedly, is the best case scenario, because IPOB and MASSOB are very fascist organisations. The Igbo must be very wary of fascism. The depth of Igbo discontent should not warrant blind support for any movement that arises spouting “Biafra!”

Part of what the Igbo should do at this very crucial moment is to re-examine this question, through their own town Unions and conduct their own referendum about their relationship with Nigeria. Do the Igbo want out, or do they want a better Nigeria? The Igbo themselves must put it to vote through an internal plebiscite. Until IPOB and other pro-Biafra organisations have themselves done this, they presume only to speak for the Igbo. The wind will go out of their sails once the economic, political, and social issues animating the current demand is dealt with. Part of the federal government’s difficulties is that it does not know who to talk to, and engage in the movement for Biafra. The Nigerian intelligence Services do not seem to have trained anthropologists, and sociologists who are trained to understand and interpret patterns of group behaviour.

Otherwise, they ’d have understood that Igbo have no permanent leadership. It is only in times of war or other emergencies that a single leader emerges among the Igbo, and at the end of such an emergency, that “leader” returns to his normal life as citizen. Northern monarchs, the newspapers report, have led a delegation to their “fellow monarchs” in the East to find a solution to this growing protest. Frankly, the Eastern “monarchs” themselves have no idea what is going on, because these young folks do not seek their opinion, nor do their words amount to much among the Igbo. So, what is to be done?

Well, the federal government must first release Kanu, and seek to open discussions with the young people he leads.

This movement cannot be stopped with bullets, unless they wish to meet at Philipi with the young Biafrans. In which case, it is just as well to tell both the agitators for Biafra and the Federal government that the road to Philipi is really a straight line as the crow flies, and might be closer than imagined. It is also a bloody road. The president must act and call an end to the bloodshed, and the looming anarchy. It is not too late for every party here to pull back before Onitsha becomes Soweto.

‘Red and white women’ clash over Oshiomhole, Igbinedion

By Simon Ebegbulem, Benin City

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t has been the battle of women in red and those in white in Edo State. The women joined the fray between Governor Adams Oshiomhole, his predecessor, Chief Lucky Igbinedion and his (Lucky) father, the Esama of Benin, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion.

Oshiomhole had alleged that certain things went wrong under the Igbinedion administration, alleging that the Esama played a part. The governor accused his predecessor of alleged removal of $31milllion from the coffers of the state, while also alleging the diversion of the over N600million meant for the dredging of the Ikpoba River in Benin City, the diversion of the funds for the construction of the road leading to Okada, the village of the Igbinedions and allegedly use of state authority to confiscate over 200,000 hectares of land belonging to the state government which was sublet to Yoruba cocoa farmers in Okada who pay royalty.

Oshiomhole’s war against the senior Igbinedion is believed to be the outcome of the latter’s rejection of the Land Use Charge introduced by the state government which the Esama’s supporters alleged was targeted at him and his family. Following the governor’s outburst, some women dressed in red embarked on solidarity march in support of the senior Igbinedion, describing Oshiomhole’s tirade as an insult to the Esama.

The woman admonished the governor to apologize to the Esama.

“We are women and, as mothers, sisters and aunts to Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, we say no to any form of disrespectful behavior to the person of Chief Igbinedion. We cannot see evil in the land and support it. We are against the action of the governor, particularly against Chief Igbinedion and his household. We want the governor to apologize to the Esama. All we are asking the governor is to stop insulting elders from Benin Kingdom, so that we do not completely go naked and place curses on him”.

They alleged further that the insults on the notable Bini chief was uncalled for, noting that the insulting language employed by

Oshiomhole’s war against the senior Igbinedion is believed to be the outcome of the latter’s rejection of the Land Use Charge introduced by the state government which the Esama’s supporters alleged was targeted at him and his family Oshiomhole was worrisome and offended the Benin nation, who were very ‘respectful people’ and adored the sterling lifestyle and qualities of the Esama.

But another set of women in white, numbering over 6,000, staged a rally, described in Benin as the mother of all rallies, denounced the attack on Oshiomhole by the Igbinedions. The women, who marched through the major streets of Benin and the state House of Assembly before converging at the Government House at Osadebey Avenue, backed the governor ’s attempted probe of the Igbinedion administration.

They vowed to use every means to ensure that the Esama complied with the Land Use Charge which, according to them, will help address the problems of the poor in the state. “We decide to wear white because we want peace in the land. Last week, some women, who wore red, demonstrated in favour of Chief Igbinedion.

Since Oshiomhole came, Edo has changed and we don’t want any big man to fight him. Oshiomhole is God-sent to Edo and God will continue to protect him. We will not allow the Igbinedions to rubbish him because when the son was governor, we didn’t see dividends of democracy and our people remained poor. But since Oshiomhole came, he changed all that,”their spokesperson said. “Oshiomhole is not a selfish man. We support our Comrade Governor because he is fighting for the poor and no weapon fashioned against him shall prosper ”.

The women were addressed by the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Mr Victor Edoror, before they marched to Government House where they were addressed by Oshiomhole.

The governor, who expressed joy for the support he has from women across the three senatorial district of the state, assured them that “ no god father can intimidate me.”He added: “Rather, I will be the one to chase them out of the state”.

Oshiomhole, who is the Omokpa Nabebho (one man like one country), a traditional title given to him by the Otaru of Auchi, took time to explain that he was being attacked by the Igbinedions because he revoked the contract his predecessor allegedly signed with his father at the Benin Central Hospital where the state government was allegedly paying the bills for the training of medical students of Igbinedion University, Okada. He also told the women how he revoked the 200,000 hectares of land the junior Igbinedion allegedly gave to his father in Okada. The governor went further: “They said they are Mr Exemption on the Land Use Charge but in Edo the only exemption is the Oba of Benin and not the Esama. I laughed when I saw some women wearing red last week accusing me of insulting Chief Igbinedion.

“They said I always abuse elders but which elders have I abused in this state?

Talking about disrespect, it is on record that Chief Igbinedion was even the first that took our Oba of Benin to court; himself and his son, Lucky. Igbinedion owns property all over the world.. If people are afraid of the Igbinedions, I am not scared of them and I will never be. For me, only God in heaven will define my tomorrow. They said I have a house in the village; those who know me know that I have a house in the village since 1990. The remaining time I have here, I will do my best to continue to work for Edo people, all they are trying to do is to divert attention but I will remain focused.

The hospital, I will complete it; 2nd East Circular Road will be completed. When the time comes, we will publish our report card and they too will publish their report card for ten years”.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 6, 2015, PAGE 13

PROLOGUE

WHY NATIONS FAIL

A misguided engagement of the Biafra issue D

BY JIDE AJANI

eal with it: He may have taken more than three months but President Muhammadu Buhari would need to deal with the growing discontent coming from the South-East. His direct silence or, better put, seeming indifference, or both, has, one way or the other, contributed, in no small measure, to the spark that has happened on members and leaders of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB - and the Movement for the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, riddled by in-fighting, is playing catch up with relevance.

But beyond the noise, needless braggadocio of the Nigerian state and somewhat uncreative approach to dealing with the agitation, is the lack of a clear understanding of why nations fail.

Every nation seeks the total sum of good for its people. One of the ways this is done is by unlocking the creative potentials. Since after the civil war, what ordinarily ought to have been a Marshall Plan of sorts for the South-East was never engaged. Worse still, some self-appointed leaders of the zone have engaged in serial short-changing of their people by placing the pursuit of filthy lucre above the welfare of Igbos. Until the destruction wrought by the war in the North-East, some parts of the South-East looked and still look like fresh topography of war owing to neglect, undevelopment and underdevelopment. When there is inequality, it breeds poverty. Poverty in turn breeds instability of many forms. Instability breeds further

C M Y K

poverty. This is not just because it has to do with the Igbo nation. It is the way the Nigerian state is structured for development by leaders whose parochial appreciation of governance is best underscored by the failed leadership and wasted opportunities of the last 16years.

Whatever grievances the Igbos are crying about today, many parts of Nigeria typify that neglect.

But there is a nexus between good governance, rule of law and prosperity. Which is why good governance, justice and equality would always be a sine-quanon for development and prosperity.

The following, excerpted from the book, WHY NATIONS FAIL, by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson, creates the linkage between Africans, laziness, despotism, good governance and prosperity: “One widely accepted theory of the causes of world inequality is the geography hypothesis, which claims that the great divide between rich and poor countries is created by geographical differences. Many poor countries, such as those of Africa, Central America and South Asia are between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Rich nations in contrast, tend to be in temperate latitudes. This geographic concentration of poverty and prosperity gives a superficial appeal to the geography hypothesis, which is the starting point of the theories and views of many social scientists and pundits alike. But this doesn’t make it any less wrong.

“As early as the late eighteenth century, the great French political philosopher Montesquieu noted the geographic concentration of prosperity and poverty, and proposed an explanation for it. He argued that people in tropical climates tended to be lazy and to

lack inquisitiveness. As a consequence, they didn’t work hard and were not innovative, and this was the reason why they were poor. Montesquieu also speculated that lazy people tended to be ruled by despots, suggesting that a tropical location could explain not just poverty but also some of the political phenomena associated with economic failure, such as dictatorship.

“The theory that hot countries are intrinsically poor, though contradicted by the recent rapid economic advance of countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Botswana, is still forcefully advocated by some, such as the economist Jeffrey Sachs. The modern version of this view emphasises not the direct effects of climate on work effort or thought processes, but two additional arguments first, that tropical diseases, particularly malaria, have very adverse consequences for health and therefore labour productivity, and second that tropical soils do not allow for productive agriculture. The conclusion, though, is the same temperate climates have a relative advantage over tropical and semitropical areas.

World inequality, however, cannot be explained by climate or diseases, or any version of the geography hypothesis. Just think of Nogales. What separates the two parts is not climate, geography or disease environment, but the US-Mexico border.

“If the geography hypothesis cannot explain differences between the north and south of

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PAGE 14—SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 6, 2015

•Nnamdi Kanu ... Detained over `Biafra Radio'

•Chief Ralph Uwazurike ... at war with colleagues

WHAT NEXT AFTER ONITSHA MAYHEM?

Pro-Biafra activists in fresh mobilisation •Leaders bitterly divided •Protesters threaten national security — Defence Headquarters

BY KINGSLEY OMONOBI, CHIDI NWOKPARA VINCENT UJUMADU, PETER OKUTU & FRANCIS IGATA

T

HE business community of Onitsha, Anambra State has started recovering from the effect of last week’s pro-Biafra violent protests that left nine people dead and property worth millions of naira destroyed. After the Wednesday’s mayhem in the city and the subsequent dismantling of the barricade used by the protesters to block the Bridge Head and other entry points in Onitsha,indication emerged that members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, were regrouping on Thursday to begin another round of violent demonstration. This was, however, aborted following the beefing up of security in the area. For instance, several truck loads of soldiers, from the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Enugu, were seen heading to Onitsha on Thursday and this, perhaps, scared the organizers of the C M Y K

protests. Hundreds of the IPOB agitators, who gathered at one location in Onitsha, had to hurriedly disperse for fear of arrests.

The suspension of the protest, however, does not mean the agitation is over.

For now, the agitators have resorted to the use of the social media to whip up sentiments and gather more support for what they described as impending referendum on Biafra. One of the messages that have hit the media is entitled, ‘The Biafra question: A case for self-determination referendum.’

Many traders in Onitsha were, at the weekend, still counting their losses since the protests began following the arrest and detention of Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, the Director of Radio Biafra, by security operatives. Mr. Maximus Okafor, a trader at the popular Bridge Head drug market, Onitsha, said his customers, who were coming to make purchases that Wednesday, could not enter Onitsha because of the activities of the pro-Biafra group. Okafor, who resides in Asaba, Delta State, and has had to cross the River Niger everyday to reach his shop, said he too could not

For now, the agitators have resorted to the use of the social media to whip up sentiments and gather more support for what they described as impending referendum on Biafra

enter Onitsha on the said day.

According to him, though people were trekking to Onitsha from Asaba, he saw no need to do so since the markets were closed. He added that his customer, who had already transferred money to his account, had to stay in a hotel outside Onitsha until the following day.

Travellers to other parts of the country could not make their journey and were trapped between Upper Iweka Road and the Bridge Head as the IPOB activists controlled the highway for the better part of the day. Most of the boys that organized the protest came from Aba, Abia State after embarking on a similar protest in Enyimba the previous day.

They were joined by their colleagues in Onitsha who provided logistics. Some of the protesters said they were looking forward to when their leaders would lead them to march on the streets of Abuja to make “the impact concerning Biafra Republic”.

One of them, who gave his name as Uche and who claimed to be 26 years old, said he became interested in the Biafra project after listening to Radio Biafra for several months.

“Listening to Radio Biafra opened one’s eyes to what Igbo people are passing through in Nigeria and the best thing that can happen to us is to have our own country. If it happened in Southern Sudan, why can’t it happen here?”, Uche said.

Incidentally, there appears to be no peace among some of the agitators as the various groups, which claim to be working towards the actualization of the Biafra Republic, are trading blames over the outcome of the happenings in Onitsha. Even Igbo groups and many highly- placed individuals have dissociated themselves from the activities of the groups. For instance, two factions of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, are accusing each other of being responsible for the loss of lives and destruction of property as a result of the violent nature of the agitation. MASSOB leader, Chief Ralph Uwazurike, is accusing IPOB and the Uchenna Madu-led faction of MASSOB of being responsible for the violent protests. He recalled that Kanu, the detained Director of Radio Biafra, who is the leader of IPOB, and Madu, the leader of the break away MASSOB, had earlier been expelled from MASSOB because of their alleged disposition to violence, which, according to him, is against the non-violence posture of MASSOB. To him, Kanu and Madu were being sponsored by politicians to destabilise MASSOB and so they had to be expelled. But Madu countered, saying Uwazurike had lost the confidence of Ndigbo who once believed in him.

“Uwazurike should cover his face in shame because no Igbo man wants to hear his voice on issues concerning Biafra any longer as he and his followers have been tagged Biafra saboteurs”, the MASSOB factional leader stated. “In this current agitation for Biafra, which has drawn international attention, Uwazurike is completely lost as he is no longer agitating for Biafra actualization, but pursuing personal interests.

Biafrans know who their leaders are and Uwazurike is not among them.” The question remains, what would be the next move of the Biafra agitators in the face of the criticisms trailing their actions, and the clampdown by security operatives?

Unfortunately, most of the agitators protesting on the streets do not know the detailed programme of their leaders, except that they have been told that by constantly protesting on the streets, the international community would one day tell Nigerian leaders to allow the Biafra Republic to be carved out of Nigeria. After the Onitsha protest, Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State

Continues on page 15

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 6, 2015, PAGE 15

Continued from page 14 appealed to the people to give peace a chance. The governor said:”The government of Anambra State has been monitoring developments and is greatly concerned about the security of lives and property of residents and visitors to the state. As your governor and Chief Security Officer of the state, I am compelled to act to avert any likely breakdown of law and order. In all situations, the preservation of human life comes first and I am determined to enforce that. “I therefore, sincerely appeal to members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), MASSOB and other aggrieved groups and individuals to maintain peace and resist any attempt by hoodlums to take advantage of the situation and destabilize any part of Anambra State.“ I am in constant touch with all the security agencies in the state to ensure that what has otherwise been a peaceful protest is not hijacked by trouble makers. All mischief makers are hereby warned to keep off as we will not tolerate any breach of peace under any guise or pretext. You are seriously warned!” The apex Igbo socio–cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, which is also worried by the activities of the Biafra agitators, said no reasonable Igbo would associate with the demand of the youths.

Chairman, Forum of State Presidents of Ohaneze in the seven Igbo–speaking states, Dr. Chris Eluomunoh, said that no right thinking person would support what he called the madness by some youths, who were being deceived to engage in something they cannot finish.

He, however, identified the perceived marginalization of Igbo as the main cause of the Biafra agitation,urging President Muhammadu Buhari to address the issue.

Imo: Shock, grief, anger trail killings Reports from Imo State said grief, anger and shock trailed the Wednesday’s killing of the MASSOB and IPOB activists by security agencies in Onitsha, Anambra State.

Many residents recounted what they called “the excesses of the Buhari administration to include the abandonment of the South-East and the assault on defenceless and unarmed protesters”.

They were of the view that some of the recent appointments made by President Buhari showed the disdain his administration has for Ndigbo.

The people recalled with grief, anger and defiance that only the South-East has five states, while others have six and above, with multiple local government areas that equally attract high revenue from the Federation Account.

During a recent pastoral C M Y K

Pr o-Biafr erly divided Pro-Biafr o-Biafraa leader leaderss bitt bitterly outing, the Bishop of Egbu Anglican Diocese, Rt. Rev. Geoffrey Okorafor, had called for understanding and dialogue.

He predicted that if the growing agitation was not properly handled, it could lead to loss of lives. Today, he is vindicated!

One of the loyalists of IPOB, who simply identified himself as Geoffrey, appealed to the Federal Government to stop deceiving the country that it is running a democracy.

“In a democracy, people are free to express their misgivings openly. In a democracy, people are free to seek selfdetermination. If the country is united, our soldiers would find it difficult to direct the nozzles of their guns at unarmed members of MASSOB and IPOB, instead of members of Boko Haram that have been killing hundreds of innocent people for years”, he said.

Speaking also, a female member of IPOB, Mercy Chikodi Agams, said “the Indigenous People of Biafra have been going about their agitation peacefully and will continue to remain peaceful, despite provocations from security agencies.”

Continuing, Agams said “the group is not only resolute in our quest for freedom, but is also aware that in this legitimate struggle, many lives would be lost, not because we want to lose them, but because the Buhari government detests freedom of the oppressed people of Biafra”.

She added “The world is watching the terror unleashed on innocent people legitimately agitating for their right to independence”.

Agams was of the view that what increased the tempo of the agitation was the arrest, detention and prosecution of the Director of Radio Biafra, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, who is now branded a terror suspect by the Federal Government.

“This young Biafran, Kanu, lives in the United Kingdom. If he was the terrorist, which the Federal Government now brands him, the British police would not have allowed him to walk the streets of London unhindered”,

the activist said.

To Kemdi Uzor, government has failed to critically ascertain the reasons behind the current agitation, with a view to coming out with the appropriate solution.

“If not that the Ndigbo are industrious, we would have been sentenced to untold hardship and penury. I recall with grief that only paltry 20 pounds was given to all bank depositors at the end of the 30-month old war, irrespective of the amount you left in the account”, Uzor said.

He recalled that the Federal Government took that decision because owners of such accounts either made withdrawals or deposits, while the war lasted.

“So, you can see that the Federal Government expected that the hungry and diseaseinfested people that were living in land-locked Biafra, should not have operated their

Reports from Imo State said grief, anger and shock trailed Wednesday’s killing of the MASSOB and IPOB activists by security agencies in Onitsha, Anambra State

accounts for 30 whole months”, Uzor stated.

Some business men in Owerri were, at the weekend, counting their losses, following the closure of markets in Onitsha, the commercial nerve centre of Anambra State.

“Our livelihood and the sustenance of members of our families are dependent on our ability to record reasonable turnover at the end of the day, but the events in Onitsha have definitely slowed things down.

“It is not in doubt that Onitsha and Aba are the major commercial nerve centres in the South-East. These are also the major operational zones of MASSOB and IPOB. The economic environment sadly shrinks each time the groups order their loyalists to the streets”.

Apart from traders, another group of business men that have suffered huge losses, since the uprising started, are commercial vehicle operators.

Sunday Vanguard gathered that some of the commercial drivers heading to Benin, Lagos and the other western states, made use of the Owerri-EleleEfurun-Warri-Benin axis, while those heading to the North, used the Enugu route and avoided Onitsha.

A driver, who simply identified himself as Uko, complained that the stress occasioned by the diversion, was great and the man hours spent on the trip, longer.

Enugu: MASSOB factional leader to Igbo leaders: Don’t meet FG Meanwhile, factional MASSOB leader, Madu, says any Igbo leader who represents the group in any meeting with the Federal Government without its consent will be disgraced. The factional leader, who spoke in Enugu State, said: “Every struggle has its methodology to achieve its desired goal and aspiration for

the people. The two-days blockage of River Niger is part of the ongoing peaceful,nonviolent demonstration against the continued detention of our Nnamdi Kanu by the Nigeria government. Civil disobedience, non-cooperation and peaceful demonstrations are tools of non-violent agitation worldwide. Our actions so far portray IPOB,MASSOB, led by me, as well organized, focused, determined uncompromising, dedicated, fearless and unsabotage organizations bent on Biafra actualization.

“Today,Nigeria is jittery,shaken and disorganised because of one month peaceful demonstration and protests of genuine Biafra agitators. There are tens of other programmes and actions we can unleash under our clothes of nonviolence which will ultimately uproot Nigeria from her already dislocated foundation, but we are watching the Nigeria government to ascertain,verify their seriousness on the much published dialogue,meeting of Ndigbo and the Federal Government over our demands.

“We still maintain that any Igbo representatives on the dialogue or meeting with Federal Government without our consent shall be disgraced.

We shall never relent or retire until our Biafra is actualized.

Non-violence shall also remain our cardinal point and motivational force.”

In a related development, a leading transport company, Peace Mass Transit, PMT, told Sunday Vanguard that the blockage of the Niger Bridge by the Onitsha protesters had increased the man hours spent on the route even as it occasioned increased fuel consumption as the drivers made a detour to avoid the Head Bridge.

The PMT Managing Director, Mr. Amaechi Ezegwu, said: “Most of our drivers had to sleep on that route. They spent over 12 hours on the 2nd Niger Bridge as a result of the blockage. Manhours were spent and most of the drivers made a detour to avoid the bridge. Fuel will be consumed in the process. We might be forced to increase fares if the situation persists.”

Ebonyi: Police arrest four In Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital, four members of MASSOB were in the early hours of Friday arrested by policemen.

The members, who engaged in a peaceful protest along some streets in Abakaliki, were seen carrying placards, the flag of the pro-Biafra group and chanting songs of solidarity.

This development caused pandemonium as tricycle operators and motorists made a detour to avoid troubled areas.

Ebonyi State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP George Okafor, who confirmed the

Continues on page 16

PAGE 16—SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 6, 2015

Pr ot es en national security — Def ence Headquar Prot otes estter erss threat threaten Defence Headquartter erss Continued from page 15 arrest of the MASSOB members, threatened that the police would not allow MASSOB to gain grounds in the state as the command was prepared for any showdown with the activists. Peace has since returned to the state capital as security operatives have been positioned at strategic points to stop the pro-Biafra agitators.

Activists threaten national security — DHQ Separately, military authorities, at the weekend, explained that security agencies intervened in the MASSOB and IPOB protests because the protesters turned violent and attacked innocent citizens and

property. Consequently, the authorities warned that the military will not sit and watch molestation and violent destruction of property or harassment of innocent citizens in the guise of agitating for the sovereign state of Biafra, noting that ‘everybody’s right must be respected’.

Acting Director of Defence Information, Brigadier General Rabe Abubakar, told Sunday Vanguard, in a telephone

interview, that government and security agencies had to come in especially when the protesters began to carry dangerous weapons and taking the law into their hands.

Disclosing that the police, as the lead agency in internal security issues, were doing very well tackling the challenges brought about by the protests in the South-East, the DDI said the military could only be called in if the situation got out of hand.

•The CDS, General Abayomi Olonisakin ...

Activists carried dangerous weapons

ABIA: We ‘ll continue protests – Activists

BY UGOCHUKWU ALARIBE

I

n Aba, Abia State, an IPOB official, who spoke to Sunday Vanguard on the condition of anonymity, vowed that the protests will continue until the Federal Government releases Kanu. ‘’Even if Kanu is released, this is just the first stage of the struggle; you saw the Onitsha Niger Bridge blockade. This is just a tip of the iceberg. There will be no peace in Nigeria until an independent state of Biafra is actualized. There is no place for Ndigbo in Nigeria. Despite provocation from several quarters, we have been going about our protests in a nonviolent way. Since we are not violent, we can’t be afraid. No IPOB member is afraid of any security agent whether soldiers or policemen,” the official said.

Also, MASSOB’s Assistant National Director of Information, Ralph Uwazuruike’s faction, Sunny Okereafor, said there was no going back on the actualization of an independent state of Biafra. “There is nothing like Igbo presidency in Nigeria. Even if an Igbo

becomes the president, it means nothing to us because, after eight years, the Hausa/Fulani will be back in power and the marginalization of Ndigbo will continue. So, the only way Ndigbo can have peace and satisfaction is to actualize Biafra. Count us out of Igbo presidency, MASSOB is not there. It is Biafra or nothing.”

Closing of markets hurting economy

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Abia State Market Development Committee, Chief Solomon Nwaigwe, has said the incessant closure of markets in Aba during the protests embarked by pro-Biafra agitators was hurting the economy of the commercial city and urged the protesters to allow markets open for business because when you close markets, you have shut down the city.

Also, a former Commissioner for Youth Development in Abia State, Barr. Ekele Nwaohanmuo, condemned the blockade of the Onitsha Bridge linking the South-East with other parts of the country, stressing that the action was misguided because it caused hardship to the people.

A misguided engagement of the Biafra issue Continued from page 13 Nogales, or North and South Korea, or those between East and West Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall could it still be a useful theory for explaining differences between North and South America?

Between Europe and Africa?

Simply, no….

‘So Close and yet so different: The Economics of the Rio Grande’

“The city of Nogales is cut in half by a fence. If you stand by it and look north, you will see Nogales, Arizona, located in Santa Cruz County. The income of the average household there is about $30,000 a year. Most teenagers are in school, and the majority of the adults are high school graduates. Despite all the arguments people make about how deficient the US health care system is, the population is relatively healthy, with high life expectancy by global standards. Many of the residents are above age sixty

C M Y K

five and have access to Medicare It’s just one of the many services the government provides that most take for granted, such as electricity, telephones a sewage system, public health, a road network linking them to other clues in the area and to the rest of the United States, and last but not least, law and order. The people of Nogales, Arizona, can go about their daily activities without fear for life or safety and not constantly afraid of theft, expropriation, or other things that might jeopardize their investments in their businesses and houses. Equally important, the residents of Nogales, Arizona, take it for granted that, with all its inefficiency and occasional corruption, the government is their agent. They can vote to replace their mayor, congressmen, and senators, they vote in the presidential elections that determine who will lead their country.

Democracy is second nature to them.

“Life south of the fence, just a few feet away, is rather

different. While the residents of Nogales, Sonora, live in a relatively prosperous part of Mexico, the income of the average household there is about one third that is Nogales, Arizona. Most adults in Nogales, Sonora, do not have a high school degree, and many teenagers are not in school.

Mothers have to worry about high rates of infant mortality.

Poor public health conditions mean it’s no surprise that the residents of Nogales, Sonora, do not live as long as their northern n3eighbours. They also don\t have access to many public amenities. Roads are in bad condition south of the fence. Law and order is in worse condition. Crime is high, and opening a business is a risky activity. Not only do you risk robbery, but getting all the permissions and greasing all the palms just to open is to easy endeavour. Residents of Nogales, Sonora, live with politicians corruption and ineptitude every day.

In contrast to their northern neighbours, democracy is a very recent experience for them.

Until the political reforms of 2000, Nogales, Sonora, just like the rest of Mexico, was under the corrupt control of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI).

“How could the two halves of what is essentially the same city be so different? There is no difference in geography, climate, or the types of diseases prevalent in the area, since germs do not face any restrictions crossing back and forth between the United States and Mexico. Of course, health conditions are very different, but this has nothing to do with the disease environment; it is because the people south of the border live with inferior sanitary conditions and lack decent health care….”

In the face of the tenacity of the average Igbo, his creative instincts - which, though, are not in short supply in other parts of the country - his industriousness and such other attributes that form good ingredients for national development, would the Nigerian state not be the better

were it to tap into this mass of humanity. It is about creating the right conditions.

And it is about effective engagement and not opening of fire on innocent civilians.

Lives are already lost; and many more may be lost if this wrong-headed approach is followed by the authorities.

Now, even those who dismissed Nnamdi Kanu, leader of IPOB, as a joke, are now showing empathy - a man who was not reckoned with before has suddenly become a hero for a people.

His anti-Nigeria statements signpost him as lacking courtesy or out rightly indecent or both, but he now appears to be making sense by describing Nigeria as a zoo, one where police would shoot at innocent civilians with live bullets. In retrospect, how did Boko Haram become what it is today? God forbid anything happens to Kanu while he is in government custody (as was the case with Muhammed Yusuf), what does this administration think would happen?

SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 6, 2015, PAGE 17

Has Mimi Ubini done a butt job or what?

T

op rated video vixen, Mimi Ubini, who has done everything on the entertainment fast lane; from modelling to acting, is a beautiful girl who would probably disarm you with her sexy forget-me-not eyes and let you go just as soon as you are done, admiring them. She’s not, or should I say, was not the voluptuous type that will get your hormones in a work-out, until some new photos of her’s emerged on the social media.

Give or take, she’s a pretty girl that wouldn’t have her boobs and butt screaming in your face or grabbing at your heart, but now it seems the vixen has worked that angle out. Her pictures that have been doting the Internet have Mimi all grown up and bigger in the gluteaus maximus and branchial areas. Excuse my medical physiology background; I mean she now has bigger boobs and butt.

Many have been wondering what Mimi got up to, with some even suggesting the Mimi Ubini’s blog CEO might have got into some tricks with surgical knives to have herself all carved out as she is now.

But in a chat with Potpourri, the vixen dispelled any hint of a foul play, saying what made her butt and boobs all bigger is natural.

“I haven’t done anything on myself dear” she told me. “What happened is that I have been slack with my weight lately and I have gained a little weight. Maybe my carelessness has in some way accentuated my figure, that, I don’t know. But I can assure you there’s nothing cosmetic or surgical about my boobs or butt” she explained.

Victoria Kimani parties in bra at Club Vapours VIP night

•Mimi Ubini

Uti’s confession:

I

I have br ok en brok oken hear ts and m hearts myy hear heartt has been br ok en ttoo oo brok oken U

ti Nwachukwu is a multi talented dude who burst into the limelight when he won Big Brother Africa Season 5, The All Stars edition in 2010.Ever since, the debonair entertainer has continued to up his game and remains a force to reckon with in the Nigerian entertainment scene. Handsome, stylish and rich too, many would think this guy has women falling over him as easily as a piece of candy but it is not so. Uti has had his share of heartbreaks just as he has broken a few of others too. He owned up to Ayo Onikoyi in a recent chat.

“Of course who hasn’t?” He retorted when I asked him if his heart has ever been broken. “And I have had my heart broken too. We all break people’s hearts please. Let’s leave that one. They have broken my heart, they have crushed it. I have broken heart and my heart has been broken. especially when I was young in my late 20’s.Right now, I am trying to allow myself to be loved. The last girl that was on my case said something to me:’Uti allow somebody to love you’ and I guess I did”

•Uti

t was wild partying, lavish entertainment and some roofshaking attiudes at Gidi Groove VIP night at Club Vapours in Victoria Island, Lagos. This premium night life event hosted top raving celebrities like Ice Prince, Falz, Victoria Kimani, Shaydee, BOJ among others penultimate Saturday evening with a full capacity crowd enjoying a lavish evening with some of the best music in town.

Surely, it was a night of stars with no star looking the way of any other star but Kenyan-born music star Victoria Kimani stole a few stares, if we are allowed to be modest with words. Remember, she told us in a recent interview that she sometimes wears the Moslem veil (Hijab) to cover her curves. But what Victoria did at the club was a complete opposite of what she told us. She was in bra at the club, sipping on what looks like Hennessy. Yeah, the girl knows how to rock. But she needs to watch her weight because the mannequin-like Kimani was looking a bit likeMiss Piggy.

Also rocking the night were socialites and entertainment personalities like Sam Onyemelukwe, Ngozi Omambala and many others To kick off the new month and upcoming Christmas celebrations, the Gidi Groove VIP Night will be hosting a Christmas Start Up edition on Saturday. Ensure you make it a date for one of Lagos’ hottest parties.

•Victoria Kimani

STOP PIRACY NOW! STOP BUYING PIRATED MOVIE AND MUSIC CDs, DVDs. IT IS KILLING THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY. STOP!

PAGE 18, SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 6, 2015

Monica Ogah

African China on Wizkid, Davido: I never made the kind of money they are making

flaunts elegant side in Jaja video

By KEHINDE AJOSE

M

onica Ogah, the 2011 winner of Project Fame West Africa has unveiled the visuals of her harmonious song titled Jaja. It seems the cherubic face diva is back to claim her place on the music scene.

