Buhari will step on big toes soon

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2—SATURDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015

SATURDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015—3

4—SATURDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015

SATURDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015 — 5

Anti-corruption war: Buhari will step on big toes soon —Presidency •We’ll publish names of looters soon – Buhari.

•No Friend, no foe, corrupt acts must be punished aside. As the popular saying

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By Levinus Nwabughiogu

RESIDENT Mohammadu Buhari said yesterday that his governmentwillsoonpublish names of those who have returned portions of their loot from public coffers.

This was as one of his spokesmen, Garba Shehu, said in Kaduna that the Presidency would step on toes in their anti-corruption fight. Shehu said that the Presidency would do so for the interest of Nigeria.

President Buhari, according to The Cable News, said that the Central Bank of Nigeria will soon publicly name those who looted Nigeria and who have returned part of they wrongly appropriated. . He said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was holding on from publishing the list in order to avoid jeopardising investigations and further recoveries. He was speaking at the 15th session of the Anyiam-OsigweFoundation lecture at the International Conference Centre, in Abuja yesterday. In his lecture, Buhari said during electioneering, the issue that gained “higher currency” in the psyche of the people was that Nigerians needed leadership that could be relied upon to tackle the orgy of corruption in the country.

“We have taken steps towards recovering a reasonable amount of the money that was looted or misappropriated from public coffers. Investigations are ongoing on public officers who served, or are still serving, and those whose conductarequestionablewill be compelled to accept the pathofhonourandsurrender their loot,” he said. “As I stated recently, a good number of people who abused their positions are voluntarilyreturningtheillicit funds. I have heard it said that we should disclose the names of the people, and the amount returned. Yes, in due course, the Central Bank of Nigeria will make information available to the public on the surrendered funds, but I must remark that it is yet early days, and any disclosure now may jeopardize the possibility of bigger recoveries. “But we owe Nigerians adequate information,anditshallcome in due course. It is part of the collective effort to change our land from the bastion of corruption it currently is, to a place of probity and transparency.

“Quite frankly, the anticorruption war is not strictly

about me as a person, it is about building a country where our children, and the forthcoming generations, can live in peace and prosperity.

When you see dilapidated infrastructure round the country, it is often the consequence of corruption.

“Poor heal-thcare, collapsed educa-tion, lack of public utilities, decayed social services, are all products of corruption, as those entrusted with public resources put them in their private pockets.

That must stop, if we want a new Nigeria. And that was why I said at another forum that people need not fear me, but they must fear the consequences of their actions.

“Corrupt acts will always be punished, and there will be nofriend,nofoe.Wewillstrive to do what is fair and just at all times, but people who refuse to embrace probity should have every cause to fear.”

In Kaduna, the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, reiterated the Presidency’s commitment to anti-corruptionwar,speaking in a manner that indicated that the government may still go after top Nigerians who have breached public trust.

“The President may step on big toes,” he said of groups and individuals who have swindled the country in the recent years.

This was as the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai stated that the success of president Buhari’s administration depended on the media input.

Shehu made the disclosure in his welcome remarks at a three day retreat of the State House Correspondents in Kaduna on Saturday.

Shehu who was the Chief Convener of the event themed “Journalism and Change Mantra: State House in Focus”, stated that the government needed the media support to succeed in the fight against corruption.

He recalled that the present government was a product of media’s determination to entrench a corruption-free society, stating that president Buhari would not fail Nigerians.

According to him, the president would not halt the ongoing investigations and would not come to the rescue of anyone who is found culpable in the anticorruption war.

He said: “President Buhari has embarked on an anticorruption campaign that is bound to offend many. Big toes will be stepped on, personal interests will be cast

goes, when you fight corruption, corruption fights back.

“Yes, anti-corruption is a war. And the press can help President Mohammadu Buhari to win that war. You are of the government most lethal weapons in this battle against the forces that aim to pull down Nigeria.

“The power of the media lies in their ability to expose wrong-doings. This power of exposure is a far more effective deterrent in many countries including our own, than the court systems that deliver judgement and not necessarily justice.

“If they know that they will be exposed, many crimes will not happen and herein lies the challenge of the media under Buhari administration.

Use your power to expose wrong-doings, the days of impunity are gone. This is the best way to help the change that the government is advocating especially now that we have a government with the will and capacity to right all wrongs.”

Expressing appreciation to the media, Shehu also appealed to the media to key into the change agenda of the present government.

“As always, the government

National President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayodele Joseph Oritsejafor (left) in warm handshake with Mr. Sam Eyoboka,Vanguard Religion Editor, during his mother’s burial ceremony at St. John’s Anglican Church, Agbarho, Ughelli North Local Government Area, Delta State. Photo: Akpokona Omafuiare. of President Mohammadu Buhari is grateful to the Nigerian media for the role you played in igniting the change agenda which has swept into Nigeria in March 2015. The press contributed immensely to the success of APC to the historic election of President Buhari. That was only the beginning of the change agenda. The change is still ongoing.

“This government still requires the assistance of the media to continue that process of change. President Buhari has embarked on the building of a new Nigeria and we need you, the Press, to keep the public informed of its many activities and policies that are geared

towards improving the lives of Nigerian people according to the change agenda.

“The government needs the press to remain impartial and eschew spurious incentives when reporting and carrying our your responsibilities, the government needs you to avoid partnerships with enemies of progress who are bent on bringing down the government not minding if the entire country collapses while they are at it”, he said.

Also making his remarks, Governor el-Rufai who was the chief host of the retreat squarely put the success of the government on the media.

“The responsibility that has been thrust in the hands of

the new government is immense. The APC inherited a country at the tip of failure.

As is becoming clearer by the day, some of the things that went on under the previous government are stranger than fiction.

“The consequences of the incompetence, the thievery and the divisive ethos that reigned are only becoming clear. Nigerians are only beginning to realise that the Jonathan government, despite years of $100 oil, was borrowing to pay salaries.

The PDP simply ran this economy aground. Our party and ourpresident will do their levelbesttopickupthepieces, restore economic vitality and make life better for Nigerians.

Why I received N670m from Dasuki, by Nduka Obaigbena, ThisDay Publisher •Says amount was to mitigate bombing effect on his Abuja, Kaduna offices •To compensate newspapers as out of court settlement for repeated confiscation of newspapers by military men

By Soni Daniel, Northern Region Editor

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HAIRMAN and Publisher of Thisday Newspapers, Chief Nduka Obaigbena, has responded to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) which invited him to account for the N670 million traced to him as part of the $2.1 billion arms budget for which the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki, is standing trial.

In response to a letter of invitation from the EFCC, Obaigbena made it clear that the amount he received from theOfficeofNationalSecurity Adviser, ONSA was duly approved for him by former PresidentGoodluckJonathan to compensate him for the dastardly bombing of his offices in Abuja and Kaduna

by Boko Haram insurgents.

The publisher said the approval by Jonathan for the payment of the sum of N550 milliontohimwasinresponse to the letters of appeal he personally wrote to him

pleading for assistance followingthedestructionofhis buildings and printing facilities by the insurgents.

Obaigbena said such compassionate approval by the former president and subsequent payment by the ONSA could not amount to receiving suspicious funds from the office of the NSA. TheChiefExecutiveOfficer of Thisday said: “We have neverreceivedanysuspicious funds from the Office of the National Security Adviser. All fundsreceivedfromtheOffice of the National Security Adviser were payments for compensation to mitigate the dastardly Boko Haram Haram twin bombings of the Thisday Newspapers offices in Abuja and Kaduna on Thursday April 26, 2012, during which four innocent Nigerian lives were lost.

“During that attack, our buildingsweredestroyedand we lost full colour Goss printingtowersandthreeprepressComputer-To-Plateand anxiliaryequipmentandother invaluable property valued at over N2.5 billion.

“This was aside the daily coststopaythirdpartyprinters of over N1 billion having lost ourprintingfacilitytoterrorists due to inadequate protection by the Federal Government of Nigeria.

“The bombing of Thisday offices followed the Abuja United Nations Building bombing for which the Federal Government has so far spent N3 Billion for reconstructionandmuchmore earmarkedforfurnishing,”the publisher said.

Nduka also affirmed the receipt of another N120 million from the NSA’s office, which he said was meant for thepaymentofcompensation to 12 newspaper houses whose products were confiscated by soldiers in Abuja and many other parts ofthecountryfornojustcause.

That amount of money was drawn down from the ONSA in March 2015 following the appeal made to Jonathan by the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), where he serves as the President.

“As President of the NPAN,

it was my duty to lead media leaders to hold discussions with President Goodluck Jonathantoavertaclassaction lawsuit against the Armed Forces and the Federal Government of Nigeria.

“On both occasions, PresidentJonathansaidhedid notwishtolayprecedenceand inourcase,hespecificallysaid there were many victims of BokoHaram.Ihadtoconfront President Jonathan on the issue when I learnt of approvals for the reconstruction of the Abuja United Nations Building, since we were the second major organisation to be attacked by Boko Haram after the UN attack.

“Jonathanthereforedirected me to meet the National Security Adviser who processedthe three payments in question.”

He attached the exchange of correspondences between him and former President Jonathan and his approvals to theNSAforpaymentandsaid he was ready to meet the EFCCforclarificationoncehe returned to Nigeria.

6 — SATURDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015

Synagogue building collapse: Judge orders substituted service on contractors

By Abdulwahab Abdulah & Jane Echewodo

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USTICE Lateef LawalAkapo of an Ikeja High Court yesterday ordered that the contractors who supervised the collapsed guest house within the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) should be served the court processes through substituted means.

Particularly, Justice LawalAkapo ordered that substituted service of the court processes be effected on the contractors by pasting it on the front doors of their addresses which include, 34, Akindele Street, off Kollinton Bus stop, Alagbado, Lagos State, and 42, Toyin Street, Ikeja, Lagos State.

Oladele Ogundeji and Akinbela Fatiregun, the contractors in charge of the collapsed building have been charged alongside the Registered Trustees of SCOAN, Hardrock Construction Company, and Jadny Trust Ltd, have been indicted by a coroner court over the collapsed structure, which made the state to file a criminal charge against them.

In his short ruling, the court also maintained that evidence of the

photographs showing the sheriff of court pasting same on the buildings should be tendered before the court.

Before Justice LawalAkapo’s order, lawyer to the state government, Idowu Alakija had informed the court of the existence of a motion ex parte dated December 11, 2015 and filed on the same date.

Alakija told the court that, “We have been able to serve

the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd defendants and there is proof of service to that effect.

“But we have been unable to effect service of court processes on the 4th and 5th defendants. There is a motion ex-parte and we pray your Lordship to allow us move same.

“It is seeking an order to serve the information on the 4th and 5th defendants by substituted means by pasting on their addresses.

Anxiety grips Adamawa over possible return of ex-Gov Nyako

By Umar Yusuf

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DAMAWA State has been thrown into serious confusion as speculations of the possibility of Ex Governor Murtala Nyako’s return to power gathers momentum.

Nyako has in the wake of his impeachment by the Ahmadu Umaru’s led House of Assembly filed a suit to reclaim his mandate claiming that he was wrongly impeached as the process was unconstitutional.

We gathers that having been dissatisfied with the conduct of the incumbent

governor of the state Muhammadu Umaru Jibrilla in the last 7 months of his stewardship, some Adamawa politicians based in Abuja were lending Nyako unassailable support to reclaim back his mandate.

Sources close to the Abuja politicians from the State noted that they were disappointed with Governor Jibrilla’s government and political will to turn the state around.

Lagos community in darkness for 15 years, seeks Ambode’s help

By Oghene Omonisa

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FESOWAPO Community in Ikorodu, Lagos State has cried out to the State Government over the continued non-availability of electric power in the community in the past 15 years. Speaking to Saturday Vanguard during the week, Chairman of Ifesowapo Community Development Association (CDA), Mr. Oluwayinka Satide, lamented the hardship the residents of the community had been facing.

“Our community has suffered untold hardship due to lack of power supply,” Satide said, adding “cost of living has soard because of this.

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RE , Ojoto, in Idemili South LGA of Anambra State played host to eminent personalities as well as friends and well wishers from far and near yesterday when the burial ceremonies

faulted President Muhammadu Buhari’s allocation of N39.4 billion for oil exploration in the Northern part of Nigeria.

Reacting to the pronouncement of the allocation as enshrined in the 2016 budget, Onuesoke, while speaking to newsmen in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State said it was amazing that when the West and other

parts of the world were embarking on renewable energy exploration, Nigeria was allocating funds for oil exploration in arid Northern part of the country.

“I wonder if Nigeria is thinking ahead or backward. I am saying this because when countries like America are selling their reserve and diversifying into other sources of energy generation, it is now Nigeria is exploring for more oil in the North.

availability of electricity is a problem to us because we are totally disconnected from information through media since we cannot view television and other media.

No power for artisans and small-scale businesses in our community, thereby making it difficult for our people to improve their standard of living. Poverty is the order of the day.”

FG must check proliferation of varsities – Crawford VC

By Daud Olatunji, Abeokuta

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HE Vice Chancellor of the Crawford University, Igbesa, Ogun State, Prof. Rotimi Ajayi

Anakwenze, nee Okigbo laid to rest

PDP chieftain faults Buhari’s allocation of N39.4b for oil exploration in the North EOPLES Democratic P Party (PDP) chieftain, Chief Sunny Onuesoke has

Mr. Satide recalled that due to regular use of generators, a resident, Jimoh, his wife and three children were killed on September 13, 2014, by fumes from a new generator.

Continuing, he said that “the incessant reports of crimes, that need not to be, are successfully carried out under darkness. Non-

of Chief (Mrs) Sussie Nwakaego Anakwenze (nee Okigbo) began with a service of songs. Chief (Mrs) Anakwenze, Onodugo adiro Egbe nma who passed on on November 27, 2015 was born on April 16, 1929.

She is survived by siblings, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and inlaws, amongst others.

Burial rites continue today.

ha s u r g e d the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu to check the proliferation of universities in the country.

Prof. Ajayi said this during a press conference to herald the 7th Convocation and 10th Anniversary of the establishment of the institution scheduled for December 16, 2015.

He also called for the extension of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) to private universities across the country.

Anniversary

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HRIST Apostolic Church, Power of Christ (POWEC), Lagos will hold its 14th anniversary on Sunday, December 13, 2015, starting by 9.00 am. The event which is slated to hold at •Chief (Mrs) Sussie 55, Memudu Street, OrileNwakaego Anakwenze Iganmu, Lagos will start by 9.00 am. (nee Okigbo)

SATURDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015 — 7

B-R-I-E-F-S Bayelsa Poll: Dickson confident of victory, says Southern Ijaw PDP stronghold

You have no right to cancel elections, Sylva tells INEC •Demands release of results B

BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN, Political Editor

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HE All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the December 5 Bayelsa State Gubernatorial Election, Chief Timipre Sylva, has petitioned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) demanding that all results from the recent election be summed up and the winner declared.

Taking a position against the cancellation of the election in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, Sylva in the petition also copied to the Minister of Justice, Mallam Abubakar Malami (SAN), Sylva affirmed that the commission lacked the power to cancel elections already concluded or ongoing.

Sylva’s assertion was upon the declaration by INEC last Monday that it cancelled the election in Southern Ijaw upon claims of violence and other irregularities that allegedly marred the conduct of the election in that local government area.

Saying that the Prof.

Mahmood Yakubu led commission could be setting up a wrong precedence, he said: “It is important to note that under the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and the

Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), there is no power either, express or implied that is vested on the Resident ElectoralCommissioner,your commission or any staff whatsoever to cancel election that has commenced or concluded, in any manner as was done in Bayelsa State.

The Commission’s power, in the above is limited only to

the postponement of election that has not commenced.”

“The elections were concluded on Sunday 6th December without any reported violence from the polling units or wards either

by INEC officials on the field at the units or ward level.

“That the different results from the LGAs were being collated at the state collation

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AYELSA State Governor, Seriake Dickson has expressed confidence that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP would win overwhelmingly in Southern Ijaw local government area anytime the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC fixes the date to conduct the re-scheduled election. He also defended the position of the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) on the cancellation of the rescheduled governorship election in the area, arguing that the Resident Electoral Commissioner acted in accordance with the Electoral Act 2011 as amended.

Dickson who stated this at a PDP Stakeholders meeting in Yenagoa, described the area as the stronghold of the party being the home of the Governor General of the Ijaw Nation, late Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.

“Besides, the PDP boasts of other staunch foundational members of the party which include the Speaker of the State Assembly, Rt. Hon. Konbowei Benson, Chief of Staff Government House, Rt. Hon. Talford Ongolo and Chief Patrick Osunu in addition to the fact that the area witnessed the least defection in the build up to the December 5th Governorship election,” he said.

I’ll not let the police down—Bello

BY KINGSLEY OMONOBI, Abuja

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L-R:Lagos State Commissioner for Information & Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde; Commissioner for Tourism, Arts & Culture, Mr. Folarin Coker; Special Adviser, Arts Culture, Mrs. Adebimpe Akinsola and Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Habib Aruna, during a media briefing on the 1st edition of One Lagos Fiesta to celebrate the crossover night in the State, at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, the Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja Lagos, recently.

Appeal Court affirms Akpabio’s election

BY IKECHUKWU NNOCHIRI

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HE Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, yesterday,

affirmed that the former governor of Akwa Ibom state, Godswill Akpabio, was validly elected to represent Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District in the State.

Umahi floors Edon at Appeal court HE Appeal Court sitting in Enugu yesterday dismissed the appeal by the governorship candidate of the Labor Party in Ebonyi State, Mr. Edward Nkwegu, for lack of merit.

It consequently upheld the verdict of the governorship tribunal in Ebonyi State which affirmed the victory of Engr. David Umahi of the Peoples Democratic Party in the April 22 election in the state.

Delivering the judgement on behalf of other four Judges, Justice JOK Oyewole, explained that the five relieves sought by the applicant lacked merit.

The governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Abakaliki had in October dismissed the petition by Nkwegu challenging the declaration of Engr. Umahi by INEC as the winner of the election for lacking in merit.

It also noted the inability of the petitioner to prove allegations of corrupt practices and criminalities as contained in his petition.

Dissatisfied with the judgement of the tribunal, the LP candidate proceeded

centre in Yenagoa from Sunday 6th to 7th December as the results were brought in by the different LGAs, and the Returning officer never reported any violence either during the election or while collation was ongoing as he had told everyone that the results of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area are still being awaited.

BY SAMUEL OYADONGHA, Yenagoa

to the Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu.

In the appeal filed by his counsel, Chief U.N Udechukwu(SAN),Nkwegu prayed the appeal court to set aside the judgement of the tribunal which he described

as a grave error of law.

He urged the court to annul the election of Engr. Umahi and order a fresh poll since, according to him, the governorship election was marred by widespread irregularities.

No warning alert on impending Boko Haram attack — US govt

BY LEVINUS NWABUGHIOGU

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HE United States, US, government has stated emphatically that it didn’t issue any public alert to its citizens resident within the precinct of Federal Capital Territory, FCT, and beyond announcing an imminent attack of Boko Haram.

The government made the refutation against the background of a text message making the round on “Whatsapp” and other social media platforms that there were such warnings to the public.

Recalling the message, the US Counsellor for Public Affairs in the American

embassy, Victoria Sloan, who was a resource person at the opening ceremony of a 3-day retreat organized by the Kaduna State government in Kaduna denied that US high mission in Nigeria issued such warning.

Sloan who solicited the assistance of the media to correct the negative impression said that was there such a development, the embassy would have placed it on its official website as its custom was.

“The ambassador did not send the message, the mission or the US government did not send the message. When we observe something, we check and put on the consular internet.

In their judgment this afternoon, a three-man panel of Justices of the appellate court led by Justice Mashood Oredola, dismissed appeal that was lodged against Akpabio by candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, for the Senatorial District, Chief Inibehe Okori.

The appellate court held that the Akwa Ibom State National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal acted properly when it dismissed the joint petition that Okori and APC filed before it on April 18.

According to the court, the appellants failed to by preponderance of evidence, prove that Akpabio was not duly nominated by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to contest the March 28 election.

According to the appellate court, the fact that Akpabio was in an initial list that was sent to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, by the PDP, erroneously identified as the Senatorial candidate for Akwa Ibom North East, did not invalidate his election.

It held that Akpabio was duly nominated for the election in accordance with the provisions of section 65(2) of the 1999 constitution, as amended, and section138(1) of the Electoral Act.

S part of efforts to involve Nigerian Youths in the fight against criminality especially drugs, cultism andkidnapping,theNigeriaPoliceleadershiprecentlyunveiled Nigerian music crooner and ‘I don get alert’ star, Korede Bello as the “First Nigerian Police Youth Ambassador.

While unveiling the ambassador, Arase explained that the role of Korede Bello will include propagating and enlightening other youths particularly students on the need to collaborate with the Nigeria Police force and other security agencies in advancing the fight against crime across the country.

“Though it is a new role; we believe he will wholeheartedly do it to the best of his ability. Korede Bello has no doubt exhibited a potent behaviour that has captured the hearts of Nigerians; He is humble, respectable and well disciplined.

Above all, we believe Korede Bello will be a positive representation of the Nigerian Youths and the Police Force” Arase said.

Explaining the motivation for the innovation, IGP Arase said “My vision of the Police is to see a force that is well loved by the citizens like they love Korede Bello. A police force that is civil but passionate about its mandate. A police force which like Korede, holds a promising future, one which the nation can truly be proud of as they are of Korede”.

Rivers poll: Court sacks 2 PDP Senators

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BY IKECHUKWU NNOCHIRI

HE Court of Appeal in Abuja has sacked Senators Olaka Nwogu ( Rivers South East) and Osinaka Ideozu ( Rivers West) both of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Their election was nullified on the strength of appeals that were lodged before the appellate court by candidates of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the March 28 National Assembly election in Rivers State, Senator Magnus Abe and Otelemaba Dan Amachree.

The appellate court panel headed by Justice Ibrahim Gummel said it was satisfied that election in the two Senatorial Districts were not conducted in substantial compliance with the Electoral Act. It therefore ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to within 60 days, conduct fresh elections in the affected Senatorial Districts.

Ambode lauds NYSC over skill acquisition programme Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State has commended the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) over what he described as its age-long commitment to the duty of empowering Nigerian youths to become useful to themselves and to the country at large.

Ambode, who spoke at the NYSC Orientation Camp, Iyana-Ipaja, Lagos, during the Swearing-in Ceremony of 2015 Batch ‘B’ Stream II corps members deployed to the state, expressed satisfaction that the NYSC had lived to the fulfilment of one of the objectives of its founding fathers, through the establishment of its Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) department, which has been replicated in all the scheme’s locations nationwide.

8 — SATURDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015

BRIEFS Eight APC supporters, one other die in auto crash

Arms deal probe: I acted in Nigeria’s interest — Okonjo-Iweala ...Releases memo sent to Presidency

By Michael Eboh and Emmanuel Elebeke HE immediate past Minister of Finance , Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, yesterday, reiterated her innocence in the ongoing probe on the multi-billion dollar arms deal, stating that in all her dealings, she strived to protect the interest of the country.

Okonjo-Iweala, in a statement by her spokesperson, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu,alsoallegedthat unscrupulousandcomprised individuals have distorted the contents of her memo to former president Goodluck Jonathan, seeking the transfer of $300 million and £5.5 million to the Office of theNationalSecurityAdviser, to portray her in bad light.

The statement reads: “ For the past week, Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole and other compromised persons and media have embarked on a campaign of falsehood against Dr Okonjo-Iweala.

They have distorted the contents of the January 20 memo in which she responded to a request by the former National Security Adviser and quoted selectivelyfromthedocument to make their false allegations of ‘illegal diversion’ of funds.

“For your information and a fuller understanding of the issues, please see the attached January 20 memo

by Dr Okonjo-Iweala as published by some online sites. It confirms that Dr Okonjo-Iweala is a transparent person of integrity and patriotic professional who worked hard to protect the interest of the country and that her accusers are purveyors of falsehood on a political missiontotarnishaninnocent patriot.”

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• Former PDP Guber candidate in Anambra State, Tony Nwoye being received into APC by the party's National Chairman, Chief Odigie Oyegun recently.

Household celebrates GRACE at 25 …Honours Adadevoh with KARIS Award

By Ishola Balogun

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HE annual GRACE Programme of the Household of God Church, Oregun, Ikeja. Lagos, will hold tomorrow, December 13, 2015 at the church’s fivestar auditorium, from 5pm.

GRACE is a charity-based programme conceived by Rev Chris Okotie in 1990, with the vision to give back to society by reaching out to the less privileged who are made to normally benefit from the compassion of Jesus Christ as expressed by the church’s outreach.

During the event, four major charities in Lagos have traditionally been given cash donations of one million naira each. The usual beneficiaries are Sunshine Foundation, Strong Tower Mission, Pacelli School for the Blind and Partially Sighted and Spinal Cord Injuries Association of Nigeria. The first ever GRACE programme was held at the In-door Sports

Boko Haram: We’ll not criticize Buhari if he fails to meet deadline — PDP

By Henry Umoru

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ATIONAL leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP said yesterday that it would support President Muhammadu Buhari if he fails to achieve the set deadline to end insurgency in the North East which has remained a major security challenge confrontingthe country,rather than criticize the All Progressives Congress, APC led government.

SpeakingyesterdayinAbuja when he received a youth group under the aegis of Northern Youth Network at the party national secretariat,

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh said: “APC had promised that they were going to end insurgencyintwoweeks,they later said it will be over in two months and after that they now gave December 31 deadline to end Boko Haram.

“Now, in spite of the language it is couched in shifting the goal posts, and despite all the infractions and all kinds of destructive criticisms APC rained on us whentheywereinopposition, the PDP as a national party will refrain from making comments on issues on the inadequaciespertainingtothe war against insurgency in the country.

Hall, National Stadium in Surulere in 1990; and today it has become an internationally acclaimed event which attracts the movers and shakers of society from the entertainment, fashion industry, corporate sectors etc. For 25 years, the church has championed the cause of the underprivileged that look forward to the love feast every year with great expectations. In 1996, the KARIS award was launched

and it became subsumed in the GRACE programme.

It is an award given to unsung Nigerian heroes/ heroines who, due to some errors of omission were not duly appreciated by the government in their generation. Dr. Stella Adadevoh, the medical doctor who died during the Ebola treatment of the index case, the late Liberian diplomat, Patrick Sawyer is the 2015 KARIS awardee.

Tension in Onitsha as traders spoil for war over leadership tussle

By Chimaobi Nwaiwu, Nnewi.

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E N S I O N heightened in Onitsha yesterday as traders of Abada Market in the commercial town vowed not to pay any levy to the government until they are allowed to conduct elections for a new leadership.

The traders have been having a running battle with their leadership over the delay in conducting election just as they threatened that they will never pay any levy to the government until they were allowed to conduct their election.

However, in a swift reaction, the Amalgamated Traders Association of Anambra State, AMATAS, yesterday warned the traders against any protest in the state over their decision not to pay any levy to the state government.

President General of AMATAS, Chief Okwudili Ezenwankwo, gave the warning at the Abada

International Market Onitsha, just as he told them to avoid any act capable of dragging the image of the state government to the mud, like protests and touting.

The crisis has attracted the attention of the leadership of AMATAS to the market several times and for the third time in less than one month, the leadership of AMATAS has visited the market to broker peace and to assure the traders that their election will hold.

Ezenwankwo yesterday visited the market again with Director of Markets in the state, Mr. Michael Ozuagu, to announce to the traders that the long awaited election to produce their executives would be held on January 22, next year.

The traders appealed to Governor Willie Obiano to intervene in the multiple levys being imposed on them in the market by the incumbent executive, adding that they elected him as Governor to rescue them when being made uncomfortable.

By Francis Igata and Peter Okutu N auto crash, yesterday, claimed nine persons along Abakiliki-Enugu expressway.

Eight of the victims were said to be supporters of the All Progressives Congress, APC,and Labour Party, LP, in Ebonyi State.They were crushed to death at Ezzamgbo junction in Ohaukwu Local Government area of Ebonyi state.

The accident involved a Toyota Sienna and a tipper lorry with registration number HKW 436 XA. The victims were said to be heading to Enugu state to witness the Ebonyi governorship and National Assembly ruling at the Appeal Court, Enugu, while the conductor of the tipper also died on the spot.

It was gathered that the APC branded Toyota Sienna vehicle is owned by APC House of Representatives candidate in the last general election, Uche Nshii but there were conflicting reports that his friends in LP were also in the vehicle.

The sector commander of the Federal Road Safety Corp, FRSC, in Ebonyi, Mr Charles Abuochi in an interview confirmed the incident but maintained that details concerning the auto crash were still scanty.

“There is an accident that happened along the Ezzangbo, Abakaliki-Enugu federal highway.

“Our men are still at the scene of the crash to ensure free flow of traffic but preliminary report confirmed that nine persons died on the spot while one person sustained grave injuries and had been rushed to the Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki.

“Corpses of deceased victims have been deposited at the mortuary,”Abuochi said.

According to him, the accident victims were party supporters traveling to Enugu to observe the Appeal Court ruling on Ebonyi governorship election petition sitting in Enugu.

He said the driver of the Sienna was traveling on a high speed when he lost control and crashed into the vehicles coming from the opposite direction.

