Amaechi fights for true federalism - IBB

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Boko Haram: Help North’s dying children, Turai tells Jonathan

BY GBENGA OKE

W

ife of Nigeria’s former President, Mrs. Turai Yar ’Adua, wants President Goodluck Jonathan to appoint advisers with capacity to handle the Boko Haram amnesty.

She also said there was need for Mr President to replicate what her late husband did on the Niger Delta militancy to end the Boko Haram insurgency.

Speaking during a posthumous award to Yar’Adua for his contribution to the development of the Niger Delta by the Niger Delta Young Professionals (NDYP) in Lagos, Turai, almost in tears, urged Jonathan to have compassion on children dying in the North everyday, just as she maintained that poverty had turned the region into a death zone According to her, “President Jonathan needs to take the bold step my husband (Yar ’Adua) took in the face of critical opposition by granting amnesty

to Niger Delta militants when he saw the alarming rate at which children and women were dying in the Niger Delta region”. Although Turai commended Mr. President,

whom she called, “My brother”, for his readiness to grant amnesty to Boko Haram, she pleaded that the process

should be fast-tracked so that the problem of insecurity, death and poverty afflicting children and women in the North could stop.

“This is your turn to do the same thing in the North. It is imperative of you to appoint good advisers who will guide and direct you on how best to handle the amnesty

programme. My brother, I am not happy with what is going on in the North”, the former First Lady said.

Responding, the Minister of Special Duties and Inter Government Affairs, Alhaji Kabiru Taminu Turaki, said he will deliver Turai’s message to Mr President just as he said that the administration was

leaving no stone unturned to ensure that insecurity ravaging the North was laid to rest.

Also at the event, Chairman of Arik Air, Sir Joseph ArumeniIkide, who was an award recipient, implored government to do more in the areas of employment, insecurity and enhancement of local content.

...President to Nigerians: Don’t be weary

BY BEN AGANDE, Abuja

P

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, assured Nigerians that, despite the security challenge imposed on the nation by the Boko Haram group, it is not time to be weary because Nigeria will overcome. He spoke at the third National Presidential Prayer Breakfast meeting held at banquet hall of the Presidential Villa. According to the president, “Nigerians must

remain hopeful, focused and watchful to overcome all that is evil confronting our nation. We should note the saying of the scriptures that with men, it is impossible, but with God all things are possible”.

He added: “It is worthy to note that this breakfast prayer is coming after the Easter, a period when every Christian is expected to be focused, re-dedicated and reborn. With this renewed spiritual state, we should be poised on uplifing prayer. We are

gathered here this morning not as a jamboree or one off activity but as a reminder for us to join our spiritual energies to pray to God to fill us with wisdom, strength, courage and guidance to make and implement right decisions for our nation. ”I believe that all of us if we begin to do what is right individually and collectively, surely we will take our country to the destination we expect. We pray that God should use all of us Nigerians who know the right

thing to do, to use all of us as change agents because if all of us do what is right, this country will continue to be a great n a t i o n ” .

In a short exhortation to the gathering, entitled: The Blessings if..., Prof. Afolabi Falola, from a church based in Kano, said his message to the president and the gathering was like the valedictory message Moses gave in Deuteronomy Chapter 28 to the children of Israel at the end of his mission.

Northern govs seek expansion of Amnesty Committee HE Northern States T Governors Forum (NSGF) has lauded President Goodluck

Jonathan for setting up a committee to consider proposals for granting amnesty to members of the Boko Haram sect, whose uprising has left thousands of people dead and property worth millions destroyed in the North since 2009.

Chairman of the forum and Governor of Niger State,Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, yesterday, said the decision of President Goodluck Jonathan to dialogue with members of the sect underscores the resolve of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led government to restore peace in the region, saying a peaceful atmosphere would reinvigorate the region’s development.

Aliyu, who spoke through a statement in Abuja by his Chief Press Secretary, Danladi Ndayebo, said: “Northern States

Governors Forum (NSGF) encourages President Jonathan in his effort to find a lasting solution to the Boko Haram crisis, with the hope that members of the sect would make themselves available for dialogue.”

The statement however called for the expansion of the committee’s membership to include critical stakeholders in the region whose input would facilitate quick resolution of the crisis.

“State Governors, traditional rulers, the clergy - Christian and Islamic – academics, retired military men, businessmen and former public officers should form part of the current effort at fashioning out strategies to address the disturbing state of insecurity and to proffer practical and enduring solutions to the insecurity in the region,” the statement said. The statement recalled that the

SOLUTION

NSGF last year inaugurated a 41-man peace committee headed by former Director General of the NIA, Ambassador Zakari Ibrahim whose membership cuts across people with diverse backgrounds. “Although the committee is yet to submit report of its findings, its interface with some stakeholders in the troubled states in the North East is responsible for the progress so far made,” the statement said.

President Goodluck Jonathan flanked by the Chaplain, Aso Villa Chapel, Ven. Obioma Onwuzurumba (right) and Chairman, defunct Interim National Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan arriving for the 3rd Presidential National Prayer Breakfast at the Banquet Hall, State House, Abuja.

Photo by Abayomi Adeshida.

IBB at Vanguard Award: Amaechi fights for true federalism

BY JIDE AJANI

A

T a colourful Vanguard Personality of the Year Award ceremony, held yesterday in Lagos, former military president, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, described Rivers State governor, Right Honourable Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, as a fighter for true federalism.

Babangida also stirred fresh controversy when he asked Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, to seek higher office.

The Vanguard Award ceremony, which saw Amaechi clinching the PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR, had Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank, Mr Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, as his runner up.

The glamourous Eko Expo Hall, where the event took place, was filled beyond capacity as guests kept streaming in while organizers kept re-arranging seats to accommodate more guests. It was the event of the day as the high calibre who-iswho in Nigeria emptied into the hall.

It was in the presence of this mammoth crowd that Babangida stirred controversy

when he urged Tambuwal to seek higher office.

According to the former military president, “Let me salute my brother and friend, the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, for giving us hope and assurances.

“His conduct has shown that the upcoming generation has the capacity to sustain the labour of our heroes past.

“When leaders like Tambuwal have delivered on their electoral promise, we advise them to try something higher.

“For Tambuwal, your guess is as good as mine. Well done”.

At this point, it was a thunderous ovation that greeted Babangida’s speech. For effect, that was the last paragraph of his well-delivered speech; therefore, the ovation that trailed it may have been for his delivery and the suggestion that Tambuwal should seek higher office, which was taken to mean the presidency of Nigeria – at a time when 2015 is at the corner.

The former head of state also had very kind and encouraging words for the winner of the personality of the year award – Amaechi.

BOLD IMPRESSION IBB, as the former military

leader is fondly called, said “Governor Amaechi is not just a governor in whom I am well pleased, but one that has been able to make a bold impression about promise and performance, in a Nigerian political space that is grappling with challenges of development and good governance.

“His conviction that the federating units in the country should be allowed to enjoy some level of independence and exploit their comparative advantages often gets him into trouble, understandably so.

“With leaders who are brutally frank about issues and the politics of transition, leaders who are driven by their conviction like Amaechi and Aig-Imoukhuede, Nigeria still has tremendous hope”.

He then launched into the realm of politics and governance.

In his view, the emphasis now should be about deepening democracy and enhancing the public welfare of the people who are the repository of power ” (Read details at page 12).

Publisher of Vanguard, Sam Amuka, popularly known as Uncle Sam, clad in a black suit, with a black bow-tie, kicked off

Continues on page 12

PAGE 6—SUNDAY VANGUARD, APRIL 7, 2013

World on edge as NorthKorea threatens war

BY TONY NWANKWO with agency reports

T

ENSIONS in the Korean peninsula escalated at the weekend, with South Korea reporting that North Korea has loaded two intermediate-range missiles onto mobile launchers.

North Korea loaded two “Musudan” mediumrange missiles and hid them in an unidentified facility near the country’s east coast, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported.

“Early this week, the North moved two Musudan missiles on the train and placed them on mobile launchers,” a senior military official familiar with knowledge of the matter said, according to Yonhap.

The U.S. and South Korea are watching the North’s activities in its east coast missile launching facility. South Korean intelligence officials believe that the North is preparing for a surprise attack by attempting to keep the missiles concealed.

“We are closely monitoring North Korea’s missile

preparations, but it is not yet clear when and where it will fire off a missile,” South Korean defense ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said in a briefing. “We will step up our military posture if the North’s missile affects us.”

Apparently, the Musudan missile can fly 3,000-4,000 kilometers and is capable of hitting a U.S. military base in

Guam in the Pacific Ocean according to some estimates, although North Korea has not conducted any test launches of the missile.

White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters on Thursday that the missiles “could not reach the U.S. mainland as threatened by Pyongyang,” yet Washington was taking “all necessary precautions,” he added.

President Goodluck Jonathan (left) with visiting President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana during a reception organised for the visiting President at the President's residence, Aso Villa, Abuja. Photo by Abayomi Adeshida.

Ekiti deputy governor dies ...Okere of

T

HE deputy governor of Ekiti State, Mrs. Olufunmilayo Adunni Olayinka, is dead.

A statement by Ekiti State government, last night, said: “The Government of Ekiti State announces with sadness but with gratitude to God, the passing of the State Deputy Governor, H.E. Mrs Olufunmilayo Adunni Olayinka, aged 52, after a tough but courageous battle with cancer.

“She died on Saturday evening.

“Mrs Olayinka, an accomplished banker and corporate sector player

worked in the financial industry for 21 years before heeding the call of service in her home state of Ekiti when she was selected to serve on the ACN Governorship ticket in 2007.

“She demonstrated exemplary courage and dedicated service to Ekiti people both during the struggle to retrieve the stolen mandate and in her position as Deputy Governor.

“She is survived by her husband and children as well as aged parents and siblings.”

Saki also dead

O

KERE of Saki, Oba Kelani Olatoye, is

dead.

The traditional ruler died yesterday at the age of 60.

The Oke Ogun monarch was given staff of office, last year, six years after he had been enthroned.

His death was announced by the Media Assistant to the Alaafin of Oyo, Alhaji Azeez Fehintola.

His remains were interred yesterday evening in Saki according to Islamic rites.

Mr Richard Daniel, from Adamawa State, consoling Chief (Mrs) HID Awolowo on the death of her son, Evangelist Wole Awolowo, during a visit to the Awolowo family, yesterday.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, APRIL 7, 2013 — PAGE 7

56 million Nigerians are hypertensive —NMA

By Chioma Obinna

A

s Nigeria joined the rest of the World today to celebrate 2013 World Health Day with the theme: “High Blood

Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State casting his vote at the APGA State Congress at the Women Developement Centre, Awka, yesterday

From left: Mr Moses Siasia, Chairman, Niger Delta Young Professionals; Sir Akinola Arumemi-Ikhide, Chairman, Arik Air, awardee; Alhaji Kabiru Tanimo, Minister of Special Duties representing President Jonathan; Hajia Turai Umaru Yar ’Adua, collecting for late President Umaru Yar'Adua; Miss Daniella Clinton and Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State, awardees at Niger Delta Young Professionals Award/ Gala nite at Lagos. Photo

by Lamidi Bamidele.

13 policemen feared dead in Bayelsa boat attack Gunmen kill 26 in Adamawa, Plateau, Borno

BY TAYE OBATERU, SAMUEL OYADONGHA & UMAR YUSUF

I

t was a black weekend in Bayelsa State as 13 policemen were feared dead in a boat attack along the creek of Azuazuama in the Southern Ijaw local government area of the state.

26 others were killed in separate attacks in Adamawa, Plateau and Borno States.

The Bayelsa incident, which jolted the security circle in the predominantly riverine state, Sunday Vanguard learnt occurred at about 5p.m. on Friday.

It was also the subject of discussion among security operatives on the Brass Island in Brass local government area where the Mobility Command of the Nigerian Air Force held a two-day free medical services for the people to ameliorate the impact of recent floods that ravaged the state.

Though the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) had threatened attacks on the nation vast oil installations in Delta from mid night of Friday, it was, however, learnt that the Friday attack which claimed the lives of the policemen may have had nothing to do with the threat. The deceased operatives, a security source said, they were heading to the coastal Azuzuama community in the deep mangrove swamp of Southern Ijaw council area when they came under attack. The boat in which they were traveling was reportedly sunk by their assailants, causing them to drown. It was reliably learnt that the policemen were on their way to provide security at the wake-keep of the

mother of an ex-militant leader, said to be locked in feud with his boys over their alleged abandonment.

The ex-militant leader, it was learnt, had relocated to Abuja after embracing the Federal Government amnesty leaving behind his boys.

Sensing trouble, the ex militant leader was said to have approached the police authorities in Yenagoa for police protection during the burial ceremony.

The assailants, who allegedly got wind of the police deployment, were said to have laid ambush for the boat conveying the security operatives along the Azuzuama creek, killing thirteen of them while three reportedly escaped.

The state police public relations officer, Alex Akhigbe, DSP, could not be reached as he was not picking his calls but the state commissioner of police, Mr. Kins Omire, when contacted, said he was in a meeting and his line went off.

‘I counted 13 bodies’

In the Adamawa incident, gunmen attacked Midlu village in Madagali local government area, killing 13 and leaving several others injured.

An eye witness said the attack took place on Friday night while the residents were still mourning after some attackers stormed the area and opened fire on residents, resulting in the death of 11 people on the spot.

The eye witness said the gunmen, numbering about forty, attacked the residence of the Deputy Governor of the state,

Bala James Ngilari, who hails from the village.

He added that the attackers ransacked the Deputy Governor ’s house and shot two security guards there. The Friday incident, according to him, happened after the muslim ISHA’I prayer, and took the residents by surprise. The attackers, he said, shouted “ALLAH is great, ALLAH is great, “ while marching round the village unchallenged. He said he counted 13 bodies after the attack. When contacted, Adamawa State Police Command Public Relations Officer, DSP Mohammed Ibrahim, confirmed the attack.

Attackers die

At least 11 people were killed in the Plateau attacks which occurred in Langtang South and

Wase local government areas yesterday. While gunmen suspected to be herdsmen killed seven and injured several others at Karkashi in Langtang South LGA, four of the attackers in a similar incident at Zango in Wase LGA were not as lucky as they were repelled and killed by the villagers.

The gunmen were said to have struck at Karkashi at about 2.am opening fire on their victims, killing some and injuring many.

Media Officer of the Special Task Force maintaining security in the state, Captain Salisu Mustapha confirmed the Karkashi incident.

He said four suspects have been arrested over the attack and were being interrogated adding that they would be handed over to the police at the end of investigations.

Slain district head

In Borno, gunmen, suspected to be Boko Haram Islamists, in separate attacks, on Friday and yesterday, shot dead the district head of Auno; and a policeman on patrol on the outskirts of Maiduguri.

Auno is 22 kilometres west of Maiduguri, the state capital. The gunmen, according to a resident, came in two unmarked Golf Volkswagen vehicles at 8.35pm Friday and drove straight to the district head’s palace, before firing several gunshots to scare the villagers.

The slain policeman, according to an eye witness was shot dead near Muna Motor Park, yesterday, while patrolling the 85kilometre MaiduguriDikwa road.

Family of four perish in auto crash

BY BOSE ADELAJA

T

ears flowed freely, on Friday, when a family of four popularly called ‘the Bellos’, was involved in an auto crash which claimed their lives on the spot.

The tragedy involved one Alhaji Bello, his daughter in-law and her parents. One of Bello’s tenants was also a victim.

The crash occurred at Agbowa-Ikosi area of Lagos State around 12noon.

According to eye witnesses, the family was travelling in two cars: Alhaji Bello and the

victims in one; the widow and their five-month old grandson in the other.

They left their Bayeku, Ikorodu residence for the graduation of their daughter at Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Ogun State, and decided to bye-pass Sagamu Road for Agbowa due to the bad condition of the road.

An eye witness, Madam Kehinde Olufade, said the family had had a smooth journey until they got to a crater at Ikosi where motorists had to maintain a slow speed.

Due to the dilapidated nature of the road, a

trailer, according to the eye witness, was facing the car driven by Alhaji Bello which he tried to avoid not knowing that a tipper behind him was also trying to overtake him. The Bellos car was said to have landed in a ditch. ‘’As soon as the car entered the ditch, the tipper also lost control and fell into the ditch, killing the victims instantly,”the eye witness said.

Alhaji Bello was said to be planning a trip abroad with his wife which prompted her to apply for a change of name in Vanguard newspaper of Friday. They were yet to buy a copy of the paper when the tragedy took place.

Pressure (HBP)”, Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, raised the alarm over the prevalence of hypertension among Nigerians, disclosing that about 56 million Nigerians are hypertensive.

The NMA also described as unacceptable the fact that ambulance service is still largely unavailable in the country, thus making emergency rescue and early resuscitation of patients with severe complications of hypertension nearly impossible. To this end, the doctors called for immediate pronouncement of one-day public holiday/ free day of health check - up for all Nigerians every six months with effective measures and incentives put in place to encourage compliance.

In a press statement yesterday to mark this year’s World Health Day in Lagos, the President, Dr Osahon Enabulele, regretted that many factors including high cost of treatments and unavailability of ambulance services in the country had made management of the condition almost impossible.

PMG-MAN seminar on tenders

T

he Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria PMG - MAN in conjunction with Genius Associates, a

leading training and management consultancy in Nigeria, has concluded arrangements to train executives in the healthcare and related industries on how to strategize to win institutional tenders locally and internationally. Principal consultant and Chief Executive Officer of Genius Associates, Mr Gbola Adebisi, said the training seminar had become important owing to the stiff competitive nature of the business.

In his own contribution,

the Executive Secretary of PMG - MAN, Pharmacist Kunle Okelola, informed that the training seminar

holds on 11th and 12th April 2013 at the TOM Associates Manpower Development Centre, Anthony Village Lagos, during which the Chairman of PMGMAN, Pharmacist Olubunmi Olaopa, is expected to deliver the keynote address.

PAGE 8—SUNDAY VANGUARD, APRIL 7, 2013

Boko Haram and the tortoise doctrine “To beat you!” said the lion.

‘Is that so?” said the Tortoise.

“Na so e be” said the lion.

“In that case give me a minute” said the Tortoise, “grant me my last wish…”

“Ah. Take ten minutes” said the Lion, amused, and feeling very generous. Well, the Tortoise began to trample on the ground, scatter the soil; and beat the grass; to make the place generally rough and well acted upon. The Lion was taken aback by this, and he couldn’t contain himself.

“Tortoise, what’re you doing?”

“Writing down my own story…”

“What? You crazy little thing. You no get sense!”

“Balogun lion, look at me, what do you see?”

“A crazy little thing whom I’m going to beat up soon.”

“Good. But you do not see it yet. I am a small thing, and you ask why I scatter this place.”

“Yes...”

“Well, you’re powerful and I cannot match your physical strength. So, you’re going to beat me,

I have no doubt. However, when people come here, and see this place, they will say, “the great tortoise put up a fierce fight against the mighty lion. They will know I did not go down very easily.” It is the uncom-

,

P

RESIDENT Good luck Jonathan, truly found his vocation: with a doctorate in Zoology, there could be no better place for him to put his skills to work than in the Zoo called Nigeria. Nigeria is a zoo, with all kinds animals: the benign and the ferocious; their instincts are the same. At the top of this zoological food chain, are the big animals – the elephants of the jungle – where ever their footsteps fall – the grass was forbidden to grow.

But let me tell a little Igbo story, and Chinua Achebe had told it in some part in Anthills of the Savannah: the peaceful and indistinct tortoise was walking down a pathway one day when the lordly lion met him on his way, and roared: “aha! God done catch you today!” He said to the Tortoise; “I have been looking for you!”

The Tortoise of course knew the lion’s reputation for bullying, but he retained his dignity.

“Beg your pardon,” he said to the lion, “but why have you been looking for me?”

selves means of escape, nest eggs in various secret banks in foreign lands; emergency evacuation of their families and close friends; simply, at the high places are the Nigerian equivalent of the “Noah’s Ark projects” that will save only a few privileged species of the Nigerian animal, while the fire and conflagration that is close by burns the land. In preparation for the final days of Nigeria, while Nigerians hide and pray, the Nigerian elite has systematically stripped every public institution of its meaning: Nigeria’s University and research facilities have

The purpose of the Nigerian government in the last fifteen years, at least, has been to oversee the liquidation of the shared space of nation; to make Nigeria irretrievable, to supervise its demise, and seal its final treaties

mon wisdom of the oppressed to rise to the occasion of history and deploy, by all means necessary, their own means of resistance. Nigerians too should not go down too easily. It is obvious that this ship called nation is sinking, and very fast, and a firefight is going on. It is obvious that Nigeria’s political leadership has been withholding the absolute secrets of Nigeria’s final days from the Nigerian public. They seem to have prepared for them-

,

gone to the dogs; Nigeria’s electric and energy delivery system has been sold part for part and in bits to the highest bidders; its oil fields have been mortgaged to foreign interests in the knowledge that there will not be a future generation; its strategic telecommunication infrastructure was the first to be farmed out, as no other country in the world does.

No nation other than Nigeria has ever handed its national telecom-

munication system – the basis of its national security – to private foreign interests, nor its core strategic national industrial infrastructure – steel and aluminum plants bought and sold, and those that could not be sold, allowed to slide into decay. It is clear, that the purpose of the Nigerian government in the last fifteen years, at least, has been to oversee the liquidation of the shared space of nation; to make Nigeria irretrievable, to supervise its demise, and seal its final treaties. The federal government itself acts like an enemy of the Nigerian people.

Those who have held power at the center and the states in Nigeria in the last fifteen years are not our brothers or sisters, our neighbors, our kinsmen, our classmates, they do not care for us as Nigerian citizens; they are not out to build the future of this nation; they are the millstones on the neck of the Nigerian people, acting out the orders of powerful global forces to reduce and erase what is currently Nigeria from the face of the globe.

Boko Haram is the final nail in the coffin of Nigeria. What is Boko Haram? Nobody knows.

They are “ghosts” said the Nigerian president.

“Give them amnesty ” says the Sultan and the so-called leaders of the North. “Bring them out and we’ll begin negotiation” says the Jonathan government. In this case, the president is right. No one can offer amnesty to

ghosts. If Sultan Abubakar and General Buhari knows them, let them bring out Boko Haram, and then any talk of amnesty might rightly begin.

But at the moment, and as General Azubuike Ihejirika, Chief of the Nigerian Army said last Monday, Boko Haram’s method is “baffling.”

Well, this might just be because, there are too many Boko Harams. It is now a franchise with many mimic groups, including “Black Ops” groups within government, milking dry the national security vote which is now higher than the budget for education and research, industry and labour, put together.

Everybody is now Boko Haram. And Nigeria is like tinder, right at the edge, about to combust.

And I say, Nigerians should not go down too easily. They should adopt “the Tortoise doctrine” of resistance, and they have two options: either commit mass suicide, one agreed “national suicide night” at the family tables, or organize and fight, and take back the sovereign mandate.

Nigerians should protest and reclaim their rights, create inter-community defense pacts to defend themselves in the coming anarchy because the federal government, it increasingly seems, no longer has the capacity to defend Nigeria or guarantee the rights and internal security of Nigerian peoples.

2015: Northern govs battle Sambo

BY SONI DANIEL

T

HE clamour for the return of the Presidency to the North in 2015 appears to be heading for the rock, as two northern governors are said to be scheming to replace Vice President Namadi Sambo and assist President Goodluck Jonathan to retain power till 2019.

Investigations by Sunday Vanguard showed that the two governors, who will be rounding-off their second term in 2015, do not believe that the North would be able to wrestle power from Jonathan in the next elections and have, therefore, opted to team up with him rather than rock the boat, a position that might anger northern leaders who think otherwise.

One of the governors, who is from the Northwest, is said to have been goaded by some Presidency officials to take several actions to under-

mine Sambo and portray him as weak and a political liability to the presid e n t .

The governor is alleged to have connived with some political opponents of the vice president and sponsored “a survey” which showed that the North did not want Sambo to run as Jonathan’s VP in 2015 because of his perceived ‘weakness and lack of political clout’.

He is also said to have formed the habit of arriving late at events involving the vice president to draw attention to himself in the process.

For instance, a source pointed out that during a recent recitation competition in Gusau, Zamfara State, presided over by the VP, the governor stormed the venue with his supporters almost an hour after Sambo and other dignitaries had been seated.

He allegedly acted same way during last week’s reconciliatory meeting of the PDP in Bauchi at-

tended by the VP as he waited for Sambo and other guests to be seated before he sauntered into the hall with his praisesinging supporters, thereby distracting proc e e d i n g s .

Sunday Vanguard learnt that apart from arriving late at the event, the governor also went there with mementos branded with his name and photographs apparently to draw support for his political ambition.

The action reportedly sent shockwaves to those who saw it as an undeclared campaign for the 2015 polls.

The other governor, from the North-west, as learnt by Sunday Vanguard, is working hard to get presidential endorsement to emerge as a consensus candidate for the chairmanship of the troubled Nigerian Governors’ Forum, NGF. A Presidency source said the governor now spends more time in Abuja than his state, a development that has become a source

of anger to his people.

Although the governor had allegedly sought the support of his colleagues to emerge as a successor to Rotimi Amaechi as the NGF chairman, it was learnt that majority of northern governors, who met recently at Benue Governor ’s Lodge in Asokoro, Abuja, openly told him that they would not back his candidature for the NGF post.

Reacting to the development, the National President of the Arewa Youth Forum, Alhaji Gambo Gujungu, said northern youths were aware of subterranean moves by some politicians to ridicule Sambo, but warned that they would not allow any individual or group to disgrace the vice president.

Gujungu told Vanguard Vanguard, yesterday, that although the youths were not politicians, they would however want politicians to respect the office of the VP and accord Sambo due respect and support.

From left: Managing Director, Forever Living Products Nigeria/Benin Republic, Mr. Cornelius Tay, Vice President, FLP Africa, FLP International Inc., Mr. Gary Shreeve and Company Director of Operations, Africa, Mr. Jackson Adagala, at the unveiling of NAFDAC approved FLP FAB Energy Drink in Lagos.

Maku-Eyituoyor denies media report on Warri North crisis

S

PECIAL Project Di rector on the Sape le-Abigborodo Road, Delta State, Mr. Francis Maku-Eyituoyor, has denied granting interview to a Vanguard reporter over an alleged looming crisis in Warri North Local Government Area as published in the newspaper penultimate Friday.

He decried the mentioning of his name in the news report, just as he described it as embarrassing to his person. “I did not grant any interview to the reporter let alone to confirm the alleged incident reported by

the correspondent,” MakuEyituoyor stated.

It would be recalled that a speedboat ferrying passengers from Sapele to communities in Warri North recently was reportedly hijacked by some Ijaw militants. The militants were allegedly said to be demanding that an Ijaw should be made the chairman of the Warri North council because according to them, no Ijaw man has occupied the seat since the creation of the LGA. Meanwhile, it was gathered that the issue has since been brought under control by security men.

SUNDAY Vanguard, APRIL 7, 2013, PAGE 9

News: State of the Nation

"AMNESTY to the rescue!"

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

Still on Kano bomb blast Dear Sir,

T

HE recent bomb blast in which scores of people died and some injured that rocked a motor park in Sabon Gari, Kano, the Kano State capital has again left many Nigerians in a stupor of surprise and pangs of anger and righteous indignation. These frequent bombings in Nigeria have not only dented but denigrated the image of our beloved country nationally and internationally.

Furthermore, I wish to describe the blast as serious national and international embarrassment. In addition, it is quite obvious that the incidence have raised fundamental issues about national security, governance as well as Nigeria’s corporate existence. It had been shock, grief and lamentation since the incidence happened.

In view of all the bombings taking place in various places in the country with loss of lives and properties and trying to make the country ungovernable for President Goodluck Jonathan and his team, I think it is absolutely necessary and should be handled as a matter of urgency to seek for external assistance in order to find out the bombers and their sponsors. It is flabbergasting that security agencies have not been able to help matters in this regard. At times, we arrest, the suspects will escape either from cell or while police men were on patrol with them. This is ridiculous!

The federal government should endeavour as much as practicable to rise to the challenge of unmasking those behind the cowardly and dastardly act no matter how highly placed in the society and crush them in a most exemplary manner to serve as deterrent to others who would ever think of engaging on destructive act.

The bombing in a motor park is as condemnable as it is despicable and

regrettable.

However, let this be a time of sober reflection for us all. As Nigerians and international communities condemned the wicked act, let everybody look inward and reappraise what happened. Injustice and oppression cannot but ultimately produce a desire for revenge and/or rebellion. Let our deep sympathy go to all who lost their lives, persons, properties and sense of

security. Nigeria needs to be made safe for all, and the federal government should lead and show the way to this purposefully and decisively.

Charles Ikedikwa Soeze, a public affairs analyst writes in from Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), Effurun, Delta State, Nigeria.

(08036724193) charlessoeze@yahoo.ca

Why Akunyili must run for Ananbra guber polls Dear Sir,

I

want to use this medium to send a passionate appeal to Nigeria’s rare gem, Dora Akunyili, to please in the name of God, good governance, accountability, and charismatic leadership, seek to be the next Governor of Anambra State in the forthcoming election.

Like all Nigerians know, Dora was one of the greatest discoveries of OBJ’s government, and it will be bad for this great woman of virtue to remain in the background while the country keeps yearning for good leadership. I see her failed attempt at the National Assembly as the hand of God so that she will fit into her proper place - the Government House, not the National Assembly.

The National Assembly so far has carved itself the image of a group of

old spent people looking for where to retire to complete their days on earth.

They stroll into the chambers the day they feel like, sit and listen to the few who have something to say, echo ‘’ I’’ and ‘’ nay’’, then retire to their cosy appartments; at the end of month they will collect salaries and allowances far disproportionate to the‘’I’’ and ‘’nay’’ they shouted. The sadder dimension to it is that, the very few resolutions they pass usually end up as ‘’ personal opinions’’ unfit for presidential implementation.There are of course a few bright patriotic minds who want to serve the nation but the point remains that their good contributions during debates still end up in the presidential dustbins.

There is failure in all aspects of the economy and the National Assembly that is supposed to serve as the Watch Dog through proper over-sight functions only wait for the damage to

be done then they probe, and at the end of the probe the hunter ends up being hunted, then silence, till the next damage.

The full leadership impact of this priceless Jewel, Dora will not be felt in that kind of place, rather in the govt house where she is in full control of affairs.

I can see that Gov Obi doesn’t want to anoint any successor; but one mark of good leadership is the ability to see a good successor and encourage him to possibly succeed you.

One of the greatest leadership qualities of ex-Gov Tinubu was the ability to fish out a Fashola to continue his good works and even surpass them.

I wish she will heed this call I make on behalf other Nigerians particularly Anambrarians.

Nath Ngerem ngeremnath@yahoo.com

PAGE 10—SUNDAY Vanguard, APRIL 7, 2013

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of the most devastating consequences of their pronouncements. War means destruction, of what had been built the stifling of the potential for further development. Whatever else does not happen, when war occurs, it will set us back indeterminable number of years.

Now let me provide a short list of important individuals who have mentioned the possibility of war; not just because they are high profile, but because they represent demographic blocks whose common belief in the possibility of war, if continued could result in a self-fulfilling prophesy engulfing the rest of us. Let me state, up-front, that I hope and pray that our situation in Nigeria does not degenerate to another war. It will be too devastating for words. Unlike the 1967-1970 Civil War, this will be a war without front lines. In virtually every zone of Nigeria, there are ethnic, communal conflicts which are just waiting for a total breakdown in government control to erupt into all out sectional wars. To state that the security forces are overwhelmed is to state the obvious, and, perhaps to understate their perplexity and loss of control of the situation in Nigeria today.

Even, the village idiot now knows that genocidal individuals, pyromaniacs,

Nigeria is green and rich but...

"The greatest threat to freedom is the absence of criticism."--- Wole Soyinka S they say, those with ear should listen. I believe that boat has long sailed with us in Nigeria.

We have instead been grappling with the day to day hustle and bustling.

Majority of Nigerians cannot look beyond the day to look at the bigger picture; that of saving our land. Our leaders have been enriching their pockets and playing big men and women. They have been leaving the people scrabbling for crusts and fighting amongst themselves to notice that that our ship-Nigeria is rudderless and no real leader at the helm to guide us to safety so that we can flourish.

I do remember when you receive visitors in the days of yore, you place about 6 different bottles of iced beverage in front of them and then place up some choicest meat and that was for starters. This was not a rich man's home it was

A

an average person's home, not so very long ago.

I remember getting in a taxi without trepidation and telling the driver to keep the change. These were the days between the army and the politicians. Schools were good and you know if you did well, you can get a job. Most of all you wanted to help your parents who had been there for you and paid your school fees.

When we talk and pray we should be praying for a better time for our children and we should be working towards better for our children. Or shouldn't we? Am I wrong?

So the esteemed, Noble Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka said, "Let us face it; this nation is on the brinks. Those who do understand it, I feel very sorry for them because they will one day wake up and find out that we have fallen as a nation. This is not what we envisaged when we struggled for independence. This is not what we envisaged when we struggled to overthrow military dictatorship

The minute Jonathan felt that he had spies in his cabinet is when he should have dissolved that cabinet. Otherwise, he might as well invite Boko Haran leaders to his cabinet meetings

,

to that effect. Today, Reuben Abati just announces that government condemns the killings. Even they now know that it is now totally impossible to bring to justice all the perpetrators of murders and genocide. All those who have died since 2011, for various reasons, have died “like dogs for no good reason”. That is bad enough.

The reason we are inching closer to the brink of war is the most frightening part of all. It is difficult enough when a government is faced with war from a declared enemy threatening the corporate existence of the nation. It is quite another thing when the government and some of its top government officials, and

with the President or Prime Minister, is to track down the enemies within the corridors of power. Each spy in the cabinet is worth more than 10,000 armed men; because he could get up to that number of the armed forces and civilians eliminated by providing vital information to the enemy.

The minute Jonathan felt that he had spies in his cabinet is when he should have dissolved that cabinet. Otherwise, he might as well invite Boko Haran leaders to his cabinet meetings….

and restore the rights and dignity of human beings.

But whether we like it or not, it has come upon us."

I am sure many scoffed, some rained abuse, the rest went along, as always, back into their denial mode .

Until we as individuals take a long hard look at ourselves, we will remain in limbo and nothing will change unless we all work together. What is the alternative? It is bad, it will get worse, but can it get worse than worse? Should it?