In this Clarence Peters directed video, she flaunts her elegant side with such ostentatious aplomb that gets you wondering why the singer has always downplayed this side of hers.

The Monika tide sensation collaborates with Mz Kiss in the song, to render an eye candy video. Out of excitement, she took to her Instagram page to share the news of her video release: “The wait is over, watch my new video with a surprise for you all” The Star City Music artiste is also billed to perform at Corporate Elite Season 9 holding at Eko Hotel this Sunday.

A

fter launching himself into the mainstream music world about some years ago, Chinagoro, a.k.a African China, stands out as a dependable and social crusader of great reckoning, as his name has become a house-hold name in many homes across Africa. His emergence in the Nigerian music scene, no doubt, revolutionizes the almost streamlined music culture in the country. Listening to his kind of music invokes feelings of redemption, as one cannot but acknowledge African China’s redemptive philosophy which reunites his fans with the rhythms that defined the music of departed reggae legends. His high sense of creativity and accomplishment of high quality entertainment and philosophical undertone combined with liberating enlightenment, makes him the hope of tomorrow’s reggae icon in the world of the Black race.

But it seems the Reggae star has been on ice for a while.

When asked why, he said “Well, I just took a break to bond with my family. I didn’t go off the music circuit but had been in the studio working” Even in his prime would he claim to have made as much money as Davido and Wizkid. Hear him, “No, I did not collect the kind of money they are collecting now. But I think you should know something, we pushed the bill from 30 thousand naira to 8 hundred / one million. I made investments that can compete with whatever they do with their money.

Therefore, I don’t regret not making what they are making these days.

•Moyo Lawal C M Y K

•African China

Moyo Lawal explains ‘sexy panties’ photo post S

exy actress, Moyo Lawal of Tinsel fame started what turned out to be a social media riot when she posted a sensual picture of herself on Instagram with a gritty caption “ Moyo Lawal official, December be easy”. The media got into a frenzy and fed off it like jackals would feed on the dead, coining different dramatic headlines to drive their points home. But to beautiful Moyo it was a fit that was played out of character, because, according to her, the photo shouldn’t have got anyone apoplectic because she wasn’t doing anything out of place. “ You know your people and how they make a mountain out of a molehill. You people can turn sugar to salt” she told me in a chat. “It was a pool side photo and I wasn’t even wearing a bikini. Or do you go swimming all clad up?

•Monica Ogah

Intelligent music must reign —Vector

By KEHINDE AJOSE

T

•Vector

hese days it is believed that contemporary Nigerian music is all about groove without content. Talented rapper, Vector, popular for his unique delivery and word play believes intelligent music should be celebrated more in the Nigerian music industry.

The Lafiaji star who set a record with the longest freestyle on radio has been touted to be one of the rappers whose lyrical content is deep. According to him: “Intelligent music must reign. King Sunny Ade, Ebenezer Obey, everyone popular in that time made sensible music. Why should our own time be different and full of nonsense?”

SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 6, 2015, PAGE 19 Onikoyi68@gmail.com

Glo Dance with Peter: Kelvin, Miracle, 3 others on probation …as Funke Akindele stars as guest judge

T

he battle for survival in the Glo-sponsored Dance with Peter reality T.V show grew even more intense on Saturday night as housemates challenged one another in a face-to-face, winor-go-home contest on Saturday. Nollywood star and

Glo ambassador, Funke Akindele, was guest judge.

The edition of the reality show focused on ‘Battle Face-off’ in which the remaining 10 housemates challenged themselves one-on-one, to avoid eviction. A contestant who lost to the other was put-

up for eviction. Dance Director, Wale Rubber, said the idea of the challenge was to prepare the dancers for the challenges ahead of them as professional dancers. As a curtain-raiser, dance choreographer and one of the judges, Don Flexx, gave a star performance to lighten

NMV A 20 15 ttoo pr omot NMVA 201 promot omotee a violence-free culture – Cally Ikpe

BY JULIET EBIRIM

A

s the date for the 2015 edition of the Nigerian Music Video Awards (NMVA) draws closer, the initiator and organiser of the yearly event, Cally Ikpe, has decried the lack of individual and corporate support for the programme aimed at promoting a violence free culture. His words : “Going forward, you may have observed that we have consistently focused on promoting the violence free culture among the youth population. This is against the seeming regime of violence that is increasingly becoming popular with young people. Regretably, the perpetrators keep getting the attention they crave and that may have encouraged the current brewing restiveness in the South/Eastern Nigeria. Military and police solution can never be adequate, rather, we insist that more efforts be devoted to promoting the culture of non violence by not just the government but every responsible citizen, individuals and corporate bodies alike.”

Continuing, he said “One of the ways to achieve this is to get many people creatively and gainfully engaged. Violence by the way, is not limited to brute force alone. All such acts as lewdness, vulgar language and hate speeches also constitute violence. Therefore, one of our objectives is to redirect media focus on the positive occurrence and discredit the use of violence in achieving public sympathy by rewarding only works that uphold the nonviolence philosophy; “ The annual Nigeria Music Video Awards is an existing platform since 2007 that rewards excellence in music business. It features the best in Nigerian music as well as international stars. These stars •Cally will lend their voices to the campaign against Ikpe violence. Now in its 9th year, the award which will take place on Thursday, 17th of December at the Convention Centre of the Eko Hotels and Suites, will see top Nigerian music stars like Banky W, Chidinma, Davido, Adekunle Gold, Kiss Daniels and others battle for this years honours in different categories.

C M Y K

up the show. He did WizKid’s Juru.

Kelvin from Team Flexx, who was clad in boxing gloves and hooded top, challenged toprated C-Fly of Team Peter in a fierce contest which left the judges comprising dance choreographer, Don Flexx, dance queen, Kaffy and Peter Okoye of P-Square in a tight situation on which dancer to

vote for. The dancers performed T-Pain and Chris Brown’s Freeze.

Don Flexx, when asked to comment and make his choice said “I’ll stick with Kelvin because he is innovative and versatile”. Kaffy could not make decision as both dancers impressed her beyond imagination. “Both dancers are great and engaging. I can’t choose anyone because you are both awesome and it will be a great injustice for me to send anyone of you home”, she said.

Glo ambassador, Funke Akindele, the guest judge on the show, who had earlier said she wanted to see creativity and strength from the dancers voted C-Fly for what she called a “zestful and energetic performance”. Peter Okoye described C-Fly’s performance as breath-taking and gave him a nod. With a vote of 3-1, Kelvin was consequently put on probation.

Other housemates in the contest were G-Xtreme from Team Flexx who faced Teejay of Team Peter. This was an intense battle with Amazing Amy winning the head to head after the only tie of the day of 2-2 from the judges. Amy however won convincingly after another round of dancing to get the vote of all the judges.

Other battles were between Miracle from Team Peter who faced Mali HotBoy of Team Kaffy; Amazing Amy of Team Kaffy who challenged TRubber of Team Flexx and Julius Faktah of Team Kaffy who went against Da Octopus of Team Peter.

The contest ended with Kelvin, Teejay, Julius Faktah, TRubber and Miracle who all lost to their opponents put on probation for eviction.

Dolapo Oni ssttar arss in UK ssttage adapt ation of ‘The Secre adaptation Secrett Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives’ T

he Secret Lives of Baba Segi’ , a captivating novel written by Lola’s Shoneyin is a stirring tale of men and women, mothers and children, servitude and independence. It depicts the common threads that connect the experiences of all women: the hardships they bear, their fierce desire to protect those they love, and their struggle to define themselves.

Baba Segi is a prosperous middle-aged man of robust appetites, the patriarch of a large household that includes a trio of wives and seven children. In Baba Segi’s patriarchal home, everything is going well until he decides to add a fourth wife, Bolanle: a young, quiet and college-educated woman among a set of semi-illiterates (Iya Segi, Iya Tope and Iya Femi).

Jealous and resentful of this “intruder” who is stealing their husband’s attention, the three other wives begin to plan her downfall.

What secret does she harbour, and are there more shocking truths on the brink of exposure? This scandalous new play featuring original contemporary live Yoruba music, songs and dance, is performed by an all star, multi-talented ensemble.

Stage adaptation is by Caine award-winner Rotimi Babatunde, Original Music & Lyrics composed

by Oyebade Dosunmu and Original Choreography by Uche Onah.

•Dolapo Production is Conceived and Directed by Femi Elufowoju, Jr.

PAGE 20, SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 6, 2015 Onikoyi68@gmail.com

Some stories cannot be told without sex scenes

BY ADERONKE ADEYERI

T

iti Osinowo is one of the budding actresses in the Yoruba movie industry making waves. She is a graduate of English Language, Tai Solarin University of Education. The lightskinned role interpreter has featured in movies like Halimat, The Valleys Between and This Time Tomorrow. In this interview, she talks about her worst location experience, the injection of sex in movies, what makes her cry and other issues.

— Titi Oshinowo

You started with soaps but seem to be doing more of Yoruba films, why?

I just found myself doing lots of Yoruba movies these days.

Why? May be I should say it soothes me better.

Talking about movies, why haven’t you been taking many lead roles?

That’s a billion dollar question. It’s not easy getting lead roles except you produce your movies or you compromise on your standard which I don’t intend to.

Why do we always have sex scandals in Nollywood?

Sex scandals? I’d rather zip my lips on that.

How do you see the injection of sex scenes into our films?

I’m indifferent about that.

It’s a make-belief world. Sex is everywhere. And there are stories that would not be well told if there are no sex scenes.

Which pays more, soap operas or movies?

Soap operas pay per each episode and not scenes.

Unlike movies where you get paid for your appearance in the whole movie.

What was your first appearance on set like?

I was nervous but thank God for the director who made

wants you to, what do you think this connotes?

It only points to the fact that I’m dedicated and committed to my relationship. If he wants me to quit acting, then it’s fine.

Describe yourself?

I am patient, tolerant and prayerful.

How soon should we expect the wedding bells?

I am waiting on God. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed.

Some actresses say acting does not pay their bills, is this true with you?

Yes it doesn’t pay, it’s just the passion that keeps me moving.

What has been your worst location experience?

The producer of the movie wanted to date me and because I refused, he didn’t give me a room to stay.

He also didn’t pay me after I had spent days on the location, working.

What did you do when the producer refused to pay for your services?

I walked away.

my lifestyle a lot. I am very prayerful till date. I grew up with a strict father who doesn’t allow me go out or entertain visitors. It was just me and my folks till I gained admission into the university.

What is the nicest thing acting has brought you?

Acting has improved my attitude. Acting is like another world and that means working on my attitude to soothe that world.

What has been the best thing ever written about you?

I can’t remember .

•Titi Osinowo me feel at home with the role.

The crew were also wonderful.

It is said that no woman, no cry. So, what makes Titi cry?

Heartbreak, or the loss of a loved one. Also, I become emotional when I’m overwhelmed worshipping God.

(Cut in) In the mood of worship?

(Laughs) Yes, that’s the right word.

How do you unwind?

I stay indoors to study the word of God and watching movies.

You sound like the ‘’churchy’’ type?

I am the only daughter of my parents. I come from a family of five. Ours is a core Christian background. This influenced

Acting is like another world and that means working on my attitude to soothe that world

What’s your favorite colour?

Blue and green.

What’s new in your plate?

Trying to get a lot done.

Can you take us through these?

No, not yet (smiles).

Why do you think Yoruba

Apart from acting, do you engage in other things?

Yes, I am trying to get another job. I’m a versatile person so don’t be surprised when you see another side of Titi Oshinowo.

Can you date an actor?

Yes I can if he’s my kind of man. This person must have good morals and be God fearing.

He should also be somebody I can look up to. He should be a teacher so to say.

What were you into before joining the make believe industry?

I was in school.

You once said you could dump acting if your spouse

films are poorly subtitled?

STOP PIRACY NOW! STOP BUYING PIRATED MOVIE AND MUSIC CDs, DVDs. IT IS KILLINGITHE think we are improving on that you know. Rome was not ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY. STOP! built in a day.

C M Y K

SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 6, 2015, PAGE 21

What a man needs tto o ffeel eel with yyou ou

BY ONOZURE DANIA

F

or a man to feel like he wants to get to know you better and eventually have a committed relationship with you, you need to build a solid foundation of positive experience that makes him practically unable to imagine life without you.

If you want to know how to create the kinds of experience with a man that will make him feel the right positive feelings about you so that he continues to take your relationship to the next level.

Let me tell you about something you’re probably all too familiar with.

There’s a certain situation that happens in relationships so often and causes so many problems for women that dealing with it should be a health care benefit or something.

This “situation” prevents a man from opening up and getting close to you emotionally. It causes you

tremendous stress because you won’t be able to get what you want from a man when it’s happening. Know what it is?

Give up?

I’m talking about what happens when you lose your centre and let your fears and emotions take over about something that simply isn’t going to be a big deal to you two hours later.

When you don’t take the time to process emotions and put

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PAGE 22 — SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 6, 2015

Jim Ovia ICT Foundation: 35 students to get seed funding N

From left: Nasir Abubakar Daniya, Director, Information Communications and Technology, Sokoto State , Nasir Shehu Zarummai, Commissioner od Science and Technology, Sokoto State Government and Chris Uwaje, former President , Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria, ISPON , during the just concluded National Information Technology Merit Awards held in Lagos recently. Photo by Emeka Aginam.

o fewer than thirty five computer students of the Nigerian Computer Society would get scholarship funding from Jim Ovia ICT Foundation.

NCS had instituted the scholarship prorammge to assist its members pursue critical research programmes for the betterment of the industry.

The chairman and founder of Zenith Bank Plc, Jim Ovia, who announced recently at the during the just concluded 2015 NCS National Information Technology Merit Awards, NITMA, told the

FG to commence implementation of e-govt master plan 2020

By EMEKA AGINAM

T

he Minister of Communications, Barrister Adebayo Shittu has disclosed that the full implementation of the egovernment master plan 2020 will soon begin once stakeholders’ inputs are incorporated into the policy document.

This development is expected to see all government activities

by Ministry, Department and Agencies (MDAs) delivered electronically.

The Minister who disclosed this during a stakeholders’ engagement workshop on “egovernment master plan 2020” held in Abuja last week said that the the master plan is envisaged as a tidy roadmap for integrating governance in Nigeria, into the post-modern global Information and Communication Technology (ICT) age for the purpose of matchless efficiency, accountability and transparency, “ which as experience in the developed world has proven, is the exclusive reserve of the carriage of governance on the ICT platform of modern technology.”

According to him, egovernment master plan 2020 developed by the ministry is also designed as an essential blueprint of modalities and protocols for the adoption of eGovernment best practices, across board, by all federal MDAs. Shittu said that the policy document is in line with the current ‘change’ mantra of the current administration.

“In the light of the positive ‘Change’ mandate and policy thrust of this administration, therefore, we as e-Government Stakeholders have our work in

this Workshop cut-out for us.

“To put it clearly, we as stakeholders in this crucial area must see ourselves as essential co-workers with the administration in the task of empowering the administration and its workforce with one of the most potent tools for it to deliver the promised positive ‘Change’ to our great country.

“Positive national ‘Change’ in today’s ICT-driven world is virtually impossible without competence and efficiency in eGovernance. The benefits of speed, propriety, best-option, transparency, accountability and mass-participation in Government available only via the e-Government framework and platform make it a sine qua non for meaningful and sustainable political and socioeconomic growth and development.

“Therefore, we stakeholders are here gathered in this Workshop today to familiarize ourselves sufficiently with the e-Government Master Plan 2020 so as to help analyze and perfect it with practical ideas and suggestions.”, he explained. The minister noted that the workshop would go a long way in reinforcing the egovernment master plan 2020

By 2020 and beyond, government should be able to pay pensions electronically to pensioners

with improved awareness and expert finishing touches that will lead to the best plan possible for marrying governance in Nigeria with ICT. “With technology evolving at an exponential pace, and with its relentless self-integration into various facets of our daily and national life, it is vital that governance, the most important aspect of national life, must not be left behind.”, he said.

He hoped that with the policy implementation, the country

would have become IT capable country in the next five years.

“By 2020 and beyond, government, at the click of computer buttons, should be able to accurately monitor in real-time the amount of crude oil and gas that is being takenout of Nigeria every day.

“By 2020 and beyond, government should be able to pay pensions electronically to pensioners without their having to stand endlessly in queues. The list goes on and on.”, the Minister

gathering that the foundation would sponsor twenty students in Bachelor of Science, degree, ten students in Master of Science, degree and five students in Doctorate of Philosophy, PhD. respectively.

He assured that seed fund will be a life time affair as long as NCS and the foundation continue to exist According to him, after graduation, Zenith Bank and Cyberspace will employ best performing candidates during the programme.

He assured that the foundation will continue to support youth engagement in ICT, adding that he will continue to invest in untapped potentials of the Nigeria youths who he believed have the capacity to compete globally if given the opportunity.

“We support the use of ICT whenever and wherever possible to enhance the standard of living of the society and increase human efficiency.

“Our long-term goal is to put ICT into our education policy ensuring progressive and continuous learning.

Therefore, we will see to the sponsorship of the NCS scholarship programme as far as God gives us life. The best candidates are stand the chance to either work in Zenith Bank or Cyberspace”, he said

Truecaller community reports 2m spam calls in Nigeria ...detects 120,000 spam, unwanted calls daily

T

ruecaller has announced that its community has reported 2 million spam calls in Nigeria, with a total of 120 000 spam and unwanted calls detected every day across the country.

Truecaller’s data highlights an issue that is becoming an increasing cause for concern in Nigeria as spammers become more adept at harassing and taking advantage of smartphone users in Nigeria.

“Thousands of smartphone users are the victims of spammers in Nigeria every day,” Husain Misherghi, VP of Growth and Partnerships for Truecaller, said, adding that, “You can protect yourself with Truecaller by reporting spam and unwanted numbers, and blocking them forever. That information is listed in our database and we report it to Truecaller’s community of users, providing a safe and secure communication experience for all Nigerians with easy, hassle-free calls.”

Close to 4 million Nigerians use Truecaller from among the global Truecaller community of over 200 million.

The innovative app enables users to block unwanted and spam calls they have reported to Truecaller, or receive assistance from the app’s database where spam numbers are listed and marked in red. To further protect

smartphone users from spam, Truecaller has taken its cuttingedge technology to the next level with Truemessenger, an SMS replacement app that tells users who sent an SMS even if they are not in your contacts.

MTN Foundation, Oracle empower 2,000 Nigerian students

I

n a continued effort in developing ICT skills in Nigerian students, MTN Foundation in partnership with Oracle has kicked-off the second phase of its collaboration plan to empower up to 2,000 MTNF scholars in the areas of Java Fundamental and Oracle Database trainings.

This is in line with MTNF Science and Technology Scholarship Scheme that has provided hundreds of brilliant but indigent students the opportunity to acquire qualitative tertiary education.

The second phase of the initiative focuses on teaching database design and SQL and Java programming skills to MTN Foundation Scholars, using Oracle Academy

curriculum and hosted on-line learning materials.

Speaking on the initiative, the Executive Secretary, MTN Foundation, Nonny Ugboma, said, the program is part of the foundation’s initiative to encourage Nigerian students to take interest in science and technology-related courses for the ultimate benefit of the country.

“With the rapid adoption of technology in Nigeria, it is imperative that students are equipped with the right skills and this program would help to boost ICT skills in the beneficiaries and avail them valuable opportunities after completing the database design and SQL and Java programming courses.”

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 6, 2015, PAGE 23

Could this affair save her marriage?

P

ROBLEMS have ways of getting solved, especially when you don’t really see solutions on the horizon.

We were at Lizzy a close friend’s house some couple of years back when Precious, her niece, wanted advise on how best to put some hair extensions into her real hair so it wouldn’t look garish. “Anthony is your man,” another friend had offered.

“He works with one of these highbrow salons where you book for weeks before you could be attended to. But he does home visits. He is one of their top stylists. Very good and cheap if he calls at your house. You could buy your own products or he would offer you good options.”

Precious collected Anthony’s details and left.

From then on, I noticed this dramatic change in Precious. Her hair was always well-groomed and she looked contented. She called at my place once and I told her she should let me in on the secret of her inner glow. Surely, it wasn’t down to just the hair extensions?

“Aunty C, you’ve come again with your questions,” she squealed. I could see she was dying to spill out her guts, so I smiled with some encouragement. “You know Zachari (the husband) and I have been married for 15

years and all the three children are in good boarding schools.

He works as the sales manager for an industrial cleaning firm and is always putting in long hours. The first time Anthony came to the house to fix my extensions, I was quite interested in what I saw. Tall and good looking, he wore a black T-shirt and a chain round his neck. His jeans hung low and the aftershave was very spicy!

“I offered him a can of beer and I showed him the natural hair I bought as extensions. It was very expensive and he commended my taste.

Two hours later, I was thrilled with the result. The extensions made my whole hair as thick as I’d wanted. I’d made another appointment right away.

Gradually, over the next few months, as he worked with my hair we became closer. He confided in me about his girlfriend. ‘She wants to get married now so we could start a family’, he’d said once, ‘but I’m just not ready for that. I want to start my own salon first’. I’d sympathised, made it easy for him to continue to confide in me.

Soon, our hair-dressing sessions had become quite intimate. I knew his girlfriend taught at a private secondary school, didn’t always want to go out with him as she needed to prepare next day’s lessons. ‘When I get back, she’s often asleep”, he’d said. I sensed frustration in his voice.

“You poor thing,” I replied. The truth was, I did that with my husband.

By the time he came back from the long hours he worked at his office and he’d had his supper, I was already tired and in bed. Only I didn’t tell Anthony that, instead, I g r a d u a l l y manufactured ways for him to get closer to me.

One time, he accidentally sprayed some shampoo on the collar of my T -shirt when he was washing my hair over the sink.

“I’ll have to change’, I said and went to the bedroom, leaving the door slightly open. I lingered in my bra,

loving the thought of him seeing my body. Another time, I wore a low buttoned blouse. As he worked on my hair, I knew he could see my full cleavage.

“Then, one morning, we both had a can of beer each in our hands and I smiled at him, looking him full in the eyes. Then, I moved closer to him. He looked away and I thought I’d blown it. Then, he looked back.

‘You know if we have sex now, I’ll want it every time,’ he said. What a stroke of luck! I took his hand and led him to the bedroom. He came willingly. He’d obviously been looking

forward to this rump as much as me.

“I pulled the curtains and my hands slid under his Tshirt. He didn’t even bother to get undressed, just pushed his jeans down and lifted my shirt. We were kissing, lying on the bed with the covers still on as his hands roamed into my intimate areas.

Fleetingly, I thought of Zachari and the kids but my body was on fire and nothing was going to stop me having this hunk I’d just landed!.

“It was an electrifying experience. I gave him good sex because I felt so turned on. He obviously was starved of sex too and was

panting for it.

It was such a wonderful experience that I wasn’t embarrassed. Back in the living room, Anthony finished doing my hair. ‘We shouldn’t have done that,’ he said. ‘You are a married woman’. What a time to show a bit of conscience!

But had he enjoyed the experience as much as I had.

Did he like me?

“There were no answers then and to this day, even after all these months, there still aren’t. I know there never will be. All I know is that I’m the type of woman he needs right now.

I know he only wants me for sex.

But then, isn’t that what I want too? These days, I don’t bother to wear any fancy clothes. Just wear a dressing gown over my sexy underwear to welcome him. I’m committing adultery but my husband’s never going to find out as I’m often indoors - not lurking around some cheap motels ...

“Ironically, my moments with Anthony has made me a bit sympathetic towards Zachari and I often make time for love making when he wants it. He’s happy slaving away at his sales manager ’s job and I’m happy being the contended wife.”

08052201867(Text Only)

Exercises for your prostrate gland

T

hese exercises can help the prostate gland.

Though Yoga is not necessarily a substitue for medical care but it helps to complement it.

The Heels-to-Crotch and others will be of great benefit. I will publish some of them for you

sake and others this Sunday, so get a copy.

The prostrate gland can be affected by hyperplasia or an abnormal growth of the prostrate gland. Prostrate problems can also arise due to prostatitis, an inflammation of the prostrate gland bringing on pain and obstruction in the outlet from the bladder.

*Heels-To-Crotch Posture (Supine)

*Heels-To-Crotch Posture (Seated): Duration 10-20 seconds

*Legs Up The Wall Posture: Duration 5-10 minutes *Relaxation Pose: Duration 10-20 minutes

Yoga Classes STARTED Physical Therapy Centre C M Y K

@ 32 Adetokumbo Ademola, Victoria Island Lagos.

9.00am — 10.00am on Saturdays

* Leg Stretch( Forward): Duration 10-20 seconds * Leg Stretch (Supine Sideways): Duration 10-20

seconds

P AGE 24 — SUND AY Vanguard , DECEMBER 6 , 2015 SUNDA

bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk 08056180152, SMS only

A man who raises his fist to a defenceless woman needs psychiatric help!

“

You wake up every m o r n i n g wondering what ‘crimes’ you’ll commit today, and how your husband will punish you”, Tina, a victim of a violent husband laments.

“A punch in the face for asking him for money for the children’s school fees? A slap in the face for saying hello to an old flame? A kick to the ribs for asking him to come home early for a change ...“With so much enlightenment going on about marital violence you would have thought the wife-beaters would have faded into insignificance as we become a more civilized society - but the opposite has happened. And being an abusive partner has nothing to do with your status in the society.

There have always been cases of battered wives who stay because they are used to the perks attached to marrying a well-heeled husband. “I came from a middle class family too,” Tina said “so it wasn’t as if I was a starry eyed pauper when we got married. The problem is my husband’s anger; it has a very short fuse and anything could set him off... There was the night he came home, saw the maid in the kitchen and exploded, ‘I’ve told you I don’t want all these scruffy looking servants you employ touching my meals.

What exactly is your

duty in this home? You don’t pay the rent, you have more money than you need and your kids want for nothing ...’ On and on, he went without giving me the opportunity to utter a word. When I eventually opened my mouth, his fist was in it. The sight of blood didn’t put him off as he flung the food across the dining area and the fridge and freezers were splattered with oily stuffs. The servants scampered.

They’d learnt from past experience not to open their mouth in protest or they would be in for it.

He’s verbally abusive too, forever telling me I was an ugly, horrible person and that if I left, he would replace me with a younger and prettier wife and would prevent me from seeing the children. Both my parents are dead and I don’t really have anywhere to run to.

“The kids are doing very well and I thank my stars he doesn’t extend his violence to them. Of course, they know what is going on, and he said they didn’t protect me because they hated me.

But that is not true. When he’s not there, they give me their support but I know things couldn’t go on this way indefinitely.

A couple of nights ago, the violence got so bad that I ran out and drove to a police check -point near the house, cowering behind the men like a

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"

My all...

Loving you is a beautiful thing and knowing you love me too sets me on a plain which no heart can

scared rabbit”!

Why didn’t she leave?

Surely anything was better than the loss of her dignity? “I’d tried to leave before but he’d hunted me down and beat me up. Whoever it was that took me in would quickly ask me to leave as they didn’t want any trouble.”

“Abuse can take the form of violence, but it can also be psychological,” explains Teresa, a counsellor who’d worked with abused women for years.

“For example, constant criticism, verbal abuse or isolating the woman from her friends or family by telling her lies or not allowing her to call them.

And it’s not just the woman who suffers.

Domestic abuse taints the

lives of children and destroys the hopes of wives and partners. It thrives whenever the bullied are too terrified to speak out. The parent might think the child doesn’t know, but children do. They feel responsible, but they don’t know what to do.”

So why does abuse happen.

“In my experience,” Teresa explains, “abusive men think they have the right to have absolute control over their families. I must stress though that it’s important to remember that not all men are abusive. Many women who have been abused go on to have wonderful relationships with other men.

Tackling the epidemy of wife abuse isn’t an easy task. People need to be educated about healthy

phantom. You made me know there is a joy beyond defination when you love someone you adore... And may my love give you the strength to always be happy...love you now and always.

Ekhas Theory... d4greatness@yahoo.com 08158309333

Caught in the web of your love!

I thought that true love is non-existent until I was caught in the web designed by your heart. Your beauty captivated me,your smile charmed me and my heart beats resonance with your laughter. Your voice dances azonto rhyme of etigi in my brain.

relationships and show positive role models.

Hopefully, this will reduce abuse in the future. A man who raises his fist to a defenceless woman needs urgent psychiatric help.

Who No Like Better Thing?! (Humour) A local paper in Lagos carried an advert for the job of a ‘fanny shaver’.

A young hopeful rings up the number shown, and the man answers the phone and asks him some questions. “First thing first,” he says. ‘Are you single?’

“Oh yes,” says the applicant. “That’s good,” says the man. “We’ve had a lot of trouble in the past with people who are married. Their wives get annoyed. Now, secondly, do you have a current passport?” “Yes,” says the applicant. “Brilliant,” says the man. “Often find

that people have a problem travelling all over the globe. They seem to find the strain of jetting from Lagos to London to South Africa, staying at top-class hotels a little bit too much to take” “Oh no, not me,” says the young hopeful.

“I love to travel.”

“Great,” says the man.

“And what about super models? Do you think you’d have a problem getting close to some of the most beautiful women in the world? You might even have to party with them and keep them company. How would you deal with that?’ “I’d be fine,” says the applicant.

“I love talking to women and I don’t think I’d be intimidated.”

“Excellent,” says the man. “Now, what about the shaving of the fanny?

Would you get flustered peeling bikini bottoms off beautiful women, foaming them up and sharing their pubic regions? This sort of intimacy can often make a man all fingers and thumbs, you know?” “No way,” say the young man.

“I have no problem with nudity or intimacy with gorgeous women. I’d be both discreet and charming.” “Well,” says the man, “you sound as if you could be just right for the job. I’ll post you a luxury bus ticket to Ibadan.” “Is that where my first job is?” asks the applicant. “Oh no,” says the man. “That’s where the queue for the interviews starts.”

Your love indeed has cast an indelible spell in my life.

Akachukwu Ferdinand. akachukwuferdinandc@yahoo.com 08063819314

Dear Blessing,

It hurts when we risk our heart... And it ends up being broken.

But, what hurts more is when we still hold on, when we already know we are waiting for nothing..!

Emma Mine mine4christ@gmail.com 07051037748 Delta State.

SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 6, 2015, PAGE 25 08116759757

PRISONERS’ REDEMPTION TALES

My 2-yr-hell over rape, armed robbery, murder charges —Church chorister-turned-prison inmate •Banker relives jail suicide saga

BY EBUN SESSOU

D

ANIEL Patrick, 34, sang and danced to special tunes on a day he will live to remember. “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I was once lost, but now I’ve been found. Before, I was blind, but now, I can see. I can see.”

It was indeed amazing grace for Patrick, for being among the 50 inmates of the Kirikiri Maximum Prisons who graduated with diploma at the Life Recovery Empowerment Programme, Onesimus Project, a partnership programme between Prison Fellowship Nigeria, Covenant University, Nigeria Prisons Service, and Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, SMEDAN. The programme, initiated eight years ago, was aimed at transforming the lives of prisoners and making them responsible citizens. It is also intended to be an avenue to reduce prison shuttle; arrest and re-arrest of inmates in the communities, as well as narrowing the gates of prisons in the society.

Narrating his story, Patrick said he got to Kirikiri Prisons two years ago on false charges of rape of a teenage girl, robbery and murder.

“I was a trader before I had this problem. I’ve lost my wife and belongings as a result of this problem. My five-year-old son has been denied fatherly affection because of this. My mum, who resides in the North, is the one taking care of my only son. I have been ‘awaiting trial’ for two years. I’ve lost hope of freedom until I took part in the Onesimus programme.

“So, when I was given the chance to be part of this program, I felt it was the real

C M Y K

Patrick said he got to Kirikiri Prisons two years ago on false charges of rape of a teenage girl, robbery and murder reason I have come to prison.

“One of my cell mates, who went through the empowerment programme, told me how his state of hopelessness was turned around into a new life of hope.

“We were about 99 inmates in the male ward that enrolled for the program but just 25 were admitted. Apart from the vocational training, we were taught anger management and general well-being. Before the programme, I used to be temperamental, but the programme has helped me to deal with my anger problem”.

Patrick, who revealed that his business crumbled as a result of his imprisonment, lamented how he lost his belongings and apartment in Lagos because he became financially crippled.