A

Biafra: Embrace dialogue, SSANIP tells FG, protesters

By Daud Olatunji, Abeokuta

T

HE Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Polytechnics, SSANIP, has urged agitators of the Republic of Biafra and the Federal Government to dialogue for the peaceful resolution of the issue at hand.

SSANIP which gave this charge at the end of its 47th NEC/GEC meeting noted that amiable settlement of the agitators grievances was essential for a more united, prosperous and stronger Nigeria. It also appreciated the efforts of the federal government in the fight against insurgency, kidnapping and other social vices noting that the efforts are yielding positive results.

SATURDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015—9

10—SATURDAY

Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015

OL OMU: Where it’s taboo for

pregnant woman to die • Corpses thrown into evil

forest to avoid reincarnation

• What bereaved families do • Corpses of suicide, drowning,

accident victims dumped in bush

C

BY AKPOKONA OMAFUAIRE

orpses are supposed to be buried after death. That is the norm. But not so at Olomu Kingdom in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State. Here, not all corpses are buried, according to their cultures and tradition. Pregnant women who die with pregnancy or during childbirth are not buried, instead their corpses are thrown into the evil forest near Akperhe-Olomu Community within the kingdom. It is a taboo for a woman to die with pregnancy as it is their belief that if given proper burial, the dead woman will reincarnate, hence the people do everything to prevent her reincarnation.

“Deaths from such circumstances are classified as bad deaths and such corpses are not given proper burial by not being buried in the town”, says His Royal Majesty, Ovie Richard L. Ogbon, OgoniOghoro I, JP, the Ohworode of Olomu, who is also the oldest person (OkpakoOrere) of Ogoni-Olomu. The traditional ruler explains further that such deaths are taken that way because of their belief in the reincarnation of women who died from such circumstances. “It is our belief that women who died in such manners, if buried in town or specifically at home, will reincarnate. In the times of old, there were cases where new-born babies had marks of women who had died from such deaths. This is why we don’t bury them at home to avoid reincarnation.”

In addition to dead pregnant women,

C M Y K

the traditional ruler adds that “ when someone in a family have mental illness, epilepsy or other disease that are genetical in the family, if such a person is not treated properly or cured and he or she dies with such infirmities, it is also our belief that such people reincarnate by being born as children, and it is usually shameful to the family.” Such practices, he adds, are also applicable to people who died by suicide, in accidents, or from drowning.

Interestingly, those who die in such circumstances are buried in the bush as there are no designated places for such people in Olomu Kingdom, except the women who died with pregnancies, whose corpses are taken to the evil forest, according to the traditional ruler.

Decline in belief, practice The advent of Christianity has led to trampling upon many native cultures and tradition. Therefore, certain Olomu practices of old which were revered and complied with have been compromised with increasing Western culture through education.

According to Ogoni-Oghoro I, though certain cultural practices are still being observed despite increasing acceptance of Christian religion, especially the non-burial of corpses of such deaths inside town, these practices are declining as many people no longer hold such traditional beliefs. The two factors he believes affected such beliefs

Continues on page 11

Pregnant women who die with pregnancy or during childbirth are not buried, instead their corpses are thrown into the evil forest near Akperhe-Olomu Community within the kingdom

SATURDAY

Ezeilo behind success story of my administration —Ugwuanyi

BY FRANCIS IGATA

E

NUGU—Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has attributed the success story that leapfrogged the state on the path of socio-economic growth on the wise counsel of his Deputy,Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo.

Last Saturday, Aguobu Owa, headquarters of Ezeagu Local Government Area brimmed with political stakeholders,civil society groups,traditional rulers,academia among others who besieged the venue to witness the grand reception of the first female deputy governor in the annals of Enugu State.

Saturday Vanguard checks showed that women in Enugu State have picked up the gauntlets to drive the wheels of various segments in the sociopolitical sphere occasioned by the renewed impetus radiating from Ezeilo’s emergence as deputy governor.

While speaking as the Chief Guest of Honour,Governor Ugwuanyi disclosed that, “my administration’s success story is as a result of the wise counseling, commitment and cooperation of my deputy, Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo, the first woman deputy governor in Enugu State.

“With the continued cooperation of my deputy, the state would continue to enjoy dividends of democracy. This administration is committed to serve the people better to

Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015—11

justify the confidence reposed on me and my deputy.”

The governor however vowed to transform rural areas in the state in order to alleviate the suffering of the rural populace.

COUNCIL BOSS ELATED Emeka Ozoagu,Chairman,Ezeagu

Local Government Area praised Governor Ugwuanyi for choosing Ezeilo as his deputy, describing her as a woman of integrity and humility with wide field of experience, having worked at the State Broadcasting Service and being a member of the State House of Assembly, where she

occupied the post of a Chief Whip.

The Chairman noted that Ezeilo is a role model to many people in the local government because of her courage and comportment in her career as a politician.

MONSIGNOR’S MESSAGE

GRAND RECEPTION- L-R: Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State; his deputy, Hon. Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo;wife of the speaker, Enugu State House of Assembly, Princess Lady Akunna Ubosi kneeling for prayer at the grand reception of the deputy governor by the good people of Ezeagu Local Government Area at Ezeagu.

The event was preceded by a Catholic Thanksgiving Mass presided over by Rt Rev Monsignor Anthony Okwulehe, Dean of Aguobu Owa Deanery where politicians were urged to touch lives while in office . In his homily, Monsignor Okwulehe reminded that,”authority comes from God and that politicians should, while in office,endeavour to touch on the lives of the people.

Those in authority in Nigeria should establish industries to enable people use their creativity to work for the society.”

Ends.

The Enugu State Gov., Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (centre) acknowledging ovation from the crowd during the tour. Photo by Ikechukwu Obi.

Continues from page 10 are Western education and Christianity. People now insist that such practices are not obtainable again, so they have rebelled against the practices.

He says: “Some families, when they lose a pregnant woman, they immediately carry out surgery to remove the foetus so they can bring her home for proper burial. This is the very wrong practice that is going on now. The late woman and her foetus are supposed to go to the evil forest. The Church has affected many practices. For instance, many who used to carry out such traditional functions like taking the corpses to the evil forest, have now become Christians and you can’t get people to perform such traditional rites anymore.”

He speaks further: “Many practices have been jettisoned today. People no longer forbid things. When such abominable deaths occur in families today, out of shame for people not to hear that a taboo has occurred in their family, people no longer adhere to the tradition of burying such in the evil forest or bush. They now blatantly bring such dead into town and bury.

This wasn’t so in those days.”

Cleansing the land C M Y K

Olomu: Where it’s taboo for pregnant woman to die He believes some of these disregards for cultures and tradition could pollute a community. “The dumping of pregnant women’s corpses at the evil forest or those of other similar deaths at the bush is not the end. The family and

the entire community is deemed to be polluted by such deaths and certain cleansing activities are undertaken for seven days till a total purification and warding off of such spirits are attained.”

He explains that there is a

certain group among the traditionalists whose responsibility is to take such corpses to the evil forest or bush. When such deaths occur, the traditionalists will be notified and they will come at night to take such corpses away. They are not to be seen by anyone as they sing horrifying songs and incantations. No one comes out as it is a taboo to see them while they perform the rituals which last for seven days. “They will stay in the compounds of such families for seven days and seven nights, nullifying the powers that led to such death and generally cleanse the families with various rituals.”

The 98-year-old traditional ruler clarifies that presently at Olomu, if a woman dies with pregnancy, the community will not allow her to be buried in the community unless the circumstances of the death is hidden from the community. “But such a behaviour usually has its consequences”, he says, and adds: “And nonChristians will not tolerate such a person to be buried in the community because it pollutes the community.”

The difference between those that committed suicide, died in accidents, or from drowning, and those who died with pregnancies is that the pregnant dead are taken to the evil forest with no proper burial ceremonies, while the others are buried in the bush. But after three years, their relatives can celebrate their remembrance with certain rites, which is not so with women who died with pregnancies. The remembrance is done for the others because proper burial rites were not done earlier due to the circumstances of their deaths. The remembrance is what gives them the sense of fulfillment that they properly buried their departed loved ones, though it cannot take away the shame of the death.

12—SATURDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015

WARIBOKO OKI @ 62

Nigeria’s celebrated Siamese twin tells her life story

BY FRED IWENJORA

W

hen she was born July 25, 1953, former Miss Wariboko Davis made great news because she was conjoined with her sister. Newspapers in Nigeria and worldwide celebrated her birth just like they celebrated her survival after the surgery to separate them. Now Mrs. Wariboko Oki, she celebrated her 62 birthday recently and speaks.

Her only “sister” Bridget and “ parents” Mr. and Mrs. Jituboh also join in her songs of thanksgiving. Please enjoy.

•Mrs. Wariboko Oki God gave to them in such circumstances. They have remained very caring parents to me and I won’t forget that.

How do you really feel when you are recognized worldwide as Nigeria’s number one surviving Siamese twin?

I feel very good and thankful to God for keeping me alive all these years. God has been very faithful to me and with me because he has made me fulfill my life till now. All the people I have known are also thankful to God for my life and feel good that they know me. Indeed I thank God so much.

What do you recall of this your life from the early times. When did you begin to realize that you have a very peculiar life?

I started to know that I am peculiar from primary school. I think I was in primary one when I started noticing this peculiarity. I was six years old when people won’t let me be. They always tell me to lift my dress so they could see the scar on my chest and tummy. At a time, when the disturbance became almost unbearable, I started asking them to pay before I would do that. I have a classmate then Mrs Adegoke with whom I share all those fond memories of my childhood. Beyond that, I discovered that every one treated

• As captured by Daily Mirror, London me differently and with a kind of peculiarity but I was not sure what that was about. Daddy and mummy Mr and Mrs Jituboh were very careful about my diet and about whatever they gave to me. Daddy would not want any one to touch me anyhow. Even when fellow children played with me and I

was not happy, Daddy would warn such people to stop making me sad. Even at 62, Mr. and Mrs. Jituboh who raised me still treat me as that same baby I have always been to them since 1953.

They still ask me whether I have eaten just like they did many years ago. To them, I am not 62 but still that Wariboko kid whom

Even at 62, Mr. and Mrs. Jituboh who raised me still treat me as that same baby I have always been to them since 1953

When did you have the guts to ask them about the scar?

It was later. I did not ask them just like that but I started to understand my history as life went on. Pressmen and women have always been part of my life. They used to come to the house every now and then to ask about me and to talk to me. I had several preferences throughout my school days so I can’t say I asked any questions about my circumstances but stared to imbibe them as I grew up.

So what and what did you imbibe?

I learnt that I was born 25 July 1953 to Veronica Davis who was then a staff of the UAC. She had me and my sister conjoined. I also learnt with the photos I have seen that we were separated some time after six months but my sister did not make it. I also found out that I shared a liver with her and the scar shows me that we were joined at the stomach. I do not have a navel.

I also found out that when my grandmother was visiting from Jos, Cntinue on pg 13

SATURDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015—13

well, Pa and ma Jituboh who started raising me with much love. I am however still carrying on to the glory of God. Can we talk about your marriage, how did you meet your husband then Lt Walter Oki? I met him after nursing school at LUTH. To be sincere, we met through a relative. He later told me that he had read about me while at the University of Ife and had always asked of me through my relative. They arranged to visit me.

•With Parents, Mr & Mrs Jutuboh Cntinue from pg 12 I noticed they discussed about one Veronica and sometimes start to cry. I started to wonder about who this Veronica was since my auntie is Rose. It made me wonder until I figured it out that my biological mum was dead and that Mrs. Jituboh is the mum I know as mum. Even my auntie does not even feel that her sister passed. As far as she is concerned, she is alive in me.

You see, this knowledge about my origin never ends. I recall something that happened in the US a few years ago. I had gone visiting to Chicago and my host tells me to join her to visit one woman of over 80 years at Gillsburg, another city in the state.

After hesitating for a while I agreed to go with her. Do you know that when I was introduced as Wariboko, the old woman screamed and burst into tears? She said ‘that must be Vero’s daughter coming into my house without notice’. She said that she was my mum’s classmate and that after they left school she never set her eyes on her again except reading about her and her Siamese twin children on the pages of newspapers. She carried me on her weary legs and hugged me severally and thanked God that she met me again after several years of hoping and yearning. She caused us to stay overnight in Gillsburg. We had bought food for her but she insisted that we ate whatever she cooked for us. Her excitement was much.

What did they now tell you of your biological mum?

I heard that Veronica Davis, my mum hailed from Delta state. She was working for the UAC when she had me and my late twin sister.

She later had another set of twins that died before having another baby who died with her on the same day. You see…my life is a big testimony of God’s awesome character. He kept me alive for a big purpose of continuous testimony and I know this very well.

Your biological dad…?

He also died. I did not really know him. He was of Ijaw tribe.

The people I have come to know are Mr. and Mrs. Jituboh and the only sister I know is Mrs. Briggite Alli.

What kind of upbringing did you have?

Nigeria’s celebrated Siamese twin tells her life story It was an upbringing filled with love for me by people around me.

You see those two people you are seeing (pointing at Mr. and Mrs. Jituboh,) I am still the smallest and youngest and the most special in their lives although they know I am a grandmother. As far as they are concerned, I am still the baby of the house. It took me time to know that they were not really my biological parents. I had a very terrific upbringing full of love for me from my parents. Even grand pa and grand ma Jituboh were too kind to me even with all the pranks I played on them as a kid, they laughed them off as before them I could do no wrong.

Which schools did you attend?

I started at a convent, then Queen Amina in Kaduna which used to be Our Lady of Apostles. I then went to Our Lady’s High school before transferring to St Maria Gorretti, Benin. The Principal of that school was my mum’s teacher at St Theresa’s College Ibadan and would always refer to her while I was there.

Do you recall your days at Maria Gorretti?

It was excitement all the way.

Every one was fond of me. The Reverend sister Henrietta continued to treat me like a Queen. She always said ‘give Wariboko this and that’.

Even my grand pa that was father to my father Mr Jituboh was the greatest spoiler of me. He would always send me pastries. I know that man and his wife are in heaven right now. I was in the same school with my sister Bridget but people never knew her the way they knew me. When my grand mama Jituboh died it was all over the place that Boko’s grand ma died and my friends were all crying for me. It was about then that it dawned on me the much love I had been showered by everyone who knew me. My mum, I

mean my auntie Mrs. Rose Jituboh would not let any fly touch me even though she may allow it to touch Bridget. After Maria Gorretti, I went to thank UAC for giving me scholarship after the death of my biological mum, Veronica Davis who was their staff before her death.

They never left me alone and would always come to ask about my welfare .

You ended up being a nurse, what influenced your decision to follow that line?

My interest in nursing had grown while I was at Maria Gorretti and after then, my grandpa Mr. Peter Jituboh had asked what I wished to be and I told him I wished to be a nurse.

He then asked why I loved that profession. I explained to him that I have been taken care of by nurses and other hospital people so I wished to also do same for others. I was not yet 18 years then so he escorted me to go for the exam. But while expecting the result, he died. I was devastated but I felt fulfilled that he had approved my decision to study nursing while his wife, my grandma carried on. When I passed the school of nursing exam for LUTH and UCH, she boasted with me to her friends that Wariboko has entered the University of nursing . Grand ma is unforgettable for me in all my life. She was there when I had my first baby and she sent me a very beautiful abada wrapper through her daughter, daddy’s younger sister who brought it to Zaria where we were at the time.

She also died later. So you can see, I have lost so many people that are dear to my heart, my biological mum Veronica and my, dad, twin sibling and the one that died with my direct mum whom I may not have known

I passed the school of nursing exam for LUTH and UCH, she boasted with me to her friends that Wariboko has entered the University of nursing . Grand ma is unforgettable for me in all my life

You may have fallen for his military physic as he may have been a dashing young man….

No, I did not fall for that because there were several dashing young men then in Lagos and in the military who were more handsome and richer. What made me fall was his unique humaneness which was radiating around him. He was very humble. Aside from that, the Okis were not strange to us. Dr Oki was a prominent person known to my family in Benin. He was a dentist and I schooled with one of his daughters.

You mean the war and the risk of being in the military did not deter you from marrying him?

Not at all. My Uncle, Late Lt Col Igboba was killed during the civil war. I also had a cousin married to a soldier. Her husband is also late. Not to talk of an Uncle, Moses who was also in the military. So, to me it was another normal marriage. I married Walter Oki because of his person and not because of his job or uniform.

You are close to the Sobowale twins who also share your kind of circumstance….

Yes o. Any time I hear of conjoined twins, I feel like they are just like me and would always want to meet them.

While at the school of nursing at LUTH, there was a preserved Siamese twins which I did not wish to see because they were already dead. I want to see the ones alive. When I went to ABU, Zaria, a Doctor had told me of another set but they had already died. He had said that if I had come earlier that I would have met them alive. So the Sobowales are the first I would see alive. So as soon as news of their birth was spread, I went to locate them.

Since then, I have always been in touch with them until I relocated to the US in the past two years after my retirement from service. I had bought them a Bible each telling them how it is Basic Instruction Before Leaving The Earth(BIBLE). I told them to always read it if only to thank God always for being alive.

Why did you relocate to the US? Nigeria is not a place where people with my kind of circumstances are appreciated medically like other parts of the world where your peculiar circumstance is a serious issue and are noted and medically attended to. There are health related problems for Siamese twins and in the UK and US they all know and keep checking on you to keep you alive.

To continue next week

14—SATURDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015

Diary of a cancer survivor … Toughest test a love can endure When I found a lump in my right breast, I wasn’t too concerned.

It was a cyst it had to be. After all, lightning doesn’t strike twice. My husband Johnnie, 65, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma 12 years ago.

I’d held his hand during chemo, washed him, fed him, weathered his insufferable mood swings — and, when doctors said he might not survive, refused to let him die.

Fast forward a decade and life was good. We had jobs we adored — Johnnie on BBC Radio 2, and me, dashing everywhere as a producer of TV commercials.

We juggled our time between a small flat in London and a gorgeous manor house we were renovating in Dorset.

That Christmas, we were heading off to Australia for a fabulous three-week holiday and to see my brother Graham. I couldn’t wait. I decided to get the lump checked out before we went and had a mammogram at Salisbury District Hospital.

know if it has, the lymphatic system is like a motorway coursing cancer around your body.

As I hold onto Johnnie before going into theatre, I have to fight the idea this might be the last time I’m going to have with him. I’m so nervous about the anaesthetic, and I know Johnnie’s thinking exactly the same.

They’re short of trollies, so I have to walk into the theatre and hop on the table. I’m fine. I’m absolutely fine. I look up and see these huge lights. Oh my God. I just want to get up and go. I don’t want this to be happening.

IT’S NOT SPREAD February 8: The tumour was the size of a boiled egg. The blessing is it hadn’t gone to my lymph nodes. That’s such a relief to know. My breast is very sad to look at.

Any feelings I once had of being attractive are gone because I’ve got this mangled breast. Johnnie says he’ll always love me however I look, but . Last night, I cried a few tears.

A call from the hospital said my appointment for next Thursday has been delayed by a week. They are still doing tests on the tumour. I wonder if they’ve found something sinister. But whatever it is, I am ready to know.

The wait is the testing bit.

God, Am I Going To Die? ecember 12, 2013: I have cancer. Oh God, am I going to die at 53? I cried when they told me.

I apologised for crying. I drove home crying. I delayed telling Johnnie because he was doing a reading at a carol service.

He got home at 10.30 pm.

I’d stopped crying. Now it was his turn. He just held onto me. We clasped each other all night long. It seems that only in sickness do we realise how deeply we love.

I will not die. I will not leave him.

I don’t know yet whether I’ll lose my breast. I mustn’t think about it. I can’t get carried away with the emotion.

In two days, we are off to Australia. I’m not going to give up seeing my brother just because I’ve been diagnosed with cancer, stubborn old thing that I am.

We will start dealing with it when we get back.

D

A HORRIBLE ROW January 4, 2014: Yesterday was a very bleak day. Johnnie and I had a horrible row.

We were on a three-day train journey from Perth to Sydney and my camera ran out of power.

Before our holiday, Johnnie had said: ‘Darling, don’t worry about chargers. I’ll look after that.’ Then, he forgot my camera charger.

It was a silly argument. I can’t remember what he said, but it must have been something upsetting.

I was very cruel. I said: ‘I can give up, you know, if

you’re going to be like this.’ I will never say anything like that again.

When we get back, the doctor will have the results of my biopsy. I don’t want to think about it now. We’re about to see Graham — I don’t want to ruin these precious days with him.

MY WORST FEAR January 10, 2014: I saw

Vicky Brown, my surgeon.

The tumour is grade 3, which is fast-growing. I will need chemo and radiotherapy, too.

Having seen Johnnie almost killed by chemotherapy, I’ve always said I would never have it, but I will. The fear of the cancer spreading is surely the only fear there is.

The lumpectomy is booked for the week after next. I don’t cry when she tells me. I know with certainty this is happening to me for a reason. Everything will be fine but I can’t go through this as a passive passenger. I produce things.

That’s what I do.

I contact a friend, Bella West, to ask her to photograph my journey. I may not love my breasts, they’re too large at 32H, but it’s sad to think they will never be the same again.

I’M SO NERVOUS January 22, 2014: At last, the day of the op at Salisbury

District Hospital. Despite my belief that everything will be fine, I have updated my ‘If I should die.doc’ on my computer and Johnnie and I have discussed funerals and wills ‘if anything should happen’.

Please don’t let it have spread to my lymph nodes. I

SICK AND SCARED March 10: I had my first chemo. I have a fear of chemicals, but it will increase my survival potential from 77 per cent to 84 per cent.

I arrive at the hospital at 9.30am with no idea of what to expect. The nurse applies the cold cap, which is like a freezer compartment for the head to stop hair loss. Then I see the first syringe of red poison going into my arm. I burst into tears.

Leaving at 2.45pm, I steady Continues on page 15

SATURDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015—15

delayed reaction to the radiation.

The nurse at the unit reassured me and sent me away with plenty of dressings.

Sometimes all you need is a bit of reassurance to make you feel better.

Continues from page 14 myself on Johnnie’s arm. By the time we get home, I feel strange. By evening, I feel wretched. I can’t eat. I feel sick. My head feels as if it’s going to explode.

Johnnie holds me as I release the most gut-wrenching howls. He has never seen me in such distress. I am desperate and scared. He phones the hospital. It’s the after-effects of the cold cap. To hell with vanity, I think. Never, never again.

A HEALING HOLIDAY August 14: It’s so healing to be in Paxos, perched on a hill overlooking the harbour.

Johnnie and I are having such a gentle, loving time.

It’s wonderful to come here with the worst of the treatment over, apart from the Herceptin injections. Even my hair

MY HAIR’S COMING OUT April 18: In the shower, I put my fingers through my hair and it starts coming out. It’s the moment I hoped would never happen.

Johnnie offers to shave it off for me. I can feel he’s quite nervous at first, but as he gets more confident he presses harder.

The hair cascades down around me. Then I look in the mirror. Johnnie just says: ‘Wow, you’ve got such a greatshaped head. You look like Sinead O’Connor.’

a fight about someone who wants to borrow our London flat.

I don’t have the energy to argue and asked him to stop.

But there is anger in him, too.

He stormed out and took the dog.

Today, we had fun with the many hilarious hats friends have given me. It began with a girlfriend from university who sent one after every chemo session. They got more and more outrageous.

Johnnie and I started trying them on. We just roared with laughter. It was a really timely, loving tonic for us.

WILL I DIE IN THE NIGHT? May 19: The fourth and final chemo has knocked me out. It took 25 minutes to get into a vein.

Johnnie was on the verge of saying: ‘Let’s forget it.’ Instead he said: ‘Think of Jamaica and a rum punch’ and in it went. I slept for the next three days. I’ve never had so little energy.

I asked Johnnie if he thought I’d wake up in the morning. I thought I might die in the night.

BALD AND BEAUTIFUL May 29: People keep telling me how well I look. I am jubilant about being through the chemo. The fear of feeling that sick again has gone.

I saw my acupuncturist, who told me how much I’d progressed. When we first met I was angry: now I am not.

Johnnie and I popped into the Grosvenor Arms in Shaftes-

bury. It’s so nice to be in this space of calm together. Johnnie holds me and I feel strangely quite attractive with my bald head.

ANGER AND BLAME June 10: As Johnnie drove me to Poole Hospital for my first of 15 sessions of radiotherapy, I began to cry. Anger welled up in me, I guess from fear.

But I had to tell Johnnie what was in my head: ‘If it hadn’t been for our marriage, I feel I would not now have cancer.’

A decade of dramas and upset: his cancer, his work.

Things I’ve had to suppress.

Johnnie dropped me off and left. I was in tears when I met the radiographer. I told her it was nerves.

FUN WITH HATS June 18: We’re staying at a friend’s beach hut at Mudeford Spit, because it’s near the hospital. I’ve slept a glorious 11 hours — I hadn’t realised how tired I am.

Things went sour with Johnnie again yesterday. We had

MY SKIN’S FALLING OFF July 7: Oh my God. My breast looks as if it has leprosy. I took off my bra and as it came off so did an eight-inch strip of skin from under my breast.

I went to see the nurse at the surgery, who arranged for me to go to the burns unit. It’s a

has begun to grow back.

No NHS. No doctors. No nurses. Just the two of us in this beautiful place for a week.

A friend of Johnnie’s has told me how scared he has been that he is going to lose me.

He is NOT.

I don’t have the energy to argue and asked him to stop.

But there is anger in him, too. He stormed out and took the dog.

DON’T GO TIGGS, JOHNNIE BEGGED October 16: I fell on a boat, badly twisting my ankle. The pain was extreme. I passed out for 20 seconds.

Johnnie thought I was dying and possibly I was as I did see the most amazing multicoloured scenes, ending with me facing a man in his 30s. I don’t know who he was, but I didn’t want to leave him.

Maybe he was Jesus.

Johnnie sat next to me as my hands tried to cling onto this other world. ‘Don’t go, Tigs,’ he repeated. Against my will, he pulled me back.

THE BEST WORDS ALL YEAR December 17: ‘You are clearly beating this.’ The best words all year came from the alternative doctor who measures my immune system.

Last week, I told my oncologist that I am stopping taking Herceptin on January 2. It’s a wonder drug for those, like me, with a Her2 positive tumour, but it also suppresses your immune system.

NEW SHAPE AND A NEW LIFE May 14, 2015: For once, I’m delighted to be back at the hospital.

A plastic surgeon has reduced both of my breasts from an H cup to a C, so they match and hide the evidence of the lumpectomy.

Johnnie burst into tears when I lifted up my surgical gown.

‘What’s wrong?’ ‘You’ve got the boobs of a 21-year-old. It’s amazing.’

Today, the final dressing was removed and the surgeon reported that the breast tissue he had removed tested negative for any more cancerous cells. As Johnnie and I walked down the hospital corridor, I thought: ‘Well, that’s it. Now I can really get on with my life.’ It will be a very different life, though. I’m getting rid of the unnecessary. I need time and space, not stress and fatigue. I want to ‘be’ rather than ‘do’.

16—SATURDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015

C M Y K

SATURDAY

BY UGOCHUKWU ALARIBE, ABA

F

or those who witnessed the kidnapping incidents that swept through Aba and environs before the deployment of soldiers of the Joint Military Task Force (Operation Jubilee) in 2010, it was an experience no one would like to relive. Aba and its neighbouring communities became ghost towns as residents fled to safer places.

Businesses, markets, banks and schools were shut down to avoid the invasion of the then dreaded notorious kidnap kingpin, Osisikankwu, and his gang. That was then.

Normal life returned to Aba and environs. Those who fled returned and continued with their day-to-day business activities. But recently, kidnapping and violent crimes appear to have returned to the state.

Though security operatives foiled some attempted attacks and kidnappings, many were successfully executed by the criminals, with some victims fortunate to be alive, paying large sums of money to secure their freedom, while the unfortunate ones lost their lives.

In the meantime, kidnappers have been trying to re-launch their trade once again, but the Police in the state appear set to take the game to the criminals. In the last three months, not less than 20 kidnappers have either fallen to the firepower of the Police or undergoing prosecution.

Security Operation Centre However, worried by the rising spate of kidnapping, Abia State Government has set up a special security operation centre to check kidnapping, armed robbery and other violent crimes in the state, giving out the following telephone numbers to the public to assist with useful information: 08080897172, 0816981056, 09095687884, 08079260355, and 08163267708.

Before the Police took up the challenge, it was no longer news that most of these kidnappers who fled the state in 2010, attempted to return to try their luck once again. The most pathetic case was the killing of a victim, Mrs. Chioma Chukwura, a few days after she and her driver were abducted, and her corpse dumped in the bush along Azumini Road, Ukwa East council area. She was on her way from Calabar, Cross River State.

Crime Alert gathered that the woman’s driver identified as Ike Chikodi, later escaped from the kidnappers and reported the incident to a police highway patrol team who took him to the location, but they discovered that the kidnappers had killed the woman and fled the area.

Sources hinted that the kidnappers may have suspected that the security agencies were on their trail and decided to kill the woman and dump her corpse in the bush.

In another incident, a two-man kidnap gang abducted a driver, Mr. Ifeanyi John, whose car broke down at Usukpe Village along the Enugu/ Port-Harcourt Expressway at Umuahia, bound his hands and feet and locked him up in the boot of their Toyota Corolla and drove away towards the direction of Imo State.