There has to be a point of no return and I believe we have very nearly got there.

I have more questions than answers. Can we honestly say that the way Nigeria is right now is healthy for us and our children? It has been said that Nigeria is the worse place for a child to be born in this year. On top of that we now have

They cannot compete with their counterparts elsewhere .They feel insecure, they have to struggle from the onset, they have no say in their future and no means to work their way out of poverty. They are the future Nigerians and instead it seems while we fight and backbite,others are siphoning and brazenly emptying the future for our children.

We need to value every life,we are too quick to shrug our shoulders, as many die needlessly on bad roads, ill-equipped and expensive health care services, it is appalling and we keep sailing from one disaster to the next and people remain resolute that we are not at the brink ? When I left the country, Andrew was on television telling Nigerians not to check out.

Some of us did and some

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“They wrote, in the old days, that it is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country.

But in the modern day there is nothing sweet and fitting in your dying. You will die like a dog for no good reason”. Ernest Hemmingway.

(VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS p 267).

UST for a start, let me very quickly point out one of the consequences of the increasing declaration of impending war by sages and fools in Nigeria; for no other reason than the fact that I am an economist. And, “The economist, like anyone else, must concern himself with the ultimate aim of man”, said the father of classical economics, Alfred Marshall, 1842-1924. We are a “ rich-and-poor ” nation; meaning that seventy percent of our people need not live in poverty. But, all our leaders, without exception, especially since the discovery of oil at Oloibiri, had conspired to make themselves rich and the vast majority of us poor. It has never been worse than now.

Unfortunately, war threatens the little we have built up as well as the potential for future growth by putting a halt to new investments and encouraging capital flight – which often means divestment. So, before the noise gets louder, government, first, and those proclaiming imminent war, must be made aware of one

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On the brink of war: Consider the consequences first -- 1

and mindless destroyers now have the advantage over the security forces and peace loving Nigerians.

Open any newspaper, any day, anywhere in Nigeria today and the most constant news report starts with “Gunmen kill…….”. Until a few months ago, the Federal Government would respond to such incidents by promising to ensure that the “perpetrators are brought to book”, or words

political allies, are double agents fighting on many sides of the multiple wars.

When President Jonathan announced, in his characteristic “innocence”, that there are “Boko Haram members within the cabinet”, without at the same time launching a security manhunt for those spies within high government circles, he had done more than enough to undermine the efforts of the Joint Task Force. I challenge anyone to go and read any book about the operations of the CIA, KGB or MI5/MI6, and you will discover that the first task of the nation’s top security officers, starting

OKAH CONVICTION: BLAMING THE JUDICIARY UNFAIRLY

“When all think alike; none thinks very much”.

A country deserves its government, it sounds harsh but we do. How can we want the best of everything but we are consistently failing to work towards the best

the dubious membership of being a terrorist country. That is, we are on top of the kidnapping country league table of course ,we also have most corrupt and fraudulent nation titles.

Our youths are massively unprepared for the modern world; academically, morally and developmentally.

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came back home and stayed.

What is really worth telling is that those of us outside Nigeria, home remains where our heart is and we support our loved ones at home and I would hate to think what would happen if that was not the case.

If we all sweep our own

Walter Lippmann, 18891974. erhaps on no other P subject, in recent history, has the media, espe-

cially the print media, been so overwhelmingly wrong than on the blanket condemnation of the Nigerian judiciary for the failure to convict Okah and other alleged terrorists. For once, respected columnists, regular contributors and whole editorial boards simply allowed heads to go to sleep while sentiments took over.

Otherwise, it is difficult to imagine why so many, ordinarily lucid individuals should have fallen into the trap of accusing the nation’s judiciary of not convicting individuals who had not been brought before a Nigerian court of law for their cases to be decided. I even suspect that the, mostly successful, attempt to shift the blame from the Executive branch to the Judiciary must have been master-minded by the former in order to escape public criticism for its failure once again.

The first question to ask any of those blasting the Nigerian judiciary is: has Okah been brought before any Nigerian court to be tried? The answer, of course, is NO. So how can any court in Nigeria be accused of not convicting Okah when he is not accused before them? The second question is the more interesting one and it is the one that exposes the ignorance, mischief or rascality of the Nigerian media on this issue.

Why is Okah not an accused before a Nigerian court and why despite the fact that there is sufficient evidence to link him to the crimes, for which he was convicted in South Africa, corner then we can overwhelm that problem that faces Nigeria. We cannot afford to keep playing one tribe against another, this way we muddy the waters and we allow our distractors to get away with more of the same and even worse. They say a country deserves its government, it sounds harsh but we do.

How can we want the best of everything but we are consistently failing to work towards the best. I know that the problem is not Nigeria, Nigeria is green and rich in resources and as for location , we could not have wished for a better place to call home, we really are so blessed. So whether we like it or not Nigeria is our home and wherever else we go, is never going to feel like home.

‘Oluwole dwarfed by his heritage’

My respected elder, Balogun of Iddo, Chief S.A. Jimoh, invited me to the marriage of one of his daughters' in Lagos.

Of course, there in resplendent glory were all the well-heeled Egba and the hospitality of the Alake was outstanding.

Jimoh’s daughter was to marry into the Awolowo clan. Nothing prepared me that it was Oluwole Awolowo was being referred to. I entered the reception venue and I met the Awolowos. Segun (Jnr) headed the clan as the son of the head of the family, though Segun senior was dead and there was Tokunbo Awolowo -Dosumu,

the Federal government of Nigeria did not request for his extradition to face trial here? Admittedly, that is a long question. But, try and split it and you will begin to understand that the Executive branch of the Nigerian government, because somebody has something to hide, never wanted Okah in Nigeria. He knows too much about those who master-minded all those kidnappings, bombings, oil pipe line vandalisations and acts of sabotage, for which amnesty was granted, than to be allowed to state them in the Nigerian court. ore to the point, M Okah could not possibly be convicted in

Nigeria for the October 1, 2010 bombing in Abuja because the President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, had damaged the prosecutor’s case irredeemably. The President as CommanderIn-Chief of the Armed Forces, C-I-C, is also the nation’s Chief Security Officer. Jonathan is on record – electronic, print etc – shortly after the blast, in which several people lost their lives, stating categorically, that MEND was not involved, that “ we know those who are behind this”; or words to that effect. Even a fresh graduate of the Nigerian Law School would have had no difficulty obtaining a “no case submission” after what the President said (I am straining myself to be polite). In fact, it is the Presidency which has made it impossible to prosecute the case and without prosecution, a court cannot just declare someone guilty just to please the mob which the media has become in this instance.

Segun(Jnr)'s aunt.

Oluwole was not seen around. That was not expected in the Yoruba society. We wait at home for good news like of betrothals. So I did not know Wole had been ill. That he had been in an auto accident which was troubling; since 2006! And it has been the cause of his end in March this year.

I was an admirer of Chief Awolowo until he died and I never met him in flesh. Yet, I worked for the Tribune on the heady days of turbulence of the crises. I worked there between 1963 and 1964. I knew Wole from a distance but know of his exploits in positive pursuits.

As my own Uncle Biz said, Wole's output has been “dwarfed by his heritage,” Awo's has been prodigious.

Wole has done the three things a man must do; father a child, write a book and plant a tree and he did much more. He was a manager of men and resources, he was a politician at local level and at state level. Tributes has been pouring in as well as condolences to Chief (Mrs) H.I.D. Awolowo and Wole's siblings. Our President somehow got the cake. For him, it was another opportunity for politicking. He assured the family that his administration would render necessary support to the children of the deceased.

The entire WEST will miss Wole and I trust Lagos will hold session for him.

Adeiu, Unbreakable.

Kola Animasaun.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, APRIL 7, 2013, PAGE 11

Nigeria records another fake impeachment enough to add a bit of logic to their bizarre conduct thereafter. No wonder, the former Deputy Governor, of Bauchi State, Garba Gadi was impeached while on annual vacation leave; meaning that his hair was shaved in his absence. Sometimes, our legislators are bribed to remove even their own Speaker from office. Al-

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A

T last, Sir Jude Agbaso has been removed from office as Deputy Governor of Imo State; by the State House of Assembly. In essence, everyone including the blind probably saw it coming. The way it was handled has also made it to become the latest fake impeachment in Nigeria. The last of its type transpired on Thursday, October 04, 2012 when the then Deputy Governor of Taraba State, Sani Abubakar Danladi, was impeached by the State House of Assembly. It was a process which easily showed that the legislators were contracted to do a hatchet job. Hence, we described them in this column at the time as the Taraba State “House-Boys” who could be ordered here and there for a fee. It was indeed rumoured then that each of them got N60 million to do the job.

Painfully, our law makers have successfully developed a trait of unwittingly putting themselves up for sale. Once compromised, they are never painstaking

ing to the legislators, they removed the Speaker for non-performance. Interestingly, he had been in office for barely 72 hours.

When was he to perform?

In the latest case of Imo State, what the legislators were allegedly paid to remove Jude Agbaso as Deputy Governor is yet to be uncovered but the Assembly has not acted against the run of

Historically, Imo legislators are probably better as comedians than as law makers. To drive home this point, let us recall what the last Assembly did some 5 days to the expiration of its lifespan in 2011

though the Niger State Executive denied formally that it paid the State Assembly to replace a particular Speaker, the absurd reason given by the legislators for the removal of the speaker concerned has till date remained suspect. Accord-

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play. Historically, Imo legislators are probably better as comedians than as law makers. To drive home this point, let us recall what the last Assembly did some 5 days to the expiration of its life-span in 2011. According to media reports,

PhD, Department of Philosophy, University of Lagos,

The trouble with Nigerians (3) by now that Nigerians are tired of the hackneyed shibboleth that he is a “nice person” who wants to work for the people but whose efforts are being hampered by “enemies of progress.”

What the suffering masses need are not excuses but concrete actions that can change their lives for the better and ensure the greatest happiness for the greatest number.

Perhaps Jonathan is trying his best. But despite the florid linguistic acrobatics of his subordinates, he still

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T

HIS means that the President will make more decisions that, in his own calculations and those of his ardent supporters who are benefiting from the present situation, will bolster his reelectability inspite of how Nigerians will vote in 2015. Now, if the promises President Jonathan made to Nigerians when he was campaigning for election in 2011 are compared with his actual performance, campaigning for a second term would be suspect because he has not delivered on most of those promises.

But trust members of the ruling cabal in the PDP whose controlling ideology is the Machiavellian principle of “the end justifies the means.” They will use all necessary means to get Jonathan “ reelected.”

However the President and his party should not be overconfident that “business as usual” will work in their favour in the next elections, especially if the other relatively strong opposition parties organise themselves into a formidable political force before 2015. According to an Igbo aphorism, “Tomorrow is pregnant. No one knows for sure what it might bring forth.” President Jonathan should know

Of course, I am not claiming that all Nigerians manifest these traits all the time or that they are peculiar to Nigerians alone. The point that needs to be underscored is that, given certain entrenched habits and mind-set encapsulated in what is sometimes called the “Nigerian factor,” there is a reciprocal relationship between malignant mediocre leadership and an indifferent citizenry lacking in social conscience and patriotism. Delinquent corrupt leaders who have been

Perhaps Jonathan is trying his best. But despite the florid linguistic acrobatics of his subordinates, he still has a long way to go if he really wants to be reelected

has a long way to go if he really wants to be reelected. Up to this point the current leadership has been the focus of analysis because the core problems hindering Nigeria’s progress stem from bad leadership. Nevertheless there is need to identify certain character traits among Nigerians which not only breed poor quality leadership but also perpetuate it.

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messing up the country are Nigerians, which means that certain bad attitudes and crooked habits which they had internalised before ascending leadership positions are precisely what they manifest and are still manifesting in the exercise of power. The near total absence of social conscience in a significant percentage of Nigerians has resulted in a feeling of al-

they removed their speaker and his Deputy and elected new ones; approved the suspension of nine other members; replaced the Chief Press Secretary to the former speaker and froze all the bank accounts of the House. The new Speaker announced that within the short period remaining, that is, 5days, ALL the obnoxious laws earlier passed by the House, would be reviewed. All the house committees were then dissolved while the political parties in the house were requested to submit the names of their members to reconstitute the new committees supposedly to function for the next 5 days. Should the action of such a House surprise anyone?

In fairness, Imo Assembly members are no less proactive in impeachment matters than their colleagues in some other States of the federation. The fate of Agbaso is a case in point. The legislators have not only concluded his impeachment, they also simultaneously cleared his replacement in a record time. Indeed, the speed with which they handled both issues makes it hard for an onlooker to know which of the twins came first.

Some of the legislators, we hear have argued that they have a constitutional power to do what they did. A look at Section 188 of our constitution which governs the impeachment of a State Governor or his deputy

largely validates their argument. However, the point must also be made that whereas their action appears to comply with the letter of the said Section 188, it violently disparages the spirit of the same section. This is because the section was intended to create room for the removal of a clearly undesirable element from office. It was not intended to be used as the Imo legislators have just done, as a sword to inflict pain on political rivals, associates or even enemies. In addition, the impeachment process that removed Agbaso was rough and as usual was hurriedly done to arrive at a pre-determined end by whatever method.

Oh yes, no effort was made to prove the grave allegations made against the Deputy Governor before the Assembly acted on them. Did the contractor really bribe anyone? If so, how come he was unable to do further work when he still had over N600 million which he gave no one? Again, if the zero tolerance slogan for corruption of their Governor is what propelled the House to move against Agbaso for allegedly receiving a huge bribe of N458 million, why did they not trace the destination of the money as well as how and when the amount left the account of the bribe giver? Furthermore, what answers did the House get from others whose names were mentioned in the scandal? For example, did the Governor

refute the claim by his erstwhile Deputy that the bribe giver is his own friend and that Agbaso first met the contractor in the company of the Governor at Imo Hotels?

Is it true that it was Agbaso who duly recommended in writing that the over bloated sum of the contract concerned be reduced? Is it also true that the response of the Governor was an approval for the contractor to be paid over N1billion for job not done? Does it not sound strange that the contractor, after having been paid, felt obliged to bribe the man who wanted his profit reduced? If as we hear, the contract in question was for the rehabilitation of a -3kilometre road, was the Imo Assembly comfortable with such a contract amounting to N400 million per kilometer? What about the argument that the contract was neither advertised nor was there any bidding for it? Is the bribe giver not a party to the crime? If so, what happens to him or did he become a prosecution witness for the Assembly?

Are we sure there was no kind of plea bargaining in the process? What about the rumour that one aide of the Governor has since become a member of the bribe giver ’s company- did that happen? In any case, how does the Assembly intend to ensure that the bribe money is refunded to its original owners- the Imo people?

ienation. For instance, Nigerian youths in general feel that they do not really have a stake in a country in which political power is recklessly used for primitive accumulation by a powerful cabal, a society controlled by leaders who shamelessly subordinate the future wellbeing of the youths for instant gratification and in which opportunities to earn a decent living are not expanding in proportion to the number of people willing and able to work. Therefore some of them try persistently to leave the country by any means possible in pursuit of a “better life,” while others engage in nefarious activities either for survival or to satiate their greed.

Moreover the youths, in the frenetic quest to “make it,” are steadily jettisoning important moral values that promote nation-building.

This crisis of values can be seen in the insane drive for material success and lack of consideration for others.

There is, increasingly, tendency to disregard merit, excellence and quality, an attitude which, as already indicated, harms the society. The deplorable and abominable qualities routinely manifested by Nigerian leaders, such as gross indiscipline, extreme avarice and egoism, as well as sloppiness and dormant social conscience, are ingredients of the “Nigerian factor”; that is, they constitute what may be called “the Nigerian character.” There is a very important component of the Nigerian factor which deserves serious attention. The generation of Nigerians born before the Biafran war may justifiably

be described as a wasted generation for failing to deploy wisely Nigeria’s tremendous human and material resources to transform her into the leading black nation in the world. Sadly Nigerians currently in the age group of twenty-five to forty-five appear not to have learnt any lessons from the mistakes of their elders.

Consider this: Nigerians often complain that politics is a “dirty” game, that welleducated, imaginative and creative young Nigerians with the right mental habits to lead Nigeria aright have abandoned politics for thugs and undesirable elements. To a large extent this complaint is justified. But what are Nigerians born from 1970 onwards doing about the situation especially given that some of them have what it takes to out-perform the elders who have misruled the country for too long? The answer, in most cases, is nothing, for the simple reason that they are playing too safe in a fundamentally unsafe environment. They are satisfied in their little comfort zones characterised by selfish and indulgent individualistic materialism, to the extent of being completely indifferent to what happens in the political arena. At any rate this siddon look attitude is counterproductive, since it creates room for glorified touts and moral pygmies to seize power for self-aggrandizement. Thus unless Nigerians of goodwill and genuine patriotism deploy their collective talents and work tenaciously together to displace pretenders from leadership, Nigeria would continue moving three steps for-

ward, seven steps backwards as it is moving presently. It is time for seriousminded Nigerian youths with the appropriate intellectual, emotional and moral qualities to step away from their little cozy ego-centered world and reclaim the country from the current group of unserious, sybaritic and morally crippled leadership which lacks bold ideas and will to pull the country out of the quagmire of arrested development. From the way things are going at the moment, Nigeria’s leadership today is incapable of transcending inadequacies and weaknesses of the system to provide the kind of exemplary leadership Nigerians need so badly. Constant armchair complaints and criticisms will not bring about the desired change or motivate the ruling cabal to dump its entrenched bad habits. The way forward is for committed, determined, courageous and imaginative young patriots from all parts of the country to come together and strategise on how to inaugurate a paradigm-shift in the leadership.

Such a group of sincere and determined young Nigerians sufficiently disappointed with malignant misrule and genuinely desirous of positive change can trigger a moral and political revolution capable of dismantling the dysfunctional shambolic system in place right now, which is a necessary prelude to genuine national reconstruction. As the title of one of Prof.

Achebe’s works proclaimed, “it is morning yet on creation day.”

CONCLUDED.

PAGE 12—SUNDAY VANGUARD, APRIL 7, 2013

VANGUARD PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR AWARD

A REWARD FOR HARDWORK

Mr Sam Amuka, Publisher of Vanguard Newspapers, addressing the audience BEING TEXT OF A SPEECH BY GENERAL IBRAHIM BABANGIDA, GCFR, AT THE I N V E S T I T U R E CEREMONY OF GOVERNOR ROTIMI AMAECHI AND MR. AIGBOJE AIGIMOUKHUEDE AS VANGUARD NEWSPAPER “PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR 2013”.

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ET me begin by appreciating my good friend, in-law and compatriot, Uncle Sam Amuka, easily called Uncle Sam, the Publisher of the Vanguard titles on whose ,invitation I am here today. Looking back at those good old days like a series of snapshots in an album, with different phases and faces in our journey through life, one cannot but thank God for the successes we have recorded in our various undertakings, I make bold to say that Uncle Sam is that ,uncommon Nigerian who understands the nexus between media and power, and the value and virtue of good friendship. I deeply cherish this association.

May the Almighty God continue to grant you strength and wisdom as you age gracefully.

The Vanguard Newspaper has grown in lips and bounds; with young and very dedicated staff who have sustained the corporate objective of a platform that derives its independence and freedom from political control from Uncle Sam’s worldview. With a few foundation staff in 1983 when it debuted, it has grown to be a great economic player and employer of labour with over 500 personnel on its payroll. Despite the fact that one of my Military Administrators briefly suspended Vanguard Newspaper in 1990, it did not strain my relationship with Uncle Sam. We have trudged on like two great Nigerians who understand the dynamics of political power and the vanity of human nature. Once again,

I salute Uncle Sam. It is against this background that one should consider himself privileged ,if the Vanguard Newspaper decides to invest its honour and prestige on any Nigerian.

The choice of Honourable Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, the Executive Governor of Rivers State and Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Managing Director of Access Bank Plc, both young and impactful Nigerians, becomes as it were, very instructive. The awardees, I understand, were elected from a list of several nominees by the body of Editors from the Vanguard stable having been carefully screened and assessed on the basis of their achievements in their present engagements.

To me, the two gentlemen represent the normative order of a new generation leadership orientation that is anchored on love for country, service delivery and patriotism.

In fact, given their humanity, there is nothing extra-ordinary about their creation but there is something extra-ordinary about their leadership emanations. For example, Governor Amaechi is not just a Governor in whom I am well pleased, but one that has been able to make ,a bold impression ,about promise and performance, in a Nigerian political space that is grappling with challenges of development and good governance.

His conviction that the federating units in the country should be allowed to enjoy some level of independence and exploit their comparative advantages often ,gets him into trouble, understandably so. I do not envy him. With leaders who are brutally frank about issues and ,the politics of transition, leaders who are driven by their convictions like Amaechi and AigImoukhuede, Nigeria still has tremendous hope.

One aspect of Governor Amaechi’s achievement is his intervention in the

From left: Mr Sam Amuka; General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd), Chairman of the Occasion; Mr Gbenga Adefaye, Editor in Chief, Vanguard; and Mr Mideno Bayagbon, Editor, Vanguard education sector in his home State. I am aware he has done so much to uplift the face of education in Rivers State. He has also been involved in scholarship programmes for Rivers State students some of whom he sent to schools up North for foundational studies in the spirit of national integration. This is one way to plan for the future.

Some of us who now live for time against the backdrop of the ridiculous life expectancy age of 47, do have a different attitude towards governance and

the unity of our country.

The emphasis now should be about deepening democracy and enhancing the public welfare of the people who are the repository of power. We must tread with caution both in our utterances and deeds. We must reduce the currency of political ,marginalization, inequality, domination, oppression, and exclusion.

We still hear such terms as fringe groups and mainstream groups. We still fan the embers of “this is minority ” and “that is majority”. I think we need

Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, Speaker, House of Representatives, presenting Runner-up Vanguard Personality of the Year Award to Mr Aigboje AigImoukhuede, GMD, Access Bank.

to begin to re-assemble our thoughts and re-engineer our political engagements on the basis of free choice, credible elections, inclusive participation, constructive engagement and collective bargaining.

We must make the votes count in order to produce leaders such as Governor Amaechi; and creating an enabling environment for free enterprise to nurture and groom professionals like Aig-Imoukhuede.

There must be a synergy between the processes that produce leaders and the

institutions that nurture such leadership.

On a final note, we all must admit that we do have a task on our hands; ,the task of making this marriage work.

A marriage that has survived almost 100 years can no longer be said ,to be an accident. We should desire to be Nigerians whose minds and hearts flood with abiding faith in our nation’s virtue and generousity; and above all as citizens whose relation to society is untormented by mutual suspicion, ethnicity and political differences. By giving teeth to dreams of sociopolitical transformation, we make the society better for all. What are we telling the electorates to earn their confidence and their votes? How much of what we told the electorates during campaigns are we able to fulfill when we get into office? How do we address poverty and deprivations?

Let me salute my brother and friend, the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives; Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal for giving us hope and assurances. His conduct has shown that the upcoming generation has the capacity to sustain the labour of our heroes past.

When leaders like Tambuwal have delivered on their electoral promise, we advise them to try something higher. For Tambuwal, your guess is as good as mine. Well done.

And to the organisers of this investiture, I say more grease to your elbows. To Uncle Sam, I say congratulations.

King GNK Gininwa, Chairman, Rivers State Council of Chiefs (left) and His Majesty Eze Robinson Robinson, Eze Ekpeye Logbo.

Rivers people should expect 24-hr power supply soon —Amaechi Continued from page 5 the event by acknowledging the “very important guests,” saying he was delighted to welcome them.

He acknowledged “my dear friend, Ibrahim Babangida”, and pointed out that words could not convey how he got to the occasion. “Only one phone call to Minna and the conversation was sweet.

“I said sir. He said, Uncle Sam. I said I would like him to chair our Vanguard Man of the Year Award and he said fine but asked who the awardees were and I said Rotimi Amaechi and Aig-Imoukhuede.

“And he said, these are two gentlemen that I respect and he said, ‘DONE, don’t worry about

it, I will be there’.

“We offered to fly him here. He said ‘don’t worry about me’.

“We offered him accommodation; he said he did not want.

“This gentleman is here at his own cost.

“Help me in thanking him.

“I have retired from fulltime activities in Vanguard “Just as I’ve retired from many many things I used to like.

“But thank God that I can still see and admire the beauty of God’s creation, like these beautiful and delightful women I see today”.

After his speech, a round of applause ushered him to his seat. He handed over to Vanguard Media Limited’s General

Manager, Gbenga Adefaye, who mounted the stage to explain to the audience that there is a paradigm shift in the offing in Vanguard, urging the audience to watch out.

He said it is important to draw attention to the need for service delivery, anchoring it on Vanguard’s slogan, “TOWARDS A BET TER LIFE FOR THE PEOPLE” – to celebrate exceptional achievers in Nigeria.

It was after this that IBB presented his speech.

The first award of the night was for the runnerup, Mr Aigboje AigImoukhuede.

Tambuwal, while presenting the award, said it “is indeed my singular honour and privilege to present this token of

recognition to you at the Vanguard Personality of the Year 2012.”

He left the stage.

SUBSIDY COMMITTEE Aig-Imoukhuede, in his comments, after acknowledging the VIPs, said: “I am truly grateful for the opportunity to speak.

“Uncle Sam has known me since I was a toddler and I must therefore disclose my interest that he has always been one of my favourite uncles and I, his favourite son.

“There are only two banks in Nigeria that are older than Vanguard, First Bank and UBA. “All the great deeds you ascribe to bankers, Uncle Sam has surpassed “I am grateful.

Continues on page 13

SUNDAY VANGUARD, APRIL 7, 2013, PAGE 13

VANGUARD PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR AWARD

Mr Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede (left); Professor Amos Utuama, Deputy Governor of Delta State, sitting and Mr Sam Amuka, Publisher of Vanguard Newspapers at Vanguard Personality of the year Award 2012. Photos: Joe Akintola, Photo Editor; Kehinde Gbadamosi, Lamidi Bamidele, Oscar Ochigbu, Bunmi Azeez and Akeem Salami.

From left: Mr Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, GMD, Access Bank, runner-up; Rt Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, Governor of Rivers State and Dr Kayode Fayemi, Governor of Ekiti State.

Mr Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede; General Ibrahim Babangida, former military president and Chairman of the occasion; Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, the Personality of the year and Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State.

‘Rivers people should expect 24-hr power supply soon’ Continued from page 12 “You’ve challenged us and you’ve challenged the nation.

“The measure of a man is what you leave behind”.

Referring to Babangida, he said, “We grew up knowing the head of state who built the longest bridge in the world, the Third Mainland Bridge.

“The bridge Fashola has built between Lekki and V/ Island is good but you cannot compare it with what the chairman (IBB) has built.

“There are many people in this audience who are also deserving of the award but that Vanguard has chosen us, I appreciate and I am grateful to God. “I’m grateful to my colleagues in Access Bank with whom I worked.

“I thank President Jonathan for giving me the honour to serve on the Subsidy Committee but, most of all, I thank my family for standing by me when the cabal fought back”.

D E M O C R A C Y DIVIDENDS The awardee of the night, Amaechi, said he was humbled by so many things among which was the presence of the very important personalities who came to honour him.

In his view, awards had become commercialized, “but I am convinced that that is not the case with Vanguard Media Limited and that is why I am accepting the award after I had vowed never to receive awards again”.

On his choice for the award, Amaechi, who kept spicing his speech with

humour, said “anybody could become a state governor”, but the issue of utmost importance is how you attempt to ameliorate the suffering of the masses.

According to him, the award “I am receiving today is on behalf of the people of Rivers State and my team”, because it is not a feat achievable by just an individual.

He revealed that in continuation of his delivery of democracy dividends, “the people of Rivers State would soon begin to enjoy 24hours of power supply” because the funds are there and all the necessary efforts are being made – the time is ticking and we have a deadline that we have set”.

Amaechi, who is also the incumbent chairman of the Nigeria Governors’

Forum, NGF, made his audience understand that all Nigerians matter in the quest of nation building.

Using the commitment, hard work and patriotism of the common man as well as the industrial and business acumen of the elite as examples, he said the effort of nation building cannot be consigned to the realm of politics alone.

He thanked the organizers, Vanguard, for the award.

The vote of thanks was given by Mideno Bayagbon, Editor of Vanguard Newspapers.

He thanked all who had come and explained that Nigerians should watch out for the giant leaps that Vanguard is set to engage soon, very soon.

Who’s Who at the event

S

PEAKER of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal; Gen. Ibrahim Babangida; Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State; deputy governor of Delta State, Professor Amos Ituama representing Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan; deputy governor of Rivers State, Mr Tele Ikuru; former governor of Ogun State, Chief Segun Osoba; Senator John Azuta Mbata; Senator George Sekibo; Senator Wilson Ake; Hon. Dakuku Peterside; Hon. Abike

Dabiri-Eruwa; Prince Tokunbo Sijuwade; National Publicity Secretary of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Alhaji Lai Mohammed; Alhaji Aliko Dangote; Alhaji Ismaila Isa; Prince Tonye Princewill; PDP deputy national chairman, Dr. Samson Jaja; Alhaji Ismaila Funtua; Chief Dele Momodu, Erelu Abiola Dosumu Hon Abike DabiriErewa, Member, House of Representatives. King GNK Gininwa, Chairman Rivers state council of chiefs His Majesty Eze Robinson O. Robinson, Eze Ekpeye Logbo, Rivers state among others. .

Mrs Bunmi Sofola, Vanguard Columnist (left) with Rose Danmoze.

PAGE 14 — SUNDAY Vanguard, APRIL 7, 2013

SUNDAY

Vanguard, APRIL 7, 2013, PAGE 15

BOOB S!

I wasted £1m to be world’s most nipped and tucked woman

16 boob jobs, 7 nose operations and an eye-

watering 308 cosmetic treatments – but what Alicia Douvall wants to know is: ‘Why did nobody stop me?’

S

he has had more than 330 cosmetic procedures and operations – far outstripping American Cindy Jackson, usually credited with being the world’s most ,surgicallyenhanced woman.

Former English glamour model Alicia Douvall – best known for her kiss-and-tell affairs with celebrities including music mogul Simon Cowell-claims to have spent more ,than #1 million on boob jobs, facelifts and even toe shortening operations.

But it has all come at a cost. Ms Douvall claims the work has turned her into an enhancement addict who has been treated in rehab on three occasions – and she has now turned on the plastic surgeons she says should never have encouraged her obsession with looking like Barbie.

Ms Douvall, who has been linked to a series of celebrities including actor Mickey Rourke and former Simply Red singer Mick Hucknall, said she had undergone so many potentially dangerous and painful operations and procedures – at one point at the rate of one a weekbecause she was convinced she was ugly. But she now realises she has been suffering from a mental illness that distorted her image of herselfand she is backing calls for new safeguards to protect vulnerable women from unscrupulous plastic surgeons. Ms Douvall, 34, said: ‘I took a Barbie doll to one medical consultation to show them exactly what I was after. “But none of these doctors tried to stop me. I think they just wanted my money.’

Ms Jackson, the US author and television personality, has been credited with the world record for

having the most cosmetic surgery – 14 major operations and 38 minor procedures such as Botox.

But Ms Douvall, who was born Sarah Howes, says she has had 71 operations under general anaesthetic alone – including 16 breast augmentations, seven operations or her nose and three facelifts. She has also had a further 260 procedures.

Since Miss Douvall had her first ‘boob job’ at 17, she has had 12 operations on the skin around her eyes, as well as surgery on her cheeks to add and then later to remove implants. She has also had a

Douvall had her first ‘boob job’ at 17, she has had 12 operations on the skin around her eyes, as well as surgery on her cheeks to add and then later to remove implants rib shortened to make her appear slimmer, toes shortened to ‘look better in heels,’ a tummy tuck and implants in her bottom and chin. The 34-year-old mother of two said: ‘Clearly I have had more than Cindy Jackson but I don’t want my name in The Guinness Book of Records. I can’t think of anything worse.

“It’s not something to boast about and I’m not proud of myself. If my 17-year-old daughterGeorgia wanted cosmetic surgery, I’d be gutted.” The birth of her second daughter Papaya last year, a sister to Georgia, led her to seek help in a clinic for the third time and she said she has not had an operation for a year.

She has been told by her psychotherapist that she suffers from body dysmorphic ,disorder – a mental illness linked to anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder that she believes stems from a difficult childhood.

She tells today’s Mail on Sunday Review section: ‘Apart from my daughter’s education, I spent nothing on anything but surgery.

‘I ate beans on toast and never had a holiday. I even persuaded boyfriends to pay for operations.’

She said that even when Georgia begged her to stop the surgery she refused to listen to her pleas.

But now she is paying a heavy price, as she can no longer smile properly or breathe through her nose.

Miss Douvall said: ‘I hold myself responsible but the doctors who agreed to operate on me when I was clearly not well have a lot to answer for. ‘Now I know the problem wasn’t with my breasts or nose, but how I saw myself. But they always agreed they could improve me.’

She said that she had told surgeons about her previous procedures, but that they continued to operate – and that one even suggested she needed more work than she

Alicia Douvall... spent more ,than #1 million on boob jobs

had asked for.

She said: ‘I look at pictures of myself before I had surgery and realise I wasn’t bad looking. I wish one of those doctors had told me to get help. ‘I have had a lot of reconstructive work done by very good surgeons but now I look in the mirror and all I see is scars.’

Ms Douvall is now backing a Mail on Sunday campaign to change the law – so that plastic surgeons are required to assess the physical and psychological suitability of patients before operating.

The Mail on Sunday’s Stop The Cosmetic Surgery Cowboys campaign is calling for surgeons to be properly qualified and to be regulated by an official body.

*Culled from the Mail on Sunday

PAGE 16—SUNDAY

Vanguard ,

APRIL 7, 2013

APC will bring true competition to the polity — Ikimi (2) In this concluding part of the interview by Simon Ebegbulem with Chief Tom Ikimi, the ACN leader says the proposed All Progressive Party Congress (APC) will ensure true competition and balance in the polity

Lucky President

H o w e v e r, in 1999, General Obasanjo, a former military ruler, assumed the Presidency and preferred that his name be disguised as he was to be referred to as Chief Obasanjo.

He was a lucky president. The price per barrel of crude oil soared from the paltry $8 per barrel only one year before his arrival to an unprecedented over $100 per barrel. That was the real windfall which was and is still continually being frittered away. The PDP has since established a system of annual budgeting that grants nearly 80% of such colossal sums, now in trillions, of our annual budget to recurrent expenditures with virtually nothing left for capital development.

