IMPEACHMENT

...towards a better life for the people

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VOL. 25: NO. 62186

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

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MONDAY, JULY 14, 2014

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IMPEACHMENT:

Changing dynamics of state creation (2)

•P.43

Panel indicts Nyako •May clear deputy governor, Ngilari •Sheriff defects to PDP, Nyako to follow

Malala in Nigeria, tasks FG on release of Chibok girls•PGS.7&15

Vanguard Markets debuts today (inside)

BY SONI DANIEL, NORTHERN REGION EDITOR & EMMANUEL AZIKEN, POLITICAL EDITOR

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BUJA—THERE were indications last night that the panel raised by the Adamawa State House of Assembly to probe the allegations of misappropriation of funds had indicted the state governor, Murtala Nyako. Also, the panel might have cleared his deputy, Bala James Ngilari. The panel is Continues on Page 5

I ordered Abuja, Lagos bomb blasts — B'Haram leader 7 C M Y K

Mr & Mrs

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POCKET CARTOON

GROUND-BREAKING: Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, flanked on his left by Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State and wife, Unoma; while others watch during the ground-breaking ceremony of Federal Polytechnic, Ukana.

IMPEACHMENT: Panel indicts Nyako Continues from page 1 expected to submit its report to the state House of Assembly today.

It was also gathered that the embattled governor was already considering defecting to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as that remained the only option to escape the impeachment noose hanging on his neck. Erstwhile governor of Borno State, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, Vanguard learnt, yesterday, had defected to the PDP and is set to storm Maiduguri, the state capital for a briefing with his supporters today.

A top government official, who is privy to the work of the seven-man panel, confided in Vanguard that the report concluded that Nyako was guilty and should be removed but did not indict Ngilari.

The source said: “What we have is that the panel has already passed a guilty verdict on the governor but we have not heard anything concerning the deputy governor.

“In any case, the verdict of the panel, which was set up under duress is not surprising to the governor since we had already known and seen

LIFEWORDS

BY PASTOR ITUAH

You never regret kindness. Og Mandino says, ‘treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend all the care, kindness and understanding you can, with no thought of reward, and your life will never be the same.’

TAKE HEART

BY ELLA RANDLE

I find I am much prouder of the victory I obtain over myself, when, in the very ardor of dispute, I make myself submit to my adversary’s force of reason, than I am pleased with the victory I obtain over him through his weakness — Michel de Montaigne

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POINTED fable is told about a young lion and a cougar. Both thirsty, the animals arrived at their usual water hole at the same time.

They immediately began to argue about who should satisfy his thirst first. The argument became heated, and each decided he would rather die than give up the privilege of being first to quench his thirst.

As they stubbornly confronted each other, their emotions turned to rage. Their cruel attacks on each other were suddenly interrupted. They both looked up. Circling overhead was a flock of vultures waiting for the loser to fall. Quietly, the two beasts turned and walked away. The thought of being devoured was all they needed to end their quarrel.

their handwriting on the wall before they began their work,” the official said.

Apparently angered and jostled by the verdict of the panel, the governor, Vanguard learnt, has already filed an appeal at the Abuja Division of the Appeal Court against the procedure adopted by the House of Assembly to impeach him.

In the appeal, which Vanguard learnt, is being handled by a fiery Lagos-based lawyer, Nyako is challenging the violation of the impeachment procedure as outlined in Section 188 of the 1999 Constitution.

In the main, the governor is claiming that it was a violation of the law for the lawmakers not to personally serve him the notice of impeachment as enshrined in the law but went ahead with the proceedings without satisfying the vital condition.

Nyako challenges CJ Mammadi Similarly, the governor is challenging the decision of the then acting Chief Judge of the state, Justice Ambrose Mammadi, who had ordered the House of Assembly not to proceed with the impeachment proceedings without personally serving the governor and his deputy only for him to reverse himself by setting up a probe panel a day after.

It was also gathered that some loyalists of Nyako had petitioned the National Judicial Council, NJC, to inves-

tigate the action of the Adamawa CJ, whose three months’ tenure lapsed last week, over his conduct in the impeachment saga.

The actions notwithstanding, Nyako’s camp had been thrown into confusion with the indictment by the panel, whose report could be debated upon and action taken by the House of Assembly this week.

Findings by Vanguard indicated last night that Nyako’s only hope hinges on spirited efforts being made by his loyalists to ensure that the impeachment protagonists did not get the required two-thirds majority to remove him from office.

The governor ’s camp had been gripped by fear following the inability of Nyako and his loyalists in Yola and Abuja to persuade majority of the state House of Assembly members to back out of the impeachment move against him.

It was learnt that despite several meetings between the governor and the aggrieved lawmakers, the governor ’s camp could not secure the support of many members to stop his impeachment.

The House, which is made of 25 members, requires at least 17 members to be able to oust the governor.

It was not clear as last night if the 19 members of the House, who signed the impeachment notice against the governor would still stand by their signature and remove him when the impeachment voting is conducted.

The PDP stakeholders in Adamawa and Abuja are in favour of the probe panel giving the deputy governor, Ngilari, who showed absolute loyalty by staying back in the party when Nyako left for the APC, a clean bill of health so that he can take over and run the state till next year.

Sheriff defects to PDP, Nyako on the wings Meanwhile, the defection of Sheriff, the erstwhile chairman of the Board of Trustees of the defunct All Nigerian Peoples Party, ANPP, one of the parties that merged to form the APC was confirmed to Vanguard last night by a strong associate of his, Mr. Inuwa Bwala.

Bwala, who served in the cabinet of the incumbent governor, Alhaji Kassim Shettima before he exited upon the differences between the governor and Sheriff, in confirming the development said: “He has defected and he is now in the PDP.” Sheriff, Vanguard further gathered, is expected in Maiduguri today for further consultations with his supporters.

Ahead of the visit, the chairman of the state chapter of the APC, Alhaji Ali Bukar Dalori, yesterday, cautioned party members in the state not to be deceived into defecting from the party.

Dalori said that those who leave the party would end up losing on both sides as they would have nothing to gain in the PDP. Dalori in a statement made available to Vanguard said a number of aspirants for elective offices in the state and in Abuja have been putting pressure on Sheriff to defect from the party, believing that they would get easy ticket in the PDP. Citing Sokoto and Kano states, where former governors of the state defected to the

PDP, leaving their supporters in the cold, Dalori said: “Shekarau is now a Minister but I can assure you that he is not likely to have his godson as the Governorship candidate of the PDP. I won’t be surprised if that his godson he fielded in 2011 as Governorship candidate in Kano under the ANPP, returns to APC before 2015 when he doesn’t get any thing.

The same thing goes for many of his followers because, as it stands, he took people to PDP and he alone has benefited from the defection. That is always the case when aspirants just follow a big fish to another party, they become mere escorts.

“Most importantly also, the old PDP members are even likely to fight whoever Sheriff anoints as the governorship candidate if that happens because the old people know very well that if God forbids, the godson is elected governor, he will only pay attention to Sheriff and those around him, while the old PDP members will be strangers in their own party that they suffered so much to build and sustain.”

“No political party will hand over the entire aspirations of its loyal members to a new comer unless the party is looking for massive anti party activities. We will prefer to have a united APC in Borno but to be honest with you the APC in Borno State is not under any threat at all, we have the masses, we are very, very strong and are only waiting for inauguration of our candidates in May and June, 2015 that is for the governorship, deputy and for the National and State Assembly seats.”

Nyako who was elected on the platform of the PDP walked out of the party last November following months of agitation staged by him and six other governors against the party leadership at that time headed

by Alhaji Bamanga Tukur.

6—Vanguard , MONDAY MONDAY,, JULY 14, 2014

2 rail line vandals bag two years jail each

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

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BEOKUTA — THE Federal High Court sitting in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, Ogun State, presided over by Justice Folasade Ogunbanjo has sentenced two rail line vandals to two years imprisonment each.

The two convicts, Dele Taiwo and Sunday Popoola, both residents of the state, were standing trial on a two-count charge of conspiracy to willfully destroy and willfully destroying of rail tracks at Igbore village, Iwokun via Obada-Oko, in Ewekoro Local Government Area of the state.

The vandals were arrested by the surveillance team of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Ogun State Command, last year.

During the trial, the accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charge but later changed their plea to guilty before the matter was adjourned.

Ekiti Police dismiss two constables for corruption

BY GBENGA ARIYIBI

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DO-EKITI— THE Ekiti State Police Command has dismissed two policemen from the command for alleged discreditable conduct and corrupt practices.

According to the statement by the Public Relations Officer of the command, Mr Victor Babayemi, the two constables were shown the way out after being tried and found guilty in an orderly room trial He said: “In the pursuit of IGP’s mission of engendering an efficient, and disciplined workforce, and to rid the Force of its bad eggs, the Commissioner of Police, Ekiti State Command, on Wednesday approved with immediate effect, the dismissal of F/No. 446106 PC Famiwole Tolulope and F/No. 448477 PC Olotu Tope for the offence of corrupt practice contrary to Paragraph ‘C’ and discreditable conduct contrary ‘E’ (I) & (II) CAP 359 of the First Schedule of Police Act and Regulations 370 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990."

Ritualists chop off woman's head in Ondo

BY DAYO JOHNSON

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KURE — TONGUES are wagging in Arigidi Akoko in Akoko North West area of Ondo State over the chopping off of the head of a woman for alleged ritual purpose.

Already, Police authorities in the state have ordered full blown investigation into the incident which is causing panic in the community.

Police sources said the headless body of the deceased was found along old Ogbagi/ Arigidi Akoko road at about 9pm on Saturday.

It was gathered that the deceased body, between 25 to 30 years, was discovered by a passerby who raised alarm and the Police were invited.

Consequently, a team of detectives under the command of ASP Ezeala Obiora visited the scene and alleged that the corpse must have been dropped by suspected ritualists.

Vanguard learnt that photographs of the body was taken after which the corpse was removed and deposited at the specialist hospital mortuary in Ikare.