“But I am hopeful now that God will give me a new life,” he said.

Before he became a prisoner, the inmate said he was a singer in his church, and that his passion for music had grown while he was in prison. Now, he writes songs and leads choristers at the Kirikiri Prisons.

Another inmate, a banker, in her 40s, who pleaded anonymity, narrated how she regained lost hope through the programme. “When I got into prison, I thought it was the end of life, but when I was admitted into the Onesimus programme,

I went through lots of changes, both financially and otherwise.

“I was working in a bank until I had issues with the bank. That was what brought me to the prison. “Today, Onesimus has taught me how to manage my life, family and business. When I was working as a banker, I tried some businesses but they failed. Now, with this training, I am well informed on how to be successful in business. I have been taught how to write business proposals as well as sourcing for loan. I was also taught how to bake, make clothes, beads and other things,” she said.

Sharing her prison experience, she stated, “It is not palatable. At first, I wanted to kill myself but when I got to the prison, I saw that some cases were worse than mine. So, I mustered courage. I believe there is life after imprisonment.”

Another prisoner, Emmanuel Uzonu, told Sunday Vanguard that the Onesimus programme had impacted positively on his life. “I am now a better person in terms of anger and stress management. I have also learnt how to make liquid soap, cake, scotch egg, chin chin, doughnut and bread as well as decoration and bead making.”

I’ll fated search Narrating how he got to Kirikiri Prisons, he said, “I came to Lagos in search of an old female friend. Unfortunately, I was trapped by her male friend who was a police officer. I was beaten and taken to a police station. The policeman accused me of stealing and I was charged with theft. I was charged to court and, since then, I have been in the prison.

That was March 14, 2014. I have been on awaiting trial since then.

Before my present situation, I

was working in CBN, Abuja, in the Economic Department. My wife and five children live in Abuja. I believe that one day, I will see them again”.

Another prisoner, Mrs. Ngozi Helen, 56, from Delta State, has also been on trial for four years.

She was involved in drug trafficking and was caught on her way to England in 2010.

She was released and rearrested in 2014 on her way back to Nigeria from the United States. “I believe God has a plan for me which was why I was re-arrested because I had stopped drug trafficking by the second time I was arrested.

Perhaps, God wanted me to learn in a hard way for me to become an instrument of change to others.

“So, when I came in contact with this empowerment programme, I knew that was the turning point I needed. The programme brought me closer to God and, above all, made me to rediscover myself. Initially, my three children and family members felt bad but today the sore is getting healed”.

The Coordinator of the programme, Pastor Sule Bamigbola, said the programme was to make prisoners to rediscover themselves and give them a genuine means of livelihood in order to be useful to themselves and the society.

“We want to ensure that Nigerian youths do not become prisoners, rather, they should be responsible people who are gainfully employed. Most people commit crime as a result of negative emotional influence.

We also engaged the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, SMEDAN, to help teach them vocational training and various business programmes. Then the Nigerian Prisons Service gives us prisoners that are trained while the Prison Fellowship Nigeria provides mentors to mentor the prisoners.”

He disclosed that they tried to identify those whose jail term would terminate in six months, but added that because there were more prisoners awaiting trial in the programme.

“Fortunately this year, the majority of the inmates that are graduating from the the programme are those whose jail terms would expire in six months.”

On ways of monitoring the inmates after gaining freedom, Bamigbola said: “There is AfterCare Department of the Onesimus project that monitor their progress. There is a fellowship called Jubilee Fellowship which makes them to integrate more, so we monitor them through the After-Care Department of the Prison Fellowship Nigeria. We have good records of many of them who are doing well now. One of them, Mrs Mercy Williams, lives in Owerri, she is into bead and hat making.

“Another person, Hope Michael, lives in Ogba; she is into mat making. Another person is into agriculture in Edo State and has been able to access funds through SMEDAN. “Mentoring is a major issue that has to do with taking care of these people, providing them with logistics that would make them have a sense of belonging”.

Senator Ashafa charges youths on entrepreneurship

By Anthony Afolabi

S

ENATOR Gbenga Ashafa, representing Lagos East, has implored youths from his constituency to be self-reliant and entrepreneurally inclined, as climate change has caused drastic changes in weather conditions which in turn has made seasons largely unpredictable.

According to him, the direct effect of the change affects farmers when they plant at the right season, but rains refuse to water the grounds due to change effect.

His words: “We all have a part to play in the reduction of dangerous greenhouse emissions that are caused by the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, through the uncontrolled burning of coal, usage of kerosene burners and other fossil fuels. We should inculcate the use of gas which produces pure energy and clean environment, as against kerosene or charcoal that increases global warming and ozone layer depletion which produces intense heat that we all experience today.”

He spoke on the maiden edition of the empowerment programme, targeted at small and medium scale businesses, that began in his first tenure, saying the success story recorded led to the increased grass-root participation of artisans, students and youths in the programme gave victory to All Progressives Party. ‘’Over 16,000 constituents benefited from our weekly and mega empowerment programmes through the collection of tools and implements such as sewing machine, pepper grinding machine, vulcanizing machine, hairdressing dryer and wash-hand basin, barbing kits and generator set, welding machine etc.

A total numbers of 558 youths were trained in the monthly ‘Gbenga Ashafa ICT Training Programme, with about 100 of them collecting desktop computers with printers.

•Senator Gbenga Ashafa

PAGE 26— SUNDAY

Vanguard, DECEMBER 6, 2015 08116759757

BY EMMANUEL UNA

O

ftentimes, the white attire of the navy personnel gives the impression that they do nothing other than guzzle red wine and womanise.

Meanwhile, viewed closely, it can be understood that the navy plays a crucial role like any other arm of the armed forces to protect the territorial integrity of the country and, more significantly, the waterways.

During a sea exercise, Mamaki (Clear the Criminals), organised by the Eastern Naval Command, which comprises Calabar, Ibaka, Escavos and Eket terminals, the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Rear Admiral Atiku Abdulkadir, said between January and October 2015, over 1,500 ships, barges and boats; carrying out illegal activities, were apprehended.

The FOC said that while some of the vessels arrested had been destroyed, others had been handed over to the police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps for prosecution.

Arrested along with the vessels, according to him, were about 2,000 men who had also been handed over to the police and warned that any one with criminal intentions should steer clear of Nigeria’s territorial waters as the navy had beefed up its operations to stem the tide of illegal oil bunkering and sea piracy.

“We have been given express command by the Chief of the Naval Staff to train our men within a specific time and also reduce illegal activities in the Nigerian waterways, and Operation Mamaki is in line

OIL THEFT, PIRACY ON THE SEAS

Navy investigates 58 ships •1,500 boats seized, 2,000 suspects arrested •The gains of ‘Operation Mamaki’, by Rear Admiral Abdulkadir, FOC, Eastern Naval Command

with that and we have done that in a very practical way by bringing six ships under the Eastern Naval Command to participate”, he added.

Abdulkadir said the ships

that took part in the exercise included NNS Okpabana, NNS Thunder, NNS Centenary, NNS Andoni, NNS Makurdi and Nigerian Navy Helicopter 08, and pointed out that,

during the exercise, over 58 ships were investigated at sea both day and night by the vessels “ which shows how improved our capacities are and our preparedness to combat

Renewed education spirit: The Ekiti example

BY RICHARD UDOFIA

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community in Ekiti State has launched a platform to restore values, virtues and the old spirit into education.

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Olurotimi Ojo, at the IgboleEkiti Educational Link Forum, held under the theme, ‘Restoring Values, Virtues and Ekiti Spirit into Education’, said the programme was a platform where academic icons gathered to share their wealth of experience and give insights to life issues with the aim of adding values and promoting virtues to the younger generation.

Ojo advised administrators in the sector to reward

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excellence always, noting that motivation and reward of excellence should cut across all the stakeholders in the sector.

He promised to reward the best teacher at Ojo Ugbole High School, best student in literary clubs with N50,000 each and an undisclosed amount for the best parent in the community.

One of the speakers at the event, Chief Anthony Ashaolu, stated: “The Ekiti spirit of old was a fighting spirit. The spirit made students from the state an object of envy and admiration in all institutions of learning throughout the world as they would always excel in any field of academic pursuit you found

them. Failure at any level was a taboo”.

While describing the platform as a unique one that has no precedent in Nigeria, Professor Kolawole Ojo of the Federal University of Agriculture, said it is not enough to continue to investing in physical infrastructures alone because the true propeller of success in the glorious generation lied in the value system.

An educational consultant, Mr. Oluwagbohunmi Aduralere, said that, the state is reputed to have the highest density of scholars in Nigeria but today, the story has changed, as students now take to vices in a bid to make it quick in life.

“The fundamental problem that is confronting education sector in the state today is that; our students have lost touch with the value of excellence, virtue of commitment and the spirit of excellence that define us unique people”, Aduralere stated.

He also argued that, these social currents are the latent factors that helped the likes of Ojo Ugbole, the first professor of geo-physics in Africa; Prof. Olubumo, the first professor of mathematics in Nigeria and others to reach the pinnacles of their careers despite the fact that they all studied under harsh and dehumanising conditions.

crime at sea, but, above that, this is to remind those who intend to carry out illegal activities to stay out of Nigerian territorial waters and look for other things to do”.

The FOC said though the exercise took a toll on government finances as each of the six ships consumed at least 495,000 litres of diesel and 40 drums of engine oil and had about 200 men on board, the essence far outweighs the cost as the bulk of the nation’s economic resources comes from the seas and, as such, everything has to be done to protect the seas.

“The cost of the exercise notwithstanding, the Chief of the Naval Staff has assured that the navy will continue to do that to ensure the county’s waterways are adequately protected all year round”.

The exercise, apart from interrogating ships, also trained men of the navy in ship maneuvering, search and rescue with helicopter, medical evacuation, ship boarding, among others, to position the men to fight crime on the seas.

SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 6, 2015, PAGE 27 08116759757

Lotto

BY OLALEKAN BILESANMI

O

ut of Luck, written by Chinaza Onuzo, is directed by Niyi Akinmulayan. The drama revolves around a young lottery operator, Tope Tedela, and his girl friend, Linda Ejiofor. Their times are turned upside down when a local gangster, Femi Branch, insists he (Tope Tedela) pays out on a lottery he didn’t win. Their attempt to pay the gangster takes them on a thrill ride from the slums on the Island to a mansion in Ikoyi.

The movie, set to hit the cinemas across the country, is produced by Zuma Onuekwusi and Chinaza Onuzo. It parades stars like Jide Kosoko, Wole Ojo, Adesua Etomi, Chigul, Kunle Remi , among others.

Don Omope is Film One Head of Sales, Film House Cinema Production and Distribution Company. In this interview, he explains why his company is distributing through cinemas, and says, unlike in the past, it will be tough for pirates to steal films anymore.

Out of Luck, what is it really about?

It is a traffic story in Lagos.

It’s the story of a man who does a lottery business for a big man, so to say, but the big man did not win. He then wants the boy to pay him N5m. He wants to get his money from the boy by all means. The boy runs in order not pay the money and at the same time he does not offend the baba. It’s a classic cat and mouse story that we are all familiar with, that often involves the hustle and buzzle of Lagos. We are distributing the film. Of course, it is not a true life experience; it is very much fictional but it is a story everybody can relate to. It is something you and I have witnessed at one time or the other in our day to day activities in Lagos. If you take a closer look at those who play lottery in Lagos, you will see that the play is not totally fictional. It is an action film that x-rays the reality of day to day events in our environment.

Film One, apart from producing, is also distributing the film across Nigerian cinemas We are distributing as well because it is an integration company. We produce, distribute. We have our cinemas spread across Nigeria. At the moment, we have the largest chain of cinemas in Nigeria.

Femi Branch runs ‘Out of Luck’

We have the distribution and production arm of the business.

We are the only studio system in Nigeria.

You said the technology Film One is bringing on board will substantially reduced piracy The aim of Film One is to give maximum exposure to every work on its stable and also maximum returns. One of the biggest challenges to effective distribution is piracy.

The key is how we can bring to the barest minimum piracy on every product on our stable so that there would be maximum returns to film makers. And the key thing to reduce piracy here is technology. We distribute films to cinemas which are DCP compliant. It is the pinnacle of technology at the moment. It is what is used around the world, including the best cinemas; it is the latest technology in film distribution.

You cannot show the same film on the same projector. Every cinema has a code. To pirate a film like that, it’s most likely you go to the cinema to copy which is not possible, or you get a copy of the DVD, but because it is encrypted, you cannot pirate it because you will need

to decrypt it, and for you to decrypt it, you will have to get the serial number and code of the projector and no one person has that. So, we have put measures in place to make it cumbersome to manipulate for piracy. Going to Atlanta would not have made that much impact if it had not been made into DCP even though it was still pirated outside the chain of cinemas where it was distributed. So, if we continue

in this manner, it then means film makers can continue to make good films and be assured of making good returns ultimately. After cinema distribution, we would move to online distribution, in-flight distribution before going to DVD. Message of Out of Luck The film is saying that it is not only drama, Nigerians can also produce action films.

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State. Kaduna came second while Niger emerged third.

Ogun State government sponsored the competition which held for four days and featured preliminary, second, quarter final, semi-final and final stages. While addressing the debaters and the panel of judges, Elder Dare Oritu, the National Co-coordinator of the President’s Schools Debate Competition, urged the students to be confident as they present their arguments.

Oritu added that members of

Ruby Stars Lions Club, Anthony Village, Lagos has honoured the Registrar of Yaba College of Technology (Yabatech), Yaba, Lagos, Ms Charity Amapakabo, just as it installed Hon. Lion Charity Ogbuitepu as the second President of the Club.

Extolling the virtues of the Registrar, President of the Club, Hon. Lion Ogbuitepu, said that going through her administrative/academic achievements and leadership style, it became necessary to honour her with an award of excellence.

Responding, Amapakabo praised Lions Club for identifying her efforts in human capacity building, a core area of economic development.The Registrar promised to continue to do her best while taking cognizance of the fact that the world is a small place.

The Registrar holds BA, MPA, MCA, LLB, FNIM, FCPA; she is the first Registrar from the SouthSouth and the second female registrar of the college since its inception in 1947. She also led the first ever struggle for the birth and rebirth of the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Polytechnics (SSANIP).

38th Annual Mt Jieaworrar Festival

Wife of the founding General Overseer, Christ Healing Evangelical Church, Ketu, Lagos (r); Mother-In-Israel, Lady Evang. Beatrice Bamidele (l), the couple, Mr. & Mrs. Abayomi Oluwasogo Noibi, and the incumbent G. O. of the church, Pastor Babatunde Ogunfowokan, after the new couple exchanged marital vows recently.

Obasanjo hosts independence anniversary debate, Anambra wins nambra State has emerged winner of the th 55 Independence Anniversary President’s InterSUBEB Debate Competition.

15 states and Police Secondary School participated in the competition, which took place at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta, Ogun State. The states are Anambra, Imo, Kaduna, Zamfara, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Niger, Oyo, Ogun, Kwara and Benue, Kebbi, Ebonyi, Kastina, and Plateau

Lions Club honour abatech honourss YYabatech Registrar

the advisory board of the President’s Schools debate Competition are men of integrity . The Permanent Secretary, Ogun State Ministry of Science justified the decision of Ogun State government to organise the debate and assured the debaters and judges and other dignitaries that the state would give them excellent reception all though their stay in Abeokuta. The chairman of the Advisory Board of the debate competition, Professor

Jerry Agada, thanked the state government for hosting the competition and assured the audience that the Board will continue to work hard to ensure success of the competition. The Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Mrs Yetunde Onanuga, represented Governor Ibikunle Amosun.

The dinner at the end of the competition was hosted by former President Obasanjo at the Liberty Hotel, Abeokuta.

The 38th Annual Mount Jieaworrar Spiritual Event has commenced at Mount Jieaworrar All Saints Church of Christ (Aladura), Odogbolu, Ogun State with seclusion at the mountain top by the church’s founder, Primate (Dr) Samuel Bisi Ademosu.

According to a statement by the church, the spiritual retreat by the founder which started on Monday will end tomorrow with a night vigil where the church’s annual Book of Prediction for 2016 will be launched.

The 21-day spiritual programme will be attended by church members from the United States, United Kingdom, France and Nigeria while special prayers will be offered for individuals, families and the nation’s political leaders.

PAGE 28— SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 6, 2015

travelogue

Doing it right at the US embassy, I got three visas in one month

BY FUNMI AJUMOBI

M

y experience demonstrates an adage in western part of Nigeria that says, ‘’You don’t die before death comes”. Hearing of the US ermbassy is like a place where hope is always shattered. The story ranges from discrimination to denial; some even label most of the things that happen there as racism against Nigerians.

This has been the issue with many Nigerians who find different ways to cut corners in order to scale interview hurdles at the embassy, paying through their noses to agents to get visa. This has led many into debt and many died travelling through Sahara Desert and others in the Atlantic ocean. My experience at the American embassy gave me another side of the story entirely which means seeing it myself. I decided to apply for visas for my children and I for holiday, filled all the necessary documents and we got the date for interview.

Without hassles, after answering questions from the consulate official who interviewed us, we got visiting visas. Few days later, I got accreditation to cover the United Nations 70th General Assembly, but it was unknown to me that I needed media visa. I went to the embassy and was told I needed to apply for media visa and, from C M Y K

experience I knew it will take nothing less than one month to secure an appointment for interview. That meant going to cover the event was not feasible because it was a week away.

I summoned the courage to present my case through the media department of the embassy and, to my relief, I was given appointment for interview the following day.

After the interview, which turned out to be just a discussion, I was called the following day for my visa.

Why I said three visas is because another visiting visa was stamped on my passport in error before the media visa was stamped. Yes, there is no doubt that this is the favour of God, but I have seen through the processes that the US embassy is not as bad as people painted it. I saw a friendly environment with friendly people who were ready to go all the way to getting things done for you if you are truthful. Do not forget that these people are trained and through mere body language, you will be discovered if you are truthful or not. My advice to Nigerians is that they should be truthful in whatever they do and stop pursuing travelling as a do-or-die issue.

The money spent for visas on agents and swindlers, who themselves have never crossed the country’s borders, is more than enough to start a genuine business in

Nigeria.

My experience in the US shows that Americans love truthful people and they can go all out to do anything for you. At the point of entry, as a first time non-immigrant, I didn’t remember the address of where I was going to stay,

There are no dollars in the streets to pick up; every cent is hard earned money.

You work for it. To those who think the US is an escape route, they are on the wrong lane

relying more on my friend who was to pick me at the airport. When I filled the Customs forms, I didn’t put any address which could have meant automatic deportation.

On getting to the Customs desk, the officer returned my form to enable me fill in my address of residence. I told him I didn’t know the address off-handedly as the address was long. I, however, explained that my friend was at the airport waiting to pick me. He just looked at me, released my passport and told me to have a nice stay. I am not trying to paint the picture of a bad situation.

To our youths, desperate to go to the US, there is nothing wrong in seeking greener pastures, but they should know that American is not a bed or roses. There are no dollars in the streets to pick up; every cent is hard earned money. You work for it. To those who think the US is an escape route, they are on the wrong lane. As Nigeria has the destitute everywhere for reasons of poverty and misgovernance, so it is with the US. What welcomed me in America at the subway train made me think twice, I saw two middle aged Americans begging for alms. I asked myself if I was actually in America. I alighted from the train and saw a man with drum sets singing at the train station and people were dropping dollars in a carton which made me remember

our own old Oshodi in Lagos. I said to myself, ‘So it is not only Nigeria’. To me, it meant that life is a choice.

You can decide to choose what you want out of life. Right on my way to the United Nations building, I saw young people carrying placards with the inscription: “ No house, no parents. Please help!” . But from outside, of the US, it is like government provides everything for residents.

What is the government doing to settle the destitute?

The truth remains that I wasn’t expecting what I saw.

This is a lesson that life is a matter of choice and that no government is perfect enough to provide for all citizens. God alone can. Honestly, youths of Nigeria, our nation is a place where you can live well and grow if you are focused. I can see the reason a true change is important here. If government can provide even 50% of the platform America provides for her citizens, Nigerians will be better off and other countries will long to come here.

Nigerians are generous, hard working and are good people. If our leaders can truly bring the change we want, the embassies will lose customers and advanced countries will lose their best hands in technology, hospitals, engineering and business, just to mention a few, because Nigerians are among the people developing their economies.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 6, 2015, PAGE 29

AYO ONIKOYI 08052201215

Sur prise ffor or Cadbur or on Golden Jubilee Surprise Cadburyy Direct Director

I

t was another occasion to demonstrate “solidarity” and sense of “camaraderie”to the elegant and delectable Mrs. Yimika Adeboye, Finance Director, Cadbury West Africa who combines beauty and th brain, penultimate Friday, when colleagues “ambushed” her to a surprise “marking” of her 50 birthday at the Ikeja office, headquarters of Cadbury West Africa.

Vanguard celebrat es celebrates Crime Editor

V

anguard’s ultra-modern newsroom was agog with jubilation and merriment on December 1, 2015, when the Crime Editor, Emma Nnadozie, added one year to his years on earth.

.

The celebrator, Mrs. Yimika Adeboye (5th left) in a group photograph with ladies in the Finance Team.

L-R: Mrs. Fola Akande, Company Secretary , Mrs. Yimika Adeboye, celebrator and Mr. Bala Yesufu, Corporate Affairs Director

L-R: Mr. Nwosu, Charles Kumolu, Adesere Adeleke, Tony Ubani, Group Sports Editor, Emeka Nkwocha,Advert Manager,General Editor, Kunle Adekoya, Jimoh Babatunde, celebrant (in white), Crime Editor, Emma Nnadozie, AGM, Brands, Fred Odueme,Esther Onyegbula and Chioma Obinna

Rare recognition for a Registrar

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nthony Village Ruby Stars Lions Club, honoured Yaba College of Technology, Yabatech, registrar, Ms Charity Amapakabo during the installation of Hon. Lion Charity Ogbuitepu as the 2nd President of the club.

Mrs. Yimika Adeboye (middle) with men in the Finance Team.

Mrs. Yimika Adeboye with a gift portrait presented to her.

The tax men’s annual dinner & awards

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hartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, CITN, drew the presence of corporate and social high net-worth individuals when it held its annual dinner and awards in Lagos last week. The ostentatious occasion also saw some members of the Institute being upgraded to that of a Fellow of the Institute while some corporate bodies were honoured for their distinguished services. Photos

by Diran Oshe

L-R:Barr. Lion Rose Ibeh, Amb. Dr. David Solomon and Hon. Lion Charity Ogbuitepu at her inauguration as President, Anthony Village Ruby Stars Lions Club .

L- R: Ms. Olajumoke Simplice, DVP (CITN) , the Emir of Lapai, Niger State Alh. Umar Bago,Tafide (III), Chief Cyril Ikemefunam Ede , VP, CITN, Dr (Mrs ) O. A. Somorin , President of CITN , and Dep. Gov. of Niger State, Alh Ahmed Mohammed Ketso

L- R Mallam Zakari Abubakar, Perm. Sec. Niger State, Hon. Justice Idris Eyuti, High Court of Niger State, Mr Foluso Fasoto, President of APBN, and Otunba Debola Osibogun President CIBN.

Registrar, Yabatech , Ms Charity Amapakabo with Hon Lion Charity Ogbuitepe, new President, Anthony Village Ruby Lions club.

L- R: Mr Omaghomi Victor and Mr Adamu, confirmed with other Fellow members.

L- R Mr Emete Tonukari, CSR/ Sustainability Manager NB, receiving an award on behalf of Ngerian Breweries PLc from Otunba Debola Osibogun, President, CIBN.

L-R: Hon Lion Charity Ogbuitepu receiving an Award of Excellence from Amb. Dr. David O.E. Solomon

PAGE 30—SUNDAY

Vanguard, DECEMBER 6, 2015

Buhari must prove he is serious about his anti-corruption campaign — Rep. Pondi

•Hon Pondi

BY JOHNBOSCO AGBAKWURU, ABUJA

H

onourable Julius Pondi represents Burutu Federal Constituency of Delta State in the House of Representatives. In this interview, he says Nigeria has celebrated 55 years of nationhood but has really nothing to show for it and that the much talked about fight against corruption by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration will not achieve much result.

Excerpts:

Nigeria recently celebrated 55 years of its nationhood.

In your own assessment did we have anything to celebrate?

October 1, 2015 was a very unique day in our collective history as it marks the 55th anniversary of the day our forefathers refused to be consumed by the pretty differences and were united to get independence for Nigeria. 55 years ago, the British Union Jack flag was lowered for the hoisting of our national Green-WhiteGreen flag to herald the independence of our nation.

Yes, it is our day of independence and we are all expected to celebrate, but we do not see any reason to celebrate as Ijaw and Niger Deltans, as the very principles of our equity and fairness, upon which this C M Y K

nation was founded, have since been abused.

Perhaps, we are expected to celebrate the daily exploitation of our natural resources without recourse to the degrading effects on our environmental and health.

Perhaps, we are expected to celebrate the stalling of the kick-off of the Maritime University, Okerenkoko and the Technical School in Okoloba, both in Delta State.

Perhaps, we are expected to celebrate the depreciation of the Naira. Perhaps, we are expected to celebrate the depletion of our foreign reserves. Perhaps, we are celebrating the fact that many of our communities are still inaccessible by road after 55 years.

Perhaps we are celebrating because our democracy does not avail us the equality of rights and opportunities to determine the shape, quality and character of lives. If we are celebrating because there is hope for a better Nigeria, just then can we celebrate.

I was asking a friend the other day if what we were celebrating is the loss of 15,000 Nigerians to the insurgency in the North or that since 1999, many Ijaw communities have been burnt. During the President Olusegun Obasanjo administration, Odi was burnt to the ground when the late President Musa Yar’Adua

took over, Gbaramatu and during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, our own Ayakoromo community was burnt to the ground. That is to show that every one person that has occupied position has made it as a duty to burn Ijaw community. So there is nothing to celebrate. Even the amnesty deal that we agreed to establish, what is the result that we are getting now? Is that what we are celebrating?

As a Niger Delta person, I don’t think there is anything to celebrate.

But as a Nigerian, for the fact that our forefathers, at one point in time, decided to achieve freedom for us, yes, we can say we should celebrate.

What is the best way to make Nigeria a better place?

I am in the House of Representatives now.

Yesterday (Wednesday, September 30), in the plenary, we all agreed that we might not have had the best enjoyment for now. But, from now, we should try to put our differences aside and come together and get the best for our people. That is what we are going to do now; we are going to be selfless in pursuit of the basic things of government. Meanwhile, a lot of sacrifices need to be made. The North should see Nigeria as its constituency; not only in the National Assembly but also in the larger society. Over time, the promises that we have made to our people have not been fulfilled. We are happy now that we have a president that says his administration will have zero tolerance for corruption, but we are waiting on how that one will play out.

But I don’t think that one is feasible; the battle against corruption will just be fought on the pages of newspapers.

So, it is a collective thing that we must do and be honest to ourselves in order to move forward.

What is your assessment of the role of the legislature in the past 55 years?

Democracy has been an off and on thing because of military intervention. But I can sincerely say that since 1999, the legislature has performed creditably and has helped the country come out of many serious problems.

The legislature has come to save Nigeria from collapsing on three or four occasions.

You remember there was the tenure elongation thing after former President Olusegun Obasanjo had done two terms and our legislators said it was against the constitution of Nigeria and stopped it.

Remember when President Yar’Adua died and the Vice President was to be sworn in, there were some power blocs that said no, and the legislature came again and invoked the doctrine of necessity and saved the situation. So, from 1999 till now, I can tell you that the legislators have really done very well. They have done well.

President Buhari had promised that those to constitute his cabinet will not be tainted. But going by

Perhaps we are celebrating because our democracy does not avail us the equality of rights and opportunities to determine the shape, quality and character of lives. If we are celebrating because there is hope for a better Nigeria, just then can we celebrate

some of the names in the ministerial list, do you think he is really keeping to the promise?

I want to say that the way it works, somebody cannot really be adjudged as corrupt until he is found guilty by the court of law. But some the characters I have seen in that list are people that have corruption tags on their heads. But I cannot say now that they are corrupt because the court of law has not found them guilty of what they are being accused of.

Do you see the Buhari’s administration achieving much in the fight against corruption in this country?

I don’t think it will. Let me take on this, this is a government that campaigned across the length and breadth of Nigeria, telling the people it will do this and that, that it is going to tackle corruption.

The All Progressives Congress has been given power now, if President Muhammadu Buhari is telling us now that he is going to fight corruption, what about the people that surround him? He said somebody gave him or he borrowed money from the bank to buy nomination forms preparatory to the elections only to now declare that he has N30 million in his account. What about the flamboyant campaigns he had ahead of the elections? Some of his major sponsors known to Nigerians, what kind of work are they doing? Some were governors, so if somebody is using public funds to sponsor your election and you say you are fighting corruption without looking in the direction of these persons, it shows that you are not serious. Many of those people that sponsored his election are people in his government and used tax payers money recklessly, but he is not starting with them. I have expected that if he wants to show that he is serious about the corruption fight, he ought to start from there. But for now, if you ask me over and over again, I will tell you that he is not serious in the fight against corruption.

SUNDAY

Vanguard, DECEMBER 6, 2015, PAGE 31

Saboteurs, not Buhari, slowing down anti-corruption drive – Rep. Oladele

BY BASHIR ADEFAKA

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onourable Bosun Oladele, member, House of Representatives, representing Irepo/Orelope/Olorunsogo Federal Constituency, Oyo State, says President Muhammadu Buhari is not slowing down on his anticorruption campaign. Oladele spoke in his National Assembly Complex office in Abuja.

One would want to say that from the way PDP is heard louder than APC on the floor of the Red Chamber, the opposition is in charge. Is that not correct?

The voice of PDP cannot be louder. APC is in clear majority in the House of Representatives. Even if it seemed to be in the past, the reality on ground now is that PDP is in the minority and APC is in the majority. That has even been confirmed by what happened penultimate Thursday (November 19, 2015) with respect to passage of the supplementary appropriation bill brought by the executive on which there were debates for and against. Majorly, people, who argued against were in the opposition, I mean PDP. But good reason prevailed, APC had the day or Nigeria, I would say, had the day eventually because it was a resounding “AYE” as against anybody that might have wanted to say “NAY.” There was no “NAY” eventually.

Some of the views are that in most cases people favoured to contribute are PDP. Is that supposed to be one of the reasons for the unending agitations in the House?

I think anybody looking at the situation when we were starting may perceive or may just believe that the opposition are having more opportunity to contribute to debates, to move motions and so on and so forth.

But I would also say that, realistically, we have balanced contributions from each side currently. And I have heard the leadership of the House rationalising that it is better to call people that would be able to articulate issues. Again, where you have one trying to be objective, there will be subjectivity. It boils down to whom you know by first name

C M Y K

or by surname and so on and so forth. But I think the leadership of the House, especially the presiding officers are trying to find a common ground to be able to carry everybody along. This is the perception in the last one or two weeks.

Before your inauguration as federal lawmaker you said there were enough laws to prosecute the APC-led Muhammadu Buhari's administration's anti-corruption war. Just now the President said some judges and lawyers are frustrating the anticorruption war and, as you can see, that is clear from how culprits are running to courts to seek injunctions to evade justice. How would you reconcile that?

We have laws that have provided for virtually everything that one would think of. But human beings would always sabotage process and procedure and that is why it appears the anti-corruption process is slowing down. It is not the President that is slowing down but the dramatis personae do.

And who are the dramatis personae?

They are the people that have been charged to court for one reason or the other. Everybody wants to see if they can elongate the hand of the clock.

But is the judiciary not supposed to key into the anticorruption process as an integral part of the Change regime thereby frustrating such justice evasion?

Yes. If you look at things that have been happening, lawyers and retired judges have been talking and lately, it is even said that Supreme Court would have erred by staying proceedings at a lower court in respect of the Senate President Bukola Saraki's matter. People, who argued that the Supreme Court gave that decision in error as against the provision of Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) seem to be right because, that Act says every appeal will be decided together when the final judgement is being given in respect of the case. Not that because somebody has appealed, he goes there, asks for stay of execution so that the case against him will not be

heard at all.

I believe the Supreme Court is well constituted and it is a physician that will heal itself at the end of the day. So, that is my take on that. They know what to do and they would do it precisely.