Collaboration with neighbouring Police Commands Crime Alert further gathered that luck, however, ran out on the gang when men from the Abia State Police Command, in collaboration with her counterpart in Imo State, rescued the victim at Obowo, Imo State following a tip-off by members of the public to Ubakala Police Station in Umuahia.

One of the suspects, who gave his

Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015 — 17

RESURGENCE OF KIDNAPPING IN ABIA:

Police take battle to kidnappers’ den •Clamp down on 20 suspected gang members

alerted the Police who gave the kidnappers a hot chase along Ikwuano area where they abandoned their victim and his vehicle at different locations as they realize that the Police were closing in on them.

•Armed robbery suspects

•Military uniform recovered from the suspected kidnappers

•Suspected kidnappers with military uniform used during operation

•Pistol recovered from suspected kidnappers

name as Ifeanyi Nwunni, 30, a native of Umafai, Imo State, was arrested, while the other suspect escaped.

Department of Education/Political Science. In another wallet was found INEC Voter’s Card bearing the name of Gabriel Nwakodo.

Superior firepower In a bid to assert superiority, the Police in the state appear to have adopted the popular saying, ‘the harder they come, the harder they fall’. On Sunday, November 16, 2015, four suspected kidnappers were shot dead in a clash with police at Uratta Primary School, Isiala Ngwa North Local Government of the state. The four were members of a gang of suspected kidnappers who attempted to kidnap a successful farm produce merchant in the area.

The gang who had allegedly perfected plans to kidnap their victim ran into the waiting hands of the Police who were monitoring the situation following a tip-off. On sighting the Police, the suspects opened fire on them. In the ensuing gun duel, four of the suspects were fatally wounded while others escaped. Among those nabbed by the Police include Chijioke Monday, who is a relation of their supposed victim.

Bullet wounds On suspects who might have fled police arrest with bullet wounds, the Police Public Relations Officer of the State Command, DSP Ezekiel Udeviotu Onyeke, urged medical practitioners to treat such persons, but they must not fail to report them to the nearest police station.

Automatic rifles, charms recovered from kidnappers Items recovered from the suspected kidnappers include a double barrel shot gun with one expended and one live cartridge in its chamber; one locally made pistol with one expended round of cartridge in the chamber; twenty expended (empty shell) automatic rifle ammunition; seven expended cartridges; an ax, charms and wallets bearing an Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri, identity card bearing the name of Chimezie Olileanya of the

Robbery suspects arrested at poultry feed shop On November 12, 2015, men of the Eastern Ngwa Police Division, Umuobiakwa in Obingwa council area, nabbed two out of three armed robbers who robbed a poultry feed shop at Umuokahia and shot a woman on her chest. The trio who had successfully robbed the shop owner after firing several gun shots was on their way out when they ran into the waiting hands of the Police.

Two of the robbers, Okechukwu Kalu Okorie, 20 and Wisdom Ubazuruoha, 21, were arrested and a locally made revolver pistol was recovered from them while the third suspect, Starboy, escaped.

In yet another kidnap attack, a driver attached to the Office of the Chief of Staff to the Government of Abia State, identified as Udo Nwachukwu was abducted by three gunmen at Umuezerolo Village square in Umuahia where he was washing a car. The gunmen, who came in a green colour Toyota Camry, took the victim in their car while another member of the gang drove the victim’s Toyota Hilux van with registration number 1 ABSG506.

The kidnappers however ran out of luck when neighbours of the victim

Robbers raid hotel On October 4, 2015, two members of a five-man robbery gang robbed staff and lodgers at a popular hotel located at Ogbor Hills, Aba. According to the proprietor of the hotel who was also a victim of the robbery, the robbers burst into the dancing hall of the hotel where a party was going on at about 10pm, following a sudden power failure, and held every one there hostage, dispossessing them of their valuables.

Items reported stolen include one laptop computer valued at N80,000, including numerous telephone sets and the sum of N92, 000. Luck however ran out on the gang when one of them known as Ifeanyi Clement (aka Don) was identified following sudden restoration of power before they all escaped. Two suspects, Ifeanyi Clement and Chikadibia Orji were later arrested by the Police.

Support by IGP and Abia State Govt Speaking on the successes made by the Command in an interview with members of the Aba Federated Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, in his office, the Abia State Police Commissioner, Mr. Joshak Habila said despite challenges, the Police have devised many strategies to keep the state crime free, adding that with the increasing support of the Inspector General of Police and the State Government, the Command had been fully repositioned to combat crime.

According to the CP, “We have the support of the Inspector General of Police and the Abia State Government behind us and there are promises that a lot of things would come. We may have challenges but the problem is not logistics; it is the will power of all of us to ensure that we tackle crime.

We can’t lay claim to lack of logistics because in the last three months, we have had about 14 new vehicles sent to the Command.”

He urged residents of the state to volunteer timely and useful information about criminal activities to the police, assuring that such have always been treated in strict confidence.

Kidnapping and ransom On kidnapping, the Police lamented the failure of some families of victims to report to the security agencies.

According to him, “When people are kidnapped and demands for ransom are made, people usually say, ‘don’t tell the police, soldiers and other security agencies’. They are made to believe that if they inform the security agencies, they may not see their kidnapped relations alive, but this is not true. This has created fear and people are not too willing to share such information with the security agencies. Again, 95% of the kidnapping incidents in Abia State have a story behind them, an insider story. When such people are abducted, the kidnappers often ask them, ‘where is the money you made from so-so business deal or you got from the sale of so-so property?’”

18—SATURDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015

Why would some leaders choose Bishops for the church?

BISHOP GODFREY ONAH SPITS FIRE •Sends message to Catholics in Igboland

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA

T

he atmosphere in St. Joseph’s Catholic Chaplaincy, Imo State University, Owerri, became electric on the arrival of the youthful and charismatic Catholic Bishop of Nsukka, Most Rev. Professor Godfrey Onah. He was there to honour the invitation of Monsignor Theophilus Ibegbulam Okere, who turned 80 on October 30, 2015. Bishop Onah, was at the head of the Mass, attended by several priests and religious, as well as scores of Catholic faithful and other lovers of Monsignor Okere, including the Champion Newspaper publisher, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu and Chief Victor Umeh of the All Progressives Grand Allianctate.

He later granted Saturday Vanguard interview at his home in Nsukka.

is experience since H becoming Bishop of Nsukka Diocese

** It is not easy to say what it has been like. It is like being thrown into the water, when you don’t know how to swim and you know you have to keep afloat to remain alive. I think I found myself in that position, of one who does not know how to swim and he is thrown into the water. I think I have been trying to remain afloat,. But it is God’s grace that is keeping me afloat.

I spent years being trained as a candidate for the Catholic priesthood. I didn’t receive any training for the office of the bishop.

And there has been no time either to learn on the job. But I thank God for the grace. I thank Him for the love He has shown me also in a special way through the people of Nsukka Diocese. The priests, the religious and the rest of the lay faithful, and even non-Catholics and non-Christians in Nsukka. I can tell you I have experienced their love in an overwhelming way, from the first day I was ordained and installed until now.

It has been difficult for me getting to understand all the aspects of my responsibilities as a Bishop. But one thing I have tried to continue to try to do is to remind myself that I am primarily a Catholic priest and

to remain a priest for my people.

So, these two years, I have just tried to be a priest, a father to the people of Nsukka Diocese, not just to the Catholics but all Nsukka people. And I must say it has been most fulfilling in spite of the difficulties.

One of the first things I learnt as a Bishop is that I no longer have time that I can call mine.

Even when you are alone, you are not alone for yourself.

Either you are thinking and working for them or you are praying for them. But I think that is also what a Christian life is supposed to be, imitating our Lord Himself in being there for others.

Pope Francis reminds us repeatedly that anyone who is preaching the gospel has also to know that he is distributing joy, the joy of the gospel. And he said something funny that preachers of the gospel should not look like those returning from a funeral. And my experience as a Bishop in Nsukka has confirmed to me that any time we are really committed to spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, there is an inner joy that overflows to the outside in us, because as

•Bishop Onah the saying goes, a little bit of fragrance always sticks on the fingers that distributes roses.

Age of Nsukka Diocese.

We thank God that on November 19 this year, the Diocese turned 25 years since its establishment. It was erected by Pope Saint John Paull II on November 19, 1991, with Bishop Francis Okobo as its pioneer bishop. It was carved out of Enugu Diocese and Nsukka is generally speaking, in spite of our diversities, a rural Diocese.

These 25 years have been incredible on what the Lord has done for us. If statistics will give us any idea, it may help to know that when the Diocese was erected, we had only 27 parishes and today, we have 154 parishes and chaplaincies. One of the chaplaincies, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, functions as a full fledged parish because of its population. Outside that, we have two Colleges of Education in the Diocese and one hostel for students. So, that is about records.

The priests at the creation of the Diocese were just a little above 40 and now, we have 270 priests incardinated in the Diocese. But, let us not be deceived by numbers. I only said if statistics are to be used as an indication.

The Lord has been very kind to us. In a gradual but steady way,

the church in the Diocese has continued to grow. The pioneer bishop was a tireless, selfless pastor. He kept nothing back to himself. Neither his time nor his energy, nor even his health! I know God will reward him with eternal life at the end of his life and I am sure that he is already seeing that his labour was not in vain, from what is happening in the Diocese. And of course, the foundations had been laid by the earlier bishops of Onitsha

It has been difficult for me getting to understand all the aspects of my responsibilities as a Bishop. But one thing I have tried to continue to try to do is to remind myself that I am primarily a Catholic priest and to remain a priest for my people

Archdiocese and Enugu Diocese, when they first came to Nsukka, a little over 100 years ago, in 1910, as the record of the visit of the missionaries has shown. They came from the Archdiocese of Onitsha, until Enugu became a diocese and Nsukka eventually became a diocese.

Sometimes, there are tremendous crises before anything meaningful change can take place. Our own history will not be different from the history of Christianity in the other parts of the world, except perhaps that we are luckier, in the sense that the first years of Christianity in our area, in Igboland generally, have not led to the physical martyrdom of many Christians, contrary to what was the history in most other parts of the world.

But that does not mean that it is any less easier for the message of Christ to be accepted in the context.

As I said earlier, we are a rural community and in rural communities, traditional affiliations go very deep.

People in urban centres or mega cities, can easily disengage from their cultural roots and cultural affiliations than those who live within rural settings. And as you very well remember, our culture is very intimately interwoven with the traditional religion of our ancestors.

And many of our people are unable to make the distinction between what is religious strictly and what is cultural.

And for the faith in this Diocese, that is an area where a lot of work still has to be done. Bishop Okobo, like Bishop Eneja before him, always insisted on the need to be authentically Igbo or Nsukka people and at the same time authentically Christians and Catholics. I think the effort we have to make now is no just a question of letting the gospel values penetrate our culture, but rather letting Christianity produce its own Igbo culture. As Pope Saint John Paul II also said, a faith that does not become culture is a faith that has not

Continues on pg 19

SATURDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015—19

Continues from pg 18 really matured.

And you know, culture as expressed in language, way of life, institutions, the church after 100 years in our place should be able to produce culture. Culture is dynamic.

I have always told my people that many of the things we are fighting and dying for in Nsukka as our culture, were either borrowed or imposed by Igala people, when the Attah of Igala colonized Nsukka area. No cultural practice germinates from a place like mushroom. People borrow from their

neighbours in order to adapt to the challenges they meet in their daily lives.

Christianity proposes to us values that will help us adapt best to those challenges and in using Christian values, we create a culture. Culture is man made. It is created by human beings.

The Igbos for instance, are so known by their celebration of kola nut. I am not sure that any Igbo man will be able to tell you exactly where that thing came from. But it is our culture, at least for now.

And if some bad habits our people are picking up have also become our culture as our people say: “When a bad habit last a year, it becomes a tradition”.

Why can’t it be the contrary? When good things are sustained, it becomes a tradition!

And the fact that it is possible for Christianity to create a culture for us, is also seen in our language already. So many Christian terms have become part of our language. “Amara”, even without its translation, “gratia”. And Christianity has entered into our proverbs. And when a system contributes to proverbs, then it is making in-road into the language. For example, “Anahi asa okwu chukwu asa” (you don’t respond to homilies) and “onye bu uzo gaa uno uka, na aho oche” (the first to arrive in the church chooses his seat). These are all Igbo proverbs.

This shows us that if we allow Christianity and Christian values, they can transform the way we used to understand reality and help us to adapt better. When most Igbo now want to show you how God has blessed them, they will tell you that they stayed for five, six, ten years after their marriage without any child, but suddenly they got twins! Before Christianity, it was a curse, not a blessing.

We are celebrating our jubilee and our emphasis should be on making serious effort to understand the Christian message in such a way as to make it transform our lives as individuals and as members of a society.

Managing priests I would like to tell you that the Diocese has the need to create about 30 more parishes but I don’t have priests to man them now. That gives you an idea that there is still a lot of need for priests?

And besides parishes, we now have institutions that could be better run or directed or supervised by well trained priests for such purposes.

Copying pentecostal pastors It is unfortunate. But I will tell what one of my priests once told me. I heard he did something he shouldn’t have done. I sent for him and sought to know what happened from him. Immediately he came down, he was all apologies and told me: “Father Bishop, I am sorry. I know I was wrong. I found myself in a situation similar to that of Moses, who was driven by the Israelites to break the tablet on which the Commandments we’re written. These people pushed me to the wall and I had to adopt an extreme measure. I am so sorry and I, know I was wrong”.

I give this example because sometimes I see these priests using the usual traditional Catholic method to attend to the spiritual needs of the faithful and they watch the growing apathy, lack of interest from these Catholics, who then move in droves to Pentecostal fellowships and crusades.

And there is therefore, this temptation in

•Bishop Onah

Why would some leaders choose Bishops for the church? the priests to do what the Pentecostal pastors do, at least to keep their faithful. If, for example you pray for someone and he is healed or God blesses him you don’t advertise it, you don’t make noise about it, God did it and not you.

I call it temptation and every Catholic priest should realize it is a temptation. So long as it has to do with, let me say for instance, the method of delivering your homily and making it interesting, of preparing it well in the first place, and making sure that your homily is scripture based and related to people’s life experience. If that is what anybody wants to imitate from any other group, that is wonderful. We can always learn good things from others.

But in the area of watering down Christian doctrine, or let me call it Catholic doctrine, in the area of tailoring religion to suit personal needs rather than making religion reflect our relationship with God, in the area of making Christianity mimic our traditional religion, full of evil spirits and people out there to harm you, and you have to use this and this to ward them off, that is not Christianity. And Catholic priests who imitate them know that they are doing what is wrong.

Their training in the seminaries continues to insist on the proper way to minister to the pastoral needs of the people. But unfortunately, some are beginning to think that the only thing that counts now in Christianity and the priesthood is what we would call success.

But, can I say this? From the human point of view, Jesus was a failure. He preached for three years and in the end, he was crucified like a common criminal and not one of his close disciples was near to him by the time he was dying! All those are marks of a total failure by

human standards.

Fidelity to Christ, even when it means the cross and suffering. That is one thing that Catholic priests should never abandon. I have heard many people who moved from the Christian groups to the Catholic Church, saying that the Catholic Church was the only place where they could find meaning in suffering, because in the other Christian denominations, there is sometimes the tendency to say that Christ has suffered for us and sufferings is no longer our lot but suffering remains.

So, I will tell Catholic priests, you don’t solve the problem of people moving away by doing what you are not supposed to do. Some times, I use a very radical example. If one has a sister, a blood sister, who is wayward, running after men and selling her body, and one feels embarrassed by that and it is a shame to the family, and one wants to win one’s sister back and keep her in the family and he prepares a room in his father’s house and says, my dear sister, please don’t run after men again. Don’t go out selling your body again. Come here and stay here at home and do it here at home and bring your clients here”.

Have you solved your sister’s problem? The answer is no.

You don’t solve the problems of Catholics who join Pentecostals by turning the Catholic Church into a Pentecostal movement. And by the way, the problem is not with Pentecost.

The problem is with the selective interpretation of the actions of the Holy Spirit.

Craze for indigenous heads In the history of the church, we have always had moments of crisis, breakdowns, moments of building up and growth. The church in Igboland has made tremendous progress and registered a lot of growth since the civil war. The civil seem to have increased our resilience as a people and increased our faith in God.

Sometimes, there are tremendous crises before anything meaningful change can take place.

Our own history will not be different from the history of Christianity in the other parts of the world

But don’t think that while we were growing in faith, Satan was there applauding. He would always want to get into the system and thwart the plan of God for us. Satan has always tried it. Each time God gives humanity any gift, Satan tries to change the objective for which God gave that gift.

He gave man companion. That companion became temptation. He gave man free will. That free will became a source of sin. He sent Christ to redeem us from sin and Satan wanted to change Jesus’ plan for salvation. He was like us in everything except sin. But even then, Satan did not give up. Until he died on the cross, Satan told Christ to come down from the cross, if he was truly the son of God and we will believe you. Christ did not give up until he eventually died. So, at every moment of our history, Satan is there.

Christ instituted the priesthood as service for his people and Satan wants some of us to use it as a source of power against the people, for ourselves, for our personal growth and enrichment and aggrandizement or whatever, for our own ego.

Anybody who understands the priesthood and understands the episcopacy, will know that nobody has the right to be priest or the right to be bishop. Nobody.

With regard to coming from one’s own area, there are all the arguments about the advantage of somebody who understands the people culturally.

There are all the arguments about the sense of belonging that a people will feel if their own son is their leader.

There are all the arguments about the possibility of human manipulation of a process that should be left to the Holy Spirit, yes using human beings but principally directed by the Holy Spirit. All those are arguments.

But, those arguments don’t remove anything from the basic principle that the priesthood is a gift, a gift from God. You either accept it in faith or every other thing behind the priesthood crumbles. I will give you a few examples.

How is it possible that you accept that a man pours water on you and mumbles some words and you become transformed and your sins are washed away and you become son of God? That a man picks a piece of bread and mumbles some words and that piece of bread changes and becomes the body and blood of Christ, who is God and man? And the man imposes hands on you and says something and you are transformed from that village criminal that you were to a man, who calls God down from heaven?

How can you accept that because a church teaches you that and the same church teaches you that one man has the last word to say who will be bishop here or there, and you say no, I won’t take that one? Ah! My dear friends, it is a packet. If you don’t take one, please leave the rest. This is what it means to belong to a church, a body of faith.

I know the case you are subtly referring to. Everybody knows it. It has hurt us deeply and spiritually. And I will put this on record for the whole of Igbo people. No matter how the Ahiara case ends, we will all come out of it weakened!

But I will ask: How did we get so low? What went wrong? What happened to the church leaders in Igboland? What did they do or did we do that made it possible for some priests to suspect that some church leaders manipulated the process of choosing a bishop? What body language or style of life, action or inaction in some leaders of the church, made people even to think that, that was possible? that is a question that we have to continue asking.

20—SATURDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015

The Senate :

A petty, paranoid, red - eyedchamber intent on castrating the youths

“Banish the social media, dismantle the internet and confiscate their mobile phones. Isolate them, put out their lights and shut in these trouble makers and there will be peace.”

“All in favour say aye” If we hesitate, with this senate, the ayes will have it. The biggest threat to the perpetuation of the enslavement of the poor majority in Nigeria by the political class is the social media. So the senators are not mad after all. If there is a tool with a potential to break the sort of bondage that poverty , corruption and ethnoreligious acrimony, acting in concert, have instituted in Nigeria it is the social media. Senators are sleepless not because of high infant mortality rate but because the ordinary people can now get back at them. They want that audacity curbed or cured. The shield of murkiness, secrecy and deceit is now penetrable. Their arrogance cannot tolerate the impudence of the activism that the social media has engendered. It’s too much power to the people.

The political class had the people where they wanted them. Too poor, too desperate, too weak to fight for rights. Too divided, too fractured, too disunited to mount a challenge against their collective oppression. But the political class should be afraid. Since it appears that their resolve to keep the people impoverished and prostrate is unremitting, they should worry about the social media.

Because an apocalypse like the Arab spring is no longer far-fetched, these politicians must worry. The youths must resist castrations.

Power in the hands of the youths possesses spontaneity and innocence, and can be gathered in a moment .

And because it can be daring, its flammability must trouble emperors and docile senators. It’s true that even the social media isn’t exempt from political exploitation and isn’t immune to the devils that have pitted the poor against themselves while others milked them. It is true that disunity and violence can easily be fanned by the dry whirl winds of the virtual space of social media. But because, if the highway is kept unclogged and free- flowing , and information and knowledge allowed to travel unhindered, truth will ultimately blow away lies, and the poor will be freed. The social media hastens the day of reckoning.

The argument that social media has generated such a debilitating malignancy in the proliferation of defamations is a half -truth. There have been cases where reputations have been tainted or ruined maliciously. But that happens with televisions and newspapers too. I agree that the social media by nature is particularly vulnerable to such ugly applications. Users can be made more conscious of defamatory publications and the dangers posed by the dissemination of hate and falsehood without threatening a clampdown. We have enough laws already to deal with those mischiefs. The prioritization of the gagging of social media in a society where politicians and government officials have a world wide reputation for

C M Y K

looting of public treasury, corrupt enrichment and gross arbitrariness is puzzling. Whose interest is the proposed law supposed to serve? The desperate poor who have been dispossessed to desolation and have no reputations to protect or the unscrupulous rich whose character cannot support the reputation the social media and its freedom will circumcise? Is it the poor majority whom rigging has made irrelevant in the electoral process and whose voice has been stolen by rent seekers or politicians who rig their way into office and steal their way into political immortality?

Sacred rights cannot be curtailed on flimsy grounds.

Freedom of speech is such a right. And for a society drowning in the pit of corruption the social media is a life line. The powerful may be above the law but not beyond the reach of collective scorn and opprobrium amplified by the social media. But why is freedom of speech now suddenly more important than malaria and provision of clean water? Democracy will be a dangerous experiment without the freedom of speech. That explains why Gnassigbe Eyadema and others were worse than military dictatorships.

And the Nigerian democracy that was once bedridden by apathy and cynicism cannot survive the relapse that gagging of social media would provoke. Social media has greatly improved participation and enthusiasm in the democratic process and has primed the keenness of the public to hold governments to account. The potentials of social media for social reawakening and transformation are truly great.

Once upon a time media houses were shut and burnt to muzzle freedom of expression. At other times news could be killed or played down by editors or newspapers may be mopped out of the streets. With the coming of age of social media, tyranny has been confronted with an immateriality it cannot contain. With mobile telephony and the internet, everyone is now a reporter and news cannot be arrested. The resultant borderless public forum, that market place for the exchange of ideas, would have been a nightmare for Mobutu and Idi Amin. The sort of censorship the proposed law seeks is an anachronism. It belongs to another age.

But who are the senators afraid of this time? They are afraid of Nigerian youths. Power perhaps tampers with vision because Rueben Abati in the throes of the intoxication power inflicted upon him once described the same youths as … “all the cynics, the pestle-wielding critics, the unrelenting, self-appointed activists, the idle and idling, twittering, collective children of anger, the distracted crowd of Facebook addicts, the BBM-pinging soap opera gossips of Nigeria, who seem to be in competition among themselves to pull down President Goodluck Jonathan.”

But why the senate? Yes, because this senate has acquired an ugly reputation for pettiness, cynicism and vindictiveness. Often, what happens at birth can have life long effects. The senate had in the name of punctuality

This senate that has time for an elaborate ceremony to commission suggestion boxes must be watched

denied half of its members participation in its inauguration. And in embracing subterfuge infused its leadership with paranoia. The senate leadership is dogged by a lingering feeling that a major retributive payback lurks. At inception Saraki’s defiance was cheered but those events have left Saraki entangled with chronic anxiety. And the senate is now like a car stuck in the mud, screeching in vain. The PDP didn’t help Saraki by helping themselves to the deputy senate president position. Because Saraki hasn’t stopped answering to why he traded that position. And where will he find cogency?

Those doing the asking have no use for his answer.

The senate leadership feels harassed and persecuted and the proposed law is a reflection of that mindset.

A hounded Saraki gropes and gropes and can’t feel the presidency and that leaves him insomniac and leaves the senate constipated and a bit disoriented. He has a few of his APC men with him out of loyalty and has some others because he has answered them with good committee positions. Yet he cannot rely on the APC senators. He must keep the PDP senators close because they are his real protection against an ambush. So the senate has run on personal calculations and petty business. With many implacable foes, the senate leadership is always tensed, almost always braced for skirmishes. The perceived meddlesomeness of online media and groups must then be infernal nuisance.

Rationality has deserted the senate. The EFCC predictably came calling early . Politics in Nigeria abhors finesse. Saraki’s wife was remembered and Dino Melaye led the ‘maiguards’ there. Melaye’s activism has seasonal variations. But if it weren’t gimmickry or perhaps arm-twisting, why hasn’t Saraki’s wife been charged?

Before Saraki could let out a sigh of relief, the EFCC upped the ante and went for Saraki’s manager. The poor soul went on a “tactical withdrawal”, he eloped. We haven’t heard of him since, perhaps we never will. I am not suggesting the investigations were uncalled for, no.

Those charged with criminal justice delivery must act in manners that suggest they are keen on justice and nothing else. But rather than give the benefit of the doubt, because an investigative agency should retain the right to invite anyone in the course of its duties, the senate embraced retaliatory pettiness. It proclaimed persecution.

No one was then surprised when a petition emerged from somewhere and the EFCC chairman was wanted for a senate probe. A senate shouldn’t be so bereft of compunction. It’s easy to turn anything into a joke. The EFCC chairman refused to turn up and that was sacrilegious. The senate cannot be held to such contempt by any citizen even if that senate had been making a mockery of itself. If the EFCC didn’t lose courage, didn’t tuck in its tail and slink away , why hasn’t anything been heard of those investigations after many months now.

Some say the frightened EFCC nudged the CCB to help out. The CCB received the baton and promptly dug up something, and charged Saraki for wrong assets declaration. The senate, always shortsighted, always cynical, frowned on the probe. Andit must beggar belief that the highest law making body is visibly angry at an attempt by an agency to enforce the laws it has made. Are the laws made for the poor only?

Whenever Saraki has to attend court, the senate , a public institution, suspends sittings and shuts down in solidarity. That solidarity must imply that the senate president is perhaps a victim of something. It could be an oblique hint that big politicians are either beyond sinning or above being punished. The accused is innocent until proven guilty but a horde of senators attending a trial in support of an accused?

The system is broken. The senate has scant regards for principles. Saraki is innocent until proven guilty but the PDP senators, called on God, invoked ancestors and posterity, contrived moral indignation and staged a walk out because they wanted another innocent man to suffer some harm.

It is heart warming that the president has made his position known early. The bill will not get his assent. The senate set him up, many began wailing about the resurrection of Decree 4 . This senate that has time for an elaborate ceremony to commission suggestion boxes must be watched. It wouldn’t matter if that bill is withdrawn tomorrow and someone rises to take credit for being a listening senate president. The senate must answer for attempted castration of the youths. The recall process is cumbersome but the social media must make them know that such actions will always attract heavy social consequences.

SATURDAY Vanguard Vanguard,, DECEMBER 12, 2015—21

e all grew up with grandmothers and mothers W telling us folk tales. My mother told me a lot of those folk tales when I was young. At a time, it seemed to me that she had a story for every occasion; each with its own moral.

Some did not make a lot of sense to me at first but as I grew older, I began to draw some wisdom from them, especially the ones she repeated quite often. One of them applies to the theme of my article today. Here goes….

‘A young lady was seen by neighbours dragging her mother on the floor. The neighbours were aghast and pleaded with the lady to stop the abominable thing forthright. She ignored all pleas.

Some of the neighbours might have been surprised at the stoic silence of the mother being dragged on the floor. Then after a while and quite some distance, she shouted ‘stop.

This was where I stopped with my mother…’ the implication for those who are slow like me, is that she had also dragged her own mother on the floor at some time in the past.

In other words, what goes around, comes around.