Contacted, the police image

maker in the state, Wole Ogodo, confirmed the incident, saying: “The Policemen at Irun Akoko division were hinted on

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BEOKUTA — The Ogun State Police Command, yesterday, said its detectives attached to Ewekoro Division had arrested 16 suspected cultists, including students of a polytechnic in Itori, Ewekoro Local Government Area of the state.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Muyiwa Adejobi, who stated this in a statement said the detectives acted on an intelligence gathering on the activities of cult groups in the area and bust their initiation.

According to Adejobi, 16 suspects, including eight students of the polytechnic, were arrested.

He said: “Those arrested included Akintunde Paul, Seyi Meshinoye, Fowoshade Gbemisola, Dare Olabode,

of age lying along Old Ogbagi/Arigidi Akoko road."

Ogodo said investigation is on to unveil those behind the dastardly act.

Sayawa Cultural Group performing at the 2014 Immaculate Conception Secondary School graduation in Bauchi, weekend. Photo: NAN.

Police rescue 10-year-old boy from abductors in Lagos

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AGOS— THE Police in Lagos, Saturday, said they rescued a 10-year old boy and arrested one of the

16 student-cultists nabbed during initiation in Ogun

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

Saturday morning that there was an headless body of a lady whose name and address are yet to be known and suspected to be between 25 to 30 years

Oyetayo Bolaji, Akintunde Femi, Ajibola Abiola, Amosun Eniola, Shola Ogunniyi, Fashina Michael, Bello Oyedeji, Adeshola Amore, Ebi Victor, Ogunsola Ibrahim, Babatunde Allyson and Awobajo Babatunde.

“The suspects have declined to mention the group or confraternity they belong to and this calls for further investigation.

“Some of the weapons or items recovered from them at the initiation ground included guns, charms, cutlasses, broken bottles, axes and others.

“The suspects have been transferred to the Department of Criminal Investigation, Eleweran, Abeokuta for further interrogation as directed by the Commissioner of Police, Ogun State, CP Ikemefuna Okoye."

suspected kidnappers.

The command’s spokesperson, DSP Ngozi Braide, told the News Agency of Nigeria, that three other suspects were arrested for cultism and armed robbery.

Braide said all the suspects were arrested in different parts of the state in the last five days.

She said the policemen attached to Oworonsoki Division, last Monday rescued one Moses Idowu of Agbareju Street, Oworonsoki, after one of the suspected kidnappers was arrested.

She said: “One of the suspected kidnappers was mobbed by youths in the area, while others escaped before the police arrested him.

“The suspect had injured the victim while attempting to take him forcibly. The suspect has been transferred to the State CID, Panti, for further investigation."

...arrest two cultists, one robber

She said two suspected cultists were also arrested on

Tuesday after a tip-off that a group of hoodlums suspected to be cultists assembled at Odo- Kekere area of Ikorodu.

She said: “Policemen attached to Sagamu Road Division stormed the area and arrested two members of the group (names withheld), both of no fixed address while other members escaped.

“Items recovered from the hoodlums are one locally made pistol, four live cartridges, three axes and four handsets.”

Braide added that one suspected robber, whose gang invaded Havannah Hotel, Gowon Estate, was arrested on Monday, while others escaped.

She said the suspect was hit by a vehicle while attempting to escape with his gang members before he was arrested with one revolver pistol recovered from him.

“The suspect and his gang members attempted to rob a victim at the aforementioned hotel,” she said.

Man bags 10 yrs for floating unregistered hospital

BY GABRIEL ENOGHOLASE

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ENIN— An Evbuoriaria magistrate's court sitting in Benin City has sentenced a 32year-old man, Jeremiah Onovwata, to 10 years imprisonment with hard labour for floating an unregistered private clinic, Divine Maternity and Clinic, which metamorphosed into Divine Nursing Home and Maternity.

He was said to have

impersonated the Chief Medical Director of the health institution located at Siluko Road, Benin.

Special Grade Magistrate, Patricia Igho Braimoh, while sentencing the accused without an option of fine, said the court was satisfied with the uncontradicted prosecution evidence which was corroborated by the evidence of the defence.

The court said the accused

was therefore guilty as charged.

The accused, who was found guilty on all the five-count charge on which he was arraigned, will however serve only two of the10-year jail term, as the sentences will run concurrently.

The court, which relied on sections of the law, said the convict was earlier pardoned for the same offence in 2009, having deposed to an

undertaking never to impersonate the medical director at the clinic and maternity home, but only to be apprehended for the same offence.

Defence counsel, Mr. Evidence Ejemu Etimbowei, however pleaded for allocutus for his client to enable the accused, who claimed to have attended Edo State School of Health Technology, Benin meet his family needs.

Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 14, 2014—7

Malala tasks FG on release of Chibok girls

BY EMMA UJAH, ABUJA BUREAU CHIEF, LAIDE AKINBOADE & FUNMI OLASUPO

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BUJA — MISS Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl who was almost killed by the Taliban in her country’s Swat Valley District for her girl education campaigns, yesterday, in Abuja, tasked the Federal Government to expedite action towards the rescue of the abducted Chibok girls.

She met the BringBackOurGirls campaigners and five of the girls who had earlier escaped from their captors in the Sambisa forest in Borno State. Malala also spoke with their parents.

The five Chibok girls, however, kept mum and refused to share their experiences.

Journalists who swarmed the Unity Fountain, Abuja, yesterday, to hear their tales of woe were disappointed as the girls chose to keep mum. Of the five girls who were brought to Abuja, only one attempted to answer journalists’ question but she shut her mouth almost immediately as they appeared to have been warned by their parents and others not to speak to the media.

Malala who marked her 17th birthday yesterday which coincided with the 90th day of the Chibok girls abduction told the government that the girls were the future of the nation and must not only be rescued but protected in their schools.

Voices of schoolgirls more powerful than extremists’ guns

The Pakistani teen, who has become an international girl-child education activist, told the Chibok girls to remain strong in the face of the attacks of the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, and that in the end, the girls would triumph, arguing that the voices of the girls were more powerful than the guns of the extremists.

According to her, after a long drawn battle with the Taliban, who earlier banned girls from going to school, peace had been restored in the Swat Valley and that all the girls had returned to school.

Her words: “My request to the government is that they should take you seriously. Yes this is the future generation of this country.

If you don’t focus on the future generation it means you are destroying your country.

“Think about these girls. Make sure that they are safe. Make sure that they are getting the quality education. Make sure that their parents are safe. Make sure they succeed. Make sure that the other girls that are still in abduction of Boko Haram, get released soon and we still have this campaign, we still say BringBackOurGirls.

“The situation at Chibok is the same with the situation in Swat where some extremists stopped

•Says voices of schoolgirls more powerful than extremists’ guns •Urges Chibok girls to continue schooling, meets Jonathan today •BringBackOurgirls gives us hope— Yaga more than 400 girls from going to school.

“They killed many children.

But people of Swat raised their voices, they spoke against this.

They spoke for education. And their voices were more powerful than gun or any other weapon.

“And I believe your voices are more powerful than any other weapon. So believe in yourself and go and continue your journey.

“Continue learning and you will succeed because we did succeed in our journey. There is peace in Swat. Every girl is going to school. The same way, we will be here one day we will see all of you going to school, getting your education.”

The five girls she met with are Awa Alhlama, Hauwa Musa, Hauwa John, Kanna Bitrus and Rebecca Ishaku.

Malala is expected to meet with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa today.

BringBackOurgirls gives us hope — Yaga One of the parents of the abducted Chibok girls, Maina Musa Yaga, expressed gratitude to the BringBackOurGirls group for giving the parents of the abducted girls hope that their daughters would one day return home.

He said: “We are very much aware of the struggle of this group even though some people are saying you are not the biological parents of the girls but you did not allow it to stop you from doing what you are doing, you see yourselves as part of us.

But the Federal Government which we thought will help us to bring our daughters to us is no more showing concern.

"It is through this group that the issue of the abduction of our daughters is being heard across the globe."

Shetima Haruna, father of another girl, Margaret Shetima said that the villagers were in the dark regarding the efforts of the Federal Government to return their daughters home.

He added that most of the villagers had run away from Chibok over incessant attacks by Boko Haram. Some of them, he said, have relocated to other states such as Adamawa and Taraba.

His words: “In the rural area from where I come from, there is no information on efforts to rescue our daughters but it is only through this group.

“It is really a very disturbing issue to us, because seven of the parents whose daughters were abducted are dead and several

others out of fear have fled from the Chibok community. They

left their houses and farm to settle in other communities and

some other states like Taraba and Adamawa.”

Mr. Gbenga Adefaye, Editor-in-Chief, Vanguard newspapers (left) receiving Entrepreneurship Award on behalf of Mr. Sam Amuka, Publisher, Vanguard newspapers from Chief Michael Agbamuche, Owelle of Akwukwu Igbo, during the first anniversary memorial dinner/award night of the passage of the Matriarch, Mama Angelina Onyebuchi Azinge, in Asaba, Delta State.

B'Haram claims responsibility for Lagos, Abuja bombings in new video •Blows off Maiduguri-Biu road bridge

BY NDAHI MARAMA, with agency report

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AIDUGURI — ISLAMIC sect, Boko Haram, has claimed responsibility for June 25 bomb attacks in Lagos and Abuja which claimed several lives.

Five persons died in the Lagos explosion which occurred very close to Folawiyo tank farm while that of Abuja which went off in a shopping mall killed 22 persons.

Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, in a 16minute video obtained by AFP yesterday also mocks the social media and protest campaign, BringBackOurGirls, which emerged after the Islamists kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls on April 14 from Chibok.

The girls, whose abduction has drawn unprecedented attention to Boko Haram’s fiveyear rebellion, are not pictured in the video, which was given to AFP through similar channels as past messages.

One previous recording showed more than 100 of the hostages, some of whom are Christian, reciting Muslim prayers. Shekau also said his loyalists carried out twin car

bombings in May in Jos and a June attack at a college in Kano.

Shekau claims Abuja, Lagos bomb attacks “We were the ones who detonated the bomb in filthy Abuja,” Shekau said in the video referring to a June 25 attack on a popular shopping centre in Abuja that killed at least 22 people.

Later that day a huge explosion also rocked the Apapa, which the authorities blamed on a cooking gas explosion, with no casualties.