Your party led government has just composed its Federal Executive Council and comments have flown around about that. What is your side to that?

Most of the times, people like to talk for the purpose of listening to themselves. But if you look at it carefully, President Muhammadu Buhari has proved everybody wrong. A lot of people said, “We have the ministerial list but there is nothing spectacular about them. There is nothing captivating, nothing fantastic about the list. It is the same old people.” But look at the way and manner the ministries have been assigned, you would agree with me, that is the master stroke for opposition. It caught them unaware that it took them about three days to comment. That is why I said it was the master stroke. Who would be on that seat that you can point to that is not fit to handle the ministry he or she has been given? It was a carefully selected list and the portfolios have been carefully

We have laws that have provided for virtually everything that one would think of. But human beings would always sabotage process and procedure and that is why it appears the anticorruption process is slowing down

Hon. Bosun Oladele assigned.

What do you make of the saying that the eighth assembly is going to be spanner in the wheel of the new regime of change?

What I make of it is that this National Assembly is not going to be the spanner in the wheel of progress, although some people wish it to be exactly that but, I can assure you that rather than being so, we will find a common ground and will be able to move ahead.

Of course the agitations could be understandable. If you look at the composition of the committees, people say the opposition is given vital committees, and what we have are vital committees not juicy committees because, we are not going there to start plucking money.

But these are committees that could drive change, that could drive governance. So if you look at all of that and you want to ask if you give opposition this kind of committee, would they be able to even envision what the President has envisioned? Will they be able to key into the programme of the President knowing that they are in opposition? Assuming they even key into it and they want to work, can any of them go on air when they want to talk about committee issue relating to his committees? Will he be able to say, “Look, President Buhari is fantastic. This is what he has done for our people in this ministry, in this parastatal, in this agency, at this committee level, these are the planned programmes of action to assist the President to achieve this and that goals within so, so and so time?” If you are able to say that, that means you are adding value to what the President is doing. And that means you want the President

to succeed.

But the question mark would be, would they want the President to succeed as much as that? Will they be able to talk good things about the President when he actually does good things? So, that apprehension is not misplaced.

But I believe it behoves the leadership of National Assembly to try and correct the initial mistakes.

What does it mean to you hearing the PDP saying they are handing over the political stage to the youths as a joker for 2019?

They should search their souls.

You want to hand over to youths, which youths? Is it the youths that you neglected? Is it the youths that you did not mentor rightly? So, I am looking at them and we will see the result.

What is the connectivity between you, now as an Abujabased Federal lawmaker and your Federal Constituency back home in Oyo State?

I do go home to see them and most of the things I am doing around here centre on them.

Definitely it is their passion that is driving me. It is their programme that I am trying to articulate and, definitely, I have always said that whatever I will do, rather than looking to grab what I can grab, I will better see to what my people could benefit from and be able to ensure that they benefit. I am not here in the National Assembly to seek personal benefit. I used to be an employer of labour before coming to National Assembly.

So, rather than aggregating everything about myself, it is going to be people centred.

Definitely this is what we are doing and we have started doing it.

PAGE 32 — SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 6, 2015

The spirit of Judas looms large in the Church— Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor *’I have been most unfairly treated’

By SAM EYOBOKA

T

HE National President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, believes ‘something is so wrong’ with Christianity in Nigeria, saying followers of the faith must get it right like Islam.

“The only thing that will save the Church is to build an institution; not just CAN but the President of CAN must also become an institution”, he says, Oritsejafor also speaks on his travails as CAN leader.

Oritsejafor spoke at the 28th annual convention of Word of Life Bible Church, known as Jubilee Word Festival, where the church leadership empowered 21 persons from different parts of northern Nigeria, especially the NorthEast, where Boko Harm is campaigning to establish on Islamic caliphate.

The beneficiaries were drawn from Adamawa, Benue, Borno, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kebbi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau and Taraba states.

Enumerating the effects of poverty, Oritsejafor urged well-meaning Nigerians to reach out to displaced fellow country men and women as a result of the activities of Boko Harm and herdsmen.

According to the CAN President, despite the insecurity in different parts of Nigeria, there is still an opportunity for this nation to be one of the greatest nations of the world if the citizens can come together to iron out their differences and forge ahead in unity.

“We need to reconcile ourselves to ourselves. We need to come back together.

We need to know that we have C M Y K

•Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor only one country. We need to forgive and value each other.

We need to integrate ourselves into this one country where everybody is important.

I think it is important, right now that we do that to ourselves and I can tell you that such will bring out of us the nationalistic spirit needed for national development,” he stated.

“Not until we feel we are one in this country...some people live in Nigeria but do not believe in this country. So we need to do something; not by force but through love, sitting down and talking. We need to sit down by inclusiveness, by extending to everyone a chance to live properly in this great country.

I believe in one Nigeria and, above all, I believe this country can be great again.”

‘The Church too divided’ Asked about his expectations from the Nigerian Church, he stated: “My first and major expectation from the Nigerian Church is unity, oneness. The Church is too divided, it’s a major problem, but, to me, it is a major expectation that God will do something. It’s not a new problem, it’s a

problem that has been there, and, actually, I will tell you my impressions about it. It has troubled me so much. If you look at Church history, you will see exactly what I am saying. Take a look at what happened in Turkey which used to be Constantinople; you have the Ottoman Empire

The spirit that entered Judas made him to commit suicide eventually, but the spirit didn’t die. You know spirits don’t die.

That spirit is still in the Church and that is the problem of the Church

next to it that eventually took it over. When you say Paul of Tarsus; where is Tarsus? In Turkey. The seven churches recorded in the book of Revelation were in Turkey; but, today, the Christian population in Turkey is 0.000.

It’s almost nothing, it’s hard for the mind to comprehend.

Many years ago, the greatest church building, probably the greatest and most beautiful building in the world, was the church building in Constantinople and that was the first place the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire went to. What caused it, how did it happen, why did Christianity lose out there? It is this disunity. There was a big problem between the Western Church and the Eastern Church. I don’t even want to tell you what the problems were; it’s so shameful! I don’t want to be quoted because the things don’t make sense.

Then go to a place like Egypt, a fully Christian nation for over 1,000 years. In fact, the city of Alexandria in Egypt was the centre of Biblical studies for many years. Over 1,000 years of Christianity before Islam conquered it, the

same problem among Christians opened the door.

They crossed from there into Sudan which was also totally Christians, and, from there, to Libya; the same story and now this is Nigeria. And I started asking myself some questions; a few weeks ago, the Lord began to open my eyes to something. If you read the Old Testament, you will discover that God said that someone will betray Jesus, but He never mentioned a name.

Judas became that someone.

In other words, what God was saying was that anyone who was available, the devil will use him and, when you study the book of Luke, the Bible says, ‘And Satan entered him.’

‘Judas spirit in the Church’ “What I am telling you is that the spirit that entered Judas made him to commit suicide eventually, but the spirit didn’t die. You know spirits don’t die. That spirit is still in the Church and that is the problem of the Church. We betray each other; we compete with each other, we will do anything to destroy each other; we are so individualistic Continues on page 33

SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 6, 2015, PAGE 33

Oritsejafor :‘How to save the Church’ Continued from page 32 in our thinking. Then there are those who take it a little bit higher, they are denominational in their thinking, sectionalism; it is this same spirit of Judas that has torn the Church apart to the point where a pastor and his secretary will have a misunderstanding and the secretary will call a press

conference.

“We are excited washing our dirty linens in the public. You see, if you offend me, I feel the best way is to call a press conference; but in the meantime, every press conference you call is pulling down the Church; not one person, the whole Church. But we don’t see it, we don’t get it. And yet there are three important things in the scripture that the Church seems to neglect. Number 1, you can check the scripture out, Jesus said if your brother offends you, go to him. The Bible doesn’t say call a press conference. If he doesn’t listen, Jesus said take two more people with you and go to him. Again, he didn’t recommend a press conference. He said if he still didn’t listen, bring him to the church and let the church deal with him. That was Jesus’ recommendation.

“If you continue to read, you will find where Apostle Paul asked: “Is there no wise man among you?” Why should you take yourselves to the courts of the world? And, today, for example, I have a case in Kano and another in Kaduna. The one in Kaduna was thrown out by a Muslim judge. It’s not because I did anything. It’s just this CAN President thing and I was taken to court by the Chairman of the state CAN. Can you imagine?

And when the Muslim judge saw it, he said he couldn’t handle the case, asking, ‘What is wrong with you people?’ He kept adjourning the case until, finally, we were able to work it out. There is one right now in Abuja by a Christian who took CAN, myself and one or two other persons to court.

‘How to save the Church’ “You just wonder, you see...do you know, today, as I speak, the case is still on. The Muslims got it right, they built an institution and the institution is called ‘Sultan of Sokoto’. Sultan of Sokoto is not a person, it is an institution. The only thing that will save the Church in Nigeria is to build an institution; not just CAN but the President of CAN must become an institution.

Now, I don’t say this because of me, because I only have one year left and I am done. But someone will take over from me; he

shouldn’t be treated the way I have been treated because, at the end of the day, it is the whole Church that loses. Do you know that, today, if you take a paid (critical) advert to a newspaper with the Sultan’s name on it, they will reject it? But if you take a (critical) advert to a newspaper and my name is on it, they will jump at it. In fact, some people can pay for it and put it on the front page and 90 per cent of Nigerian newspapers are owned

by Christians. Something is wrong. Something is so wrong.

This is what is going on.

“So my expectation is how we are going to solve this problem and what must happen; first of all is to have people because not everyone will get it at the same time. Some people will begin to see the big picture because, as at now, in my own opinion, 80 per cent of the Church only see a narrow picture of me or my denomination and that is not going to work for the Church.

The second thing is to build this institution, the office of the President of CAN must be revered, respected, in fact, mystified if you want; lifted up there, made to be something that you don’t just touch, because when that happens, the Church will have a rallying point. When the Church has a rallying point, when there is an office, an institution that can say to the Church, ‘It is enough,’ and immediately it is actually enough; then we will start going forward.

“I was telling some people few days ago, ‘do you know that a local government Chairman can invite Church leaders across this country and say ‘I want to see you by 2.00 p.m. tomorrow’ and they will go: 1) for the recognition, and 2) for a little money’. I cannot do that. For example, I have the next CAN executive meeting next week or so, but I cannot guarantee that all the leaders will be there. Do you know there are those who will ask me; ‘Will you pay my hotel bill, will you pay my airfare?’ But like I said, if a local government Chairman says ‘come’, they will be there.

Something is wrong.

Do you know that, today, if you take a paid (critical) advert to a newspaper with the Sultan’s name on it, they will reject it? But if you take a (critical) advert to a newspaper and my name is on it, they will jump at it. In fact, some people can pay for it and put it on the front page and 90 per cent of Nigerian newspapers are owned by Christians So, if we can first begin to see the big picture to raise this institution, respect it, honor it, and allow it to be the voice for the Church, believe me, the Church will be strong again and we will be able to withstand what is coming because something is coming but I don’t know what it is. I can’t explain it, but something is coming. So I have mixed my expectation with my frustration”.

Open doors Oritsejafor noted that the theme for the Word of Life Bible Church convention, this year, ‘EPHPHATHA’, ‘Be Opened’, came to him in January, emphasising that the season we are going into now, God will begin to open doors that some people have given up on.

Also speaking on the significance of the Jubilee, described by many of the speakers, as coinciding with the Jewish Jubilee currently taking

place in Jerusalem, the matriarch of Word of Life Bible Church, Pastor (Mrs.) Helen Oritsejafor, said the first thing is for Nigerians to realize that God remains God, no matter what we think or believe.

She also harped on the need for Nigerians to unite, arguing that it is the cardinal ingredient for the nation’s development at a time like this; adding: “This is the time to emphasize the things that bring us together and deemphasize those that seem to separate us. Nigeria will be great and Nigerians will be great if we understand that God has made us as one and we must celebrate each other in unity and honesty in Christ Jesus.”

The lions den In an interview with Sunday Vanguard, the CAN President spoke on the happiest and saddest moments of his life over the past 28 years of piloting the affairs of Word of Life Bible Church. “I think my saddest moment would be the day we started Word of Life, because it wasn’t something I was excited about. I didn’t want it. My spirit was low; I just wondered why, but it was like throwing me in a lions den. I was really troubled and didn’t sleep all through the night of Saturday into the Sunday that Word of Life started. I was really very troubled and sad, almost feeling very lonely. I almost felt like God forsook me,”Oritsajefor stated.

“There were too many questions I just couldn’t find anwsers to, maybe probably because I needed instant answers.

Those who were there that day will tell you I wept openly. To me, that was my lowest point. From that low point, it just kept getting better and higher.

Doubts and predictions “On the other hand, my happiest point would be when we dedicated this International Gospel Centre because it brought fulfillment and excitement and showed that God is actually faithful. It was a proof that God actually told me to do this. There were those who said I wouldn’t last three years. Others said probably seven years and all kinds of predictions. I don’t think I would like to get into all that but the word ‘fulfillment’ captures the whole picture. The building was a dream. I don’t dream very often but there was this night I slept and dreamt of a round building, huge. I didn’t hear any voice, I just saw a building and a lot of people.

“I woke up the next morning excited but troubled because, in my mind, yes, beautiful

•Oritsejafor ... We must save the Church

big building, but how do you actualize this kind of thing?; it was too crazy to think.

Interestingly, about a week or two later, a gentleman, who used to be a member of this church— who is not an architect but an engineer—walked into my office.

I cannot recollect what led to it, but I started narrating to him the dream I had of the building, that I saw a big round building and all that; I kept talking. He listened and didn’t say anything.

He left me afterwards and, about two or three weeks later, he showed up with a full drawing of this whole thing and it was exactly what I saw.

“I didn’t give him details of what I saw. I just told him of a huge round building because I couldn’t describe all the details myself. I didn’t even know the young man well but he went and returned after three weeks with a full blown plan and had everything ready. And I said: ‘Goodness me, how did you

come up with all this and how did you know what I saw?’

And he said that, as I was talking, everything just came to him. It had to be God because, like I said, he is not an architect but he got everything right and we took off from there and the next thing was: ‘Where is the money?”

Inviting the whole world “I did a launching which was in a sense a flop.... I invited the whole world but the whole world didn’t show up. It was just members of Word of Life that were present, not even all members were present. I think some were frightened and didn’t show up that day. Some people made one or two pledges and, when I got home that day, I said to myself it was either this dream was not it or I got something wrong. But I encouraged myself after praying for a while and said ‘let us start this thing with the little offering that we had in the church’ and we started buying materials. But at a point, I got frightened because I had never seen such a thing before. I came here and saw the holes they were digging for pillars, it was too much, so I ran away and I didn’t come here for a long time.

The point is this; if you ask

me how much we spent to complete the building, I don’t even know. I don’t know because there was never a time we had that kind of money kept somewhere. The reason is we never raised that kind of money to build after the launching that was flopped. It was just offerings and donation of building materials by certain individual members. So, you can see that the hand of God is in the whole thing. That’s why I said the dedication was the highest point. Dr. Morris Cerullo did the dedication. Look, when you think of the day Word of Life started, how low I was, then to now think of the dedication of this church and how high I was, it was just too exciting, too exciting, really fulfilling to the glory of God”.

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PAGE 34 — SUNDAY

Vanguard, DECEMBER 6, 2015

All hail as the new Olu of Warri ascends the throne on Saturday

BY MICHAEL TIDI

O

n Saturday, December 12, 2015, history will be made as the Itsekiri will enthrone their 20th monarch, the third university graduate to ascend the pristine Olu of Warri royal stool. Apparently excited by the peaceful completion of a usual precoronation traditional ritual circle which every new Olu of Warri is made to undergo before taking full charge of the palace, many commentators are of the view that the new monarch is man to take the people of Warri from a commerceoriented people to the promise of intellectual beacon that the city has evolved to become in modern times. As I post these comments, many Itsekiri sons and daughters have undertaken to throw a civic reception in honor of the new Olu of Warri.

The event will have all the trappings of a state function: an array of royal fathers, bureaucrats, technocrats, brass-hat politicians, religious leaders, and the moguls in the other professions and businesses, even as Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State leads his entourage to the epoch making occasion.

Omoba Ikenwoli Godfrey Emiko, who had gone through a thorough royal tutelage for 90days, is a graduate of business administration from University of Benin, Edo State and reputed to have mentored many Itsekiri sons and daughters. The new Olu is married and blessed with three children.

A man of many parts, Omoba Ikenwoli is a

*HRM Emiko ... To end 90-day royal tutelage religious, community, professional and business leader. He was chairman, HOSTCOM, Delta State Chapter, and was credited with the legendary achievement of agitating and securing judicious use of the 13% Derivation accruable to oil and gas producing communities in Delta.

In profession and business, the also distinguished himself. He led his colleagues while in the oil services firm, Slumberger Nigeria Limited, and also held other professional and administrative positions.

As a family man, Omoba Ikenwoli is a caring husband to his regal spouse and a devoted father to his princely children. He is a unifying factor in the Emiko Royal Family. He was earmarked for the stool at a very tender age, and ascending the throne at this critical point in Itsekiri history, certainly, calls for celebration. Specifically, the new monarch is noted for honesty, commitment,

compassion, and listening ability. He is knowledgeable and philosophical as many of his utterances relive the past, pattern the present and

The event will have all the trappings of a state function: an array of royal fathers, bureaucrats, technocrats, brass-hat politicians, religious leaders, and the moguls in the other professions and businesses, even as Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State leads his entourage to the epoch making occasion

define the future. He is a patriotic, conscientious, selfless and forthright. A grassroots mobilizer and loved by all and greatly admired for his transparent and detribalized nature, Omoba Ikenwole remains an epitome of goodwill to all regardless of tribe, age, gender, ethnicity or status in the society.

As he dons his royal regalia, supported by his Olori and waves his horsetail at the weekend, shots of dane guns by the community hunters will be heard and the chanting of the eulogy of Ogiame by the ageless traditional drummers will rent the air, conveying the joy of the Itsekiri who are happy to have a new monarch. As the Itsekiri tradition demands, chiefs, princes, the Olu’s relations, among others, will line the route to honor the new monarch and publicly demonstrate their allegiance, as he makes his way to his high seat.

There cannot be any dull moment. A grand parade of gorgeous apparels by the

crème de la crème of the society, is expected on Saturday as the Itsekiri ethnic nationality plays host to the MNOCs and those in the vanguard of moving the state and nation forward.

I am overjoyed that our new Olu holds the promise for peace and unity, and as such all Itsekiri sons and daughters must do well to be more cohesive in this new era.

They would do better to concentrate on deepening existing ties with our fellow Deltans while building new bridges of understanding.

While fiercely and unyieldingly protecting Itsekiri interests, we must remain committed to fostering inter-ethnic harmony with our Urhobo and Ijaw brothers to help the government of the day engender peace needed for the advancement of Delta and Nigeria.

Ogiame suo! *Tidi is the eldest son of Oritsetimeyin Tidi and the late Princess Roli Emiko of the Royal House of Emiko.

SUNDAY

Vanguard, DECEMBER 6, 2015, PAGE 35

Mandela survived 28 years in prison cell. I was there for 18 months, I did not go to hospital for half a second, but we thank God. In fact, the place became a Mecca of some sort because those who thought they were pulling me down, did not know they were creating love for me. The way I concluded it was that the tribulation was from God for me to accept that there is only person to trust, and that is God Almighty.

Again, your man to man interaction must be positive because, no matter how rich you are, the day you die, nothing goes with you. We came into the world naked and we would go back naked.

So, no regrets whatsoever. Of course, I cannot say all has been rosy, there have been really bad times. All those bad times were also like a lesson.

: 0 7 T A E G R O E G E BOD

e l p o e p e m o S t h g u tho s a w t n e m n o impris r me! o f d n e the

By DapoAkinrefon

C

HIEF Olabode Ibikunle George, a leader of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, recently, clocked 70 . In this encounter, George shares his perspectives on life and says he has no regrets.

How do you feel at 70?

I am still the same. When I went to church, someone called me ‘baba’ and I looked at myself and said ‘who is baba?.’ It has not dawned on me yet, one is aging but we should thank God that one is aging gracefully, in good health and in peace of mind. All the faculties are still working. I became a military governor when I was 42, General Yakubu Gowon was Head of State at the age of 31, Pa Obafemi Awolowo was Premier at 32. Today, there is a shift in the age group of world leaders.

Things are moving so fast and my concern is that the younger generation should start to push and come in. Technology, facilities and education are much better now than what they were in

our days.

I was trying to prepare my autobiography and a friend, who lives abroad, told me about a device that would record my voice. He said the device will not only take the voice, it will also print out what I have said. I looked at it and I said the world is changing. In that wise, how much can one do?

I thank God that I have seen the highest mountains. I have held meetings in the President’s room when Baba (Obasanjo) was in the Villa. I know the geography of the place and I have also been in prison for an offense that is not known to law.

I was sent to prison, everybody thought it was the end for me but it wasn’t; it was a trial of my faith.

I have no grudges over it because God strengthened me beyond my comprehension.

What is it that is coming to Nigeria that will scare me? The evil in man has never changed and I remember Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe came out with this saying: ‘If man to man is quite unjust, he does not know who else to trust. He has trusted many to his sorrows, friends today, enemies tomorrow’.

That particular statement re-

echoes in my interactions with people. The mindset of man is devilish and so, the only person you can trust is God. Even your children can disappoint you; it is God who cannot. They thought it was a punishment for me to go to Kirikiri prisons.

I met a man who had been on death row for 28 years; he was specially praising God every Sunday in the prisons church. So

I was sent to prison, everybody thought it was the end for me but it wasn’t; it was a trial of my faith. I have no grudges over it because God strengthened me beyond my comprehension

I said they should call him and I asked him some questions. He said he was from Ondo State. He told me he was a hunter, and went to his farm to hunt for antelope.

He did not know it was a human antelope and he shot, killed the human antelope and, of course, the court sentenced him to death.

I spoke to Governor Mimiko because the Kirikiri prisons became a Mecca for people who knew I did not do anything. I mentioned it to him (Mimiko) as governor and he did not forget.

The governor pardoned and released the man. Usually if you are on death row, the death sentence is commutted to life imprisonment.

There were others who were doing the Open University programme that one had to help, there were others arrested for loitering. The IPOs had already forgotten about their cases; if you go to Kirikiri prisons, those awaiting trial are more than convicted inmates.

I would never have had that kind of experience to know that these things could happen to people. Not one day did I go out of the prison for medical attention. At 70, I cannot be at the front burner like before.

At 70, do you have any regrets?

It has been a wonderful life. If I had to start it all over again, I would go through the same path because, like I said, I have been to the topmost mountain and I have been to the worst valley.

I hold no malice, nothing happens without God’s attention and if you are so privileged to go through that experience, it is a test of your faith in God. The last book written by Nelson Mandela was clear, he said the prison cell is the best room for you to discover yourself, to see yourself from the time you were born, all your interactions, where you genuinely erred and where you genuinely fared.

So, if you have that kind of introspection, it won’t be long before you ask for forgiveness where you have erred.

Looking at what Nigeria did for you and your generation, would you say your generation has done something for the coming generation?

When you are in the box, you will hardly see the depths of the problems.

When I said I was going away to write my biography, I learnt new technologies. I looked at the age of the world leaders like the French President, the newly elected Argentine President, Barack Obama and I found that the world is changing. But I looked back and said that Awolowo was in his early 30s when he became Premier.

Obasanjo was 39 when he became Head of State, even Buhari was 41 when he became Head of State.

Now coming back, where are the young ones? You cannot say the elders should not be there, they can be there as advisers, moderators. Nigeria is a country and not a nation, that is what we met in the early 1960s. You know we had well established regions in those days and the mistrust was so strong. That was what we met on ground and that also sent us to civil war. Have we changed ever since? I could see some people still echoing Biafra.

I believe that one thing government must do, as a matter of urgency, is to teach history in our schools, they do not teach history again in this country. If you don’t know your past, how can you appreciate your present and, then, plan for the future? It means that the mistakes of the past will be repeated.

I believe we must try and redefine and strengthen the foundation of this nation,so that Nigeria will start to build those structures of nationhood. That is what we would be handing over.

Things are changing and we must start to encourage the young ones to start getting involved in the management of their country. We are yet to see ourselves as Nigerians before any other thing.

Is that concept changing! If it is not changing, then we are failing. I am charging the younger generation to get involved in politics. We don’t want to fail, we want to make sure that we carry everyone along.

PAGE 36—SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 6, 2015

I started multi-million Naira precious metals firm with N5,000 —Olulana, Raregems CEO •Talatu Olulana

BY FUNMI AJUMOBI Talatu Olulana, the founder and CEO of Raregems Nigeria Limited, is the pioneer dealer in precious metals in Nigeria. She started the business in year 2000 with just N5000 out of her love for jewellery. I call her a model of SME success in Nigeria. A woman that looks beyond what will put daily food on her table, she focuses on leaving a mark for the generations behind. ow she got to where she is today As a young girl growing up, I remember I used to have loads of jewellery magazines though I didn’t have any jewellery of my own took interest in looking at the jewellers, especially the stones and I began to learn the names.

My first opportunity of dealing with jewellery came when I was in higher institution. I had a friend who was selling gold and any time she came from Italy, she was giving me some to sell on commission basis and I was even selling more than her. By the time I graduated from school, I already knew I was going to deal in jewellery and I didn’t bother looking for paid employment. I just made enquiries on how to go about it and I was told to go to Cotonou. Because I didn’t have money on my own, my mother gave me N5000 and I started buying and selling costume jewellery. I hawked my goods from shop to shop and to offices. Many times, I sold everything same day I bought them but because of the little capital, I found myself going to Cotonou three times a week. We started branding wedding rings with our logo R&G, on it after four years and later to necklace and earrings with our logo on the hooks.

It was curiosity that brought me into branding and that was what gave me breakthrough in the business. In the course of selling my stuff, a customer ordered for a wedding ring with her name written on it and she gave me pictures of what she wanted. I didn’t have idea of how to do it but I took it as a challenge. That was how I started searching the internet to look for a company which could do it for me and I got one in France. Because of the money involved due to the diamond stone the customer wanted on the ring, I didn’t want to take the risk of sending money and so I decided to travel to get it with the little savings I had. After getting it done, from there, I was introduced to a lot of people which was a major breakthrough for me.

Today, it is not only me, we are a company. I see Raregems as bigger than me because we now have 140 retail part-

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ners all over the country. We also have in Dublin, America and France. I did a short course in design when I went to buy the ring which I completed online in Nigeria because of the short period I stayed. I don’t want to take glory for a lot of work being put in by people behind the scene and that is why I like to use ‘we’.

Not satisfying with just buying and selling Once you put your hands on the plough, there is no looking back. I realised that there are lots of things to do. We went into precious Metals business in 2010 and, by God’s grace, we are the first indigenous company in Nigeria to do that.

We offer opportunity for people who want to build gold or silver reserves just like the way they invest in building houses and other aspects of investment because they appreciate in value. The price of gold four years ago is not the same today. One can build it over time, sell and make profit on daily basis when

We believe that the present government will improve power and also support us to bring in equipment for production of jewellery in Nigeria because we have all the raw materials here. We have the stones, brass and one of the best grades of steel in Nigeria. If we bring in the equipment, it will employ a lot of people.

you see the price increases just like the way people trade in shares and foreign currencies. Precious metals are tangible than shares because if you buy a piece of gold, you can hold it, it is yours and, in case of emergency or any situation, you can sell part of it and go to another location to start your life. This you cannot do in building investment as it is not possible to cut part of a building and sell. Even if you can do it, it will take time before you can see somebody to buy half building.

How do you do it?

We have equipment for casting them which is more of local, but we have higher level which is minting, but because of finance, we can’t do that now. We have the mode where we smelt the gold and cast it. Building a reserve is not like jewellery. You mould the gold bars because the temptation of wearing it is high. If it is jewellery, it is not pure gold because the stones will be removed when you want to sell it and stones in your gold is not gold. When you have gold bars, it is raw gold which is called professional gold and jewellery does not fall into that category.

Another advantage of having gold reserves is that you can cut out of your gold bar and sell to meet immediate needs which you cannot do with your building.

On security You can talk to your bank to keep it in their vault to avoid theft and, if you can’t, our company can talk to our bank to keep it for you.

To people who wants to invest For a starter, you can start with gold or silver. It is good because they appreciate and, with Raregems, you are sure of selling it at the current World Stock Price for that day any time you want to sell unlike the gold traders in the general market that toss people around.

We believe that the present government will improve power and also support us to bring in equipment for production of jewellery in Nigeria because we have all the raw materials here. We have the stones, brass and one of the best grades of steel in Nigeria. If we bring in the equipment, it will employ a lot of people.

Impact on young people After 15 years of growth, we have impacted a lot of people both young and old. We give people the opportunity to be empowered financially. We give jewellery to people to retail and make money. It may not be their main source of income because lots of them work in offices, and they don’t need capital to start because we already have an e-store where we give them opportunity to make up to 50-100% profit on each item.

We also have mentoring platform for people who are not in jewellery business because I went through a lot when I started. I didn’t have anyone to go to for mentoring and direction. So the platform is for young people who have business ideas and they are passionate about what they are doing.

Raregems did not just emerge. A lot of work and structuring went underground and it is not by luck that got us to where we are today. We also teach people how not to eat all their profit, however small it may be. In my family, they used to call me Ijebu businesswoman but I was looking at the future that I had to grow the business to the point where it could sustain itself. So I was saving my profit since I knew I did not have anyone to support me financially. That is part of what we teach people because no investor will invest without seeing anything on ground.

Advice to young people Nigeria is land opportunities. Our population alone gives us advantage though it maybe a disadvantage to some people. For entrepreneurs, it is a great advantage because there are lots of areas of people’s needs. There is room for people to build new businesses but our young people need to be focused and persistent. Nobody will give them money to start anything and so they should start at whatever level they are. Raregems too took a route before it got to where it is today. Young people should also be opened to knowledge. I learnt a lot from reading. One does not need to go to the four walls of the classroom.

They can learn online.

To women Though I started before I got married, today, I have five children. I am someone that plans a lot. I draw my plan as a project which I heard from my spiritual father, Bishop Oyedepo. He will always tell us to take everything in life as a project which make us to get serious. I prioritise my children first and then my business.

Women can actually work and at the same time protect their home front. Internet has made everything easy, women can work online and still have time to take care of the children. Housewives too can maximise the potentials of the Internet to become what they want to be without having stores or office and make money on daily basis.

Watchword It is the fear of God. You can not put God out of you but to put all your trust in Him. That is where I get my balance from, otherwise I will find myself swinging and not knowing where I belong.

Once you get it right with God, every other thing will be on that foundation.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 6, 2015, PAGE 37

Buhari’s strong case for Lake Chad

By Garba Shehu

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SK President Muham madu Buhari what he thinks is the chief reason for the violence and insecurity in Nigeria, including the Boko Haram terrorism in the north-east, bloody wars between cattle herdsman and farmers in central Nigeria, erosion in the east and the environmental catastrophe in the costal regions and he will say, almost upon instinct that it’s the climate change.

The new Nigerian president who promised to tackle the problem of climate change in his inaugural speech has spun a compelling narrative on the disappearing Lake Chad, the environment around the Chad basin and how these have become the problem of the economy of the neighboring states through the failure of agriculture and joblessness which in turn have provided an easy recruitment into violent extremism. It was a narrative so compelling that it literally arrested the attention of the world as 190 countries met in Paris to agree on the first global agreement on climate change. President of the United States, Barack Obama took it from here, illustrating how the drying up of the lake is becoming a major factor in the migration of Africans to the west, and on account of which, he agreed with our President that the revival of the lake had become a global imperative. It will require 14 billion U.S. Dollars to divert East African rivers to empty into the lake, the kind of money President Buahri told world leaders that his country cannot pay. He therefore asked for global assistance.

Shrinking lake President Buhari’s speech at the conference centered on two major planks: one, Nigeria under him has the political will to secure its ecological interests and two, we will work with the rest of the world to protect the environment without compromising industrial development.

Starting with the Lake Chad, the President illustrated his awareness of the risk the changing climate presents to human security by recalling the richness of the waters and surrounding agriculture of the Lake Chad that attracted settlers, allowing the settled communities to enjoy education and comparable economic wellbeing. However, with prolonged drought and desertification, Lake Chad is now onetenth of its original size,leading to poverty due to the failure of agriculture and fishing causing instability in the region that the insurgency of the Boko Haram has been able to cash in upon.