We have a staff of the “Bretton Woods” institution firmly in charge and supervising what is perhaps the worst scenario of economy Nigeria has ever witnessed; the same woman who lured Nigeria to pay up billions of dollars on questionable and unverified debts for which selected agents made huge commissions - is now leading us back to incur even bigger debts without any visible development projects to show for it. Many people have wondered whose interest she will most serve; Nigeria’s or the World Bank’s.

It is now commonplace for trillions of naira to be stolen. Recalling that more than two trillions evaporated in the name of fuel subsidy, hundreds of billions stolen by a level 12 or 14 civil servant, etc; the scandal is mind boggling You said the economy fared much better under Abacha as there was no borrowing or indebtedness throughout his tenure. Is there really a basis for this assertion?

Yes, I am aware that General Abacha turned down offers from the IMF who usually send young officers to developing countries who end up preparing all kinds of negative reports on the host countries thereby

providing avenues for them to design loan structures that would hold developing countries hostage into long tenures of debt. As they themselves are to manage the loans, they get themselves entrenched in host countries finance and other ministries, they end up with massive bureaucracies foisted in the receiving nations at great unrealistic extra costs.

Weak leaders are attracted to these foreign currency loans which provides them opportunities for corrupt personal enrichment. A substantial part of the so- called loans they offer is utilized to maintain the donor’s personnel’s lavish lifestyle.

* Ikimi ... It is my fervent hope that the choice of people to hold power in our country at all levels would be based on the will of the people

Offices Closed

Their offices and residence in choice areas of Abuja were closed down during Abacha’s tenure and the properties put up for rent. General Abacha did not have need for such assistance. Apart from his preference to plan our nation’s needs within our

,

T

he highly successful PTF Petroleum Trust Fund established by the retention of a few kobos per barrel of crude oil produced, executed many notable projects nationwide. During his tenure, I know that not a kobo was borrowed from the IMF or World Bank.

Those institutions shut down their local offices in Abuja.

Apo Legislative Quarters was conceived and built by General Abacha to serve as the permanent Abuja residence for legislators during their tenure. Similarly there were institutional buildings to serve as

The colossal investment, mindboggling cash utilized in elections these days is a phenomenon introduced by the PDP and they have succeeded in corrupting the electoral commission as well down the line

own available resources, he preferred to open up links with China and other similar nations. I am aware, Nigeria’s railway system, peaceful nuclear energy development including power supply, river- borne transportation, massive housing, etc would have been destined to attain world standards in the line of his positive vision. The National Hospital in Abuja today was a Women Hospital project by the First Lady - Mariam Abacha. That, in my view, was a positive contribution to healthcare. Today, I understand that billions of Naira will be invested in a luxury office complex to be the headquarters for African First Ladies.

I just wonder what would happen when the First Lady of Cameroon assumes leadership of that group. Or is Nigeria going to chair that group in perpetuity?

,

residence for key ministries and some parastatals. Instead of positively increasing the national housing stock as most world governments are now doing, the OBJ government strangely ceded these Abacha properties to cronies at rock bottom, give away prices. Today, huge sums are spent to cater for fresh legislators each time they come to take office in Abuja and civil servants receive big sums to face the rising cost of accommodation in Abuja. Why then should recurrent expenditures not hit the roof? The Foreign Affairs Minister today, for instance, has no befitting residence anymore at which he could host diplomatic receptions as I and others did. The minister during the tenure of OBJ bought the residence for pea nuts!

Oshiomhole’s government and

death of god fatherism in Edo politics?

It is my fervent hope that the choice of people to hold power in our country at all levels would be based on the will of the people. As national chairman of the NRC in 1990 to 1992, our contest with the SDP was based largely on the outcome of free and fair elections.

Hence we ran neck to neck all the time.

My quest for a mega party today is to create another party that will contest with the PDP to ensure true competition and balance in the polity.

Checks and balance would then be assured. Between the NRC and SDP in those days, of the thirty states in the country then, we in the NRC won 16 governorships while the SDP won 14. But the SDP secured more seats in the National Assembly elections. Both parties usuallyaccepted the outcome of the elections without quarrel and I do not recall any court case. I can very well appreciate the former head of state, Gen Ibrahim Babangida, recalling those good old days.

The colossal investment, mindboggling cash utilized in elections these days is a phenomenon introduced by the PDP and they have succeeded in corrupting the electoral commission as well down the line. The general elections of 2007 have been recorded as the worst ever in our country’s history and indeed in the African continent. Prof Jega is trying to make a difference, but he still has a number of hardened bad eggs in his system. Steps must be taken to rid the

Continues on page 17

SUNDAY Vanguard, APRIL 7, 2013, PAGE 17

Continued from page 16 place of those characters ahead of the next general elections. Today, elections are no longer decided at the polling stations. Final decisions have shifted to the law courts which development has unleashed new and scary problems on the country with regards to our nation’s judiciary. Lawyers have become as well so fabulously wealthy by this phenomenon.

‘How I parted ways with the PDP’

Return of Sanity

The leadership of the ACN in Edo State was accused of imposing chairmanship candidates in the forthcoming LGA elections. What is your view on this?

The development of the ACN in Edo State, from November 2006 to date, to become the more powerful and preferred party in the state is a subject of great interest. I recall the grave difficulties that we encountered in 2007 during the short tenure of Professor Osunbor to find aspirants in many locations willing to accept selection to contest as ACN candidates. They felt then that the PDP was unassailable. There were no

* Ikimi ... PDP deteroriated to unacceptable levels

,

Comrade Adams Oshiomhole’s launch of the One Man One Vote concept was very timely. It brought back confidence to the ballot box and it was a relief to hear President Goodluck Jonathan mount the PDP campaign rostrum in Benin- City and also proclaim One Man One Vote. A celebrated PDP leader in Edo State made absolute nonsense of the ballot box. Those who wanted office rather than campaign to the people for votes made nocturnal pilgrimages to the residence of the leader who became known as ‘godfather ’.

Governors, legislators, LGA chairmen and councilors held office at his behest and so their hands were usually tied when the time came to deliver to the people the much talked about dividends of democracy.

There must however be credible leadership in political parties to give direction to elected personnel during their tenure, in their operations without prejudice to them retaining a reasonable level of free hand.In Edo State, we have come to terms with party leadership clearly defined indicating the difference between leader and godfather.

The people of Edo State have comprehensively rejected PDP since 2007 and, from November 2009 when the ACN government was inaugurated, the participatory democracy that you speak of has actually bred real and visible development in the state. This is largely because, unlike under the PDP when recurrent expenditure gulped almost 90% of the total receipts leaving virtually nothing for development, the economy has been effectively restructured to ensure that not less than 50% of total receipts is committed to capital development in a manner that is accountable and transparent.

The end result is that Edo State has fully realized value for money spent.

This type of vision, focus, fiscal discipline and commitment is what we offer Nigerians when in 2015 they reject PDP and embrace the fresh air of change that APC represents.

I was not able to come to terms with the unfolding events during the OBJ second term tenure which came to a head by the plot to secure for himself a third term and life presidency

complaints of candidate imposition.

Today, it appears that the real contest is within the party to secure its ticket as it is clear that the opponent PDP has been totally routed in the state.

The party has rightly chosen a process of consensus for upholding the choice of its candidates in order to give a fair chance to old members as well as the overwhelming numbers of new members that have flooded into the party in recent times. This process has been very successful in the majority of local governments, but, as expected, there are some leaders as well as the aspirants they support who are rather desperate to secure the leadership of some LGAs for one reason or the other. The internal party machinery for conflict resolution has been engaged in these matters and is working satisfactorily.

There is this fear that the battle for

,

Oshiomhole’s succession may disintegrate the Edo ACN, What is your take on this?

It is rather too early to discern the color of the governorship battle in Edo State in 2016. The change of the party from ACN to APC after the successful merger creating an even stronger national and state party, the outcome of 2015 general elections etc will play some fundamental roles in the direction of events in Edo 2016. We will be constructing the APC in Edo State from the scratch in the coming months. It is to prepare for such challenges that we insist that the party leadership must assume supremacy.

The party we are building will be one of character and discipline with assurances of transparency in all processes. In the circumstance, peace and tranquility will prevail and the party will remain intact.

You were the returning officer during the PDP presidential primary in 2003, which ushered in Obasanjo’s second term. How would you reconcile your role then and where you are today as a chieftain of the ACN? Chief AuduOgbeh, my fellow alumnus of the Ahmadu Bello University in the late sixties and very early seventies, friend and colleague, who was the PDP national chairman at the time, was, with the assistance of a number of young PDP governorfriends of mine, able to persuade me to undertake the task. Those young governors, who have a lot of respect for me, worked in one way or the other with me during my tenure as the NRC national chairman 1990 - 1992 and knew my capacity to undertake difficult roles! My role was to introduce innovations to the presidential primary process and conduct the primary in a manner that would give it credibility inside and outside our country. The contest was sensitive for various reasons and the whole world was watching. It has been generally acknowledged that I did a good job and I take ultimate responsibility for that very highly successful exercise.

Most people inside and outside Nigeria hold fond memories of the vote counting ... ‘Obasanjo! Obasanjo!

Obasanjo and Obasanjo’ with the occasional Rimi or Ekwueme. Many others have since attempted to imitate the process I created but have produced very poor versions.

However, I was not able to come to terms with the unfolding events during the OBJ second term tenure which came to a head by the plot to secure for himself a third term and life presidency. Chief AuduOgbeh was forced out in a very crude and uncivilizedmanner which he himself has explained on several occasions.

Vice President AtikuAbubakar suffered unmitigated hostility from his boss and was also forced then to bow out from the PDP inspite of his well known role in founding the party and facilitating General Obasanjo into the Presidency.

In my case all these were made even more unacceptable by the roles and actions by one of the leaders of the party who hails from my taste and who will go down in Nigeria’s political history, particularly this stretch of PDP rule, as the brain behind several bizarre processes that have stunted democratic growth in country.

Break Away

He had the ears then of OBJ, worked unsuccessfully to secure the third term for him and was able to initiate and implement the reckless project of the de-registration of party members which finally destroyed the internal party democracy! We who disagreed with all these things all broke away from the PDP on grounds of principle to found the Action Congress, AC, in collaboration with a major group from the AD. The PDP has since deteriorated to virtually unacceptable levels while we have built up the AC now ACN to the enviable heights that it has assumed today. I have no regrets whatsoever to be a chieftain of the ACN as we logically now move on to unify the opposition under the banner of APC destined to carry out the urgently needed rescue mission for Nigeria.

PAGE 18 — SUNDAY Vanguard, APRIL 7, 2013

How Yoruba leaders scuttled Awolowo’s presidential ambition – Ikokwu

•‘Why South-East, S/South, M/Belt won’t join APC’ •Says APGA ‘ll die if it fails in Anambra C

hief Guy Ike Ikokwu, second republic chairman of the Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP) in Anambra State, was a member of the Strategy Committee that tried to hammer out a merger among four progressive opposition parties to stop the then ruling National Party of Nigeria(NPN). Reminiscing on how the merger was scuttled, Ikokwu, a foundation member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former chairman of the PDP in Anambra State, lamented that the late sage Chief Obafemi Awolowo would have been elected as president in the second republic if his followers, who were in the UPGA Strategy Committee, had so desired. He said current moves by some opposition parties to merge into All Progressive Congress (APC) would not yield electoral laurels at the highest level – Aso Rock. On this score, he said leaders of the various factions of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) should jettison joining APC and join hands to prevent APGA from failing in Anambra because the party will cease to exist if it fails in the state.

Y

ou were a member of the Strategy Committee of the United Progressive Grand Alliance (UPGA) in the second republic. Why didn’t the alliance work?

The Strategy Committee of UPGA in the second republic was made up of four parties: the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), Nigeria Peoples Party (NPP), Great Nigerian Peoples Party (GNPP), and Peoples Redemption Party (PRP). These four parties had hoped to evolve a very close alliance fielding single candidates for the constituencies across the country based on their own evaluation and party primaries. The main figures for UPGA were Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Alhaji Waziri Ibrahim, Malam Aminu Kano, Abubakar Rimi and Balarabe Musa. The main aim of the alliance was to prevent the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) then headed by Alhaji Shehu Shagari as president from sweeping the polls and

ruling the country politically.

The alliance’s Strategy Committee, in its painstaking and calculating methods, had shared all the positions in the legislature and the executive and government agencies in such a way as to prevent any single party from having dominance over the other.

This was done to the satisfaction of all the parties.

Over 2,000 positions were shared but then the problem of accommodating the leaders, particularly Dr. Azikiwe and Chief Obafemi Awolowo, and the other leaders of GNPP and PRP became a very thorny issue due to the historical antecedents of the political roles played by the individuals concerned.

At the last meeting of the Strategy Committee, headed by the former Governor of Lagos State, Alhaji Lateef Jakande, the basic and final problem was how to resolve the ambitions, political or otherwise of the two main leaders –Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and Chief Obafemi Awolowoboth of whom had played very distinguished roles in the anti-colonial struggle and the emancipation of Nigeria into an independent country.

Chief Awolowo was the leader of the UPN, which controlled five states, whereas Dr. Azikiwe was the leader of the

,

BY CLIFFORD NDUJHE, DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR

•Ghief Guy Ike Ikokwu assume the presidency of the country and at the same time hold the chairmanship of the political party. In the case of the UPN, the leader of the party was also the presidential candidate of the party.

We, therefore, at the meeting proposed to the UPN leaders, who had five states under their control, that they should make the first choice of either

If you, the UPN, chose Chief Awolowo for the presidency, then the political party for the merger group will be NPP under the chairmanship of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe. Since Lateef Jakande’s group could not take a decision on this critical matter, the meeting adjourned for them to do consultation

,

NPP, which controlled three states.

Alhaji Lateef Jakande was the chairman of the Strategy Committee which included Senator Abraham Adesanya and Chief Ayo Adebanjo, the UPN colleagues of Chief Awolowo. Others members were Chief R.B.K. Okafor, Chief Guy Ikokwu, Dr. Omo Omoruyi and northerners representing Dr. Aminu Kano and Waziri Ibrahim.

The UPN members forgot that the difference between Zik’s NPP and Waziri’s GNPP was due to the fact that Alhaji Waziri Ibrahim wanted to

the presidency or the chairmanship of the party into which all four parties will merge. If you, the UPN, chose Chief Awolowo for the presidency, then the political party for the merger group will be NPP under the chairmanship of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe. Since Lateef Jakande’s group could not take a decision on this critical matter, the meeting adjourned for them to do consultation.

Till this day, they were unable to resolve their position for Chief Awolowo to become the presidential

candidate for the merged party in order to fight Shehu Shagari’s NPN, a position Dr. Azikiwe agreed to if it was the decision of the Strategy Committee.

On the other hand, if they had chosen the leadership of the party, Chief Awolowo would have become the head of the merged and enlarged party – the UPGA- while Dr. Azikiwe will be the presidential candidate. And it had been agreed that the party would have supreme authority in its affairs. The Yoruba leaders requested that the matter be kept secret and, since they failed to take up their first choice position, all the four parties went into the elections on their own and without a single list of candidates.

All Nigerians however, knew that Awolowo had said that his ambition will be to be the president of Nigeria even if it is for one day but, this time around, it was his followers who disappointed the progressives and their leaders.

How do you see the All Progressive Congress, APC, merger. Do you think it will work given the personalities of General Buhari and Senator Tinubu vis a vis the history of failed alliances in the country?

The APC merger of three parties – the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC),

Continues on page 19

SUNDAY Vanguard, APRIL 7, 2013, PAGE 19

Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP)- is still very much shrouded by the v a r i o u s distinguished personalities in the three parties, particularly former Head of State, Major General Muhammadu Buhari and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and the governors of the three parties, who have all been exercising governance and political clout for more than 15 years during which they have made a lot of friends and a lot of enemies as well.

So far, from all the meetings they have held, they have not come up with an ideological platform on various issues facing the country which will make them to be different from the other parties like the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). This is because the constitutions of all the political parties registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are very similar in all their details. It is basically for this reason that issues like ethnicity and the historical antecedence of various individuals and groups that attempted alliances and mergers eventually fail. If, however, the APC merger breaks new grounds in ensuring within its platform ideological and differential programmes on serious issues confronting the country with a lot of discipline and patience, then it will engender large scale following which will make it a strong opposition and eventually a governing party.

Chief Annie Okonkwo said it is in the interest of SouthEast to back APC. Do you agree?

I do not agree with Chief Annie Okonkwo a former senator of the PDP, that it is, at this moment, in the interest of the South East to back the APC. Chief Annie Okonkwo does not even seem to have a political party of which he is a full member as he has not attended any convention of APGA and he is not a member of the National Executive of APGA or any of the APGA splinters. Therefore, he cannot be said to have the authority to speak for APGA except for himself or maybe for one or two political cronies.

We understand that he is the chairman of a group canvassing for Governor Rochas Okorocha to become the presidential candidate of the APC through a splinter group of APGA that will merge with APC. This, of course, is very unrealistic. At the moment, the South-East is heavily leaning towards the PDP the same way the SouthSouth comprising six states is also heavily leaning towards the PDP, and not the ACN. Why would southeasterners not join the APC merger?

South-easterners at the moment do not want to join the ACN or its new offshoot,

the APC. Senator Tinubu cannot canvass in the East when in a place like Lagos with millions of easterners he has denied them fair representation even at the local government level in the party primaries in Lagos under the Alliance for Democracy, AD, or later ACN. It is even worse for Buhari who did not extend the infrastructural developments of the Abacha Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) under his control to the South-East which remained deplorable until the recent amelioration by the federal and state governments.

Many Nigerians have forgotten that Buhari, as Head of State, desperately wanted to Islamize Nigeria through the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC). Even his then federal cabinet with General Tunde Idiagbon, a fellow Muslim and northerner, as his deputy was almost 90 per cent Moslem, forgetting that Nigeria is neither an Islamic or a Christian country, but has a non-sectarian constitution.

Buhari only corrected the gesture recently when he adopted Pastor Tunde Bakare a former Muslim now a Christian, as his vice presidential candidate. His CPC has a following in only some northern states in the whole country. He had dumped the ANPP where he had a lot of enemies to establish his own party, the CPC, in ordre to vie for the presidency. For these and other reasons, the easterners and south-southerners and middle-belters will not join the APC. In fact, only about half of the south-westerners will eventually join the APC merger.

What do you make of the crises in APGA, the role in the APC merger and its chances in the coming election in Anambra State?

It would be recalled that APGA, as a political party, was founded under the leadership of the late Dim Chukwuemeka OdumegwuOjukwu. It won state Assembly and House of Representatives seats in the South-East and South-South states. It also had some representation in many other states in the West and the North. However, it was only in Anambra State that APGA was able to control the executive with the election of Mr. Peter Obi as the Governor of Anambra State in recent times.

Another governor of APGA was elected in Imo in the person of Chief Rochas Okorocha, a former PDP member. APGA also had the first female governor in the country, Mrs. Virginia Etiaba.

It could, therefore, be said that APGA had its strongest following in Anambra State where Dim O. Ojukwu hailed from and Governor. P. Obi has been the governor for seven years.

At the moment, Governor Peter Obi is the oldest executive governor in office in the South-East and has been

*Ikokwu ... Buhari wanted to Islamise Nigeria

‘Why South-East, S/South, M/Belt won’t join APC’ the chairman of the SouthEast Governors Forum even though his party has only two out of the five governorship seats in the South-East.

Governor Peter Obi seems to realize that the South-East is predominantly PDP by virtue of the PDP membership at the local government, state legislature and national legislature positions. It has, therefore, been realistic on his part not to unduly antagonize the PDP by trying to foist APGA positions on the PDP in order to avoid a rift which will easily lead to his being dethroned. Instead, Governor Obi has tried to use his chairmanship position to aggregate issues of common interests to the whole SouthEast in the areas of marginalization, infrastructure, security, health, education, environment, power generation, oil and gas and aviation to mention a few. He has been able, over the years, to earn the trust of not only his party leader, OdumegwuOjukwu, but also the PDP president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. He was able, therefore, to lead APGA into supporting the PDP presidential candidacy in the person of Dr Jonathan in the hope that the next president of the country will emerge from the South-East zone in 2015 or thereabouts as may be decided.

It should be said, without fear or favour, that Governor Obi has been able to transform Anambra State in

,

Continued from page 18

Senator Tinubu cannot canvass in the East when in a place like Lagos with millions of easterners he has denied them fair representation even at the local government level in the party primaries in Lagos under the Alliance for Democracy, AD, or later ACN

,

the last five years by his style of governance and executive intervention in the affairs of the people of Anambra State.

When he found that his predecessor, Dr. Chris Ngige, was able to develop more roads in Anambra State than the former PDP Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju, he emulated Ngige by embarking on further developments of roads across the three senatorial zones in the state, but, unlike Ngige, Governor Peter Obi has dramatically changed the educational and health facilities in Anambra State to make them nationally accredited and of very improved quality. He has returned schools to their

former owners, the Christian missionaries, and discovered that the state has less than 20 per cent of the educational institutions in Anambra State.

Very importantly, he is funding the schools directly to their owners the missionary institutions rather than through the ministries and civil servants.

The missions utilize their resources cheaper and beneficially. The quality of education in Anambra State has risen beyond what it was a few years ago. Some of us, who have spoken to Governor Peter Obi directly and investigated his style of governance, agree that he is running the state in all the various sectors as a shrewd businessman who is interested in result rather than propaganda. For instance, Governor Obi does not waste government fund in chartering planes for his travels within and outside Nigeria. Governor Peter Obi does not reside in hotels in Lagos or Abuja where the government pays on his behalf a hundred or three hundred thousand naira per night.

Governor Peter Obi has not launched a loan scheme of 10 to hundred billion naira by way of bonds or bank loans or external foreign debt which will later be paid by future Anambra State generations.

However, Governor Peter Obi believes that more educated and intellectually equipped and experienced Anambraians ought to be interested in the affairs of APGA than as at the moment.

He even states that the PDP in Anambra State is similarly devoid of experience and qualitative people who would have helped immensely in the development and governance of the state. About the leadership of APGA, it can be said without controversy that Governor Peter Obi is the most experienced leader in APGA and who should in all honesty be regarded as the new leader of APGA especially as he will retire from executive governance of the state this year. When he quits as Governor of Anambra State, he will have more time and resources and experience to lead others in the development of APGA as a veritable political institution for the development of our people in the South-East, South-South and other zones of this country.

The recent publication in the Nigerian newspapers of the international and public debt profile of Nigeria shows clearly that Anambra State ranks more than 33 other states in this country.

In other to determine the sustainability or otherwise of the state’s total public debt, a recent analysis of the state solvency and liquidity position was undertaken for the periods up to June 2012. A critical ratio in the determination of the debt sustainability of each state is the total public debt stock to total revenue ratio as this shows the solvency level of the state government and its capacity to meet the state future debt obligations.

PAGE 20— SUNDAY VANGUARD, APRIL 7, 2013

Email: woman.vista@yahoo.co.uk

(07036819426)

Re: 2015-Getting the right focus

I

can’t say that I was very sur prised by our readers’ views on this topic, given the sort of shenanigans that go on in the world of politics in Nigeria, but the hopelessness in their mail saddens one. It’s like some people believe that politicians and rulers in this country will never put citizens first, and there isn’t much to be expected of them come 2015, or at any other time.

That complete lack of trust is a great pity, isn’t it? .

Now, hope is very vital to the human life and welfare, because it upholds you to a certain extent, and assures you that there’s a silver lining in your situation.

If in a democratic setting like ours, we have no confidence that politicians will do the right thing by us and give us people-centred governance and laws, we have cause to be anxious about the future. I hope our rulers and politicians are aware that they were voted into power to do positive things

which would uplift the people, and not to engage in selfish and self-centred decisions and projects. It seems people are fed-up with these.

“Dear Mrs. Ovbiagele, whatever our politicians do about reducing the number of the political parties in the country, don’t expect anything great from any of them come 2015. You would be disappointed if you do. Usually, most of those who find themselves in positions of power, spend their term in office, lining their pockets with public funds and bogus contracts, and also plotting their come-back in one form or the other. Very few of them actually have the burning intention to do things which would uplift our lives .. Even these ones are likely to abandon that aim when they find their mates uplifting their own lives with money they haven’t earned. We have to invite a higher power to change the hearts of politicians in this country. Thanks. Paul S, Ibadan.”

“Madam, we do have bright people in politics here, both men and women, but they lack the drive and consistency to lead the nation in a progressive way.

They know all about good governance and laws that would enhance a better life for the people, but when they’re elected/appointed into power, they forget their election promises fast, and at the end of the day, they can’t point to any concrete thing they’ve done to improve our lives. I’m beginning to doubt if democracy, especially the presidential mode of governance, is ideal for us. Do we have the discipline and the money to sustain it? I think there should be a referendum on the type of governance that our people really want. I prefer the parliamentary one, personally. It’s less expensive with fewer hangers-on. - Susan Ade, Lagos.”

“Aunty Helen, good day. With regards

View-Point

Helen Ovbiagele Woman Editor

If in a democratic setting like ours, we have no confidence that politicians will do the right thing by us and give us people-centred governance and laws, we have cause to be anxious about the future

to ‘Getting the right focus 2015’, all the major political parties in the country, whatever names they go by, are all the same, that is, ‘Chop and Clean Mouth’. - Celeste, rnnse.”

“Madam, it is good that some of our political parties are merging to form what they call a mega party, but I suggest that they should have a good re-think about the parties involved. Bringing in just about any party just for the purpose of number, to confront a larger party, may end up in fiasco because of their own very different personalities. There would be much in-fighting as they try to wrest leadership from one another; arguing about who’s more important and effective in the group, and who should be . listened to. Thuggery in politics will then escalate, and the country will be worse off for it. If they know that they can’t be under the.same conducive umbrella, let them remain as they are, and field credible candidates and see the results. - Nonso, Abakaliki. “ “Sister Helen, I agree with you that irrespective of size/positions of political parties in the country, the focus should be on the welfare of citizens. I’m sorry, but I’ve lost hope that the current crop of politicians who are able to get into power, will turn the situ-

ation in the country around for good changes. My impression is that they’re there to make money for themselves. Wasn’t there news some time ago that they wanted to be on pension? Pension as parliamentarians? And for ajob that is not meant to be full-time means of livelihood? Instead of fighting for better welfare and regular payment of pensions to those who served the nation for decades, they want financial security for themselves after a four-year stint. Recently, I read somewhere that they want immunity for themselves! Thank God that the Senate boldly rejected that. That’s the sort of people we have; who are making lifechanging laws for us! It’s a pity that those who can really rule effectively, don’t have the financial means to contest and win elections in this country. - Uyi, Benin City.”

“Whichever paIiy our politicians end up in, they will exhibit their usual nature, which is ‘self only’.

Personally, I don’t think that we the masses will benefit from the

Chinese Fashion Trends

rule of any particular political party in this country, whatever their size, the way politicians are at present.

They need to clean up their act, and perform creditably well in order to earn our respect and confidence. I suspect that this mega party thing is all about power for themselves, not out of concern for us the populace.

Does the chameleon change its colour? - Yemi, Ilorin. “ .

“Forming a coalition government is a lot better than several parties who have been strangers in the past, coming together to form a mega party for elections. Which party leader would want to submit to another leader at a crucial time like that? After the elections, if your party performed well, but can’t form a government, then you can team up with another for that purpose. That’s more clear-cut. Yes, I agree with you, madam, that having over forty political parties in the country does seem unserious. There shouldn’t be more than five or six, and each should have a people-centred manifesto. - Simon, Warri. “ We thank all those who wrote in, but can only publish these few.

www.japanesestreets.com www.styleseye.com

SUNDAY VANGUARD, APRIL 7, 2013, PAGE 21

Email: woman.vista@yahoo.co.uk

(07036819426)

My experience with privileged children inspired

‘The Adventure of Kima’ — Irene Craig, writer

BY JOSEPHINE IGBINOVIA

M

rs.Irene Ngozi Morenikeji Craig, a graduate of Language and Linguistics, is an energetic and innovative manysided personality. After several years in the teaching field, she’s produced nursery rhymes and other children books which she believes to be good tools for teaching morals. She’s just published a book, The Adventure of Kima, a children literature. In this interview, Mrs. Craig, who is the CEO, Gozyren Nigeria Limited, talks about her new book and also lets us into her life of many parts as a linguist, fashion designer, teacher and writer; all rolled into one.

Enjoy!

W h a t inspired your decision to venture into the intricate world of children literature?

It was in

Mrs.Craig

2008, while teaching children at the Atlantic Hall School, that I suddenly discovered that the children did not realise how privileged they were. That got me thinking about how to sensitise privileged children and at same time give hope to less-privileged children.

That was the trigger that set The Adventure of Kima in motion. Kima tells the story of a little boy who happens to be underprivileged by virtue of birth, due to no fault of his. At the beginning of the story, he is a boy of e i g h t . To worsen t h e situation, h i s

I want to teach privileged children to appreciate their fortunate life.

And for those who are lessprivileged, I want to let them know there is hope

,,

parents lost their lives in an auto-crash.

Though he has extended family members, none of them is willing to take him. Kima is sent to his grandmother if very humble means, who lives in a one-room apartment. Little Kima is eventually registered as an apprentice in a m e c h a n i c workshop because nobody is ready to send him to school. One day, while on an errand for his boss, Kima comes across some school children walking into a school and he joins them inadvertently. He also goes to sit in a classroom like the rest of the children.

The s c h o o l Accountant eventually finds him out when he comes in to call out the names of those who have not paid their fees. This led to Kima being taken to the office of the headmistress. His meeting with the headmistress marks

the turnaround point for his life and that of his grandma. The story goes on and on.

How did you come about the name Kima?

I actually did not want any ethnic colouration for my character, hence the name Kima. As far as my investigation has gone, the name is not tied to any ethnic class. Maybe it might do to some persons, but from my own knowledge, it is not.

Considering the millions of children literature writers out there, what dimension would you say you’re introducing into the family?

Like I said earlier, I want to teach privileged children to appreciate their fortunate life. And for those who are less-privileged, I want to let them know there is hope. If Kima could experience a turnaround and get a scholarship amongst other benefits which includes better accommodation for himself and his grandma, then any turnaround could also happen in their own lives.

This is the beginning of your writing career; how far do you plan to go?

God has sown the seed in me and it has taken root with the publication of Kima. I have four books ready but won’t want to over-flood the market.

So, we’re releasing them in batches of two; Book 1 & 2, Book 3 & 4, and so on. I’m going to follow Kima up even until he gets into the university.

Could you tell us more about yourself?

I’m from Enugu State by birth but from Ogun State by marriage. I studied at the University of Jos where I graduated in 1980 with a degree in Language and Linguistics as a French m a j o r. T h a t w a s w h e r e I m e t m y husband. Around 1981/82, during Shagari’s era, I worked in the National Assembly Secretariat doing interpretation and translation until the coup in 1983. After the coup, I was redeployed to the Ministry of Defence but resigned immediately to fall back on my first love- fashion designing.

Along the line, I combined this with teaching nursery rhymes, French Language, and some other subjects in different schools where I was invited.

I did most of these teachings in Ibadan where my family relocated to. My last port-of-call was the Atlantic Hall in Lagos in 2008 when we returned to Lagos. Presently, I design memorabilia; gift items for functions, using African prints.

Is that readily acceptable in this part of the world?

My agenda is to inflame a change.

The truth is that I got weary of attending parties and other functions and watching people giving out c u t l e r y, p l a s t i c s , t o r c h e s , b i r o s , openers and other items. That got me thinking of useful products of better value. That set the tone for the designing of memorabilia like aprons, oven protection, phone pouch, cutlery holders, Santa’s butties, etc, using materials such as brocade, Ankara, aso-oke and even aso-ebi where required.

PAGE 22 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, APRIL 7, 2013

Dad doesn’t approve my dating!

Dear Rebecca

I

am a nineteen year old SSS3 boy, dating two girls of the same age, same class but in different schools. My mum, friends and relatives likes these girls very much. I have been dating them for over a year now.

Recently, my father got to know about it and he blamed my mother, accusing her of encouraging a relationship he considers bad for a secondary school boy. Because of this problem, my mum does not have rest of mind. My father’s attitude to me has changed.

Fiends are advising me to leave these girls in order not to provoke my father, as he might even stop sponsoring my education. I don’t know what to do , Help.

Paul, Delta State

REPL Y REPLY

Y

our friend’s advice is very sound, and it ap pears you are moving with responsible friends.

The nightmare of every caring and responsible parent is having a child with disrupted or uncompleted educational career. This can happen through lack of seriousness with studies, due to distraction like chasing the opposite sex hotly, or moving with idle friends with bad habits like gambling, smoking and drinking.

Disruption of studies can also be caused by early parenthood whether you are a boy or a girl. The plight of the pregnant girl is worse,

for she would mess up the boy’s life as he may not have the peace of mind to pursue his studies and do well. Your father is right to feel that at your level of education, you should no be heavily involved with girls.

You are far from being ready to settle down in marriage, so any relationship with girls now should be light and you should concentrate more on your studies so that you can have a bright future.

This is the time to buckle down with hard work, as a finalist in the secondary school. You have all the time in the world to pursue girls later, when you have achieved your goals. Even then, girls should not form the focal point of your existence.

There are more important things in life to make you happy and lead a fulfilled life than decorating yourself with girls. It is a good thing that you are able to have girls as friends. But show respect for your father by stopping intense friendship with girls now.

You must have been making it a full-time occupation, for your father to notice it. Or perhaps it has been having an adverse effect on your studies. Your mother is more relaxed about it, probably because she feels that as a boy, you cannot get pregnant and have your studies interrupted or stopped totally.

Tell your father politely that you are going to stop intense relationship with girls so that you can make good grades at the end of your course. If he sees you keeping this promise he would stop scolding your mother.

Became stubborn after marriage!

Dear Rebecca

I

am a regular reader of your col umn. I appreciate the way you help in solving people’s marital and emotional problems. I am 35, married to a lovely lady of 30. I am a businessman while my wife works. We had traditional and registry wedding. Now that we are married I find it difficult to discuss any mat-

So many boys are after me!

Dear Rebecca

I

am a 19 year old girl seeking admission into the university.