“A bomb went off in Lagos. I ordered the bomber who went and detonated it,” Shekau says in the video, which shows him flanked by at least 10 gunmen in front of two armoured personnel carriers and two pick-up trucks.

“You said it was a fire incident,” he added. “Well, if you hide it from people you can’t hide it from Allah.”

Shekau, in boasting about the Lagos attack, incorrectly identifies the Governor of Lagos State, taunting Adams Oshiomhole, who is in fact the Governor of Edo State. Lagos State is governed by Babatunde Fashola.

Declared a global terrorist by the United States and sanctioned by the UN Security Council, Shekau is thought to have

previously claimed credit for attacks that he did not directly order.

Near the beginning of the video, Shekau calls several of the world’s most prominent Islamist extremists his “brethren.”

“May Allah protect you,” he said, listing IS chief, Abu Bakr alBaghdadi, Al-Qaeda head Ayman al-Zawahiri, Taliban leader Mullah Omar and several others.

Speaking in English, Shekau recited the BringBackOurGirls slogan used by activists to press for the release of schoolgirls.

“BringBackOurGirls... bring back our army,” he says, in what may be reference to a previous offer that the hostages could be freed if Nigeria releases Boko Haram fighters held in custody.

B'Haram blows off Maiduguri-Biu road bridge

Meanwhile, some gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram members weekend planted Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs under the popular Madafuma bridge linking 185km Biu-Damboa- Maiduguri federal road where it exploded and damaged some remarkable portion of the bridge leaving motorists and passengers stranded.

8 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 14, 2014

$43m peace-keeping money not pocketed by Generals — ARMY

BY SONI DANIEL

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BUJA—THE Nige rian Army has denied the diversion of $43m meant for the settlement of officers and men on peace-keeping missions by some army generals.

The army made the clarification in reaction to an online media claim that the amount, which has been set aside for peace-keeping had been pocketed by the unnamed generals in the Nigerian Army.

The Army in the clarification posted in its website on Sunday, made it clear that there had never been any case of embezzlement of funds meant for peace keeping operations.

The army claimed that though some of its officers and men who had returned from Peace Support Operations had not been fully remunerated, it had never recorded any case of embezzlement of funds meant for such operations.

“Perhaps if the authors of the petition had gone a little further towards due diligence, it would have found out that the Nigerian Army has never in any way denied that some troops who had concluded their tour of duty in some Peace Support Operations were yet to be fully remunerated. Nevertheless, there is no case of embezzlement as alleged in the report,” the army said.

“It is noteworthy that the long process of streamlining the procedure for securing funds for Peace Support Operations goes beyond the Nigerian military establishment. It involves the procedures and protocols of mission-sponsoring agencies such as the United Nations, African Union and ECOWAS among others.

“It is therefore curious that this misleading information is coming at a time when the major issues are being resolved and payment has actually commenced on the basis of the order of entry or exit of the various Nigerian Contingents (NIBATTS) into the

APC wants international inquiry on Boko Haram ...PDP, APC bicker over fake policemen

BY CHARLES KUMOLU

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BUJA—THE All Progres sives Congress, APC, has called for an international inquiry into the activities of the Boko Haram insurgents in order to unravel its sponsors.

It also wants the membership of the inquiry commission to include experts from the US, UK, France and Canada, as well as representatives of the Unit-

ed Nations,UN, and Nigeria’s neighbours Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

A statement by its National Publicity Secretary,Alhaji Lai Mohammed said that major political parties in the country should be represented on the panel, adding that the eventual findings be made public and those found to have any links with the insurgents be made to face the

full wrath of the law.

In a swift reaction, the National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party,PDP, Mr. Olisa Metuh said the statement indicated that the APC had become unsettled and highly apprehensive following the increasing demand by the British parliamentarians for an inquiry into their links with the insurgency.

The APC statement reads:’’We hope the PDP-led Federal Government, which has led the incessant but baseless campaign to point accusing fingers at the opposition, especially our party the APC, will give its total support to the immediate constitution of this international panel of inquiry. We have no doubt that the international community will give its unalloyed support to this inquiry, in view of the trans-national nature of the insurgency and the threat posed by terrorism to global peace and security. ''Enough is enough. The daily killing, maiming and abduction of innocent Nigerians, as a clueless Federal Government looks on, must end. Let the inquiry begin.’’

PDP's response

FASHOLA VISITSWHARF: Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State (left), listening to Mr. Aloga Ogbogo, General Manager (Admin) of Nigeria Association of Road Transport Owners, NARTO (right); as Chief Remi Ogungbemi, President, Association of Maritime Truck Owners, AMATO, (2nd right) and others watch during Governor Fashola's visit to Apapa/ Oshodi Expressway and Wharf to check compliance of Truck, Tankers Drivers and Owners, at Wharf Gate, Apapa, Lagos yesterday. Photo by Bunmi Azeez.

Apapa-Oshodi Expressway: Fashola orders LASTMA, Taskforce to manage traffic

BY MONSUR OLOWOOPEJO

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AGOS—GOVERNOR Ba batunde Fashola of Lagos State yesterday directed the officers of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA and Taskforce on Environment and Special Offences (Enforcement Unit) to manage the traffic gridlock in Apapa.

Fashola, who spoke after inspecting the level of traffic on ApapaOshodi Expressway and the ports, said the state would prevail on all stakeholders to ensure that normalcy returns to the Apapa central Business District, CBD. According to him, “The state government will look into the matters concerning the 51 hectares of land raised by the transport unions. But in the meantime, we will keep our men here-LASTMA, Taskforce and others to manage the traffic; to ensure that business activities can thrive again.”

The governor had last week assured the residents of improved traffic in another seven days.

The governor said since last week Sunday and today (yesterday) we have made some progress. We have established one-lane compliance on Creek road and access to the ports.

He blamed the traffic gridlock on lack of proper management of oil distribution and ports activities, saying “I believe that everyone has a role to play.

Even the transporters have their own role in addressing this issue. The state is an orphan under the country’s federal structure. That was why we have always taken our destiny into our own hands. ''The entire problem they (Federal Government) have created, we have ended up solving them. But we need your (Transport unions) cooperation

as well. We need to do business with conscience and to think about people who live here and are not gaining any money from here.”

Fashola however took a swipe at the Federal Government over what he described as ‘mismanagement’ of the entire activities in Apapa CBD, “I wonder why everything is falling into pieces under this Federal Government.” he said.

The governor lamented that mismanagement on the part of the central government has paralyzed activities in Apapa Industrial Estate and has forced businesses to relocate from the axis.

He noted that the Apapa Ports was one of the oldest ports while the industrial estate was the first industrial estate in the country, rather than improve, things are getting worse.

Meanwhile the PDP said: ‘’The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) finds it very curious that the statement by the APC calling for international inquiry to unravel the sponsors of terrorism in the country is coming less than one week after an inquest into its links with insurgency was tabled before the British Parliament. ''The APC statement betrays a party that has become unsettled and highly apprehensive following the increasing demand by the British parliamentarians for an inquiry into their links with the insurgency and violence ravaging our dear nation.’’

APC training fake policemen to rig poll — Omisore Meanwhile the Omisore Campaign Organisation has accused the All Progressives Congress, APC administration in the state of planning to arm cadets of the OYES scheme as fake policemen to be deployed in rigging the election.

The allegation was immediately dismissed by the APC as a cock and bull story.

The Omisore campaign in a statement issued by its Director of Media and strategy, Prince Diran Odeyemi claimed that information available to it has it that the “remaining cadets of OYES scheme have already been arranged and designated into units and will be kitted in police uniforms to aid the fraud being planned by APC.” In its reaction, the Osun State APC dismissed the claim saying there is no iota of truth.

Its Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy, Mr Kunle Oyatomi,who spoke with Vanguard, said “if they are truthful to themselves, let them tell you and take the security agencies to the spot where the so called policemen are being trained.

We don’t need fake policemen, we only need people

Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 14 2014 —9

We'll not aid terrorism in Lagos — AREWA COMMUNITY L

AGOS—THE Arewa community in Lagos yesterday said that it would neither aid nor tolerate any terrorist activities in Lagos.

In a statement issued by the Chairman, Council of Arewa Chiefs and the leader of the Hausas in Lagos, Alhaji Sani Kabir, the group assured that; “The Arewa community will neither hide nor aid terrorists in any way”.

It also condemned the activities of the Boko Haram sect, saying the group's activities did not represent the teachings of Islam.

“Nigeria is facing challenges that is unprecedented in our recent history perpetrated by terrorists disguising as a religious group.

“We have enjoyed peace in Lagos and for that reason, we are sensitising our people on the need to maintain peace and to be security conscious.

“We have also directed all our Imams to consistently intensify the message of peace among the community. We have also directed that people should not be allowed to sleep in mosques and other places designated for worship” the statement said.

The group said it had instructed members against sleeping or camping under the bridge or park

vehicles indiscriminately along major highways.

It, however, urged its members

in Lagos to participate in the proposed government’s registration of residents.

“We believe that these measures will further strengthen the bond of friendship among other ethnic groups in Lagos,” it further said.

L

AGOS—WORRIED by the increasing cases of deaths from the outbreak of Ebola virus in some neighbouring West African countries, the Lagos state government, yesterday gave some precautionary measures to prevent the outbreak of the deadly virus in the state.

Ebola virus is currently rav-

COLLATION OF DEANS: From left — Chancellor, Diocese of Lagos West, Justice Babasola Ogunade; Bishop of Lagos West, Anglican Communion, Rt. Rev. James Odedeji and Revd. Babatunde Adegoroye during the Collation of Archdeacons at Church of the Pentecost, Anglican Communion, Festac, Lagos, yesterday. Photo by Diran Oshe.

aging many communities in some West African countries like Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone among others.

Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, in a statement, said the measures became necessary with a view to preventing the outbreak of the disease in the State, listing the measures include; washing of hands often with soap and water, avoiding close contact with people who are sick and en-

suring that objects used by the sick are decontaminated and properly disposed.

He advised health workers to be at alert and ensure they always wore personal protective equipment as well as observed universal basic precautions when attending to suspected or confirmed cases, and report same to their Local Government Area or Ministry of Health immediately.