Just a couple of weeks ago, the media was awash with how a former Director-General of the Department of State Security, DSS, was literally and figuratively dragged on the floor by people who had served ‘loyally and obediently’ under him in the past. The story was that Colonel Kayode Are refused to vacate his official resident months, if not years after he had been relinquished of the post and the current Oga decided to forcefully evict him. The story went on to state that Col Are had obtained a court injunction (court injunctions seem to be two for kobo among the elites these days in spite of several of directives to the contrary) to stop the eviction. The injunction was ignored and he was instead humiliated and taken out like a common Joe with his family. Now,

What goes around comes around what was Are’s plan? Was it to sit tight were manipulating people and and eventually acquire the said institutions for private ends? Or the ageproperty like the other big men have old dictum which says ‘be nice to the done? Or had he already acquired it people you meet on your way to the top and ‘paid?’ Do people like him ever because you might meet them on your count the cost to the nation of official way down’? residences that are routinely acquired Recently our vocal and voluble Governor these days by people who should of Ekiti State, Mr Ayodele Fayose brought consider themselves privileged and a smile to my lips when he became effusive lucky to have served their father-land in his praise of the judiciary as it tried to in one capacity or the other? This, stand up to the Federal Government in however, is not the thrust of my article the Dasuki case. This is the same man today. who refused to put himself under the Colonel Sambo Dasuki, Col Are’s authority of the judiciary when he was counterpart in the National Security fighting for the government house. In fact, he has done more to Agency, NSA, is denigrate the judiciary currently fighting the and the legislature than battle of his life. He has many of his also been severally contemporaries. He has dragged on the floor by people he once Obasanjo knows instead, demonstrated commanded; again in all the ills of the open contempt for these two institutions. spite of court rulings and Allegations were pointed injunctions. Now the food country but did for thought is this; would pretty little to fix in his direction at the public disgrace and these two officers and disrobement of certain gentlemen be the hapless them when he High Court judges in his victims they are today if state. Even if the they had endeavoured to had the power allegations were build institutions and a to do so healthy respect for the rule of law when they were in the position to do so? How much of respect did they accord the courts they are running to now for succour? Did they ever give a thought to the fact that they would not be there forever when they were putting themselves and the people they served above laws and institutions? When they

unfounded, it is not on record that he has done anything to restore the dignity of the courts and the gentlemen concerned. These selective praises and abuses of the judiciary by politicians are not in the best interests of the judiciary, the nation and even the politicians themselves. The decision to flout or uphold judgements according

to how they affect them will not grow this all important institution. At some point in their lives, especially when they leave power or are fighting superior powers, they might need the protection of an impartial and respected judiciary. The time to build the respect and independence of not only the judiciary but all national institutions, is when they are in power.

Otherwise, what goes around will surely come around.

It is bad to rejoice at somebody else’s misfortune but it was hard for me to sympathise with General Olusegun Obasanjo when he had that accident on Lagos –Ibadan ‘express’ road. He had all of eight years to fix the road among several others. The leaders who built the beautiful highways in South Africa did not have two heads or more money, just a different colour of skin and mentality. Obasanjo knows all the ills of the country but did pretty little to fix them when he had the power to do so. Well, he will not always have a helicopter to fly him around and at some point, he will go through what the rest of us have always gone through. And to those leaders who have turned our hospitals to consulting clinics or worse and have made our skilled medical practitioners to become immigrants, may the day not come when they or their loved ones would be rushed to the hospitals to reap what they have sowed or failed to sow. Those who use sirens to push the rest of us into the gutter forget that some of those on the road are in life and death situations either literally or figuratively. May the day not come when faced with their own life and death situation, they would be pushed into the gutter. Unfortunately, what goes around always….

Our leaders must always think of their legacy. The opportunity to serve mankind is the greatest blessing a man can have. If you have it and are still looking for other blessings, then like Fela would say ‘ you miss road’.

They must also never forget that immutable law of nature, ‘ what goes around, comes around’.

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ama’s boys or mummy’s boys, if that suits you (I am old school, I was at a time when children called their mothers mama), are guys who are very close to their mothers. I am a mama’s boy and always will be.

Even after two younger siblings were born, I still clung to mama as if I was her last card in those days.

But I am devoting today’s article to mama’s boys who have taken the closeness to a new level. Last week I wrote about Tom, a mama’s boy, who left his wife and moved in with his mother. Tom is not alone; another mama’s boy recently left his wife and children and moved in with the mother.

In another case, the guy’s mother was living with him and his family. One day, he and the mother moved out leaving moved with her to the family compound. the wife and the children behind.

The compound and the mother offered him I do understand that protection against the first wife whom, with uwevwirohwofabeno (it is difficult to the daughter, he was too weak to face up understand the inner workings of to. another person’s house). Issues come In the second case, the mother was ill up and spouses who have vowed to and the son, being the eldest child, brought cling to each other till death do them her to live with him and his family. That part go their separate ways. But why was the situation until the bubble burst. The would the guy move in with his mother guy packed his personal belongings and and why would the mother agree to moved out with the mother. Living with your take him in? mother and wife under one roof is tough In one particular case, the mother business. Women are naturally possessive never approved of the marriage and and territorial. I personally feel that the never hid her disdain for the daughtermother should have gone back home once in-law. When the marriage did not she was fit. If she needs assistance around produce a child within the first few the house back home, get her a nanny or years, childlessness became a potent house help. weapon in the hands of the mother. She There is a vast difference between wife gave the daughter-in-law a foretaste of and mother under one roof and two or more hell with her torments. The son is weak wives in a polygamous set up. In polygamy, and could not stand up to the mother. all wives have a stake in the husband, even Luckily the daughter-in-law got if in varying degrees, but many women pregnant and gave birth to a beautiful unfortunately see their mothers-in-law as girl. Five years past and no other child past tense. I was watching a Nollywood came along. That became another lethal movie, when a mother, because of her weapon in the hands of the mother-inexperience with her wicked mother-in-law law. “Who’s going to inherit your (played by, who else, Patience Ozokwor), father’s vast empire after you” became made her daughters to swear that they a constant refrain. would never marry a man whose mother The mother threatened the son with was still alive. disinheritance, if he refused to take In the last case, the mother of this mama’s another wife “who is fertile” to give boy is a lonely widow. When his marriage him a son. The wimp sheepishly started having difficulties, the mother obeyed, married wife number two and

Mama's Boys

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simple fast-forwarded the death of the marriage and mama’s boy moved in with her and they “lived happily thereafter.” The mother is the fabled goat owner who gave out a goat, but held on to the rope. Now the goat has come home to roost.

It is true that divorces and separation are now commonplace, but what I have been struggling to When God understand is why a grown up man will move instituted back to live with the marriage, the mother. It makes absolutely no sense to me. primary As far as I am concerned, reason was such men’s development arrested; in some cases, companionship, isthey are immature adults so remarrying who should never have into matrimony in after the death gone the first place. I find the of a spouse is mama’s boy who moved in with his lonely mother perfectly particularly annoying. I normal encourage him to go a step further to marry his septuagenarian mother so that they can give birth to

children and start a new family.

I also do not understand these mothers who ruin their sons’ marriages for personal and selfish reasons. If they are lonely, why can’t they remarry? When God instituted marriage, the primary reason was companionship, so remarrying after the death of a spouse is perfectly normal. But if your late spouse is “irreplaceable,” get busy with work, hobbies and volunteer work; the world needs many more volunteers for children’s, youths’, old people’s, environmental and many other causes. Breaking up your son’s marriage so that he would stay with you and give you company is morally reprehensible.

To these mama’s boys, you need to grow up; you need to know where to draw the line. Loving your mother is non-negotiable, but if she is selfish and malignant, keep your marriage and nuclear family far away from her.

BIAFRA ON MY MIND Till now, I have resisted the overwhelming urge to write on the ongoing agitation for a sovereign State of Biafra. I studied at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and lived there happily for four years.

But if this agitation were to come to fruition, I will now need a visa to visit my in-laws in Igbo land, if any of my children were to get married to an Igbo man or woman. A visa to a land where I roamed freely for four years without let or hindrance would be very hard to swallow. I am itching to say more, but this column is after all about marriage and family, not politics, as my former Oga, Chris Mammah, recently reminded me.

But Biafra Republic is certainly on my mind.

22—SATURDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015

JULIET EBIRIM 08137897935

Few days to your wedding, you discover your partner is impotent, what would you do?

T

ORI and Kelvin were so in love and engaged to be married. They soon began to discuss sex as they had been celibate. Kelvin would go into some small detail about how excited he was to be getting married to Tori and some of the things he hoped to be able to do when they got married.“Months to their wedding, they started cuddling and would kiss and fondle through our clothes. It went on like that till a few days to their wedding, they decided to go all the way. After making out and petting for an excessive amount of time, Kelvin couldn't get it up. They tried a couple of times again to no avail, he had erectile dis-function. Tori is confused. With the wedding just a few days away, she doesn't know what step to take – Stick with him since she loves him so much or call of the wedding. If you were in her shoes, what would you do? Hear our celebrities;

I love him, not his 'thing'

Ella Mensah

I will dump him — Ella Mensah, Actress I will leave him. Sex is very vital in every relationship so I can't settle for less. I'll call off the wedding.

— Ijeoma Grace Agu, Actress

How will I manage without sex? - Anita Joseph, Actress

I

t's to pray ooo.

Regardless, will still go ahead with the wedding. After all, God wey say 'don't test' go know how to rearrange am naa. I loved him enough to have wanted to marry him. Not his 'thing' or its performance.

H

ow will I manage in a marriage without sex?

Nooo!, I'm sorry, I can't go on with the wedding.

Ijeoma Grace Agu

I'll move on if…

Anita

— Annette Cookey, Singer

I will go on with the wedding

I

won't call off the wedding. I'll move the date a lot further while I decide on what best to do. Then if we can't find a possibility of me getting pregnant by him in anyway, he will have to agree that we get a surrogate dad i.e a sperm donor ….. else I'll call off the wedding and move on.

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— Collette Orji, Actress

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Annette Cookey

o, I won't cancel my upcoming wedding. I realise that in marriage, you've got to know your own personal challenge and keep working on it forever. There are various ways to have children. There's more to marriage than kids and adoption is very legal.. What if you got married and in two weeks he had an accident that made him impotent?

That's not an excuse to cheat. A woman who wants to cheat will cheat and vice versa.

Collette Orji

SATURDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015—23

CALLY IKPE SPEAKS ON NIGERIA MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS

If there are no women in your videos, I frown at it, he says It’s reduced to a manageable number and then presented to the panel of judges who now minimize the number and categorize them.

It’s up to the judges to make sure there’s proper placement and categorization, before it’s finally subjected to online voting. Though there are some categories that are very technical which are not open to viewer’s voting.

•Cally

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igeria Music Video Awards, NMVA, will come alive again on December 17, 2015 at the Eko Hotel and Suites for the ninth year in a row. In what promises to be a night of fun, music and dance, Ghanaian actress, Jackie Appiah, and Nigerian humour merchant, Okey Bakassi, have been unveiled as hosts.

According to the initiator of the award, Cally Ikpe, this year ’s themee is "A wod withou violence’ and he takes us through what to expect this year.

By JULIET EBIRIM

W

hat has kept you going on this whole nine years?

Sometimes, it appears like I’m tricked into doing this event. I said to myself last year that if I don’t see all of the sponsorship on the table, I’m not going to go into it.

From nowhere, I start having some beautiful conversations with top brands initiated by them, not me and then the discussions continue till the event holds. One reassuring thing about that is that it shows that someone is watching and that what you’re doing is right. It is my hope that the event will attract the right sponsorship ultimately. That’s why we’ve been keeping on despite the odds and there’s really been odds. Times when I felt like quitting, giving up. Economically, to me, it’s not worth it. But it’s for the sake of the industry. This is the only music video awards we have. I’m not interested in owning the brand 100%, I think it’s about time people come on board and I’ve been speaking to some people in that regard, but I think our people are obsessed with owning one thing to themselves.

How did you come about the non-violence philosophy for your event?

We started doing our event like the normal showbiz, jamboree thing, then we realised that it could actually be a vehicle to sell something positive. We have a non-violence culture in Nigeria that’s not comfortable with hate, denigration of women, brute force, C M Y K

negativity, lewdness and so on.

By that we mean that as an artiste, you mustn’t be bizarre or obscene in order to get attention. That’s not a legacy to leave behind, it’s a lazy way out. I insist that people who choose to remain on that part are those who are bereft of ideas and creativity and are trying to make up at all cost. It must not be so. The 2Face, Psquares and legendary acts of today are not known for that. When people do things, they should look beyond the present and consider their tomorrow, how they’ll be remembered. A lot of young people are getting to believe that it’s only when you take to arms and get physical that you attract attention.

We can use our little platforms to promote a culture of non-violence and that’s what I’m using the Nigerian Music Video Awards to do. In any case, I have a project that’s called Project Violence Free World Initiative. It runs under our NGO called Youth Culture and Human Dignity Initiative. Fortunately we have a working relationship with the United Nations Women Agency and it’s backed by the European Union. It’s formal and we have an MoU signed in that regard.

What’s the selection criteria for the various categories?

First, we begin the process by calling for entries, then we weed out those that violate our principles and philosophy and those that are highly substandard.

Do artistes come to you to lobby for awards?

Yes, of course. They do so all the time. Ours is a country where people believe that once they are friends with you, they should win.

I’m very close to 2Face, yet it took him that long to win an award at the NMVA. That should attest to the kind of stuff that the event is made of. Some people will even go as far as offering you money. Let me warn that if they try that, it affects their chances negatively, because it’s considered disrespectful to the award.

Has this affected your relationship with some of these artistes negatively?

Yes, because some people will feel that they weren’t nominated or didn’t win because we don’t like them. A lot of artistes have challenged me in that regard. If for example, I know that you don’t reckon with what we’re doing, there’s no way you’ll be nominated for the award. It is meant for people who appreciate it. If someone deliberately tells you that he doesn’t want to be part of the show and you still put him up, it’s not right.

•Okey

We started doing our event like the normal showbiz, jamboree thing, then we realised that it could actually be a vehicle to sell something positive

You mean some artistes come to you to say they don’t want to be part of the show?

Not really. For instance, people have come to ask me that for some years P-Square hasn’t been nominated. That’s because Jude told me that they do not believe or have faith in any award done by Nigerians both locally and internationally. He told me directly, so that explains why. But we are good and we still relate very well, but we have that understanding. In all fairness, Peter and Paul are fantastic artistes and they are my people. But when it comes to matters of principle, you have to recognise and respect people. We are not enemies. They do not come in because it’s their wish and it’s based on principles. I think it’s high time we begin to take our own brand seriously. We need to start believing in our own thing. We don’t have to jump at ceremonies done in Cotonou, Ghana, South Africa, America and so on, while neglecting our own thing.

What makes a good music video?

Fundamentally, a music video is meant to interpret and draw attention to a song. When the video doesn’t complement and support the song, then it’s not a good video. For a video to properly interpret a song, attention must be paid to costuming, cinematography, choreography etc where applicable. If it’s an indigenous song, the video should appeal to the locals.

Flaunting women, money and luxury in music videos seem to be the norm, what’s your take on that?

As a matter of fact, if there are no women in your videos, I frown at it. I like to see women in videos because it makes the video more interesting.

It makes the world complete. Women are like flowers, colourful creatures.

But what we frown at is using such videos to disrespect and denigrate the •Jackie women, making Appiah them appear like they are just toys to play with. You can show off a woman’s sexiness without disrespecting her. Why do men not go naked in videos?

That’s where we have challenges, otherwise a video without a woman in it is a minus for me.

24 — SATURDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015

By KEHINDE AJOSE 08054680266

i z e r O l l i W e s i g o l o p a s i h over ae g g e ? s R c i r y l s e u l B P

•Orezi

OP singer, Esegine Allen better known as Orezi has his seat in the front row of 2015’s hit makers. The Shuperu star who was featured in Harry Song’s Reggae Blues has been condemned by a fan on Twitter for his lyrics in the song. In his own verse, he made reference to Enugu’s girl sexual appetite saying: “Enugu girls them like to do”. Orezi who is perturbed took to his Instagram page to ask if he should apologise to the said Twitter fan “So tell me my people, should I apologize to this fan of mine for saying: “Enugu girls like to do”?

Majority of his fans in their comments stated that he shouldn’t apologize because it’s simply music and he doesn’t have to be sorry for saying the “Truth”.

The comedian,who is also the Special Senior Adviser, SSA, to the Edo state governor on entertainment, met the delectable Ubiaja-Esan born and London university trained damsel about five years ago. Since then, the two lovebirds have been inseparable and only recently decided to seal their love in nuptial bliss While the traditional wedding is expected to hold at the palatial mansion of the bride’s family Benin City G.R.A.

Expected guests include Desmond Elliot,Charles Inojie, Lancelot Oduwa-Imasuen, Kanayo O Kanayo, Oge Okoye, Francis Odega, Akii and Pawpaw, Mama Gee, among others.

While Comedians and actors, Basorge Tariah junior and Okey Bakassi, will be the Master of ceremony, MC, notable comedians like Delta born, I Go dye and I Go save, Maleke, Gandoki, Youngers landlord, Simcard, Gandoki, and may other will add spice to the ceremony expected to be hosted by the Edo state governor and youth mobilizer, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.

B

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he ancient capital of the old Benin empire, ‘Benin city, will today, Saturday play host to hordes of Nollywood artists, comedians and music stars as Roland Igbadumhe, popularly known as ‘Youngest Old Man’ ties the nuptial cord with his sweetheart, Gladys Inegbenosun.

The ‘ white’ wedding proper will take place at the Benin Headquarters of the Omega Fire Ministries, Aduwawa.

I wrote Fele on an aircraft - Lola Savage EAUTIFUL Afropop songstress, Lola Savage is gradually entrenching her name in the minds of her fans and working her way to the pinnacle of her career. The versatile singer recently unveiled a new love song which is a departure from what is popular. Fele is an Afrobeat tune laced with Fela’s Ajoro Jaro Joro chant.

In a chat with Showtime, she reveals the inspiration behind the song.

“I just wanted to come up with a word that makes sense and flows with the message of the song. Fele is a word that is used to express how one feels about the person one is in love with. Love is unconditional.

It’s knowing deep inside that you have someone to trust and rely on. It’s kn

‘Youngesstt Old Man’ quits bachelorhood

•Lola Savage

•UFB

SATURDAY Vanguard,

DECEMBER 12, 2015 — A1 A SPECIAL PROJECTS UNIT PUBLICATION

BY JIM REX-LAWSON MOSES AND MARYAM OSENI th oday, the 12 day of December, 2015, will no doubt, forever remain a notable and memorable day in the history of the Itsekiri kingdom in Delta State, as Crown Prince Godfrey Ikenwoli Emiko, an illustrious son of Africa, of Itsekiri origin ascend the throne of his forefathers. Ironically, 28 years ago, he was denied ascension unto the throne; but rather than struggle for the throne as obtained in other climes, he remained calm and stayed focused on his work and business.

Today, he is gloriously coronated and crowned

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Continues on page A2

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A2—SATURDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015

A SPECIAL PROJECTS UNIT PUBLICATION

Continues from A1

th as the 20 Olu of Warri and Paramount Ruler of the Warri kingdom.

He is the 3rd University graduate to ascend the throne, in Ode Itsekiri (also known as Big Warri) the ancestral home of the Itsekiri nation.

This is no doubt a milestone in the history of the Itsekiri kingdom as his emergence through a very rigorous process, laid down by the kingmakers, was unanimously accepted and greeted with joy and happiness across the entire Itsekiri nation because of his person and what he stands for, hence a new era in Warri kingdom.

Ikenwoli Emiko’s selection, from the house of the late Erejuwa II, which can be likened to that of the Biblical stone which the builders rejected becoming the chief cornerstone, is a humble, kind-hearted, benevolent, loving, prudent, knowledgeable father and philanthropist whose vision and mission of moving the Itsekiri kingdom and its neighbours forward remains paramount with the determination to enthrone peace and unity among the Itsekiris and its neighbours.

Emiko’s ascension to the exalted throne as the Olu of Warri, has also been described by some prominent personalities of Itsekiri extraction as a welcome development for the Itsekiris.

By his antecedents, he is perceived as a bridge builder and peace loving monarch that will usher in prosperity to the Itsekiri kingdom which is about 800 years old, existing as a people and nation before the formation and amalgamation of Nigeria.

With eminent sons and daughters in all spheres of human endeavours, the Itsekiris are very accommodating and parade the oldest histories of Western Education in Nigeria and West Africa. They were among the pioneers that led the development of Medicine, Law and various academic cum professional pursuits th in Nigeria during the middle of 20 Century. An attestation to this fact is the Itsekiri king,thOlu Antonio Domingo, who was a 17 Century graduate of Coimbra University in Portugal - a highly educated monarch.

The historical background of Itsekiri Monarchs dates back to 1848 with reign of Akengbuwa II. After an interregnum of 88 years, Ginuwa II, was coronated in 1936 as the Olu of Warri and the dynasty of the Itsekiri monarchs has continued to the present day.

Criteria for Olu’s selection and how the new Olu emerged The selection of the Olu of Warri is usually a painstaking exercise through laid down criteria put down by the kingmakers and this dates back to about 400 years.

We spoke with some elders of Itsekiri kingdom on the process by which an Olu is selected and how the new Olu emerged. Their words: According to Elder Mac Erewa Maggisson, former Secretary to Warri Traditional Council of Chiefs, ‘’traditionally in Itsekiri, when a king is on the throne, it is noted that the first son, born while he is on the throne, becomes automatically the next in line in the kingship. Even though in other kingdoms all first sons of kings are considered worthy and qualified to inherit the throne of their fathers, in Itsekiri, it is not so. It is the

Criteria for Olu’s selection and how the new Olu emerged first son born while on the throne.

And we call this son, Abiloye, and that crown automatically goes to him.”

“The Itsekiri monarchy is structured in such a way that if a king reigns, it is not necessary that the first son will become the king.

There are some other things that will play out. And if the first son does not meet those criteria, then the second or third son may be considered. But even at that, if none of them meets such conditions, it is extended to the brother of the king, and it goes on like that until the right person is found and crowned. These criteria and conditions are determined by the kingmakers. And, one other thing I know is that for a king to be made and accepted, oracles are consulted as well. It is when the oracles agree with the choice that the new Olu can be installed.”

Also, Sir, Chief E. T. Heymann, said: “Fortunately, after the demise of the late Olu, people thought

The Itsekiri monarchy is structured in such a way that if a king reigns, it is not necessary that the first son will become the king. There are some other things that will play out

otherwise but we followed strictly the rudimentary principles for electing a new Olu. And fortunately, everything went well. The first family considered was his children, but they did not meet the three conditions. So it was moved to his linage, which is his brother. That is

why the Olu elect, Godfrey Ikenwole, was chosen unanimously and he was presented according to the calendar of events after announcing the demise of the late Olu of Warri to the Itsekiris at Ode Itsekiri and everybody accepted him”.

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He'll bring Itsekiri to enviable height — Comrade ESIMAJE AWANI, President, Itsekiri National Youth Council Worldwide

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aturday Vanguard spoke with Itsekiri prominent sons on their expectations, goodwill messages, advice to the new Olu, as well as on his subjects, historical background of Itsekiri kingdom and selection process for the Olu kingship.Excerpts of the interviews.

Background of Itsekiri Kingdom I think the Itsekiri nation has been in existence for about 600 hundred years. We originally migrated from the Benin Kingdom; parts of the Itsekiri people are also from part of the Ijebu linking to Ile-Ife, in South West Nigeria. And I think the Itsekiri nation was even on its own before the formation and amalgamation of Nigeria. So, we have been a nation and a people existing before Nigeria. th Today, we are crowning the 20 Olu of Warri, Prince Godfrey Ikenwoli Emiko. Since the announcement of the new Olu, there has been some significant development within the Iwere land. A visit to new Warri (Ode Itsekiri) today, will reveal some unprecedented developmental strides and changes. I want to believe that his reign will bring about good things in Itsekiri Kingdom.

Expectations No nation can thrive in the absence of peace. I know him as a peacerdloving individual. And he is also the 3 king that will ascend this throne as a university graduate. So, going by his antecedents, I am sure that he is going to be a bridge builder, and he is going to catapult the Itsekiri nation to an

enviable state. I have spoken to him as a father, and we have gotten a lot of promises from him most especially on the division among the Itsekiri people. And he has promised to come and build bridges and see how we can return to our glorious state.

As a people, the Olu comes after God Almighty. That is why whenever we go to pay homage to our Olu, we all go down and put our foreheads on the ground as a sign of respect.

The Olu, supersedes all deities in Iwere Kingdom, so he is next after God. So every freeborn Itsekiri citizen or indigene is a subject of the Olu of Warri.

The only way we can move the Itsekiri ethnic nationality forward, going by modernity and the current trend of things is for us to continue to respect our Olu; listen to his advice, and we must also remember that there is a title, the Afomasi, of which he is not the first to hold such a title as the Olu. The implication of this title is that once he speaks, it is final. So, I will notwantasituationwhereby any other individual will want to claim superiority over the Olu due to his/her financial capacity because our Olu is the all –in –all and we must respect him in that regard. So we must note that whatever he says is final.

My advice for Olu The only advice I can actually chip in now is for him to understand that all hands must be on deck to rebuild this nation. And that responsibilities must be

delegated to people who are supposed to handle it just like the executive arm of the government cannot take the job of the legislature and the legislature cannot take the job of the judiciary.

So, I will advise that, in this new era, the youths should be allowed to perform their duties so that they can be properly integrated, have a sense of belonging and also have a good sense of judgment.

Because not until you include the youths, in the decision making platform, there is no how we would have a better tomorrow because they say, the youths are the bedrock of any nation. I want to believe that this is applicable to the Itsekiri nation as well. So, if we must have a better Itsekiri nation or a better tomorrow, we must start building the youths.

To the entire Itsekiri nation I will like to say to the entire Itsekiri nation, that we are moving into a very integral part of our history, with the crowning of our Olu. So, all hands must be on deck to move the Itsekiri nation forward. If that is done, I am optimistic that we will have a better Itsekiri nation.

Goodwill message to Olu To my beloved king, I want to say that your reign is going to be peaceful. I also want to say that you will reign for another sixty years considering your age. But I know that you will be one of the Olus that will sit on that throne for a very long time because I know for a fact that you have come to fix and build bridges that will put the Itsekiri nation on the right part. So I wish you a long stay on the throne, I wish you long life and I wish you a very blissful reign.

•Comrade Esimaje Awani

I expect positive change in new Itsekiri kingdom —Elder Mac Erewa Maggisson, former Secretary, Warri Traditional Council of Chiefs

The Itsekiri kingdom and Culture he Itsekiri kingdom is well T structured. It is one of the oldest kingdoms in this country. It is about six

hundred years in existence and the kingdom is centered around the throne as the king of Warri, which is better known as the Olu of Warri. And the first Olu that was installed came from the Benin kingdom.Hewastheeldestsonofthethen king of Benin, I think he is king Olua of Benin, and for some political problems they had at that time, the father (the then king of Benin} had to organize him to be taken away from that kingdom to find another kingdom because they were after his life. So when he was leaving, seventy princes accompanied him and he left through the river until he eventually settled in Warri that is now known as Warri kingdom, with headquarters in what is called Big Warri but the traditional name is Ode itsekiri. So, that is how the kingdom was found. Like I said, it’s a well structured kingdom,centeredaroundtheking,palace chiefs; which forms the Council of Chiefs of the kingdom and they see to the dayto-day running of the kingdom. And the king,whichistheOlu,presidesasthehead of all these councils. All the councils report to him and he makes the final decision on any issue.

Criteria for selection As you know, Itsekiri has always had one king and it will always have one king.

I believe it is the only tribe or ethnic group

in this country that is known for this. In some kingdoms, we have the Oba or Olu, but underneath, there are small conclaves of some mini kings in such arrangements. But it is not so in Itsekiri kingdom. Take for instance, the Benins, theObaisthesupremekingintheirland, but they have what we call Enoges, which are princes that are crowned as mini kings but they all report to the Oba of Benin yet they have autonomy to do and undo many things in the kingdom but it’s only on extreme cases that they refer matters to the Oba, otherwise, they have the powers to deal with such.

But it’s not so in itsekiri kingdom; we have just one king, one language.

How the Olu emerged The Itsekiri monarchy is structured in a way that if a king reigns, it is not necessary that the first son will become the king. There are some other things that will play out. And if the first son does not meet those criteria, it is given to the second or third son. But even at that, if none of them can meet such conditions, it is extended to the brother of the king, and it goes on like that until the right person is found and crowned.

These criteria and conditions are determined by the kingmakers. And, one other thing I know is that for a king to be made and accepted, oracles are consulted as well. It is when the oracle agrees with the choice that the new Olu can be installed.

Traditionally in Itsekiri, when a king

is on the throne, it is noted that the first son, born while he is on the throne, becomes automatically the next in line in the kingship. Even though in other kingdoms every all first sons of kings are considered worthy and qualified to inherit the throne of their fathers, in Itsekiri, it is not so. It is the first son born while on the throne. And we call this son Abiloye, and that crown automatically goes to him.

Myexpectations Personally, I feel the new Olu will introduce new concepts in the running of the kingdom; because you can imagine a man who ought to have been the king twenty-eight years ago, he was denied of that kingship and he did not make any noise nor put up a

protest but rather went about his normal business. And for him to now be the one that is chosen, not only by his own people, but by the Oracle, and he just took it like that, the entire Itsekiri people are very happy and pleased with his choice. So, hemustbeagreatmantoobecauseIthink that in some places, there would have been serious crisis as a result of that but it was averted. So I think it is a credit to his owncharacterandhisstyleofdoingthings because he was the Abiloye in the last dispensation. I see this as God’s doing.

So I am expecting a great change, a positive change in the new dispensation of Itsekiri kingdom, from today, as he is crowned as the new Olu of Warri.

•Elder Mac Erewa Maggisson

My advice to the new Olu My advice to the new king is that, first of all, before a decision is taken, the king should thoroughly listen to all the s i d e s involved in any case or m a t t e r broughtbefore him as this will go a long way to promote justice in the kingdom

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A SPECIAL PROJECTS UNIT PUBLICATION

Unity, peace and progress are his top priorities — Sir, Chief E. T. Heymann, KSQ, FIHN, Secretary, Warri Council of Chiefs

Sir, Chief E. T. Heymann, KSQ, FIHN, Secretary, Warri Council of Chiefs About the Olu

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efore his emergence, there have been two Olus that were graduates.