People say I’m pretty. I have a boyfriend, a 22 year old undergraduate.

He loves me very much and I love him as well.

His desire is for me to be in the university and most times, we talk about my education. For four years that I’ve been with him,. He has never asked for sex.

My problem is that, there are about six other boys who are disturbing me, wanting to date me even though they are aware that I’m dating someone else. In fact, they are urging me to leave him. How can I leave such a nice guy?

Please help me.

Chi Chi, Abakaliki.

REPL Y REPLY

W

hat is most im portant to you right now is your academic future,

not any serious romantic relationship. In fact, these can be distractions which can prevent you from moving forward.

These days, being pretty is no permanent qualification for a bright future, as the number of admirers may reduce as you grow older. After all, pretty and sophisticated girls are springing up all around us all the time.

But while boys may be attracted to a pretty girl so that they can show her off to their mates, or, prove that they were able to get her, when it comes to marriage, most men don’t look at looks only. They look at your character - whether you’re well-behaved with good morals, clean, polite, responsible, and above all, you can contribute financially to the running of the home.

Compared with the population of the country, only a handful of men are in a position not to need the wife’s income in the home. So, it’s important that you forget about being pretty and being pursued by many

boys, and concentrate on moving forward meaningfully, academi cally.

These days, even a first degree is no longer enough.

You need to back it up with a Masters in many cases, in order to stand a good chance of getting good employment. Whether a wife needs to work or not, for her own self-respect/self-improvement, she should be qualified to pick up a good job and earn her own money. Who knows what may happen to the man’‘s job or wealth?

Boys like to pursue girls, but once they have conquered and ‘tasted’, they get bored with the girl and move on. If it’s money the girl had been getting, her funds will begin to diminish. I advise that you stick to your boyfriend while you try to get into higher institution. Any relationship now should be light and casual and sex should not be involved. Just tell the other boys politely that you are not available for a romantic relationship. Stick to this.

ter or issue with her because she’s stubborn, and disrespectful, and she always wants things done in her own way.

Since we married there’s always been this power tussle in the home because she’s a feminist to the core.

I really love her and I know I have found my missing rib, but the problem is her way of life. She always holds on to her views. I will not want our marriage to collapse because of this, and I would like you to advise me.

She helps financially in the home, and she’s reliable and trustworthy. We love each other, and even though we have no children yet, I’m not bothered because our marriage is still young. She was quite shapely when we were courting but, she’s now bigger than I, but I still love her.

Could her lack of respect for her husband be due to the fact that she lost her father early in life and was raised mainly by a woman?

S.L, Asaba..

REPL Y REPLY

T

he absence of a father in her childhood may have something to do with her attitude towards you, but doubt if that’s the main reason. Did you notice her bossiness and headstrong way during the two year courtship, or

is it a recent thing?

Some people are able to conceal their true character during courtship, but a vigilant person would be be to get a glimpse of it in one way or the other, and then decide if it’s something he can put up with in marriage. Perhaps you were impressed by her earning power, and didn’t pay attention to other aspect of her character?

However, marriage has happened, and since you say that you both love each other, you have to work hard to make it work. I can understand your feelings though, because a man is the head of a family. Whatever his social status, compared to that of his wife, he should ensure he’s given his due respect, by being clean, responsible especially in the area of work or a respectable means of livelihood, and the discharge of financial responsibilities in the home, and be of general good behaviour.

A man who gets drunk and displays a reckless and irresponsible character should not expect respect from his wife, or even the children. So, also is a man who is violent and quarrelsome. I suggest you sit quietly by your self and examine

your character, with the above in mind. Change what you feel needs changing, then watch your wife’s response to the new you. Whatever the case, don’t use beating to try force respect out of her, as that may lead to a further loss of respect, as she begins to challenge you to a fight, at the least instance.

And since you say she’s now bigger than you are , she may manage to push you down and sit on you.

I advise you use polite and loving words to coax her into good behaviour.

Tell her you love her and that she’s the sort of respectful, well-behaved and responsible wife you’ve always wanted and that you know she’s going to bring up children with good character. If you say all these with much seriousness, she would stop to think, and may hopefully, change and begin to respect you.

I hope the respect you have in mind is not for her to kneel down any time you come into a room, answer ‘sir’ when you call her, or stand on duty while you are eating. If it is mainly argument and refusing to do what you ask her to do, have a heart-to-heart talk with her to find out quietly and politely, why she always wants a confrontation with you. Tell her it makes you feel unhappy and inadequate as a head of the family.

You both should resolve to consider each other’s view and arrive at a compromise while making a decision.

Marriage is give and take, and there should be an attempt on both sides to cooperate so that the home can be a happy one. If she refuses to change, this is a case which could be reported to respected elders in her family, even though we usually advise on this page that couples should keep their problems to themselves.

Have that talk with her first, and let her know that you may have to call in the elders in the families, if she persists in her disrespectful attitude (even though it’s only her people you have in mind). You may also tell her that both of you should go to your church pastor for counselling.

I’m sure she wants her marriage to be successful, and will cooperate with you. Good luck.

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

SUNDAY Vanguard, APRIL 7, 2013, PAGE 23

Are all married men potential adulterers?!

J

IBE waited in her flat with bated breath. She hadn’t done a reckless thing like this in her life before. A divorced mother of a nine-year old daughter, she’d run into Tony at a party and they’d gone on like a house on fire. Their teasing got to a darewould Jibe had a nostrings-attached sex with him that night? Tony was married of course, so his house was out of bounds.

Jibe hadn’t had sex for a while and was gaging for it. Her daughter was spending the night at her sister’s. Could she let this opportunity slip from her fingers? So she said yes to Tony’s proposition. In spite of the excitement of having sex again, she was scared. She said.

“When I heard the bell, I felt a bit panicky. This was suddenly a crazy idea. What if he had dubious intentions? But when I opened the door and saw the lecherous smile on his face, my anxiety was replaced by over powering lust. Tony pulled me into his arms and started kissing me passionately. My legs actually buckled, but he pressed my body hard against his and I was

lost. We started taking each other’s clothes off and for a while I felt exposed - and sexy! He gently lowered me onto the sofa, and without saying a word, started making love to me. I’d never experienced anything like it before - so urgent, so uninhibited.

“Almost an hour after, I was exhausted. Tony told me it was one of the best sex he’d had and I felt flattered. It made me feel so desirable and powerful. As he made to leave, he asked for my mobile number but I told him I didn’t want to take it any further. He looked really disappointed, but we’d both told ourselves at the party it was to be a onenight said .. ,” Brazen? The more sophisticated the technology at our disposal gets, the less attached one gets to sex. You can get any sort of ‘information’ on sex on the internet and since men had been known to always be on the prowl for sexual victims, they ’re meeting their match in their preys. Now the big question: Would most men really jump at the chance of an affair if there was no risk of their other half finding out? And would the same apply to the

women?

Thelma, mother of three and in her forties believes over 90% of men would go for sex if it were offered on a platter and if they could get away with it. ‘There are more important things to settle for in a marriage than being stressed by an unfaithful husband,” she said. “I’ve been with my husband for 16 years.

He was having affairs before we got married. I thought it would stop, but it didn’t. Most of his ‘relationships’ are shortlived but some have lasted months. One even went on for almost two years. I have come to ac-

cept that this is one of my husband’s bad habits and something I just need to accept. In the same way that another man might drink. too much or spend whole days away from his family to play golf. .. “I know he loves me and I’m confident he’ll never leave me. Why would he? We have a good relationship, healthy children and we make one another happy.

Plus he can have his little flings and know that I’m always there waiting for him. It upsets and even angers me when people say they pity me.

They think. I’m weak for staying with a man like

this. In fact, I believe it makes me a strong person. It wasn’t something I was able to accept straightaway - it’s taken a lot of soul-searching to get to the point I’m at today. Of course, it hurts me that he can’t remain faithful, but I try not to think. about it. I tell myself there are worse things a husband could be - he could be violent, or an alcoholic, or just unloving. I’m not trying to make excuses for his behaviour. I’m just showing that cheating men can’t be fitten into one category.”

Liz works with a group

of journalists and according to her, her belief need to be that about half of married men would cheat if they could get away with it. “Then I decided to question my colleagues,” she said. “I’m the only woman in a team of eight. Despite knowing these men really well and them all being decent men, either married ~ living with their partners, their unanimous answer astounded me.

They said that 100 per cent would cheat. I can’t tell you how disappointed I was! It made me start looking at my husband in a new light.

How many women has he had outside marriage. If I had proof he was cheating, would I have revenge affairs?!”

“Let’s face it, married men are the safest if all you want is something more personal than your vibrator,” confessed Maria, an artiste .. “Since love or any other deep emotion has never entered into the relationships because they ’re married, the partings are usually brief, sweet and cordial.

A sort of;its been nice, see you around some time.

Period. You wish each other well, health, and success. And that’s that.”

08052201867(Text Only)

Yoga Leg Pull

A

lady I know once said to me, ''I want to do yoga, but how soon do I start to see re-

sults?'' I simply looked her in the eyes and shot back, “about half the time that it has taken you to acquire your excess baggage.”

Tr o u b l e w i t h m o s t people when they take up some fitness regime to correct what they have allowed to go wrong with their bodies, is the expectation of a miracle - instant results. But, fat bodies like fast food will bring problems in their wake. Apart from the seriousness that accompany crash exercises, there is also the problem of anxiety to be dealt with. I think the best attitude with which to get into a fit-

ness routine is resolving to make it’ a way of life.’

Dr. George Sheehan advises, “become a life long athlete.” What is meant is constancy and diligence in practice.

This done, everything will come your way, namely, shamefulness, fitness, strength of body and mind, in short, all the good things that a healthy body has to offer.

A certain amount of curiosity and a selfhelp mentality are also very necessary qualities to inculcate into the personality makeup.

Read up on good eating and other healthy living habits and seek to make them a part of your life. It is not good to do all

the wrong things, then one day look at yourself in the mirror and say: I don’t like what I see, I want a bit off here, a bit off there, oh, my God, a bit off everywhere, really?

The fact that you are reading this means you want a change for yourself. A change for a healthier, more responsive body.

Having made the decision, resolve to have the tenacity of purpose. It will be your greatest asset in your bid to improve on your b o d y. Wi t h i t , y o u r ‘dream’ body will become your ‘ real’ body.

The following are some yoga exercises to help you reduce weight, firm thighs and the buttocks. A must for ladies with the problem of cellulite.

The Leg Pull, jausirasana in sanskait, is done this w a y. ‘ S i t w i t h l e g s stretched out before.

Now place the sole of the left foot against the upper inside of the right thigh. Raise both arms overhead. Lean backward as far as possible and coming forward grab hold of whatever part of the right leg you can with both hands. Be careful not to over strain.

'Bend your elbows and pull the trunk

slowly downward and at the same time turn the right shoulder downward and the left shoulder upward.

Breath slowly and deeply.

'After a comfortable while, release hold and gently straighten u p . Pe r f o r m s i m i l a r movements with the left leg. Go over from right to left legs three

The Leg Pull

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

times in all.'

Apart, from the ‘selfmassaging’ effect of this posture to deal with cellulite and tension, fatigue are also relieved throughout the legs.

The Locust, the next exercise effectively deals with excess weight, firms, streamlines and develops the buttocks, hips, thighs and legs.

To p e r f o r m t h e L o cus, lie face down with the chin on the floor and place the fists on the floor beside the thighs. Breathe in deeply, regaining the breadth, push legs as high as you can. Remain a while like this, then bring down both legs and exhale.

Take a short rest and repeat. If it is too dif -

ficult raising both legs in one go, take the described position, but raise one leg for a while, lower it, and then repeat with the other leg.

PAGE 24 —SUNDAY Vanguard, APRIL 7, 2013

bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk

08056180152,

SMS only

Are we taking the black magic rituals too far?!

M

OST of our home mov ies are often packed with the most graphic and bizarre black magic rituals. It seems no movie is worth its salt. without some scary looking witch-doctors performing repulsive feats. Are we so stripped in the stuff that we’re blinded by the fact that there are more positive forces than the black magic?

Recently, I learnt of yet another black magic escapades that really made my flesh crawl. Stephen, a middle-aged successful businessman was funning from a set-back and was on his way home.

Stephen’s steps quickened as he heard voices from his bedroom. It was 2.00a.m. and he’d hurried back home from the airport after his flight was cancelled. His wife was obviously still awake and watching one of the local films she loved so much judging from the cacophony of sounds emanating from their room. Happily, he pushed open the bedroom door. His jaw dropped as he witnessed the most bizarre sight he’d ever seen. Smack in the middle of his bedroom was a raging fire in a pot surrounded by some weird-looking men chanting some horrible incantations. His wife, stark naked, had some white spots dotted allover her body and she was holding a cock in each hand, dancing a frenzied dance around the pot and stamping her feet on the floor. Her crazy dance

took her to the bedroom door and she too stood rooted on the spot as she noticed the look of stunned disbelief on her husband’s face.

You could cut the silence that followed with a knife. Like a man in a trance, he watched the four men inch towards him, -fright written all over their faces as they walked pass him. They mumbled some words and made a dash for the door, fleeing into the night. Stephen realised it would be futile challenging them without the neighbours cottoning on to what was going on. It was a living nightmare.

Like in slow motion, he watched his wife set down the two cocks. It was like a cue for him to turn his back on her and beat a hasty retreat to his car. He then asked his driver to take him to an hotel. “As 1 checked into the hotel room,” Stephen recalled, “I began to do a replay of what I had just witnessed. It was worse than my worst nightmare! This was a woman I was completely in love with. A woman 1 met barely ten years ago but who had taken over my life ...

“I was married with children when 1 met her.

She was a divorcee also with four children. She’d wanted help on a project she was doing and a mutual friend sent her to me because the man in charge happened to be a good friend. After she got through with the project, she came to thank me. In short, we became friends, then lovers and I fell hopelessely in love with her. The fact

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 Dearest Love,

My heart is in the palm of your hands, the farther you go, the much more I miss you, desires you and

that I was married became insignificant as I fell under her spell. When she had problems with her landlord, I put her in one of my houses and took over her financial responsibilities – including paying the school fees of her children. In the end, my wife got wind of what was going on and raised hell.

I was getting disenchanted with her anyway and always told her that if she didn’t like what was going on, she could , forget all about our marriage.

“She had to leave in the end. I was openly attending private and social functions with Mosun (the ‘new wife’) and spending most evenings with her.

My first wife is a proud woman and she left with the two youngest children leaving me with our first two. When Mosun moved in with her children there was a lot of friction between her children and mine. Up till now, even after all these years, my children treat hers with great sufferance but one expects such things when you want to unite two unwilling families. And now

this! Just when I was thinking I had everything under control! A bizarre thing like this had to happen. How did those men make such a raging fire in the middle of a bedroom at that time of night for goodness sake? What if the house had caught fire?

Was it her first or umpteenth time? One or two close relatives I told were non-plussed. One or two tried to unravel the mystery of the ritual.

“According to them, the cocks would have been slaughtered in the course of the ritual and the birds prepared for me later. God only knows how many of such food r d eagerly eaten in the name of love over the years. Was that why I fell hopelessly under her spell?

Whatever explanation she had for going into the ridiculous but dangerous extent she went, I didn’t want to know. I stayed put in the hotel and made sure she was ejected and all traits of her presence removed before I went back to the

want you back home. My love for you has grown to the level that I can't see any other woman, it is only you I see. My love when you are not around, always know that my heart is in the palm of your hands.

Please don't break it. I love you so much...

Kelechi Ndubisi kconeofafrica@gmail.com, 08032900530

The best

The softest singer is the one who sings to the beats of his heart's untolds.

The wisest enemy is the one who understands that enmity is far more than just slaying their prey.

The toughest question to answer is the one that can’t be answered in the given space.

The hardest brawls to wrestle are where you lack support of the crowd.

house. By which time, almost all our friends, relations and enemies had heard about it, I felt ashamed and humiliated. For my wife, it was her moment of glory and she made the most of it.

Who would blame her? ‘+I’m concentrating on my business for now and putting contact with women in whatever form on hold. The effect of the nightmare I just went through might take forever to go away. Talk about baptism of fire ... “ Thoughts for postEaster: Letting Go And Letting God ...

We take our broken dreams to God just in the same way that children bring their broken toys to toy-makers to mend. We bring our broken dreams to God because He is our Creator, Redeemer and Friend. But if we really are sincere, we find that instead of leaving Him in peace to do this work alone, we hang around asking and prodding.

“How soon? When?

How?” At other times, we find that we even want to help! Doesn’t that

sound funny? We want to help God solve our own problems, and in ways that are our own. Sometimes we become so impatient that we snatch back our dreams and cry on the Lord. “But why are you so slow?” The answer is that we never gave the Lord any chance to work on our dreams.

We never let go. May be we don’t even really think that God can mend our dreams. Let us today declare that when we take a broken dream or problem to God, we will step back and allow Him to do His work unhindered, at his own time and perfect way.....”

Anonymous Patience of Job? (Humour) Maggie, the Fosters’ maid, had a perfectly infuriating habit of interrupting her mistress with petty house hold problems in the middle of bridge games for high stakes. One day, her mistress threatened that if she ever interrupted again, she would be fired on the spot.

About two weeks later, the cards had just been dealt for a hand when Maggie appeared in the door-way. The mistress saw her, but, as a test, ignored her completely while the hand was bid and carefully played. After the score had been entered, the mistress turned sweetly to Maggie and said: ‘’’1 am glad you learned your lesson, Maggie. Now tell me what is on your mind”.

“I just wanted to say”, said Maggie, :that the house is on fire.”

The worst calamity is standing alone, facing the storm all by your own, while counting the number of times their promises had deceived you into believing they would be there.

And, the greatest act of teaching is where you keep building them up even though they keep knocking you down.

Chris Onunaku 08032988826

Beauty personified

Some people were born with talents. They can do beautiful things with their skills, knowledge and technology. But no one is as talented as you. You just come near, and there is already beauty.

Mayor: Mayor.taiye@yahoo.com 08065190885

SUNDAY Vanguard, APRIL 7, 2013 — PAGE 25

NSCDC / POLICE C LA S H

Our husbands are gone forever!

•Lamentations of the widows of Civil

Florence, Innocent

Akhigbe’s widow

Defence officials killed in ambush

BY BOSE ADELAJA

M

rs.

Florence Akhigbe was speechless when the news of her husband’s sudden death was broken to her; initially she discarded the news owing to the fact that the hubby, Inspector Innocent Akhigbe, left home hale and hearty on that fateful Wednesday. However, when sympathisers began to throng her apartment, it dawned on her that her

hearthrob of many years had gone to the great beyond in the course of discharging his duties as an official of the Anti-Vandal Squad of theNigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC. Innocent met his untimely death on Wednesday, March 27, together with one of his colleagues, Assistant Inspector Gabriel Adaji, when their team went on a raid at Abule-Oba, Isawo area of Ikorodu, Lagos State. The operation was suc-

BY EMMA UNA, Calabar

A

thirty-year-old man, whose name was simply giv en as Rowland, is now in police custody in Cala bar for allegedly raping a thirteen-year-old girl.

The girl, who reported the incident to the police at Akim Police Division which effected the arrest of Rowland, said she was returning from school, on Friday, 22 March, when she met Rowland who took her to his house and raped her all-night. The story took a twist when the suspect’s friends were quoted as alleging he was addicted to raping young girls.“I was coming back from school and the road was very dark because NEPA took light as rain was threatening to fall and I was afraid of walking the road alone. I had to wait in a nearby shop and while there I saw Rowland who lives close to our house. I told

 The late Innocent Akhigbe

cessful until some policemen attached to Owutu Division laid ambush for the NDCSC officials and rained bullets on

 The late Gabriel Adaji

Dr. Abolurin

them after one of the suspected vandals put a call across to the policemen. At the end of the attack, five officials in the

him I was afraid of going back home alone and he assured me he would escort me home. After he bought what he wanted to buy, we set out together towards home”, the victim said.

She said while on their way home, the suspect, who lives some houses away from the 31 Barracks Road where Mary resides, said he wanted to call in his place to pick an umbrella in the event that the rain that is threatening falls. “And, since it was very dark on the road, he asked me to come to the house and wait while he gets the umbrella. We got to his house, I waited at the door for him to get the umbrella but suddenly he came out and grabbed me and flung me inside his room and shut the door”.

Mary, an extra-mural student at Government Secondary School, Akim, said she shouted and screamed

team sustained injuries, one was arrested by the policemen while Innocent and Gabriel,among those wounded, died before day break.

The incident is generating controversy as the Lagos police denied that its men laid ambush for the NSCDC officials.The police spoke through their spokesperson Ngozi Braide.

The Commandant General of NSCDC, Dr. Ade Abolurin, was in Lagos, last weekend, when he paid a visit to the families of the deceased persons, the scene of the incident as well as Owutu Division in Ikorodu.

During the condolence visit, Florence,the wife of Akhigbe, could not hold back tears when condoled by the CG who encouraged and prayed for the family.

The spokesperson for the family, Rev Sam Ebiogbe, appreciated the NSCDC for their efforts so far and called on them to bring the culprits to book. He said the deceased was dedicated to duty during

Continues on page

but the “man over powered me and used his palm to gag me and sprayed something on me and I became too weak and he raped me several times until I became unconscious”.

Mary said the suspect kept her in his room till the next day .“It was on Saturday morning that I found myself at the staircase to our apartment when neighbours gathered round and woke me to find out why I slept at the steps”.

It was then she remembered the events of the previous night and reported to the police which went after Rowland but was nowhere to be found. It was on Sunday morning that the police were able to locate the suspect who said he spent the previous day at a wedding ceremony where he was engaged as a video camera man.

“I was called by my friend Nse who had his wedding on Saturday that his camera man had been arrested and that I should get to Akim Police Division to help secure his bail and when I got there, I discovered that the man was arrested for rape, and I am against such acts and rather told the police to charge him to court”, Barrister James Ibor of Basic Rights Counsel Initiative told Sunday Vanguard.

He said friends of the suspect testified that the “fellow is addicted to raping young girls. It is better to put such a person where he belongs- the prison-so that his character could be reformed”, Ibor said.

DSP John Umoh, the Cross River State Police Command Public Relations Officer, said the man would soon be charged to Family Court so that the “victim can go there and testify since that court sits in camera”.

PAGE 26—SUNDAY Vanguard, APRIL 7, 2013

‘We were blind, but now we can see’ The young and old on eye surgery pilgrimage to Cross River State

E

lder Enebedum Ekedife is a native of Nobi, Anambra State, some three hundred kilometres from Calabar, Cross River State capital. For three years, he was afflicted with some problem in both eyes. In mid- 2012, he went completely blind. If he needed to eat, someone had to be on hand to help him keep the food close to avoid spilling. Even as frustrating as that could be, someone had to lead him by hand and remain close each time the 63 year-old visited the toilet so he would not soil himself. Even, doing simple chores like putting on his clothes, his daughter, Jane, had to attend to him, causing the twenty one -year -old to abandon her studies at the Institute of Management and Technology, IMT, Enugu. But all that changed when he visited the Mission for Vision Centre, Calabar, where he was operated on both eyes and he regained his sight.

“Many people who came to see me told me to come to Calabar and my daughter led me here. Last week, I was operated on. Now I can see with both eyes,” he said. Jane, now ready to return to school, is ecstatic about her father regaining his sight and is thanking not only God but also Cross River State government and Tulsi Chanrai Foundation, the operators of the free eye surgery programme

through which her father regained his lost sight.

As it is with Ekedife, so also it is for Madam Rose Ubani, a 58year-old retired school teacher from Abia State, who was flanked on both sides by her two children, Barbara and Chinedu. While narrating her experience, tears of joy flowed down her cheeks as she could not believe she would regain her sight after two years of living in darkness. The fair woman said her both eyes were covered by cataract for over two years and she thought that her enemies had prevailed over her and rendered her useless.

“I went to a traditional doctor who poured some painful substances into my eyes for over three months and nothing improved, but, rather, my children saw a red patch develop in my left eye. It was while my problem was getting worse and I

,

In collaboration with an Indian Foundation, Cross River State gives sight to 26,000 people and still counting

and Ubani resonate with those of several thousands of others: young, old, men, women, the rich and the poor who have regained their sight through the free eye surgery at the General Hospital Calabar, Mission for Vision partnership between the Cross River State Government and the Tulsi Charai Foundation which provides free eye surgery Daily the precincts of the General Hospital Calabar, located along the Mary Slessor Avenue, witnesses a deluge of eye patients from places as far as Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi, Rivers, Bayelsa, Edo, Abia, Benue, Akwa Ibom and Kogi states thus turning the place to a “pilgrimage” of sorts. The free surgery programme has provided free eye surgery for over twenty six thousand patients since it came into inception in 2003. Surgeries that ordinarily would cost between N75,000 and N120,000

The fair woman said her eyes were covered by cataract for over two years and she thought that her enemies had prevailed over her and rendered her useless

had to return home that one day my son’s friend, who came to visit, asked why we had not been to Calabar. That was how we came to know that I could be treated in Calabar free and today I can see clearly”.

The testaments of Ekedife

,

in private medical facilities and between N30,000 and N50,000 in teaching hospitals are done for free.

While Cross River State government provides the infrastructure such as surgical equipment, hospital wards, operating

*Gov Imoke theatre, clinic, residence for the expatriate doctors involved and project vehicles, the Tulsi Chanrai Foundation bears the cost of maintaining the expatriate doctors and managers, drugs and consumables, supportive staff, and the day-to-day maintenance of the centre.“Every patient who steps into this centre, rich or poor, has the same quality eye surgery and receives free drugs and free post operation checks”, Dr Richard Sylvester, the Project Manager said. And almost always, the fifty bed-ward space flows with patients operated on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays by the team of expatriate ophthalmologists. “We dedicate Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays for surgeries and out patient screening is on Mondays and Fridays while, every Saturday, we do post-operation check up for those operated within the week and the previous week”. Sylvester said to make sure that everyone who needs the free eye services is fished out in the numerous villages especially those in Cross River State, the state government has a brand new bus that provides dedicated services ferreting patients from the eighteen local government areas of

the state to the eye centre in Calabar at no cost. “There is a screening centre in each of the eighteen local government areas in the state to identify and bring people who need surgery to Calabar to be attended to.

From 2003 to February 2013, we have carried out 26,633 surgeries for people all over the South-south and South-east states.”

The project, which started as a trial camp in 2003 and attended to just 1,119 patients during its six months camping, has, because of its initial success, blossomed to a full- fledged eye surgical centre which accounts for the high number of people besieging the centre daily.

“This is keeping with the Governor Liyel Imoke’s policy of reaching out to those who need government the most. The programme was meant for people of the state but there is no discriminating where the person comes from as everyone is attended to the same way free”, Mr Chris Ita, Chief Press Secretary to Imoke, said of the programme. To sustain the programme, the Tulsi Chanrai Foundation has begun the training of six indigenous ophthalmologists both within and in India.

Why many church leaders are derailing — Fire Lenke

BY OLAYINKA LATONA

A

ddressed as ‘high voltage man of God’ by his members, Prophet Fire Lenke, the General Overseer of Liberation Embassy, a.k.a Ghoster, revealed that he liberate souls in bondage. Fire Lenke advised ministers of God to desist from exploiting their members through prosperity

preaching but rather, preach the undiluted word of God that can change and liberate man and give hope to the hopeless.

Background My real names are Ndoumi Lenke Guillaume and my spiritual name is Prophet Fire Lenke. I chose that name because there are preachers that bear ‘fire this or that’, but I chose Fire Lenke and Lenke is my father’s name. I had

both primary and secondary education in Cameroon, studied bio-chemistry in one of the colleges in Cameroon and obtained a Ph.D in linguistic from University of Calabar and a degree in education.

Are you a Nigerian?

I am not a Nigerian but a Cameroonian. I grew up very stubborn. This prompted my father to bring me to Nigeria where I stayed with my uncle

in Kano. I married a Nigerian woman.

Why did you venture into ministry? Is it because of the lucrative side of it?

Not at all, God gave me the mandate to preach and liberate the sick and those in bondage. Before my encounter with Christ, I did not believe in God and I was not attending any church. It was when all my Continues on page

*Lenke

SUNDAY Vanguard, APRIL 7, 2013, PAGE 27

By Tony Nwankwo

T

hey are John & Justina Ek perigin. John is a

lecturer at the College of Education, Warri, Delta State and his wife is a pharmacist. They have been Africa’s Top FLP distributors for three years and now they have emerged as Africa’s first Double Diamond Managers, a feat that is being celebrated by the Forever family in Nigeria and Benin Republic.

When the batch of 266 independent distributors of Forever Living Products (Nigeria /Benin) depart Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, for their all expenses paid trip for the company’s Global Rally in Hawaii, United States, April 22 – 29, 2013, they will have their morale raised by this single, spectacular feat. The same enthusiasm will follow another batch of 233 distributors who will be jetting out to Sardinia, Italy, May, 20 – 24, 2013, also on an all-expenses paid trip, for the Eagle Managers Retreat. The contingent will continue in the euphoria of the emergence of John and Justina Ekperigin as Double Diamond Managers in the Forever th Living business.

They are the 9 distributorship to attain this level in the FLP marketing plan worldwide. This is a lifetime achievement, being the first time a black man has reached that height in Forever in the 35 years history of the company. The other Double Diamond Managers are from the United States, Japan and Germany.

This achievement represents the climax of hardwork and dedication of the Ekperigins in the multi-

Fover Living Products Nigeria Ltd first Double Diamond Managers, and top Africa Distributors, John and Justina Ekperigin, flanked

by FLP MD Nigeria/Benin Republic, Mr. Cornelius Tay (l), and FLP Vice President, Africa, Mr. Gary Shreeve at a presentation in Lagos, recently. level marketing business. This achievement was confirmed

and announced at the close of the company,s activities globally on February 28. The position means that the Ekperigins had built a formidable team and had produced 50 managers directly who are active in the business.

Each manager is expected to have his or her own team and be earning at least N500,000 a month as bonus from the company, as long as they follow the FLP multi-level marketing plan.

Simply put, the Ekperigins had built a team in the business that earns a minimum of N25 million a month in Forever Living Products Nigeria.

In Hawaii the Nigeria/Benin contingent are expected to improve on their superlative

achievements of 2012, when Nigeria/Benin was ranked No. 1 in sales in Africa. Nigeria/Benin had held this position in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Speaking at an FLP Super Business Presentation recently, Vice President, Africa, Mr. Gary Shreeve, said Chairman and Founder of Forever Living Products International, Mr. Rex Maughan, had a special place in his heart for Nigeria, as a result of the performance of the country in the business. He praised the dedication and leadership of the Managing Director, Mr. Cornelius Tay, and Deputy Managing Director, Mrs. Caroline Tay, and their commitment to lead the company to greater heights.

Our husbands are gone forever!

Continued from page his life time,saying, “Because of his love for the nation, Innocent always availed himself of every opportunity to serve his father land.

It will be disappointing if his death should be in vain and the perpetrators are allowed to go scot- free. We have seen your efforts at ensuring that justice is done and we want you

to continue along that line. Innocent’s death is very painful, and nothing can replace him in our lives, especially the widow and the children he left behind. Since the death of her husband, she has been totally distraught so much so that she still believes her husband would still come back home” At Gabriel’s home, his elder brother, Simon Adaji, also called on the government to ensure that justice is done; saying Adaji’s blood was crying for justice. He said the family will only be consoled when perpetrators of the murder are brought to book. “Justice can only be done if the truth of the matter is exposed’’.

During Abolurin’s visit to the scene of the incident, he impounded about 100 gallons meant to siphon petroleum products and, at the end of the visit, he charged the Corps officials not to avenge their colleagues’ death.

The Commandant General also said the NSCDC will not entertain any debate or controversy on the issue, but will wait for the report of the committee set up by President Goodluck Jonathan to investigate the incident, adding, “It is expedient to make a sacrifice in the course of building the nation, but who will make such a sacrifice is what nobody knows. We remain resolute and determined, we shall seek synergy and live in peace in our community.’’

He also urged his men to extend their hand of fellowship to the Nigeria Police. ‘’I want you to

know that not every member of the Nigeria Police is bad: Police is an institution made up of many people, so when you see them, kindly extend your hands of fellowship to them and let them know we stand for peace. We are determined to succeed; henceforth, men and officers of the NSCDC should justify the existence of the Corps through their impact, telling Nigerians that we are mature. This is the first time in Nigeria that the nation will witness such incident and the affected organisation has refused to take the law into its hands. Let us leave everything to God since the Federal Government has waded into the mater, I believe justice will prevail and, by the special grace of God, their blood will not be in vain,’’ Also, Abolurin asked vandals in Lagos State to relocate or face the wrath of the law. “In the course of today’s visit, we saw vandals holding meeting on water and we burnt about 100 gallons; an indication that the vandals are not ready to cooperate with security operatives. We hereby declare that all vandals should between now and seven days relocate and pack their load and if there is anybody that stands as a collaborator, the hand of the law will rest on him. We have made a declaration and on Aburi we stand; vandals should leave Lagos because it is not their home town and collaborators should give way’’

Compensation

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n compensation for the families of the victims, Abolurin said, ‘’ In the course of our visit, we have seen the enormous responsibility left behind by the victims and I want you to know that the Corps has a comprehensive insurance policy. The Corps has always stood firmly on this as we care for both the living and the dead.’’

Why many church leaders are derailing — Fire Continued from page

efforts to travel to Germany became futile that I started going to church trying to pray and seek solution to my problems. From there, I joined a church called Good News Bible Church and I enlisted in the prayer warrior group; if I was asked to pray, I will end my prayer with ‘fire’ and that is where the name “Fire” got stuck. Later I joined a Catholic Church in Kano where I was brought up spiritually. One night, around 1994, when I was still in Kano, in my dream, I saw myself before a man who gave me a rod of fire that looked like a fluorescent, but I could not look at the light because the radiation was very powerful. But something forced me to look at the light. I did not know the meaning of this dream, but I started having knowledge of Christ and his work of salvation because, thereafter, I was no longer comfortable with my environment. I was the one in charge of a hotel owned by my uncle and, after selling alcohol to our customers, I will preach against it, thereby causing commotion in the place. I had to leave my uncle’s business and stayed with a friend. There, in a small group, we will gather and pray. Surprisingly, the following day, those that attended will bring their friends saying the prayer I prayed for them had been answered, but I was confused because I did not know God had deposited some power in me.