The lake that once spread its territorial waters onto the four countries of the Lake Chad Basin Commission has now been reduced to a miserly presence on the Chadian territory, denying thereby direct access to its waters to Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon.

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Traders in Baga, the major trading hub which the army just recovered from the Boko Haram said on a good day, five truckloads of fish are now transported out of town, in stark contrast to the 100 a day that carried fish from the interstate market in the past.

Beyond the drought conditions of the Lake Chad, the President successfully showed the world Nigeria’s vulnerability to climate change as manifested in the various ecological zones.

He cited the problem of soil erosion in the South as a consequence of “climate-change-related heavier and steadier than normal rainfall” that is worsening soil erosion in the subregion.

“The recent increase in the number of reported severe landslides in the South-Eastern states of the country is an attestation to the possible climate change-induced changes in erosion intensity. ” The President also reported on the sea-level rise, stating that Nigeria’s coastline is already undergoing “ pronounced morphological changes as a result of natural extreme events, such as sea surges and tidal waves.”

He projected that 35% of the highly-productive Niger Delta could be lost if nothing was done to stop the anticipated global warming-induced accelerated sea level rise of between half-ameter to one meter. Much of Lagos, the nation’s commercial capital will be abandoned if the sea waters rise by one meter.

Forests and other ecosystems, he noted, which are already under significant pressure are being affected by the worsening climate change. In particular, he warned of persistent flooding and water logging that would make the coastal regeneration difficult and the Savannah region of Northern Nigeria becoming vulnerable to the reduction of rainfall. The recent violence wracking Kaduna, FCT, Plateau,Nassarawa and Benue states pitching herdsmen and farmers was equally cited, its primary factor, no doubt being the weather.

The President listed a myriad of other implications arising for the climate change vulnerabilities of Nigeria including a major risk to access to potable water, increased energy demand for cooling; negative implications for tourism, one of the country’s fastest growing industries, as well as consequences for agriculture and food security.

End of gas flaring In line with the principles of the Paris conference, Nigeria joined 179 other countries-which together are responsible for 97 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions- to submit voluntary commitments on how and when they plan to cut emissions.

In our specific case, the President submitted a two-stage proposal- an unconditional first phase to cut our own contribution to global warming by 20 percent, and this included a decisive plan to end the flaring of

•President Buhari gas in our oil fields and a commitment to extending power supply to parts of the country that don’t enjoy electricity using solar energy and other renewable sources. On account of the latter, President Buhari accepted an invitation by Narendra Modi to join an international alliance of 121 “solar-rich” countries to advance the use of this clean source energy. The second phase of the Nigerian proposal described as equally bold would see the country cutting the emission by a total of 45 percent,however on condition of international support. The measures here include increased level of energy efficiency and a significant reduction in the use of generators while providing access to power to all Nigerians.

To do this, Nigeria has asked for support from the rich countries accused by Indian Prime Minister Modi of “powering their way to prosperity on fossil fuel” at the expense of the developing countries.

The moral underpin of the Paris conference states unequivocally that the rich countries must actually take responsibility for the current mess up of the global climate and lead the fight against

The recent increase in the number of reported severe landslides in the South-Eastern states of the country is an attestation to the possible climate change-induced changes in erosion intensity

global warming through several compensatory steps, one of which is a proposal to fund redemptive activities with an annual fund of 100 million U.S Dollars.

In addition to drawing from this, Nigeria is asking for further international support in the form of finance and investment, technology and capacity building.

All these proposals are in a document Nigeria joined other countries to table as its “Intended Nationally Determined Contribution, INDC.” In these documents, the countries of the world each outlined their goals and action plans towards a redemption of the environment and the steps, going forward they will be taking to achieve sustainable development and delivering on government priorities.

In the case of Nigeria, President Buhari approved several policies and measures that will deliver immediate development benefits which are in addition to the climate benefits.

These policies and measures, according the government document, set out to alleviate poverty,increase social welfare and inclusion, as well as improving individual wellbeing in a healthy environment. President Buhari made clear the political will on the part of the government at the center in Nigeria to tackle the catastrophic problems associated with climate change.

Some of these, as manifested by the dirty air in our cities deriving from the use of diesel generators, cars and trucks as well as the burning of wastes that in turn spew up toxic gases are matters he said government will tackle.

To achieve this massive transformation (oh,no! Transformation again?), the approved policy document sets out what it calls sector-specific strategies, policies, programs to reduce the impact of climate change through actionable measures by the federal government ,the states, local governments, civil society, private sector, communities and individuals.

In a nutshell, these measures will, hopefully improve awareness and preparedness for climate change impact; mobilize communities for climate change adaptation actions; reduce the impact of climate change on key sectors and vulnerable communities and integrate climate change adaptation into national,sectoral, state, local government planning and into the plans of universities, research and educational organizations, the civil society, the private sector and the media.

Strategies Broken down, there are strategies for agriculture (crops and livestock); fresh water and coastal water resources and fisheries; forests; biodiversity; health and sanitation; human settlement and housing;energy; transport and communications; industry and commerce; disaster, migration and security.

Equally, there are strategies for livelihoods which are about encouraging community participation including civil society organizations; the vulnerable groups who are not to be left out and strategies for education.

The overall participation by Nigeria at the Conference of Parties to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-UNFCCC) agreement at the Paris Conference on Climate Change showed a rare type of seriousness on the part of our country.

This is in terms of both preparation, pedagogy and actual participation.

While this is a true reflection of President Muahmmadu Buhari’s self-professed seriousness of commitment to issues of the environment, it is also a testimony to the solid teamwork the new ministers, Mrs. Amina Ibrahim Mohammed and Ibrahim Usman Jibrin are injecting into the ministry responsible.

It is equally important to note that this ministry which enjoys a rare combination of bureaucrats, scholars and technocrats in its staff had spent not less than one year setting out scenarios and priorities for the country at the conference, a spectacular effort that won the appreciation of the ministers and the President. No doubt, Nigeria’s historic presentation at the climate change conference is a milestone at the start of a long, tortuous journey.

In the final analysis however, it is the resolutions taken and the actions that follow that will determine the success of Nigeria at the COP in Paris and the policies and actions that will be pursued. For now however, it is gratifying that the President’s appeal to the rich nations, the UN and other world bodies has been heard and heeded, somewhat to a degree, with world leaders including India’s Modi and Barack Obama coming in tow.

•Garba is Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity .

PAGE 38 —SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 6, 2015

China, oil price slump and Nigeria’s slowing economic growth

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hina’s economy is slowing down - but are there any other economic casualties?

The short answer is: “Yes.” Africa has been adversely affected, although not so much as to snuff out the real improvement over the past two decades.

Economic growth in subSaharan Africa is, according to IMF projections, slowing to 3.8% this year, the slowest since 1999. Slower, in other words than during the global financial crisis.

That projection, released in October, is also down from the 4.4% the IMF published just three months earlier.

It is still, however, faster than the increase in population. So economic activity per person, which is a rough, if flawed indicator of average living standards, is still rising.

In all but 10 of the 45 individual African countries, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is likely to rise this year.

And next year, the IMF forecasts, Africa will regain a bit more momentum, with growth of 4.3%.

In the 11 years after the turn of the century, the economy of sub-Saharan Africa doubled in size.

In 1993, GDP per person was about the same as in 1970. By 2010, it was 50% higher.

China was an important factor, though it can’t claim all the credit. There were real improvements in political stability and economic policy in Africa, although some analysis suggests progress in this area may have stalled since the financial crisis.

And China emerged as a major source of finance for investment in new commodity extraction and helped boost the international market price for African exports.

The consultants McKinsey estimated a quarter of Africa’s economic growth between 2002 and 2007 came from energy, metals and other natural resources. There was a further indirect contribution in the shape of government spending financed by revenue from taxes on resource

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industries.

In the first decade of the century, base metal and energy prices gained by more than 160%, according to the World Bank. For precious metals, the rise was above 300%, and for agricultural commodities over 100%. Chinese demand for commodities was a key force behind these rising prices.

New projects with high costs or in inaccessible locations were made more profitable.

But now, the commodity price boom is over. Oil, copper, and aluminium have all fallen by about half from the peaks they reached in the past few years. Iron ore has fallen even more. And these are all important exports for a number of African countries.

To take one example, the international commodities producer and trader Glencore has decided to suspend production at copper mines in

Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

And China’s slowing growth and its shift towards service industries is a central part of the explanation.

The IMF says oil exporters are facing a formidable adverse shock. The big ones are Nigeria and Angola, and they generally get half of government revenues from oil-related activities.

The lower oil price will probably lead to investment in new oil production capacity being postponed. The IMF suggests this is especially likely in East Africa.

Africa’s biggest oil producers are indeed seeing slower growth this year - Nigeria 4% after 6.3% last year, and Angola 3.5% compared with 4.8% in 2014.

Strong supply from oil cartel Opec countries and from North American shale oil is perhaps the key force driving prices down. But cooling demand for oil from China is probably also involved.

Exporters of other commodities account for 40% of population and economic activity of subSaharan Africa. They too will be affected by the decline in prices, but the IMF says the impact will be less than on the oil exporters and they will also get some benefit from cheaper oil.

It will enable them to reduce

spending on fuel subsidies - or if the lower price is passed on to users, there should be a boost to consumer spending.

All the same, the World Bank is concerned about the impact. It said earlier this year: “Revenue dependence on the commodity sector remains high.”

And if governments scaled back on social services and infrastructure, “gains in poverty reduction could be lost and prospects for future growth could be damaged by growing infrastructure deficiencies and bottlenecks”.

Zambia’s central bank raised interest rates sharply a couple of weeks ago, up to 15.5%, to curb the inflation that had resulted from a weakening currency, which was in turn down to the decline in the price of the country’s copper exports.

The economic growth expected in Africa in the next few years is perhaps a bit of a disappointment after the first decade of the century. Faster growth would do more to ease the continent’s persistent poverty problem.

But even so, it is a very different and brighter prospect than what Africa went through in the 1980s. *Source: BBC

We network to move SMEs forward — Adegboyega

BY YINKA AJAYI Adetunji Adegboyega is the CEO of Hesges Synergy Nigerian Limited, a business development and investment network. In this interview, Adegboyega explains how the company aims to bring people of like minds together to create a network that helps entrepreneurs achieve their objectives. ow do you describe network development small scale business amid the challenges faced by small and medium scale business owners in Nigeria ?

Networking is the way forward to source for funds for small scale business owners. We are a business development and investment company, a network of like-minded people coming together to help each other fund small and medium scale businesses. The general idea behind the company is using the medium of crowd funding to help each other achieve whatever goal or aim they have in life. To put in another way, each subscriber to the network comes into the network with a token amount and contribution monthly. This will help every member of the network to be able to achieve his goals.

But there are micro finance banks in the country. What actually inspired the idea?

Yes, it is a known fact that Nigeria is a developing country, a country of people with diverse business ideas. It is also a known fact that a country like ours thrives more on small and medium scale enterprises.

Government cannot provide business funding and support for everybody, thus the need for individuals to develop businesses of their own that can be managed,

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•Adetunji Adegboyega sustained and make them ultimately become self reliant.

However, the key to any business development is funding and in Nigeria for example, there are two ways of securing funding; through the banks and from rich relatives and acquaintances.

Banks for obvious reasons will not fund start-ups and how many people have rich relatives to support them? Therefore you find out that a lot of people with business ideas needing as little as N50,000, N100,000, N500,000 will never be able to execute their ideas because no means of them getting these start up funds.This is why we have come up with the idea of HESGES SYNERGY or simply HS. All you need to do become a member of this network is by paying a monthly subscription fee, bring your business idea and the network will fund and develop it for you. With this alternative of business funding network, a lot of people whose dreams, ideas and passions have hitherto been unachievable, they will be able to achieve their dreams.

Amid the austerity measures,

Networking is the way forward to source for funds for small scale business owners

do you think Nigerians will buy into it?

Absolutely, because this is what everybody has been waiting for.

Our plan is to revolutionise the business environment in Nigeria.

Our slogan is a” network that changes your net-worth”. On her own is an employer of labour and we are looking into creating about 100,000 jobs, from our investment network. We are investing in and focusing on Agriculture, Real estate and retailing. So you see that the network is a viable option for that unemployed person to get job.

There is need to also point something out here that when we fund businesses, we don’t just give loans or funds to people for them to go and do whatever they want, but the funding will be on the basis or model of venture capital.

This implies that we will be part of the business from inception to fruition But it is relatively new in

Nigeria, what steps are you taking to educate Nigerians about its benefits?

Absolutely. But on like every other business the success is determined by, enlightenment and publicity is very important.

That is the reason we are taking steps to educate Nigerians about its benefits. In this regard we are utilizing all publicity platform both online and the print media.

How can entrepreneurs be part of it?

Any Nigerian can be a part of the network.

Our website,www.hesgessynergy.com, is open for registration and anybody can register online. In addition, subscription payment will also be made on our website using Remittas payment and Zenith Bank Webpay, wherein any subscriber can pay with their ATM card and anybody who doesn’t want to pay online can also go and make payment through any bank in Nigeria using the code generated during registration.

Once registration is done such a person become an active subscriber to the network and is issued a Membership Card. The card can be used at Hesges Synergy stores and partners’ stores to purchase things at a discount. Upon becoming a subscriber, such a person can submit his or her business proposal for approval and funding. Our target is every Nigerian that needs funding for their small and medium scale business. Every Nigerian entrepreneur needs wide coverage customer base for their business.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 6, 2015, PAGE 39

Over 90% products in Nigeria are foreign – T&C group of MAN .Say cosmetics industry will grow by N126trillion in 2018 STORIES BY UDEME CLEMENT

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he Chairman,Toiletries and Cosmetics Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (T&C Group of MAN), Mr.Ikpong Okon Umoh, has disclosed that foreign products occupy the major shelves in the open markets and supermarkets, with estimated market dominance of over 90 percent in Nigeria.

He said this in a at chat with Sunday Vanguard, at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the group, held in Lagos, stressing that local cosmetic products constantly struggle to fill the remaining percent space. “This explains why finished cosmetic products, which can be made

by T and C companies in the country were deliberately excluded from the imports prohibition list since 2002, when the list first appeared.

Importation of these foreign made cosmetics into Nigeria is a great disservice to our nation and a big drain on our foreign reserves, this is nothing less than economic sabotage.

According to Research and Markets, a Dublin base market research outfit, the Personal Care Products industry clocked revenues worth $379billion, about N75.8trillion in 2013, which is anticipated to grow to about $630billion, that is N126trillion in value by 2018 worldwide”, he said.

He went on, “With this kind of growth, cosmetics and toiletries products are no longer luxury items that are being regarded in our country, but a big business. It is capable of lifting Nigeria up as a viable economic entity if allowed to thrive the way it should. In Europe, America and Asia, Personal Products are considered daily essentials for over 2billion consumers. In Africa, countries like South Africa and Nigeria, the two biggest economies, have shown high growth in the last 10 years, According to Euromonitor in 2012, South Africa and Nigeria were the biggest personal care and beauty markets in the continent, valued at N772.2billion and N408.2billion respectively, and each holds a promise to achieve stable and continuous growth in the years to come.

In 2010, a company called Z Skin Cosmetics started in the US, making organic line of cosmetic from the kitchen and has grown to be one of the big contenders in the industry”.

Speaking further, he said, “With declining oil prices, government should as a matter of urgency develop this sub-sector to create wealth for our nation. Globally, the beauty market is an extraordinary, fascinating area of consumption, which in the last two decades has witnessed dramatic changes fuelled by social, cultural transformations and contributing to robust economic growth both in the developed and emerging markets. The manufacturing

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sector will save Nigeria’s economy from collapse, if government gives needed attention to develop the sector.

In South Africa, although there are multinationals with functional factories, the indigenous cosmetic firms have made significant contributions to this growth. In Nigeria, the story is different as major beneficiaries of this growth are the foreign made cosmetics imported mainly from South Africa, Asia, and other ECOWAS countries.

“T and C can be tool for national economic growth . It has enormous potential to create jobs, alleviate poverty, light up the industrial landscape of our rural communities with cottage industries, contribute to GDP in excess of the current paltry 4.7percent contribution to GDP by the manufacturing sector in the country and earn foreign exchange by way of genuine exports in a sustainable manner, if the problems and barriers are removed. Also, if our government focuses on growing SMEs. The Chinese uses two strokes to write the word crisis, one brush stroke stands for danger, the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger, but recognise the opportunity. The industry is willing and ready to work in harmony with agencies of government like SON, NAFDAC, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), The Raw Materials Research Development Council (RMRDC), the Institute of Public Analysts of Nigeria (IPAN), Chemical Society of Nigeria and others, to share

R-L: Director, Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Dr. Moses Olubayo Omojola, the Chairman, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Ikeja branch, Prince Oba Okojie, Chairman, Toiletries and Cosmetics Group of MAN, Mr. Ikpong Umoh and Mr. Niran Ade-Onojobi, who represented the Director General of MAN, Mr. Remi Ogunmefun, at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and launching of Personal Care news splash, newsletter, organised by Toiletries and Cosmetics Group of MAN, in Lagos. expertise on technology, essentials, rather than luxury ensure that items that can be items, also by our collective analytical techniques and manufactured in the country concern for the future of our product applications to do not have access to the official economy. diversity our economy, and put forex window, but in so doing, New entrants into the industry Nigeria rightly among the some our packaging inputs have been scaring away from comity of nations of emerging have been unwittingly roped venturing into manufacturing economies. into the forex prohibition list, “Our members need and would rather take their efforts to sift the wheat from the brief care to Indonesia or china government’s support and chaff is the subject of on-going and import finished cosmetics. encouragement by way of discussion between MAN and access to single digit and long After all, it is easier and CBN. We in T and C cheaper for imported cosmetics term loans to increase research wholeheartedly support the to comply with SON and and development initiative. steps taken by the CBN. “ NAFDAC regulations.

The theme, ‘Toiletries and The programme ended with “There is acute scarcity of Cosmetics; a tool for national the launch of a newsletter, economic sustainability in the foreign exchange forex for ‘Personal Care News Plash,’ procurement of raw materials era of global dwindling oil by the group as a platform and machinery due to the prices’ was driven by the to share ideas with members growing appreciation of declining earnings from crude on happenings in the sector. oil.

The CBN reacted swiftly to Personal Care products as daily

Government moves entrepreneurial development to ICT

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n line with the policy of the Federal Government to rejuvenate the nation’s economy through development of the non-oil export sectors, the government of Akwa Ibom State has taken entrepreneurial development and capacity building for youths to the areas of Information Communication Technology (ICT), modern photography, film production and other skills designed to enhance productive activities in various councils within the state.

Speaking in a state wide broadcast tagged, ‘Let us march to greatness’, to mark the sixth months of his administration, the governor of the state, Udom Emmanuel, said that the training became necessary to ensure that the youths are meaningfully engaged in economic activities that will not only create jobs for the people, but would stimulate entrepreneurial development across the state.

He said, “The government has done a lot of projects in agriculture, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), so much that, we sent some of youths to be trained outside the country, for them to be well equipped in modern skills of agriculture capable of stimulating export activities in the sector, in the long-run. So,

we decided to move to other areas to expand the scope of training for our indigenes, especially the youths. We are training our people on a lot of skills with a view to enhancing greater growth of Small businesses in the state. So, key among the areas we are working on, is ICT. ICT becomes imperatives because of the new and global trend of technological advancement.”

He added, “We realised that we need innovation and high level of technology to move ahead like the advanced countries. Today, the oil prices at the international market are not rising, and this is the time for us to invest more in developing the SMEs subsector to enhance economic growth and development. I commend the people of Akwa Ibom for keeping faith with this administration, as we are working tirelessly on the mandate entrusted on us to promote industrialisation, wealth creation, political inclusion, infrastructure consolidation and job creation.”

“I express delight that this administration has recorded outstanding achievements in industrialisation and infrastructure development through ground breaking ceremonies, reactivation of industries, and interestingly,

Pixture of Information Communication Technology (ICT) Platform Akwa Ibom is now experiencing regular electricity supply for industries to thrive.

We must ensure that the light of the new dawn of faith in the capacity to be great in unity and brotherliness remain alive, even as the administration bears no grudge against those seeking redress concerning the last elections from the judiciary.

We must work together for development and continuity in the state, which the last administration started. The immediate past administrated initiated and completed a lot of developmental projects to

develop the state and to increase the self esteem of Akwa Ibom person, which now earns our people recognition within and outside Nigeria. Therefore, this administration would take the state to new heights of superior performance. Today, Akwa Ibom remains a condusive business place for influx of Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) to increase economic activities in various areas. We have good road network and other infrastructure for businesses to thrive in our state. ”

PAGE 40—SUND AY 40—SUNDA

Vanguard, DECEMBER 6, 2015

10 YEARS AFTER PORT HARCOURT WORST PLANE CRASH

‘We will always remember the 60 Loyola Jesuit kids’

BY EMMANUEL UGWEJEH SJ

On Thursday, December 10, it will be exactly 10 years since the Loyola Jesuit College community was struck by a tragedy of immense proportions.

60 of our students perished in Nigeria’s worst air crash. Some of the students were in year 7(JS1) while some others were in their last year of high school.

Naturally, they were all happy to go home to celebrate Christmas.

And their families were waiting to receive them with joy. But everything turned into a long, debilitating grief with the plane crash.

Some of the students had siblings in the same plane— some had two siblings; some had one. The tragedy was colossal as some families were totally wiped out.

Traumatic as it was for the families that lost their children in the flight, the tragedy also exposed the ineptitude, the poor state of the emergency response strategies and the lack of care for Nigerian lives. First, there was no water to put out the fire of the burning plane and then there was no quick emergency response. Even Kechi Okwuchi, who survived the horror, needed to be flown to South Africa because the Nigerian hospital she was taken to was not equipped enough to deal with her injuries. And the airambulance that flew her to Johannesburg was brought into Port Harcourt from South Africa!

It was a monumental tragedy for the college not only because the 60 students represented about ten percent of the total student population but also because those students were some of the best brains and the most talented in the country.

From whatever sphere you looked at it, it was devastating.

The crash caused despair in many hearts. But there was also a determination to ensure that evil did not triumph; that something good came out of a dreadful event.

At the height of the staggering shock, gruesome sorrow and immense losses, there was also an outpouring of commiseration and support. The whole world stood still, identifying with us in our moment of sorrow and pain.

Nigerians from all walks of life came out in solidarity with the grieving families, Loyola Jesuit College and the nation. There were solidarity and condolence visits. President Olusegun Obasanjo, accompanied by the then Education Minister, Mrs. Chinwe Obaji; Aviation Minister, Prof. Babalola Borishade; as well as Prof. Jerry C M Y K

Gana, visited the college to condole with the school authority.

Mothers, including many parents of LJC students, protested in Lagos and Abuja, demanding changes in aviation, education and health care systems. Perhaps, the most powerful demonstration of solidarity came from the bereaved parents themselves who visited one another and participated actively in the funerals of the children.

Amazingly, they showed unimaginable depth of faith and strength in a most depressing moment for any parent.

President Obasanjo called a meeting of the stakeholders in the aviation industry. Everyone and every agency involved in aviation and responsible for safety of lives were summoned to the meeting. This meeting and several others by stake-holders in the industry produced several assurances and promises. One of the promises was in line with J’amais encore!—Never again!

Both in public and in private, promises that this crash must not happen again were palpable.

There were calls for urgent reforms not only in the aviation industry but also in the Fire Service and Emergency and Rescue Services.

The assurances and promises gave everyone a sense of relief and hope; relief because the problems were identified so that necessary steps could be taken to address the causes of the crash and poor emergency services and hope that such carnage would not happen again. There were still other promises. The college, its students, the bereaved parents (who had formed a support group called “1012 Parents”) and the ParentTeacher Association (PTA) of the college promised to always remember the 60 students and to work towards realizing their dreams to make Nigeria better.

Solidarity, commiseration and promises helped mourners to assuage the despair.

‘Has anything changed?’

However, as the plans for the tenth memorial anniversary of the 60 students got underway recently, one of my students sought to ascertain if the promises made after the crash to ensure safer skies have been fulfilled. He asked, “Father, has anything changed in the aviation industry and emergency agencies after ten years?” Well, I asked him to go and find out for himself. Through the Concerned Students Club of the college (a club that was formed by students following the crash to reflect on the issues that affect the nation), he along with his peers visited

•Wreckage of the Sosoliso plane in Port Harcourt

Some of the students had siblings in the same plane—some had two siblings; some had one. The tragedy was colossal as some families were totally wiped out the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (F.A.A.N.) and the Fire Service as well as other related agencies. They interviewed the officials of those agencies. What did they find out ten years after the crash?

Whatever they discovered as an answer to the question, the bereaved parents (the “1012 Parents”), the college community and well-meaning Nigerians have decided that whether or not things changed in those agencies, the 60 students “shall not have died in vain.”

These groups continue to work to actualize that dream. Given their innocence, and to help us remember them always, we call them our angels—Our 60 Angels.

It is noteworthy that the then Governor of Rivers State, Dr. Peter Odili, donated some money and land on behalf of the state to the North-West Africa Province of the Society of Jesus, the owners of Loyola Jesuit College, Abuja, to establish a similar school in Port Harcourt.

Governor Rotimi Amaechi, who took over from Dr. Odili, also continued the immense support from Rivers State. After moving to the third piece of property as a result of staggering problems, buildings for Jesuit Memorial College (JMC) and a non-fee paying primary school for the villagers started on a 21-hectare of land in Mbodo and Elikpokwu-Odu, Aluu.

Despite a long period of

struggles and problems— paucity of funds, confounding community issues—associated with establishing a college that would not compromise on the standards of excellence for which Loyola Jesuit College is globally renown, Jesuit Memorial College opened its gates to its pioneer students on October 17, 2013. The Loyola Academy, the primary school section, opened its gates a year later. The message is simple: While the crash brought despair to many hearts, the establishment of Jesuit Memorial College has brought hope that our students “shall not have died in vain”—that something good will come out of a horrible experience.

Appropriately, therefore, the motto for the new college is “Hope Reborn.” Hope that those who go through the Jesuit education offered by JMC will make Nigeria a better country, the dream of our 60 Angels.

Fittingly, too, the mythical phoenix bird, the mascot of the new college, symbolically depicts hope rising from despair and immortality rising from mortality, as it is in “the Parable of the Phoenix”.

Before October 17, 2013, however, the college has always remembered its 60 Angels. In Loyola Jesuit College itself, through the generosity of some parents and benefactors, a Memorial Hall was built. The same desire to ensure that the students “shall not have died in vain,” spurred the Parent Teacher Association (PTA), led

by Mrs. Ochuko Momoh, to go on a fund-raising drive to build five blocks of 60 flats for the staff of Loyola Jesuit College.

On November 29, 2015, one block out of the five blocks was commissioned. Hopefully, the effort of Mrs. Momoh, her team and generous donors will help to complete the other four blocks of flats.

However, we also know that immortalizing the 60 Angels should not only be on brick and mortar. It is also by remembering their virtues.

Memorial events in their honour have held since 2005. Memorial Masses in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja, candle-light procession in Abuja and advocacy for safer skies in Lagos have held every year. The Loyola Union (LU: made up of 60

students and staff of the college) has organized an annual memorial drama since 2007.

The event has brought out the best artistry in our students who act the dramas and it has helped them to reflect the talents of some of those 60 students. The hard work and the sacrifices required by these dramas help student-actors to perfect these virtues that are needed to work for a better Nigeria—the dream of our angels.

Miraculous survival Come December 10, 2015, we will as always remember our 60 Angels on this tenth anniversary of their death. We will again have our candle-light procession. But this time it will be at the Port Harcourt International Airport where the accident happened. We will unveil the monument in Jesuit Memorial College in their honour and lay the foundation stone for the boys’ hostel in Jesuit Memorial College. We will also be celebrating Kechi Okwuchi, the survivor of the crash, who is expected in the country to be part of these events. We will be celebrating her miraculous survival and resilience.

Our goal during this tenth anniversary is to let the world know that we remember our 60 students and the circumstances that led to their death. We want to remind all Nigerians that we are a people who never forget. In always remembering our angels through these activities and events, we will be remembering our promises of “J’amais encore!” And “they shall not have died in vain!” We will also be remembering the “Parable of the Phoenix” by Yacov Azriel and the epitaph written above the pictures of our beloved 60 students in the Memorial Hall of the college, taken from William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’: Remember not the pathos of our plight Or the tears of our tooyouthful end.

Mourn us not, for we became a light, Eden shining still through deathless night, On all who first pure love would comprehend.

• Father Emmanuel Ugwejeh, SJ is the President, Loyola Jesuit College

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 6, 2015, PAGE 41

KOGI SUPPLEMENTARY POLL

BY LEVINUS NWABUGHIOGU

E

ven after the court ruling that all parties involved in yesterday’s Kogi State supplementary governorship election should participate, tempers continue to flare within the All Progressives Congress, APC. What does the scenario portend for Nigeria’s emerging democracy? And what should Nigerians expect eventually? Sunday Vanguard in this special piece tries to find an answer.

Now that the Kogi State supplementary governorship poll has taken place, one thing is sure: some feathers have been ruffled in the All Progressives Congress, APC. The party was plunged into unprecedented quagmire in the political history of Nigeria on the heels of the demise of its gubernatorial candidate in state, Prince Abubakar Audu. Audu died on the verge of victory. He polled over 240, 000 votes with his closest challenger and sitting governor of the state, Idris Wada, trailing behind with about 199, 000 votes.

Meanwhile, the election was declared inconclusive by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. The situation presented a constitutional question as the statute books did not envisage a scenario like that. Had Audu been declared winner before his death, his running mate, Hon. James Faleke, in line with Section 181 of the 1999 C M Y K

APC and the shape of the battle to come!

Constitution, would have been sworn-in, in his stead.

The Section reads: (1) “If a person duly elected as Governor dies before taking and subscribing the Oath of Allegiance and Oath of Office, or is unable for any reason whatsoever to be sworn-in, the person elected with him as Deputy Governor shall be sworn-in as Governor and he shall nominate a new DeputyGovernor who shall be appointed by the Governor with the approval of a simple majority of the House of Assembly of the State.

(2) “Where the persons duly elected as Governor and Deputy Governor of a State die or are for any reason unable to assume office before the inauguration of the house of Assembly, the Independent National Electoral Commission shall immediately conduct an election for a Governor and Deputy Governor of the State.”

The party was plunged into unprecedented quagmire in the political history of Nigeria on the heels of the demise of its gubernatorial candidate in state, Prince Abubakar Audu

But the Kogi case was the exact opposite of the scenario painted in the Constitution. Consequently, the development left everyone confused.

A solution came from the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, Abubakar Malami.

Malami stated that the APC was at liberty to substitute the deceased candidate. And based on the pronouncement, the party went to the drawing board.

Its National Chairman, Chief John Oyegun, announced the intention of the party to conduct a fresh primary election to elect Audu’s replacement.

Meanwhile, the AGF’s position was seen by many as partisan. They reasoned that he would have allowed INEC to ask the court to determine the way forward.

Some legal minds and social commentators also saw Malami’s statement as executive malfeasance. But

despite that, its preponderance subsisted.

And so, APC maintained its position to find a substitute.

Oyegun said: “We lost our candidate for the election in Kogi State on Sunday and, since then, we have concentrated, as a party, on paying him the right respect that is due to a man of his calibre. Let me take this opportunity to express the very sincere condolence of the entire party nationwide to the family of Prince Abubakar Audu and to the people of Kogi who have just gone through the rigors of an election, indicated their preference for Prince Abubakar Audu, only to lose him at the very moment of victory. We were represented at the funeral by almost the entire executive and that is now behind us. Now, matters of state must now come back to the fore.

“The first point I have to make is that, yes, INEC has made a pronouncement as to the election being inconclusive, but as at this moment, we are yet to get anything in writing from INEC specifying the details of the polling units that are involved and a clear definition of whether we are talking about, in their consideration about registered voters or those with permanent voter card.

But those are matters of details and when we get them from INEC, we will proceed from that point.

“Also,the Chief Law Officer of the federation has made

Continues on page 42

PAGE 42—SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 6, 2015

•The electorate...Didn't envisage Kogi logjam

APC and the shape of the battle to come!

Continued from page 41 his views known on how things should develop from this stage and he has made a pronouncement to the effect that all that is required is for the APC to go through the process of providing a substitute to our late mourned candidate.