Idris explained that “Ebola

Auta counsels judicial correspondents at award ceremony advised journalists to report

BY ABDULWAHAB ABDULAH & BARTHOLOMEW MADUKWE

L

AGOS—CHIEF Judge of the Federal High Court (FHC); Justice Ibrahim Auta, weekend urged judiciary reporters to verify facts before going to press. Besides, he advocated training and adequate knowledge for reporters covering legal and anxilliary matters for informed and deep reporting.

This came as he was presented a meritorious award alongside the News Editor of Vanguard Newspaper; Mr. Kayode Matthew and four

BY DAYO ADESULU

F

Lagos issues alert on Ebola, gives precautionary tips

BY OLASUNKANMI AKONI & CHIOMA OBINNA

ASUP STRIKE CALL-OFF: Union boss asks for members’ dedication

others, who received award for their contributions to judicial and legal reporting in Nigeria.

Others, who received meritorious award were: News Editor of Leadership Newspaper; Mr. Tony Amokeodo, News Editor of ThisDay Newspaper; Mr. Davidson Iriekpen and News Editor of The Sun Newspaper; Alhaji Sina Aiyekoti. awards were presented during the National Association of Judicial Correspondents, NAJUC, Lagos annual seminar/award ceremony held in Lagos. Justice John Isoho, who received the award on behalf of FHC Chief Judge,

adequately and ask questions whenever in doubt.

A lecture on the topic, “The Importance of ADR to the Nigerian Justice System and the Role of the Media,” Director of Lagos Multi-Door Court House, LMDC, Mrs Caroline Etuk, noted that lawyers were a big challenge in the Alternative Dispute Resolution, ADR. She said: “ADR is not in place to supplant litigation.

In ADR, it is the parties that bring out the solution, what ADR does is to facilitate the process. Parties now want self determination. In the past one year, ADR is also embracing mediation.”

virus ds caused by the Ebola virus and outbreaks occur primarily in villages of the Central and West Africa. The virus can be spread through, close contact with the blood, body fluids, organ and tissues of infected animals; direct contact with blood, organ or body secretions of an infected person. The transmission of the virus by other animals like monkey and chimpanzee cannot be ruled out.”

The Commissioner noted that those at the highest risk of the disease included health workers; and families or friends of an infecteds who could be infected in the course of feeding, holding and caring for them.

He stressed that “Early symptoms of disease include fever, headache, chills, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, sore throat, backache, and joint pains. Later symptoms include bleeding from the eyes, ears and nose, bleeding from the mouth and rectum, eye swelling, swelling of the genitals and rashes all over the body that often contain blood. It could progress to coma, shock and death.”

Idris noted that presently, there was no specific treatment for Ebola disease, stressing that infected persons would need to be admitted into the hospital for specialised care and treated in isolation.

OLLOWING Satur day suspension of 10 months old strike by Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, ASUP, its President, Dr Chibuzor Asomugha, yesterday urged members to double their effort to recover lost time and lessen the pains students and their parents suffered as a result of the strike.

He said “Lecturers in Nigeria’s polytechnics should put in double effort to fully ameliorate the loss suffered as a result of the strike.”

Asomugha in a statement said, its National Executive Council, NEC, agreed after a meeting in Abuja that it was important lecturers gave more time to students as they resumed tomorrow (Tuesday) to recover lost ten months.

Aturu’s death, a blow to Labour – NLC

BY VICTOR AHIUMAYOUNG

N

IGERIA Labour Congress, NLC, weekend said the sudden death of Mr. Bamidele Aturu, a foremost labour lawyer and activist, was a tragic blow to the labour movement in Nigeria.

Mr. Aturu, 49, died after a brief illness.

NLC in a statement by its President, Mr. Abdulwahhed Omar, lamented that Aturu, until his death, was not only NLC official lawyer, he was a very resourceful ally of the entire labour movement as a consistent comrade who committed his entire adult life to the struggle for a better society.

According to the statement, “Mr. Aturu worked with the NLC on several projects including representing us at the National Labour Advisory Council, NLAC; as well as researches on trade union and workers rights aside consistently standing as our counsel at various civil and industrial courts in different parts of Nigeria at very considerate costs, most times spending his money to fund his transportation.''

10 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 14, 2014

Employment, solution to insurgency — AMOSUN

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

A

BEOKUTA—GOV ERNOR Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun weekend said the problems of insecurity in the country would remain unsolved unless the problem of unemployment was tackled by governments.

Amosun, who spoke at the 2014 Iftar held at the Government Secretariat, Oke-in Abeokuta, pleaded for understanding, explaining that government could not employ everybody into the civil service as the state population was nearing seven million.

According to him, “The issue of unemployment is a serious problem facing the country. The problem of insecurity could only be resolved through employment of the unemployed.

Every year, more graduates enter the labour markets while the vacancies are not enough to cater for the graduates who enter the labour markets. In Ogun, we are about seven million population, if I decide to employ people everyday for four, the government cannot employ all the unemployed.”

Boko Haram: Don urges review of immigration laws

BY OLAAJAYI

I

BADAN—PROFES SOR of Criminology, Ifeanyi Onyeonoru of the University of Ibadan, has said until Nigeria reviews her immigration system and takes proactive steps in checking influx of foreigners into the country, the persistent Boko Haram insurgence will remain unchecked.

While speaking weekend as part of activities marking the 50 years anniversary of the department of Sociology, he said the causes of insurgence in the country were in five dimensions.

These, according to him, include political, societal, religious and human development dimensions.

The don noted that until these causes were addressed, the menace would remain with the country.

APC challenges Fayose’s election at tribunal ...As gov-elect lambasts Oyo APC over comment

BY GBENGAARIYIBI

A

DO EKITI—OVER three weeks after conceding victory to Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the Ekiti Governorship election of June 21, in the state, the All Progressive Congress, APC, has made a U-turn and decided to challenge the result of the election at the election petition tribunal sitting in Ado Ekiti,the state capital.

The Independent National Elec-

toral Commission, INEC, has declared the candidate of the PDP, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, winner of the election, having polled majority of votes in all the 16 local government areas of the state to defeat the incumbent governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi of APC and the Labour Party, LP, candidate, Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele.

Though details of the contents of APC petition at the tribunal were sketchy at the time this re-

port, the interim chairman of the party in the state, Chief Jide Awe said he personally submitted the petition at the secretariat of the tribunal on behalf of the party on Saturday, since according to him, the law allowed the tribunal to operate on weekends.

Awe said the party had sought the assistance of the tribunal to “unravel the hidden facts surrounding the election,” contending that the election was more

COMMISSIONING OF ELIM ESTATE: Vice President, Arc.Namadi Sambo (centre) accompanied by Enugu State Governor, Mr. Sullivan Chime; developer, Elim Estate, Rev. Ugo Chime (left) and Senator Bukar Ibrahim, Minister of Lands, Housing & Urban Dev, Mrs. Akon Eyakenyi, Managing Director \ CEO, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Gimba Ya'u Kumo (right), as he cuts the tape to commission / dedicate the Elim Housing Estate, Ibagwa-Nike, Enugu East L.G.A.....yesterday.

10 Ogun APC lawmakers defect to PDP

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

A

B E O K U TA — I N D I CA TIONS emerged at the weekend that10 members of Ogun State House of Assembly have defected to the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, from the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC. This brings to 13 PDP members in the House as the party before now had three members elected under the party.

The defection was reportedly facilitated by a member of House of Representatives representing Yewa South/Ipokia Federal Constituency, Abiodun Akinlade, who dumped APC for the PDP. A lawmaker representing Ijebu North-East , Samson Onademuren gave the hint last week during a PDP rally held in Abeokuta , claiming that, he was the secretary of a 3-member faction in the Assembly against the state governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun.

The Assembly which comprises 26 members now reportedly has 13 PDP members while Labour Party, LP, and APC reportedly shared the remaining 13 members.

Akinlade while receiving the PDP flag, said he decided to join the PDP because of its laudable programmes for the people in the country.

He promised the people of the state better lives under the PDP, claiming he had lined up some developmental programmes for the state.

In his remarks, Onademuren said “I can tell you authoritatively that members of G 13 where I am the Secretary are ready to join the PDP. I have come as the Secretary of the G 13 members of the state House of Assembly to take the flag of the PDP, I want to say that all of us have decided to join the PDP.''

Raimi dies at 81, Alao-Akala, others

BY OLAAJAYI

I

BADAN—MANY sympa thisers have thronged the Ikolaba residence of a former chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Dr. Dejo Raimi, who died yesterday in Ibadan at the age of 81.

Raimi was the Secretary General, Southern Forum during the tenure of former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the former Secretary to the Oyo State Government and Chairman of the Governing Council and Pro-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA).

Among those who consoled the

family of the late industrious son of Ibadan were the former Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala of Oyo State, who said, ‘It is a pity that Raimi’s death came at a time when his wise counsel and meaningful contribution to the political development is most needed,” he said.

“As Secretary to the Oyo State Government under the leadership of the Late Chief Kolapo Ishola, he demonstrated total loyalty and commitment to the cause of Oyo State, which reflected in the numerous achievements of the administration,” he said.

of “a mechanical exercise than conventional casting of votes.”

The grouse on which the party is contesting at the tribunal, according to him, included alleged manipulation of the election in favour of the PDP candidate, undue militarisation, impeachment of Mr Fayose in 2006, as well as EFCC's cases hanging on the governorelect.

Awe claimed that Fayose was not qualified in the first place to participate in the election exercise, “aside from the process of the poll’s conduct, which was faulty.”

According to him, the party did not want to take laws into its hands or resort to self-helps, hence its decision to follow constitutional and peaceful line of seeking redress in the court, claiming “The results of the election were embarrassing to us as a party and we hold the view that there is no smoke without fire.”

Awe explained that the decision of the party to challenge the conduct of the election at the tribunal was not at variance with the earlier position of the Governor Fayemi, who had accepted defeat and congratulated Mr Fayose.

He said “The governor does not own the party. It is the party that owns the governor, and so the party can decide for him. You will observe that there is no name of Dr Kayode Fayemi on the ballot papers, what was on it was the name of the party and its logo. So, the issue is beyond the governor. Let it be known to you that our candidate, Dr Fayemi only conceded victory to guarantee continued peace that was prevalent in the state at the time as well as allow the siege laid on the state by the military to end. You can see that as soon as he announced that he had accepted defeat, the soldiers immediately vacated the state.”