When did you start Liberation Embassy Inc.?

It started in 1998, four years after my encounter with Christ. God gave me a revelation of a church without wall where women out-numbered men, although men are now coming up.

What informed the name, ‘Liberation Embassy Inc. Initially, the name was, ‘Beautiful Gate Assembly, which only focused on healing and breakthrough, but when the vision got clearer, I had to change it to Liberation Embassy where people can get solution to their various problems.

How far have you gone with your ministerial journey?

It has been very tough and challenging. I was down financially to the point of not getting money to pay for hall where we worshipped. It was It is shocking seeing quite difficult then. The how some ministers first money I got was of God turn churches N25,000 that was given to empires and busito me by a man whose ness ventures, it is no child was pronounced longer the same dead, but when I prayed, church that was in the the lad came back to life.

Bible Most times, I and my family will eat beans for a week because there was no alternative.

As a Cameroonian minister in Nigeria, do you have any role model?

My ministry is fashioned after that of Prophet Samson Ayorinde’s and he is my role model. I look up to him as a father, he is into prophetic deliverance and healing and the same applies to the gift that God gave me. Another man of God that I look up to is the founder of Winners Chapel, Bishop Oyedepo, it was Bishop Oyedepo that prayed for me before I started my ministry.

Vision of your church The vision of the church is liberating man from the bondage and shackle of poverty, sickness, ancestral curse amongst others.

Your take on how Nigeria practices Christianity?

It is shocking seeing how some ministers of God turn churches to empires and business ventures, it is no longer the same church that was in the Bible. Many men of God are no longer truthful all because of what they will get from their members. It is an eye sore. You will see members struggling to contribute towards building a church university and when such school is completed, most members cannot send their children to the church school because they cannot afford the fee. It can be annoying because it is an anomaly.

What is your prophecy for 2013?

My prophecy for the year which God revealed to me is that this year is a year of altar against altar. I am called by God to break down altars that are not of heaven and also to heal the sick.

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Fore oduces Africa’s orevver Nigeria pr produces 1st Double Diamond Manager

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PAGE 28—SUNDAY, Vanguard, APRIL 7, 2013

Asiw aju Bola Tinubu @ 6 1 dinner Asiwaju 61

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L-R: Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, Gov Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State and wife, Dame Abimbola Fashola

s usual, the celebration of the political icon, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s birthday started with a colloquium and this th year’s 5 edition was no different both in style and content from the past editions.The colloquium held at the Shell Hall, Muson Centre in Onikan, Lagos, was followed by a dinner at the Eko Hotel, Victoria Island.

At both events, prominent dignitaries, cutting across political and business groups, converged to honour the celebrant who turned 61on same day, March 29. Photos from the dinner by Bunmi Azeez.

Dep. Gov, Lagos State, Mrs. Adejoke OrelopeAdefulire, (l) and Chief [Mrs] Nike Akande

Oba Saheed Ademola Elegusi (l) and Chief Mrs Kemi Nelson

National Publicity Secretary of [ACN] Alhaji Lai Mohammed,(l) and Chairman, [ACN] Lagos State, Chief Henry Ajomale

L-R: Osun State First Lady, Alhaja Serifat Aregbesola, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, his wife, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu and chairman of the occasion, Ronald Chagoury

Senator Olorunnibe Mamowora (l), and wife, Olanlesi

Double celebrations for the Ohworode

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he Ohworode of Olomu Kingdom In Ughelli-South Area of Delta State, HRM, Ovie R.L. Ogbon, Ogoni-Oghoro I, celebrated twin ceremonies as he clocked 96 years old and 25 years on the throne penultimate Saturday. He was joined in the celebration by the high and mighty of the state. Photos by Akpokona Omafuaire.

The Ohworode, flanked by his queen, Olorogun Felix Ibru and Olorogun Oscar Ibru Ovie R.L. Ogbon, Ogoni-Oghoro I, Royal Canon, the Ohworode of Olomu Kingdom, flanked by his children

His Majesty, Ogiame Atuwatse II, Olu of Warri chats with HRM, Adjara III, Ovie of Ogor Kingdom C M Y K

From left: HRM King Joseph Timiyan, Ebenanaowei of Ogulagha Kingdom; HRM, Jabin Onesa, Okporufuoma I, Ovie of Ewu Kingdom; HRM Pere Charles Ayemi-Botu, Paramount of Seimbiri Kingdom, and HRM Pere Samuel Evah

The Ohworode, flanked by his queen, Deputy Governor Amos Utuama, Chief E.K. Clark , Olorogun Moses Taiga and Mr. Temple Mud

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SUNDAY Vanguard, APRIL 7, 2013, PAGE 45

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fter prolonged pre varication on the issue of granting amnesty to members of the Jama'atul Ahlus Sunnah Lidda'awati Wal Jihad, popularly known as Boko Haram, the move by the Presidency, last week, setting up a committee to explore the possibility of redeeming the security situation in the northern part of the country is being received with mixed feelings. This report presents how members of the Northern Elders Forum, NEF, extracted the goodwill from President Goodluck Jonathan He was always being hemmed-in by the hawks and the doves inside Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja.

And that is why it has taken this long. For Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian state, he had grown a bit leaner, with the population of white hair on his head growing by the day.

Sunday Vanguard was told by Aso Rock insiders that there were occasions when Jonathan would look pensive, in the last one month, especially since his visit to Borno and Yobe States. Whereas some of his advisers favoured the exploration of the possibility of making amnesty one of the ap-

BOKO HARAM

The politics of amnesty proaches to putting an end to the Boko Haram menace, there were those who loathed the idea. For the military that had lost officers and men, amnesty was being seen as a reward for brigandage. Therefore, making up his mind was not always going to be easy. “The most pressing thing on his mind was always how to tackle the mindless insurgency in the North being perpetrated by members of the Jama'atul Ahlus Sunnah Lidda'awati Wal Jihad, popularly known as the Boko Haram. There were moments the president would be close to tears especially as news of one mindless attack after another was breaking�, a source said.

Therefore, when moves were being explored for an audience with a bipartisan committee of northern leaders under the aegis of Northern Elders Forum, NEF, the doves in

Aso Rock, sensing the mood in the North, jumped at it.

At that meeting, which ended in the very early hours of last Thursday, the president was said to have repeated his concerns about a guarantee from the NEF members.

Jonathan wanted them to put on the table guarantees that the proposition and extension of amnesty would not only satisfy the desires of the leaders but put a stop to the wanton destruction of lives and property.

The NEF members, on their part, made him understand that they were also reaching out and making wider consultations with a view to ensuring that their part of the country becomes safe and good for business.

Selecting members of the team that would visit Jonathan in Abuja was done carefully and painstakingly.

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BY JIDE AJANI & BEN AGANDE, Abuja

Jonathan wanted them to put on the table guarantees that the proposition and extension of amnesty would not only satisfy the desires of the leaders but put a stop to the wanton destruction of lives and property

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Sunday Vanguard learnt that some very feisty members of the group known to have expressed open indifference to the security situation in the country were not invited.

Also, those known to have been openly antagonistic of the Jonathan administration were also not brought along.

Indeed, the NEF had come to Aso Rock with just one item on its agenda: AMNESTY. Unlike the town hall meeting in Maiduguri where tempers flared, the meeting between Jonathan and the NEF was sober in tone and clear-headed in focus, an NEF member said.

Professor Ango Abdullahi, who led a twenty five-man delegation of the NEF to Aso Rock, told reporters at

Continues on page 46

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Vanguard, APRIL 7, 2013

THE POLITICS OF AMNESTY Continued from page 45

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Haram

he activities of Boko

over stretching the country’s security appara tus to such an extent that it was becoming increasingly difficult for the armed forces to meet their international obligations in terms of peace keeping and the president was losing grounds amongst the vast majority of the people of the North who believe, rightly or wrongly, that he was hesitant in extending the same treatment that was given to the Niger Delta militants because members of the Boko Haram are not Christians like him.

For a country where religious issues are sensitive, allowing such sentiment to fester would not only spell doom for the political ambitions of the president but would also threaten the very existence of the country as one indivisible entity. It was one risk that neither Jonathan nor the minders of national security could contemplate.

Leader, Northern Eders' Forum, Alhaji Maitama Sule, flanked by a former Plateau State Deputy Governor, Dr. Pauline Tallen (r), and others, after the meeting at the Presidency, last week. Photo by Abayomi Adeshida

At the end of the NSC meeting, government announced the setting up of a committee that would work with the office of the National Security Adviser to explore the feasibility or otherwise of the granting of amnesty to members of Boko Haram. The committee, which membership is known only to the leadership of government, has, as its terms of reference: considering the feasibility or otherwise of granting pardon to the Boko Haram adherents; collating

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the end of the meeting which lasted over three hours, that the parley "discussed amnesty and we said that government should factor in amnesty into whatever it is doing."

The former vice chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, who was in an upbeat mood,added: “The contention here is that the country is facing challenges and I'm sure that you will agree that there are challenges in the country particularly in the area of security. That is the greatest challenge the country is facing today and we did spend a lot of time discussing the various issues on security matters”. He explained that from their discussion with Jonathan, “the president is already thinking very hard on it and I think he assured us that there is a special meeting on the matter tomorrow.”

To underscore the seriousness of their mission to the seat of power, the NEF delegation cut across the religious divide as it was made up of Muslims and Christians from Plateau and Kaduna states where Christians have been the targets of the Boko Haram onslaught. The convergence of opinion by these hitherto uncooperative groups on the issue of amnesty for Boko Haram, according to one of the members of the delegation, “underscores the biting effect of the activities of the sect on not just Christians but also Muslims in the region and it came at a time we all agreed that trying to crush the insurgency through military means will only compound the already bad state of affairs in most of the northern states of the federation”.

So when the National Security Council, NSC, met to deliberate on the state of the nation, on Thursday afternoon, it was obvious that the issue of amnesty for members of the sect would take the centre stage.

With no prospect of a clear victory from either of the parties in the conflagration, and the increasing devastating consequences of the crisis on the economy and lives, concerned Nigerians mulled the idea of amnesty for the group in order to check the steady slide to anarchy and to avert continued loss of lives

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clamours arising from different interest groups who want the apex government to administer clemency on members of the religious sect; and recommending modalities for the granting of the pardon, should such step become the logical one to take under the prevailing circumstance. The committee has two weeks to submit its report.

Speaking after the NSC meeting, Reuben Abati, presidential spokes person, told Sunday Vanguard in a telephone chat that “every other thing would flow from the report of the committee that has been set up”. Indeed, there had been calls from the North for amnesty to the Boko Haram members similar to the one granted the Niger Delta

militants by the late President Umaru Yar ’Adua in 2009. Like the Niger Delta militants, the Boko Haram sect has carried out a war of attrition against the nation especially the security forces, a situation that led to the deaths of more than two thousand people.

But unlike the Niger Delta militants, whose activities were aimed at disrupting oil production by targeting oil infrastructure, Boko Haram aligned with internationally known terrorist organisations in what has become known as the global jihad for the Islamisation of the country.

In carrying out their dastardly act of violence, members of the sect targeted security formations, international organisations and churches in the North not only to destabilise the government but also to precipitate a religious conflagration that would win them support through the emotive deployment of religious sentiments.

Expectedly, the reaction of government has been firm and, as some people have argued, brutal.

The security forces have resorted to maximum force to neutralize the group. Consequently, there has been lull in economic activities in the North, especially in Borno, Yobe and Kano states which have been identified as the epicentres of the insurgency.

With no prospect of a clear victory from either of the parties in the conflagration, and the increasing devastating consequences of the crisis on the economy and lives, concerned Nigerians mulled the idea of amnesty for the group in order to check the steady slide to anarchy and to avert continued loss of lives.

For proponents of the amnesty programme for Boko Haram, the move would provide government an opportunity to separate those who are 'genuinely' convinced about the principles of their grievances and those who are hiding

behind the broader umbrella of misgivings to perpetuate crime.

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hat began as an isolated call for amnesty for the Islamist group began to gain momentum as the bloody activities of Boko Haram engaged a mindless trajectory in ferocity and brutality. With the call coming from men of integrity on both sides of the religious divides, government was brought under tremendous pressure to look at the call more seriously, especially considering the fact that with the country being almost effectively divided into two and the economy of almost a half of the country becoming comatose as a result of the activities of the sect.

Perhaps, the crescendo of the call came when the Sultan of Sokoto and leader of Muslims in Nigeria, Alhaji Saad Abubakar aligned with it. Speaking in Kaduna at the opening of the annual central council meeting of the Jama'atu Nasril Islam (JNI), which was attended by senior traditional rulers and Muslim leaders from across the country, the Sultan, who had consistently condemned the activities of the Boko Haram sect as unislamic and had himself borne the boot of criticism from the sect, urged Jonathan, who was scheduled to visit the hotbed of the sect in Borno and Yobe states, to use the few members of the sect who denounced terrorism to reach out to others who had yet to do that.

He stated: "I want to use this opportunity to advise the president, as we heard he is planning to visit Borno State on Thursday, to see how he can declare total amnesty to all combatants without thinking twice.

This will make any other person who picks up arms to be termed as a criminal. If the amnesty is declared, it will make all those who have been tired of running and

Continues on page 47

SUNDAY Vanguard, APRIL 7, 2013, PAGE 47

THE POLITICS OF AMNESTY Continued from page 46 hiding to come out and embrace the amnesty”.

The Sultan went on: “Some of them have already come out. In fact, we heard stories in the papers that some have come out. Even if it is one person that denounces terrorism, it is the duty of the government to accept that person because he can be used to reach others. Whether it is true or not, the government should accept that person first and then interrogate him to see if he really belongs to the sect or not. Some people think we are not doing anything as leaders in the North.

National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki;Chief of the Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika; and the Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Dele Ezeoba; emerging from the Security Council meeting presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan at the State House, Abuja. Photo by Abayomi Adeshida

for the granting of amnesty to the sect, he noted: “To reject amnesty is to place oneself at the same level as these miscreants. Their destruction of our nation is not near the devastation of apartheid in South Africa. Yet, under President Mandela, Archbishop Tutu had to offer amnesty to leap frog the reconciliation process. To paraphrase the Yoruba adage, the hand that gives amnesty is on top of the hand that receives”.

Giving further clarification of his notion of amnesty, the Catholic cleric

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N

o, we have done enough and I want to commend all of you in what you have been doing. We will continue to do so despite criticisms because we know what we are doing. In sha Allah we will continue to talk with the government to be just in whatever they do. We want to tell our political leaders and religious leaders the truth on the way forward for this country. We will continue to advise the government at all levels. If they do what they ought to do, Alhamdulillah (Thanks be to God). If they don't do we will continue to tell them to do the right thing because it is our duty to tell them.”.

Coming from a man of high political and religious standing as the head of the Nigerian Muslims, the call for Boko Haram amnesty was bound to resonate across the country, and certainly it did. While some people saw the call as worthy of consideration by government in view of the enormous political and religious clout Alhaji Sa’ad commands, others, who had been cynical of the role of northern political and religious leaders since the Boko Haram insurgency broke out, saw the call as the vindication of their belief that the region’s political elite is behind the insurgency because of the assumption that the whole essence of the revolt by the Boko Haram was a manifestation of the frustrations by political leaders because of their loss of political power.

But to view the call by the Sultan as the case of a Muslim leader trying to protect the cause of adherents of his faith is to be narrow minded in the perception of the complexities of the Boko Haram imbroglio. Although the Catholic Church has borne much of the carnage perpetrated by the sect, one of the first proponents of a dialogue between government and the Islamist group is no less a person than the Catholic Arch bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah. Because of his unique position as a priest in the North, Kukah, perhaps, more than most other Christian commentators, understood better the futility of trying to vanquish Boko Haram militarily. In one of his several calls

Because of his unique position as a priest in the North, Kukah, perhaps, more than most other Christian commentators, understood better the futility of trying to vanquish Boko Haram militarily

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said,“An offer of amnesty is not the same as a declaration of amnesty. An offer of amnesty brings the penitent to the table as a first step. Amnesty is a process not a destination. The offer of amnesty will not solve all our problems, but it will bring us closer to a new dawn. No matter the crimes committed by members of Boko Haram, those of them who are Nigerians have not lost their membership of our community.”

For two leaders of the two dominant religious groups in the country - the Sultan and Kukah - to be on the same page on the issue of amnesty, it was obvious that it

would not be long before the hardliners in the Jonathan administration, who have persistently viewed the issue of the Boko Haram insurgency from the narrow prism of politics, would have a rethink of their position before government loses its goodwill with, not only the northern political leaders who have borne the brunt of the savagery of Boko Haram, but also all other Nigerians whose lives and livelihood have become increasingly shaped by the activities of the sect.

Despite the seeming footdragging by the Federal Government on the issue of amnesty for Boko Haram, those who believe in the inviolability of amnesty remained relentless in their push. An opportunity presented itself when the president visited the epicentre of the insurgency in Borno and Yobe states and had a meeting with the political leaders of the two states.

While receiving the president, the governor of Borno State, Alhaji Shettima, captured the mindset of the people of the areas most devastated by the activities when he told Jonathan that the offer of amnesty that brought about peace in the Niger Delta region should be extended to the Islamist group.

“Mr. President sir, I deliberately delayed the most important issue that should occupy the minds of all of us here, that is the much discussed issue of peace negotiations especially with the recent offer of ceasefire made by some members in the leadership of the Jama’atu Ahlil Sunnah Lidda’awati wal Jihad, Boko Haram in common parlance,”Shettima said.

“As a people and government of the state most affected by this insurgency, we most passionately welcome this development because the peace process must start from one step. Getting just a person can lead to getting hundreds and more. Our focus must be on the way forward and not to be stiff or go down to distraction. It is our

duty to unearth the ghosts that we seek to negotiate with.”

He also said the Federal Government should immediately engage all stakeholders and initiate the process of articulating a comprehensive blueprint for addressing the scourge of poverty and deprivation in Nigeria.

“I specifically enjoin the Federal Government to come up with a marshal plan for the North East geo political zone in the same way it did for the Niger Delta to tackle the twin menace of poverty and insecurity. Integral part of that marshal plan should be the recharging of the dwindling Lake Chad, the water resources which has the potential of positively transforming the lives of more than 30 million people spread on the shores of the region’’.

The governor ’s position could not have come at a better. While expressing his frustration with negotiating peace with members of the Boko Haram sect, Jonathan told indigenes of Borno during a town hall meeting that because of the refusal of members of the sect to unveil themselves to allow for negotiation between them and government, he could not declare amnesty for ghosts.

The statement drew flaks from government critics but poignantly captured government’s frustration with its inability to identify the leadership of the Islamist group for proper negotiation.

The escalation of violence in the North by the sect, shortly after the president visited Borno and Yobe states, brought greater fervor to the desirability of exploring the option of amnesty.

For those clamouring for amnesty, the government decision may just be one step in the quest to return normalcy to the North. But to majority of innocent people in the region who have borne the brunt of the massacre and destruction,this is one leap in their desire to live normal lives again. It is one step that Nigerians are going to watch closely and with great interest.

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Vanguard, APRIL 7, 2013

AMNESTY CONTROVERSY

There is no difference between N-Delta militants and Boko Haram Islamists— Yusuf Ali *On corruption: We are wrongly applying ‘legal shield’ ‘Nigeria not serious about probity and transparency’

Mallam Yusuf Olaolu Ali is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). In this interview, he advances reason why Boko Haram Islamists deserve amnesty like the Niger Delta militants. He also speaks on how the law can be strenghtened to curb corruption. Excerpts: NSECURITY in Nigeria seems to be on the increase. What is it that we aren’t getting it right to stem it?

Security is ever ybody ’s business. We need people who will be paid by the state to give information. That’s the way it was in the police.

The DPO had budget for informants to be paid.No matter how sophisticated your gadgets may be, you still need human elements; informants.

Security operatives should not be stereotyped in their investigative ability and performance. They must be dynamic. For example, if the Kwara commissioner of police had been killed in Kwara State, they could have said it was Boko Haram that did it.

Many killings in the North may not have any thing to do with Boko Haram if properly investigated. If a man is killed, look at his life one year before the incident, who he had been associating with, business dealings, etc.

Government too will have to do more to save lives and property. Man submits to society with the understanding that security will be provided, under social contract theory. Quality of personnel, gadgets should be improved upon. Forensic investigations should be encouraged and finger prints technology should be improved upon. We must all see security as our business and encourage security operatives in our different ways. Government should provide CCTV in public commercial buildings to be solar-powered in case of poor electricity.

Many have suggested that the anti-graft agencies should be merged to ensure harmonisation of cases. What do you think?

It is not the agencies but the character of the man on the seat. If a devil appoints an angel to take care of an affair, the result will be angelic. We should have standard for public moral behaviour. It’s lacking in this countr y.

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Nobody cares when they hear a governor has ten girlfriends.

In spite of our religiousity, we are godless. Some countries that are less religious have better fear of God. God saves an American governor who has an affair or having children out of wedlock. But it’s a common thing here. No one cares. We lack morality, that’s the problem. No amount of gun can suppress the will of the people, IBB once said, people should put a stop to the mess. Journalists should ostracise those we know are corrupt and the dregs of the society who are drawing Nigeria down, no matter their offices.

Unfortunately, we promote them. That’s my grouse. In the good old days, ostracisation worked because you know you will be shunned when found guilty of bad social behaviour. Crooks are now the best people in the society. As churches and mosques are growing, so also is morality going down. Tell me a church or mosque which rejects money from a person whose donation is far above his income? President of CAN says his private jet is a gift.

From whom? We must know the person and what he does.

Journalists should help us do that.

Should amnesty be granted to members of Boko Haram?

I think so. Why should they not be granted amnesty? My position is that we must do everything that will bring peace to this country and promote continued existence of Nigeria. I don’t see much difference between the Niger Delta militants and members of Boko Haram. We’ll be playing the ostrich if we now say no because it’s Boko

Haram. We say it’s Boko Haram because it’s happening in the predominant northern region.

We should not politicise the issue.

Has anyone said it’s the Christians sponsoring the Niger Delta militants? Why is it that every time problem happens in Muslim predominant area, they say it’s religious? These are social problems.

Mallam It does not matter the way they put it. When they say people should not go to school, it’s part of social problems. It means they have not seen the benefits of those who go to school. It’s a social problem and not religious.

The first thing ypu know about Islam is that it promotes knowledge. So, how can any serious Muslim say education is bad, haram or illegal to be educated? Mind you, this knowledge does not differentiate between mundane or spiritual. It says it’s universal knowledge, unadulterated and no boundary. To me, there is no difference between the militants and Boko Haram.

The Niger Delta militants had their leaders in Dokubo, Tompolo etc. The so-called Boko Haram has their leaders too as shown on YouTube, etc.

How then can you say that they are ghosts? All the foot soldiers that worked with Dokubo, Tompolo etc, were they known to anybody until the amnesty was granted? We should not play ostrich and so they should be granted

Yusuf Olaolu Ali amnesty too.

What is your take on the state pardon granted to some Nigerians?

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BY DEMOLA AKINYEMI

As churches and mosques are growing, so also is morality going down.

Tell me a church or mosque which rejects money from a person whose donation is far above his income?

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One must be objective on a matter of this nature. We have to separate the matter into two. Legally, the president and state governors possess the power under our Constitution to grant state pardon to anybody, even people who have been

convicted for murder. And there is no offence that is excluded under the law for state pardon to be granted.

So, on the law, one can hardly state pardon granted to anybody. But one can look at the issue from the social and moral ground. In criminology, the prevalence of a particular kind of offence calls for a severer punishment. One of the problems we are battling with is kidnapping, and that’s why some states are passing laws that kidnappers should be killed because it’s getting too prevalent. Corruption has become so endemic in our society. That’s why some people in the countr y, including me, have called for death penalty. But others say death penalty is too grievous and thus recommended life imprisonment. All these calls only point to one thing clearly, that most Nigerians agree that corruption has become too endemic, even to the corporate existence of the nation itself.

Now, in granting a pardon or exercising the prerogative of mercy, the president or governors must take a holistic view of the particular crime, the prevalence of the crime, the social fabric and the morals of the public because, all said, the state is the custodian of the morals of the public. Given our situation, our circumstances and the fact that Nigeria had sunk so low on corruption index of Transparency International and all other objective organisations, you then want to ask yourself, should we grant pardon to somebody who had been convicted of any corruption-related offence at this point in our national life? Given the battle cry of the president himself that he wants to battle corruption; given the fact that we are told everyday that all the anticorruption agencies are free to pursue, go after, arrest and prosecute anybody who is found liable of any form of corruption, that is where we have to situate any pardon granted. Of course, the argument could be that if somebody who killed could be pardoned, why not somebody who was found guilty of corruption? But, it’s true that somebody ’s life is very extreme.

‘We have a duty to make Edo LG polls free and fair’

BY GBENGA OKE

Pastor Leo Olu Martins was Student Union Government (SUG) President in Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma (AAU) and presently the Executive Director Canvasser for Democracy and Rule of Law. In this interview, he bares his mind on the political atmosphere in Edo State, the forthcoming local government elections in the state and what his organisation is doing to ensure the polls are free and fair. Excerpts S a public affairs analyst and activist, how would you

A

Pastor Leo Olu Martins describe the political atmosphere in Edo especially the second coming of Governor Oshiomhole vis-a-

vis the expectations of the electorate?

I think God is from Edo State. I say so because, before now, Edo State was literally a one-party state where one person was contesting, one person was ruling and destroding the political landscape like a colossus. At that time, the opportunity for the masses to choose whom their leader would be denied them and from no where came Adams Oshiomhole. I hold no brief for the governor and I am not a member of his party but I believe his coming into power at that time was a timely

intervention by God and the orchestration of nature to create a balance of power. So the political atmosphere in Edo is one where people now have alternative platform to ventilate their opinion, to ventilate their grievances and, more essentially, it gives them personal political philosophy.

So we have a situation whereby Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) is struggling to regain relevance in the minds of the people and then you have an Action Congress of

Continues on page 49

SUNDAY

Vanguard, APRIL 7, 2013, PAGE 49

KUKAH’S DAMNING VERDICT

We have no democracy yet

politicians sees it. As a th Christian, I know that Jesus Christ never foreclosed the doctrine of confession and

*As govs, political leaders, at Oshiomhole’s 60 birthday, brainstorm on the way forward for Nigeria AHON

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

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EADERS of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the opposition Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) stormed Benin City on Thursday, April 4, 2013, to celebrate the 60th birthday of Governor Adams Oshiomhole. No fewer than 16 state governors, led by the chairman of Nigeria Gove rnors Forum, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, graced the ceremony. Sunday Vanguard learnt that Oshiomhole never planned for an elaborate birthday ceremony, but his friends insisted that they were going to organize at least a lecture on the day. As a result, invitation was sent to guests only 48 hours to the ceremony. The guests, including the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, stormed Benin despite the late invitation.

Senator Ben Obi, the Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan, represented his principal at the occasion. Also in attendance were Govs Godswill Akwabio (Akwa Ibom), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta), Rochas Okorocha (Imo), Abdulazeez Abubakar (Zamfara), Aminu Dankwabo (Gombe), Ibrahim Geidam (Yobe), and Kasseem Shetima (Borno).

Others were Govs Tanko Almakura (Nasarawa), Issa Yuguda (Bauchi), Abiola Ajimobi(Oyo), Rauf Arigbesola(Osun) and ex governors of Ekiti, Anambra, Ogun , Edo states: Niyi Adebayo, Chris Ngige Segun Osoba and Chief John Odigie-Oyegun respectively. The National Chairman of the ACN, Chief Bisi Akande, Aliko Dangote, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, Alhaji Aliko Muhammed , Chief Tom Ikimi, Isa Aremu and Alhaji Kaseem Iman, member PDP Board of Trustees were also there.

The lecture entitled, “Deepening Democracy and Enhancing Welfare of the people”, elicited reactions from the speakers and the audience.

It was chaired by Aliko Muhammed, a business mogul.

Tambuwal, who was on first to speak at the occasion, said any government that does not care about the security of lives and welfare of its people is not a government, just as he described the celebrant as a good example of a democrat. According to him, “talking about deepening democracy in Nigeria, we must talk about the political parties that sponsor candidates for election. There is always a need a political party to be built

Nigeria’s democracy exists for those in government and the business class excluding the vast majority of Nigerians who see themselves in pernicious inter-generation poverty

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around not only ideology but also positive objectives, not personal objectives of individuals that are aimed at promoting democracy itself and enhancing the welfare and well being of the citizens”.

He spoke about checks and balances among the three arms of government to engender dividends for the people.

On his part, Governor Babangida of Niger State, who hailed the presence of Amaechi at the occasion, reminded that the Rivers governor is the “substantive Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum” and commended his exemplary leadership, apparently referring to the plot by the leadership of the PDP to weaken the Forum through the formation of the PDP Governors Forum. He said democracy must start from our homes and stressed the need for government at all levels to be sincere to the people.

He condemned the earlier resolve by the Federal Government not to grant amnesty to Boko Haram members. Tinubu, the national leader of the ANC, also hammered on the earlier refusal to grant amnesty to Boko Haram. “No religion should be pre-eminent over the other. Let’s stop the lamentation. Let’s put the fault where it is. Some of these governors have clamoured for state police. If we have state police, people will know where the criminals or the militants or saboteurs are. I disagree with the question of a ghost. In history, from creation, ghosts never throw bombs, they remain quiet in the cemetery. You cannot arrest a ghost, those people in detention, we need solution. And

, Mathew Kukah....Muslims, Christians should be united to build

this nation.

for Nigerians we have lamented for too long.

Muslims, Christians should be united to build this nation so that our tomorrow will not be d e s t r o y e d . ” But the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Rev. (Dr) Mathew Kukah, reasoned that

the nation was not practising democracy. Kukah said: “This is not the democracy we all fought for. Since Tafawa Balawe till now, none of our presidents planned for leadership. The insurgency in the North is a critical issue in our country. I am talking about amnesty as a Christian not as

‘We have a duty to make Edo LG polls free and fair’ Continued from page 48 Nigeria/Labour that is doing everything to create alternative platform.

I remember in the first 100days of the governor, there was a huge campaign in Edo, General Babangida participated, Aminu Masari was there and there were several PDP and ACN governors present and the slogan of the campaign was ‘’One man One vote’’, let the people lead. But, the recent primaries ahead of the local government elections that will be conducted in April appear to depict those things. It is either the Governor and the leadership of the ACN did not believe in the mantra of One Man One Vote and let the people lead or the people that are supposed to lead do not have the intellectual capacity to lead or, all of a sudden, they do not believe in the process anymore because the procedure that led to the emergence of candidates ahead of the elections are far from being democratic and majority of us watching from the outside did not see any element of democracy and we did not see a clear transparent process.

What we expected from Oshiomhole because of his pedigree and the much touted One Man One Vote is to be careful so that the people will not turn their back to the ACN platform and vote for alternative

platform. So far, we have an atmosphere that is totally void of rancour but an atmosphere of healthy democratic competition.

Having said that, what is your assessment of the local government elections?

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FESTUS

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BY

forgiveness. It is not by offering amnesty but who are you offering amnesty to? Amnesty is a very serious thing. If our politicians are Christians, they should imbibe the principles of Christianity in leadership. As a Christian, you don’t let the members foreclose the door of reconciliation of the prodigal son. So I want to say that this country is ours and we must all find a way to save the situation”.

On her part, former Minister for Education, Oby Ezekwesili (Madam Due Process), argued that government is about result.

“If governance cannot lead to result it is not worth being called governance. Democracy is in recession to the extent that the electorate treats democracy with cynism because they are disconnected from participating in the process.

Nigeria’s democracy exists for those in government and the business class excluding the vast majority of Nigerians who see themselves in pernicious intergeneration poverty. Because Nigerians have been pauperized and devalued by the political class and system, they cannot therefore be agents to deepen democracy ”, she said.

A joyous Oshiomhole, who expressed his appreciation to all guests, including his deputy, whom he described as the “most loyal deputy governor in the country ”, said he remained committed to the unity of the nation, adding that whatever problems we are encountering today, we will overcome. “ No matter what anybody wants to say about Nigeria, I am convinced that Nigeria is more than the sub-total of all of such problems that we talk about.

Nigeria is like a sleeping elephant, it may be difficult to get up, but, when it does, you will know something positive has happened”.

It seems the opposition party, PDP, is better in terms of running primaries than the ruling party because what we are seeing is what the ACN will accuse the PDP of doing at the federal level

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Literally, this is like a personal project for me. First, when the governor appointed caretaker chairmen, we lampooned him for doing that because that process is alien to our constitution and is an aberration in a democratic dispensation.

Well, the governor has woken up after two years and one month to conduct local government elections.

Having said that, it seems the opposition party, PDP, is better in terms of running primaries than the ruling party because what we are seeing is what the ACN will accuse the PDP of doing at the federal level. I have heard some ACN candidates saying this election will be written but I can assure you that this election is not going to be only monitored locally but internationally because the Comrade Governor has raised the stake at his own gubernatorial election in July, so what is good for the pregnant woman is also good for the man that impregnated her.

As far as I am concerned, in this election, votes will count and nobody will write result for anyone. The gubernatorial election was used as yardstick in this country because there were no casualties.

What is your organizations doing to ensure transparency and fair play in the elections?

First, we are planning to have independent observers just like we had during the gubernatorial election where there were over 500 observers monitoring the election. We are planning to use various gadgets and we are going to have a situation room whereby when people try to rig, people will snap pictures and send to us and it will be on twitter and several other social media.

PAGE 50—SUNDAY

Vanguard, APRIL 7, 2013

Okah is not leader of MEND —Uranta

BY DAPO AKINREFON

MR Tony Ipriye Uranta is the Executive Secretary of National Summit Group (NSG). In this interview, he maintains that Mr Henry Okah is not the leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND. He also bares his mind on other sundry issues. Excerpts:

H

MrTony Uranta

Henry Okah a MEND action. However, a court in Nigeria has pronounced guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment a nice young man called Ebiware and Charles Okah is still having his days in court and they are being charged as accomplices to Henry Okah.