Ikemwoli is the 3rd Olu graduate that will occupy that throne. We are very pleased with this because we are in modern Nigeria, things are moving fast, we want people who can stand and stand tall to be able to present exactly what it means. And such people must be well educated. The new Olu is well educated and grounded. His working experience has thought him how to deal with people.

He set up his own organizations and he is managing them. He also had a working experience before setting up his companies. He has charisma, a way of getting people going, and that is one beauty that he has. A listening human being to the core; considers all details and the Itsekiris are with him.

If you have been in the palace, any group that visited him in Itsekiri land, the first thing he advocates for is unity because in unity we grow strength. And after his

coronation today, I am sure that he is going to repeat it again if he hears that there are misunderstandings because he does not want that at all.

He has been hammering on it, and pleading with them and they have all accepted. A council was set up for people to advise him on the traditions of Itsekiri land, building him for the task ahead. And so, eminent people who have important issues to discuss and give advice were given one hour each to do so. In the process, the Olu did not just listen, he recorded them with his pen and recorder. So, people had to dish out the truth because he will refer to these materials later.

He has completed the three important stages; after the burial of the late Olu which lasted for fourteen days. Another ten days are observed before the coronation to take the mantle of leadership in Iwere, Itsekiri kingdom.

The expectations are high and he has promised. He is going to go

systematically to make all the obligations to usher in prosperity into Iwere land; that we are looking forward to and if you have been with him, you will know that he is speaking from his hearth and he is saying the truth if you have watched him. He believes in give and take, and we are blessed in Itsekiri land, Iwere, that we have enough for everybody. So, there is no need for any person to be greedy. The Olu does not want anybody to suffer, and this is what he advocates.

If you visit th Big Warri, Ode Itsekiri, on the 12 of December ( today) you will see everything; how the Olu is coronated, the family that will do it has been agreed upon and everything will go smoothly. After the coronation, we will then leave and go to the palace.

Here he will have his committee of the traditional rulers’ council, council of chiefs for instance, after that, the question of advisory council will drop because then they should have completed their duty. So, he will be left there with the Traditional Council and the Warri Council of Chiefs of which I am the Secretary. That is the situation we are looking forward to.

How the Olu emerged Normally, when an Olu passes away, the Chiefs (called Mesa) will meet and follow the protocols which have been laid out in finding out who will succeed and when they do the selection which

is strictly by merit. The first step was that the children of the demised Olu, lost in a way because they did not meet the conditions. For a child to succeed, the father must come from Itsekiri, must have Edo blood in a way and the mother must be Itsekiri or Edo but must have an Edo blood because we trace our origin to Benin. But that of the Yoruba was not there because their maternal people come from Yoruba, and the last Olu did not rectify it because he did not foresee any difficulty. So, when his children didn’t meet that obligation, we moved further to his immediate brother. That was how the king emerged. It was universally agreed and he went through all the protocols. He was presented to the Itsekiris after announcing the demise of the late Olu. That is the process dates back to about 400 years ago and we all followed it.

Olu’s priorities His priorities are unity, peace and tranquility. After his selection, he told each group that visited him that; “please we want peace in the land, we have enough to eat, we are blessed, let us not be greedy, it can be spread, so that we can all be happy. It is our God given right.”

This how to pull people along and that is in his charisma. He has a listening ear and he will be able to carry the Itsekiris along. Also, he has been counseled, and he watches what he says; he does not want to offend anybody. So these are the steps for unity, progress and tranquility in the land.

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Itsekiri is next to Israel —Rev Gbajero (JP)

espect for custom and tradition R Well to the best of my knowledge as an international preacher whose

sermons have been translated to 30 languages and can be viewed anywhere in the world, I live by the word of God. In Romans 13:7, Apostle Paul (of a blessed memory admonished us that honour should be given to whom honour is due and customs to whom customs. I personally have regards for my customs despite my divine calling and as a preacher for 42 years, so the kingship of Warri kingdom is a wonderful kingdom because it is so close to Israel, the way they do things.

About the new Olu The father named him Ikenwoli, which simply means a king has come into the home that is the actual name Erejuwa II gave to his son. But you know the world, when Joseph had that wonderful name, his people did not allow him to actualize his dreams but it eventually came to pass that is why I liken this king to Psalm 119: 22 where the rejected stone became the headstone. It is the Lords doing and it is wonderful in our eyes. He is a humble king, a humble man by the Grace of God but you know by the time the crown enter his head, he will not be what we taught he was before C M Y K

anymore, so that is the period people like us as a man of God start praying for him for perfect God’s direction .

He is the best king I can say the Itsekiris have ever had. He is a giver, very kind and simple. You know king David was the greatest king in Israel but he humbled himself.

A king is supposed to be the most proud and arrogant human being on earth but those who have the spirit of God humbled themselves and this is the kind of king Warri Kingdom is having today. He is a man I bear witness. It is our duty as men of God to back him up with prayers that the Holy Spirit of God continues to lead him with humility and every other thing.

The Christians will greatly benefit from him because the greatest treasure to any nation is to have a king that has the fear of God. This Omo Oba has the fear of God, he fears his God to the best of my knowledge and has a great regard for men of God of repute. So when we have such a king on the throne, the nation must be blessed.

Expectations

•Rev (Dr) S. E. Gbejero (JP) The reign of Omo Oba Godfrey Emiko, no doubt will be peaceful because he is a king that has the fear of God. Once you have the fear of God, you have all the qualities. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, knowledge and everything. The Bible says the heart of the king is in the

hand of God and in Proverb 20: 2, the fear of a King is like a roaring lion, he said any man or woman that provoked the king wrongeth his soul. So the king is a special human being by creation, so being that they are special, they are wonderful, the moment they have the fear of God, their reign will be peaceful. And above all, a king that will be a blessing to his people must be a king that listens to opinions of both the rich and the poor at all times.

So, we believe God that when this king comes on board he should make the church in the palace an International Church; it should not be attached to a particular denomination, because it is a Warri Kingdom Church, not to be known as Foursquare or Apostolic Church.

My advice is that those who are in the Aghofen (The King’s Palace) should be banned and let fresh people come in. They should not make it the same new wine in an old bottle. There should be righteousness of the soul, kindness in the heart there should be no tribalism, no nepotism, and st no favoritism. Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 1: 10, said; I besiege you in the name of Jesus Christ that let there be no divisions among you.

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Thrills, grandeur as Itsekiri crown 20th Olu of Warri

BY EGUFE YAFUGBORHI

•Olu of War ri, HRM, Godfrey Ikenwoli Emiko

After over three months of dutiful mourning and fulfillment of final funeral rites for the HRM, Ogiame Atuwatse II, the Itsekiri nation will today summon the fortitude to bear the loss of the 19th Olu of Warri with the coronation of a succeeding Omoba (Prince) Ikenwole Godfrey Emiko.

For the subjects and guests expected from far and near, except for dignitaries who could fly shopper, the celebration begins with a ferry from various jetties in Warri, Delta state, to the Palace in Ode-Itsekiri, the remote ancestral home of the Itsekiri, a few kilometers from Warri paradoxically also known as Big Warri because of its historical significance whereas it is no more than a major street in the main Warri town.

The Warri kingdom maintains two palaces and like his modern day predecessors, the Olu designate will be

crowned with virtually all key coronation rites completed at the ancestral palace in OdeItsekiri before he proceeds to reign from the Aghofen Palace in the urban Warri, headquarters of Warri South council. All major rites are exclusively performed at OdeItsekiri The man, Omoba Ikenwole Emiko A graduate of Business Administration from the University of Benin, Edo State, the incoming monarch becomes the third graduate to ascent the throne. The new Olu is married and blessed with three children.

In a brief career development and shift into self initiatives, he is said to have distinguished himself.

Michael Tidi, Special Assistant to the Delta state governor on media who also shares royal lineage through the Royal House of Emiko recalled that the incoming Olu exhibited management leadership

in the oil services firm, Slumberger Nigeria Limited, and also held other professional and administrative positions.

“Omoba Ikenwoli is a religious, community, professional and business leader. He was chairman, HOSTCOM, Delta State Chapter, and was credited with the being prominent in the agitations and securing of judicious use of the 13% Derivation accruable to oil and gas producing communities in Delta”, he said of the incoming Olu. On community development and social life, he is reputed to be vast on the tradition and culture of the land having been predestined to be king from birth by his father, the 18th Olu who variously named him Abiloye (born on the throne) and Ikenwole (the king has come).

“He is reputed to have mentored many Itsekiri sons and daughters. He is a unifying factor in the Emiko Royal Family. The new monarch is noted for Continues on page A14 C M Y K

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will rent the air, conveying the joy of the Itsekiri who are happy to have a new monarch.

“As the Itsekiri tradition demands, chiefs, princes, the Olu’s relations, among others, will line the route to honor the new monarch and publicly demonstrate their allegiance, as he makes his way to his exalted seat”, Tidi explained

•Chief Rita Lori (right) with other palace Chiefs at a traditional function recently.

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marked honesty, commitment, compassion, and listening ears.

He is knowledgeable and philosophical as many of his utterances relive the past, pattern the present and define the future”, Tidi added.

He is also in warm relations and robust friendship with quite meaningful proportion of the high and low among Istekiri ethnic neighbors, a virtue that will count so much on how well he consolidates on cementing mutual relations between the Itsekiri and immediate Urhobo and Ijaw neighbors and much beyond.

“He is a patriotic, conscientious, selfless and forthright. A grassroots mobilizer, loved by all and greatly admired for his transparent and detribalized nature, Omoba Ikenwole remains an epitome of goodwill to all regardless of tribe, age, gender, ethnicity or status in the society”, Tidi further noted.

Thrills, suspense on the coronation rites Today’s event which begins with a boat regatta taking off at the Warri Club. The occasion will attract dignitaries from far and near including government functionaries, bureaucrats, technocrats, politicians, the diplomatic corps and large turnout of royal father ’s with expected robust presence by the Bini Kingdom with whom Itsekiri holds ancestral links as well as monarchs from the West.

With the mourning over and the royal transition climaxing in the coronation, the Itsekiri nation will also display the best of traditional apparels and grandeur. Already both palaces’ grounds have worn new look with robust facelift, so is the concern displayed by loyal subjects many of who have had to also decorate their private homes and streets, especially those living around both palaces.

Adoption of royal title

Clearly, the height of the rites and excitement would come when the incoming Olu trades his birth name, Prince Godfrey Ikenwole Emiko, for the rest of his life, for his chosen royal title. According to the tradition, the 20th Olu assumes his royal title following a ritual in which he, in blindfold, will be made to pick one sword from an array of swords belonging to the Olus who originated the existing “royal houses” as preferred to ruling houses in the kingdom.

The royal titles originally adopted by any of the earliest Olus whose sword the blindfolded Omoba picks automatically becomes his adopted title. “As he dons his royal regalia, supported by his Olori (wife transformed queen) and waves his horsetail following his crowning, shots of dane guns by traditional hunters will be heard while profuse praise singing and chants of Ogiame by the ageless traditional drummers

Expectations From Prince Yemi Emiko of the royal family to palace Chiefs including Lori-Ogbebor, Chief Thomas Ereyitomi to opinion leaders in the stature of Edward Ekpoko, Secretary, Itsekiri Leaders of Thought and Chairman, Warri Study Group as well as Mr. Esimaje Awani, President, Itsekiri National Youth Council, the refrain expectation on the lips of everyone is the confidence that the new Olu will take the kingdom to higher heights.

Ekpoko said, “His enthronement is one that has attracted tremendous support and endorsement from the generality of the people. In corresponding terms, he is amiable and very much in touch with the people and the traditions.

“He understands very well that the crown binds every Itsekiri together as on people, one kingdom and aware of the huge task it is to lead the throne. I believe he has what it takes to meet the expectations including those of our immediate neighbors towards improved coexistence within and beyond his domain.

I pray I never witness another royal transition—LoriOgbebor For many among the subjects, the Royal transition involving the mourning and completion of passage rites for a department monarch and the crowning of successor could be a once in a lifetime experience.

For Igba of Warri and community rights crusader, Chief Rita Lori- Ogbebor, she prays never to witness another royal transition in the Warri kingdom having witnessed two already.“It is a joy to behold and a wealth of experience to see, feel and imbibe the rituals, thrills and celebrations surrounding the transition from a departed Olu to a successor. I have learnt a lot from witnessing two mainly.

“And the moment he wears the crown today, the incoming Olu transforms into father of all Itsekiri nation, but notwithstanding the fatherly status, considering my genealogical age now in relation to his, it will not be proper to wish that I witness another royal transition. I don’t pray to see another one” she said.

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OLU OF WARRI:

Chosen by the Royal Family, cleared by the oracles, loved by the people

BY EGUFE YAFUGBORHI

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Tell me anywhere else in the continent where a successor is named same day, most times same hour the passage of a sitting monarch is announced •Olu of Warri, HRM, Godfrey Ikenwoli Emiko

HE exalted throne of the Olu of Warri, Delta state abhors no vacuum so much that it is the day the passage of an occupant is announced that a successor, Olu is pronounced in one breath. This tradition was demonstrated September 19 in the announcement of Prince Ikenwole Godfrey Abiloye Emiko as Olu designate minutes after his elder brother HRM, Ogiame Atuwatse II, the 19th Olu was announced to have joined his ancestors in his 28th year on the throne.

Mr. Edward Ekpoko, Chairman, Warri Study Group who is also Secretary, Itsekiri Leaders of Thought said this tenacious grip, not allowing vacuum on the throne does not exist in any other monarchy in Africa in practical terms. “Tell me anywhere else in the continent where a successor is named same day, most times same hour the passage of a sitting monarch is announced”, Ekpoko demanded.

At the naming of the Olu whose coronation will be done today were Prince Tsola Emiko, first son of the Atuwatse II and his two siblings, Toju and Nere.

By the hereditary appeal of the throne, many undiscerning minds had thought Tsola would automatically step into his

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father’s shoes, but the selection of Abiloye was greeted with a thunderous ovation devoid of rancor and bickering.

Chief Yaya Pessu, Ojomo of Warri who wore the garb of Ologbotsere in announcing the passage and selection on the occasion held at Ode-Itsekiri clarified that, “by the tradition, a son who must succeed his father must be born of an Itsekiri or Benin mother. This is a standing tradition and Tsola does not meet this requirement.”

Prof. Jim Omatseye added that, “In the event that a son is not qualified to succeed the father, it falls on the princes of the kingdom from the three ruling houses, Ginuwa, Erejuwa and Ogiame to choose among themselves who should take the throne. The lots fell on Prince Ikenwole Emiko and he is generally accepted by the Iteskiri nation.”

The Iteskiri tradition on succession Ekpoko elaborated that there is more to enthronement of a new monarch beyond counting on sons and brothers of a departed Olu. He said, “The law regulating succession to the throne was published in 1979 in the government gazette and has been in public domain since then. It was that law that was followed when Tsola’s father became Olu. That’s why there is no misunderstanding of any kind because everybody knows where he belongs. There is nothing you can do about it.

“That law, given force by tradition, does not cast a rigidity that it must pass to the first son. Priority is given to male children of a deceased Olu who are first considered, not necessarily in order of seniority.

Seniority could be there, but it is not compulsory that the most senior son must ascend.

“Upon demise of the Olu, the Ologbotsere summons the royal families who are limited to descendants of the last three Olus, the Ginuwa, Erejuwa and Atuwatse descendants under the circumstance. They constitute the royal family for the purpose of installing a new Olu. Those to attend the Ologbotsere convened meeting must be descendants 18 years and above. They are asked to produce a candidate for the stool.

The Oton-Olus, as they are known, then present a candidate to the Ologbotsere who is head of the Olu Advisory Council.

“The Ologbotsere presents the Oton-Olus’ candidate to the Advisory Council. The Chiefs are briefed. Next, the oracle is consulted. If the oracle refuses the candidate, the process is repeated.

When the oracle is to be consulted, the Advisory Council are there, the Olori-Ebi (Head) of the royal family will be there.

“When the royal family presents a candidate to the Council, the choice must be acceptable to them too before they progress to the oracle. If the choice is not acceptable to the council, the royal family must go back to present another candidate, but it is the royal family that must nominate. If the candidate is not accepted, the process must be repeated until an acceptable candidate to the oracle is found.”

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Abiloye, the 20th Olu Options for a successor In the history of the Itsekiri kingdom, Olus that are not first sons who have succeeded their fathers are more than those who have succeeded as first sons to the throne where ascension also looks beyond sons taking over from fathers.

“The stretched options are designed to give room for suitable candidates with the oracle involved and all that. You don’t just restrict it from father to first son so you don’t tie or limit the people’s choice. The spelt out options also guide against unnecessary acrimony.”

Dousing voices of sentiments, doubts in the selection process

resh Angle, an online newspaper published by an F Itsekiri alleged that sometimes

sentiments could come to play in the application of the rules. Their story so alleged. It headlined the selection of Abiloye as, “New Warri monarch emerges after 28 years denial.”

Fresh Angle said it gathered from “impeccable sources” that Prince Abiloye Ikenwoli Emiko was the original choice of his father, Erejuwa II to succeed him when the late Atuwatse II (Abiloye’s predecessor) was crowned 28 years ago.

Ekpoko responded that, “It is very wrong to insinuate that late Chief Ogbemi Rewane, then Ologbotsere deprived the OmoOba, Abiloye of the Oluship 28 years ago. Atuwatse II at that time presented to Rewane by descendants of the ruling

houses. And that candidate was accepted by the Advisory Council and the oracle as well. Rewane followed the tradition and the law.

“There is no doubt that Abiloye is very popular among the Itsekiri people. And If the wish of a deceased Olu matters in the selection of a successor, he would have been Olu 28 years ago. He was the wish of his father, but by Itsekiri tradition, a departed Olu has no say on who succeeds him because the question of succession arises only after his departure.

“28 years ago, the kingmakers, the princes themselves, the Itsekiri people and the Oracle thought otherwise and that was how Atuwatse II came in and when he came he enjoyed the support of the people. Right from that moment too, the incoming Olu, Omo-Oba as we call him, has actually been enjoying the confidence and trust of the Itsekiri people. You saw it in the day he was presented.”

Abiloye, the 20th Olu Close interaction with Abiloye to unveil his personality and his vision for the Itsekiri people on the throne remained almost impossible throughout the 90 days of his selection. He went into seclusion pending conclusion of passage rites of his predecessor which has ended giving way for his coronation today.

In his stead, the Olori-Ebi, head of the Emiko family, Pince Eroro Emiko, assumed Regent who was receiving visitors including other traditional rulers and subjects paying homage to the royal family. One of such occasions was at the Olu Palace, Warri where the

8 years ago, the kingmakers, the princes themselves, the Itsekiri people and the Oracle thought otherwise and that was how Atuwatse II came in and when he came he enjoyed the support of the people

royal family, joined by palace Chiefs, received FECTRON, Fellowship of Christian Traditional Rulers of Nigeria who praised the Itsekiri nation for “exemplary” smooth transition at the passage of Atuwatse II. However, in the absence of Abiloye telling it himself then, from Palace Chiefs to opinion leaders and the ordinary Itsekiri man, the first impression on the Olu is that of a man with kind disposition and significant touch with the tradition of the land.

These feelings were expressed

by Chief Rita Lori-Ogbebor, Igba of Warri and Chief Thomas Ereyitomi, Akatigbi-Ayeola of Warri, Dr. Joseph Otumara, former Delta commissioner of Health and a host of others.

The Olu, in his late 50s, is a graduate of the University of Benin where he read Business Administration. Ekpoko as well as Esimaje Awani, President, Itsekiri National Youth Council confirmed that he is married to a wife from the “Omawumi Family”, blessed with three children.

“He was into private business and was at a time Chairman, Itsekiri chapter of the Host Communities of Nigeria Producing Oil and Gas (HOSTCOM) until becoming Olu designate”, Awani and Ekpoko further confirmed.

“His love for the Itsekiri nation is unquestionable. There are a lot of expectations and the Itsekiri are well pleased with his choice.

The issue of the crown is not politicized. We must watch our statements on social media”, Esimaje further appealed.

SATURDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015 — 25

By TOFARATI IGE 08068792241

10 dancers battle for 7 grand finale slots in Glo

…as Contemporary African Dance takes centre stage

T

he seven finalists that will engage in the last battle for places in the grand finale of the Globacom-sponsored Dance with Peter reality TV show will emerge this weekend.

In contention for the final slots are GXtreme, Tee Jay, T-Rubber, Amazing Amy, C-Fly, Julius Fakta, Kelvin, Miracle, Da Octopus and Mali Hot Boy. After last week’s performance, Contemporary African Dance will take

the center stage in this week’s edition and three of the ten remaining dancers will exit the competition, with the rest seven slugging it out for the final 5 that will contest for the grand prizes offered by the next generation network, Globacom.

Kevin, Teejay, Julius Faktah, T-Rubber and Miracle were put on probation in the last edition. Which of them will survive and which three will go home?

Dance Director, Wale Rubber, said the focus this week was meant to showcase the rich African culture through dance and examine the ability of the housemates to switch and adapt to African music and dance. He added that the judges, Don Flexx, Kaffy and Peter Okoye would be looking out for unique skills, techniques, and versatility.

I don’t blame ar tis tes artis tistes who walk out of award ceremonies - YQ T

his is a season of awards when honour is given to those it’s ‘due’ to. It is also a time when celebs, like disgruntled politicians who have lost elections, take to their social media platforms to cast aspersions on, and castigate award organisers when they do not pick awards.

Showtime recently had a chat with ‘I like Girls’ crooner, YQ, and we asked for his opinion on this. In his words, ‘We’re all humans, and we have different ways of reacting to things.

Some feel they’ve worked very hard to deserve the award, while some feel they were robbed. I won’t blame the people who do that, and I wouldn’t blame the

Fan once sprayed me N500,000 on stage, another fainted- DJ Consequence

A

korede Precious Pelumi popularly known as DJ Consequence is one of the fastest-rising DJs in the country at the moment, and his skills on the turn-table are not in doubt. He is also the resident DJ of weekly entertainment industry networking platform, Industry Nite, as well as popular Quilox Club, Lagos.

He also seems to be a crowd favourite as he told Showtime some incredible things fans have done to him.

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Top 15

trending music and videos of the week

1

. DJ Flammzy featuring Falz and CDQ – Modinatu DJ Flammzy teams up with Falz and CDQ in this song titled Modinatu.The tune is produced by Fliptyce.

2

. Olu Maintain featuring Mc Galaxy -Chop knuckle Olu Maintain is back with a new song titled Chop knuckle. He collaborates with Mc Galaxy in the song. The groovy tune is jointly produced by Mr Lekki and Emmani.

3

. Yemi Alade featuring DJ Arafat – Do as I do Yemi Alade releases the second single off her forthcoming album Do as I do.

Yemi Alade has headlined major shows and clinched several awards this year. She collaborates with DJ Arafat in this Afropop son produced by Selebobo.

4

. Loose Kaynon featuring Koker and Dice Ailes - Awon temi Loose Kaynon ends the year by unveiling his new song Awon temi.It is produced by C Kay & Don L37.

5

. Mo’cheddah - Agogo The Koma roll sensation puts her fans in the Christmas mood with the release of Agogo. The song is a melodious tune with excellent delivery and production. It is produced by Olaitan Dada

6

. Enye - Odim N’obi Enye is back with the release of Odim N’obi video. The songstress has been compared to big wigs in the industry like Omawunmi.

7

. Niyola – My prayer Niyola celebrates her birthday with a new song titled My prayer. If you had any doubt about Niyola’s talent, this right here will turn you into a believer! The song is produced by TK

8

. Shiikane – Come home Sensational girl group, Shiikane unveils the video of their song titled Come home. The video is shot in London and directed by Ovid official

9

organisers as well.’

On if he has ever been in a situation where he expected to grab an award, but didn’t get it, he responded with a wry smile. ‘Severally; in fact, over 25 times.

Sometimes I even get so angry, but it’s all good. As long as you’re nominated, it means you’re recognised.’

Answering a question on the craziest thing a fan has done to him, he quipped, ‘The craziest experience I’ve had with a fan is when a guy sprayed 500,000 on the spot on me; I guess he really enjoyed the way I played.’

If you think that’s ‘crazy,’ you better think again because that’s not all. DJ Consequence also told us what a female fan once did to him. ‘A female fan once fainted while I was performing; it was crazy,’ he said.

So what does he do that elicits that kind of reaction from fans? He replied, ‘It’s simple; I only give the fans what they want at the moment. I study my audience to know whether they’re more of young or old people before I give them the right thing.’

. Reminisce featuring Seriki, Lil Kesh, Falz and CDQ -Kpomo Baritone voiced rapper, Reminisce returns with the remix of his song Kpomo. He collaborates with Seriki, Falz, Lil Kesh and CDQ in this song.

1

0. MVP - Bad girls need love MVP unveils the visuals of his raunchy song titled Bad girls need love. The video was shot in Lagos and directed by Young Pizzy Brainworx.

1

1. DJ Dimplez featuring Burna Boy -Clean in this B DJ Dimplez drops video for his new single Clean in this B featuring Burna Boy. The video was shot in Johannesburg with Lay Lizzy making a cameo appearance.

1

2 Wizkid – Baba Nla Wizkid unveils the video snippet of his song Baba Nla.He recently shared this snippet on his instagram page.

1

3. Popito – Alafia Talented producer Popito, drops the video of his new single Alafia. The song is an inspirational tune which gives the listener a heart of gratitude.

1

4. Cece -Jihun Afro soul queen, Jihun unveils the visuals of her song Jihun.

The video is directed by Nash media.

1

5 DJ Xclusive featuring Fiesta Black-Rassa DJ Xclusive adds something new to the airwaves.He releases the video of his song Rassa featuring Black Fiesta. The video is catchy and has clear images.

26 — SATURDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015

BON Awards: Akure stands still for Nollywood stars

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FTER months of being off the radar, delectable actress, Yinka Olukunga, popularly known as Nnenna, is returning to public domain.

She has concluded plans to hold her annual ‘’Nnenna and Friends End-ofYear show.’’

Yinka

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The show holds on Sunday, December 20, at MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos.

The beautiful actress explained that she took a break from acting or engaging in any social activity after she had her set of twins in September this year, having quietly got married last year.

She said, the show, which is yearly organized by Wale Adenuga Productions promises to be exciting and memorable.

The show, hosted by Nnenna, is the largest gathering of children in Nigeria for the purpose of family entertainment, games.

The expected 5,000 children would be treated to brilliant musical performances from the 9ice, Adewale, Oshadipe Twins, Korede Sax, Dizzy Mbata, Bryno and N-Stars. Also, stand-up comedians including Chigul, MC Prince, Jim Boi and Bukunmi Preacher will be on hand to spice up the show with jokes, while Papa Ajasco & Company, Nigeria’s number one comedy group will be live on stage to make everyone laugh like never before. ‘’Lagos is really in for a super treat this December because with our line up of artistes, and other performers and activities, the Nnenna and Friends End-ofYear show guaranteed to be maximum fun for all ages,’’Nnenna said.

the coveted special recognition awards, former president Goodluck Jonathan and former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio, will join Chiwetalu Agu, Tade Ogidan and Patience Ozokwor. Speaking on the choice of the Special Recognition Awardees, the executive producer, Seun Oloketuyi said, “There is no gainsaying the fact that no other Nigerian president helped Nollywood grow as much as former President Goodluck Jonathan. We are all living witnesses to how he established a N2 billion fund aimed at improving the distribution of audio-visual content, reducing piracy, protecting intellectual property in the entertainment industry and boosting film production and distribution within and outside Nigeria.”

He described Akpabio, now the Senate Minority Leader, as a Nollywood aficionado with more than just a passing interest in the arts. Oloketuyi said the choice of the three veterans was arrived at after due consideration of their contributions to Nollywood over the years.

Ojukwu, Ifeajuna resurrect in The Encounter

Actresses displaying their awards at last year's BON

Yinka Olukunga returns, holds Nnenna & Friends End-of-Year show

F

EW hours to the 2015 edition of the Best of Nollywood Awards holding this Sunday, palpable excitement and anticipation pervade the ancient city of Akure, the Ondo State capital, as Nollywood’s finest actors and actresses storm the city for the awards ceremony.

Already, the city is bubbling with life with many of the nominees arriving in droves ahead of tomorrow’s event.

Some of them, HVP gathered, will be participating in a mini tourney at the 18-hole golf course with Governor Olusegun Mimiko at the idyllic and mountainous Idanre town on Saturday. Winner of the golf tourney among the celebrities will walk home with a cash prize, courtesy the governor. It is the seventh edition of the indigenous awards ceremony which, since inception, has been putting a golden seal of excellence on the works of those toiling and sweating to produce and star in feel-good and educative movies. ‘’This year’s edition is especially symbolic because unlike previous editions where only veterans were honoured with

W

HAT transpired between h e Biafran warlord, Gen. Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, and his bosom friend Emmanuel Ifeajuna, during the Nigeria-Biafra civil war, has been adapted into a short-story film titled, The Encounter, 35 years after the end of the civil war.

The emotional film, a poignant historical drama adaptation based on the short story of same title “The Encounter”, by historian, Henry Onyema, premiered last Saturday in Lagos amidst applause.