Meanwhile, the Governor-Elect, Mr Ayo Fayose, has said APC’s members are jittery over the PDP’s victory in the state, saying he will continue to work with other members of the party in the South West geo political zone.

Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Idowu Adelusi, in a statement weekend while reacting to a statement credited to the Oyo State chapter of the APC, warning Fayose to stay away from the state, said “The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees freedom of association and movement among many freedoms enshrined in it. It is in exercise of the freedom that people came together to form the PDP and which people also freely joined. ''Fayose and others are members of the PDP, I don’t know how that has injured the APC. Also, it is in the exercise of the freedom of movement that PDP members and leaders converged in Ibadan, to hold a sensitisation rally and necessary, legally-mandated security agencies performed their duties that led to the success of the event.''

Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 14, 2014—11

Confab: 18 per cent proposed derivation beggarly —N-Delta group

Edo PDP chieftain, 3,000 supporters defect to APC

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

BY SAMUEL OYADONGHA

B

Y

ENAGOA—A NIGER Delta advocacy group, Association of Youths for Non-Violence, has declared as “provocative and beggarly,” the proposed derivation principle of 18 per cent to oil producing states and five per cent to Northern states affected by Boko Haram insurgency.

The group said that the proposal by the consensus group of the national conference, was a reflection of the disdain and hatred for the people of the Niger Delta region by a section of the North not interested in the unity and development of the country.

National Coordinator of group, Mr Kennedy West, argued that "though the South-South delegates to the confab should be commended for insisting on 100 per cent derivation formula, the proposal by the Consensus Group of the national conference to increase the derivation by a paltry five per cent to make it 18 per cent and also allocate five per cent to the North as a result of Boko Haram insurgency is sad, provocative, and a plan by a few persons to throw the country into anarchy."

Group lauds Oru’s appointment

T

HE appointment of Dr. Stephen Oru an Urhobo as Minister of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs has been described as a welcome development that will strengthen the unity of the people in Niger Delta.

Ijaw Monitoring Group, in a statement by Comrade Joseph Evah, said the Ijaws salute President Goodluck Jonathan for considering all factors that build unity among the people.

He said: “We are happy that the president has done the right thing and has corrected the imbalance and given the Urhobos the honour they deserve in a country that they have equally given their best to develop.”

DECAMPING: From left: Mr. Charles Idahosa, All Progressives Congress, APC, Leader, Uhumwode Local Government Area; Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State; Mr. Johnbull Asemota, PDP defector, his wife, Mrs Asemota and Dr. Victoria Amadasun, APC Woman Leader, Edo State, at Asemota's decamping, a former leader of the PDP in Benin City, weekend.

Dokpesi, Odogwu, others bag Entrepreneurship Award

BY AUSTIN OGWUDA

A

SABA—PUBLISHER of Vanguard Newspapers, Mr. Sam Amuka, was among prominent Nigerians who bagged the Entrepreneurship Award at the memorial anniversary celebration of the passage of Mama Angelina Azinge, in Asaba, Delta State, weekend.

It was the maiden Entrepreneurship Award instituted and managed by Angelina Azinge Entrepreneurship Foundation with Chief Michael Agbamuche, SAN, as chairman.

Other recipients of the award were, Dr. Raymond Dokpesi, Chief Sunny Odogwu, Chief Uche Okpuno , Hajia Bola Shagaya as well as the Delta State Government.

Receiving the award on behalf of Mr. Amuka, the General Manage/Editor-inchief of Vanguard Newspapers, Mr. Gbenga Adefaye, thanked the organisers.

He said: “Mr. Amuka is pleased to accept this award and appreciates same. He is not one person that you see going about taking awards.”

Prof. Epiphany Azinge, SAN, the prime mover of the foundation, formally introduced the Chairman and members of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation, which include, Mr. Innocent Isichei, Dr. Valerie Azinge, Mrs. Alice Amuka, Princess Pat Ajudua, Prof. Paul Idornigie, Enewa Rita Chris-Garuba, Emeka Azinge, Jerry Azinge and Og-

bueshi Onyia.

Speaking at the public lecture/policy dialogue earlier in the day, the state deputy governor, Prof. Amos Utuama, SAN, said: “I am proud to have a link to this enviable family by association with one of its illustrious members, a fellow alumnus of the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, a friend and brother, a learned Silk, a scholar par excellence and a man of class and style, a change agent, a distinguished author, the immediate past Director General of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Ogbueshi Prof Epiphany Azinge, SAN." Scholarships and other empowerment packages were given out at the three- day event.

I'll promote N-Delta Ministry mandate —Oru

BY FESTUS AHON

A

BUJA—THE Minister of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Dr. Steve Oru, has promised to pursue the mandate of the ministry as he assumes office.

Speaking in Abuja at a reception organised in his honour, Oru praised the development effort of Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan in Delta State.

Acknowledging that his nomination was endorsed by all Deltans, Oru said he was holding the office in trust for the entire people of the state.

“I promise to do my best to

promote the mandate of the Niger Delta Ministry,” he said.

Thanking all those who attended the ceremony, Oru said “I am overwhelmed with the turnout of people from across the country and our state.”

Delta State Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Peter Nwaoboshi, on his part, said the appointment of Oru was the most popular in the state since 1999.

On the forthcoming local government elections in the state, Nwaoboshi said that

there will be no waiver for those who decamped to the PDP.

ENIN—A LEADER of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and former Chairman of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers, NUPENG in Edo State, Mr. Johnbull Asemota and the current Chairman of the union, Mr. Osahon Osamuyi, have joined the All Progressives Congress, APC, at a rally in Benin City, weekend.

Also, 20 members of PDP executive in Uhumwonde Local Government Area of the state and members of NUPENG, numbering over 3,000, have joined the APC. Asemota said he decided to join the APC to lend support to the state governor, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, in his quest to quickly develop the state.

Governor Oshiomhole, who addressed the defecting PDP leaders and their supporters said: “I am happy that many people have continued to see the developmental projects of this administration especially in Uhumwonde, and are deciding to join APC. “This man you see with me is a comrade like me and those people who separated us before now have gone and he is with us today. In fact, PDP is finished in Uhumwonde council.

“For too long, a few people have held Edo State in bondage, they took everything that came their way and reduced the state to a laughing stock. When I arrived here in 2007, PDP said I was joking; that they will rig the election because everybody then believed that rigging was a way of life, but we have demobilised them."

12—Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 14, 2014

Derivation: N-Delta'll boil again, A-Ibom confab delegates warn witnessed persistent oil spills, gas flaring and constant devastation due to the activities of multinational oil companies.

“Based on comments attributed to people from a certain part of the country, it is pertinent to indicate that Akwa Ibom State and indeed the Niger Delta region, is disappointed by the posturing of people from a certain section of the country and would resist attempts by persons or groups to use the sa-

BY HENRY UMORU

A

BUJA—FOLLOWING the irreconcilable differences between the Northern and Southern delegates over revenue allocation at the on- going national conference, Akwa Ibom State delegates have threatened that the Niger Delta region will boil again.

According to them, the northern delegates should know the imminent danger ahead if they fail to agree to the demands of the South, warning that the militants would go back to the creeks.

In a statement by former Minister of Housing and Urban Development and a delegate, Chief Nduese Essien, on behalf of his colleagues, yesterday, the delegates said that the existing agitations by youths of the region might turn into a full-blown crisis unless the current derivation was reviewed upward.

He said: “There is a strong possibility that the Niger Delta region could again snowball in an orgy of violence if the logjam on derivation principle at the ongoing national conference is not resolved on the basis of justice and fair play.

“Besides, recent attempts to resurrect the onshore/offshore dichotomy and to make political capital out of the issue has further heightened tension in oil bearing communities that have

tanic policy to blackmail the region.”

Citing some sections of the constitution to back their argument, the delegates said: “Section 134 of the 1960 Constitution and Section 140 of the 1963 Constitution which formed the basis of the country’s Independence and nationhood had provided that Nigeria’s Continental Shelf of 200 nautical miles be deemed to be part of a

region for the purpose of paying 50 per cent derivation.

“The two constitutions had provided that for the purpose of derivation, a state that has a coast is deemed to be the owner of the continental shelf.

“But through Decree 9 of 1971, the then Head of State, Yakubu Gowon introduced the onshore/offshore dichotomy.

From that time, the policy was abolished three times."

OGONI MINI-CONGRESS: From left: Senator Magnus Abe; Rivers State Commissioner for Works, Mr. Victor Giadom and former MOSOP Provisional Council Chairman, Prof.

Ben Naanen, during the Ogoni Mini-Congress, at Saakpenwa, Tai Local Government Area, Rivers State.

Edo Assembly crisis: We'll continue to attend plenary —PDP lawmakers

BY GABRIEL ENOGHOLASE

B

ENIN—THE nine Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, lawmakers in Edo State House of Assembly, yesterday, said they will hold plenary at the Chief Anthony Enahoro Assembly, tomorrow, insisting that they have already appealed to the Supreme Court against the ruling of the Court of Appeal which barred them from sitting.

Factional Speaker of the Assembly, Chief Festus Ebea, said: “We have been following due process and we have regard for the rule of law. Our suspension has a time lapse and it has since lapsed after 14 days because there was sitting on June 10, 2014 which was the following day.

“The Police all over the world have the constitutional responsibility to

protect lives and property, so I cannot speak for them.”

Ebea, who addressed newsmen in Benin yesterday, added that “the PDP lawmakers have filed an appeal at the Supreme Court and sought a stay of execution of the lower court's order and until it is disposed of, our obey-

ing the order should not be an issue.”

Quoting a Supreme Court judgment, he noted that the apex court had held when there was a pending appeal against a court ruling or order, those concerned cannot be forced to obey such order.

Commenting on the

Federal High Court ruling last week, he said that the court did not bar them from sitting, noting that what it did was to strike out the prayer of the All Progressives Congress, APC, lawmakers which sought to restrain them from further purporting to carry out their legislative functions.