Many have asked why was Henry Okah tried in South Africa? I would like us to cast our minds back to when the son of Mrs. Margaret Thatcher was accused of plotting coup against Equatorial Guinea from South Africa. He was tried and convicted in South Africa. In fact, at the end of the day, he was pardoned in South Africa. It therefore showed that there have been precedents for South Africa as a sovereign state to decide whom it will try, over what issues and how it will go about it. I am happy that Dame Thatcher’s son was pardoned and released in the end. Maybe Henry Okah would be pardoned and released

by South Africa in the end. Let me say categorically, Henry Okah was at no time abandoned

by Niger-Deltans or his Ijaw brethren, but he was only supported in so far as the insistence that justice be done, is seen to be done and be clearly open to all to be able to engage.

For example, Henry still has the right to appeal his case even though the South African DPP has said they will appeal the sentence.

If Henry carried out the bomb blast, that was a very sad commentary because any Nigerian, let alone any Niger Deltan or anybody from the Ijaw stock that would come up to carry out such a dastardly action in the midst of the crowd, has malodorous intention and that intention cannot be said to have augured well for Nigeria let alone the Niger Delta whose son, President Jonathan, was presiding over affairs on that day. What if the President had been caught up in the blast? I must step back and say I cannot however be a totally detached commentator on this issue. You must remember that Henry falsely accused me of certain things, post the event. You must also remember that Henry falsely accused President Jonathan of being the one that

set up the bomb blast himself.

With this in mind, one would have a better helicopter view of the realities and dynamics on ground in South Africa. The President hand is tied, one by the fact that South Africa is a sovereign state and he could not dictate to President Zuma and the South African system of justice, two, he had been been accused of being either the perpetrator or an accomplice in the bombing incident. I think it would have been stupid of President Jonathan to be overtly seen trying to protect Henry Okah. People could misread it.

I know a lot of people that are ready to jump on the bandwagon of saying that he is protecting

,

OW do you see the sentence handed down to Mr Henry Okah by a South African court?

Henry Okah is not a leader of MEND. We may know differently considering the antecedents and struggles of MEND and other Niger-Delta activists and agitators to ensure that he was first of all brought back from Angola when he was held there and there was a big fight against the Yar ’Adua government. We ensured that he came back to Nigeria. In Nigeria, MEND and other activists increased the tempo of the fight to ensure that he was released and he was released. It’s on record that he was the first person to receive amnesty from government. I find this interesting because I now hear statements that he never accepted amnesty. I know that his acceptance of amnesty was a pre-condition to his being released at that time. However, as an individual, he may have decided to rescind that decisionthat has not been made clear to a lot of parties.

However, it is indisputable that Henry Okah was playing a major role, whether intellectual, arms or otherwise, in the struggle of the Niger Delta for emancipation, justice and resource control. It is sad that there was bombing on the 1st of October,2010. As an individual, up till this moment, I don’t know who carried out the bombing, but I am of the opinion same as President Jonathan was, that it was not by MEND and this was buttressed by the fact that myself, an intellectual activist, and virtually all the ground commanders of the group, then known as MEND, had convened in Abuja on the 3rd of October, 2010 and paid a solidarity visit to the president to reaffirm the acceptance of the agitators in the region of the amnesty proclamation, to reaffirm our commitment to non-violence and to state unequivocally that MEND was not in any way involved in the bombing. People have said there have been statements by a Jomo Gbomo, I want us to remember that, in this technological age of the cyberspace, hacking into websites or e-mails is not uncommon. I want to suspect that he was a renegade speaking for himself and himself only.

If Chief Egbekunbolo, also known as Tompolo; Chief Ibikabowe, also known as Boyloaf; Chief Ateke Tom;Farah Dagogo; Egberipapa; Africa; and all of the grand commanders of MEND came out to declare they were not involved, we know that truly, for a fact, that was not

governor of Bayelsa State, Chief DSP Alaimeyesigha.

What is your position?

I don’t like to take my opinion from the angle that I come from that region. I like to take my opinion from the angle that I am a human being who has fought for justice all my life. I do not believe that what is good for the goose is not good for the gander.

If President Obasanjo, for example, could pardon Salisu Buhari, the first Speaker of the House of Representatives in this Fourth Republic, hours after he was convicted of a crime of forgery, altering and deception, even without recourse to the Council of State, I find it difficult to understand why

People have said there have been statements by a Jomo Gbomo, I want us to remember that, in this technological age of the cyberspace, hacking into websites or e-mails is not uncommon. I want to suspect that he was a renegade speaking for himself and himself only

him because he doesn’t want Henry to state facts that will be inimical to him as a person regarding those blast on that day. But I say to all those people, whether Okah has spoken or did not speak on his interest during the trial, his affidavits spoke for him. His affidavits were very clear. He pointed fingers, he named names and he made accusations. But Henry remains a brother, he remains a friend, he remains a comrade in the emancipation of Niger Delta and we all wish him well. We all pray that he shall see the light of freedom, sooner than he thinks.

We also pray that he will see the need to caution himself and stick only to the truth because only the truth can set you free.

Did you say he was not the leader of MEND? He so claimed. He claims he was not involved with MEND. I am not going therefore to say he was or not with MEND. But we all know the facts.

Criticism has trailed the state pardon granted to former

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President Jonathan, in consent with the National Council of State which comprises President Obasanjo, Generals Babangida, Abubakar and Buhari, Ernest Shonekan, President Shagari, Justices Uwais and Belgore, including all serving governors;if this body, which is the highest level of leadership in Nigeria, considered it wise to grant pardon to that vast gamut of people, they didn’t remember to grant pardon to over 50 others who came before them.

I think when we juxtapose it with President Obasanjo’s sole dictatorial action, it should not have occasioned the level of hues and cries we have had. But I agree that we must show ourselves and the world that we are fighting corruption, l suppose this means we are fighting against corruption when we forgot about Halliburton, when we forgot about Siemens? But, even more importantly, I find it amusing and I am happy that it was rebutted in different cases that

our social media axe got so high that everybody started claiming something, for example, that Bill Gates didn’t come to Nigeria because of the pardon.

Bill Gates has told us he did not come to Nigeria because he didn’t plan to come to Nigeria at that time. Some of them even said Obama didn’t invite Jonathan when he invited four African Presidents; the State Department of America has come out to state that President Obama only invited people who had just concluded their elections to encourage democracy, the same way he invited Jonathan when he became President.

We do acknowledge that the Americans have come out to stand against what they called a blow against the fight against corruption. But I think the Americans should hide their faces in shame. If there is any two-faced human being or government in the world- it is America, a country that has no fixed parameters but has just selfish interest. This is a country that supported Abacha’s decision to transmit from military head of state into a democratic President.

Do you think President Goodluck Jonathan should reshuffle his cabinet for to enhance performance?

Good governance comes with a resolve to be transparent, accountable and to be responsive to the wishes of the people. To that extent, the government of this country has set in place a system of anticorruption trying to bolster the ICPC and the EFCC although I do not know what Lamorde,the EFCC boss, is doing there. I do not see him do anything. But Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has tried to create a level of transparency with NEITI and other instruments available to her office as the Coordinating Minister of the Economy.

However, there are too many dead-woods in the government of President Jonathan. I don’t know what Prof. Gbenga Ashiru is doing in that government. I do not see anything new about our foreign policy.

The Minister of Niger Delta, I have called for his removal, but let us say to his favor that sometimes when you place fire under a man, he leaps up. He is making moves to redeem himself now. The East-West Road seems to be progressing faster in the last past four months than it has progressed in the last four years.

On Goodluck Jonathan, whether he is going to run in 2015 is not my issue, but let us survive 2013. At the rate at which we are going, it is not impossible to see an implosion in the nation before December 2013. Whether it comes through anarchy, organized civil unrest or a military take-over, God forbid.

Therefore, we repeat the call on President Jonathan; ‘fire at least a third of your people, reshuffle your cabinet, change brings about new energy’. The people there are too comfortable.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, APRIL 7, 2013, PAGE 51

The Mint where they stole N2.1 billion is not a firm of our dream – Ex-GM, NSPMC and Delta monarch

*‘CBN has case to answer’

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BY SAM EYOBOKA, GLADYS ABUGOH In this interview, the Ovie (king) of Uvwie Kingdom, His Royal Majesty Emmanuel Ekemejewa Sideso Abe I, a retired General Manager, Corporate Services, Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPMC), speaks on the NSPMC where N1,000 notes worth N2.1 billion allegedly went missing plus the arrest of a staff for allegedly being in possession of fake N900,000.

Excerpts….

newly printed N1,000 notes that mysteriously went missing plus the arrest of a staff for allegedly being in possession of fake N900,000 in N1,000 denomination. How do you feel?

It is sad thing for me to look back and see what is happening today. This is a company that printed all the nation’s security documents; with what is happening today ever contemplated.

If experience is anything worthwhile in this country, I don’t think we will be where we are today, where people get away with high level corruption and all sorts of crime in this country. NSPMC was an excellent place to work in. The name alone was a password, not only locally but also all over the world. There are people still alive today, who worked in that place, who can lift their heads up at any time to be counted among diligent persons with impeccable character.

Overseas such persons are often deployed to assist. If you have any problem, there is no reason you cannot beckon at experienced people who have passed through that mill, because you can’t ask a doctor to go and do printing or a manager in a fast food industry to manage a security printing industry. We are printing currency and it is only people of integrity that can work in that place. Before you can be employed into NSPMC in those days, you must have to go through serious security checks; all the forms, where you schooled, your village, fingerprints. It took almost six months to get the needed clearance for a new employee but, today, political appointees come into the place and of course you will definitely have current problem. As a pioneer of that establishment, I feel very unhappy because all my life I spent in that place. Government must realize that the

HRM Emmanuel Ekemejewa Sideso reason that place was set was to print our currency and all our security documents including passports, examinations papers and cheque books. Today, cheques are being printed abroad and we are talking of unemployment. We train people and, as a currency printer, you cannot print any other document. Most of us when we pulled out, I could well have set up a printing press but no! In the UK, you cannot find those who had worked in the Royal Mint or De la Rue setting up printing press when they retire. No! It’s

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OOKING back now at the once revered security company, NSPMC, will definitely leave a sour taste in the mouth. We heard of the N2.1 billion of

The problem in The Mint today can be blamed on interference, political interference; people who don’t know the job are appointed into position and are managing the place

day can be blamed on interference, political interference; people who don’t know the job are appointed into position and are managing the place. The Federal Government has to take a decisive action to deal with the situation if The Mint is to go back to its glorious days.

If there is any problem there today, the CBN also has some explanations to do because they have an inspectorate division there at any stage.

What are they doing? It’s their product. At every stage, CBN is involved.

If there is any problem there today, the CBN also has some explanations to do because it has an inspectorate division there at any stage. What are the people there doing? It’s their product. At every stage, CBN is involved

for life. There was no oath taking but if we hear of anyone breaching the code of conduct, you end up in Kirikiri. It was as bad as that. You don’t just walk into The Mint and come out. There were checks and balances. Right from the manufacturer of the papers, we begin checks to ensure that nothing is left unaccounted for. You can’t leave bank note papers outside. They are dual controlled; the CBN, the security agencies because you account for every piece of paper. At the finishing end, the CBN must be present.

I feel so sad to hear of what is happening in that establishment today. We formed the African Bank Notes Association and it was Nigeria that hosted it first. If they didn’t trust us then, it would not have happened.

The problem in The Mint to-

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In the management set up there now, you hardly see any old hand in the place. So, who is to direct them? The people there now certainly don’t know their right from their left hand and there is nobody to guide them. If what I am reading in the papers reflect goings on in the place, then there should a through clean up of the place and they should be prosecuted because the name of this country is at stake. I am a traditional ruler today, but I have quite a lot of friends that I have worked with across the globe, but I must say we never expected what is happening now in The Mint.

We hear that part of our currency and other security documents are now being printed abroad. Is it that it is cheaper to print outside or we have a problem?

If the order from the CBN is

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more than the capacity we can handle, we can only sub-contract some of them to Thomas de la Rue who are shareholders in The Mint. They started the company here, but, today, they are out because of the Nigerianisation programme. I don’t know how much percentage they now hold, but they are shareholders. I do not see any reason we should still be printing outside now that we have two factories if the people there are properly trained because we have a huge unemployment problem in the country. So, contracting these jobs out to people who don’t need you is a disservice to the Nigerian economy, because all it will take the contractors is to recall some of their retired people to be able to print your currency. At a point we had a training school in the place that can be compared to the Yaba College of Technology. In fact, we sent them to London College of Printing. We trained people as engravers. It takes about five to six years after graduation to train bank note engravers. The only currency that we designed properly without any outside input is the fifty naira note at that time. Our boys did it. I don’t know whether they are still doing that now. We had a minting department where we minted coins. We related with Royal Mint for minting of coins while Thomas de la Rue was in charge of printing notes.

They were also part of the board in those days. Members were drawn from ministries of finance, national planning among others, but today what do you have? You hear of the appointment of this, and that.

This is the problem.

I was traveling to Rome, when I saw the first publication about unnumbered bank notes that were found on somebody in a bureau de change and I immediately put a call through to the managing director but he didn’t pick my call. I don’t know him, but for the scandal I would not have called him. When we changed currency in this country we were almost doing 24 hours.

When it comes to the job, you either do it or you are fired but politics came and politicians started appointing people, some of whom are not quali-

fied. A few occasion, they appointed some of the old hands as executive directors. I am not aware that they have appointed an old hand as a managing director; and these are technical jobs and not jobs for the boys.

Some people who were in research and development while I was there have been deployed to production. It wasn’t like that. We recruit what we called management trainees regardless of your discipline and we train these people who are made to go round all the departments; as they are going round they being assessed. If you are not good, there is no compromise, you go. I did not know anybody when I joined the place. No godfatherism. If that place must go back to what it was, government must have to develop the political will to transform the place. We need to train personnel. The Mint is not just a chopping outfit. Now cheques are being printed outside. Cheque production was a product line. Printing of examination papers was a product line. Now, you give jobs to other people because you don’t know what you are doing. If you are conscious of the security implications of printing cheques and other security documents, you won’t contract it out to people. There was a time when one of the ships bringing in bank note papers sank in Portugal, we sent people from here to recover all the papers under the supervision of the CBN to destroy them. For any note to be destroyed in The Mint, either mutilated or whatever you have to spread it to get the exact size in the presence of auditors from the CBN and security personnel to sign that those papers were truly destroyed. That was what The Mint used to be. How can you tell me that millions of bank notes went out of the place when even rain-soaked bank notes are not just destroyed, they are also accounted for.

What was growing up like and what were those little pranks HRM played when he was young?

My parents are from Uvwie

and I was brought up here. I grew up like any other child and when it was time for me to be Ovie of Uvwie, I was invited and here I am. I will not say the things we did when I was young were pranks. I was a good child. I was loved by my parents and the community loved me. If I was playing some pranks, I don’t think I would have assumed this position, because you have to look back on the records of the individual for any respected office.

PAGE 52—SUNDAY VANGUARD, APRIL 7, 2013

Nigeria made a big mistake not taking IMF loan – Dr Idika Kalu *’ Govt’s error on the power sector’ *On Ajaokuta: We did not follow experts advice

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The problem with Ajaokuta is that we did not follow expert advice for siting the project for easy accessibility to raw materials

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Dr Kalu Idika Kalu

cheaply without massive investments in various sectors.

This implies borrowing to invest in projects that outweigh the cost like what obtains in developed countries. When you borrow and invest in viable projects, you will be able to grow your economy, expand capacity and pay back your debt. For example, investing in the housing sub-sector, which is a job generating venture with the capacity to absorb a large work force and agriculture. 40 to 60million labour force is needed in mining, refining, processing, manufacturing and industry. We made this

,

Dr Kalu Idika Kalu is no stranger to economic issues.

Having been a minister of finance two times, he is well acquainted with issues relating to the nation’s economy. He stills feels it was a mistake that Nigeria did not take the IMF loan under the Babangida regime. To him, borrowing should not be a problem as long as the project the money is to be spent on viable. Kalu also speaks on the power sector in this interview.

Excerpts: XPERTS are of the opinion that Nigeria ’s economy is at the cross-roads, as over 30million people are unemployed. What is your take on this?

The first thing is that the issues in the economy are not separate subjects, rather they are inter-related and multidimensional. What the nation should do is to know it priorities and how to tackle the issues systematically. For instance, the late President Umaru Musa Yar ’Adua, on assumption of office on May 29, 2007, talked about Sevenpoint agenda. This became necessary because he discovered that the vital infrastructure of the country such as roads, power, water, among many others, were in a state of comatose, even as the key sectors like manufacturing, agriculture, education and transportation were floundering. He knew that we needed to intensify effort at rebuilding the physical infrastructure and human capital in order to move the economy forward for robust growth.

Yar ’Adua’s Seven-point agenda, as he enumerated, included power, food security, agriculture, wealth creation, employment, mass transportation, land reforms, security, qualitative as well as functional academic system and, ultimately, the rule of law. He assured that that his administration would focus on accelerating economic and other reforms needed to stimulate tangible growth and development. These identified priorities formed part of his economic blueprint before President Goodluck Jonathan took over. He came up with a transformation agenda anchored on major issues that are similar to what Yar ’Adua identified, but the issue now is that government needs to be proactive in approach.

Why do we still have increasing rate of unemployment despite that

kind of economic blueprint?

When talking about employment in Nigeria , we are looking at a labour force of about 80milllion. We must realise that employment issue is not about gimmick for graduates to be employed under other graduates.

Employment comes from developing agriculture, revamping industries, the housing sector, building bridges and growing small and medium enterprises (SMEs). To achieve this, a lot of money must go into savings and investments. Also, the nation must go beyond savings to get credit.

This also implies identifying your needs as a nation and mobilising funds to accelerate economic growth and development.

Here, we are talking about optimal resources mobilisation for important projects with maximum economic benefits now and in the long-run expectation. That is why we have big import banks, lending institutions, commercial banks and bilateral agreements. That is why we have lending institutions like KFW Group of Germany, UK Export Finance Bank, Coface Bank in France, World Bank and other financial institutions with the capacity to give long term loans for capital projects. For instance, KFW Group of Germany is one of the leading and most experienced promotional banks in the world that finances long term investments and capital projects in developing and transition countries to enhance economic prosperity and improve standard of living of the people. Coface Bank of France is also a world leader in trade-risk management credit insurance, export and expert in commercial risks supports for companies, no matter the size or your nationality. It commercialises credit insurance solution aimed at protecting businesses against the risk of customer default.

If you are talking about government borrowing more money, do you also consider the fact that Nigeria’s external debt stands at $6.5billion while domestic is about N6.5trillion?

What I am saying here is not just about borrowing money to invest in ventures that are not viable, but borrowing prudently. You cannot expand the capacity of the economy

,

BY UDEME CLEMENT

power sector requires getting the whole concept right. For instance, building power plant fast requires getting the right people to build and sufficient money to implement. If not, it will not allow you to achieve your objectives. Investment in this sector needs a template for developing the sector. Some years ago, I wrote a paper on deregulation, privatisation and moving into global economy in 1995, during the administration of the former Head of State, Ibrahim Babangida. It contained all the elements like micro economic stability, increasing savings, improving trades,

You cannot expand the capacity of the economy cheaply without massive investments in various sectors

mistake many years back when we had debates on IMF loan, because we did not take the loan at the end of the whole exercise.

What was responsible for that?

The reality is that you do not debate on getting funds, rather you identify your priorities and mobilise resources to tackle them. So, the debate was mis-directed.

We did not take it and we never took sufficient funds to meet our needs because we were afraid to borrow.

Why is the power sector still in comatose despite the amount of money pumped into this sector by successive governments?

To start with, revamping the

,

productivity, medium term development goals, reduction in infant mortality, increase in life expectancy and land management system. This calls for the total land decree system overhaul in the country.

I feel strongly that we are moving away too quickly from the power sector. Government should move gradually away from the sector after generating over 10, 000 mega watts of electricity. We have thermal, hydro, gas and other sources of power generation.

These require long time capital and very high level of technology. If you unbundle so quickly to smaller private firms, they cannot handle it efficiently due to lack of technical-know-how, because

of the peculiar nature of the sector. When we start to disaggregate telling people to generate 10,000 mega watts, it will be slow and relatively inefficient. We needed the mega firms to manage major plants while we stay with these firms and get funds from the capital market, but we did not listen. Without constant power supply, the economy cannot experience increase in productivity, because every sector needs electricity. The steel plants require considerable amount of power, SME operators need power to do their businesses, and everyone needs power for domestic and industrial consumption. This means we need to generate enough power to have reserve.

Government started Ajaokuta Steel Company many years ago, till now, nothing reasonable is coming from that investment. Does it make economic sense to have investment that is consuming billions of naira without any tangible output?

The problem with Ajaokuta is that we did not follow expert advice for siting the project for easy accessibility to raw materials. It was after installing that we started building rails to link up. That plant ought to have been completed in three years but now it is obsolete. The steel making technology has changed totally since we started this plant. In terms of size, Ajaokuta Steel Company is the largest integrated steel company in West Africa and has cost the Federal Government an estimated sum of about $7 billion (N1.1 trillion) since it was commissioned by the Shehu Shagari government in 1979.

But, unfortunately, the plant has suffered serious set back.

The economic implication is that the cost has increased. So, after finishing, the products may not be competitive again.

It means the products will not be sold at the market price that will allow them to make profits, or a reasonable marginal increase.

What is the difference between Ajaokuta Steel Company in Nigeria and Pohany Steel in South Korea ?

There are a lot of differences, but the major difference is viability.

For instance, Ajaokuta project started over 30 years ago; up till now, no tangible output is realised from the project. Pohany Steel is the third latest in the world and they finished the first plant in just two years. Pohany Steel started with about 300,000 capacity but now has over 8.6million tonnes capacity, showing that the investment is yielding maximum outputs.

(This is the first part of ihis interview. The second aspect on banking reforms next week)

SUNDAY Vanguard, APRIL 7, 2013, PAGE 53

PAGE 54—SUNDAY

Vanguard, APRIL 7, 2013

By Femi Fani-Kayode

t s e L : e d o y a K o p a Victor Aded h t y m e m o c e b d n lege

O

ne of the most important foundations of any civilisation is history. If we do not know our own history, who we are, who and what our forefathers were and where we came from, then we are truly lost. In the film production of J. R. Tolkien’s famous book entitled, ‘’Lord Of The Rings’’, one of the most compelling yet tragic lines reads as follows: ‘’Thousands of years passed by....history became legend and legend became myth’’. Few words are as profound as this and the import of those words resonate nothing but the deepest wisdom.

The lesson that we can draw from this insightful truism is simple. If you do not learn and continue to remind yourself of your history as a person, as a family, as a people, as a nationality, as a tribe, and as a nation, the likelihood is that what is historical fact gradually pales into an intangible and unlikely legend and then it eventually turns into nothing but an ephemeral myth. And once such sacred historical facts become nothing but myth, it destroys the soul and the foundation of your very existence as an individual, as a family, as a people and as a nation.

When you do not know, care to know or care to learn and remember what your roots are, no matter how humble or seemingly inconsequential those roots may be, you become a nothing.

It is to avoid the possibility of history turning into legend and legend turning into myth that I have chosen to put on record the facts about one of the most distinguished and well-educated Nigerians that ever lived, Victor Adedapo Kayode.

Rev. Emmanuel Adelabi Kayode was an Anglican priest who studied theology at Fourah Bay College, in Sierra Leone and graduated with an M.A. (Durham) in 1892. He was of the Yoruba tribe and came from the ancient town of Ile-Ife in the old Osun Province of south-western Nigeria. He was educated by the Anglican Church from a very young age and, after graduating from university and finishing at the seminary, he rose through the ranks of the church and served as a priest throughout his life until he died in 1932 at the age of 58. He built, planted, established and pastored some of the earliest Anglican churches in Ile-Ife and in Osun Province,

support of the largely illiterate Lagos masses whilst the elites gravitated towards the Peoples Union. The NNDP was to later metamorphosise into the NCNC which turned out to be one of the greatest and most powerful forces in the politics of south-western and southern Nigeria in the 40s, 50s and 60s. In 1945, whilst on his death-bed, Herbert Macaulay handed over the leadership of the NCNC to a rising young Igbo star that had been resident in Lagos for many years and that was educated at Methodist Boys High School (MBHS), Lagos before going to attend Howard University and the University of Pennsylvania in the United States. That star’s name was Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe who was to later become the Premier of Eastern Region and ceremonial President of Nigeria.

T

The late Chief Babaremilekun Fani-Kayode...added mother’s prefix to surname

Her mother was from the famous Savage family of Lagos and her first cousins were Barrister William Akinlade Savage (who was called to the English Bar in 1906), and Dr. Richard Akinwade who, with Sir Kitoye Ajasa, Dr. J.K. Randle and Dr. Orisadipe Obasa, established the conservative People’s Union in 1909 Ondo Province and Ijebu Province as they then were. Rev. Emmanuel Adelabi Kayode married Miss Sophia Cole who was from Abeokuta and who was the sister of the famous Rev. M.S. Cole. They had 13 children out of which only nine survived. The first of those children was Victor Adedapo Kayode who is the subject of this essay and who was born in 1899.Mrs. Sophia Kayode (nee Cole) came from a very distinguished and illustrious lineage.

Her mother was from the famous

Savage family of Lagos and her first cousins were Barrister William Akinlade Savage (who was called to the English Bar in 1906), and Dr. Richard Akinwade who, with Sir Kitoye Ajasa, Dr. J.K. Randle and Dr. Orisadipe Obasa, established the conservative People’s Union in 1909.

This was Nigeria’s first political party and they were opposed to Sir Herbert Macaulay’s more radical approach to political issues in the Lagos colony. Macaulay later established the NNDP and cultivated the

he first son of Rev. Emman uel Adelabi Kayode and Mrs. Sophia Kayode, Victor Adedapo Kayode, was educated at the famous Kings College, Lagos which was established in 1909. After finishing at Kings College, he became a teacher and taught at Methodist Boys Grammar School (MBHS) where his students included Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe.

The bond between the teacher and the pupil endured and when Zik finally returned home from America after graduating from university in 1933, Victor Kayode was invited to be the special guest of honour at a ‘’welcome home’’ dinner that was hosted by the Igbo community in Lagos for him. In 1917, Victor Adedapo Kayode left Nigeria and went to the United Kingdom where he matriculated at Selwyn College, Cambridge University. In 1920, he graduated and was awarded an M.A. Degree in law. He did his master ’s at Cambridge as well and was awarded his LLM master’s degree in 1921.

Victor Kayode enrolled at the Middle Temple and was called to the English Bar in 1922.

He came tops in his exams at Cambridge University (both the first and second year tripos) and at the Middle Temple.

This remarkable feat was repeated by his son Victor Babaremilekun Fani-Kayode over 25 years later

Continues on page 15

SUNDAY

Vanguard, APRIL 7, 2013, PAGE 55

h yt m e m o c e b d n e g le st e L : e d yo Victor Adedapo Ka Continued from page 54 when he followed in his illustrious father ’s footsteps by doing very well at Cambridge University (Downing College), by graduating from there with honours in 1945, by completing his master ’s in 1946, by enrolling at the Middle Temple Inns of Courts and coming tops during the English Bar exams for the whole of the British Commonwealth before he was called to the English Bar in 1947.

Remi Fani-Kayode (as he was commonly referred to) went on to become one of the most brilliant lawyers of his generation. In 1948, he, Frederick Rotimi Alade Williams (who graduated from Selwyn College, Cambridge in 1942 and who was called to the English Bar in 1943) and Bode Thomas, established the first fully indigenous Nigerian law firm which was known as ‘’Thomas, Williams and Kayode’’.

V

ictor Adedapo Kayode got married to Miss Aurora Fanimokun in Chelsea, London in 1920. Aurora Fanimokun was the first daughter of the respected Rev. Suberu Fanimokun of the Lagos colony (as it then was) and he was the Principal of the famous CMS Grammer School, Lagos. Like his colleague in holy orders and future in-law, Rev. E.A. Kayode, Rev. Suberu Fanimokun also graduated in 1892 with an M.A. (Durham) from Fourah Bay College, Sierra Leone. After graduating, Rev. Fanimokun married Miss Bucknor of the distinguished Bucknor family of Lagos. Her brother was the famous lawyer, A.J.E. Bucknor, who was called to the English Bar in 1895 and who was also a friend of Sir Kitoye Ajasa. Apart from Aurora, Rev. Fanimokun and Mrs. Fanimokun (nee Bucknor) also had a son that graduated from Glasgow University as a medical practitioner in the early 1920s. All these families constituted the cream of Lagos high society in their day. It was by dint of fate and providence that the son and daughter of Rev. E.A. Kayode and Rev. S.Fanimokun, both of whom were contemporaries and illustrious Anglican priests, ended up getting married in 1920 The first child of that marriage was Babaremilekun Fani-Kayode who I referred to earlier in this essay and who was born in Chelsea, London in 1921. At that time, London was the most affluent city in the western world yet 30 per cent of Londoners were living below the poverty line.

This shows that even the most developed cities and nations in the world once went through very hard times as well. After being called to

Femi Fani-Kayode...has famous grand parents

He was very active in the politics of Lagos, he was one of the founders of the Nigerian Youth Movement (which later metamorphosied into the Action Group) and he was the man that was credited as being Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo’s mentor and benefactor the British Bar in 1922, Victor Adedapo Kayode went back to Lagos, Nigeria where he set up one of the most successful legal practices of his day. He specialised in criminal law.

He occassionally intervened in the politics of the day in Lagos colony but his forte was law and, because he was acknowledged as one of the best lawyers of his day, he was appointed as a magistrate in 1940. In those days, there were no Nigerian magistrates and judges. They were all British.

Olumuyiwa Jibowu was the first Nigerian to become a magistrate in 1931 and then Adebiyi Desalu followed him in 1938. Adetokunboh Ademola was the third in 1939 and then came Victor Adedapo Kayode, F.E.O. Euba and George Frederick Dove-Edwin in 1940.

F.O. Lucas was appointed in 1941. These were the first Nigerians to become magistrates and virtually all of them

went on to the higher bench and did exceedingly well. Unfortunately in 1941, just one year after being appointed as a magistrate,Victor Adedapo Kayode died at the relatively young age of 42 whilst he waspresiding over an important land case.

A few of years after his death, Madam Aurora Kayode remarried.Hersecond husband was Ernest Ikoli, a wellknown and very prominent Ijaw man that had been resident in Lagos virtually all his life. Ikoli was a journalist by profession and he was the editor of two very powerful newspapers. He was very active in the politics of Lagos, he was one of the founders of the Nigerian Youth Movement (which later metamorphosied into the Action Group) and he was the man that was credited as being Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo’s mentor and benefactor and that actually funded his educa-

tion in the United Kingdom when he went there to study law.

Obafemi Awolowo was a journalist by profession, but after travelling to the UK to study law in London, he became a lawyer and was called to the English Bar in 1946. He went on to become one the greatest and most prominent politicians that Nigeria ever produced. He was elected the Premier of the old Western Region from 1959 to 1963 and, on May 1st 1967, he was elected ‘’Leader of the Yoruba’’ at a joint meeting of the two major factions and political parties in Yorubaland (Action Group and NNDP).

Virtually every key Yoruba leader and elder of note attended and participated in that meeting and it was presided over by General Adeyinka Adebayo who, at the time, was military Governor of the old Western Region. It is an irony of fate and history that Ernest Ikoli, an Ijaw man that was resident in the Lagos colony (as it then was) for most of his adult life, was the mentor and benefactor of the future Leader of the Yoruba and a future Premier of the old Western Region. It is also interesting that he was also the stepfather of a future Deputy Premier of the old Western Region as well in the person of Babaremilekun FaniKayode.

Ikoli was part and parcel of Lagos high society and he was best of friends with Sir Adeyemo Alakija and many other prominent and powerful Lagos elites in his day. Madam Aurora had no children for him but she had four sons and three daughters for her first husband, Victor Adedapo Kayode. The first of those children was Victor Babaremilekun Adetokunboh Fani-Kayode, the man who successfully moved Nigeria’s motion for independence in the Federal Parliament in 1958, the former Minister of Chieftaincy and Local Government Affairs and Deputy Premier of Nigeria’s old Western Region from 1963 to 1966.

Victor Adedapo Kayode and Madam Aurora Kayode were also the grandparents of David Oluwafemi Adewunmi Fani-Kayode, Nigeria’s former Minister of Aviation and former Minister of Culture and Tourism.

It was as a symbol of the deep affection that Chief Babaremilekun Fani-Kayode had for his mother, Madam Aurora, that he added the prefix of her maiden name (which was ‘’Fani’’) to our surname (which was ‘’Kayode’’) and hence the name ‘’Fani-Kayode’’ was created. It is my intention to ensure that this legend does not become myth and that that name continues to go from strength to strength. God bless Nigeria.

PAGE 56 —SUNDAY Vanguard, APRIL 7, 2013

By LUKA BINNIYAT

I

T depends on how you l o o k

On the Kaduna rock where the ‘godly and the ungodly’ do business boys hang out here. But they cause no trouble for anyone.

Bad girls also come, but no palaver with others using this hill.

The problem of everybody here used to be the police, but it has reduced very well.”

She said that part of the reason Firoro Garden had to close shop was because of extortion they faced from the police.

“Now, if I sell two or three bottles of beer, I will sleep well, because there will be no police to ask for anything in the morning, or claiming that we had to come and pay for bail on a man who left here and got into trouble afterwards.”

She narrated, “One day, about three years ago, a show was on, those drinking and dancing were enjoying themselves, those praying outside were serious in prayers. Then the police arrived around 12 mid-night and started shooting into the air. It was in the rainy season, and that river”, referring to a perennial stream that runs down the slope of the rock, “was full that night because it rained heavily in the evening.

“Some of the boys and girls started running and jumping into the river. Those that could not swim got drowned.

“In the morning, two corpses were found inside the shrubs by the bank. The following evening, some fishermen found two more corpses. And some more were found far away from of the river here.

“Following that incident, we had to pay and pay and pay to the police, even though they were the ones that caused the problem. They said they were trying to arrest those who were doing drugs; that was why they fired into the air. “My brother, we decided that it was not worth the business on that level again. So we closed to this small level, and we are free and can manage our lives like this.

But I will never forget that tragedy, because I know some

of the boys and girls. Young happy children, just gone like that”. She painted a picture of ‘Paradise Lost’, saying the family opted to remain on the rock only because it owned part of it. But it did not look that way. A stroll round the rock showed that most of it had been carved into not less than 18 churches.

At least three slots, each of the size of a badminton court, had the look of a traditional African shrine, but with no chief priest in sight.