It captures the remarkable story of a moment in the history of the nation and how the events that transpired helped in determining what Nigeria is today.

Set in 1967 during the civil war, an imprisoned Ifeajuna was summoned by his friend and Commander-inChief of Biafran Army, Ojukwu for one last conversation and last encounter.

The film, a production of Trino Studios, was shot in Lagos, directed by Tolu Ajayi, produced by Ekene Mekwunye and the screenplayed by Sammy Egbemawei.

The role of the main characters, General Emeka and E m m a n u e l Ifeajuna, were Ojukwu played by t

Gregory Ojefua and Amara Onoh respectively, while Stan Nze took the role of Lieutenant Okoh.

Speaking on the short film, Onyema, the original story writer, said the film tells a story about significant characters and a significant period in Nigerian history. He noted that it was written and screened as a story that humanizes the major characters. ‘’Primarily, I feel excited that the story translates into film. The story was only intended for publication on a literary website and now Trino studios has produced a short film adapted from it. This makes me feel that the story is worthy and has merit and cinematic qualities.’’

“The overall themes of the film will go a long way in portraying Nigerians positively as people who cherish their history and are capable of telling the story in an entertaining manner,” Onyema said.

Ajayi, who is one of the directors of Tinsel, an Mnet series, and whose directorial wizardry was felt in the film, preceding the premiere, that the two defining characters in the film are critically juxtaposed in order to depict the tension that was characteristic of the time, while the e n s u i n g conversation causes the audience to engage in meaningful reflection.

SATURDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015—27

C M Y K

28—SATURDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015

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SATURDAY

Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015—29

Guest Columnist

Towards Universal Health Coverage I

n this piece, the World Health Organization’s Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, outlines the challenges and successes in the road to Universal Health Coverage on the continent. She draws out key lessons learned that can be applied across all countries in the region—including building strong health systems, creating sustainable financing for health services, improving access to medicines, improving governance, and maintaining a cadre of well-trained, motivated health workers. With UHC among the key goals in the new global development agenda launching on January 1,2016, this is an opportune moment to look forward to how African countries can achieve health for all.

Health is widely considered to be a fundamental human right, yet the sad truth is that far too many people around the world still do not have access to basic health care. Millions of Africans in particular are unable to access or afford the services they need to survive and thrive without incurring financial hardship.

The answer to this problem is clear: universal health coverage (UHC). For too long, the idea of achieving universal health coverage in Africa was perceived as a distant dream.

Fortunately, the tide is turning.

This year, the international community formally enshrined universal health coverage in the new Sustainable Development Goals, which will guide development efforts through 2030. More than 100 low- and middle-income countries, home to three-quarters of the world’s population, have taken steps to deliver universal health coverage. And the movement is gaining support beyond health experts, as over 300 economists recently endorsed a declaration calling for universal health coverage as a way to reduce extreme poverty and fuel economic growth.

In short, as we celebrate the second-ever Universal Health Coverage this week, it is apparent that the movement for health for all has reached a critical mass. The global community clearly recognizes that UHC is right, smart and overdue. While our collective commitments to UHC are promising and should be celebrated, now is the time to get serious about taking steps to achieve it.

•Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa In Africa, the Ebola epidemic showed us the ‘worst case scenario’ when health systems are weak or broken. Even in the absence of a major health crisis, many African countries struggle to deliver quality and affordable health services. For coverage of several basic health services—including family planning, immunization and improved sanitation—subSaharan Africa lags behind the rest of the world. The region accounts for approximately 25 percent of the world’s disease burden, yet it has just 3 percent of its doctors.

Furthermore, too many households across the continent are forced to borrow money or sell assets to pay for health care.

Countries in Africa that have reached middle income status face particular challenges. For example, many have lost the preferential prices for vaccines and essential medicines that they received as low-income countries. These countries must find ways to shift the burden of increased costs from the individual to the collective by raising more money for health services and medicines.

To confront the region’s challenges, we can look to and

apply lessons from the many African countries taking the lead in implementing universal health coverage reforms, such as Rwanda, Ghana and Ethiopia, among others. These include

Even in the absence of a major health crisis, many African countries struggle to deliver quality and affordable health services

building strong, efficient, well-run health systems that focus on communitybased primary health care; creating sustainable financing for health services; improving access to essential medicines and technologies; improving governance and management of health services; and maintaining a sufficient capacity of welltrained, motivated health workers.

In Ethiopia, a Health Extension Programme has trained and deployed over 38,000 health workers since 2003 to deliver primary health care services in rural communities. This programme has been essential to expanding access to primary health care. Its success—made possible by commitments of the Ethiopian government, partners, and of course dedicated health workers— has demonstrated the importance of investing in human resources for health and delivering essential health services at the community level.

In Ghana, a tax-funded national health insurance

system, known as the National Health Insurance Scheme, covers 95 percent of diseases that affect Ghanaians, enabling financial protection and expanding coverage. This system is an example of the type of reform that can help countries minimize catastrophic out-of-pocket health care costs that all too often lead to, or exacerbate, poverty.

Rwanda has also made significant strides toward universal health coverage.

By implementing ambitious reforms starting in 2000— with the goal of universal health coverage—the country has transformed its health system. Child mortality has fallen by more than two-thirds since 2003 and Rwanda’s average life expectancy has risen by 10 years in the past decade. These and many other health and development successes make Rwanda a valuable model for others in the region.

Of course, there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to achieving universal health coverage, and each country —and even district or county—must determine which strategies and reforms best meet their needs. However, if we expand and build on the tremendous progress already happening across many countries in Africa and adopt an integrated approach to advancing health for all, I am confident the benefits will be widespread.

If people have access to the health services they need without the risk of financial hardship, they will be able to lead productive lives, feed their families and send their children to school. This, I believe, will significantly transform lives across the continent and help build a brighter and more prosperous future for Africa.

I’ve made universal health coverage a key priority during my tenure as the World Health Organization’s Regional Director for Africa. This Universal Health Coverage Day, I urge African governments and their partners to do the same.

30—SATURDAY

Vanguard,DECEMBER 12, 2015 Vanguard, SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015 —41

Lifestyle

What your eyes say about your health M

any eye problems are silent, but there could be little signs artificial tear drops will help with moisture, and antihistamine that hint of an impending situation. Sometimes a cold eye drops should stop the itch. The symptoms most commonly compress or eye drop could be all that is required, but it is often a they’re caused by environmental (seasonal) allergies, but they good idea to see the doctor. Contacting the eye specialist or could mean an allergic reaction. Call your doctor if you’re not ophthalmologist if something doesn’t seem right with your eyes better in 10 days. is usually the best thing to do. If you’re 40 or older, you may need Pinkeye an examination to check for signs of disease that may not have Doctors call this acute conjunctivitis. It’s itchy and red, and obvious symptoms. Some of these, like glaucoma or retinal oozes white or yellow discharge. Typically it is viral and lasts disease, can lead to blindness. Getting a comprehensive eye a week to 10 days. It can start in one eye and go to the other examination is important if you have a family history or an eye. A runny nose and cold symptoms are also very common. underlying condition that could increase risk of an eye disease.

If you think you’ve got it, call your doctor to be sure. Just in Here are some common conditions to help you know if it’s case, it can be very contagious, so wash your hands frequently something minor or the matter with your eyes. and don’t share towels or Many eye problems are silent, but washcloths. Some conditions, like there could be little signs that hint dry eye disease or an eye infection, of an impending situation. look a lot like conjunctivitis. The Sometimes a cold compress or eye doctor will know the difference and drop could be all that is required, but how to treat it. it is often a good idea to see the Dry Eye doctor. Contacting the eye specialist Staring too much at the computer or ophthalmologist if something cell phones, books, or the TV for doesn’t seem right with your eyes is long periods of time may be very usually the best thing to do. If you’re uncomfortable toward the end of 40 or older, you may need an day, because you are not blinking examination to check for signs of enough. Changes in the disease that may not have obvious environment, hormonal changes, symptoms. Some of these, like and your daily routine are also glaucoma or retinal disease, can susceptible. lead to blindness. Getting a A good prevention method is to comprehensive eye examination is moisten the eyes with some •The elderly often require reading glasses important if you have a family history or an underlying condition that could blood on the white part of the “artificial tears”. This can be obtained from the local pharmacy. increase risk of an eye disease. Here eye may look really scary, but Use a couple of times a day. See the doctor if this doesn’t work. are some common conditions to help it’s usually just a bruise under Some conditions, like certain forms of arthritis, are linked to you know if it’s something minor or the surface of the eye and dry eyes. Other medicines could cause it, too.

Red bumps on the eyelid the matter with your eyes. clears up in a few weeks. If The eyes make oil naturally. If the oil glands get clogged, Redness both eyes are red, itchy, and The most common eye problem is a watery, it could just be they can cause an infection in the eyelash follicles. The result red eye. A red eye with a blotch of allergies, over-the-counter is a painful, red, crusty bump called a stye on the eyelid.

SEXUAL ISSUES AND SOLUTIONS

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RAL Sex - While some people might guffaw at seeing oral sex as an item of alternative sexual practices, stop and think about it for a moment.

Some people are very conservative in their sexual play, only enjoying intercourse and kissing. If you fall into this latter category, please, don’t feel uncomfortable! You aren’t alone. First things first: If you’re not with a monogamous partner, be safe and use a condom.

Granted, oral sex is easier to give and enjoy without the condom, but you absolutely have to put your own health first. Don’t like the taste? Not a problem. Experiment with some of the flavored condoms and some oral desensitizing spray and some good flavored edible lubricants for oral sex on the market — that’s what they’re there for! And applying water-based lube to the penis before you put on the condom will greatly increase his pleasure.

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To ease the pain, place a very warm, moist compress on the tender part of the bump five or six times a day.

Alternatively, wash the eyelashes once a day with a few drops of baby shampoo and hot water.

See the doctor if this doesn’t help. You may need an antibiotic, steroid ointment, or even surgery to drain the lesion.

Eye twitch A twitching eyelid is a common and annoying symptom. It’s called eyelid myokymia. Most often there’s no definite cause and it will go away by itself. It may be linked to too much caffeine or stress, or too little sleep.

The solution is to make simple lifestyle changes in those areas.

See your doctor or the ophthalmologist if your eye twitches for more than a week, or if other parts of your face start to twitch.

It could be something more serious.

Eye strain When you stare at computer screens all day, your eyes can feel tired.

Take a break with the 20/ 20/20 rule. Look at an object at least 20 feet away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes.

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Im a man in my mid-forties, I have a very big pot-belly with serious erection problems. My wife is always complaining that I don’t satisfy her due to my big tummy. Please kindly assist me in all ways you can cos im suffering in silence –Chuks Chuks, you have nothing to worry about. I know it can really be annoying that you can’t satisfy your wife, but you should even be lucky she’s saying it out unlike most women. I’d advise you work on your big tummy with the slimming tea that helps eliminates fat especially in the abdominal region and it effectively helps to lose weight. You

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SATURDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015—31

Cake making has become work of art — Vivienne Bassey L

ike a moth to a fire, she took to cooking very early in life experimenting with her own recipe for her family’s delight. With time, her passion became a business and Vienz Flavours was born.

With a first degree in English from the University of Uyo, a Masters in managerial psychology from the University of Ibadan as well as being a Chartered Personnel manager, IPM and a Chartered marketing manager, Vivienne Bassey found her true calling and job satisfaction in creating very artsy pieces of cakes.

You could have done anything other than making cakes. Was it a hobby that became a business?

Cooking has always been a passion for me since I was a kid. I am a very picky eater and I made sure that every member of my family is also picky. As I grew older, I started making my own recipes, combining all sorts of foods. When I got to the university, if I there was a quarrel between me and my friends and their birthdays are coming, they always made up with me so that I will do the cooking for them. But one day, I decided

to turn this passion into a business and let my passion make money for me.

Even at that, cake making was not my first choice. My first choice was to open a restaurant. Like I said earlier, I love to cook all kinds of Nigerian soups but I was afraid to take that on.

Eventually, I started off with cake making. I got formal training from different places and later, I went to do my PME which is like the ICAN of Baking. It’s in three modules and you get your certificate from the UK. You are taught all kinds of flower making, you are also taught modelling, cake making and all kinds of sumptuous delicious deserts. The training allows you to use your imagination and creativity. It was after that, that I decided to break out. I can’t

fail to give credit to Honeysuckle; PME registered them in Nigeria to train some people who would become members.

These days, there is so much going on with a piece of cake.

What is trending with cakes?

Cake making has gone away from the traditional way. There is nothing traditional about cakes anymore. These days, people want you to model things they love. For example, if a church is celebrating its anniversary, they will want the cake to model the church building and put the pastor wearing his favourite suit, holding a bible. Cake is arts now.

That is like going into construction?

Exactly. You have to construct and build. Cakes are like architectural pieces.

Cake making has gone away from the traditional way. There is nothing traditional about cakes anymore.

These days, people want you to model things they love

How do you cope with the challenge of creating new work?

It’s very challenging. You have

Creative

first doll.. humble beginnings improvement

hbd rose

Today C M Y K

Nigerians love to party and cake has become a major part of our celebration but we are also concerned about consuming too much sugar and growing fat. How do you balance this?

To answer you in the classic way, for some people who don’t want that, instead of using margarine, we use butter and little sugar because you really can’t use honey. You can use soy instead of egg but for sugar, you don’t use anything else because sugar has its function in cake making. A cake is a cake and you need the sugar for moisture. But for those watching their weight, we can use less sugar but such cakes don’t come out succulent.

What type of cake is in high demand?

The highest demand is for vanilla butter cakes! Everybody loves red velvet. It’s like the VIP cake because it comes with cream cheese or whipped cream and it’s very tasty. Then you have chocolate cakes foe chocoholics.

What are your plans for this season?

I would like to be the cake maker for end of year school parties, end of year office party, and be the one to supply thank you to their clients. It’s also an opportunity to gather some festive earnings.

Vintage today

Vivienne

to do a lot of research. And then create what you have researched.

Garden outdoor wedn, cake hit by storm

Of all the jobs that you have done which one was the most challenging that tasked your creative skill?

O my goodness! The first time I made a wedding cake, I was so glad it was for family.

I had not gone for formal training then. They wanted cake and my brother said my sister makes cakes and she must make my wedding cake. It was my first flower cake with Carla lilies. It took me like one month to get it done. It was beautiful.

I changed the colour to suit their wedding colour. It was an outdoor wedding. That day, the wind blew so much it was like a Nigerian Tsunami. The wind blue off everything the cake flew to one side, the life band was scattered. I thank God it was a family wedding. You know like I said, I hadn’t learnt how to do tier cakes then. I had to struggle to get it done and then the wind came. Thank God I had two tiers left which they used in cutting the cake, the bride was wet.

Another challenge was when my friend opened a gym. I modelled her in red and blue her favourite colours and put dumbbells on it. When I took the cake there, it wowed every body.

32—SATURDAY Vanguard Vanguard,, DECEMBER 12, 2015

Environmental determinism, green econom xpor ts economyy and gas e expor xports

E

llsworth Huntington an American geographer, explorer and associate researcher th at Yale University in the early 20 century propounded the theory of environmental determinism. According to himenvironmental determinism is the effect of climate on human heredity and civilization which breeds superiority of peoples of the temperate zone to those of the tropics and intermediate zones.

Although his assertions were viewed as ethnocentric and of doubtful scientific validity, the calls on least developed nations to submit Individual Nationally Determined Contributions(INDC) in the ongoing Conference of Parties 21 (COP 21) on climate change in Paris, is a pointer that Huntington was not far from reality.

President Muhammadu Buhari submitted Nigeria’s INDC promising a 20 percent cut in carbon emissions, with a commitment that his country would meet the goal, by focusing on natural gas usage, investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency and climate smart agriculture.

His commitment even when we arenot a heavy emitter of carbon dioxide for now was apt and touched on issues of mission rights and survival rights; the case of the chicken and the egg which comes first. Do we wait until we industrialise or mitigate it now?Nigeria’s commitment for the future was needed at the COP 21 even at

infancy of industrial development.

Nigeria’s commitment is assumedly a semblance of anticipated approval demanded frompresumptuous heavy carbon dioxide emitters who have put us in ozone layer depletion quagmire. For the first time America through her leader Barack Obama admitted that:‘’the United States of America not only recognizes our role in creating this problem, we embrace

our responsibility to do something about it.”The United States has a solution shale gas revolution that would last them over 100 years.

Top three heavy global emitters of carbon dioxide are China (27.6 percent), United States (14.5 percent), and India (6.7 percent). South Africa, Egypt and Algeria are the only African countries in the top 40 global carbon dioxide emitters.

The COP 21 on climate change in Paris, France, and the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) in Tehran,Iran, which President Buhari ledNigeria’s delegations, hadfar reachingimplications on the petroleum industry.There are significant changes due to risks and uncertainties, price changes, demand and supply imbalances, geopolitics, and global economics resulting in a new order business vis-à-vis reductions in greenhouse emissions.

It is not an illusion that in electric power generation, natural gas emits 30 percent less carbon dioxide than burning oil and 45 percent less carbon dioxide than burning coal. Natural gas is fast becoming

a preferred energy source in the fossil fuels family of coal, oil and natural gas for global green economy.

Nigeria’s takeaway is that pragmatic measures should be to invest heavily for local use of natural gas for industrial th development takeoff. As the 9 largest gas producing country in the world with 182 trillion cubic feet proven reserve, Nigeria’s inability to impose adequate and appropriate sanctions on long standing and routine gas flaring International Oil Companies has not acted as a deterrent.

The Petroleum Act of 1969 empowered the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR)to enforce Gas Flaring Penalty and collect revenues for the Federal Government. The new DPR helmsman Modecai Lawan, we have been assured is wielding the big stickto enforce compliance against gas flaring.

We say it again that there are more products when we produce hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGL) in refineries.HGL refers to natural gas liquids (parafins or alkanes), and olefins(alkenes), produced by natural gas processing plants,

Nigeria’s takeaway is that pragmatic measures should be to invest heavily for local use of natural gas for industrial development takeoff fractionators, crude oil refineries, and condensate splitters but excludes LNG and aromatics.

Natural Gas Liquids are naturally occurring elements found in natural gas.

They are used as petrochemical feedstocks (ethane), in residential, commercial and auto gas applications (propane) and for gasoline blending (butane).

Natural gas is used to generate electricity, heat buildings, fuel vehicles, and heatwater, bake foods, power

industrial furnaces, and run air conditioners. Natural gas is an ingredient for fertilizer, plastics, antifreeze, pharmaceuticals and fabrics.

It is also used to manufacture a wide range of chemicals such as ammonia, methanol, butane, ethane, propane and acetic acid. Natural gas is used as a heat source in making glass, steel, cement, bricks, ceramics, tile, paper, food products and many other commodities. Natural gas is also used at many industrial facilities for incineration.

Would the gas cartel GECF fashioned out of OPEC mode favour Nigeria? We may again be jet-lagged in natural gas sales rather than adding value by processing.Oil price collapse has affected declining demand for natural gas in key import markets of China and Japan. The United States is ready to pump in more LNG in 2016. Saudi Arabia, a Middle East petroleum leader is not a GECF member but rivals Russia and Iran (world number one and two gas producers are members).

Russiaas number one has 1,688 trillion cubic feet of gas proven reserves. Iran has 1,187 trillion cubic feet, Qatar(890trillion), United States(308 trillion), Saudi Arabia(287trillion), Turkmenistan(265trillion), United Arab Emirates(215.025trillion) and Venezuela(195.1trillion).

Algeria th nd (159.05trillion) is the 10 and 2 in Africa after Nigeria. (US Energy Information Administration 2013) Saudi Aramco has opened up a R&D in Detroit, USA as part of its drive to expand its global fuel technology programme.It is to reduce the overall environmental impact, cost and complexity of both current and future fuel engine systems. and to develop, demonstrate and showcase low carbon-footprint transportation technologies, in support of reducing CO‚ emissions from transport sources.

Our country should emulate the Saudis and use value added linkages of petroleum to diversify our economy and also reduce greenhouse emissions.We should invest in scientific and engineering researches to prevent severe economic hemorrhages as we are now teetering on the verges of recession. Our petroleum is still very relevant even when we are told it is not.

How I escaped the Hajj stampede

By Favour Nnabugwu

T

wo months after the 2015 hajj

tragedy in Saudi Arabia, some Nigerian pilgrims who survived the incident still shiver whenever they relive the horrific accident in the course of performing one of their religious rites.

An Assistant Director, Corporate Affairs, at the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Alhaji Abdulrasaq Salami, in this encounter, gave a chilling account of how he escaped the incident that reportedly killed over 800 pilgrims from various countries.

Among other factors, S a l a m i attributed the stampede to what he described as lack of co-operation on the part of pilgrims who did not leave the jamarat area through the proper route. He said that moments after he returned from performing the stone throwing ritual, he saw sirens blaring towards the Jamrat.

The stampede “The Stoning of the Devil ritual is considered the most dangerous part of the pilgrimage as crowd movements on or near the Jamaraat Bridge can cause people to be crushed. On several occasions, thousands of participants have suffocated or been trampled to death in stampedes.

“I was cautious of that and I strictly followed the instructions given by the Saudi authorities, on the route pilgrims should take to perform the

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AlhajiAbdulrasaq Salami

Some other tragic incidents in December 1975 was when a cooking gas cylinder exploded in the pilgrims' tent city, causing a fire that killed over 200 pilgrims

rite. I stoned the devil and quickly left the place and returned to my tent before l saw ambulances with siren blaring towards the direction from where l had just returned. It was then that it dawn on me that something terrible must have happened there.

It was an experience I will not forget in a hurry because l kept thinking what would have been my fate if I was caught up in that stampede or if I had followed the route we were instructed not to follow?

“I cannot s t o p thanking Almighty Allah that I was not among the dead. I went on my own and l went en-route Dubai to Mecca.

“Though, many scholars feel that the ritual can be done any time between noon and sunset, however, many Muslims are taught that it should be done immediately after the noon prayer. This led to people camping out until noon and rushing out then for the stoning.

“While Saudi authorities blamed the incident on the pilgrims’ failure to follow crowd control rules, crowd conditions are especially difficult during the final day of Hajj, a day pilgrims normally leave the valley of Mina and return to Mecca for the farewell Tawaf, the final circumbulation of the Kaaba.”

The Hajj “Making the journey to Mecca at least once in a lifetime is a requirement for all Muslims who are

able-bodied and have the financial means to go. In Arabic, "Hajj" means "to intend a journey," and refers to the physical trip as well as to the spiritual intentions.

“During the event, pilgrims visit several holy sites to pray and participate in sacred rites.

The focal point for most believers is the Kaaba, the holiest site in Mecca. The shrine dates to preIslamic times and it has become part of the Masjid al-Haram, the largest mosque in the world.

“When pilgrims enter the mosque, they walk seven times, anti-clockwise around the Kaaba. Each time, they kiss the Black Stone at the base of the shrine. If crowding doesn't permit them to reach the stone, they can point at it.

“The Black Stone itself is shrouded in mystery.

Muhammad was believed to have set it into the Kaaba's eastern wall in the year 605. It was broken up into pieces over the centuries and has been worn smooth by millions of hands.

Muslim faithful believe that it fell from heaven during the time of Adam and Eve. The Hajj is based on a pattern established by Muhammad in the seventh century although some elements also built on preIslamic traditions. All pilgrims wear traditional dress that is designed to humbly both the rich and the poor.

“On Eid al-Adha (the 10th day of the month of Dhu al-Hijjah), pilgrims must strike only one of the large jamrah with seven pebbles. After the stoning is completed on the day of Eid, every pilgrim must cut or shave the hair. On each of the

following two days, they must hit each of the three walls with seven pebbles, going in east to west oder.

“Thus, at least 49 pebbles are needed for the ritual. Some pilgrims stay at Mina for an additional day, in which case they must again stone each wall seven times. The pebbles used in the stoning are traditionally gathered at Muzdalifah, a plain southeast of Mina, on the night before the first throwing but can also be collected at Mina.

“The 2015 disaster was the worst to befall pilgrims since July 1990, when 1,426 pilgrims were crushed to death in a tunnel near Makkah. Both stampedes occurred on Eid-il-adha (Feast of the Sacrifice), Islam's most important feast and the day of the stoning ritual.”

“Some other tragic incidents in December 1975 was when a cooking gas cylinder exploded in the pilgrims' tent city, causing a fire that killed over 200 pilgrims; In July 1987, Iranian protesters clashed with Saudi police, leading to the death of more than 400 Iranian pilgrims and in May 1994, a stampede near Jamarat Bridge in Mina, near Makkah, killed 270 in the area where pilgrims stone the devil.

“Some other hajj disasters include April 1997, when 343 pilgrims were killed in a tent fire at the Hajj camp at Mina, prompting the government to construct a permanent, fire-proof tent city there. In April 1998, 119 pilgrims were crushed to death in Saudi Arabia during Hajj while in February 2004, a stampede killed 251 pilgrims near the Jamarat Bridge during the stoning of the devil. In January 2006, about 362 pilgrims were crushed to death at the eastern entrance of the Jamarat Bridge during the stoning ritual and in September this year, a crane crashed into the Grand Mosque, at the beginning of the Hajj, killing about 111 people.”

SATURDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 12, 2015 — 33

Don’t blame me for players’ failure — Ndanusa

right coach. These are the factors you need. We are doing our own, so what else are we supposed to do?

PLAYERS MISSING BIG BUCKS ‘’It is a business. The players who make money from tennis don’t return the money to their local federations. It is theirs. The foreign players come here to prepare themselves for the next level while we refuse to prepare ourselves. We have more competitions than other federations that we have on ground here.’’

BY JOHN EGBOKHAN

I

‘’

f somebody comes to us to say he wants to sponsor an ATP tournament and NTF cannot package it with the ATP or ITF, then the NTF has failed.

But if Nigerian players fail in competitions other than the Davis Cup, then it is wrong for someone to say we have failed’’.

With these words, the President of the Nigeria Tennis Federation (TF), Sani Ndanusa, fired back to defend the body, following stinging attacks by a leading tennis authority and former official of the Association of Tennis Professional (ATP) Tour, Chief Ben Ezeibe that the federation was organising tournaments that add no professional value to players.

Mdanusa, while speaking with Saturday Vanguard Sports, said the federation was doing its best to add value to players’ careers through the organisation of national and international tournaments.

The former Minister of Sports said the TF was about the only federation in the country who have competitions every. ‘’We have the much we can do within our role and capacity. I don’t supervise players training.

We give coaches opportunities to train. I am not saying the players have failed, nobody is a failure. You can pick up from any point. It boils down to determination. If we do a comparative test with other counterpart federations, it will be seen that we are not doing badly. ‘’Within the 30 federations that we have in the country, tennis will fall within the top five bracket, in terms of presence, penetration and reaching out.

Instead of blame game, let’s chart a way forward now that we have NCC. We should support

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•Sani Ndanusa them because this league has been my life-long dream. ‘’If somebody comes today to us and says he wants to sponsor as ATP tournament and NTF cannot package it with the ATP or ITF, then the NTF has failed. Or you go to a tournament abroad and they say they don’t know Nigeria, then we have failed’’, added the former President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee.

NO NIGERIAN IN TOP 1000 With no Nigerian player listed in the world’s top 1000, concerns are mounting that Nigerian players will soon fizzle into irrelevance.

Asked if he was perturbed, Ndanusa said ‘’I am not worried because the road to be in the top 1000 has been provided to us and players should not think that it is the NTF that will carry them into the top 1000. It is their determination that will take them there. NTF is not going to get a coach for these players. They have to get their coaches/ If a coach wants to produce a Grand Slams player, he can produce if he knows what to do’’.

Dwindling international tournaments.

He said that it is to the credit of the NTF that the country has two international tournaments.

‘’We have two international point-awarding tournaments in Nigeria. We have the Lagos Governor ’s Cup, which is two weeks and Tombrin in Abuja, which is one week. It took place this year and is going to hold next year. We have provided the enabling environment for Nigeria to host any international tournament. We are in very good terms with the International Tennis Federation, ATP and all the top stakeholders of tennis in the world’’.

UNEASY LIES THE HEAD THAT WEARS THE CROWN ‘’It is very easy to blame the NTF when players are not doing well. They say uneasy is the head that wears the crown but I know the part that I am wearing. I am not wearing the part of players, I am not wearing the part of even the umpires. I am a sanctioning and organising body. There is no tournament that we set out to host that we would not get all the approvals to host. The current Governor’s Cup was tidied up in record time. When players see our tournaments in any part of the world, they will come immediately. Players should learn to plan because it is their game and not mine. It is their profession. They must decide what they want. If you want to go to the top, you must be disciplined and get the

I know the part that I am wearing. I am not wearing the part of players, I am not wearing the part of even the umpires. I am a sanctioning and organising body

ADDING VALUE TO PLAYERS ‘’As a professional, both are important. You graduate from national to continental and then to international. You do the African circuits after finishing the national circuit.

It is a road-map, which requires money and NTF does not need to give you the money.

We advise sponsors to help our players. It is from the national tournaments that players will get into the African circuit. You can’t jump the gun. Sylvester Emmanuel is a product of a good national system. There is no free-way there’’.