Uduaghan warns against cultism in tertiary institutions

BY FESTUS AHON

U

G H E L L I — G OVERNOR Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State, weekend, warned students in the state's tertiary institutions against indulging in cultism and other anti-social vices, noting that a student caught involved in cult activities will not graduate.

Speaking at the first convocation ceremony of the state Polytechnic, Ozoro, Uduaghan said the institution was issuing certificates both in learning and character and could not, therefore, issue cultists with certificates.

Stressing the need for Business Studies to be inculcated in every aspect of learning, he said Business Management was key to the development of

the youths. He commended the institution's rector, Dr. Joseph Oboreh, for his development effort in the school, describing him as a developer.

Uduaghan urged striking medical doctors in the country to go back to work while their demands are dealt with, saying that the present security challenge faced in the country does not encourage strike in the health sector.

Oshiomhole hails Soyinka at 80

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

B

ENIN—GOVERNOR Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, has congratulated Professor Wole Soyinka on his 80th birthday, saying Soyinka remains a source of inspiration and pillar of support.

In a congratulatory message to the Nobel Laureate, the Edo State Governor said: “Over the years, whereas many to whom our nation has given so much often conduct themselves in a manner that undermines national unity, Soyinka, who has brought global glory to Nigeria, has done more to cement our nationhood without demanding much. You have not only written volumes seeking to cement our nationhood, but at some point even had to endure 20-month solitary confinement to keep Nigeria one.

“As a global statesman today, your greatness lies not only in your extra-ordinary literary talent and creativity, but also the tireless energy you always exert in the pursuit of your convictions."

Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 14, 2014—13

C M Y K

14 — Vanguard , MONDAY, JULY 14, 2014

FG restates commitment to freedom of worship zDonates 400 bags of rice to Hausa community in Imo

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA

O

WERRI—THE Federal Government has said it would continue to provide the platform for every Nigerian to worship according to his faith as provided for in the constitution.

President Goodluck Jonathan made the promise in a message delivered on his behalf by Imo State Chairman of People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Nnamdi Anyaehie, during the presentation of 400 bags of rice to the Hausa community in the state.

Jonathan explained that the gesture was aimed at assisting the Muslim faithful in the state, who are currently observing the Ramadan fast.

He said Nigeria would remain an indivisible entity and called on those behind the violence rocking parts of the country to retrace their steps in the interest of all.

The President, who used the opportunity to appeal to Muslims to continue to pray for the oneness and progress of the country, also condemned the growing insurgency that had been threatening the unity of Nigeria.

Receiving the bags of rice on behalf of the Serikin Hausawa, Prince Suleiman Ibrahim, expressed gratitude to President

Jonathan and the National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Adamu Muazu, for remembering them during this period of the Islamic calendar.

“We appreciate the gesture of

Mr. President. We are living in peace here in Imo. We have no problems in the state. We are their brothers and they are our brothers”, Ibrahim said.

Continuing, the Seriki’s

representative called on all Muslims in the state to stay away from any trouble, adding that they should feel free to alert the security agencies of any likely breach.

Chibok women, children plead for evacuation over incessant attacks She narrated: “My daughter

BY OLASUNKANMI AKONI

L

AGOS—CHIBOK survivors from the wartorn area of Borno State, especially children and women, have expressed loss of hope in the Federal Government rescue efforts and urged Nigerians to quickly evacuate them before the Boko Haram insurgents wipe them out of their land.

According to one of the women who spoke in a telephone conversation with reporters at a media briefing organised by Rev. Ladi Thompson-led group, Gabasawa Women and Children Initiative, Boko Haram insurgents have taken over the entire villages , while indigenes have fled into bushes and other save havens.

is languishing in Sambisa forest in the hands of her captors. I have not seen her for weeks now.

I have lost my peace. Nigerians must know that we are in full trouble and suffering here.

“On Sunday, last week, the attackers came and killed over 58 people in churches across three communities. Before then, we got the hint about the impending attack but we were helpless."

Aturu's death, unexpected calamity in human rule by snubbing a rights community —Ijaw leader military military governor’s handshake

L

AGOS—THE coordinator of Ijaw Monitoring Group, IMG, Comrade Joseph Evah, has described the untimely death of Mr. Bamidele Aturu, a human rights activist, as an unexpected calamity in the human rights community and the legal profession.

According to him, the death of Aturu can be compared to an earthquake that devastated a region and keeps the people in

perpetual pain.

He said: "In fact, the death has bombed the Nigerian human rights fortress and one of our General Officers Commanding, GOC, is missing and the vacuum will be very hard to fill.

A first-class orator and defender of the masses that appeared in Nigeria at the right time but left at the wrong time. We lost the first Nigerian youth corper during service year to reject

while calling for democratic rule during passing out parade."

Comrade Evah, who had featured in several television and radio programmes with Aturu on national issues, said: “This death will further reduce the strength of the human rights community to safe-guard the well-being of the masses. This great Nigerian is among the few in the class of the late Gani Fawehinmi and his death will torment us for many years."

Maku tasks state govts on full digital broadcasting

BY PRINCEWILL

EKWUJURU

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BUJA—THE Minister of Information, Labaran Maku has called on state governments to prepare for full digital migration come October 31, as Federal Government considers floating second signal distributor.

The Minister made this assertion as a guest of honour at the 41st Annual General Meeting/Election of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria, AAAN, in Abuja.

His words: “What state governments need do is to prepare for the migration.

“It is just contents in stations that they require, they don’t need those big transmitters. Between now and October 31, we need to switch on the various cities to the platform.”

Maku confirmed that the Digital team is working and that the Nigerian B r o a d c a s t i n g Corporation, NBC, is also working.

6TH WOLE SOYINKA LECTURE SERIES TO COMMEMORATE HIS 80TH BIRTHDAY IN LAGOS, WEEKEND. PIX: KEHINDE BADAMOSI .

From left: Mr. Odia Ofeimun, speaker, Mr. Jeffrey Hawkins, US Consul General, Professor Francis Irele, guest speaker, and Prof. Dan Izevbaye, past President, Nigerian From left: Mr. Ilemakin Soyinka, Ms Amani Soyinka, Mrs. Peyi SoyinkaAcademy of Letters, during the 6th Wole Soyinka Centre Media Lecture Series to Awewele, and Dr. Olaokun Soyinka, Commisioner for Health, Ogun State. commemorate Prof Soyinka's 80th birthday anniversary, at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Victoria Island, Lagos.

From left: Mrs. Maiden Ibru, Prof. Duro Oni, and Mr. Chuck Mike.

Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi, former MD, Daily Times Plc.(left), and Mr Akin Omotosho.

From left: Mrs. Banke Sekoni, Prof. Olatunji Dare, and Prof. Biodun Jeyifo, at the event.

Vanguard , MONDAY,JULY 14, 2014 — 15

VISIT OF MALALA YOUSAFZAI, PAKISTANI SCHOOL PUPIL AND GIRLS' EDUCATION CAMPAIGNER TO NIGERIA, WEEKEND. PIX: GEMIGA OLAMIKAN .

Malala Yousafzai (4th right), Pakistani school pupil and education activist who survived a Taliban bullet, her father, Mr. Ziauddin Yousafzai (2nd left), and some parents of the abducted Chibok school girls in Abuja to mark the 90 days of the abduction of the over 200 school girls from Chibok in Borno State.

From right: Malala Yousafzai, her father, Mr. Ziauddin Yousafzai, and some parents of the abducted Chibok school girls in Abuja.

Malala Yousafzai, the education campaigner (right) and Mrs. Rebecca Samuel, mother of Miss Sarah Samuel 17, one of the abducted school girls in Abuja.

Girls' education campaigner, Malala Yousafzai (2nd left), and others, Malala Yousafzai, addressing parents of the abducted Chibok school girls in Abuja. cutting the cake to mark her 17th birthday.

Managing Director, News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, Mr. Ima Niboro, presenting a birthday card and flowers from President Goodluck Jonathan to Malala Yousafzai, at a dinner in Abuja.

Malala Yousafzai, speaking at a dinner in her honour to mark her 17th birthday in Abuja.

Some parents of the abducted Chibok school girls shortly after a meeting with Malala Yousafzai in Abuja.

16— Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 14, 2014 CHANGES at the Central Bank of Nigeria since Godwin Emefiele resumed as Governor have sent signals that he intends to accomplish his vision of “the model Central Bank delivering price and financial system stability and promoting sustainable economic development'''.

The vision is inspired by an understanding of the multiple mandates of CBN to pursue price and financial system stability and provide complementary developmental functions by creating opportunities for Nigerians to live better and more fulfiled lives, through policies that enhance job creation.

BY DELE AKINOLA

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UT-GOING (?) Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi, might have effectively made a tacit admission: his February 2013 African Cup of Nations victory came only through sheer luck and providence. He came on board in November 2011 promoting the usual Nigerian football musical chartbuster starring the weather-beaten title track, “Building a New Team.” As Nigerians eagerly expected the emergence of a formidable squad, his team remained “work in progress.” Almost three years on, the music has not changed.

After crashing out of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, he described his collection as “a very young team.” Only sheer luck and providence could have, 16 months ago, given a title as big and competitive as AFCON to a team which even today still remains a young, new workin-progress over other teams that were not only good and established but also solid, compact and ready.

In my piece, “Super Eagles: The fallacy of New Team” of March 2011, I recalled that we embarked on our latest journey to the world where new teams are built in 2002 when we prematurely hounded out a number of our established and battle-tested stars just because they had one poor AFCON outing against a Senegalese team that was on its way to conquering defending World Champions, France, only four months later. I also prophesied, in the same piece, that by the time the 2014 World Cup comes around, we would still be building a new team. Now, even at the quarter final stage, it had become clear that the World Cup was not for new, young workin-progress, but for teams that were complete, formidable and ready.

FIFA, the world’s football governing body, C M Y K

Job, More Jobs Rather than being competing goals, as some may argue, they are complementary. In fact, price stability can rarely be adjudged a goal in itself without the ultimate objective of improvement in the quality of life.

CBN Monetary Policy Committee tended to focus on price stability to the neglect of job creation and the general welfare of the Nigerians. In

its pursuit of low inflation, CBN, for three years, starved the economy of loanable funds by its tight monetary policy.