One coach of block fencing delineates each church from the other. Only the Cherubin and Saraphine Church had completed its building at the entrance of the rock.

There were many prayer groups on this Thursday morning on the rock, as if it was not a working day.

“I have a one-week prayer

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at it. But if for about ten years, many churches, traditional shrines, a beer parlor, hard drug peddlers, and all shades of hustlers could harmoniously co-exist on an expansive rock about half the size of a football field, day and night, it should be that men have found a means of doing the godly and ungodly businesses together.

“It is only you that did not know when Firoro Garden was bubbling like hell here”, said a Bini woman who owned part of the large flat rock, at the end of Firoro Street, Unguwan Boro, a Christian suburb, south of Kaduna metropolis.

This reporter was speaking with the woman under a shade of zinc roofing that connected the tiny apartments she shared with her family of six, as she served him a drink, while the hammering noise of heavy metals chipping off parts of the granite rock kept disturbing the conversation.

“That time, I sold drinks and food of over N100,000 everyday. I doubled that amount on a good day”, she said, as her two-year-old baby (Favour) clogged her movement in the two-room apartment which she and her husband had managed to erect from the “good business.”

“Many DJs were always here, and people had a good time every night till morning”, explained the mother of four.

“As soon as we closed, church people would be waiting. They were paying well to use this place. Prayers started by 6am each day. That was when I caught some sleep”..

“You see that place”, she said, pointing at under a tree where some white garment church members were lost in noisy prayers, “from there down- hill, my husband owns that plot that formed part of Firoro Garden.

“The local chief owns most part of the rock, but he has sold every part of it”.

She continued: “On our plot alone, we have about seven churches. There are some shrines on the rock, but you will think they are churches. People come here with all kinds of problems. It is only a mosque that you cannot see here, because no Muslim lives in Unguwan Boro. I have never seen the home of one since I came here about ten years ago”.

Looking at her three-year-old son who just ran to her from God knows where, she screamed from her seat, “Lucky, what is this?

Who designed your face with charcoal like the child of a masquerade?

“Na so dem dey begin make small pikin become winch (witch)”. She started rubbing off the markings from the boy’s chin with the edge of her wrapper.

Then the conversation went on: “You asked me about the people coming here”, she said, clearing away an empty bottle. “This place, I will not lie to you, many other things happen here. Bad

One day, about three years ago, a show was on, those drinking and dancing were enjoying themselves, those praying outside were serious in prayers. Then the police arrived around 12 mid-night and started shooting into the air

,

and fasting commitment with my pastor, and I am to pray from morning till I break my fast by seven in the evening. It is more important to me than work for now”, said a primary school teacher who spoke to this reporter on the rock.

But, just about ten metres away, a group of boys sat un-

*Churches, shrines and night crawlers in one place...different strokes for different folks der a tree resting, with two of them smoking.

When this reporter approached them, their streetwise eyes screened him. He asked them if he could buy “very nice cigarette”.

“Boss, we don’t sell cigarette,” one of them responded coldly. “Okay, I can see that you don’t want me here”, I said, and moved to sit a bit far from them. After about twenty minutes, one of them came up and said, “You must be a new policeman in town”.

“Me?”, I responded. “I am too much to lie to my kid brothers.

I am new in this area, but I am not a cop. God forbid! I am not a policeman. Believe me; I just want to feel cool. That is all”.

After appraising me for another five minutes, the boy said, “You would have to come with me” , pointing at another group, whom he said had the best stuff.

But we had to cross a gulf to get to the group and that would take some ten minutes.

“Boss”, the guy said, “ if you want real clean girls to go with the stuff, that is where I come in. I hate smoke!”. He said if I came by 9pm, I would have many stuff to choose from.

“I will tell you the ones that do powder (cocaine) , and the ones that do stone (marijuana), there ones that will give you problems, and those ones that you can even cheat, all for something ‘small’ for your boy”. He was a pimp.

When we reached the group, the boy who has now

become some kind of an escort to me greeted them. Then, he and two others moved away to a location behind another tree.

They talked for a few minutes and agreed on the deal for “my stuff.”

“These people that come here to worship are not fanatics.

They do their own thing, and we do our own. In fact, some of our girls also join them sometimes to pray before leaving with a man for the night”, my escort said, and we all laughed.

Soon, the stuff was brought wrapped in a piece of paper and I was informed that it was going for N2,000, because it came straight from Kwale in Delta State, and was prepared by a master.

I gave them N3,000 instead of N2,000 without looking at the content, which surprised them.

“You are my kid brothers. If it does not go fine, I will return it and take back my money”, I said.

They all swore on their “honour ” and “good reputation.”

Seeing my generosity with cash, they thanked me profusely, asking for my phone number, which I gave out.

When I got into my car, I looked at the small space full of so much mystery.

It had an unbelievable level of tolerance between the godly and the ungodly with the police acting at the spoil sport.

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SUNDAY VANGUARD, APRIL 7, 2013, PAGE 61

RIGHT OF REPLY

On the INEC series For avoidance of doubt, sir, there is absolutely no ‘soloism’ in this present Commission

,

Professor Attahiru Jega jective of the Commission is to have a record of registerable persons in a Ward, against which it could compare the number of those who really turn out to be biometrically captured during the CVR for demographic analysis and precision planning. The same applies with the directive to “take note of voters who died with a view to delisting their names from the voters roll.”

This procedure is cumbersome, perhaps; but there are really not too many ways, with our current national reality, to comprehensively harness demographic data for electoral precision planning.

INEC will shortly roll out the CVR in all the states nationwide, and it is towards this end that the Commission recently recruited Registration Area Officers. The electoral laws of this country have always provided for the exercise. (See Section 10 of the Electoral Act 2010 as Amended, for instance.) But that provision has always been observed in the breach until the present Commission came in and resolved to implement it as prescribed.

On the so-called “excess manpower capacity” in INEC for this exercise, as you alleged, there are presently 8, 809 Wards (i.e. registration areas) nationwide and the Commission, during the last recruitment, took 1, 500 persons on board. It should be clear that, in the least, some old staff of the Commission will yet be deployed to supplement. More than 73 million voters were captured biometrically in the general exercise undertaken in 2011, and more will be captured in the course of the CVR that will commence in due course.

You asserted in your article that other principal officials of the Commission were taken aback by the present plan for CVR, which you assumed to be by the Chairman’s fiat. That is simply false. Policy decision-making in INEC is strictly collective and always thoroughly debated, with all sides considered and what is

thought best for the country is what is collectively adopted.

For avoidance of doubt, sir, there is absolutely no ‘soloism’ in this present Commission.

Thus, all the conspiracy theories you bandied in your article are entirely figments of your fertile imagination. In particular, your claim about alleged quest by the Chairman of INEC for more powers is (deliberately?) blind to the con-

,

I

write this rejoinder in re sponse to the ‘Story of the Week’ serialised in your newspaper of Sunday, March 24 and Sunday, March 30, 2013, in which you took disparate issues with programmes and processes of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). I will provide clarifications on the claims you have made. This effort is intended mainly for the benefit of the reading public, who need to be properly informed on the operations of INEC and its preparations towards the 2015 general elections. I observed that the ‘Story of the Week’ in question attacked the personality of the Hon. Chairman of the Commission, Professor Attahiru Jega.

Contrary to the claim you made of “findings” by your newspaper after painstaking investigation of INEC “and specifically the Office of the Chairman,” your article was a rehash of some uninformed views.

Now, to the issues. You anchored your latest series on three claims, namely: (i) that there is a plan by INEC for manual registration of voters, which you say “creates fertile ground for systematic flaws;” (ii) that the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) INEC is about issuing to registered voters lack requisite features to check electoral fraud; and (iii) that the Commission is bogged down with in-fighting over alleged underhand promotions and recruitment of staff, procurement issues, ethnicity and other base sentiments you feared to have negative implications for 2015.

The truth is that all three claims are incorrect and betray crass misunderstanding of INEC’s programmes and the way the Commission works. To begin with, there is no plan to undertake manual compilation of the Register of Voters, for the Register of Voters already exists and it is biometric. That should actually be obvious even from the Commission’s internal memo you cited as evidence of your erroneous claim. The fact is: Given the lack of an established comprehensive system of gathering demographic data in this country, the Commission – mind you, not the Chairman – resolved that the way to go with the imminent Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise is for the newly recruited Registration Area Officers, who have been deployed at the ward level, to manually enumerate every person of registerable age (i.e., from 18 years) in their respective wards. This is a first (if you like, preliminary) step and not the registration of these persons as voters per se. Indeed, the very memo you cited indicated that there will subsequently be the compilation of a “comprehensive voters list with a view to capturing their biometric data (Note: Biometric data can’t be captured manually, can they?) at the appropriate time, at least twice a year…” The ob-

,

BY KAYODE ROBERT IDOWU

persons were reported to mass up voter cards and put them in the hands of cronies to use illicitly – thus abusing the process. In the new dispensation, once an illegitimate holder of the card can be detected and prevented from using the card, the abuse is substantially, virtually completely checked.

You took two major issues with the PVCs presently be-

INEC will shortly roll out the CVR in all the states nationwide, and it is towards this end that the Commission recently recruited Registration Area Officers. The electoral laws of this country have always provided for the exercise

text and subsequent developments on the correspondences you copiously cited – issues that the Commission has since put behind it.

Another claim you made is that the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) that INEC is about to issue lack requisite features to check electoral fraud. Significantly though, you acknowledged that the card, when swiped with a card reader, will have the capacity to identify a bearer as the authentic and legitimate holder. That, by all means, is the first and most profound step in checking the abuse of voter cards as has been the case in Nigeria’s electoral history. The PVCs that INEC will issue in due course to registered voters are chip-based, with the chip on each card containing all the biometric data of the legitimate holder. In effect, only a legitimate holder can present the card at a polling unit to cast his/her vote. This is unlike in the past when unscrupulous

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ing produced by INEC, namely: (i) that they will contain no picture of the voter, and (ii) that they will not be polling unit-specific. But if you really interrogate those issues, they are altogether uninformed. For your information, there will be the picture of the voter both on the card-chip as well as on the face of the PVC. Besides, every voter has his biometric data, including the picture, in INEC’s data bank. When you present your PVC to be swiped with the card reader, this data will be called up and it will instantly be ascertained that your face corresponds with the picture in the data bank. If your face does not correspond with the picture previously captured during voter registration, you cannot be the legitimate holder of that card and you will not be allowed to vote with it. In addition to the PVC being swiped with the card reader, the voter will also be required to place his/her finger on the device for finger-

prints verification, so as to be doubly authenticated. All these are fraud-proof measures intended to prevent possible abuse of the voter card.

As for polling unit specificity, the electoral law already provides that you can vote only at the polling unit where you were registered. During voter registration, your data is assigned to a specific polling unit. Contrary to your claim that INEC imposed the procedure, Section 58 of Electoral Act 2010 as Amended stipulates that: “No person shall be permitted to vote at any polling unit other than the one to which he is allotted.” Thus, the polling unit to which your data has been assigned is where your PVC will be read and enabled for you to vote. It is wholly impracticable that a voter will take the card to a polling unit where he/she was not registered and hope to be able to use it to vote. A voter’s PVC can only be read and authenticated at the polling unit in which he/she is registered to vote.

The third claim you made is that the Commission is bogged down by in-fighting. But this claim is so spurious that it can’t even be seriously interrogated. INEC, like every other organisation, has objective rules that govern establishment matters. Appointments and promotions are regulated by these rules; and they are processes that can be independently checked for compliance with the rules. Besides, there are legally-empowered institutions with oversight responsibility over the Commission. It is granted that not every single member of staff is happy when these rules are applied as provided, but that is what happens in every organisation – including yours. That there may be pockets of disgruntlement amongst staff is no evidence that the established rules have been violated.

There are also instituted regulations in Nigeria governing procurement by public institutions. All procurements by INEC are done with strict adherence to extant procurement laws of the country and are put through the full rigour of Due Process in governance. Otherwise it wouldn’t be a matter for mere rumour and backroom talk.

Let me assure you that the leadership team in INEC (in particular, the National Commissioners and Chairman) is united and solidly together.

Under that leadership, the Commission is forging ahead with painstaking preparations for the 2015 general elections, which, as has been repeatedly pledged, will surpass every election ever held in this country in terms of credibility, integrity and public acceptance. That is the commitment the Professor Jega-led Commission has made to Nigerians, and that is what it is relentlessly committed to delivering. The Commission seeks the support and cooperation of every Nigerian, including your good self, in this patriotic task, please. * Idowu is Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman

PAGE 62 —SUNDAY VANGUARD, APRIL 7, 2013

VIEWPOINT

BY MUHAMMAD ALKALI ADAM

Agenda for the new Head of Service

VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF

VIEWPOINT

A

LHAJI Isa Bello Sali, who just retired as the 7th Head of Service and 2nd from the northern part of the country, according to President Jonathan, is lucky to have reached the pinnacle of his career, but, for his successor, Bukar Goni Aji, who had an edge over his two other contenders from Borno and Bauchi States, it is a journey beginning in turbulence.

As glaring as it were, the question here is, where does Aji start from and how can he, as the number one public servant, transform the public service judging from disposition of some political appointees who not only decide who to work with but are not also ready to work in tandem with any public servant no matter his experience and the skills acquired over the years.

I think for Aji to outlandishly succeed, he needs to bring his wealth of experience to bear on his new calling as he today not only runs a ministry but the entire MDAs and, by extension, emulate the styles and qualities of his predecessors like Yayale Ahmed, Ama Pepple and Steven Oronsaye who, at one time or the other, not only managed crises between ministers and permanent secretaries but also between directors and permanent secre-

taries.

This is due to their protective stance and the upholding of the doctrines of fairness, equity and justice where they even threatened to resign their appointments, following, at their separate individual times, pressure from the Presidency to redeploy a permanent secretary who, in defence of his/her job, refused to do his/her minister’s bidding.

That’s the only way we, as a nation, will prosper and change public perception about Nigeria and for the entire world to view public servants from Nigeria as disciplined and prudent in terms of financial and material resources management.

How do we transform the public service in a transformational era where the scenario is biting deeper and rules and extant circulars jettisoned by political appointees and in some cases permanent secretaries aiding and abating the anomaly simply due to selfishness or lack of cognate administrative knowledge and experience of what a civil service is all about?

Like other nations, Nigeria is structured to provide quality services to its citizenry through the civil service. And as the engine room of government, it shoulders the responsibility of implementating government programmes whereas the citizenry, at one time or the other, is expected, after acquiring basic minimum quali-

fications, to be given the privilege to serve in the public service.

There exist bodies like the Federal Civil Service Commission, presently chaired by Deaconess Joan O. Ayo, and, of course, Alhaji Bukar Goni Aji, the newly sworn in Head of Civil Service of the Federation. Both as benefactors of political zoning formula respectively hail from the South West and North-East.

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The way forward for the public service

The new Head of Service might also break record if he ensures the renovation of all Federal Secretariats and their provision with modern working equipment as these will greatly enhance efficiency of service

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Nigerians look up to the duo, as seasoned public servants with wealth of experience and diverse knowledge who had been carefully selected to steer the affairs

of these two establishments charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the MDAs are manned by appropriate personnel by way of appointment, posting and re-deployment.

Invariably, they are also, in matters of discipline and promotion, to dismiss and exercise control over persons so appointed to man the offices of the federation at both state and federal levels.

They are, above all, to always make sure that the principle of federal character is maintained and duly followed in all recruitment, postings and promotion.

As such, they are, through appropriate guidelines, in all MDAs, recommend and approve acting capacity of or on any cadre in an event of vacancy. The reason is not far-fetched as the entire gamut of the civil or public service, is a rule-laden entity and a culture on its own. I am appealing to the new Head of Service to flash his torch lights on transforming the service by first correcting the anomalies there.

These are issues bordering on the new mechanism on the tracking of the performance contract agreement signed between Mr. President and ministers, ministers and permanent secretaries, directors and permanent secretaries and down the ladder which is reviewable every six months.

There is also the need for the offices of Secretary to the Government and Head of Service to

close ranks and devise a mechanism to ensure that ministers of states are not treated like zombies and as well every department carries out its statutory functions and that all personnel perform their duties in conformity with the scheme and rules of the service.

Provision of basic infrastructures for training, medicare facilities and housing for Federal Government staff irrespective of locations should be seriously looked into, because, doing this is a transformation on its own and Nigerians can appreciate the Jonathan administration.

Finally, Aji will not only reverse this dangerous trend but also transform the civil service, as promised in his maiden speech if he develops that thick skin against the bastardization of the public service by frequently entertaining request for the recall of one director or permanent secretary over matters of service.

The new Head of Service might also break record if he ensures the renovation of all Federal Secretariats and their provision with modern working equipment as these will greatly enhance efficiency of service, ensure manpower development very rapidly and go a long way in discouraging staff from seeking transfer of any kind. * Adam lives in Abuja

shrewd style of governance in place then.

One other thing I also discovered getting close to OGD was his simple but great and gracious taste. To those who see him from afar, this is a very rich person that must indulge in vainglorious spendings that is the nauseating hallmark of the moneyed class in Nigeria. But the OGD I know is blessed with an eye for taste without the encumbrances of riches.

His is that perception of good taste streaming out of his striv-

to and stand by this proven leader. I, therefore, didn’t have any hesitation in accepting to be the Managing Director of the Compass Newspapers, the publishing house in which he has interest, after we left government.

It is significant that in spite of my closeness to OGD, I have not sworn to any oath for him and I don’t know of any other person who has been asked to do that.

Rather, we continue to relate in an atmosphere of transparency and hardwork with him showing the way and accepting contributions from all of us around him. I dare say that I continue to find his brilliance, shrewdness, capacity for hardwork, love for others and great taste not only dazzling, but a testament to what true and invigorating leadership is all about. This is the uncommon leader that I bear witness to as he celebrates his 57th birthday today. I congratulate my beloved sister, Yeye Olufunke Daniel (who in humility addresses me as “Uncle Sina” and virtually knees down to greet and serve me food).

I greet Rotimi, Adebola, Taiwo, Kehinde, and Mayowa, the well brought up children of the governor - unobtrusive, self-effacing and respectful. And it is our prayer that God continues to preserve him for further contributions to the progress and development of Nigeria as his attributes are needed to take this country to great and greater heights. Happy birthday, Sir. *Kawonise, Immediate Past Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Ogun State, is Managing Director/Editor-InChief, Compass Newspapers.

The OGD I know BY ‘SINA KAWONISE TRIBUTE IN BRIEF Lessons from the life of a former governor of 57.

T

HE year was 2010. The characterization in the media was as negative as it could get. The portrayal was that of a hard-headed businessman who came into politics with the brutal business sense of doing anything and everything to achieve results. He was depicted as a ritualist, one who would demand all forms of scandalous oaths from those around him to secure their loyalty. There was also the story of how he had privatized the government under him; and there were enough people to sing these stories on account of the persisting factionalisation in Ogun State House of Assembly, pitting majority of members against him.

The foregoing was the context in which Otunba Gbenga Daniel (OGD), the then governor of Ogun State, approached me with the offer of serving as his Commissioner for Information. Many that I contacted for advice on this did not think it was a good offer.

The opinion was that this man had shown the kind of person he was given the portrayal in the media and that it would not be good for me to go and soil my name with him or got entrapped in his evil vortex. There were, to be sure, a few dissenting opinions, those who thought that I could

serve basically as a professional and perhaps with enough safeguards to ensure my quick bailout if I found the going not comfortable and acceptable. My decision was to consider the intervention of some of those through whom I got acquainted with him to give the offer my acceptance with the proviso that this would be strictly a professional engagement since I was not a politician anyway. And there began the engagement with OGD that resulted in my being his Commissioner for Information and Orientation for 15 months.

The revelation, to me, was of epiphanic proportion. I speak here from the depth of intimate information available to me as I was at every meeting involving the discussion of government business as the spokesperson of government for those fifteen months. And the first factor was the level of transparency with which OGD transacted the business of government and even his own personal businesses and his life. Contrary to the idea of a mysterious person widely depicted in the media, I found and continue to find, a very transparent figure, always ready to do things in the open and in such a way that everybody involved would have a sense of participation and contribution.

Added to this was his brilliance.

It would seem that God had endowed him with such leadership qualities and that he had prepared himself so well as to have the capacity to grasp all kinds of argument in virtually all areas of human endeavor without wearing this brilliance on his lapel or

Otunba Gbenga Daniel not allowing others their contributions. And in OGD we have the confirmation that there is no success without hardwork as he was such a leader that would push you to, if not beyond, the limits in the quest for satisfactory performance. This is a reflection of his striving always for perfection.

OGD’s attitude was that whereas it was impossible for the human being to attain perfection in an imperfect world, the only way to have passable living would be to continuously strive for and work toward attaining the perfect world. The end result, though not perfect, leads to the highest level of satisfaction attainable.

Anytime I remember the agony we had to go through after every FAAC meeting to decide on how to allocate the funds for the state among competing needs, I am amused by the allegations that this man converted funds of the government into personal use. That was simply impossible under the transparent and

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TRIB UTE TRIBUTE

In OGD we have the confirmation that there is no success without hardwork as he was such a leader that would push you to, if not beyond, the limits in the quest for satisfactory performance

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ing for excellence and perfection without sacrificing his shrewdness.

After fifteen months of working closely with OGD and benefiting from his acute business sense, transparent life and leadership style, his hardwork and great taste, I had no problems making up my mind to continue to stick

SUNDAY VANGUARD, APRIL 7, 2013, PAGE 63

TRIBUTES

David Mark …of celebrations and reminiscences

BY SUFUYAN OJEIFO

TRIBUTE IN BRIEF A bridge builder at 65

T

OMORROW, Monday, April 8, Senate Presi dent, Senator David Mark, will be 65 years old.

Suffice then to say that the annual ritual of sending him goodwill messages is here.Personal friends and political associates will seize the occasion to toast good health and longevity to a remarkable torchbearer in government; and, indeed, a true leader of his people.

And as they clink glasses of good wine, the celebrator will, as usual, be involved in some reminiscences about his past, as well as engage his present and the future in a profoundly solemn conversation: talking about his sojourn in the military, his departure from there and arrival in the cosmos of politics where he has emphatically defined an enviable trajectory for his eventful long race, which began in 1999 with his election into the Senate to represent Benue South.

He is yet to get to the terminus of the race despite his occupancy of the enviable position of Senate President.

There is no doubt that the third citizen of the country, and Idoma-born politician, has come a long way. Having ef-

fectively leveraged on a disciplined military background, where he retired as Brigadier General, to confront the shenanigans in the murky waters of politics, he has remained unbeaten in the politics, politricks and intrigues that have constantly denominated leadership issues in the Senate.

A four-star General in the Senate, having won election four times to represent Benue South in that hallowed chamber, Mark has become a force to reckon with, deploying, in its flourish, his vast legislative experience to stabilize the upper Chamber. He is also a confirmed field marshal outside the Senate. His Idoma Kingdom under the kingship of the Och’Idoma, His Royal Majesty, Agabaidu Elias Ikoyi Obekpa, conferred on him the title of Okpokpowulu K’Idoma (Field Marshal or Generalissimo) on July 26, 2009 These development imprimaturs, bolstered by his Senate Presidency, have defined his capacity as a veritable bridge builder as well as his humanism. This seemingly deliberate outlook has put upon him a burden to continue to exert the self to preserve the interest of the Idoma within the context of a united Nigerian nation.

He has successfully latched onto the democratic platform of his position as the third citizen of the country to deploy the vast potentialities of his office to utilitarian benefits of the political economy. This

onstrated these in the saddle as Senate President: as a gentleman by playing the role of a servant-leader and as a friend by relating to personal and political feelings of senators (both serving and former).

He is profoundly competent and respected. He is not short on transparency and accountability. There is positive reference point that has continued to reinforce this robust perception: on January 8, 2008, he had announced, for instance, that the Senate had returned unspent N7 billion, released to the Upper House on December 31, 2007, to the

Senator David Mark

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TRIB UTE TRIBUTE

Mark has also provided worthy leadership, charting for the Senate progressive directions

speaks to his nationalism. Indeed, significantly, his contributions to humanity transcend Idomaland, a point which underscores his persona as a detribalized Nigerian. Add to this: his selfless leadership and philanthropy.

Perhaps, a most befitting tribute to have come out of the July 26, 2009 event was by a former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, who described Mark as “an untiring soldier, a complete gentleman and a friend.” Mark has vastly dem-

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treasury in line with the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act. As then THISDAY Politics Editor reporting the activities of the Senate, I had been seized of the fact that he ensured this was done despite the effort by some principal officers to prevail on him to do something sleazy with the fund. He had stood his ground to the chagrin of those pushing for the balkanization of the unspent fund. But the glory of that discipline and fis-

cal responsibility was shared by the entire Senate.

His experience as senator from 1999 to 2007 has taught him to be wise and, indeed, wisdom is the principal thing in the game of leadership survival in the Senate.

Mark has also provided worthy leadership, charting for the Senate progressive directions.

He has guided the Senate to push through a number of pro-poor and people-oriented actions and legislations, including the historic Doctrine of Necessity that produced the acting presidency of the then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan with all presidential powers to put an end to the impasse created in the polity by the illness saga of the then President Umaru Yar’Ad u a .

His synergy with the Executive arm of government has been salutary to national governance. The message to Nigerians on the occasion of his birthday is to commit themselves to the emulation and replication of the Mark persona; and, the prayers that should go his way aplenty on the occasion are that God will grant him all his heart’s desires as he begins another year ’s journey. This is the best way to celebrate Mark on his day.

From me, this is wishing Field Marshal DM, the Okpokpowulu K’Idoma, a happy birthday! · Ojeifo is Editor-in-Chief of “The Congresswatch”, a monthly magazine which reports the Legislature.

Oshiomhole at 60: Praxis and Governance wide. As infrastructure began to pick up, the mood of the citizens changed, such that few people were disposed to quibble with official claim taking credit for the improvement. With this upturn, Oshiomhole can now make a strong case for taxation (to mobilise resources for development), which burden the people were willing to bear. This would be critical for Oshiomhole’s second ace.

From the start, Oshiomhole has

BY YAKUBU ALIYU TRIBUTE IN BRIEF Three distinctive ways the character of Edo politics has changed

G

OVERNOR Adams Os hiomhole forayed into the murky terrain of Nigerian politics with nothing but reputational capital and mobilizational capacity he garnered in the course of over three decades of union activism. This is quite odd given the fact that politics in Nigeria is essentially about loads of cash and godfathers. He had neither. Yet, he was able to turn the table against the political establishment that held sway in Edo State and the nation’s politics for decades. He built a formidable political coalition around an opposition party, the ACN, and got elected twice as governor.

This alone has made him, arguably, the only activist turned politician, who can claim this achievement in contemporary Nigerian politics. This success, though also a function of other personal attributes, was in its origin definitely inseparable from the underlying context of his emergence: the conjuncture of a people long oppressed and seeking for change albeit through democratic means, and a leader coming just at the nick of time to embody these aspirations. Elected in 2007, but struggled hard to

Oshiomhole regain in late 2008 the mandate which was almost stolen, his administration started on a bumpy note, caught as it were between huge popular expectations on the one hand, and the antithetical forces determined to ground it on the other.

The electoral and legal victory forced him to face up to several challenges that historically confront any activist when he assumes control over the apparatus of state power for the first time. He hit the ground running, and, in no time also, he was able to transform his large electoral coalition into a stable governing coalition and articulating a farreaching development agenda.

First, confidence has to be restored in the people and Oshiomhole exploited two assets he has in reserve to bolster his position and standing, as governor and as a politician. The first was the resumption of sustained economic and social improvement state-

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TRIB UTE TRIBUTE

His rating, naturally continued to rise quite sharply, and measured against such appreciable improvement in people’s lives

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been committed to helping the poor. Sure, accommodation of the rich and powerful would be necessary, but access to social amenities had to be tackled more seriously than in the past.

He confronted social provision on all fronts: rehabilitating schools and hospitals, providing clean water, opening up remote and neglected communities and putting in place a programme of urban renewal. Of course, it was not all brick and mortar, as the

process of institutional reforms was underway to support service delivery and efficiency in public resource management.

By 2012, although not the entire infrastructure deficit had been addressed, more than enough had been done to put a stamp of stellar performance.

His rating, naturally continued to rise quite sharply, and measured against such appreciable improvement in people’s lives, backhanders could hardly count.

Even before the July 2012 election for his second term, the political tables had been turned so completely that the rival political opposition, the PDP, and its candidate knew it had no chance against Oshiomhole, the ACN candidate, leaving him to walk away with the most unprecedented victory in the electoral politics of Edo State, close to 80 per cent of the vote, and winning majority votes in all the 18 local government areas of the state. There are at least three distinct ways in which he changed the character of Edo politics, which underlines his consequences for national politics and beyond.

First, Oshiomhole differs from all previous governors that ruled Edo State, as he did not pertain to the traditional Edo political, economic and social establishment. That an ordinary textile worker, from a humble background could come this far, to become a nationally prominent union leader, then a governor is symbolically significant: It suggests that irrespective of back-

ground a Nigerian citizen cannot only legitimately participate in selecting the nation’s rulers, but also that they can become one of those rulers. Secondly is Oshiomhole’s impact on the socio-economic transformation of Edo. Keenly aware of the limits of the role of the state in a market economy, he has used the instrumentality of the state to rejuvenate and expand access to social provision, and, in the process, demonstrated that, indeed, government could still bring about development and be the last hope of the poor. Third, Oshiomhole changed the orientation of Edo political landscape, which was, hitherto, defined by crude clientelism, and with distribution of resources underpinned by a prebendal perspective of political power. Oshiomhole’s second term journey has kicked off in earnest. It has come with it a keen awareness of the place of Edo within the national development matrix, though it still has to face squarely the acute contradictions that define the Nigerian political economy.

It is on this note that the governor signposts a historical threshold as he clocks three scores on this putrid plane, indeed leaving us with a deep appreciation for the exploits of a man nurtured in the rustic setting of Iyamho, who acquitted himself well in the furnace of labour activism and popular struggles, and now delivering the essentials, as people’s governor in a state that dubs itself as the Heartbeat of Nigeria. *ALIYU lives in Kaduna.

PAGE 64—SUNDAY

Vanguard, APRIL 7, 2013

FULANI / ATAKAR WAR

How poisoned cows sparked killings, arson on uphill villages *’Why a Fulani always seeks vengeance over hurt cattle’

By LUKA BINNIYAT

*Refugees of avoidable conflict

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L

ike a little bush fire turned into a ravaging inferno, the discovery of two dead Fulani cows, allegedly poisoned in Zankan, an uphill village in Fadan Atakad Chiefdom, Kaura Local Government Area of Kaduna State, ignited a bloodbath in Atakad villages in Kaduna and Plateau States in the past three weeks.

Alhaji Ibrahim S Abdullahi, Kaduna State Chairman of Miyeti Allah Kautal Hori SocioCultural Association - Fulani umbrella body told Sunday Vanguard that the Fulani considers the cow as the equivalent of cash deposit in bank, and would do anything to take vengeance anytime his cow is hurt.

The national body of Miyeti Allah Kautal Hori Socio-Cultural Association was headed by the deposed Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki.

Members of the House of Representatives from Southern Kaduna wore forlorn looks last Wednesday when they visited one of the refugee camps holding some 10,000 Atakad refugees displaced from the violence and assured them of help and justice, while asking for calm.

The Atakad people live on lush plains and fertile valleys served by perennial stream high up the Atakar hills, that form part of the Kagoro mountains linking the Jos plateau.Unlike most southern Kaduna people, the Atakad are known to take dry season farming seriously, thus making them relatively prosperous among other tribal groupings of the area.

Also rich in fodder for grazing, Fulani nomads find the Atakad hills very attractive, and there had been cordial symbiotic relationship between the two groups as long as some of the oldest Atakad elders could recall to Sunday Vanguard, until the last three weeks.

On Monday, the Chairman of Kaura LGA, Mr Kumai L J Badung spoke to Sunday Vanguard at the refugee camp of Fadan Atakad on how the incident started. Said Badung:”There was a young man, Aboi Stephen (21), in Mafan, who had been complaining that some cattle had been grazing on his dry season farm. I was told that the cattle destroyed a good portion of the farm, and that there was no end in sight to the destruction. ”About two weeks ago, two Fulani cows were found dead, allegedly of poisoning. The owner of the cows was said to have publicly warned Aboi of the grave consequences of his action.

I don’t know if it was Aboi that poisoned the cows, or even if they died of poisoning. ”Then one day, Aboi was found missing. A search by

We don’t have bank accounts. The cows you see the Fulani with represent his bank account. Therefore, if you hurt any of his cows, he can go to the end of the world and hide the remaining cows, then he will surely come back for vengeance

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the villages found his corpse.

He had deep machete cuts all over his body, and his throat was slit.”Upon that discovery, women and children mobilised to the palace of the chief of Atakar, Tobias NkomWada, and accused him of inviting the Fulani into Atakar land in the first place. They vandalised the palace. The chief is now living in his personal house in Tachire, around here. ”On seeing what the women and children did, the Fulani started moving out en masse to their kins in Kanawuri areas of Plateau State, which also has some number of Atakar speaking villages.”On their way, they shot a young man that same day in Kanawuri area.

That pitched them against the Atakar in Plateau State and they fought for days. The fighting led to the burning of some Atakar villages.

The affected ones had to move to this local government, where we opened the first refugee camp for them at Mifi. But we have closed it and merged it with the other two because it was vulnerable. ”When the army moved in last week, the Fulanis left Kanawuri in Plateau State back to this place with their arms.”Last Saturday, by 3pm they attacked Mafan, Zalang, Taliki and Zangkan villages up those hills, while able bodied men had gone to the farms or the market.

They went on unchallenged till

Sunday morning. When the army arrived the scene on Sunday morning, the officer in charge told me that they counted 19 bodies. All the houses in the villages had been burnt.”They made no arrest, because the attackers had left before the came.”Right now, soldiers have escorted some men back to the villages to bury the dead.”We have not less than 5,000 refugees now, and that is a huge challenge to us.

The governor of Kaduna State, Alh. Muktar Ramalan, has done very much and is still doing more to help”.But events later revealed that the casualty was higher than the one given by the Council Chairman, when the House of Reps members came to find out what transpired.