STOP THE BLAME GAME ‘’We should stop the blame game. Is it Ndanusa that is killing tennis? What is there that I have killed? Is the NTF not providing enough tournaments? Half of Nigerian players could not play in Governor’s Cup because they don’t have IPIN number. It costs $60 per year to get an IPIN. Is it Ndanusa that will buy it for the players? If the players are not doing well, it is the coach they should meet.

I am a volunteer in this game.

Have you seen where the President is given a prize?’’, Ndanusa asked rhetorically.

34 — SATURDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 12, 2015

T

WITTER is a pretty powerful tool in this modern day and age. Many get their breaking news from the ‘social network’, some like a good oldfashioned rant and some just fancy anything. Either way, word travels quickly in the Twittersphere, and the world of sport is no different. Whether you tweet football or fencing, Sun Sports runs down the top ten most tweeted about sporting events of 2015.

10. LUIZ GIVES ‘EM THE BLUES

I

T’S the sort of moment that makes commentators everywhere cry: “You just can’t write this sort of drama.”

Hmm, OK. Anyway, just a few months after David Luiz left Chelsea for Paris SaintGermain, the two sides met in the Champions League knockout stages. After a 1-1 draw in the French capital, Gary Cahill netted in the 81st minute to give Chelsea the lead.

But guess who popped up in the 86th minute to send the game to extra time, that’s right Sideshow Bob, err, I mean Luiz.

Eden Hazard’s penalty gave Chelsea a late, late win, but with six minutes to go, Thiago Silva nodded in the equaliser and PSG won on away goals. This dramatic thriller was somehow only good enough for tenth in the Twitter polls.

Top ten sporting moments in 2015

•Luiz

9. BRACE YOURSELF, SUAREZ ANOTHER Champions League thriller for you, and this time it’s Manchester City on the receiving end of a knockout stage loss. In their defence, it was against Barcelona with former Liverpool striker Luis Suarez having the game of his life. Travelling to the Etihad for the first leg, Suarez netted a deadly duo to run out 2-1 winners. The Catalan giants would go on to win the tie 3-1 on aggregate following a cagey 1-0 win at the Nou Camp.

8. WEL, WEL, WEL, WHAT A RETURN DANNY WELBECK returned to former club Manchester United in last season’s FA Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. And with the game tied at 1-1 with less than half an hour to go, there could only be one man to go on to win the game.

That’s right, the England international, who had only moved to the Emirates at the beginning of the season for £16million, netted in the 61st minute,which was too much for ten-man United to overcome.

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•Sanchez

•Welbeck

•Gerrard

s

SATURDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 12, 2015 — 35

•Fury

Sports Personality of the Year award shortlist. Fury may have made the headlines in recent days for his outof-the-ring antics, but the incredible victory is good enough to bag fourth spot on our list.

•Vardy

Many happy returns, indeed.

•Suarez SUAREZ

7. CUP CRACKER NETTING in the FA Cup final is something you would never forget, particularly if you score them like Alexis Sanchez.

OK, so the game may not have been a stunner, but the Chilean’s second-half strike absolutely was, as he rifled into the net from distance.

Such was the power on the shot, the swerving, dipping 25-yard wonderstrike nearly broke the net. The Gunners went on to thrash Aston Villa 4-0 to retain the trophy they had earned 12 months earlier against Hull.

6. IT’S VARDY TIME IT’S one of the nation’s favourite stories of the season — as Jamie Vardy broke the record for goals in consecutive Premier League games against Manchester United.

The former non-league frontman latched on to a sublime through ball from Christian Fuchs before firing

3. GERRARD’S RED MIST WHAT do you get when you cross a passionate Scouser, a final ever appearance against an arch-rival and a deficit to overhaul? Madness.

Sorry if you thought I was setting you up for a punchline there, but there’s no joke about Steven Gerrard’s red card against Manchester United last season at Anfield.

Brought on at half time with the score at 1-0 to the visitors, Stevie G spent just 38 seconds on the turf before being given his marching orders for a horrendous lunge on Ander Herrera. Naturally, Twitter did what Twitter does best, ripping into the Kop idol with a succession of memes, puns and mocked-up images. Not Stevie’s finest moment as Liverpool went on to lose 2-1. past David De Gea to eclipse the record set by former United frontman Ruud van Nistelrooy. And this strike set the Twittersphere alight, to be honest, I’m surprised it didn’t even crack the top five..

5. ROONEY’S THE DADDY? WELL, this will be somewhat of an anticlimax...

No5 on our list sees Wayne Rooney bagging the equaliser against Arsenal in the FA Cup quarter-final.

Unfortunately, we already know how this one ends, thanks to our pal Mr Welbeck...

2. GUNNING FOR GLORY ANYONE else sensing a theme here? It’s Manchester United v Arsenal in the FA Cup final again...

Forget the goals, the red card and all the 90 minutes of drama, the final whistle saw Twitter erupt with a sea of opinions, celebrations and commiserations.Three out ofthe ten moments on this list all came from the same game. Surely an unsung hero for game of the year, then?

According to the Twittersphere at least.

4. UNLEASH THE FURY WE didn’t have to go too far back for this one, as Brit boxer Tyson Fury stunned Wladimir Klitschko on points after 12 rounds.

The win even thrust him into this year’s

•Rooney

1. MESSI MAGIC IT was arguably the most highly anticipated clash in world football for years, as Barcelona took on Bayern Munich in the Champions League semifinal. The first leg at the Nou Camp,was hotly contested up until the 77th minute when Lionel Messi gave the La Liga side a 1-0 lead.

Not content with that, the Argentinian wizard netted a worldy three minutes later — and you lovely Twitter folk when bonkers, firing the moment to No1 in our charts!Barca went on to win the leg 3-0 and tie 5-3 on aggregate to progress to the final.

•Arsenal

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36—SATURDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015

08 1 1 6759 759 081 6759759

Rita Ora is proud of her nipple slip and claims so I am not paranoid Cirque le Soir night club. flashing her breast is ‘fun’ lots about it anymore. You end up But the I Will Never Let You

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old, plunging necklines and sheer fabrics are an everyday occurrence for risqué Rita Ora. Therefore it’s not hard to believe that the popstar has lost count of the number of times she’s suffered a nip slip in public.

Following her latest breastbaring debacle after the X Factor semi-finals on

Saturday, the blonde defended her risqué outfit decisions, insisting she has no plans to change. The 25year-old slipped out of her super-plunging dress after the first of the weekend’s prime time TV appearances but luckily saved it for the afterparties. She told The Sun newspaper on Monday: ‘It’s fun. It has happened to me

losing track of them.

‘Whatever, you have got to take some risks in fashion.

That was a risk that I took and I am proud of it. ‘From the start I have always been the type to wear what I want.

It is all about being an individual. I feel comfortable in what I wear.’

Even last Monday, Rita suffered yet another nip slip in a lace bra top as she hit

Joss SSttone's ttear ear earss as she bares all in new campaign

W

ith tears running down her face and her body painted to look like reptile skin, Joss Stone is the latest celebrity to pose nude in the name of animal rights.

The singer is fronting a campaign to try to stamp out the ‘cruel’ practice of using crocodile skins for handbags.

She urged others to join her in ‘leaving wildlife out of their wardrobe’ as she bared all for the photograph, which had the slogan: ‘Three animals are killed to make one crocodile bag. Say NO to exotic skins.’

The pictures by PETA come after an investigation by them, which claimed top fashion house Hermes was using tanneries with cruel practices for their reptile-skin handbags. The crocodile bags can cost as much as £295,000 and versions have been seen on the arms of celebrities including Victoria Beckham and Petra Ecclestone.

Footage from an undercover video shot at a Texas farm that supplied crocodile skins to the brand showed reptiles left twitching in a bloody ice container to die after being shot with a bolt gun and cut with a knife.

Other covert film showed reptiles crowded in shallow pools, clambering over each other to find space.

After the exposé, singer Jane Birkin threatened to take her name off the crocodile-skin versions of the celebrated Birkin handbag. Hermes issued a statement saying it works in the ‘strictest compliance with international regulations’ and an ‘isolated irregularity’ at the Texas farm had been resolved.

Yesterday, Miss Stone, 28, said: ‘Although I’m not as familiar with crocodiles as I am with dogs and horses, I know that all animals are capable of suffering.’

Elisa Allen, of PETA, added: ‘ we’re grateful Joss has joined us in sending this message.’

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Down singer has been raising eyebrows with her cleavagebaring ensembles as she continues her appearances on family television show, the X Factor. Though she has insisted that her wardrobe department makes every effort to ensure she’s never over-exposed. Recalling this weekend’s risqué Versace Atelier dress, Rita said: ‘I made sure everything was in

place!’ Rita will be backing finalist Louisa Johnson for the win this weekend, after coaching her to the last stages of the singing competition.

Animals don’t have rights because they don’t pay taxes, says Princess Pushy

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rincess Michael of Kent believes that animals do not have rights because they don’t pay taxes. The 70year-old, who is married to the Queen’s cousin Prince Michael of Kent, hit out at animal rights campaigners earlier this year.

She was speaking at the Henley Literary Festival in Oxfordshire about her new novel, Agnes Sorrell: Mistress of Beauty. The writer historian told The Telegraph: ‘We’re always hearing about animal rights.

‘Well, I’m a great animal lover and involved in a lot of conservation, but animals don’t

have rights. ‘They don’t have bank accounts, they don’t vote. ‘We have obligation to animals, but to say they have rights? You only have rights if you pay your taxes. You earn your rights.’ The Princess owns cats and dogs herself and even managed to convince Battersea Dogs Home to add ‘Cats’ to its name, after her husband was made patron. In 2007, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) sent her an imitation fur coat after she was seen wearing a real one. Speaking about her book, which is out now, she discussed the changing of morals and how people viewed rights over centuries.

She said: ‘’People haven’t changed.

They’re kind, unkind, generous, mean, friendly, unfriendly. People’s characters haven’t changed, it’s just the times change, the values change, the responsibilities people feel they have changed.’

SA TURD AY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015—37 SATURD TURDA

Obada’s daughter weds Graham-Douglas’ son

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t was a show of power, panache and pomp when the daughter of former deputy governor of Osun State, Erelu Olusola Obada hooked the son of former aviation minister, Alabo Tonye Graham-Douglas in Lagos last Saturday.

The couple, Oludamilola Olufunsho and Owanari Bekinbo took their vows at the Our Saviour’s Anglican Church, Tafawa Balewa Square, TBS, Onikan. Photos by Biodun Ogunleye

L-R: Felix Babatunde Obada & Erelu Olusola Obada, parents, bride's parents, Chief (Mrs) Yetunde Onanuga, Dep. Gov, Ogun State and Chief (Mrs) Bola Obasanjo

Flaming Sw ord Ministr Sword Ministryy discovers talents in “Christians Go alent” sho w Gott TTalent” show The happy couple, Mr & Mrs Owanari Bekinbo Graham-Douglas

R-L: Alabo Tonye Omubo Graham-Douglas & H.E Hon Dr Bolere Elizabeth Ketebu parents of the groom

Aremo Olusegun Osoba and wife, Derin

FLAMING Sword Ministry is taking a lead in youth empowerment and development with the initiative of its ‘Christians Got Talent” show where hidden talents of young Christians were discovered and allowed to flourish.

The ministry held another edition of the show last Sunday at its church premises on Lewis Street, Lafiaji, Lagos Island and it was a thrilling experience as many talents were discovered and given encouragement. Here are some of the moments in pictures.

L-R: Chief (Mrs) Becky Ketebu-Igweh, Chief Emeka Wogu and Ikedi Ohakim, former Governor of Imo State.

Bishop Adebayo Babalola and wife, G.O., Flaming Sword Ministry

L-R: Mrs Muriel Graham Douglas and Chief Ephraim Faloughi

L-R: Erelu Abiola Dosumu and Hon Dr Dawari George.

Doghudje’s son weds

Flaming Sword Ministry pastor with some of the winners at the ‘Christians Got Talent’ show

A

rienrhie Samuel Doghudje, son of G o d w i n Doghudje recently took the daughter of Chief Ayodele Olagunju as wife. The marriage held in Lagos before family and friends

L-R: Chief Ayodele Olagunju, bride's father, Barr. B.J Lawani, Mr. Victoria Olagunju, bride's mother, Mr. & Bar. (Mrs) Arienrhie Samuel Doghudje, Mrs. Grace O. Doghudje, groom's mother,Mr. Lawrence Akande,Mr. Godwin Doghudje, groom's father and Mrs. Adejoke Akande C M Y K

The Adeoye family with three chidlren who all play violin and a flutist

38—SATURDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015

SATURDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015—39

40 — SATURDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 12, 2015 Dear Aunty Julie, My boyfriend does not seem interested in having sex with me. We met eight months ago, dated for three months before he left for work to another state.

The last time he came back to visit, he stayed with me for three weeks. We slept in the same bed, but he did not initiate any sex. The few times I tried to initiate it myself, he told me that he was not in the mood. We had sex only twice during all this time we have been dating. And one day before we left again on assignment, he approached me from the back, stopped, complaining that I was too tight for him and literally ran away from the house for a few hours. He is coming back to spend another two weeks with me. What can I do? Shall I try to talk about it long distance before his visit? How should I approach the issue so that he agrees to talk about it? I really would like to work it out.

Zikora, Port-Harcourt

He is too jealous

He doesn’t want to have sex Hello Zikora There are many problems here. The first is that you two have zero communication.

On top of that, you are just plain miserable with him. He won’t discuss things and it does seem that only his needs matter. To add to this, his approach to sexuality and intimacy indicate some sexual issues. He obviously is either too frightened to talk about it or else he feels inadequate and is afraid that you will find this out about him.

I hear in your letter that you really care for him, but how many of your own needs

are you willing to put aside for him? I think you need to talk but I don’t think the phone is the best way. If you really want him there again, let him come but at some point you will have to say that this isn’t working and that you don’t understand his behaviour. If he can’t handle even that what kind of relationship do you have anyway? Tell him that he seems distant and unhappy and that you want to understand his behaviour better.

That might make him less defensive. Also tell him that you care about what he’s going through but that you are also a person with needs and feelings that count.

Remember: if he can’t do this, it doesn’t mean you did something wrong. It just means he can’t do it.

I really want to ask her out but I get so nervous Dear Aunty Julie, I really like this course mate of mine. She is so nice and caring and kind and generous, and also really pretty. I’ve tried flirting with her but it doesn’t work. Also, I always try to say hi to her seductively so it sounds sexy, but her voice is so cute and it makes me feel dreamy.

I’ve caught her gaze in class a few times and her big brown eyes are so beautiful. I have also hugged her once and I think I was so caught up day dreaming that I didn’t hear her saying to let go. I also play dumb so she can help me with my projects.

I really want to ask her out but I get so nervous trying to ask. How do I do it?

Fabian, Lokoja Hello Fabian The quickest way is to just ask her on a date, straight up. Something like during the weekend . But if you feel like it’s too direct for you, maybe there are some other ways you can spend more time together, like hanging out in a group, or helping with coursework, or even doing something together where you share the same interest.

Basically, it boils down to a bit of creativity, patience and courage. You choose your own adventure. Honesty helps. If you’re happy to hang out as friends, then get to know her that way. Friendship can be the best start to some fantastic relationships. But if you’re frustrated because

She cheated on me Aunty Julie, I was friends with a girl last year and then it turned into a relationship. We only went out for a month but I really liked this girl. I thought she was the one - until one day, she told me she had cheated on me with three guys in one weekend. She said she just kissed them but I still broke

up with her. Ever since I have quit dating and I have a somewhat of a dislike for women and I really hate her. I always think that all women are sluts and I know all aren’t but every one I come in contact with turns out bad. Everyone tells me I’m too young to give up(29) but I don’t care. Every woman makes me sick and I

A woman’s love * Three women were talking about their love lives.

The first said, “My husband is like a RollsRoyce; smooth and sophisticated.”

The second said, “Mine is like a porsche; fast and powerful.”

The third said, “Mine is like an old Chevy.

It needs a hand start and I have to jump on while it’s still going.”

Picking lemons The woman applying for a job in a lemon grove seemed way too qualified for the job.

Look Miss,” said the foreman, “have you any actual experience in picking lemons?” ” Well, as a matter if fact, yes!” she replied.

“I’ve been divorced three times.”

C M Y K

really you want a more romantic relationship, the only way to fix that is to ask her out straight up. You’ll risk rejection, but you won’t waste time agonizing about whether she likes you or not. Just remember that everyone has personal preference about their own taste, and it’s human nature that sometimes someone will be attracted to you but you might not like them. It’s just preference.

I hope this lady shares your feelings and you have a great time together.

You certainly deserve to have a fun, romantic relationship. Everyone does.

Enjoy yourself. Whatever happens in your own adventure, feel free to write back!

don’t want to waste my sweetness and kindness on people who will just hurt me!

And no Im not gay!

Please write me back soon and tell me how I can get over her.

Jerry, Lagos Dear Jerry, Sounds like this girl really did a number on you! Your trust in women has really been shattered but please

remember that this is only temporary. As we go through life, we have many bad experiences but each one of these exists so that we can learn more about ourselves and the type of people we want to be with.

So what if one girl hurts you!

You might have thought she was the one, but I guess she wasn’t! All that means is that the right one is going to appear one day.

C O C K - T A L E S Taking control There were three guys talking in the pub. Two of them are talking about the amount of control they have over their wives, while the third remains quiet. After a while one of the first two turns to the third and says, “Well, what about you, what sort of control do you have over your wife?”

The third fellow says “I’ll tell you. Just the other night my wife came to me on her hands and knees.” The first two guys were amazed. “What happened then?” they asked. “She said, ‘get out from under the bed and fight like a man’.”

A man just like dad The bride, upon her engagement, went to her

Dear Julie, I have a problem. I’ve been going with this guy for three months now. I love him a whole lot and he loves me too. He told me so and I trust and believe what he says. The thing is, he thinks I’m cheating on him and I’m not. He won’t believe me though. Every time I talk to him he thinks I was just on the phone with some other guy. I don’t know what to do anymore.

He’s getting me really frustrated. I love him with all my heart.

I’m 28 and he’s30. Please give me some advice .

Franca, Ughelli Dear Franca, Jealousy is a disease that drives men crazy: think of Othello (you should have read this in high school!) Your boyfriend’s jealousy is not based on anything that you’ve done but his own insecurity and low self-esteem. Who knows! Someone could have cheated and lied in his past but that has nothing whatever to do with you and he needs to know this! When he accuses you, be sympathetic and tell him that you know he’s jealous but tell him also that all good relationships are based on trust and that you hope he learns to trust you soon because you are absolutely honest. Tell him you will help him to get over this illness he has and that you hope that just by being together, he will learn to feel safe and secure with you.

Treat this as his issue. Do not take it personally and let him know that.

Hopefully, he will be able to recover, with your love, from whatever has made him feel so insecure that he doubts someone who obviously cares so much for him!

If you isolate yourself, you will not be available to meet her... and then what! While you are getting over this, take really good care of yourself, work on your pride and selfconfidence, and keep your distance from enmeshment with women in general. Treat girls only as friends and companions but do not get emotionally involved. Believe it or not, one day, your pain will leave you and the perfect girl will appear.

mother and said, “I’ve found a man just like father!”

Her mother replied, “So what do you want from me, sympathy?”

Same everywhere Young Son: Is it true, Dad, I heard that in some parts of Africa, a man doesn’t know his wife until he marries her? Dad: That happens in every country, son.

True happiness Then there was a man who said, “I never knew what real happiness was until I got married; and then it was too late.”

A millionaire A woman was telling her friend, “It is I who made my husband a millionaire.” “And what was he before you married him?” asked the friend. The woman replied, “A billionaire.”

SA TURD AY SATURD TURDA

Vanguard, DECEMBER 12 12,, 2015 — 41

bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk

Do you pass off a premature baby as your husband’s?

I

F I’d known that Lola would resort to flirting, and eventually be put in the family way by a first School Leaving Certificate holder, when she fully knew that my undertaking a postgraduate course was to better our lot, I would have waited until I’d completed my course before I plunged into marriage”. Yomi declared sadly, narrating to me the story of his broken marriage, the shock from which he has not yet recovered.

One would wonder why a couple that had gone through many difficulties and weathered such storms could not stick together when the last hurdle was in sight. In fact, by now the last hurdle had been crossed. In the sitting-room of his flat, given to him by the university, one could see, from the various modern gadgets that adorned the flat, that after much struggling, Yomi had eventually arrived. Why Lola refused to wait to enjoy all these comforts beats everybody ’s imagination.

The wedding was, solemnised in a church followed by a reception that was attended by the cream de la creme of the society. Lola, who came from a well-heeled family, was a spoilt child, and this accounted for her blunt refusal to further her studies beyond the Ordinary National Diploma she obtained in accountancy.

Yomi, who had just completed his National Certificate in Education course, happened to meet Lola at a party arranged in honour of one of the graduating NCE students at Ile-Ife. The with a substitute. The courtship lasted for 12 months computer lessons were later and by the expiration of this shifted from the side-street period both had agreed that institute to Lola’s sitting they’d known each other well room and later conducted enough to sign on the dotted undisturbed in the bedroom lines. of her matrimonial home.

The first shock of the marriage, Since Yomi was away on which was a sign of things to campus 60-odd miles away, come, was the delivery of their Lola felt safe. The relatives first child—a girl. Yomi, whose who lived around did not parents were blessed with 5 male suspect anything at first. children and who had expected Later when they knew, the the same fortune was husband was informed, but disappointed. Lola could not he still trusted his dear wife, understand her husband’s Lola, and waved off the idea disappointment, since to her a of her unfaithfulness as one child is a child and a gift from of the tricks people use to God. But she counselled him wade into other people’s that, they should pray to God to private affairs. Everybody give them a boy next time. soon shut up. It wasn’t long Yomi gained admission into a when Lola had one of her university to read science. He hare-brained schemes. came out brilliantly well and was “My dear, it is high time asked by his Faculty to proceed we had another child, Nike on a post-graduate course. is now 18 months old.

Within the confines of the Perhaps this time we might university he remained faithful to be blessed with a boy,” she his wife because of his deep love pleaded with Yomi, when he for her. This was a hard thing to came home on a weekend do, no thanks to the tempting visit. But he refused with vixens on campus. reasons. Their daughter was Yomi’s brilliant academic not two yet, so what was the exploits made him decide that on hurry? he explained to Lola completion of his studies, Lola, when she feigned who was still jobless and was unhappiness. doing a computer course ran by “One knows when one a fresh IT graduate, would be begins a postgraduate encouraged to train for a better course, but not when one profession. Unfortunately, the will finish it. With virtually young handsome instructor soon little money to spend, it was won the love of Lola who was be damned difficult for you feeling the absence of her to maintain two children. We husband and was now content “

Within the confines of the university he remained faithful to his wife because of his deep love for her

can wait until I finish”, he said.

But Lola was getting really impatient because of her diabolical plan. She knew his elder brother could easily convince him, went to him and asked him to plead her cause with Yomi, who yielded. The outcome was the delivery of a baby girl at six months. Yomi was confused. Something fishy was going on as no one mentioned the baby was a premature birth.

The day Lola had the baby, a text was sent to him by one of the relatives, whom he had accused of sheer jealousy when Lola’s flirting episode was reported to him.

He texted he could not believe that the time was ripe enough for Lola to deliver. Yomi came home the next day to find a baby girl that resembled the young handsome computer instructor. According to him, “Lola thought I was annoyed because of the sex of the child when I went to see her in the Maternity Ward.

She’d been prevented from

seeking much of the child and couldn’t see the obvious, because of the caesarian operation she had, but I couldn’t be fooled twice and there and then decided on the next line of action.” And what he decided on smelt doom to the marriage. He simply told her what to do with the baby when they were discharged.

Sensing the inevitable, Lola began lobbying Yomi’s relatives to help her persuade him to forgive her. All efforts towards reconciliation by the two families failed. When Lola realised that all was almost lost she resorted to native doctors.

For some time both still lived under the same roof and slept on the same bed, but they were no longer on speaking terms. But like in the first instance, she played into Yomi’s hands.

To ward off the trauma his broken marriage gave him, Yomi became a heavy drinker, from the lecture room he would go to the club and return home very late. When he returned one night from his usual drinking spree, he went straight to bed and slept. Thinking that he was

fast asleep, Lola began to recite incantations and to administer the contents given her by the native doctor. She was half-way through when Yomi suddenly sprang up, seized her hand and shouted.

She was taken aback, but quickly regained her selfcontrol. She threw the rest of the dark powder out of the window and told her husband she was only soliloquizing in her dreams. It was the last straw. Calmly, the next morning, he told her he wouldn’t want to come home to still find her there. Weeks after this incident, the university offered him the job it promised and he happily moved to the flat that went with the job. He then sued for divorce.

“The court proceedings took a long time and it worked on my nerves for quite a while.

I’m happy I went through with it”. Yomi said sighing ‘’when I took up appointment with the university I began to think of settling down. But it hasn’t been easy”.

Asked if he would remarry if he happened to meet ‘Miss Right, he shrugged, “It’s difficult to say at the moment.

I’d trusted and loved Lola to the point that I went to the university to better our lot. I’ve misplaced my trust. However, if I meet the right lady, the possibility is not completely ruled out,” he said smiling.

“It’s terribly hard having to look-after the home again after a few years break. Since we parted, my burden had increased with having to look after Nike, our daughter. The funny part is that the instructor my wife had her second baby for has shirked his responsibility and has disowned the child. So Lola is left to solely look after the baby. She deserves the problem she’s got herself into,” he concluded sadly.

Do you recognise an orgasm when you have one?

W

hen an agony Aunt gets a question on variation of orgasms or lack of it, she is often in a dilemma as to the most satisfactory answer to give. Although most women enjoy sex, how do they know if they’ve reached a climax or not? Julia Cole, a relationship counsellor says that women often wonder about orgasms.

According to her, “They say

they experience feelings of arousal and waves of pleasure but ask; “Is that it?” Others get to a certain point where they feel something stops them and they can’t let go. Sometimes this can be because they are uncertain about relationship.

Another reason for failing to reach an orgasm can be that they are not being aroused or stimulated enough.”

“She has helped to develop

a special range of vibrators designed to work with a woman’s body—she has also helped devise questions to help women identify the sensations of arousal and orgasm. According to her, “every orgasm is different and unique to each woman.

You may not experience every sensation described here, but these sensations are the most common.”

42—SATURDAY

Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015 YETUNDE AREBI Yetty5050@yahoo.co.uk tweeterhandle@yetundearebi 08054700825

Are these signs of the end time?

Location: Mathew’s shop, off Opebi Boulevard.

her mother ought to be wiser.

had gone to collect some clothes from the tailor but they were not ready, so, I decided to wait. While he made finishing touches to them, we chatted away on the conduct of many artisans especially on their penchant for disappointing their clients.

Suddenly, a little girl aged seven or eight ran into the shop. I was struck by her beauty and innocence. She was fair skinned, had neatly groomed hair, even after the long school hours, her pair of white socks and green uniform were still quite clean. There was obvious happiness in her eyes and she had a beautiful wide smile on her face. All four guys in the shop turned to greet her and ask about her day at school. She paid them each courtesy on bent knees as she went round, finally stopping at Mathew’s (my tailor) machine. He asked if her mother was around and she answered no and promptly skipped out of the shop. Because of the apparent fondness between the four men in shop and the little girl, I jumped to the conclusion that she must be my tailor’s daughter.

Trust me, I could not help but confirm my thoughts.

“Is that your daughter”, I asked? “No”, he answered, “her mother also has a shop on this block”. For me, something was not right here. I decided not to drop it. “Is she related to anyone in this shop then”? “No oh”, he answered with a chuckle. “Then why did she come here to greet you people? I asked? “That is how she comes around to greet everyone”, he informed me. “Everyone”, I asked, bewildered? My mind spun into alarm mode and several questions began racing round my head. I could not help but share them with the guys. Does this little girl’s mother know about this everyday greeting session embarked upon by her daughter? If so, how can a mother leave a small girl like that on her own, to go into a shop where you have four men to greet them? Is she not aware of what is now happening to little children in Nigeria these days? Does she not read newspapers or listen to the radio or watch television? Is it possible that this woman has never heard stories of how little girls are being sexually abused or raped in our societies these days? If she has, is she not terrified of the stories or afraid that such can happen to her daughter? The little girl might be oblivious of the wicked and treacherous world she lives in and the danger that lurks around her, every day, but her mother ought to know. This child might have no idea that she has become a target of the evil that has now taken hold of some Nigerian males like a deadly fever, and that by her unrestrained movements, she was strategically placing herself in line for sexual abuse and rape, but

As if to support my ranting, my tailor informed me that I was right. He announced that such an incident occurred in the neighbourhood, a few months back and that the matter was still in court. From this point, the discussion became more heated. All four of them began chipping in their contribution of what transpired in the rape incidence. The victim was two years old while the accused was 54 years old. To add salt into injury, the man was granted bail and has been walking free in the neighbourhood ever since. They all believe that he would walk free at the end of the case. So, since such a thing had already occurred in the neighbourhood, why is this mother letting her child on the loose? Is it possible that she has not learnt any lesson from the incident or she does not care enough

I

This child might have no idea that she has become a target of the evil that has now taken hold of some Nigerian males like a deadly fever, and that by her unrestrained movements, she was strategically placing herself in line for sexual abuse and rape about her child’s safety? “Well, aunty, you are right, but not everyone thinks like you are doing. Most people believe that bad things cannot happen to them. They also believe that those it happened to were either not as smart as them or that it is their destiny”, Mathew said. “Really, why would anyone think like that”, I asked? Anyways, you people are men, what we are hearing these days is alarming. There is hardly not one day that passes by without one hearing one bizarre story or another about little children being molested by adults. Didn’t we all grow up in this country? Many of us grew up running around naked in the rains and no

one heard about such evil crimes being perpetuated against children. Excuses often cited for raping young ladies and women are sexual provocation, indecent dressing/exposure or the no-means-yes syndrome, are little children also guilty of these? Jimmy, the second older guy was quick to provide answers to my questions.