The continuous withdrawal of funds from the system jacked up interest rates and made credit inaccessible to small and medium enterprises, which ordinarily should be the hub for economic growth. Nigeria’s monetary policy rate is currently 12 per cent.

It is the barometer for bank lending rates that range between 18-24 per cent. The real sector cannot borrow from banks at these rates.

OPINION Super Eagles: The coach we do not need itself, never expects a young team at the World Cup. That is why the Under-17 championship was put in place. The world does not expect a new team at the highly competitive global show. The Under-20 tournament has been institutionalised for such teams. The football family does not deploy so much time and resources just to watch works-in-progress in action. That is why nations have the option of not registering to participate in the competition. Administrators, organisers, analysts, commentators, enthusiasts, diehards and fee-paying spectators converge at multi-billion dollars state-of-the-art stadia, sports studios, viewing centres and family lounges to watch a football world war being prosecuted by nations' best generals and formidable armies.

There is perhaps nothing shameful in being beaten at any stage at the World Cup. There are several strong and exceptional teams but only one would go home with the title at the end of the day. Defending champions Spain, with all their “world-class” stars, were humiliated and did not go beyond the group stage. Former champions, Italy and England, fared no better. But when it becomes easily discernible that a nation’s woes were consequent upon ego-inducing man-made factors, including going to a world war with the best generals shut out of reckoning, nothing could be more disheartening.

Genuine title-chasing teams at the World Cup are not only complete, formidable and loaded up to the hilt, but also operating at full capacity. Unlike works-in-progress, they not only parade a strong field, but also

maintain a quality bench. Unlike Nigeria’s Super Eagles, they substitute a Pele and bring on a Maradona; they take off a Messi and introduce a Ronaldo. Yet, Nigeria left behind the country’s hottest attacking and striking property in the close season, Ike Uche, with the coach giving certain excuses and reasons that were better told to the marines. With Coach Keshi’s comments after Osaze Odemwingie came on to change the complexion of the game against Iran, we now know what it means not to play to instructions under the “Big Boss.” Imagine Arjen Robben being left out of the Netherlands team on such questionable grounds!

There, realistically, also, is nothing objectionable in taking rookies to the World Cup. But the introduction of “young, new” players into a national team is a gradual, phased, programmed and step-by-step process. Nwankwo Kanu made his international debut for Nigeria in May, 1994 against Sweden and was considered on the waiting list for the USA ’94 squad.

He later became two-time African Footballer of the Year and Nigeria’s most decorated player ever. Theo Walcott was taken to the 2006 World Cup by Sven Goran Eriksson, but did not get to kick a ball. He is today one of the five-star generals in the English football army.

Coach Luiz Cesar Menotti refused to take emerging prodigy, Diego Maradona, in spite of his world-acclaimed budding talents, to the 1978 World Cup on account of age and inexperience. Argentina went on to win the title and the coach tipped the youngster for

the then forth-coming 1979 Under-20 championship where he expectedly announced his arrival on the world stage.

The former Argentina captain later played in the 1982 World Cup and finally captured the world at his feet at the 1986 show after he had been romancing the national team for eight years.

In another piece of mine, “The foreign coach distraction” of November 2009, I made a strong case for local ahead of foreign coaches based on comparative factors over the past two and half decades. Unfortunately, the “Big Boss” allowed the 2013 AFCON success to get the better of him such that he arrogated to himself the status of Napoleon who could never be wrong. And that, beyond question, turned out to be our undoing in Brazil.

Whether he is retained or not, whoever emerges as the next Super Eagles coach (local or foreign) should focus on the real deal of preparing for Nigeria a squad that is, at any point in time, solid, compact and formidable. Denmark did not even qualify for Euro 1992. They were only invited to take the place of disqualified warring Yugoslavia only 11(!) days to the commencement of the competition. But because they had a standing army, they went all the way to clinch the title.

Some ex-internationals and commentators have counseled that we focus now on the 2018 World Cup. That is why we do not need a coach that will embark on building a “new team.” *Mr. Akinola, a commentator on national issues, wrote from Lagos.

Vanguard, MONDAY,JULY 14, 2014 — 41

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42—Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 14, 2014

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Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 14, 2014—43

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N the first part of this article we showed conclusively that regions and states have never been created based on the much-touted concept of “viability”. They were created principally to grant groups self-determination and opportunity to develop at their own pace. In fact, state creation can be described as the further extension of independence (which Nigeria won from the British colonialists in 1960) to smaller groups.

That is, however, not to say that states cannot be viable. We will treat that later on. Apart from granting selfdetermination, two other factors account for creation of states. The first is the need for the federal government to fully assert its sovereignty on the territorial extents of the nation when faced with threats of internal implosion. The second was the scramble for the oil wealth of the nation.

On May 24th 1966, Gen. JTU AguiyiIronsi, the first military head of state, issued the Unification Decree in which he dissolved the four Regions and established what he described as four “groups of provinces”, thus abolishing federalism in Nigeria. This proved unpopular even though Ironsi felt it was the right step in the direction of uniting a nation fractured

greatest political enemy of the Ijaw for holding on to the presidency which they see as their birthright, the Igbos are now the backbones and bulwark of the “Ijaw presidency”, while the new Yoruba mainstream has gone into a merger with the reactionary wing of the Northern political class, all in a bid to snatch the presidency from the Ijaw come 2015.

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Changing dynamics of state creation (2) secession bid, the oil boom, which started gushing out of the soils of the former Eastern Region, triggered a stampede for control of the centre within the military because whoever controlled the centre controlled the oil wealth and political powers of the federation. An informal hierarchy of privileges emerged. The North, which led the war against

The people of the Niger Delta must stand firm now on full resource control because the oil wealth is on the verge of finishing. When it does, everybody will abandon the zone to suffer its acid rains, oil spills, sterile soils, fishless rivers, ocean-flooded coastal villages and other humanitarian disasters – alone!

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in the aftermath of the failed coup of the Five Majors led by Major Kaduna Nzeogwu.

General Yakubu Gowon who succeeded Ironsi, after briefly restoring the four Regions, decided to create the first group of twelve states in order to weaken the Eastern Region, isolate the main Igbo Biafra protagonists, win the support of other Nigerians and forestall the secession bid.

Funny enough, even though Gowon annulled Ironsi’s unitary government, he still adopted the basic principles of unitarism in a “federal” arrangement run by the army. Thus was born the first tendrils of the centralised federalism we are currently saddled with. Between Ironsi and Gowon, the primary objective for tampering with the structure of Nigeria was the same: put the country under the command of a single centre of authority in order to overcome a national crisis.

When Gowon eventually overcame the

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secession, perched on top of the food chain, followed by its closest Majority ally, the West. The Minorities of the North were third, followed by the Minorities of the South. The Igbos (the former Biafrans) hugged the bottom.

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hey were excluded from decision making organs of the federal government until 1979 when astute political footwork led to an accord between the Igbos/Southern Minorities and the North which enabled the North to win the presidency in 1979. The return of civilian rule catapulted the Igbo back to number Two in the hierarchy of privilege (politically, at least), thus placing Vice President Alex Ekwueme in a pole position to succeed President Shehu Shagari in the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) zoning arrangement in 1987. But when the military returned in 1984, the Igbos were flushed out of their new position and the

Yorubas restored to number Two. It gave the South West the opportunity to challenge for power in 1993, when Chief Moshood Abiola won the presidential election. The second military rule prepared the Yorubas to eventually produce the president of Nigeria in 1999 after the North’s hold on power weakened as a result of their over-manipulation of the political system to perpetuate themselves in power.

As from 1976 when General Murtala Mohammed, who overthrew General Gowon, created 19 states, he upset the balance of the federation in favour of the North, with the West having the second largest share and the Igbos left at the bottom. Also, the Local Government Reforms of 1976 bequeathed the North with the lion’s share of the LGAs, giving the second largest to the Yorubas and the least to the Igbos. In the sharing of the federal constituencies towards 1979, the North also got the largest share, followed by the Yorubas, while the Igbos got a token that kept them at the bottom. There seemed a deliberate and conscious effort by the two “winning” Majorities to artificially reduce the Igbos to a Minority group.

There were two major reasons for this phenomenon. The first and obvious one was that the Igbos, since they led the secession bid, must not only be punished for doing so, but also kept weakened to prevent them from being able to challenge for power. That scheme succeeded, because since the war ended the Igbos could not come close to occupying the presidency. In fact, when the North and West had taken their turns to their heart’s content they went behind the Igbos and gave it to an Ijaw man, their willing partners in the war against Biafra. An irony soon emerged, though. While the North has become the

he second propelling factor for the creation of states after the war and the belittling of the Igbo was the oil boom. After the war, the oil boom brought tons of easy money into the hands of the ruling coalition of the North and West. States and local governments became the units to share the oil wealth of Nigeria gushing out of the soils of the defunct Eastern Region. With the Igbos weakened and excluded, it became possible for the war’s winners to gorge themselves on the oil war booty until the youth of the Niger Delta took up arms to fight for their God-given resources.

The agitation for more states today is based on the struggle for more share of the oil wealth. It is a very unfortunate scramble for a resource that is not only perishable but is actually about to perish.

The US has almost completely withdrawn its age-long purchase of Nigeria’s oil due to its newfound energy independence, and more oil is being discovered around the world.

As long as we continue to leech upon this single national resource, no state will ever be “viable”. Indeed, states can be viable, even if we create all 55 of them. Only full resource control can make for viable states. Resource control will force leaders to exploit their human and natural resources for the upkeep of their states. It will force states to cut down on the size of government, downgrade the size of recurrent expenditure in their budgets and increase that of capital to create wealth. It will force states to take firm measures against corruption and indolence in the public service.

As we sit back and wait for the oil money every month, the economies of all states are headed for collapse. The people of the Niger Delta must stand firm now on full resource control because the oil wealth is on the verge of finishing. When it does, everybody will abandon the zone to suffer its acid rains, oil spills, sterile soils, fishless rivers, ocean-flooded coastal villages and other humanitarian disasters – alone!