“The implication being that thereafter, the supplement election to conclude the process of electing a new governor for Kogi will then be put in place. So, as a party, we are going to proceed with the process of organising primary to provide a substitute candidate for Prince Abubakar Audu. That is the situation at this point in time”.

Back in Kogi, Governor Idris, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, approached the court, asking to be declared the winner as the person with the highest number of votes after Audu. The reason he advanced was that Audu’s votes died with him. The court, on Friday, threw away his prayers and asked him to go the polls and complain later to the election petitions tribunal. But as laughable as the PDP candidate’s claims might sound, Wada may still have a case. The law is silent here. And unless the courts C M Y K

finally say otherwise, Wada thinks he has a case.

Similarly, Audu’s running mate, Faleke, wrote both INEC and APC, asking to be declared winner of the election. He argued that he ran

on a joint ticket with Audu and so, it was unreasonable and out of place for any substitute to inherit the votes by standing election in only 91 polling units.

The party ignored him and substituted Audu with the second runner-up in the primary election that produced Audu as the governorship candidate, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, and subsequently, submitted Faleke’s name as running mate. But Faleke has since dissociated himself from the arrangement and also approached the court to declare him winner. Like Wada, the court has asked him to participate in the election. It was not clear if he will participate in the poll. But will he later go the tribunals?

Would the party remain the same or would there be factions afterwards? Do we have a precedent here? Only the courts would say.

On the day Bello emerged, Faleke told journalists: “The issue of Kogi State was paramount in the mind of National Leaders and especially the National Chairman of our

party that he wanted a solution to it.

“However, we met for about two hours as you have observed and, of course, we discovered that the meeting that we were invited for was

just a mere briefing rather than it being where we could have deliberated and resolve the quagmire we find ourselves in, we were only briefed about the position of the party.

“The party told us they had nominated Alhaji Yahaya Bello. And, of course, we made it clear, as the political family of Prince Abubakar Audu that it is not acceptable and we are not going with it and I personally observed that my name has been submitted to INEC as deputy governorship candidate to pair with

I assure you that after all these hullabaloo about Kogi, the court will make a pronouncement and will able able to put something in the Constitution that will take care of such an occurrence in future

Alhaji Yahaya Bello, and I told the National Chairman that ‘I have submitted a letter this morning distancing myself from that decision’ that on no ground will I want to be associated with the decision of the party to pair me with Alhaji Yahaya Bello because I am already governor-elect.

“I also told him that, as a family, Kogi State political family, we are not taking part in that election. My name cannot be submitted because I was not even consulted in the first instance.

“The governor-elect cannot become another deputy governorship candidate.

“I want to make it very clear that Alhaji Yahaya Bello did not take part in all our campaign process and we are only contesting election in 91 polling units out of 2, 548 polling units and we have made it very clear that, if they go ahead to conduct election because I have pulled out, that election would be challenged in the court of law, it will be null and void.

“We won’t be addressing you today if the party to court to challenge INEC and Mr. Chairman told us directly that the party will not go to court and since the party is not going to court, we have taken it upon ourselves to challenge the decision”.

Meanwhile, the modalities for the primary never saw the light of day. But a substitute emerged on Monday.

But before then, different interests emerged rooting for the parties involved in the Kogi debacle. Outside Bello and Faleke, a group called on APC to replace Audu with

his first son, Mohammed.

The demand raged until Monday. Bello was picked without a primary election.

Of course, the developments have created factions in the party.

Indeed, these are trying times for Nigeria’s jurisprudence. Recall that a similar scenario arose in 1999 when, after winning the Adamawa State governor election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was picked by former President Olusegun Obasanjo as his running mate. There were fireworks on whether Atiku’s running mate could just step into his shoes and be sworn-in as governor. The Supreme Court resolved the matter in favour of the running mate, Boni Haruna. This historically gave birth to Section 181 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

A similar situation has presented itself for the courts to resolve.

In the light of the matter, Sunday Vanguard spoke to a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Mr. Yusuf Ali, on the implication of the matter for Nigeria’s “nascent” democracy.

“It is a good development as far as I know and I will tell you why. It is from events like this that democracy gets strengthened because the parties concerned are compelled by circumstances to approach the courts. And when they approach the courts, the courts will be able to give flesh to the bones of our laws and the Constitution. Now, it is clear to everyone that what happened in Kogi is unprecedented in the sense that there is nothing in our law that envisaged such an occurrence,”Ali said.

“And you recall that in 1999, it was a similar circumstance that gave birth to the Section 181 of the Constitution when, after winning the governorship election of Adamawa State, former President Obasanjo picked Atiku before he was sworn-in to be his running mate. The argument then was like, ‘look, his deputy could not step in’ and so forth. Of course, the Supreme Court resolved it eventually. And so, it was from that decision of the Supreme Court that the Constitution was amended to insert Section 181.

“So, I assure you that after all these hullabaloo about Kogi, the court will make a pronouncement and will able able to put something in the Constitution that will take care of such an occurrence in future.

“All living Constitutions, even the American Constitution, circumstances and events will give an opportunity for the courts to intervene. That’s why I don’t

like these series of amendment of the Constitution because we have not used this Constitution sufficiently enough. Let use the Constitution as it is. Let matters like this evolve, let’s the courts intervene and then we will see where we will be”.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 6, 2015, PAGE 43

We warned that Audu could die – Suleman

BY OLALEKAN BILESANMI

A

postle Johnson Suleman, founder of the Auchi, Edo State based Omega Fire and Miracles Ministries, is a motivational and faithbuilding teacher. Suleman, in this interview, shares his ‘prophecies from God to nations and individuals’ while demonstrating, that, by faith and actions of leadership, there is great hope that people will be impressed with how God affects lives and then turn to God in reality.

Specifically, he says he warned that the late APC governorship candidate, Prince Abubakar Audu, could die in the middle of election.

Your ministry appears to growing across the world, and you continue to open more, branches. What inspired this spread?

Christ Jesus is the secret of the growth of Omega Fire and Miracles Ministries. We employ this dynamic approach to winning souls for Christ and this approach regularly attracts God to the multitude because we demonstrate kindness to the people, thereby giving evangelism clearer meaning and making it more effective than mere giving sermon.

The ministry is also spreading fast with “Celebration TV” which we established to take the gospel into the homes, schools, offices and businesses of millions across the world. We have achieved a lot in revealing God in His true form as well as restoring destinies in millions of homes across the world. We have charitable outreaches like ‘Voice of Fire’, ‘Turning Point’, ‘New Anointing’, ‘My Turn’, ‘Moment of Grace’, ‘Freedom Hour ’, ‘Saved’, ‘Jehovah The Doctor ’, ‘Power To Excel’, and several others, with which we seek to educate leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick and teach the next generation, while conducting massive charitable works. Apart from this, I write books that are not just inspirational but also teach true friendship as well as helping to develop

Nigerians have suffered for too long and they have become so impatient they don’t need someone to preach to them about tomorrow

relationships in God’s ways even as we use the approach to find a caring and creative ways to evangelize. Profits from the books are used to provide assistance to the poor, victims of disasters, and the diseased.

Apart from evangelising around the world, you are also noted for fore-telling events. Among the several you have foretold, can you tell us few?

I want to start with the latest, and that was the death of Abubakar Audu in the Kogi State election. I was at a crusade in our Houston Texas branch on November 7, 2015, when God revealed to me that a popular politician in Nigeria could die in the middle of an election.

I told the nation. Then there was the event on September 20, 2015 when I said I saw that there was going to be fresh bombings in Borno and I asked Nigerians to go into prayer.

Many had believed that with the coming of President Muhammadu Buhari to power, the Boko Haram bombings were going to stop but God said not yet. Also, on Sunday October 25, 2015, I told the world that I saw an aircraft of a foreign nation crashing with no casualty. That later

•Apostle Suleman

happened to be Dynamic Airways which caught fire but no life was lost. All the events where these prophecies were announced were aired live on our ministry’s Celebration TV. On May 29, 2015, God spoke through me and I said it that the Buhari government would fight churches. Not long after, the Kaduna State governor, ElRufai, shut down a church in Kaduna.

This particular warning was repeated on August 28 and September 6, 2015. On June 26 and July 6, 2015, I foresaw fire outbreak and buildings collapse in Lagos, which came to pass. On that same June 26, I warned of an inferno at Onitsha market, which also came to pass, because people ignored these warnings and refused to seek God’s face over them. Also, I’m the first man of God that foresaw the demise of Chief (Mrs.) HID Awolowo. During the September Fire and Miracle Night, I did warn of the impending death of a prominent female figure that will touch the nation.

Most men of God rarely speak about their wives.

Would you like to share the role of your wife in running the church?

Any victory by the family

in the war against the devil is ultimately reflected in the society. For a Christian family, particularly in the leadership, the victory is mirrored on the church.

Therefore, this is the result of the role a woman plays in the family and in the church.

God has blessed me with a wonderful woman, a firebrand evangelist and a mass communication expert who has the rare privilege of sharing in the anointing, and who has remained steadfast and untiring at building the home, the church and society in general. She is Pastor (Mrs.) Lizzy Johnson Suleman, a mother and wife whose everyday efforts are reflecting massively in the success of the church.

What is your latest message to Nigerians?

I recall, in March this year, I told the nation that in six months’ time, Nigerians would want to stone President Buhari. The manifestation is there now.

Yes, the President means well, but then, Nigerians have suffered for too long and they have become so impatient they don’t need someone to preach to them about tomorrow. They want economic miracle to start happening right now, which is understandable. I warned

in my prophecies of January 2015 that the Naira would go for 200 to one US dollar. The economy has remained unstable despite the change promises and high hopes.

But I foresee that the incoming year is the year of reckoning for political thieves, leaders who looted the nation’s treasury. 2016 is the year they will be called to account for their deeds.

How do you feel when people react to prophecies that do not come to pass?

According to the Bible, prophesying is to speak forth and to speak by the Spirit.

These words might contain past, present and future events, instruction or warning. Depending on the type of message that comes forth; it may or may not be averted.

That is left to God. The fact that a prophecy did not come to pass does not mean that the Spirit never said it. What may happen in that instance is that necessary steps were taken; prayer and fasting, to forestall negative occurrences. And whether we believe in the prophecy or not, it does not change the fact that God truly called the servant through whom He has spoken, neither does it make God who spoke through His servant a liar.

C M Y K

PAGE 44—SUNDAY

Vanguard, DECEMBER 6, 2015

Darius Ishaku stopped people from drinking water with animals in Taraba — Sylvanus Giwa •Says gov transforming state’s economy

Fortune often favours the enterprising; the trip to Abuja to obtain a copy of the Taraba State Tribunal judgment yielded an extra dividend. A chance meeting with Sylvanus Giwa, Senior Special Assistant to Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku, DDI, resulted in this interview. Giwa is a professional broadcaster. He started his career with CHANNELS TV before moving to Taraba to serve as GM, Taraba TV, Jalingo and SSA to three governors.

BY DELE SOBOWALE

W

HAT do you consider as Governor Ishaku’s top priority in Taraba State?

Peace and ethnic harmony.

Governor Darius Ishaku considers peace as a key factor in his Rescue Agenda because, without it, nothing else will work. Taraba, as a multi-ethnic state, has experienced a couple of violent clashes on ethnic grounds and he started by working down to the roots of these clashes. So far, it is a success story.

What would be the second most important item on his agenda?

Provision of potable water.

This is a chief concern of the governor and he demonstrated it right from his first day in office. He was worried about the lingering water crisis in both the rural and urban parts of the state where he witnessed humans sharing water source with animals. Within 48 hours, water was flowing in pipes within the metropolis.

His pro-active step led him to seek collaboration with the African Development Bank on a water project across the state. As we speak, work is is progress and the rural communities will soon feel the impact in no distant time.

Governor Ishaku often says “water is life”. So he intends to give life to the people of Taraba State.

Economies run on power, but most states depend on the Federal Government for power supply. Is the governor doing anything different?

Many businesses are suffering greatly due to insufficient power supply.

Many investments cannot be made because the cost of providing power is excessive.

C M Y K

He was worried about the lingering water crisis in both the rural and urban parts of the state where he witnessed humans sharing water source with animals •Sylvanus Giwa The governor made contact with his former constituency, the Federal Ministry of Power, and a boost from two to 18 megawatts was recorded.

Residents have testified to improvement in power supply and business men and women are smiling to the bank now.

The Governor intends to turn the State’s fortune around through its economy and power is a key factor. He also fast-tracked the counterpart responsibility of the State towards the completion of a 400 megawatt hydropower project in collaboration with United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, UNIDO.It is located in the Manbilla plateau and it currently supplies an indigenous tea plantation and factory from where HIGHLAND tea is produced, distributed and even exported. The power plant also supplies the surrounding communities with uninterrupted power supply. The idea is to expand these benefits to the rest of the state. Taraba might become the first state to achieve uninterrupted power

supply if all goes according to plan.

Diversification of the Nigerian economy has become an imperative with declining price of crude oil.

Some experts think tourism is a money-spinner. How is Taraba State planning to tap into this?

The Governor is working on exploiting the Tourism potential of the Manbilla plateau.

As you know there are millions of mountain and hill climbers in the world and they will travel any distance to tackle a new challenge.

However, to make this possible the road leading up to the top is under reconstruction, PW has been remobilized and funded and work has started again. In addition, efforts will be made henceforth to ensure that the road, once rehabilitated will not again fall into disrepair. The intention is that once access is made possible, even the hitherto obscure Gasha Gumti National Park will attract tourists and open up the state to many socioeconomic opportunities.

Small and Medium Scale

Enterprises provide most of the jobs in developed countries. How is the Governor planning to expand the access of men, and especially women to credit for their micro-enterprises?

A new approach is underway to accessing microfinance loans for small businesses under the Governor’s watchful eyes to depart from the past rocking chair pattern where much is said but less is done for growing small businesses.

Unemployment is a chronic problem fuelling other social maladies. Yet, governments alone cannot employ everybody. What is being done in this regard?

Aware of the teeming population of job seekers one of the Governor’s plans is to provide avenues that could absorb these job seekers outside government employment. He has been canvassing for private investment by multi-national companies and planning creation of conducive operational atmosphere for them in the state. So far some have made advanced

moves in acquiring land to set up structures for businesses in the state. Dangote Group is one of such companies and many more are on the way.

Most governors concentrate their attention on the state capital and the major cities and towns. But, Taraba has a lot of rural communities. Any plans to integrate them into the transformation agenda?

The rural population is at the heart of the administration of Governor Darius Ishaku and they are set for full attention including improved infrastructures, electricity, water, social and health amenities.

The Civil Service holds the key to any government’s success. What are the plans to ensure that the service performs optimally in support of the agenda?

The Governor understands the rot in a typical civil service where some privileged few highjack the system for personal gains through overblown payroll and ghost workers. A staff audit was commissioned by the Governor and the outcome is already telling positively on the state’s resources. Leakages are being blocked.

Getting to Jalingo is a tedious exercise. The nearest airport with regular flights is Yola – more than three hours drive away. How long will this continue?

In the next few weeks Jalingo airport will start operating regular commercial flights. Arrangements have been concluded with an airline to start operating Lagos-Abuja-Jalingo flights and bring Taraba State into the Age of Aviation.

The question on everybody’s mind right now is: do you believe the Tribunal was wrong in its verdict?

Absolutely. How can someone who won in only five local governments be declared winner when the other party won in eleven local governments and fifty-seven per cent voted for the PDP and rejected the APC candidate?

Finally, do you miss the media and are you anxious to return to it?

I considered leaving until Governor Ishaku emerged, His leadership style changed my mind and I strongly believe he will succeed in making Taraba State the envy of other states in Nigeria.

SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 6, 2015, PAGE 45

Ondo 2016: Mimiko’s men battle for PDP’s ticket

T

he race to succeed Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State as the election of his successor holds in October 2016 is gathering momentum.

Members of his ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) are indicating interest in the party’s ticket to contest the election.

The race is no less intense among members of the State Executive Council.

Analysts argued that members of the Mimiko cabinet may have developed interest in the PDP ticket because of the belief that only the party can rob itself of the governorship seat as the opposition in the state is adjudged not formidable enough to wrest power from the ruling PDP. Though there is an unwritten understanding in Ondo that the next governor should emerge from the northern or southern senatorial district, aspirants have emerged from the three senatorial districts of the state.

Those who have signified interest to succeed Mimiko from the PDP include the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Aderotimi Adelola, from Araromi-Obu, Odigbo local government area in the southern senatorial district.

Highly respected for his administrative prowess and ability to carry people along, the SSG, often referred to as Mr Stabilizer, is believed to be a major factor in the success story of the Mimiko administration.

The Commissioner for Environment and Physical Planning, Sola Ebiseni, is another member of the state EXCO eyeing the PDP ticket from the southern senatorial district.

An experienced member of the cabinet, Ebiseni, from Ilaje local government area, is a respected voice in Ondo who has functioned in government in various capacities.

Also making spirited efforts to clinch the ticket from the same district is a former Special Adviser to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta, Hon. Kingsley Kuku.

He is from Ese-Odo local government in Ondo South, considered to be a minority in the state. But the former member of the state House of Assembly is making the best of his youthfulness by concentrating his campaign on youths in the party.

Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Dr Bamidele Dada, popularly known as BAM, is from the northern senatorial district, and has demonstrated great confidence in his new pursuit by openly coming out with the ambition to get the PDP gubernatorial ticket.

What is going on for him, sources said, is the fact that he is from the northern senatorial district favoured to produce the next governor.

Akogun Tokunboh Modupe,

•Gov. Olusegun Mimiko a.k.a TPT, is another name from the northern senatorial district that has remained a strong contender for the Ondo PDP governorship ticket.

Though seen more as a businessman than a politician, Modupe’s ambition, if genuine, could not be wished away as sources in his Ute, Ose local government area, in the northern district, said the public relations expert is very close to the grassroots.

A former Speaker in the state and ex- TESCOM Chairman, Batista Bello, from Akoko, is also an aspirant from the North District, just as a former National

Sports Commission Chairman, Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye.

Dr Pius Osunyikanmi, a former Commissioner in the state and incumbent Head, National Technical Aid Corps, is believed to be nursing the same ambition of clinching the party’s ticket.

But Osunyikanmi’s ambition, those who are in the know say, may not see the light of day for many reasons.

He is from Ile Oluji, considered to in the same locality with Ondo town where the incumbent governor hails from.

Besides,the former aide to Mimiko is said to be fighting his

political father, the governor, whom he has in recent time publicly derided.

His body language is said to have sent tongues wagging as it is believed he is on his way out of the PDP. Some people have suggested also that he may be disposed to the government at the centre, controlled by the APC, to sustain his present office, being a federal appointment.

The surprise and latest inclusion on the list of those eyeing the PDP ticket is the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the state, Eyitayo Jegede (SAN).

His interest in the governorship race came as a surprise to many,because, according to sources in the Ondo PDP, the unassuming legal luminary is not a politician.

In fact, sources close to the seat of power in Ondo mentioned that it was a Herculean task for Mimiko to make him serve with him for a second term as he was said to have wanted to opt out of the cabinet to face his law profession before the end of the governor’s first term in office.

Why his sudden interest in governorship has become an issue as party members feared his ambition may pitch his central senatorial district against the remaining two districts in the state if the unwritten zoning formula for the governorship of the state is anything to go by.

Sanction corrupt judges to save our democracy — Okoroafor

BY TONY NWANKWO

O

nyeka Amadi Okoroafor was senator representing Abia North in the Senate. A former National Democratic coalition, NADECO, chieftain, he joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) before the general elections that brought President Muhammadu Buhari to power. He speaks on national issues.

Excerpts:.

You were a PDP top shot in Abia State and left the party during the elections. Can you let us know what informed your decision to leave the party for the APC. My decision was informed by the character of PDP as a political party that emerged during the Goodluck Jonathan era which espoused values that were diametrically opposed to the ones I hold dear. Such values which became symbolic with the PDP were characterized by the absence of internal democracy which led to the imposition of candidates, mismanagement of public funds, perpetuation of civilian dictatorship at various ties. These were exactly the values we fought against in NADECO during Abacha dictatorship. So it was natural that people like myself who became the vocal few could not be accommodated in the same umbrella that harboured the

people who were perpetuating such values. The situation was made worse in my native Abia state where the then Governor T.A Orji who never won election but was imposed by Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu was later imposed on our party by the then President Jonathan and his wife. When the man was eventually accepted into the PDP shortly before the 2011 Governorship elections, he did not have anything to show for the four years he ran the state from 2007 – 2011. He therefore went begging for forgiveness. He said he was under the bondage of Orji Uzor Kalu. That he wished to be given another opportunity to redeem his name. We oblige him thinking he was genuine. We talked to our people and eventually he was voted in a second time. That was the free and fair election he had ever won in his life. But what did he do with the mandate which was exercised mostly during an oil boom period. Nothing! As we speak, Abia is rated the least developed state in Nigeria. There is a complete collapse of both rural and urban infrastructure, with workers being owed several month arrears of salary and allowances. He never conducted election for the 8 years he was governor into the councils but used boot licking lackeys as caretaker committees to fleece the council funds. Abia State finances is in a

•Okoroafor mess today, with several banks being owed. That was why our people voted PDP out, but the election was heavily rigged by T.A Orji and his son Chinedu Orji, using a compromised inec and security agents posted to the state.

It was rigged so that they can continue to have a criminal hold on the state resources.

How would you assess the Buhari Presidency so far?

President Muhammadu Buhari is doing quite well. My honest assessment is that he was God sent to help Nigeria. I am aware of the criticism against him for being slow in setting up his cabinet. I believe such criticism is misplaced. Buhari is taking his time to lay a solid foundation for

his cabinet. But more importantly, his anti-corruption drive is the most important campaign Nigeria has ever waged. At least, for now, people are beginning to be afraid of getting involved in corruption. People now know that if you are caught in corrupt practices, you are on your own.

Such fear of corruption is the foundation of developed societies.

Again, you take a look at the quality of people he has selected as ministers. You can see that they are first class materials. Look at people like former Governor Fashola, you remember that Fashola and Tinubu turned Lagos around from being the dirtiest city in the world to a first class city all within a decade. Look at even people like Emeka Enyilamah who is a first class technocrat and has done so much in terms of attracting direct foreign investment into the economy.

These are people that will help President Buhari to turn things around.

Now, the issue of Tribunal Judgments. While some of such judgment have been applauded, some others have attracted criticisms. Whats your take in that The tribunal judgments are very important for the growth or otherwise of our democracy. This is because a process that took

several billions of Naira to organize, and other investments in terms of human and maternal resources can be ruined by the decision of a few men which is why President Buhari must take the issue of corrupt judges seriously.

Agreed it is outside his constitutional purview, yet he can influence the National Judicial Council to sanction corrupt judges for the survival of our democracy.

Infact if there is any segment of the society that should not be corrupt, it should be the judiciary.

Allowing judges to get away with corrupt practices is inimical to the growth and development of our democracy. The case of Abia state comes to mind. The state has been held hostage by a criminal gang for as long as I can remember.

During elections they pay off INEC with part of the looted funds, they pay off security men and they pay off corrupt judges and then the looting spree continues.

They recycle themselves into power. The kind of Jankara judgment that tribunal judges dished out in Abia recently will not be tolerated in any other part of the country. Infact Abia, Rivers and Akwa Ibom have the same characteristics. The elections were rigged the same way because they were perpetrated by the same PDP associates. But while Rivers and Akwa Ibom tribunals ordered a rerun, Abia was upheld.

PAGE 46—SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 6, 2015

Kumuyi liberates Ife with God’s word I

LE-IFE, reputed to be the

source of Yoruba race in the South Western region of Nigeria has cut the attention of God once again, when the foremost teacher of the Word of God and General Superintendent of Deeper Life Bible Church, Pastor William Folorunsho Kumuyi, had a triumphant entry into the city in continuation of the Osun State Total Liberation crusades on November 19 for a two-night miracles explosion at Oduduwa College.

The ancient city recently favoured with the peaceful installation of a new Ooni, His Imperial Majesy, Oba Eniitan Adekeye Ogunwusi which caused great jubilation among the people.

Immediately Pastor Kumuyi’s entourage was received by the Region Overseer of Ife Region, Pastor Folaranmi Ajala, his convoy drove straight to pay homage to the new Ooni at his palace. While at the palace, Pastor Kumuyi spoke some salient truth about present and eternal realities, stating that some are kings on earth but puppets in eternity and vice versa just as some are kings on earth and kings in eternity. According to him, David, unlike Saul, prayed for repentance on earth, and was great on earth and in eternity.

At the crusade ground, Pastor Kumuyi, who was accompanied by his wife, Mammy Esther Kumuyi and all the South West state overseers of Deeper Life Bible Church, was ebullient and full of power of the Holy Spirit to liberate the oppressed and there was great expression of joy and faith, as the people shouted ‘Hallelujah’, believing that of a truth God has come to liberate them from demonic oppressions and cleanse their land.

There were song ministrations from the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) special choir from Ife East and West, and the Osun State Deeper Life mass choir and the arena electrified as soon as the GS’ voice resounded from the pulpit to begin his ministration taking his text from the book of Psalms 62:11 for a message titled; “The Great Possibilities of God’s Unlimited Power ” which he

R-L: Ooni of Ile-Ife, His Imperial Majesy, Oba Eniitan Adekeye Ogunwusi; Pastor W.F. Kumuyi, the General Superintendent of Deeper Life Bible Church; Mummy Omowumi Adeniran, wife of Osun State Overseer holding a gift with Mummy Esther Kumuyi, wife of the General Superintendent, at the house of the new Ooni of Ile-Ife.

Pastor W.F. Kumuyi responding to the Ooni while others look.

A cross section of participants at the crusade ground in Ile Ife

subdivided into three parts.

A) The power for your freedom, B) The preparation for His freedom and C) The partakers of total freedom.

He taught the people that God has unlimited power to attend to all cases, and that God would blow away all evil, arguing that nothing created

We do not support Biafra – Anglican Church …it’s failure of elders – Bishop of Enugu By

T

CALEB

AYANSINA

HE Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion has categorically said it would never throw its weight behind any agitation to demystify the oneness of the country, saying it is not in support of the ongoing clamour for the Republic of Biafra.

Primate of the church, Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh believes this and other agitations could be addressed with good leadership, challenging people to be grateful to God for the gift of life.

Speaking in an interview with

journalists at the 2015 Adult Harvest Thanksgiving Service with the theme; ‘How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to me,’ at the Cathedral Church of the Advent, Life Camp, Abuja, Okoh said lack of unity throws up different challenges in any nation.

“This also calls for unity, which is much lacking in our country today. So, we call and pray for love and unity in our country for us to actually develop and move forward,” he stated.

Meanwhile, the Archbishop of Ecclesiastical Province of Enugu and Bishop of Enugu Diocese,

Most Rev. Emmanuel Chukwuma said the church would not support any form of violence, blaming the pro-Biafra protests

by God should be used against us and that whatever the enemies have used to bind us shall be broken down.

He therefore charged the worshippers to prepare for their freedom by turning away from all known sins, saying that repentance and restitution are the hallmark of getting things from God. At the end of his ministration, the man of God prayed for the congregation and several participants came out to give their testimonies of diverse hearings.

Oluwabiyi Michael was healed of swollen at his lower abdomen; Oluwatoyin Aworele from Ogbagba was healed of three years deafness in one of his ears.

Faloseyi Olorunsogo had a moving object in his body removed supernaturally and bodily pains gone after the prayer of the man of God. Dele Ayoola from Awolumate, was healed of diabetes and blindness, while Dorcas Adeyemo had her twisted leg straightened.

The train moved to Ife South Region at Garage Olode, the following day for the continuation of the crusade and it was awesome and inspiring, as both young and old were not left out as Olode witnessed a great turn out of people and the overseer, Pastor on the failure of elders in the region.

According to him, most of the elders had lost their integrity and moral stand to mentor the young ones, stressing that until the frustration of the youth is addressed through employment opportunities, this kind of agitations might not cease.

John Adeniran while introducing Pastor Kumuyi, told the congregation that included several traditional rulers, notable indigenes and leaders in religious and political circles that God has seen their thirst and hunger for Him, and that their expectations would not be cut off.

After preaching on “The power that changes not,” with inspiration from Malachi 3:6, Pastor Kumuyi prayed on behalf of the congregation and there were lots of healing testimonies from both the great and small of God’s goodness, among them was Rebecca Olaniyi from Odo Ore, Garage Olode, who could not walk without walking stick, but was healed after the prayer of the man of God. Yaya Amen was healed of three years of ulcer and back pain, Idowu Abu was healed of waist pain; Five years old Adetunbi Idowu from Ologede was delivered from epilepsy.

Lasisi Akanmu from Ara Joshua, was healed of stroke; Maria Joseph from Eleweran Garage Olode was healed of paralysis. Elijah Adekeye from Idi Ogun Adedire was healed of memory failure and immediately after the prayer of Pastor Kumuyi his brain was revived. Mary Issac from Imin Oja was healed of stroke, deafness and dumbness.

Dignitaries at the crusade included HRM Oba Samson Adelabu Akanni Adeyeye, the Lesi-Ekun of Ominfunfunland, Ife, Baale Augustine Odedire, Baale Ajebamidele, Ile-Ife, Prof.

Victor Adetiloye, Chief Medical Director, Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Complex, Ile-Ife; Dr. Kayode Olabamiji, chairman, Medical Advisory Committee, OAUTHU, Evangelist Toso Oluborode, Chairman PFN, Ife Central; Chief and Princess Aramide, Jagunmolu of Esa Oke, Pastor Oyedokun, National Overseer of Deeper Life Bible Church, Russia among others. Others included HRM Oba Rev. Dr. Solomon Adeyeye Adenipekun (Ademakinwa1) Olosi of Osiland, Ife, Ife South CAN chairman, Pastor J.O. Oladimeji; PFN Pastor J.A Idowu; Prince Adewuyi, Otun of Olode represented Olode, among others.

“We should begin to think on how we can gather the youth, give them that confidence and lead them aright. Most of these children did not see Biafra. They are frustrated, so we should think and address their frustration; and once this is done the demonstration will stop," he stated.

Journalists for Christ Fellowship mourns Olufunke Alli

BY PRISCA SAM-DURU

T

HE Journalists for Christ Fellowship (JFC) mourns its board member, a leading media mentor and former General Manager of Ray Power FM (Lagos and Abuja), Rev. (Mrs.) Elizabeth Olufunke Alli, who died recently at Ibadan. In a statement, JFC’s president, Lekan Otufodunrin, said Mrs. Alli was an influential member

of the fellowship whose mentorship of young journalists and motherly care would be very much missed.

“We are shocked by her untimely passing but we cannot question the Creator. We believe that her assignment on earth is over and she has left behind very solid legacies both in the media and in the Church of Christ. We are also consoled in the belief that she has gone to a much better place," he said.

According to Dayo Emmanuel, JFC’s administrative secretary, "we are comforted that Mrs Alli ran the race well and left indelible footprints here. She was certainly among the very best." Until her death after a brief illness, Rev. (Mrs.) Alli, was the general manager, Impact Business Radio, 92.5FM, Ibadan and Dean of the Impact School of Broadcasting and Communication, Ibadan, Oyo State.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 6, 2015, PAGE 47

G

OD made a prom ise to Abraham: “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.” (Genesis 12:2).

What exactly was the blessing the Lord promised Abraham? Was it that he would be rich in cattle and in lands and houses? If that was God’s intention, what would happen to the lands and houses after Abraham died? Abraham would have to relinquish them so they would stop being blessings to him.

What difference would it make if God made Abraham’s name great after he died if Abraham does not have eternal life? What does it matter if Lagos is named after you, or if you are known as the father of the Nigerian nation, if you end up in hell? Jesus asks: “What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” (Matthew 8:36).

God is love. But what does this mean in practical terms? For God so loved that he gave. (John 3:16).

The first thing he gave was Jesus. The second thing he gave was forgiveness. The third thing he gave was eternal life.

to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.” (Acts 3:25-26).

God said to Abraham, in effect, the greatest way I can bless you is by delivering you from your sins. The best way I can bless you is by breaking the power of sin over your life. The best way I can bless you is by making you sinless. Thus: “When Abram was 99 years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before me and be blameless.” (Genesis 17:1).