“Madam, most of them are for spiritual purposes oh. The old men raping infants and little children are using them for spiritual purposes. It could be to renew their age, also known as long life, or cure them from some form of disease or for money rituals. It depends on what the old men are looking for, after all, what kind of enjoyment can one get from a small toddler? Again, madam, whether we accept it or not, the internet has done more harm to Nigeria than good. All these things we are talking about are available on the internet and are accessible by almost everybody who can afford to buy internet plan. All the sexual deviancies that were alien to our culture have been learnt on the internet and are now being practiced by our people.

And like the case we just told you that happened here, once nothing is done to bring justice to the victims, then more people join knowing they can get away with it too.

For me, such men ought to pay with their lives, not jail terms.”

Suppose we accepts as facts the excuses proffered above for those sexual abuse and rape of little infants and young children, what can we attribute the rise of incest in our society to? I read a newspaper report a couple of months ago that a father who was reportedly having an incestuous relationship with his daughter justified his actions by insisting he was practicing safe sex with her and could therefore not impregnate or harm her in any way! He stated that he was being careful and practicing the withdrawal method! Again, Jimmy insisted there is a spiritual twist to this as well. He said it was for money making ritual. I have strong doubts that all the culprits I have read about did not appear rich or affluent in any way to me. But Mathew, my tailor declared they are all signs of a morally depraved society and ultimately of the end times. He went on to give a long list of the things happening now which hitherto were strange to our culture.

Our insatiable desire for wealth and a lack of moral and societal value have caused us to unleash these wanton atrocities and destruction upon ourselves. People want to get rich quick by all means possible because they want to “arrive” or “feel among” and the society has no interest in asking questions. Thus, a 16 year old boy could capture and gut a 4 year of child because a chief promised him N50,000 for it. He mentioned a wrist watch and pair of jeans as part of the items he wanted to buy with the money.

As the conversation drifted towards religion and end time, Samson, the young apprentice brought us back to focus.

“Okay mummy, what is responsible for gang rape? That is what young boys are doing now oh” he declared.

Mathew insisted it is still one of the signs while the rest of us agreed that our society has become too sexually exposed indeed.

E

verywhere you turn, there is a sexual undertone to almost everything you see or hear. Sex has taken over the media space and can be accessed and discussed with others at the snap of the fingers. Even places designed as official and sterile of relationships have been polluted with sex, thus you find the boss recruiting junior workers to work under him/her while those ones comply for the benefits of getting what they officially do not deserve.

Places of worship where we turn to for moral and spiritual support and direction have been defiled by our desire for the things of the world and flesh. Thus, men of god now beat up their wives in the public, divorce their spouses without recourse to biblical or Islamic injunctions, spiritual heads are sexually entangled with members of their congregations, to the extent of impregnating them. Earlier in the year, there was a report about a preacher somewhere in the South East who impregnated both mother and daughter, his style of propagation of the word!

When spiritual havens no longer serve their purposes, perhaps the best and only option is to return to our homes and family. But then, where are the homes? Where are the families? Many homes have become houses and many families have become acquaintances. The centre of our existence have since collapsed. Parents have lost their primary role of providing and teaching love and stability in the lives of their children to become providers of wants.

Many of us no longer have the moral justification to continue to be called parents. Surely, you can’t give what you don’t have. A mother once attended a parents/teachers’ meeting wearing a hip style pair of jeans which had half the crack of her bum on display to the disgust of many other parents. For the poor daughter who she was obviously grooming after herself, she wore a frilly pink dress so short her equally pink pants were also on display every time she bent down. Mathew’s little girl friend might not know any better, but her mother cannot feign ignorance of the world we now live in. Do have a wonderful weekend.

SATURDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015—43

‘How 7-month-old baby was roasted to death’ T

ragedy, occurred again in Lekki area of the state Thursday afternoon, when fire consumed a seven- month-old baby while her parents were away.

It was sad that before help could get to the baby, she was completely burnt beyond recognition, Speaking with Saturday Vanguard, the Director State Fire Services, Mr. Rasak Fadipe, narrated thus:”We received distress call at about 1 pm of a fire outbreak at Ikota Housing Estate, I quickly dispatched my men to scene of the fire incident. The fire men later retrieved the charred body of the baby girl from the debris of

the fire.

“It was later found out that the baby was locked up alone in the house while the mother went out. he husband it was learned had gone to his usual workplace. “ Fadipe added that from investigation, the fire started from the kitchen before it spread to the room where the baby was sleeping and due to the effect of the choking smoke the baby must have died before the fire later burnt her.

He said it was one of the

•Mr. Rasak Fadipe

neighbours who noticed thick smoke coming out of the apartment before the fire service was later contacted for help.

Fadipe, while commiserating with the family over the loss, therefore, cautioned Parents, especially, mothers from leaving their infant child or children at home alone without adult being around to take care of them as such action often leads to disaster such as loss of lives and property.

Fadipe, lamented over 18 distress calls involving fire outbreaks at residences occurred alone last Thursday, describing it as “alarming and unacceptable” in the state.

Yultide: Lagos puts residents on red alert against fire

BY OLASUNKANMI AKONI

L

agos State Government has expressed concerns over the current growing rate of fire outbreaks in the state which were largely attributed to human error.

Citing as an example the petrol tanker explosion that wrecked havoc in Ojuelegba, Surulere Local Government Area, last Saturday, government revealed that a cigarette stub from yet to

be apprehended smoker ignited the fallen fuel tanker that spilled its content.

It will be recalled that the tanker laden with 33, litres of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, which exploded after spilling its content on the road at about 2 am, razed over five cars and buildings built along the canal.

The Commissioner for Special Duties and Intergovernmental Relations, Mr. Oluseye Oladejo and

his Information and Strategy counterpart, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, and other agencies, while declaring zero tolerance on adherence to safety standard in the state, stated that the situation called for immediate concern and actions to enforce safety regulation.

Oladejo said “It is not enough to have safety regulations, they must be enforced and complied with to

TMA goes ttough ough with oper ation AIP Traffic gridlock: LAS LASTMA operation

T

he

Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, has disclosed plans to launch “Operation Arrest, Impound and Prosecute”, AIP, that will be fully employed during and after the yuletide period.

Also, in collaboration with critical stakeholders, LASTMA, has concluded moves to relocate all trucks and articulated vehicles from the major highways in the state to the Lagos Trade Fair Complex, along Lagos-Badagry Expressway.

The proposed site for the truck

farm is located along the premises of the Lagos Trade Fair Complex, Mile 2. It is about 3,000 square meters and can accommodate an estimated 5,000 trucks at a time.

The move was part of efforts to find an immediate solution to the perennial traffic gridlock at Apapa and environs, occasioned by indiscriminate parking of trucks and tankers that have paralyzed both human and business activities in the axis.

The decision came following an on-the-spot assessment of the

complex by management of fleet owners consisting of Association of Maritime Truck Owners, National of Road Transport Owners, FT Logistics, Nigeria Shippers Council and law enforcement agencies of LASTMA, Vehicle Inspection Service, VIS, Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, Civil Defence and Nigeria Police.

According to the Chief Executive Officer of LASTMA, Chris Olakpe who led a team of officers and stakeholders on inspection tour of the parking said the move was part of measures being considered to decongest Apapa and environs of traffic gridlock.

Olakpe, said that the agency has been working in collaboration with articulated vehicle owners to find lasting solution to issues of traffic, insecurity and environmental degradation that have made Apapa less attractive to investors and residents.

Also, General Manager of LASTMA, Mr. Bashir Braimah said obeying traffic laws in a mega city like Lagos has become imperative as government is determined to provide the right infrastructure and relevant laws that will enhance free flow of traffic and safety on our roads.

He therefore, called for the support and cooperation of all the stakeholders for the agency to achieve the set goals.

prevent avoidable loss of lives, properties and injuries. As a government which cares about the safety of lives and properties, nothing short of strict adherence to safety rules will be acceptable, relevant provisions of the law will be applied against erring individuals and organizations.”

Speaking on various issues concerning safety and protection of citizenry during and after the yuletide period, he noted that the danger of indiscriminate dropping of cigarette stubs or fireworks, especially at the yuletide period pose a great challenge and could lead to fire outbreaks.

Fire statistics It is instructive to note that for record purpose, the men of the Lagos State Fire Service, Emergency Response Team (ETR) of Lagos State Emergency Management Authority, LASEMA and other first responders responded to over 42 emergency calls through the Toll free 767/112 emergency number of the state in the first week of December, 2015, while a total of over 1,667 emergency calls were responded to from January 1st, 2015. The team responded to 15 distress calls for fire outbreaks last Sunday alone.

As at last Thursday evening, the state fire services had responded to additional 30 distress calls which included the death of a seven month old baby girl who was burnt to death in Ikota Housing Estate, Lekki and the burning of NITEL Building on Lagos Island. Director State Fire Services, Mr. Rasak Fadipe, stressed the need by residents to be extremely careful in dealing with sensitive materials and combustibles in order to prevent loss of lives and properties.

It was also estimated that over N98.28Billion of properties were salvaged, while over N16.38 Billion worth of properties were lost to various fire incidents.

44—SATURDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015

SATURDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 12, 2015—45

‘Reasons you should service your car this festive period’

ALMONDIA brandy enters spirit and beverage market

n a survey carried out recently by the leading online classified OLX, the I importance of servicing cars regularly was

t is first of its kind as Eastern I Distilleries and Food Industries Limited unveils a Nigerian made

emphasized. With the festive period approaching, and more people seeing a need to travel long distances to visit family and friends, the OLX survey comes as an essential reminder for car owners to take proper care of their vehicles.

Speaking on the survey, OLX Country Manager, Lola Masha, expressed that the company wants to keep its users’ needs in view, while helping them optimize their car usage.

Masha added, “With the huge volume of vehicles on our platform, we realized that we had to educate our car users by carrying out this survey. It is our way of ensuring that we remain connected to what is most important to them, especially at this time where a lot of people travel for the festivities.”

Findings from the research revealed that 68 percent of the respondents serviced their cars every three months, about 20 percent serviced their cars every six months, two percent serviced their cars every 12 months, and about 10 percent were not forthcoming on the regularity of service. It further revealed that a handful of respondents take their cars for service every month, based on the mileage of the car.

Automobile expert, and General Manager, Mandilas Enterprises Limited, Stephen Gladwin advised car owners to service and maintain their cars regularly for longer lifespan and prevention of breakdown of vehicles which is usually a cause of road accidents. Gladwin added that, “It is best to service your car every 3 months. A long road trip is a serious test for your car, and it is always best to have it in great condition. One thing that a car user must know is that, there are no small problems when it comes to cars, an improperly aligned tyre can cause a lot of trouble, just like an overheating engine.”

He noted that, “People do not service their cars regularly due to poor budgeting and that can lead to complicated mechanical problems while driving.”

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Recently, OLX partnered with Mandilas to offer eligible users who posted their cars for sale on the site an opportunity to screen and evaluate their cars for free. At the end of the screening, the user will get an evaluation certificate from Mandilas that will state the current market value of the car as well as the condition of the parts of the car. This will benefit both the buyer who is worried about the worth and condition of the car they want to buy and the seller who is not sure of the monetary value of the car.

OLX is the world’s leading classifieds platform in growth markets and is available in more than 40 countries and over 50 languages.

spirit drinks, ALMONDIA brandy to compete with foreign brands.

The Managing Director, Eastern Distilleries and Food Industries Limited, Chris Chidume in a press briefing in Lagos, said, Nigerians are people of fashion, taste and style. They love to enjoy life with quality products that add maximum value. However, in the area of spirit drinks, our people always look up to foreign brands to satisfy their taste and desires. It is in response to this vacuum that we in Eastern Distilleries and Food Industries Ltd

L - R: National Sales Manager, Ford, Coscharis Motors, Justin Ngini; General Manager, Coscharis Ford Assembly Plant, Nigeria, Daniel Biju; Personal Assistant to GMD, Coscharis Group, Shola Afolayan; Regional Manager, Sales and Aftersales, Sub-Saharan Africa, Ford, Rob Johnston; General Manager, Marketing and Corporate Services, Coscharis Group, Abiona Babarinde; and Market Manager For Ford, SubSaharan Africa, Eugene Prinsloo, during a tour of Ford Assembly Plant in Lagos, recently.

came up with the idea of a wholly Nigeria made spirit drink which will not only compete with foreign brands but in reality beat the foreign brands in all ramifications. That brand is ALMONDIA brandy.

According to him, ALMONDIA brandy is a product of years of deep thinking, committed research work and pragmatic partnership between highly focused individuals and organizations with clear and verifiable unique selling points and competitive advantages over its competitors and contemporaries.

Chidume said that, the process is that of standard distillation and triple filtration which gives us a clear, pure and sparkling brandy. This in turn is infused with top quality roasted almond nuts to deliver a smooth, sweet, fruity and spicy aroma and taste that make Almondia brandy so difficult to put down. This quality is happily confirmed by world class tasters with years of experience in sampling brandy.

In addition, he said, “the packaging of ALMONDIA brandy is a beauty to behold. Apart from the unique shaped and dim coloured bottle and the metallic label, ALMONDIA brandy is sealed with an ingenious non-returnable valve cork which guarantees the originality of the product. While the content of the bottle can easily be poured out, one can never get any liquid into the bottle without breaking it. It is never to be faked. What you pay for is always what you get!

He said the official unveilling will take place on Sunday December 13, 2015.

46 — SATURDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015

TRIBUTE

A TALE OF FOUR DEATHS

BY VICTOR NDOMA-EGBA

F

irst, it was Senator Donald Dick Etiebet, Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in the Second Republic, 1979-1983, Governor of old Cross River State (now Cross River and Akwa Ibom States in July, 2015, then Dr. Mathaias Oko Offoboche, renowned academic, outstanding Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, respected politician, Deputy Governor of the old Cross River State on the same ticket with the illustrious economist and former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr. Clement Isong as Governor in the same Republic, on the 4th of October, 2015, then, it was Navy Captain Edet Akpan Archibong (retd), who served briefly as Military Governor of the same old Cross River State at the inception of General Muhammadu Buhari’s military administration on 12th October, 2015 and lastly, Dr. Walter Patrick Eneji, resourceful career civil servant who became a Permanent Secretary, Commissioner and later Deputy Governor in the present Cross River State to the charismatic and affable Donald Duke on 4th November, 2015.

They all died. Senator Etiebet at 85, Dr. Offoboche at 78, Archibong at 85 and Eneji at 68.

Remarkably, Eneji, the youngest of the quartet had served as Principal Secretary (now known as Chief of Staff) to both Offoboche as Deputy Governor and Archibong as Military Governor and all three died within one month of one another.

Dr. Offoboche was more or less an uncle to my immediate family and I. He had had a long standing relationship with my larger family, from my grandfather, parents, uncles and aunties. He was an alumnus of my secondary school, Mary Knoll College, Okuku where he was more or less a legend having established a number of academic records long before I found my way there.

Captain Archibong it was who without knowing me previously appointed me on his assumption of office as Military Governor of Cross River State as Commissioner for Works and Transport at the unusual age of 27. He gave me the biggest introduction to public life as it were.

Walter on the hand was a senior friend. Also an alumnus of Mary Knoll, I got to know him later as I did not meet him in school and developed a friendship that lasted until his death. Indeed, he had called from the U.K. the Saturday before his death and we had our longest telephone conversation ever. He apprised me of certain major developments in his personal circumstances and that he would be home in December. That conversation turned out to be a valedictory. When I became Commissioner he was the General Manager of the then Cross River State Housing Corporation, one of my parastatals.

The build up to the elections in 1983 in Cross River State (now Cross River and Akwa Ibom States) was tension soaked and interesting. There had been the expectation of the creation of a new State out of the former South Eastern State. When Murtala Mohammed created seven additional States in 1975 everyone expected Cross River State, the new State to be one of them. Rather than a new State General Mohammed merely renamed the then South Eastern State Cross River State. This disappointment was to define the local politics of the Second Republic. The National Party of Nigeria, NPN, rode on the sentiment of a new State to power. Dr. Clement Isong became Governor of the State while Dr. Joseph Wayas emerged as President of the Senate, the country's third citizen. With time the local politics became bifurcated along the Lagos Group, led by Dr. Wayas and the Home Front led by Dr. Clement Isong. The Lagos Group was believed to be championing the creation of the new State while the Home Front was

perceived to be indifferent to it. This defined the elections of 1983. Dr. Isong lost the NPN primaries to Senator Donald Etiebet, an Anang, whose ethnic group entered into a political alliance with the Orons, Efiks and Ogoja to upstage the majority Ibibios. Senator Etiebet won the election and was sworn in as Governor of Cross River State in October 1983.

The NPN’s bandwagon and landslide victory was contentious.

The other political parties rejected the results. The polity was agitated and tense and the atmosphere ominous.

On the 31st of December, 1983 the military struck. The Shehu Shagari government was overthrown and General Muhammadu Buhari became the new Military Head of State with Tunde Idiagbon as Chief of General Staff. In Cross River State the two months Governorship of Senator Etiebet came to a sudden end. Navy Captain Edet Akpan Archibong, an Ibibio, was appointed new Military Governor of the State.

He lasted four months, just twice as long as Senator Etiebet before he was redeployed to purely military duties.

He was succeeded by Colonel Dan Patrick Archibong of blessed memory, an Efik.

All three were gentlemen of the highest order who served their state, nation, humanity and the Almighty with all their strength and might. They were of unquestionable integrity and loyalty; there were icons and idols to the generations behind them. They belonged to that fast diminishing generation that believed in others before self, in a good name rather than wealth, in simplicity and rectitude rather than conspicuousness and arrogance.

They were exemplary in their honesty and dignity.

They were connected by their origin but more importantly by the history of their State, and their service to their State, Nation and humanity.

Though they died on different dates, in our mortal understanding they died at the same time. We are therefore confronted with that question that has haunted humankind throughout history, that question that Thornton Wilder in his classic "The Bridge of San Luis Rey" sought to interrogate without an answer "Is our fate random, or is it planned and controlled by some higher power"?

In their deaths we see the cynical democracy of death. It spread among the Anang, Ibibio, Yala and Bekwarra, from the elected Governor to one who was not elected, from the lawyer, lawmaker to the soldier, from a famous doctor to the classical civil servant, from those in their eighties to one in his seventies and yet another in his sixties, from the swashbuckling to the suave to the genteel.

Etiebet, Offoboche, Archibong and Eneji will be remembered not for the quantity of their years or for their riches, they will be remembered for the richness of their lives.

In the words of Wilder; "But soon we shall die and all the memory of those five (these four) will have left the earth, and we ourselves shall be loved for a while and forgotten. But the love will have been enough, all those impulses of love return to the love that made them.

Even memory is not necessary for love. There is a land of the living and a land of the dead and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning (The Bridge of San Luis Rey)’’ They have run their race and played their parts.

May they rest in peace.

Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba OFR, CON, SAN, was Senate Leader in the 7th Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

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SATURDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 12, 2015 — 47

SIASIA, AMUNEKE:

Nigeria eye glory

•Siasia

BY JOHN EGBOKHAN

A

fter a seemingly stuttering start to their campaign at the 2015 CAF U-23 Championship in Senegal, Nigeria are on the verge of emerging champions if they beat Algeria in today’s final match at the Leopold Sedar Senghor Stadium in Dakar. But preceding the finale, South Africa and Senegal will fight for the third and final qualifying ticket to the Rio Games, at the same stadium where Nigeria and Algeria will battle for the bragging right as the continent’s U-23 champions.

Today’s final and third-place matches will be ‘repeats’ as Algeria and Nigeria drew 0-0 in Group B and Senegal beat South Africa 3-1 in Group A. To reach the final, Nigeria defeated Senegal 1-0 in a keenly contested semifinal match. Oghenekaro Etebo calmly slotted in a secondhalf penalty kick to give the 1996 gold medalists and 2008 silver medalists a surprise win over the hosts, who they had wanted to avoid in the run-up to the semifinal.

On their part, Algeria reached the final of the eight-nation tournament on the back of an opportunist early Oussama Darfalou goal and Benkhemassa strike to roll to a convincing 2-0 victory over South Africa and a first appearance at the Games since the 1980 Moscow Olympics. With the ticket to Rio

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Olympics secured, Nigeria now turn their attention to lifting the title, which will be a befitting end for Siasia, who has charged his boys to seize the opportunities that come their way against the Algerians.

“Our mission when we were coming here was to first qualify for he Rio Olympics, which we have achieved and now have the opportunity to win the title, which is an extra motivation for us to play the game of our life in this tournament. “Algeria are a strong team. We played them in the group stage and it was a balanced match. This final game is going to be tougher for both teams and I pray that the gods of football will be on our side like they did when we played Senegal”, added Siasia.

On his part, Algerian coach Pierre Andre Schurman said the objective at the tournament was to qualify for the Olympics, which they have achieved after beating South Africa 2-0.

He added that emerging top ahead of Nigeria in group B does not give them the advantage but boosts their confidence in their bid for the title. “The objective was to qualify for Rio and we achieved that. We’re confident going into the final.

Group B was the toughest in the tournament but it doesn’t mean that we’re the best teams in the tournament”. It will be the third meeting between both teams in this tournament since the maiden edition in Morocco in 2011, which was won by Gabon. Nigeria whipped Algeria 4-1 four years ago, before they drew 0-0 in a group game in Senegal.

Flores w arns Ighalo, other warns otherss not to aim too high atford manager Quique Sanchez Flores has warned his W players of the dangers of losing sight of their prime objective this season. The Hornets go to Sunderland today,

sitting in 10th place, nine points clear of the bottom three, following a run of four wins in their last six Premier League games. “Our expectation is to improve, sometimes we need to meet with the players to create the same objectives. Sometimes it is all very clear at the start of the season, then after when we are improving, are comfortable in the table with good feelings, sometimes the mentality of the players is to go very quickly onto other objectives.

•Ighalo “So for me it is very important to keep the focus. Our objectives of course is to keep the category (of the Premier League), this is unity we have.

Maybe it is one of our advantages because we are thinking only about the next match.”

Spor ts Minis Sports Ministter needs more action than words

BY ONOCHIE ANIBEZE

Y

outh and Sports Minister Solomon Dalung, Thursday expressed outrage that allowances and bonuses of the Olympic soccer team were yet to be paid even after they beat Senegal 1-0 the previous day to qualify •Amuneke for the Rio Olympics.

He ordered the Permanent Secretary and the DG in the sports ministry to source intervention fund and pay the team that will play in the final of the African Championship with Algeria today.

But the sports minister will need to do more, going by our findings. The messy situation of our sports will embarrass him the more if he does not arrest the situation.

Coaches and some technical crew of national teams are being owed salaries for up to five months.And prominent among them are Samson Siasia who is currently leading the team in Senegal and Emmanuel Amuneke, the man who has just won the Under 17 World Cup in Chile.

Amuneke and his team have a pathetic story.

And they are disgruntled, frustrated and disappointed by the system they served with utmost commitment.

Amuneke and his coaches are also owed salaries. Worse is the fact that their camp allowances before and during the Championship in Chile have not been paid to them. Their bonuses from the semifinal tie are also yet to be paid. President Mohammadu Buhari called from Nigeria to speak with the players to motivate them before the final in Chile. He was Head of State in 1985 when Nigeria won the maiden edition of the cup and wished it happened again. The boys delivered. Now, they cannot reconcile the spirit in Buhari’s voice when he spoke with them and the neglect visited on them on return to Nigeria.

But while the Presidency is too far away from them, they cannot understand why reprieve has not come from the Sports Ministry and the Nigeria Football Federation.

“The money approved for the Championship in Chile has not been released to the federation,” a federation source lamented.

The sports minister was said to have been saddened by the development. But he has equally not been able to help out. And when Siasia and his boys defeated Senegal on Wednesday he directed that they be paid immediately.“Those who win World Cup are usually happy, they are celebrated but not so with us. We have not been encouraged and it is unfortunate,” one of the players who won the cup in Chile said during the week.Their coaches who have families equally have sad commentaries.

“I feel for them,” one football official said, adding “the NFF has been battling with funds and this has affected payment of salaries and allowances of coaches.” But one observer maintained that the NFF did not take the youth teams seriously, otherwise they would have sourced funds to cater for their welfare, the way they do to the senior team, the Eagles.“I don’t think they respect the coaches of the youth teams,” one source close to the sports ministry said, adding “that’s why Amuneke has refused to assist the Under 20 coach, Manu Garba as suggested by the federation.”

The source fumed: “You have not even sat with Amuneke to discuss terms for his continuation as Under 17 coach and payment of his salaries and allowances and you want to saddle him with more responsibilities. You have not paid for the job he did and you want to give him more. Amuneke and his crew have not been treated fairly and they are disappointed.”

The news of the sports minister’s intervention raised hopes in football circles but he needs to do more than verbal instructions that may not have effect if the funds are not there.

We gathered that the recent TSA policy of government which directed all their bodies to operate only one account has also affected NFF’s liquidity.

SATURDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 12, 2015

SIASIA, AMUNEKE: Spor ts Minis Sports Ministter needs more action than wor ds words >>47

Nigeria eye glory AFCON U-23 Final:

Nigeria v Algeria Kickoff 8pm

>>47

•Siasia

Sporting moments of 2015 Today’s Fixtures

>>34-35

EPL Norwich Crystal Palace Man City Sunderland West Ham Bournemouth

v v v v v v

Everton Southampton Swansea Watford Stoke Man Utd

1:45pm 4pm 4pm 4pm 4pm 6:30pm

LA LIGA Barcelona Celta Vigo Levante Sevilla Las Palmas

v v v v v

Deportivo Espanyol Granada Sporting Gijon Real Betis

4pm 6:15pm 6:15pm 8:30pm 10:05pm

BUNDESLIGA Bayern Munich Hoffenheim SV Darmstadt Werder Bremen Wolfsburg Leverkusen

v v v v v v

FC Ingolstadt Hannover 96 Hertha Berlin Cologne Hamburg M’gladbach

3:30pm 3:30pm 3:30pm 3:30pm 3:30pm 6:30pm

SERIE A Genoa Palermo Sassuolo Udinese

v v v v

Bologna Frosinone Torino Inter Milan

LIGUE I Reims v Nice Lille v Lorient Montpellier v Guingamp Nantes v Toulouse Troyes v Bastia EREDIVISIE ADO Den Haag C Leeuwarden PSV Eindhoven FC Twente

3pm 6pm 6pm 8:45pm

4pm 8pm 8pm 8pm 8pm

v Willem II 6:30pm v NEC Nijmegen 7:45pm v Roda JC Kerk 7:45pm v De Graafschap 8:45pm

Sunday November 13 FC Utrecht v Ajax Groningen v Feyenoord PEC Zwolle v AZ Alkmaar Heracles Almelo v Vitesse Arnhem

12:30pm 2:30pm 2:30pm 4:45

CROSS WORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1) Accountant-General of Nigeria, Mr. Mohammed — (5) 4) Former Cross-River State Governor, Mr. Donald — (7) 8) Record — (3) 9) L.G.A. in Bayelsa State — (5) 10) Former Minister of Aviation, Mr. Babatunde — (7) 11) Japanese Currency Unit — (3) 12) Ebonyi State Governor, Dave — (5) 13) Cameroun Capital City — (7) 17) French Word for ‘’Black’’ ? — (4) 19) L.G.A. in Benue State — (6) 22) L.G.A. in Imo State — (6) 26) Assistant — (4) 28) Belgium Foreign Minister, Mr. Didier — (7) 31) Adult Male Duck — (5) 32) Farm Tool — (3) 33) Technical Director, Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Navy Commodore Omatseye — (7) 34) Musical Instrument — (5) 35) African Waterbuck — (3) 36) L.G,A. In Lagos State — (7) 37) Super Eagles Midfielder, Feghor —(5)

DOWN 1) |L.G.A. in Katsina State — (7) 2) Ugandan Capital City— (7) (3) Chairman, African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwunmi — (7) 4) State in Nigeria known as ‘’The Salt of the Nation”?— (6) 5) African Deciduous Tree— (5) 6) Colour — (5) 7) Transaction — (5) 14) Parched — (4) 15) Employ — (3) 16) Spot — (3) 18) President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Abdulwaheed— (4) 20) Venomous Snake — (3) 21) Father — (3) 23) Flamingoes (U-17) Coach, Peter — (7) 24) Enyimba FC Striker, Andrew — (7) 25) Traditional Ruler of Ondo — (7) 27) Taraba State Governor,Mr. Darius — (6) 28) Italian Prime Minister, Matteo — (5) 29) Former Niger State Governor, Mr. Gado — (5) 30) Former Super Eagles Striker, Friday — (5)

Solution on page 46

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