The chief of Atakad chiefdom, Chief Tobais Nkom_Wada, while receiving the lawmakers, led by Hon Godfrey Gaya (Jaba/Zangon Kataf Federal Constituency), corroborated the story of Badung, but added that the death toll had shot to 28, the four villages left in ruins with the Fulani fully occupying them as their captured territory.”We gave 28 bodies mass burial, with the victims being mostly women and children.

The Fulani have fully taken over the villages. No one can enter,” he said. ”Now, the rains have started.

Some have lost family members and are living as refugees. Yet they cannot go back and farm, after their entire food crops have been burnt.

Next year will be terrible.”I am pleading with government to send securitymen so that we can go back and start our lives all over again.”As Christians, I call on my people to forgive, and keep living in peace with the Fulani like we have ever done ever since”.

The National President, Atakad Community Development Association, Mr. Ishaya Kudien told the visitors that the refugee figure had increased.”We heard the refugee was given as 5,000. That

is far below the truth. As at yesterday, we have about 100, 000 refugees from the violence. Many are living with relations, some are staying with family friends, and some have relocated, more have joined the camps,” he said. ”There may be outbreak of epidemic, because everyday we take dozens of children for emergency treatment because of poor hygiene and feeding here.”We need relief materials and we want to go back home. We will always forgive, but we want government to help us get back our villages from the Fulani”.

Other members of the House of Reps from southern Kaduna were: Hon. Gideon L. Gwani (Kaura Federal Constituency), Hon. Adams Jagaba Adams (Kachia/ Kagarko Constituency), Hon. Simon Arabo (Kauru Federal Constituency) and Hon. Shehu N. Garba ( Jema’a/Sanga Constituency).Meanwhile, Kaduna State Chairman of Miyeti Allah Kautal Hori Socio-Cultura Association, Abdullahi, spoke to Sunday Vanguard on behalf of the Fulani.”I was told that the corpse of a mentally deranged man was found in a bush in one of the Atakad villages. The Atakad youth attack the Fulani, and burnt their huts.

They even burnt the palace of their chief, who is peace loving man.”I am told that 20 Fulani were killed, and that the Fulani cannot go to the hills to bury their dead.”Let me tell you something that many people don’t know about us the Fulani. We don’t have bank accounts. The cattle you see the Fulani with, represent his bank account.

Therefore, if you hurt any of his cows, he can go to the end of the world and hide the remaining cows, then he will surely come back for vengeance.”But, we don’t want such crisis.

The Atakad and the Fulani have lived for decades and have even inter-married. It is sad that this is happening. I am still making more findings, and I will let you know next time”.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, APRIL 7, 2013,PAGE 65

chimeena@yahoo.com 08056180157 on the exhibition’s opening date.

A special birthday lecture also titled, Radicals, Literature and Nigeria: Just Before 1914, will be delivered by Professor G.G. Darah of Delta State University, Abraka, and will be chaired by Professor Akinwumi Isola, at the Cultural Centre, Akure on 20th April, 2013 at 4.30pm.

The lecture will be immediately followed by Kole Omotoso’s South African play, Yes and ‘Know’ To The Freedom Chatter, directed by Felix Okolo and produced by Hornbill House.

Lamidi Fakeye in Conversation with wood

By PRISCA SAM-DURU & VERA SAMUEL ANYAGAFU

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n fulfillment of a promise made to late wood carver, Lamidi Fakeye and also to maintain his revered position as front liner in the development of Nigeria and Africa Art, Omooba Yemisi Shyllon last week at Freedom Park, Lagos, presented the book, “Conversations With Lamidi Fakeye” The book which Shyllon co-authored with Ohioma Pogoson drew an

Late Fakeye at work overwhelming crowd which was a mixture of both old and young, High Chiefs, the literati, students and book lovers from all over the country as well as few foreigners, especially loyalists of the reknowned wood carver, late Lamidi Fakeye.

With a hard cover and high quality color prints,”Conversations With Lamidi Fakeye” which was published

by Quintessence and Revilo Company Ltd, discusses the career, work and untold story of Fakeye’s life and experience as an artist. It also features interview with the late iconic wood carver in addition to photographic images of about 48 artworks of the artist which are in the OYASAF collection.

Coming from the person of Yemisi ShylIon whom many only know as one of, if not the largest art collectors in the country, it was surprising to hear

him correct the misconception by saying that, “ I have been writing. You saw what the book reviewer said. I was the editor of the magazine in my University days and I am into many professions, I am a lawyer, an engineer, a chartered stock broker, I am a chartered marketer, I am an art auctioneer, a business administrator, and a consultant in finance and investments. So I am into many areas of life, but art is my passion and I reached an agreement with the late Lamidi Fakeye that I was going to do three things for him, because he was somebody I respect so much.”

Asked why he made such promise and what it was all about, Omooba Shyllon explained that, Lamidi Fakeye’s works are in various museums and private collections everywhere in the world, but as an art enthusiast and follower of the acclaimed wood carver, the time he met Fakeye, he was not well known in Nigeria, and so in 2005 he promised to do three things for the iconic wood carver.

“First, I want to be the largest collector of your work, which I ended up to be, secondly, I want to organize an exhibition for you in Lagos, I know his works have been exhibited by the British Council and other places, but it was a kind of subservient exhibition”, Shyllon noted, adding that in 2009, he organised a very befitting exhibition for him under the assistance of Mrs. Delewo Ogunsanya, who is the owner and founder of Mydrim Gallery.

Lastly, he promised to document Fakeye’s works through a research oriented book. The book which is presented as a conversation series, the art collector hinted, is expected to give other authors and researchers an in depth and personalised information about the late sculptor. It is interesting to know that one of the best photographers in Nigeria, Kelechi Amadi Obi, enjoyed the honour of taking the photographs of the works.

Abuja aglow with Literary Evening, Public Lecture

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s one of the activities to round off the 2013 Yasmin el-Rufai Creative Writing Workshop (April 8-12), ExodusForArt (E4ART, a literary NGO) shall be hosting the general public to a literary evening and public lecture in Abuja.

The event scheduled for 3:00pm, Sunday, April 14, 2013 will take place at Merit House, Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja, and it will feature reading, presentation of certificates to participants at this year’s workshop, public presentation of Abuja Review of Literature (a How To Write initiative of E4ART), as well as a lecture that focuses on literature and nation building. The lecture will be delivered by Mrs Eugenia Abu, author, and famous TV personality.

Yasmin el-Rufai Creative Writing Workshop is for young writers aged between 14-21 who had applied and were selected for this year’s edition. The literary evening and lecture will have in attendance prominent Nigerians, patrons of literature as well as literary enthusiasts from across the country.

Omotosho

Festschrift, exhibition for Kole Omotosho at 70 N

ovelist, playwright, and biographer of Nigeria, Bankole Omotoso, will be 70 years old on April 21, 2013. His arrival at this significant landmark raises the flag for the generation of writers that emerged after the Achebe-SoyinkaJ. P. Clark generation.

“The event offers us an opportunity to draw attention to and appreciate his many-sided commitment to the literary arts as well as celebrate those with whom his path has crossed”, remarks the poet Odia Ofeimum, in an emailed statement.

The celebrations will take off as a Special Reading, Kole Omotoso In Person at Jazzhole, on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, in Lagos on April 17, 2013 at 4.30 pm.

A Kole Omotoso Exhibition titled ;Akure to Jo’burg will be on display from 12 noon on 19th April to 21st April, 2013. The exhibition will be followed with a reception to be held at the Cultural Centre, Akure

Omotoso was the founding General Secretary and a former \ President of the Association of Nigerian Authors. According to the organisers, “Quintessentially, there is a need to view Kole Omotoso’s achievements as a creative writer also in the context of his role as a pioneering activist in literary journalism.

His literary editorship of Afriscope in the seventies, his Writer ’s Diary i n West Africa magazine, his travelogues in National Concord, and his Uncle Very Very series in the now defunct Daily Sketch, bear witness to his durable performances.

Kole Omotoso’s special creativity in these areas remain benchmark performances to which must now be added his continuing conversations with Nigeria - in the columns he has maintained in the pages of The News magazine and Vanguard newspapers.

The Pathfinder Resumes (To Achebe 1930-2013)

By ISIDORE EMEKA UZOATU

Though born in a time of strife Who thinks about things When the rest are blown away on the wings of its tidings He knew me not though we practice same art And share same birthday decades apart Somewhere in the many tribes lining the Lower Niger Pacified by civilizing missions that denied us a past You domesticated the novel form Setting it on Granpa’s hearth Till character, scene, plot, verisimilitude et al Shed alien demeanor for raffia skirts You killed the central character in your magnum opus In one leap of prosaic prognosis On a tree by a mud bungalow A poignant pointer to our only way forward We that survive on cowardice Lest we fought with escutcheons Emblazoned with blame Long before battle lines are drawn Prophecy is often disdainful in its domain But permit this antithesis from a sycophantic pen As you join our ancestors triumphant To find us yet another path.

Late Achebe

PAGE 66—SUNDAY VANGUARD, APRIL 7, 2013

SWORD OF THE SPIRIT DOES GOD KNOW YOU BY NAME?

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AM 60 years old but have never ever bought a car for myself. It was not for lack of money. Before God made me close down all my businesses in one day in 2005, I made a lot of money. However, the Lord controlled the purse-strings and spent all the money for me. I did not get any permission to buy a car or even build a house for myself. Nevertheless, I was allowed to buy cars for others no less than six times.

This January 2013, I went on bended knee to the Lord. “Daddy, you know I don’t ask you for carnal things as a rule, but I need a car. I know the exercise is good for me, but I am tired of walking to work.”

True Christianity is not a religion. True Christianity is a relationship.

It is a relationship with God

Our Father The Lord answered my prayer in a most amazing manner. Within three days, my in-law went to Cotonou, bought a Toyota Highlander Jeep, and gave it to me. I pleaded with her that I could not receive the gift. I don’t like Jeeps. They are just way too big for me. I also did not want to increase my financial burden by having to pay too much for petrol. So I respectfully declined her offer.

I thought that was the end of the matter until I got a phone-call from a long-lost friend in Port Harcourt some eight days later. He left Lagos for Port Harcourt exactly six years ago. He said the Lord told him: “Femi Aribisala needs your car in Lagos. I want you to send it to him.” He told me he resisted the directive for eight days, until the Lord reminded him of it again during the Sunday service in church.

“Sir,” he said, “I have no choice in the matter. I will get a driver to bring the car to you by the weekend.”

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he next day, I got a phone-call from his wife. “Did my hus band tell you God said he should give you his car?” she asked.

“Yes,” I replied, sensing some trouble in the air. “Well,” she said, “it serves him right. He must give you that car.”

“What is going on?” I asked the Lord.

The woman continued: “My husband likes that car too much. Do you know that since he bought it, he has never allowed me to drive it? When he is travelling out of the country, he parks the car in his office, so I will not be able to reach it. Doctor, he must give that his car to you. It is the will of God.” Imagine my surprise when I discovered the car in question is also a Toyota Jeep. But significantly, this one is a Toyota RAV4; a much smaller Jeep than the Toyota Highlander my in-law offered me. In short, when I rejected the bigger Jeep, God sent me a smaller one. He then reminded me that the RAV4 was the same size as the Land Rover Freelander I had wanted to buy several years earlier, which he had then vetoed.

The next Sunday, by 4.00 p.m., my new car arrived with a note from the sender which reads as follows: “Dear Pastor, On Sunday, January 13, 2013, God spoke to me clearly. Pastor Femi Aribisala has need for your one and only vehicle (2007 RAV4, Toyota SUV.) In obedience to God’s word after eight days of struggle, I hereby deliver this car to you for the use and to the Glory of God. To God be the Glory.”

Hearing ears I am the confirmation that God indeed spoke to this man because I told no one but God that I wanted a car this year. How was this man able to hear God speak? Why is it that so many Christians cannot hear God? Those who cannot hear God often persecute those who can and try to make us believe it is the devil speaking to us. That is kingdom dynamics. The Ishmaels persecute the Isaacs. Jesus says: “He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.” (John 8:47).

A dubious Christian gentleman berated me because I don’t believe in Paul. He reminded me that I don’t believe Jesus is a sacrifice for sins. He highlighted the fact that I maintain the bible is not the word of God. Then he reached this wonderful conclusion: “How can you be a Christian if you don’t believe the fundamentals of Christianity?”

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f those are the fundamentals of Christianity, then Christianity is a dead religion. I am not trying to be a Christian. I claim to be a son of God. The fundamentals of my faith lie in my daily relationship with God. It is not in reading the bible or in going to church, or in fooling myself that Jesus has taken away my sins. It is in walking before God, hearing his voice and obeying him. It is in doing the will of God and not in reading Paul and quoting him. It is in knowing God and in God knowing me by name. It is in loving God and in trusting him.

To those Christians who continue to berate those of us grounded enough to know that Jesus and not the bible is the word of God, Jesus says: “You search the Scriptures, for you believe they give you eternal life. And the Scriptures point to me! Yet you won't come to me so that I can give you this life eternal! Your approval or disapproval means nothing to me, for as I know so well, you don't have God's love within you.” (John 5:39-41).

Friends

of God True Christianity is not a religion. True Christianity is a relationship. It is a relationship with God. The bible is important because it details some relationships that God had with men of old But we are not meant to live vicariously by their experience. The bible confirms it is possible to walk with God, talk with God and obey his voice.

It is then up to us to insist on establishing similar relationships with God.

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here is little point in spending a lifetime boasting about what God said in private to Abraham. The question is what is God saying to you? Eternal life is the knowledge of God. The fundamental question, therefore, is not whether Jesus was born of a virgin or not.

The fundamental question is does God know you by name? Does he talk to you? Is he your friend? Is Jesus your Good Shepherd? Do you hear his voice and follow him? Jesus says: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27).

On Sunday, March 31, 2013, I got a phone-call from the man who sent me his Jeep. “I am in Lagos,” he declared. “I have a testimony to give you.” He drove to my house in a virtually brand-new Toyota 4Runner, a much bigger Jeep than the one he had given me. “My former boss in Lagos sent for me. He got a better job in Canada and is leaving the country. Look! He gave me his new Jeep. Can you see how God works?”

GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS “AND Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow.And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested” (I Chronicles 4:9-10).

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NE great blessing that every believer in Christ can enjoy is the ability to pray and receive a definite answer from God. I want to urge you to begin to take maximum advantage of this blessing, and your life will change from glory to glory, day by day. There is a God in heaven, He is a sure rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. If you seek Him with all your heart, you will find Him. This was what Jabez did. He was in trouble. His life was in turmoil. Then he called upon the God of Israel—the God who answers prayers. His requests were very specific.

1. O that thou wouldest bless me indeed. There are blessings, and there are blessings indeed. There is a way God blesses you that makes the whole world to arise and celebrate you. May you be blessed indeed. (Psalm 5:12; Genesis 24:1-2; II Samuel 6:11-12; Psalm 1:1-3; Luke 1:45).

2. And enlarge my coast. Enlargement. Increase.

Expansion. Multiplication. Promotion. They all come from the hand of God alone, and He wants to give them to you. (Job 8:7; Psalm 71:21; Psalm 115:14; Psalm 84:7; Proverbs 4:18; 2 Corinthians 3:18).

3. That thine hand might be with me. His hand is glorious in might. When He stretches forth His hand, no one can turn it back. May the good hand of God be upon you. (Ezra 8:22; Acts 11:12; Isaiah 14:27; Luke 4:18).

4. And that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me. Evil here can mean sin, and temptation to sin like Jesus taught us in our Lord’s Prayer. Nothing can hurt a soul like sin. Evil here may mean calamity, disaster and destruction.

Whatever it is, may the Lord keep you from evil, that it would not hurt you. (Matt. 6:13; 2 Tim. 4:18; 1 Samuel 31:1; Psalm 91;2 Peter 2:9).

These were the specific petitions of Jabez. What happened next? And God granted him that which he requested.

5. What an encouragement! Our God answers prayers as specifically as we pray to Him. If He answered Jabez before Jesus went to the cross of Calvary to die for us, how much more will He answer today after Jesus has died and made a way for us? (Mark 11:23-24; Psalm 50:15; Hebrew 11:6; Philippian 4:6-8).

I urge you beloved; take your time to pray. Pray seriously. Pray passionately. Pray wholeheartedly.

Pray in faith. Your Father who sees in the secret shall reward you openly.

“Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” (Jeremiah 33:3).

Mountain of Solution dedicates church “WHAT can I say unto the Lord all I have to say is thank you Lord”, this was the song of Bishop Abiodun Olugbenro, the founder of Mountain of Solution Ministries during the church dedication and thanksgiving service, reports OLAYINKA LATONA. According to Bishop Olugbenro, the grace

and favour of the Lord has been the strength of the ministry as it has been waxing stronger and stronger despite numerous challenges.

In her welcome address, Pastor Tope Oginni, the church director of publicity and publication affairs, noted that the church did not only cater for the spir-

itual growth of its members but also engaged in several corporate social responsibilities. Appreciating the congregation, the bishop of Pentecostal Assembly, Bishop Olusola Olukolade urged participants to hold on to the vision of the church which are, Jesus, truth, righteousness and holiness.

SUNDAY Vanguard, APRIL 7, 2013 — PAGE 67

PAGE 68—SUNDAY

Vanguard, APRIL 7, 2013

DEATHS IN BAKASSI

*Displaced ...where else do we go?. Inset: Senator Ita-Giwa

 Nigerians in ceded tterrit errit or erritor oryy accuse Cameroun of breaching pact  ‘W ew ant tto o be rese ttled in Da yspring ‘We want resettled Dayspring Island’

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id March 2013, over 2 , 0 0 0 Nigerians who have accepted their fate and changed their nationality in obedience to the ceding of the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroun were attacked and ejected, causing them to return to Nigeria as refugees.

The attack on Efut Obot Ikot village and other adjoining settlements, which left five people dead and 17 others missing and 1,900 displaced, according to Chief Etim Asuquo, came in the wake of a misunderstanding between the people and the Cameroonian authorities over fishing rights and tax payments.

While the Cameroonian authorities alleged that the Nigerians are defaulting in tax payments and are fishing beyond the lines allocated to them on the high seas, the Nigerians, who are mostly of Akwa Ibom State origin, said Cameroon was over taxing them and unilaterally imposed a demarcation line on which they, who are of Nigerian origin, should not fish beyond, an act, which, according to them, contravenes the Green Tree Agreement signed between Nigeria and Cameroon before the final handing over of the territory.

“The Green Tree Agreement, in Article Three, clearly states

that Nigerians wishing to remain in their native land, which was handed over to Cameroun, should be protected and allowed to practice their traditional occupation which is farming and fishing without molestation, but we are not allowed to fish beyond the point which the Cameroonian authorities have placed a stick in the sea as the demarcation point,’ Prince Aston Joseph, the Nigerian Liaison Officer to Cameroun, said.

He said that, regularly, the Cameroonian Gendarmes undermine the livelihood of the Nigerians by destroying or confiscating their fishing boats and nets on the high seas claiming they have over exploited the fish stock or have fished beyond the lines allocated to them. “Over thirty fishing boats belonging to our people have been confiscated or destroyed by the Cameroonian authorities on the pretext that they have fished beyond the demarcated point”.

The Liaison Officer said the Green Tree Accord did not specify any limits to which the Nigerians in Cameroon should confine themselves to fishing since the international maritime boundary between the two nations are yet to be officially demarcated . “You cannot find crayfish in the creeks but in the sea, so each time our people go out to the high seas to fish, they are accused of having gone

,

By EMMA UNA, Calabar

There were also alleged deaths with many arrested and taken to the provincial capital on the claim that they were militants

beyond the specified limits and attacked”.

This frosty relationship between the Cameroonian authorities and the Nigerians once again led to the attack on the village and ejection of the people. There were also alleged deaths with many arrested and taken to the provincial capital on the claim that they were militants.

Those who fled moved through the forest for several days to the Akwayefe river and were carried across to Akpabuyo where they were given temporary camp at St Mark Primary School, Eyo Edem, Akpabuyo by the Cross River State government.

Senator Florence Ita Giwa, who visited the refugee camp, which has witnessed three births on Tuesday, to donate relief materials, said the people were living under a deplorable condition and appealed for immediate assistance from organisations and kind-hearted individuals. “ I cannot believe what the Gendarmes did to our people.

Many of the women cannot find their husbands, many

,

children cannot find their mothers; we have counted 17 people who are still missing”, Ita Giwa said.

She said the international community had not been fair to the Bakassi people whom she said did not cause the situation they found themselves but their heeding to the call by the Nigerian government which obeyed the International Court of Justice ruling that they should remain in their ancestral land and signed “The Green Tree Agreement with Cameroon that the people can remain in their native land and engage in their traditional occupation which is farming and fishing but our Cameroonian brothers have not respected that Agreement and are daily attacking and killing our people and the international community is keeping quiet”.

The senator said what the people need to end the constant harassment and attack by their host country is to be resettled in the Day Spring Island which they have indentified and are willing to live and continue their

occupation there. “Our people do not want to go back to Cameroun but want to be resettled in the Day Spring Island and, in the next two weeks, something has to be done because, very soon this school where they are camped would resume and the people would not have where to stay “.

Ita Giwa said she had to respond immediately to bring relief materials to the refugees so that they would not fall prey to diseases as the situation in the camp was very deplorable. “As I talk to you now, there is now single drop of water for the people to drink and none for bathing, so I had to call on the Cross River State E m e r g e n c y Management Agency to bring some relief material like drugs, food items, blankets and mattresses for the people to use”.

She said the item donated are grossly inadequate to cater for the large numbers of displaced people particularly the children who are venerable todiseases like pneumonia and appealed for more drugs, food items and clothing materials to aid the people in this time of need while awaiting their resettlement at the DaySpring Island.

The senator revealed that President Goodluck Jonathan had shown some concern by setting up a Committee on the Plight of the Bakassi People which she is a member of, saying the committee had met several times and “formed subcommittees to collate reports from the people”, she added: “Very soon, we shall meet to fine-tune the reports and work out the demographics and logistics”.

The Chairman of Bakassi LGA, Dr Eyo Ekpo, said over 600 children had been exposed to diseases and infections and called on the international community to come to the aid of the people. “When we saw the thousands of people displaced, we were bothered most particularly with the over six hundred children who could fall sick considering the poor state of living in the camp”.

Ekpo said the council had to take immediate steps to forestall deaths and outbreak of disease by supplying relief materials to the displaced people.”There is very little our effort can achieve considering the enormity of the situation that is why we are appealing for more help”, he said. “We brought in drugs, food and mattresses but that is grossly inadequate; so we are appealing to the international community to assist considering the scale of need of these people”.

SUNDAY Vanguard, APRIL 7, 2013 — PAGE 69

70 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, APRIL 7, 2013

Nigerian juniors reveal a glimpse of the future

BY BEN EFE

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ELTA State was usu ally busy through last week. The epicenter was the Warri City Stadium where the maiden Africa Youth Athletics Championships ran its full course.

There weren’t any untoward developments for the

cynics to celebrate. But rather those who are genuinely concerned about athletics development in Africa and Nigeria in particular thumped their chests for a job well done. Though organisation was not anywhere near perfect, there is a note book full of misidentifies, but it was more like

“all is well that ends well”.

Twenty countries including Nigeria were in attendance with South Africa, an African athletics power house, being a noticeable absentee. But that did not take the shine of the championships as Nigeria dominated the sprints, Egypt the field, while Kenya and

Ethiopia canceled themselves out in the long distance races.

During the course of the championships, tongues wagged on the true ages of some of the athletes presented by virtually all the participating countries.

“Age-cheating is like doping. And I know in my mind that some of the athletes who participated in the championships are not under-17,” argued a Zimbabwean coach.

After all said and done, everyone agreed that a magnificent competition was held and Nigerian athletes took most of the shine. This is on the foot of questions asked

by Egypt as they won the girls 100m hurdles and the long jump, while Gambia won the boys 400m and relay medley. These are events dominated by Nigerian athletes over the years in Africa.

Divine Ejovwoko-Oghene

Oduduru and Deborah Adewale won a sprint double. In the boys 100m, Oduduru ran a heartwarming 10.78 seconds and in the 200m, he clocked 21.56secs, not too bad for a boy of 17. But it was clear that this boy needs a lot of training as he was obviously under great deal of strain as he raced to the finish line.

Adewale proved too strong for the girls who rubbed shoulders with her. She returned 11. 87 seconds in the 100m, while she finished 24.13 seconds in the 200m.

Compatriot Cecilia Francis was the only girl that ran 11 seconds in the girls race.

Another Nigerian athlete that stole the show was Ofonime Edidiong Odiong in the girls 400m with 54.46 seconds. Odiong, a product of the Cross River grassroots programme, impressed the Warri crowd with her running methods unlike the others who dem-

onstrated that they still needed quality coaching.

However, much as reassuring these times returned by the Nigerian athletes at the Championships are, these youngsters still have a long way to go. Their performances when compared to others from top athletics countries suggests these kids need a whole lot of coaching and nurturing.

For instance the world fastest time in the youth category is 10.19 seconds.

While the girls fastest time is 11.13 seconds.

“Of course we haven’t finished with these athletes yet.

We are going to camp them and give them quality coaching while at the same time they will be going to school.

These athletes and others that we will select will be camped over a long period.

They are the future of our sport,” said Athletics Federation of Nigeria vice president, Jide Josiah.

Okey Isima begins final journey home April 27 •US based ex-Eagles plan big for burial

BY OJIEVA EHIOSUN

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LL is now set for the final burial of the late Super Eagles star Okey Isima, who died early last month after a brief illness. until his demise, okey Isima was a member of the victorious Super Eagles that won the prestigious African cup of Nations in 1980, first time in the history of Nigeria football.

In order to give Late Isima a befitting burial, former Super Eagles midfielder, Arthur Ebunam, now Special Adviser on sports to Governor Peter Obi of Anambra state, dis-

closed that ex-Eagles players based in the United States are making serious plans to pay their last respect to their team mate, friend and colleague, adding that some of them will be at home for the burial.

According to him: “It is very painful that Nigeria is losing yet another exfootballer, Okey Isima, a man that has done this country proud both on the local and International scene. Okey is somebody I know very well, we started life together as players, played for different clubs in Nigeria including the senior national team the the Green Eagles ever

•Late Okey Isima before traveling to the States. Right there in the US, we never left each other, until he decided to return home. So when the news of his death came to me, I could not believe my ears. I was in shock for days. He is somebody that cannot be forgotten so

soon by friends, brothers and colleagues.

But as people would say, life goes on brother. And the world is a. stage, once you complete your own circle, you give way to others. I think Okey has lived a fulfilled life and the entire country will keep remembering him for his contributions to the development of football in Nigeria and Africa.” he said soberly The former US –based sports consultant said the family of the late player has fixed April 27, 2013 for his burial at his country home in Nsugbe, Anambra state.

“As a friend , I can reliably tell you that the family of Isima, has decided on April 27 as the date for the burial. His younger brother told me this in confidence before he left for his base in South Africa. He said they decided to pick April 27 so that they can have enough time to prepare for it, adding that the family, friends and well wishers made up their minds to give the former football star a good burial as the last respect they can give to their fiend and colleague. He said that they have also written the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) notifying them of the burial date

SUNDAY VANGUARD, APRIL 7, 2013 — 71 and plan”, the Special Adviser said.

Mr. Ebunam, who is also the spokesman of the USA based Ex- Internationals, said the American-based Ex- Eagles stars are making serious arrangement to support the family financially, stressing that the team is led by Ike Ofoje.

“Some of our colleagues based in the States are

making serious plans for the event,, they are fully ready to give the family financial support, and it is most likely that a delegation led by Ike Ofoje, will be around for the ceremony. Anambra state Sports ministry will also send a delegation, and the Eastern – based All Stars led by our Chairman, Christian Chukwu will also play a major role.”

Moses eyes Europa Cup win with Chelsea

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UPER Eagles attack er, Victor Moses said his club Chelsea have all it takes to win the Europa Cup after they beat Rubin Kazan of Russia 3-1 on Thursday in the Europa Cup quarter-final.

Moses scored the second goal of the match after controlling a pass with his chest and then fired into the top corner of the net. He said it was a reassuring victory and Chelsea looks good to go all the way.

“We’ve got quality players and hopefully we’ll be good enough to win the competition.”

Speaking on his goal, Moses said he was delighted with the effort.

•Moses “It was a nice goal,” he added. “I showed quick feet to strike the ball into the back of the net and I was delighted with it.

“It wasn’t an easy game but I think 3-1 was a fair result and now we can look forward to the second leg.”

SUNDAY Vanguard, APRIL 7, 2013

Onyali: I didn’t supply fake kits

F

ORMER Nigeria international, Mary Onyali Omagbemi has denied allegations that she supplied fake kits to the Nigerian team at the last African Youth Athletics Championships in Warri, Delta

State.

During the championships, it emerged that the kits supplied

by Onyali-Omagbemi were unused by the team. But she argued: “I don’t buy my stuff from Aba or Onitsha markets. We get

our fabrics straight from China.

The manager of my company flew from California to China to get the stuff,” stressed the former Team Nigeria captain.

President of the AFN, Solomon Ogba also insisted that he was quoted out of context by the reporters who filed the reports on the kits.

AFN Polls: Ngerem endorses Ogba for 2nd term... but

BY BEN EFE

F

ORMER Athletics Federation of Nigeria president, Dan Ngerem has backed incumbent Solomon Ogba for another term in office.

Ngerem who was at the helms of the AFN between 2001 and 2004 submitted that Ogba remains the best option for Nigerian athletics, but he listed some demands from the former Delta State commissioner for sports.

“Ogba has passion for the sport and he has demonstrated this in several ways. But I would like him to go further than he has done. He needs to take the sport to the next level and etch his name in history.

To achieve this, he must surround himself with people who have brilliant ideas. He should also be active at the CAA and the IAAF, because there so many things Nigeria can benefit, if he is regularly in touch with those at the helm of affairs.

“Look at the timer they bought for the African Youth Championships, that was something the IAAF could have generously donated,” Ngerem stated.

Ogba has not made any public statement concerning his intention to run for another term as AFN president. However, he has been ‘oiling his guns’ to rerun for the position. He is the only visible candidate so far as nothing has been heard from Fidelis Gadzama, a former 400m runner, who declared his

interest for the position.

Feelers from the Nigeria athletics circles indicated that Ogba is favourite to retain his position in the sporting federations elections slatted for later this month. This is even as critics like Moses Oyiki foresees a bleak future with Ogba at the helms.

“If not for Ogba, athletics would have died just like other lesser sports in Nigeria. He has spent his personal funds to keep the sport going. We need to have him for another term,” said Jide Josiah, a member of the AFN.

GERMAN CHAMPIONS....Bayern Munich's Nigerian-born midfielder David Alaba (R) celebrates with his teammate French midfielder Franck Ribery after they won the German League yesterday. Photo: AFP

CAF Champions League: Rangers put Vitalo on firing range R

ANGERS International Football Club are aiming to shoot down visiting Vitalo FC of Burundi in today’s champions league second leg second round tie at the Nnamdi Azikiwe stadium, Enugu and maintain its unbeaten run in the competition so far.

Rangers pulled a goalless draw in the first leg in Bujumbura and according to Foster Chime, Rangers are dreaming of a big win.

“The players are fired up for the crucial match. With the return of the club’s players in the Super Eagles and Flying Eagles we do have a complete squad to do damage,” Chime

said in a release.

The squad, including the likes of Chigozie Agbim, Sunday Mba, Alhaji Gero, Chibuzor Okonkwo, Michael Egbeta, Rasaq Adegbite, Uche Oguchi, Samusi Sani and Pape Sani. A win for Rangers will qualify

and assistance including adequate financial incentive and motivation to win the game.

Chairman of Rangers board, Festus Onu has also promised the sum of N250, 000 to the players. If they beat their opponent on Sunday.

Bayern wrap it up in Germany B

AYERN Munich clinched the Bundesliga title with a record six games to spare, winning 1-0 at Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday as Bastian Schweinsteiger scored in the

CROSS WORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1. Nigerian state (5) 3. Snarled (7) 7. Of the dark race (5) 8. Respond (5) 9. Consumed (5) 10. Wit (3) 11. Church part (5) 13. Entrance (4) 15. Stitch (3) 17. Deed (4) 19. Hope (6) 21. However (3) 23. Thanks (2) 25. Curve (3) 26. Class (5) 29. Important (5) 30. Before (3) 31. Revise (4) 34. Mate (4) 36. Italian City (4) 39. Push back (5) 40. Heed (4) 42. End of day (5) 43. Exposed (8) 44. Halt (5)

them for the group stage of the competition.

Enugu State government, through the senior special assistant to the governor on Rangers Matters, Victor Atuonwn assured the players and officials of government support

DOWN 1. Rubbish (7) 2. Go in (5) 3. Proceeding (5) 4. Eye-socket (5) 5. Fortune (4) 6. Faculty head (4) 14. Newt (3) 15. Heavenly body (4) 16. Damp (3) 18. Keen (4) 20. Treaty (4) 22. Goad (4) 24. Always (4) 25. Beer (3) 27. Grow old (3) 28. Stray (3) 32. Lucifer (5) 33. Fashion (5) 34. Schemes (5) 37. Leer (4) 38. Otherwise (4) 41. Pup’s cry (3)

52nd minute.

Bayern Munich (24-1-3), the first team to clinch this season in a major European league, maintained a 20-point lead over second-place Borussia Dortmund (16-5-7), which rallied from a two-goal deficit to beat visiting Augsburg 4-2. Dortmund had won the previous two league titles. ‘’It was a long road and I think it was totally deserved,’’ Lahm said. ‘’If you look at the statis-

tics for the season, you can see we were clearly the best side.’’

Schweinsteiger scored with a back-heel to deflect Phillip Lahm’s cross past goalkeeper Oka Nikolov, and Bayern extended its league winning streak to 11 games.

Bayern has won a record 23 German league titles; no other club has more than 10. It is has 75 points, six shy of the Bundesligfa record set by Dortmund last season.

Results Sociedad Madrid Reading Norwich Stoke C. West Brom

4 5 0 2 1 1

Malaga Levante Southampton Swansea Aston Villa Arsenal

2 1 2 2 3 2

Today’s matches

SOLUTION on page 15

Liverpool Tottenham Chelsea Newcastle QPR

v v v v v

West Ham Everton Sunderland Fulham Wigan

2.30pm 3.05pm 4.00pm 4.00pm 5.10pm

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