Blessing of forgiveness There has to be a more fundamental blessing that God had in mind for Abraham than silver, gold, cattle, lands or property. What is that blessing? The blessing the Lord had in mind for Abraham was to make him sinless by forgiving him his sins. Peter reveals this to the Jews after the Pentecost: “You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ To you first, God, having raised up his servant Jesus, sent him

Forgive to live

THE BLESSING OF THE LORD (2)

Salvation from sin Many of the Old Testament Jews had their own concept of blessing. They were convinced the Messiah would come to establish an opulent society on earth. They believed when the Messiah comes, he would shower them with wealth, prosperity and unending happiness. They thought he would give them all the world’s resources and positions of power. Many Christians are also schooled in these misconceptions.

However, Jesus confounded all vain expectations. As far as God is con-

The greatest blessing God ever bestowed upon man was to forgive us our sins cerned, the greatest blessing he can give man is deliverance from the grip of sin through the ministry of Jesus Christ. Therefore, the angel said to Joseph: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

(Matthew 1:20-21).

So let me repeat my earlier submission here. What is the greatest thing God has ever done and will ever do for man? The greatest thing God has ever done for us is to forgive us our sins.

God’s greatest work God spoke creation into existence. Within seven days, he created the heavens, the earth and all living beings. But salvation was entirely different. Salvation could not be established by merely saying: “Let there be salvation.”

God had to wait for over 4,000 years. And then he

had to come down to earth personally in human form through the womb of a woman. Then he had to be crucified, to die and then be raised from the dead.

Without a doubt, salvation is the greatest and most complex work of God known to man.

Therefore, David does not say “blessed is the man who is made the king of Israel.” He says: “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.” (Psalm 32:12).

Let me be even more categorical here. There is only one way by which God truly blesses a man: by forgiving him his sins. Without the forgiveness of sins, all other so-called blessings are baseless and practically useless.

You want to see a man who is blessed, don’t ask what kind of house he has.

Don’t ask for his wife and children. Don’t ask him what kind of job he has.

Don’t ask him how much he has in his bank account.

Don’t even ask him about his health. Ask him if his sins are forgiven. If his sins are not forgiven, every other thing is a waste of time.

Key of the kingdom It is the forgiveness of sins that ushers a man into the things of God. It is the forgiveness of sins that brings the precious Holy Spirit. It is the forgiveness of sins that reconciles man back to God. It is the forgiveness of sins that makes it possible for man to inherit eternal life.

If a man has all the wealth in the world but his sins are not forgiven, he is a poor man indeed. All his wealth is going to end with his death, and then he faces an afterlife of poverty, pain and anguish.

Every blessing has its foundation in the forgiveness of sins. Therefore, everything a believer does should have its mainspring in the fact that his sins are forgiven. It must be the basis and foundation of all action in the life of a believer. It is tragic that this truth is little understood even among Christians.

The bible reveals that

Baba Aladura wants Nigerians to be patient with Buhari BY

OLAYINKA

T

LATONA

HE Prelate and Su preme Head of Mot ailatu Church, Cherubim & Seraphim Worldwide, Baba Aladura Israel Akinadewo (Omoeri) has enjoined Nigerians to brace up for more positive changes during the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

He also urged individual Nigerians to pray and contribute their quota towards the development of the country.

Speaking at the dedication service of Saint Mene Otubu Parish, an ultra modern

church of the Motailatu Church in Surulere, Lagos, the prelate also urged Nigerians to be patient with the Buhari administration, arguing that nothing good comes easy.

“There is no government policy that is acceptable to all.

Nigeria has been in doldrums for years and we are expecting changes within few monthsdoc the administration.

But I can tell you that there are signs that Nigeria is moving towards being a developed nation.

“Nigerians should stop criticising and fighting the gov-

ernment but rather contribute their quota towards development of the country. We can see sincerity of purpose in this administration and I am sure Nigeria will be better for it in the next few years," he pleaded.

The General Evangelist of the church, Prof. Joseph Otubu called on the newly appointed ministers to fight corruption and insecurity though it is not easy eradicating terrorism but gradually it will face-off. They should rule with the fear of God in order to deliver dividends of democracy to the people.

“I have always advised that Nigerians should give the present administration some time. The ministers were recently appointed, allow them to settle and start their work.

I think this administration means well for Nigerians and that is why it's taking some time to do things,” he maintained.

The professor of obstetrics and gynecology lamented different leadership crises rocking white garment churches in Nigeria, advising that churches should develop individuals and allow churches to grow on their own, rather

If the greatest thing God does for us is to forgive us our sins through Christ Jesus, then the greatest thing we can do for others is to forgive them their sins.

It is more difficult to forgive than to give. It is so much easier to give money than to forgive others.

We can give under duress.

We can give even though we don't want to. But we cannot forgive by force. We can only forgive from the heart. And we cannot truly give unless we forgive.

Jesus says the extent of our love of God is a function of our appreciation of the forgiveness of our sins.

Indeed, the extent of our understanding of the Christian faith is determined by our understanding of the centrality of the forgiveness of sins. Simon, the Pharisee did not understand this, therefore he despised the woman who anointed Jesus feet with precious ointment and washed his feet with her hair.

Jesus said to him: “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

(Luke 7:47-48).

TO BE CONTINUED

than looking for who leads a particular faction.

Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Lagos State Chapter, Apostle Alexandar Bamgbola who was given an award at the dedication service, said churches have a responsibility to continue to preach peace and justice for the well-being of the nation.

He admonished Nigerians, irrespective of their religion, to be obedient to the word of God, obey rules and regulations that govern us in the country. He also urged parents to train their children in the right way; and there will be true change in the nation.

Make religious studies compulsory in schools— BSN boss By

Olayinka

G

Latona

ENERAL Secretary of the Bible Society of Nigeria, B SN, Rev. Dare Ajiboye, has advocated a re-introduction of Religious Studies as a compulsory subject from primary to secondary school levels to curb societal ills in Nigeria.

Rev. Ajiboye stated this at the final of the annual national Bible completion organized by

BSN at The Apostolic Church, Palmgrove Assembly, Lagos.

The cleric blamed current rise in insecurity, corruption and other degenerative behaviours found among most Nigerian youths on the removal of moral instruction from the nation's education curriculum, arguing: “Christian religious study will help our younger ones to understand the word of God, social vices will be less in the country, all the ills like corrup-

tion, fornication, militancy will not be there.

"If you read and practice the Word of God, you will keep the devil away. If government can re-introduce CRS in our schools starting from primary schools to secondary level, I think it will go a long way to help us minimize challenges of social vices that we are presently facing in the country,” he stated.

He further encouraged Nige-

rian youths to build a career in biblical language, explaining that Africa has very few scholars in Greek and Hebrew hence making Bible translation to take a longer period due to shortage of manpower.

Addressing participants at the event, the General Secretary, said the bible quiz competition was organised in order to help youths develop godly values by taking them back to the bible,

adding that because today's youths have so many gadgets at their disposal, they seldom have time to study the bible.

Six schools representing Eastern, Western, Southern, North West, North-Central and North Eastern zones qualified for the finals. At the end of the competition, students from Baptist Heritage School, Kishi, Oyo State, emerged winners and Methodist High School, Aba came second.

Page 48 — SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 6, 2015

CASH CRUNCH IN THE STATES

We demand justice for victims of violence and murder in Rivers

Minimum wage will not go below N18,000, NLC President tells govs — APC guber candidate, Dakuku Peterside

By Dakuku Peterside

By Kennedy Mbele

THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) insists workers across the country will embark on strike if state governors make good their threat to stop the payment of N18,000 minimum wage.

NLC President Ayuba Wabba vows that the organized labour will resist any attempt by state governors to stop the payment of the minimum wage.

“Governors should prepare for the mother of all battles. They should not underestimate the resolve of the NLC to protect the interest of workers. We will shut government in any state where the governors stop payment of N18,000 minimum wage. What is N18,000 that these governors say they can’t pay. Some of them spend more than N100,000 to feed their dogs, lions and other pets they keep monthly. If they can feed animals with N100,000, why can’t they pay their fellow human beings, an average worker, N18,000 monthly. It is an insult, we are not going to take it,” Wabba declared in Lagos.

Wabba also spoke on the lingering fuel crisis, the clamour for petrol subsidy removal, and the proposal for a new national minimum wage, among others.

W

HAT is the latest on the faceoff between the state governors, and the NLC over the threat to stop the payment of the N18,000 minimum wage?

We are still in a state of shock that our governors could make such pronouncement. What is N18,000 in view of the current economic challenges in the country? Speaking realistically, what is N18,000 in a month? We were thinking that these governors will make an upward review of the minimum wage, but what we got in return was a shock. N18,000 is not a living wage, and our leaders know this and yet they are saying they can’t pay it.

Are Nigerian workers fools? It is not as if the governors don’t have the wherewithal to pay this money, their problem is that of misplaced priorities.

There are a lot of leakages in the system which, when blocked, will ensure that governors have more than sufficient funds to pay workers – look at the duplication of political offices and appointees by many state governors.

What about jumbo salaries these political appointees collect every month? They run into hundreds of millions of naira.

Why should the NLC now fold its arms and allow workers to be made sacrificial lambs by the governors? Never. Some of these governors, apart from living opulent lifestyles, have also embarked on projects that have no relevance to the lives of the people. The cost of governance should, at all levels, be drastically cut down. The hundreds of billions of naira our public office holders fritter away in the name of governance is what is not sustainable.

Has there been any moves for an amicable settlement of the crisis?

We are open to dialogue. However the sustenance of N18,000 minimum wage is non- negotiable. We are even planning o demand for an upward review of the minimum wage in view of the present economic hardship. Many states are in the poor financial state they are in today largely on the developmental choices they have, largely on the basis of priorities they have chosen which has nothing to do with public good.

We insist that workers salaries can’t be sacrificed on the altar of the challenges of the economy which is not the making of workers. It has never happened in the history of our country and it will not be said that it is during our leadership of the NLC that this calamity was allowed

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•Ayuba Wabba, NLC President to happen to workers.

The governors should reorder their priorities and, instead of going cap in hand to Abuja at the end of every month to collect allocation, they should look inwards to increase their internally generated revenue, IGR. In the ’60s when Nigeria didn’t have oil as the main source of our revenue, our founding fathers raised funds through efficient tax system, and other forms of internally generated revenue to provide development and also pay living wages to workers. Our current leaders who put themselves up for election to different government positions must not only endeavour to deliver on their electoral promises, they must also pay workers living wages. This is nonnegotiable.

But the state governors were reported to have claimed that apart from financial challenges they were having, the minimum wage was imposed on them.

It is not correct that the minimum wage was imposed on the governors. For the records, the 2011 National Minimum Wage came into existence after almost two years of negotiation by the three tiers of government represented by the federal and state governments. The Nigeria Employers Consultative Association represented employers in the private sector, and there was the organized labour.

As the organized labour, we submitted a request for N52,000 minimum wage, but out of patriotic disposition and consideration, we reluctantly agreed to the N18,000 minimum wage even as it was grossly inadequate as a living wage.

Many of the state governments who submitted memoranda then to that tripartite committee even recommended figures that were far above the N18,000 that was eventually agreed upon. The governors can’t therefore claim that the National Minimum Wage was imposed on them.

Some people sympathetic to the state governors over this issue say things are not rosy with the governors, and that it was one of the reasons they got bailouts from the Federal Government.

Does that not tell you the governor’s position is valid?

Like I said earlier, we strongly believe that there is no state in Nigeria today that can’t pay N18,000 minimum wage.

The problem with the governors is about getting their priorities right.

Even look at the bail-outs, the NLC had to raise the alarm when we discovered that some governors were making attempt to divert the money to other uses instead of using it to pay workers and pensioners. Some of the governors were diverting the bail-outs into fixed deposit accounts for personal gains.

It is sad that some of the governors elected to play politics with the welfare of their workers with some of them even quoted to have said that they reserved the right to do whatever they liked with the intervention fund since it wasn’t a loan. This is unacceptable to the NLC.

AST Monday, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State held a procession in Port Harcourt, the state capital, which ended with a memorial service at the Port Harcourt Polo Club for victims of violence and murders in Rivers before, during and after the last general elections. Called the Black Day, the procession was led by the APC governorship candidate in the state at the polls, Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside, who was accompanied by other APC leaders in the state including Sen. Magnus Abe; Chief Andrew Uchendu, the state party Chairman, Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, and Asita H. Asita.

Speaker after speaker at the occasion decried the violence, which they claimed had continued. As a matter of fact, they claimed that some APC members were violently attacked on their way to the procession.

Peterside, who is contesting the result of the governorship election which produced PDP Nyesom Wike, in court spoke to journalists on the significance of the event and their quest for justice for victims of the violence.

How do you rate the turn out for the Black Day procession for persons killed during the last elections?

The turn out was excellent; you could see the number of people who came out on the streets and at the memorial service itself, and going by their turn out, I believe Rivers people have made a statement. They are saying ‘no’ to political violence, kidnapping and politically motivated assassinations.

We thought that at the end of the election in April, we would have come to the end of this matter but, unfortunately, the violence has continue in different dimensions and has manifested itself in form of kidnapping, armed robbery and more assassinations because those persons who were armed by the selfcentred, evil politicians have not been disarmed and so we have continued with the same experience as the present Rivers government lacks the political will and the moral right to attack the issue.

What kind of responses or solidarity have you had from people outside the state on this issue?

The responses we have gotten across the country confirm that Nigerians are in solidarity and in sympathy with the people of Rivers on what we have gone through during the elections and what we are still going through. The Nigerian people are concerned that Rivers has remained a black spot in our democratic development and they have condemned in totality the level of violence visited on the people of state who were only trying to cast their votes in exercise of their democratic rights and the prayer of every right thinking Nigerian is that this should never happen again in our political development There were reports that several persons, especially from your party, were attacked on their way to the procession and the memoriam service.

How true is this?

Yes, our people were attacked. People were attacked in Abonema and I was reliably informed that a top LGA official led the team that attacked several of our members there. We had the same experience in Omuma,Etche and Ikwerre Local Government Areas. It is unfortunate and I know that these attackers cannot escape the long arms of the law. They have refused to admit the fact that times have changed and the days of impunity and lawlessness are

•Dr. Dakuku Peterside gone. We have drawn the attention of security agencies at the highest level to it and I am convinced they are doing something.

The ruling Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) in Rivers State has accused you and your party, APC, of playing politics with the lives of Rivers people who died during the elections. Also some PDP leaders and Rivers State government officials claim that the deaths were mostly cult-related and had nothing to do with the elections.

It is most uncharitable for the PDP to say that those who lost their lives during the elections died in cult related activities.

What kind of cult related reason would lead to the killing of Chief Adube, a man who was above 65 years old? He was not only killed but his three children, his driver, his friend and arelative who came visiting were also murdered in cold blood. What sort of cult-related reasons would have warranted that kind of killings?

Now, the persons who were attacked on their way to President Buhari’s rally before the elections, were they also members of a cult? What cult were they members of? Many persons were killed.

Claver was killed. Nwokochawas killed, Chris Obera was killed on the day of election and I ask, what cult did they belong to? What cult related offence would they have committed on the day of election? The man who was killed in Tai, what cult did he belong to? It is lack of respectfor human life that would have led to the statement by any member of thePDP or official of the PDP government in Rivers State to say that they were killed for cult related activities.

It is clear that the PDP has no respect for human life and it manifests everyday in their activities and the way they conduct government business.

What hope is there for justice for the families of the victims of these politically motivated violence and murders?

The APC sympatises with all those who lost their loved ones during the carnage that took place during the elections and all those who are victims of political violence in Rivers State and we have said overand over again that we would continue to pursue justice for all those who lost their loved ones and other victims. As a corollary, we are planning to set up a political violence victims support fund at the appropriate time.

We are not going to rest on our oars until we see some form of justice meted out to all those who perpetrated the violence and we think that it would give some level of comfort to members of the victims families.

SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 6, 2015 —

VIEWPOINT

By Okechukwu Keshi Ukegbu

VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF

The Governor Ikpeazu’s example in Abia State

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BA, a city that prides as the ‘Japan of Africa’, is the hub of creativity. The appellation did not come by accident; it came through the ingenuity of artisans.

Made in Aba products are fast capturing the world market and wears are not exempted.

Before now, made in Aba clothes, like other made in Aba products, were treated with disdain. But when Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu announced, during his inaugural speech on May 29, that he would only wear made in Aba dresses throughout his tenure, the Aba tailor did not envisage the effect of the governor ’s action on his fortune.

Ikpeazu also pledged to turn the fortunes of Aba, the commercial nerve centre of Abia around, adding that he will equip at least two hospitals in every local

The Aba dress revolution government area within his first 100 days in office.

The decision was propelled by his desire to popularize the products, patronize and promote them.

According to him, if the products are given the right exposure by government, they could compete favourably in the international market.

The governor ’s decision has changed the fortunes of the Aba tailor for good. Demand for made in Aba wears has increased and has affected both local and international market for the products.

Consequently, Aba is fast assuming the leadership of the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) of the nation as it is now the destination for fashion.

Elder Gospel Nwakwue, a tailor, whose business is located along Abam Street, within Ngwa Road axis of the city, said that the

governor’s action has increased his clientele.

“There is increased patronage of Aba made wears since the pronouncement of Gov. Ikpeazu.Our products are now receiving boost because of this singular decision by the governor.

Residents in their bid to emulate the governor are now going for Aba made wears”, Nwakwue said.

“The products are even more popular outside the state. My clients come from Port- Harcourt, Lagos, Abuja, and Onitsha. Aba made wears have captured markets in Cotonou, Lome, and several other places”.

Not only has the market for made in Aba wears improved but one of the factors for which the products were derogated, quality, has also improved.

Wears sewn in Aba are exported to neighbouring countries, repackaged and smuggled into Nigeria as foreign shirts. This assertion gives credence to a story

where it is alleged that an Abian based abroad visited home and flaunted one of his wears as foreign only to be told by one of his brothers that the dress was made in Nigeria, precisely Aba. The story is further narrated that when the argument lingered, the tailor brought out the button and the label on the dress. It was then that the abroad-based Abian was convinced.

Amaka Obi , a client to one of the tailors, said that she decided to patronise made in Aba products when she discovered that most of the designer wears bought in supermarkets in major cities in Nigeria or supposedly made by the top designers, were actually sewn in Aba. The ability of the Aba tailors to download designs from the internet and copy them exactly has given them the cutting edge. They equally interpret designs from fashion catalog.

The Aba tailor has a lot of things going for him and enjoys

Page 49

comparative advantage over his counterparts operating elsewhere in the country. There is availability of quality clothing materials imported into Aba. Because of the nearness to the market of these imported fabrics, these materials are bought at a relatively cheaper rate and this enhances the sales of the wears because the cost of making them is cheap.

Another tailor, Ben. Ihekoromadu, attributed the boost in their productivity to the adoption of mechanized operations. He said that manual era which the manual machines represented is no longer in vogue as the in thing now is industrial machine.

Indeed, there is an ongoing revolution in the Aba fashion industry triggered by the decision of Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu’s decision to adorn Aba made wears throughout his tenure. Join in that revolution as Aba is now a destination for your safari suits, senators, trousers and shirts.

• Ukegbu is SSA to Gov. Ikpeazu on Media.

EDO 2016: Labour party and the audacity of ambition VIEWPOINT

By Christopher Ojeikere

VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF

Preparing for governorship poll

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N innocuous conversation with a group of Labour Party Executive members happily congregated in the office chambers and under leadership of Barrister Julius Abure, immediate past Edo State Secretary and Deputy National Secretary of the party would lead to a historical narrative of the party’s real and perceived experiences in the state that contains all the frills, thrills and intrigues of a political party that is inherently unionist in

tendencies and consanguineous with labour movements as epitomized by the NLC, TUC, on the one hand, and, on another hand, lays claim to an embryonic relationship with Comrade Governor Adam Aliu Oshiomhole.

They would give you touching instances of their selfless commitments to the mandate of the Comrade Governor: when he passed through trying times at the tribunal, waiting to redeem his mandate from the PDP they would show you evidence of pains, of losses, of brutality, of work, of loyalty, which they maintain helped the then ACN to engender a government in the State, because of a naive, if not, treacherous belief in a so called alliance, which was never honoured. Today, they insist,

the only thing they could show for that alliance is a “chip in the shoulder.”

The unscrupulous and unabashed romance of some of their leaders, especially the immediate past, with the two big brothers parties, did not help matters to the great embarrassment and distress of the ordinary membership. Rumours of these leaders commercializing the party and its aspirants and aspiration to public office and allegedly reaping huge sums of money for themselves alone further compounded the matter.

How is the party going achieve necessary renewal and clinch 2016 governorship election? First, they have got together all the sworn and committed members of the Party

who have always been there through thick and thin, these proud Labour members are passionate to restitute the identity of the Party and position it to be politically competitive for 2016 and further. They started by getting rid of an erstwhile treacherous leadership that had sold the Party to the other two bigger parties and set up a new leadership of a dogged State Exco.

Even further, they have gone to great length to proselyte men of like minds and infused them into the leadership to forge new agenda for the party. Emboldened by these feats, these labour enthusiasts will tell you confidently, that their candidate will win the 2016 elections in Edo State. Asked to elucidate and the state Chairman,

Hon. Omokaro Sam, is quick to point out to you that for the first time the party and their Siamese twins, the NLC and TUC are forging a robust relationship between themselves. They would point to the growing discontent among the populace over the inadequacies of the present government and even more forcefully, they would tell you that the two big brothers political parties cannot survive the political hostilities within their parties at the moment because of their surplus strange bed fellows aspirants, who’ are all spoiling for a show down at their primaries.

•Ojeikere lives in Benin-City, Edo State.

NIGERIA: Facilitating sustainable infrastructural development VIEWPOINT

By Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF The road to sustainable development

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number of studies in the recent past have highlighted the decay in the Nigerian infrastructure. A 2014 World Economic Forum report ranks Nigeria 140th out of 160 countries surveyed.

A 2013 AFDP publication, titled, ‘An Infrastructure Action plan for Nigeria,’ reported that the Nigeria infrastructure accounts for 2025% of the GDP compared to 70% of the GDP in most other middleincome economies with comparable size to that of the Nigerian economy.

To drive the story home, one only needs to compare Nigeria’s 4000 MW available electricity capacity to South Africa’s 45 000 MW to a population of 53m. To be at the same electricity generation capacity per head, Nigeria will need to achieve an estimated 160 000 MW available capacity for her 170million population. Water supply is not any better, as only 4% of the citizens had access to pipe

borne water as at 2012 compared to 16% average for Sub-Saharan Africa.

As a matter of fact, the country has not witnessed the construction of any new green field port over the last four decades despite a rapidly expanding economy.

According to the AFDP 2013 study, of all the freight that arrived Nigerian port, only 0.2% throughput travelled by rail.

The reasons for the infrastructure decay are not farfetched: lack of adequate investment from both the public and the private sector, lack of adequate maintenance programme and capacity building issues.

In order to upgrade the nation’s infrastructure for the purpose of supporting the desired economic growth target and socioeconomic development objectives, the AFDP forecasts Nigeria requires $350 billion USD CAPEX investment over a period of nine years. It also estimates that $100billion USD is required over the same period as OPEX investment.

The task of building a resilient infrastructure that will meet the developmental needs of the country are many but I will limit myself to five critical areas.

Though Nigeria has been severally referred to as a rich country whose income has been ravaged by rampant corruption, this assumption is only half the truth. The revenue collected by the Federal Government, even when not stolen, is grossly inadequate to cater for a population of about 170 million people.

Ancillary to the small revenue base of the country is the misapplication of the revenue collected through a consistent disproportionate allocation of about eighty per cent of revenue to recurrent expenditure leaving little or nothing for Capital Expenditure.

Manufacturing and Industrialization is compounded by the shallowness of the banking system. The existing banks have proved incapable of lending to infrastructure and the real sector.

Policy makers will have to examine whether it makes sense for banks to hold licenses for merely charging a premium on the economy without adding the needed value for infrastructural growth and development of manufacturing.

Dismantling the unnecessary administrative red tapes and multiple agencies’ interventions in

administrative processes is one of the simple but crucial step Nigeria must take immediately in order to receive the desired private sector investment in her ailing infrastructure.

There is an urgent need to reform educational curricular with a desire to emphasize the acquisition of technical skills required for the development of infrastructure and industrialization of the country.

Particular attention must be paid to the development of middle level manpower such as welders, mechanics, builders with up to date certification in modern vocational training centres. The training of accountants, engineers, lawyers with project development and management skills are also urgently required.

It is trite fact that most modern infrastructure, machines tools and equipment are largely- after invention and design- a product of the coupling together of metals, iron, steel, glass, aluminium and petrochemicals. The absence of sufficient local production of these items means that a nation will be forever consigned to mass importation of finished goods at prohibitive cost and condemned to the status of a primary producer.

This particular challenge of the Nigerian economy is perhaps its most fundamental impediment to industrialization and infrastructural growth. The quantity of steel produced in a country is a signal to its technological and industrial advancement. Nigeria currently produces only 2.5 million tonnes per year and imports about 17million tonnes- very low quantity produced and consumedcompared to other middle-income economies. Turkey produces 34million tonnes per year, India 86.5million tonnes and Brazil 33.9m tonnes per year.

Building Sustainable Infrastructure and a new industrial economy is impossible without adequate electricity supply at the point of need. The burden of high cost of production could be lighter if electricity supply can be assessed at the grid price on a stable basis and even at a price a little higher than the current grid cost.

•To be continued Olawepo-Hashim, Chairman, Bresson AS, delivered this paper at the annual symposium of Nigerian Students’ Society, Imperial College, London.

PAGE 50—SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 6, 2015

Notable Nigerians lambast Buhari’s govt at book launch

By PRISCA SAM-DURU PRESNTATION

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ormer Presidential aspirant on the platform of Unity Party Of Nigeria – UPN, Michael Ovienmhada has expressed disappointment with the Buhari led administration over his inability to do something to show that it had a grand vision to move the country forward.

Ovienmhada stated this during the presentation of his new book, ‘New Dawn of Change: If I Were Buhari’ at the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos.

Looking at the biting fuel crisis, shortage of power supply, Boko Haram and other issues which have no doubt, left many Nigerians wondering when the present administration will begin to fulfil its electoral promises of ensuring there’s change in the country, Ovienmhada pointed out that there is need for the government to show Nigerians that it has a grand vision that will move the country forward.

Describing the situation of the country as scary, he stated that “If the truth be told, the situation of the country is scary because what I was expecting with this government coming to power was a grand vision of where they wanted to take us to and then, this is the road map of

By ELIZABETH UWANDU POETRY

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he children of the late founder of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP ) has a legacy to keep his memory through his works that are scared in circulation .

This was the submission of the author of Jailed for Life and Executive Editor of TheNews magazine, Kunle Ajibade while speaking about the late activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, whom he covered during his stint as journalist in the Abacha led junta; at a colloquium organised by the 17th Lagos Book & Art Festival, LABAF to honour the late activist.

Speaking on the theme,” Democracy and self determination; Democracy in self determination, chaired by Pa Fred Agbeyegbe, Mr Ajibade said the children of the late founder of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People(MOSOP ) has a legacy to keep his memory through his works. “ Ken published himself,except few of his works published abroad.

Therefore, it is the responsibility of his family to preserve his legacy by making sure these books are

where I want to take Nigerians to, that has been lacking since Buhari became president. One would have expected that he would have put an economic team together having run for president three times, he had a plan so he would have put a team together that would help articulate this plan and sell it as a vision to the country so that the people would stop worrying that it appears nothing is coming. He needs to communicate to the people so that they would calm down.”

Ovienmhada who declared his intention to run for governorship in Edo State in 2016, also described petroleum subsidy as responsible for corruption in the country. He maintained that “We have been living with a bad law for 40 years. The Petroleum Equalisation Fund Management Board Act of 1975 was from the very

He described the book as a tmely material with the capacity to provoke thoughts of leaders to be focused on what to do to transfor m Nigeria

beginning a bad law and it has been at the core of our underdevelopment in this country.

We have been losing money to a few privileged people by allocating our core resource to these few. The law essentially states that petrol should be sold for the same price • Former MD/CEO, Liberty Bank, Chief Lawson Omokhodion; Bowo everywhere in Olateru-Olagbegi, the author, Michael Ovienmhada and Jones Usein during the country. It is the book launch in Lagos also at the root of all the corruption in the oil material with the capability easy to read, and an error free industry...subsidy cannot to provoke thoughts of work that would aid in moving stand. For as long as we have leaders to be focused on what Nigeria forward.”

He said “The book is written petroleum subsidy, we will to do to transform Nigeria. never be able to build critical He however expressed hope in fluid prose, very attractive infrastructure that would open that the country will succeed and with an interesting rider. business space and create given that the Buhari led ‘New Dawn of Change: If I jobs.” administration has the best Were Buhari’, shows every Speaking in his capacity as opportunity to transform disturbing issue in the country.

The objective of the book is to chairman of the occasion, Pastor Nigeria to be great.

Itua Ighodalo who frowned at Reviewing the book inspire leaders and motivate the way things are in the published by Noble House people to ask questions about country, declared that Nigeria E-Solutions Limited, their leaders. It offers a lot of and indeed, Africa were not Director, Human Resources, ideas for rapid change.”

Somuyiwa however designed to succeed adding Thisday Newspapers, that those that scrambled for Gbayode Somuyiwa expressed disappointment that Africa did so in a manner that described the author as one the author left out the they would come back and still of those he recognises as arts,culture and tourism sector be indirectly in control of its patriotic Nigerians who is so which according to him, has affairs. passionate about Nigeria. He contributed immensely to the Ighodalo described the book, saluted the author for his growth of the economy and will ‘New Dawn of Change: If I book which he noted is yield more if the potentials are Were Buhari’ as a timely “Written in simple language, properly and adequately harnessed.

Ken Saro-Wiwa’s children have a responsibility to preserve his works----Kunle Ajibade reprinted. I don’t know why his family have not been able to reprint his works at this time to keep his memory.”

On the 20th year remembrance of Ken SaroWiwa, Ajibade said, “Remembering Ken, 20years after his death is like remembering the fact you should not be killing people whose argument you don’t agree with. See, when you look at other countries better than our own, and you check their history, you will see that their success is because they argued successfully among themselves.”

The media icon also added that,”His death brought a lot of improvement. If there was

Ken Saro-Wiwa will continue to be an inspiration to many, even after his death

no improvement, you won’t have gathered all manner of agencies and parastatals to address the issue of injustice in the Niger Delta. You won’t also see government responding quickly to agitators. I mean real agitators getting response to solving the problems in that region. Because, when they killed Ken Saro -Wiwa, the whole world rose up.

On the legacy left by the late writer, TheNews editor stated that Ken will continue to be an inspiration to many even after

By CALEB AYANSINA CULTURE

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ederal Government has extolled the contribution of the Federal Republic of South Korea for its contributions toward the growth and development of culture in Nigeria.

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Bulus Lolo, gave the commendation at the Korean Cultural festival, an occasion to mark five years of cultural initiative aimed at promoting cultural exchange between Nigeria and Korea, in Abuja.

his death. In his words, “The fact that the world rose up and agitated for his execution is a sense of accountability. But, there are other things we can account for; and that is the fact that Ken has been a lot of inspiration to people. Do you know these people, do you know the people he will inspire in future? And do you know a lot of people he will inspire through his works. So, there is a sense in which he has been a lot of inspiration,

and will continue to be a source of inspiration.”

Also, speaking of his last encounter with KSW which was through a letter, Mr Ajibade said ,” I was in another prison, when he was hanged. So, the news left me a devastating experience as he had written to me through a writer, Dr. Tunde Fatunde of his worries about my imprisonment. Unfortunately, I was also worried about him.”

FG lauds Korea contributions to cultural development in Nigeria Lolo said Korean cultural festival had added element of sophistication to Nigerian culture having been the first country to bring NigeriansKoreans together in a setting like this.

“Let me also salute your effort having been the first country to have diplomatic reception since President Muhammadu Buhari Inaugurates its cabinet.

“We assure you to explore way of bringing our people together and expanding the business

relationship that exists.

“Korean culture is very rich and full of history I hope we shall continue working together to promote unity of the whole world,” he said.

In his remarks, the Korean Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Noh Kyu-Duk, who extolled the beauty of the Korea-Nigerian culture, noted that Korea center established five years ago had secured a good foundation for cultural exchange of the two countries.

SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 6, 2015, PAGE 51

Francophone artists dazzle collectors at Alexis

By JAPHET ALAKAM VISUAL

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ne of the leading galleries in Lagos, Alexis gallery committed to the promotion of art and artists, after hosting series of exhibitions this year , yesterday opened an epic exhibition titled Francophonie, an exhibition of contemporary paintings and sculpture to round off its exhibition calendar for the year.

The exhibition is dedicated in honour of art loving monarch, the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, who officially opened it among other art collectors/promoters on 5th of December, 2015 at Alexis gallery, Akin Olugbode Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The high profile exhibition which is going to be the largest collection of Francophone artists to exhibit in Nigeria featured the works of 11 multi-talented Francophone artists cuts across different countries that include Benin Republic, Togo, Cot’ d’ivoire and others. The

exhibiting artists include, Dominique Zinkpe, Francis Nicaise Tchiakpe, Charly D’Almeida, Basile

By ABALI.O.ABALI LITERATURE

Concluding part of the essay which was published last Sunday.

I

n pre-colonial times the age grades fought the wars against external aggression.

There has never been a time the age grade in One Abam village formed alliance with those of another village or other villages to fight against external aggression not to talk of engaging in Military expedition in other Igbo communities. In short, every Abam village is strictly on its own when it comes to security and defence. Thus, the concept of “Abam Warriors” is a creation of Chinua Achebe and not a reality. In fact, rather than being the aggressor, Abam has been a victim of aggression from its neighbours. In the West of the Clan for instance, an age grade in Abiriba known as Onarubi Age Grade”, woke up one morning and decided to invade Ndi Ebe Abam. They armed themselves and took off for Ndi Ebe Abam, chanting war songs along the way. The people of Ndi Ebe Abam watched helplessly as a vast portion of their land was occupied by that age grade. To ensure the occupied land never reverts to Ndi Ebe Abam, that age grade built a school right there which is today known as Onarubi Secondary Technical School, Abiriba. In the East of Abam clan, the people of Idima Abam have fought unsuccessfully to reclaim a vast area of their land under forced occupation by the Ikporom Community of Akwa Ibom State. In the North, the people

Poets need to re -wheel people for change — Sarah Chayes

Moussougan, Yves Miduahen(Midi) and Eunock Hounkpevi all from Benin Republic. Others are Djedge Mel Meldje Samuel, from Cote D’Ivoire, Samual TeteKatchan, Togo, Ayeva Medjeva, from Togo, Yaffa Kanfitine and Kwani Da Costa from Togo.

The artists who were meticulously selected by Patty Chidiac and the curating team because of their individual exploits in arts over the years stormed the Nigerian art space with over 55 works that speak of the resillent spirit of the artists.

Most of the artists in this group are well established, with over Twenty years of practices to their

credit. They have exhibited extensively in West African Countries and abroad.

During the preview of the all

For most of the artists, this is a life time opportunity they have been waiting for, as it offers them the platform to showcase their works in Nigeria

By ELIZABETH UWANDU POETRY

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• A piece by Dominique Zinkpe, one of the exhibiting artist important exhibition, the curators, George Edozie and Patty Chiadic disclosed that “we have been working on this all important exhibition for 2 years now , so we want to use this platform to bring the Francophone and Anglophone artists together to see their works and tap from each others knowledge.”

Continuing, Edozie stated that, “for most of the artists, this is a life time opportunity they have been waiting for as it offers them the platform to showcase their works in Nigeria for the first time.

Alexis which is noted for making history, is bringing different Francophone artists together to showcase their works in Nigeria and this will provide an opportunity for Nigerian artists/ art lovers to see them and their works as most of them are showing in

Nigeria for the first time.”

On their part, some of the artists who were excited about the exhibition said that it was an opportunity they have been waiting for, showcasing their works in Nigeria, which is arguably the biggest art market in Africa.

The chairman of the ocassion, the art loving monarch, Igwe Alfred Achebe who has an affinity with West African artists, was also excited about the honour.

As usual, the exhibition is curated by George Edozie and Patty Chidiac, while the regular sponsors, Litho-Chrome Limited; Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin ;Cobranet Internet Service Provider ;Nigeria Info;Cool FM ;Wazobia FM; Cool TV; Wazobia TV; Chocolat Royal; Arra Wines;The Avenue Suites;Art Cafe; The Homestores limited and Correct Corporate Catering Ltd are there for the success of the

exhibition

Abam in Chinua Achebe’s novels of Amaeke Abam have since resigned themselves to fate in the face of continuous seizure and occupation of their community land by the neighbouring Bende Community. The situation is even more pathetic in the South where the people of Ozu Abam have been watching helplessly as their Community land mass shrinks perennially under their feet following incessant invasion and occupation of their land by the people of Ebem Ohafia Community. In one of such invasions the people of Ozu Abam, in desperation, sent an emissary to Idima Abam begging for help to repel the invaders.

The request was greeted with consternation in Idima Abam mainly because the two villages (Idima and Ozu) have never agreed, cooperated or worked jointly on any project whatsoever from time immemorial. Needless to say that the request was turned down. Thus, if there was such a thing as “Abam Warriors” or

Thus, the concept of ‘Abam Warriors’ is a creation of Chinua Achebe and not a reality, in fact, rather than being the aggressor, Abam has been a victim of aggression from its neighbours

“Abam Soldiers” as Chinua Achebe wants the world to believe then these external aggressions against Abam Communities would have been jointly tackled and repelled.

Inter-communal rivalries in Abam have not allowed the development of a common political or administrative front.

As recent as 1980, the then Imo State (now Imo, Abia and part of Ebonyi States) Government, sought to unite Abam under one autonomous Community headed by a first class paramount ruler to be known as “Eze Abam-the Onyerubi I”. The idea was to create a paramount ruler in Abam who could rank equally with other first class traditional rulers such as the “Eze Aro” (the paramount ruler of the entire Arochukwu Clan) and “Eze Abiriba - the Nnachi - Okon I (the paramount ruler of the whole Abiriba Clain respectively. The paramount rulership stool was proposed to be rotational moving from one Abam village to another. The heads of the various villages in Abam were invited to Government House Owerri (the then Imo State Capital) where the proposal was tabled before them. All the village heads agreed to come under one paramount ruler. The question was which village head should be the first paramount ruler of Abam? In other words, which village should the rotation start from? To answer the question, the Government representatives at the meeting suggested balloting and all the village heads accepted the suggestion. When the ballot

was conducted, the village head of Idima Abam (Eze Atum Akwara) picked number one which meant that he was to be the first paramount ruler of a unified Abam and the rotation would start from Idima Abam. It was jubilation in Idima Abam but reservation in the other villages.

In particular, the village head of Ozu Abam (late Eze Ike Okoroafor) went home and was greeted by very strong anti-Idima Abam sentiments. He capitulated and quickly sent a petition to the State Government at Owerri in which he reneged on all his commitment to a pan-Abam paramount ruler on the ground that his people (Ozu Abam people) are opposed to it. He added that Ozu Abam has never had any form of political affiliation with Idima Abam and his people did not want the situation to change.

Bewildered by the sudden turn of events, the state government quickly split Abam into three autonomous communities. The Government appeased the people of Idima Abam with one of the autonomous communities known as Ohaeke Abam Autonomous community. Thus, Idima Abam became the only village in Abam that could elect its own councilor into the local government area council without requiring votes or support of any other village. The other sixteen villages were split into two autonomous communities namely, Ohafor Abam and OVUKU Abam respectively.

I have gone to this length just to make it very clear that what

he author of “Thieves of State: Why Corruption Threatens Global Security ”, Sarah Chayes has called on poets, including writers to change the masses’ orientation on the issues of governance, and revenue allocation and resource control.

Speaking at the conversation between her and Tom Burgis, author of “The Looting Machine: Warlords, Tycoons, Smugglers and the Systematic Theft of Africa’s Wealth,: themed,”Graft Update: Collusion of the Greedy: How Corruption Impedes Development at the 17th Lagos Book &.Art Festival, Chayes said, corruption which comes in different forms among which iswhen one pays a government official for doing or not doing his job;has dire consequences in the lives of citizens of a country by making them poor victims prone to extreme moral misbehaviour that most times lead to terrorism. “ The poets need to re-wheel the people to change their orientation on issues of government accountability, and focus less on oil as a bane for resource control and revenue allocation.”

Citing the issue of total dependence on oil as a determinant for revenue allocation and resource control which birthed corruption in varying degrees, Burgis said,”oil creates the process that makes the rich exploit the poor and it has brought nothing but ruin to Nigeria.

Chinua Achebe describes as “Abam Soldiers or Warriors” never existed and there was no basis for it because there has never been a pan Abam political institution or co-operation to make that possible.

At this point supporters of Chinua Achebe may argue that “Things Fall Apart” and “Arrow of God” are mere fictions and that Chinua Achebe never told anyone that the two books represent the history of Igbo people or any Igbo Community.

Such argument, with due respect, is naive because Chinua Achebe’s classics, “Things Fall Apart” and “Arrow of God” have since transcended the realm of fiction and made Chinua Achebe a highly respected authority in African culture and tradition.

Chinua Achebe’s classics are quoted the world over as authorities on life in pre- colonial Africa. It is for this reason that no one should be ruled out of order or charged with belabouring any point in an attempt to clarify or correct any misrepresentation in Chinua Achebe’s novels.

ABALI . O. ABALI is an indigene of Idima Abam and practices Law in Lagos. He can be reached on 08034361825 or abamchamberS@yahoo.com Concluded

52— S UNDAY Vanguard Vanguard,, DECEMBER 6 , 2015

Senegal U-23 happy with 100% record SENEGAL Under-23 national team coach Serigne Saliou Dia was happy to see his side maintain their 100% record at the 2015 Africa U23 Cup of Nations with a 10 win over Zambia in Dakar in their final Group A clash.

The young Lions finished top of their group on maximum points, following consecutive victories against South Africa, Tunisia and Zambia.

“It was an important win today against Zambia because we wanted to continue winning to maintain the momentum going into the semi-finals,” Dia said at the post-match press conference.

“Our target was to reach the semis and more importantly is to qualify for the Olympic Games. And if you want to qualify you have to win the semifinals,” the Senegalese tactician added, with the tournament hosts to know their last-four opponents on Saturday evening.

“Zambia have a very good team. They made mistakes in the previous two games but are still a good side. Now

•LOOKING AHEAD..Nigeria’s U-23 players looking ahead to semis against Senegal we will go back and wait for our opponents but it is very good that we won all our matches in the group stage.”

Nigeria continued from B/P kept out by the Algeria shot stopper.

Algeria striker Draoui threatened the Nigeria goal after 26 minutes but goalkeeper Emmanuel Daniel came off his line to cut out the danger.

That was a minute after their effort was ruled offside by the referee.

In the second half, Etebo was denied by a big save by goalkeeper Salhi, who dived full length to push away a goal-bound effort by the near post.

Algeria also had their moments after the interval, but they did not have the cutting edge to get a goal in this contest.

continued from B/P

Ighalo

unfairly halted by Alexander Tetty, with Deeney making no mistake in converting the resulting penalty, becoming the first Watford player to score in four consecutive Premier League games.

Ighalo saw a header disallowed for offside just before half-time, before squandering a number of second-half chances as Norwich tried to hold on.

But he was eventually rewarded for his sparkling performance in stoppage time, bursting past his man to coolly slot home.

A sixth win of the season for Quique Sanchez Flores’s men sees them climb to ninth, with the form of strike partners Deeney and Ighalo sure to boost their increasingly strong hopes for survival.

In contrast, the result will have done little to ease Norwich’s relegation worries with the Canaries having now claimed just one win in their last 10 Premier League games, keeping them 16th.

Alex Neil’s side rarely looked likely to threaten, having been pegged back early in the contest, Nathan Ake drilling an effort that deflected off Andre Wisdon, with referee Mike Dean quick to wave away appeals for handball.

Watford, who made two changes from the win at Villa Park last week, continued to grow into the game but were met by an impressive Norwich rearguard, meaning visiting goalkeeper Declan Rudd was left to enjoy a quiet start to his first top flight appearance in four years.

But Norwich’s defensive efforts were undone with half an hour played as Tettey, making his return to the side from injury, recklessly scythed down Ighalo inside the area, allowing strike partner Deeney to coolly fire home the resulting spot-kick.

Watford’s top scorer Ighalo thought he had added a second seven minutes before half-time, although he was denied by

BBC ‘re back!

K

ARIM Benzema, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo were all on target in the same match for the first time since April as Real Madrid cruised to a 4-1 win over Getafe at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Not since last season’s 91 triumph over Granada had the ‘BBC’ trio all notched on the same day, but they proved key to Rafael Benitez’s side making eight straight wins at home against their city rivals. the linesman’s flag, despite appearing well onside.

The Nigerian was denied again six minutes later by Rudd’s smart near-post save following a scampering run down the left, before Sebastien Bassong headed over in a rare Norwich attack.

Robbie Brady dragged a half-volley wide just after the break, but Watford remained on top with Ighalo at the centre of Watford’s attacking efforts, showing great strength to outmuscle Bassong on 56 minutes inside the area before finding the sidenetting.

A fine stop from Rudd just after the hour denied Ighalo again following Etienne Capoue’s defencesplitting pass, with the keeper also equal to a tame effort inside the box moments later.

Ighalo’s strength continued to cause problems and, after flashing an angled half-volley across goal, he finally had his goal in stoppage time, racing clear to seal the victory by slipping a near finish under Rudd.

Benzema broke the deadlock inside four minutes with his first Liga in over two months, and he added a second soon after with Madrid dominant.

Getafe were unable to take their chances on rare ventures forward and they paid the price as Bale and Ronaldo added to the score before the interval.

continued from B/P

skipping around a sprawled Fernando and engineering space for a low cross that Arnautovic dispatched from close range.

Kevin De Bruyne shot too close to Jack Butland in the Stoke goal before his team were left with a mountain to climb – Fernando again made to pay for overcommitting on Shaqiri, who threaded a delightful throughball for Arnautovic to clip beyond Hart.

Arnautovic was twice agonisingly close to completing a first-half hattrick as Stoke’s quicksilver attacking play continued to cause the shambolic visiting defence countless problems.

First the Austria international flashed a header from Glenn Whelan’s cross wide of the near post with Hart beaten before Shaqiri sent him clear of City’s blundering backline to rattle the upright two minutes from the break.

It was a similar story upon the resumption – fleeting moments of

West Ham continued from B/P Mauro Zarate ought to have scored when a chance presented itself inside the six-yard box.

United’s fourth draw in their last seven league games sees them drop to fourth in the table, while West Ham – who end a run of seven successive defeats at Old Trafford – move up to sixth.

One of three United changes, Fellaini was central to United’s early play, shooting just wide before heading narrowly off target after a deep cross from Paddy McNair.

But it was West Ham who should have taken an early lead. A careless pass from Daley Blind allowed returning captain Mark Noble to send Victor Moses through on goal, but the winger’s poor finish was saved by the legs of David de Gea. United responded when Anthony Martial was denied by a close-range Reid block after Fellaini’s knockdown from Jesse Lingard’s delivery had provided the opportunity.

Arnautovic paid off to devastating effect. Shaqiri supplied a pair of wonderful assists for Arnautovic to establish a decisive lead after 15 minutes as City’s defence, again without injured captain Vincent Kompany, reprised the horrors of their thrashings to Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool this season.

Although the scoreline did not match those 4-1 reverses, the manner of the performance arguably plunged further depths.

Manuel Pellegrini’s team were fitful in attack, a far cry from the silken fluency demonstrated by Stoke as match-winner Arnautovic struck a post and passed up two further chances to claim the matchball.

The Premier League leaders could end the weekend in fourth place after a display that made a mockery of their lofty status.

They began the day by welcoming back goalkeeper Joe Hart, while David Silva made his first Premier League start since October 3 and Wilfried Bony deputised for the injured Sergio Aguero up front.

Geoff Cameron replaced Charlie Adam in central midfield for the hosts, but it was Hughes’ forward reshuffle that caught the eye and it paid handsome dividends after seven minutes.

Shaqiri was the architect,

continued from B/P Guardiola’s Bayern have lost at all this season after they went down 2-0 at Arsenal in the Champions League in October.

It was also Bayern’s first Bundesliga defeat since losing 2-1 at Freiburg last May as second-half goals

by Oscar Wendt, Lars Stindl and Fabian Johnson left the Bavarian giants reeling.

encouragement for Manchester City’s attacking riches while Stoke appeared far more likely to contribute something of substance.

A firm hand from Hart prevented Bojan from adding a third having sashayed around Martin Demichelis with mocking ease and Arnautovic was unable to smuggle home the rebound.

Bojan’s next piece of sorcery was a beguiling backheel that released Arnautovic, who flashed the ball across the face of goal when seeking to return Shaqiri’s earlier favours, and Hart charged from his goal to deny the exBarcelona man once more before he departed to a rousing 71st-minute ovation.

Fernando’s nightmare showing was cut short by a hamstring injury as Manchester City limped to the finish line with 10 men, Aleksandar Kolarov rippling the side netting in a fleeting display of defiance.

Bayern Franck Ribery scored Bayern’s late consolation goal on his return after nearly nine months out with injury.

Also, Hertha Berlin defeated 10-man Bayer Leverkusen 2-1, Augsburg won 1-0 at Cologne, Mainz won 3-1 at Hamburg, and Ingolstadt drew 1-1 with bottom club Hoffenheim.

SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 6, 2015 —53

Golden Eaglets can win senior world cup — Prince Oduah F

ORMER Nigeria Football Association and Athletics Federation of Nigeria board-member, Prince Isidore Oduah has called on sports administrators to wake up to their responsibilities of preparing the country’s sports men and women for international sports events. This is against the background of poor outings recorded by Nigerian athletes in recent years. In this chat with BEN EFE, he said that the victory recorded by the Golden Eaglets at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile, was a pointer to the fact that with adequate preparations, Nigeria can excel. He urged the government not to toy with the welfare of the athletes.

Excerpts; We have a new sports minister. He has been talking about corruption in sports and we haven’t heard him say much about how to develop sports in the country?

He is a new person in sports.

I do not know much about him, I cannot pinpoint any of his sporting antecedents. But then we must have to give him the benefit of the doubt. Let us allow him to get himself together. I openly wished that the President would give us somebody with a sports background because we urgently need to develop our sports. But now that we have somebody, we just have to watch him and see what happens. Who knows, he may spring a pleasant surprise to us.

Next year is the Rio 2016 Olympics. If you recall four years ago, Nigeria didn’t win a single medal. With your experience as an athletics person, what’s your take on this?

The trouble we have with our sports is that we do not take care of our athletes. Don’t forget most of the Olympic events are individual sports; each athlete know exactly what to do in training to get results, but they are not prepared, mainly because they don’t have the means to help themselves. We mustn’t do only one side of athletics, we must do it correctly if we want results. Imagine that a country of 170m people cannot produce Olympic champions.

We are going down every day.

We are not looking after our athletes. We need to invest in them. Before going into any competition we must identify those that can win medals for us and get them up to speed.

We must change the way we do things, when we care for our athletes, they will go out there and care for the country.

The National Sports Commission DirectorGeneral was recently quoted as saying that Nigerian athletes have a ‘die-hard’ spirit noting that when it comes to competition they will rely on that to see them through. Do you buy that?

No, I don’t buy that at all.

We have to prepare our athletes so that they can excel at world sports events just like those of other countries. For example look at the Golden Eaglets. They were well prepared for the FIFA World Cup, with long months of camping. This was why they did well at the tournament. I was expecting that the boys would be treated to a grand reception, one in Lagos and one in Abuja with an open air parade for them.

What do you expect the government to do for these boys to show appreciation?

I am disappointed with the way the boys were treated. I am appealing to the President now to do something tangible to honour the Golden Eaglets.

He called on phone to speak to them and the boys went out there to win the world cup. For me that was great patriotism.

He should see that the boys are looked after, because if everything is done properly, they are the future of our football. They won the world cup and if we look after them well, they can win the senior world cup as well.

The President recently

•Prince Oduah

•Golden Eaglets...2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup Champions ordered that promises made to the first set of Eaglets be carried out almost 30 years after, therefore it is not all loss for the 2015 Eaglets?

I hope so. They should be given houses in government estates. Their parents will be very happy because it was their children who brought joy to them and the country.

Besides, it will also spur other youths to take to sports, rather than engage themselves in other things undeserving.

These set of Golden Eaglets should be kept together and their coach Emmanuel Amuneke be given the task to monitor them for the next four years. Let us have a four year plan that may see the boys graduate into the senior national team, with the hope of winning the senior world cup.

Do you think this will be possible? We have football agents already enticing these boys with offers abroad?

It depends on how we handle the boys. This is why I

said there must be a plan.

Whatever these young players need, lets give it to them now.

Is it money, which they will get when playing abroad; give it to them? This is because we need to keep them together; we can stop them from going abroad. Besides how much

money will they earn? It is when they have become established players that they will command heavy figures.

So it is important we watch them grow and see them develop into complete players, with this I repeat they can win the senior world cup.

FIFA crisis causing financial damage

F

IFA’s crisis has caused a sponsorship ‘black hole’ which is so acute that 27 out of 34 slots for potential partners remained unfilled.

The corruption scandal which has engulfed soccer’s world governing body has proved so toxic that no new sponsors have joined since well before the 2014 World Cup. Several major companies which had long-lasting links with the scandal-wracked organisation have severed all ties, including top partners Sony and Emirates.

Out of 14 tier one and tier two partner slots, only seven are currently filled. Efforts to find 20 regional sponsors - four from each continent - have failed completely. The loss of income has had a drastic effect on FIFA’s finances - it has forecast making a deficit of up to €70 million for 2015, the first time it will have made a loss since 2001.

“FIFA is in contact with various companies and potential sponsors,” said FIFA marketing director Thierry Weil.

“But we are also realistic and understand that until reforms are passed at the extraordinary congress, and a new president is elected, that it will be challenging to sign new partnerships.

“Given the ongoing discussions, I am confident that once the reforms are approved by the congress, we will indeed be able to realise our sponsorship concept.”

Meanwhile, the European Club Association has hit out at proposed reforms which include

•Issa Hayatou, FIFA acting president. expanding the World Cup from 32 teams to 40.

FIFA’s executive committee has deferred a decision for reports by the organisation’s administration, but there is strong support for the change, especially from Asia and Africa, and it could be implemented for the 2026 tournament.

An ECA statement said: “The recommendation to enhance the number of participating teams in the FIFA World Cup from 32 to 40 without prior consultation with the clubs (in full knowledge of the impact this will have on the professional club game), is proof that the proposed reforms are not at the required standard allowing for a new and modern FIFA. “ECA will now take the required time to assess how it wishes to position itself in relation to this latest development leaving all options open. Clubs are not prepared to be further ignored.”

54— S UNDAY Vanguard Vanguard,, DECEMBER 6 , 2015

S

uccess sure has its rewards. This ageold aphorism came to the fore last week when Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel, announced some mouth-watering rewards to members of Akwa United Football Club of Uyo, a.k.a. Promise Keepers, who won the 2015 edition of the Federation Cup, courtesy of a 2-1 defeat over Lobi Stars of Makurdi. At a well-attended reception for the victorious teams in Uyo, the governor announced a cash reward of two million naira for each of the players, while the coach got three million naira. The reward package also includes an apartment for each of the footballers and their handlers.

And to ensure the Federation Cup victory is not a fluke, Governor Emmanuel promised to provide the required assistance, material and moral, to enable the club to replicate the success at the continental level next year, when it will

Udom’s Federation Cup reward: Essence of Dakkada

•Gov Udom

be competing in the Confederation Cup championship.

The victory of Akwa United, which broke a 51-year jinx, and the governor’s reward for the team, capture the very essence of Dakkada, the new philosophy that challenges the people of the state to seek success from within themselves. The victory is particularly significant when it is considered that the team barely managed to escape relegation in the premier league. It is a practical confirmation of the wise saying of the late

Xavi: Messi has total command of the game I

“ t was wonderful to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or for so many years, and being at the gala is fantastic. It’s great to be there,” says Xavi Hernandez with a smile. “It’s very rewarding to have everyone congratulating you for being there at the pinnacle of world football.” Having made the three-man shortlist for the FIFA Ballon d’Or every year between 2009 and 2011, and also featuring in the FIFA FIFPro World XI for six years running, the 35-year-old midfielder was a very familiar face at the FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala.

Reflecting on his successes in an interview with FIFA, he recalled his three podium placings in the FIFA Ballon d’Or, including the 2010 award, for which

he was shortlisted along with his friends Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta: “It was historic for me, for Barcelona, and for the whole philosophy at Barça.”

Xavi wasn’t short of an opinion on the race for the 2015 FIFA Ballon d’Or, either: “I think Leo is the clear favourite now, and he deserves it too for everything he’s achieved at Barcelona. There’s no comparison in my book. He has total command of every aspect of the game. He’s the best at everything and he shows that in every match. He deserves this Ballon d’Or.” Xavi also gave his view on the players who could join Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in their nowtraditional battle for the award: “Cristiano and Messi are still a cut above, but other players can come into it too, like Neymar and Luis Suarez.”

•Xavi

•Messi

Brazil champions again, Venezuela break through

B

razil maintained their complete dominance of the South American U-20 Women’s Championship by winning the competition for the seventh time in seven editions. In doing so, they qualified in style for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Papua New Guinea 2016, where they will be joined by tournament runners-up Venezuela.

While the Brazilians have been present and correct at every single U-20 women’s world finals to date, the Venezuelans qualified for

the first time by finishing above Colombia and Argentina in the final fourteam round that was so tightly contested that all four contenders went into the last day with hopes of claiming the title.

Though unprecedented, La Vinotinto’s achievement in finishing runners-up should not have come as a surprise to anyone, with nine of their 22-strong squad have formed part of the team that took fourth place at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Costa Rica 2014.

sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, that how many times a man falls is not as important as his ability to get up each time he falls.

The Akwa Ibom State governmentowned club may not have fallen in the nation’s elite football league in the sense that it was not relegated to the division one category. But it was not successful either, in the real sense of the word, if success means finishing at a respectable position. But because Dakkada is about refusing to be an ‘also ran’ or accepting the tag of a ‘has been’, the players decided, individually and collectively, to wake the lion in them – the same lion that spurred players of Enyimba, Warri Wolves and Nassarawa United into finishing in the top three – they ended the season on a batter note than teams that finished above, them, but below the three clubs. Next year, the team will join Nassarawa United in the Confederation Cup race, with a trophy already in the kitty.

With the very handsome reward for the team, the type of which Nigerians have not seen in recent times, Governor Emmanuel has shown the youth of the state the way to go. He has demonstrated, practically, what may have seemed abstract, which is the fact that you can never tell the height your hobby can raise you, if pursued with passion. This is the kernel of the Dakkada philosophy.

The Nigerian league is one of the poorest paying on the continent, with players earning just enough to enable them to exist. It is the reason the country’s footballers who cannot make the big move to Europe see other leagues in Africa as more inviting, leagues like the ones in South Africa and Tunisia, and even Sudan, whose economy is nowhere near that of Nigeria, in terms of size and strength. And so, for a footballer who plies his trade in an environment where N50, 000 monthly salary is a luxury; where he can barely afford the rent for the accommodation that is just enough for his small family, a bank alert of two million naira in one swoop, including an assurance of a better and more decent accommodation, there couldn’t be a better assurance that he is in the right job.

Interestingly, not all the players of Akwa United are from Akwa Ibom. For those who hail from other parts of the country, the opportunity to own a property in the state, for merely kicking the round leather (as some ignorant people would say), is something they will cherish throughout their lives.

The Federation Cup victory, and the reward that has come with it, may be the stepping stone the players of Akwa United need to reach for the stars. The question they may be trying to answer is the form of reward that could come with a continental cup triumph, if victory at the national level could fetch them so much.

SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 6, 2015 — 55

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SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 6, 2015

Ighalo on target again for Watford T

ROY Deeney and Odion Ighalo helped Watford move back into the top half of the Premier League table as they each scored to see off Norwich City 2-0 yesterday.

A first half of few chances was brought to life on 30 minutes when Ighalo’s powerful run into the box was Continues Page 52

Arnautovic double sinks Man City

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QUICKFIRE first-half brace from Marko Arnautovic led Stoke City to a well-deserved 2-0 victory over an abject Manchester City at the Britannia Stadium.

Stoke boss Mark Hughes dropped Jon Walters to the bench, choosing to combine the lavish creative gifts of Ibrahim Afellay, Bojan Krkic and Xherdan Shaqiri with Arnautovic – a switch that Continues Page 52

West Ham frustrate Man Utd

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•ON TARGET...Watford striker Odion Ighalo strokes the ball beyond Declan Rudd to seal another three points for the Premier League newcomers

Nigeria to battle hosts Senegal in semis N

IGERIA will face hosts Senegal in the semi-final of the U23 AFCON on Wednesday after they held Algeria to a goalless draw in Dakar.

The other semi-final will be between Group B winners Algeria and South Africa, who finished as runners-up.

Nigeria finished runners-up in Group B, while Algeria won the group by virtue of a better goals difference after both teams finished on five points each.

Mali edged past Egypt 1-0 in the other Group B match in Mbour to finish third with three points with the Young Pharaohs bottom on two points.

The top three teams will qualify automatically for the Rio Olympics next year with the fourth-placed team vying for a place in Brazil in a playoff.

In Dakar, the match between Algeria and Nigeria was always going to be a cagey affair after both teams also

battled in a final group game at the inaugural tournament in Morocco four years ago with the West Africans winning 4-1.

In a half of very few openings, Nigeria had two chances to take the lead in Dakar – first an audacious 30yard lob forced goalkeeper Sahli to tip it for a corner in the 13th minute and in the 34th minute Oghenekaro Etebo’s free kick was barely

DOWN 1. Sample (5) 2. Niger state town (4) 3. Observe (5) 4. Lecture (6) 5. Everyone (3) 6. Use (6) 10. Inquires (4) 12. Carpet (3) 14. Colour (6) 15. Resistance unit (3) 17. Coax (4) 19. Rollicked (6) 21. Hatchet (3) 22. Satisfied (4) 23. Nigerian state (3) 26. Cry of derision (3) 27 . African country (6) 28. Endure (4) 29. Child (3) 30. Spoke (6) 31. Adorn (5) 33. Baking chambers (5) 35. Asterisk (4) 37. Possessed (3)

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HELSEA’S nightmare start to the season continued as they suffered a sensational home defeat to Bournemouth yesterday at Stamford Bridge.

The visitors recorded a stunning 1-0 win over the Blues thanks to a late header from substitute striker Glenn Murray.

The reigning Premier League champions made a slow start to the tie and that allowed the Cherries to seize the initiative.

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Bayern lose unbeaten run in Germany

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UNDESLIGA leaders Bayern Munich lost their unbeaten record in Germany’s top tier this season in emphatic style yesterday, going down 31 away to Borussia Moenchengladbach.

It is only the second time Pep

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CROSS WORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1. Governor of Sokoto State (8) 5. Assistant (4) 7. Praise (5) 8. Upright (4) 9. Lantern (4) 11. Tradition (6) 13. Lagos masquerade (3) 15. Exclamation (2) 16. Pig’s nose (5) 18. Agent (3) 20. Glitters (6) 24. Forward (5) 25. Nigerian state (6) 27. Boring tool (3) 29. Ghanaian fabric (5) 31. Perform (2) 32. Oshiomhole’s state (3) 34. U.S. currency (6) 36. Vow (4) 38. Musical quality (4) 39. Inclination (5) 40. Eager (4) 41. Damages (8)

Blues’ woes continue

ANCHESTER United limped to a disappointing 0-0 home draw against West Ham in the Premier League yesterday.

In a familiar performance from Louis van Gaal’s side, the hosts enjoyed most of the possession without creating many clear goalscoring chances, as Marouane Fellaini provided their main threat.

Indeed, it was the visitors who came closest to finding a breakthrough when Winston Reid thumped a first-half header against the post, while

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PREMIER LEAGUE Stoke City 2 Arsenal 3 Man Utd 0 Southampton 1 Swansea City 0 Watford 2 West Brom 1

Manchester City Sunderland West Ham A/Villa Leicester Norwich City Tottenham

0 1 0 1 3 0 1

Serie A Torino

1

Roma

1

Bundesliga Borussia M/glad FC Cologne Hamburger SV Hertha Berlin Ingolstadt

3 0 1 2 1

B/Munich Augsburg Mainz 05 Bayer Leverkusen Hoffenheim

1 1 3 1 1

Liga Real Madrid 4 - 1 Getafe

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