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OPINION

BY FEMI AYELABOWO

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HEN the former Governor of Lagos State, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, took on a generation of Yoruba Obas, and called them – of all things – worthless, he must have thought little of the consequences of his statement. Tinubu’s statement at the 80th birthday of the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, was not the first time the leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) would denigrate leaders and institutions of the Yoruba race.

He has done so repeatedly, especially when his personal interest is at stake; yet he has always freely walked away.

Seemingly so! This time round, however, he is certainly not getting away with it. The man who likes to pretend he is another version of Obafemi Awolowo and who expects the Yoruba to worship him, has been at pains explaining his misdemeanor. For a man in whom the people have invested so much trust over time, Tinubu’s latest insult rankles. To make it worse, his associates, rather than distance themselves from his action, have spent time rationalising the insult on the custodians of their cultural heritage.

Although the Tinubu vituperation sent shock waves across Yorubaland, no other Oba was pained as much by it as the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade. It was obvious that the man who is counted first among Yoruba kings and sits on the throne that claims direct descent from Oduduwa, is primarily targeted by the statement. So also was the Olubadan of Ibadan who was at the time basking in the euphoria of the celebrations marking his 100th birthday.

At the end, it was the Ooni, revered as the spiritual head

Osun's looming showdown of the Yoruba race, that chose to respond to Tinubu, rallying his colleagues to question why a politician who wants to lead the Yoruba nation should describe their traditional rulers as worthless. According to him, Tinubu was an ungrateful man who had forgotten their sublime sacrifices of the past, including when the election of one of their own, the late Chief Moshood Abiola, was annulled without cause.

Tinubu’s disdainful generalisation of Yoruba Obas is no less self-indicting for him, since he has collected chieftaincy titles from several of these Obas. Indeed, the Asiwaju title he bandies about with relish, was conferred by one of the Obas who is likely one of those termed worthless. Apart from being the Asiwaju of Lagos, Tinubu is the Agba Akin of Ijeshaland; Aare of Ile-Oluji; Aare Atayese of Ilawe Ekiti and Aare Ago of Egba land, amongst others.

The growing sentiment against Tinubu may not account entirely for the dismal outing of his party, the APC, at the last governorship election in Ekiti state but there is no doubt it contributed substantially. The people’s anger against Tinubu is so palpable it has also set off the alarm bells in the APC that fears another imminent humiliation at the forth-coming governorship poll in Osun, on their way to loosing the entire South West. Considering the bitterness with which he spoke, the Ooni, his colleagues and their Osun people are definitely laying an ambush for Tinubu and his party who sees no wrong in his (Tinubu’s) actions.

In the past, the Asiwaju had hurt the aspirations of the Yoruba race, with little more than a whimper as the

people’s response. In 2011, he worked against the emergence of a Yoruba as Speaker of the House through the instrumentality of the ACN platform. His foot soldiers in the House collaborated with PDP members loyal to Aminu Tambuwal to deny the Yoruba and elect Tambuwal from the Northwest zone as Speaker.

Indeed, all through his political career, Tinubu has played against the larger interests of the people he professes to love. He rose to prominence at the larger expense of Lagosians who still pay a price for giving him a political base. Not only does he ram his choice candidates down their throats, he insists on deploying their resources in building an economic empire and a political dynasty across the South West. The most unfortunate aspect of his ascendancy in the politics of the region is that he has waged a relentless war to shoot down any plan that does not recognize him as the political leader of the Yoruba.

His role in the polarisation of Afenifere, the Yoruba sociocultural platform is so well known as Tinubu was simply destroying one of the legacies of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and imposing his will on the people by forming a rival group. Though he continues to swim against the tide of public opinion on that issue, the assault on Yoruba Obas was the height of insolence. The people are now fighting back and the governorship election in Osun slated for August, may yet prove the ultimate showdown with Tinubu.

*Mr. Ayelabowo, a political analyst, wrote from ibadan, Oyo State.

44 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 14, 2014

Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 14, 2014—45

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BOUT this time last year, I was in America for three months.

It was both a business and professional trip. I visited family members and met with both business associates and ministry partners. More than a year later, I am still perturbed by the same issues that consumed my mind then. Situations have not changed and if, anything may have become worse for Nigeria.

It is good to give a statistical background. According to the United Nations, as of 2010, the Population of Nigeria was 158.423.182 (158 million) with a growth rate of 2.5%. What is more telling is our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in US$ exchange rate, which is 272.600.000.000, while our inflation rate is a whopping 12.1% as of 2012. GDP is the sum of all the goods and services produced by a country within a specified period. It serves as a barometer of a country's economic health and her standard of living. Nigeria has 0.4% of the world GDP and is ranked #37. A useful publication is "Explaining the World Through Macroeconomic Analysis." posted on January 07, 2011 in Investopedia.com.

Investopedia defines inflation as "a sustained increase in the general level of prices for goods and services." Most people know that a high rate of inflation is not good and double-digit inflation is disaster waiting to happen (if it has not already happened). See "The

Importance of Finance and GDP." Conclusion: Nigeria is poor.

Let us juxtapose these with the statistics for America. Their 2010 population was 310.383.948 (310 million), with a 0.9% growth rate.

American GDP in dollars was 15.650.000.000.000, and inflation was 2.0% for 2012. US is ranked #1 and has 21.8% of the total global GDP. Some of these figures were extrapolated from factfish.com and were retrieved on May 18, 2013.

Using these facts as a backdrop, I will give four reasons why America is rich and Nigeria is still poor.

1.System of Government.

When we copied the American system of government, we did not study it well. Both the 1979 and 1999 Constitutions were handed to us by outgoing military regimes. America has 50 States and I don't know how many local government areas (counties).

Nigeria has 36 States and 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs).

The Americans practice true federalism with accountability and checks & balances at all levels (National, state, county, and city/ municipality). Nigeria, on the other hand, well I don't know what brand of federalism we practice.

Okay for nomenclature purposes, I will christen it "Naija for show Federalism" (NFSF). I don't recall reading anywhere about any American state going to Washington monthly to collect its allocation or any cry for state creation so that they can get a piece of the national cake. We, of

I don't recall reading anywhere about any American state going to Washington monthly to collect its allocation

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course, know that our brand of democracy is one of the costliest in the world. The inflation figures show that our system of government needs re-tooling. In a recent article by Zik Gbemre that was published in Politics Governance, he stated, "We need to have a leaner government. It is either we have a unicameral legislature or if it must be bicameral, then they have to sit on a part-time basis and be paid honorarium."

2.Accountable Leadership.

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n America, the leaders seem to look at themselves as servants of the people, not the other way round.

In fact, an American leader will resign if he feels he is not serving his people right. In addition, if there is any appearance of impropriety, the leader may step down. Forget the Clinton/Lewinsky Fiasco. The medical records or health of an American elected representative is usually not a secret. I don't believe there is a recent American Governor (or President) who travelled outside for secret medical treatment (sorry, "vacation"). The closest will be when the Governor of New Jersey recently faced criticism because he went to do lap band (weight loss) surgery for a few hours without telling his chief of staff

Wishing the Chibok girls a happy married life

BY GODWIN ETAKIBUEBU

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NE beautiful thing about this Baba from Owu in Abeokuta, General Aremu Okikiola Olusegun Obasanjo, is that he has answers to all questions. It is not always that Uncle ‘Sege’ waits for you to ask that question agitating your mind.

He knows what your question is most likely to be, so he gives you the answer while you are still meditating about what exactly you want to ask. That is “Baba” for you.

The “oracle” has done it again by telling us that some of the abducted [were they kidnapped or adopted by a Shetima and company?] girls might never return back home. The old soldier kept the mind of the parents [and that is if they were really kidnapped] at peace by saying that what might deny them coming back home would be “marital” issue.

Hold it please. Baba did not say it specifically that those girls [either all of them or some of them] are married. But he did mention something about pregnancy. I am aware that most girls of this present generation do become mothers without marriages. The tag “single mother” is almost becoming a title around the world today. In the United Kingdom, being a single mother [if you are a citizen] gives automatic right of “council flat” allocation. That is now the beauty of the game of being a single mother. But this is not the subject of discussion here. Let us go back to the topic.

It is over eighty days that those girls were taken away from their school in a circumstance that is yet to be fully comprehended. Were they kidnapped?

Were they abducted [there is a slight difference between kidnap and abduction]?

Or were they adopted? For now, only a few highly placed people can give us needed answers to these questions. These are the Governor of the State, the Principal of the school, the Chief of Defence Staff, the General officer commanding the 7th Division of the Army [then because he has been replaced and of course, former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Any other person who says he or she knows the exact fact of the girls “excursion” to whatever place they are is not a reliable witness.

Why would the Governor know?

Simply, he said that much himself and being the Chief Security of the State, he has all the information before and after the “commission of the exercise”. He gave money to the parents of the girls, said that “we know where they were” and suddenly group photograph of “none-panicking and comfortable-looking” young girls video clip was posted on television by Ibrahim Shekau; the dreaded Boko Haram leader.

The governor, from circumstantial evidence related above, was in touch and most likely still in factual touch with “operators of the drama” involving our daughters from Chibok. The money he earlier [paid] gave to the parents of those girls might as well be the cost of “bride price” in a mass marriage arrangement he presided over. Please, don’t be in hurry to throw away this theory.

The Principal of the school ought to be the chief custodian of those girls under her care, all things being equal. She “arranged” the brides [girls] for the night of the “marriage” [sorry night of kidnap] without knowing the numbers before she went to her house to wait for the news. By the way, we don’t know the exact number of girls involved up till date. The Principal

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BY ALEX AKPODIETE

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Why Nigeria is still poor and America still rich

the whole details. Try that in Nigeria.

Leadership in Yankee territory is by example. No blaring of sirens by politicians and there is an abiding resolve that no one is above the law.

3.Responsible Followership.

American citizens tend to have a passion for their country and are involved in their government. As one of their Presidents told them, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." There seems to be an innate patriotism in them.

Followers outnumber leaders.

Sometimes, I argue that the problem with Nigeria may not be with the leadership, as much as it is with the "followership." Note (another disclaimer): Followership is not a word in the English dictionary. The Pastor says to ask your neighbour, "Are you a good follower?"

Concerning the elections, I have stated in the past that the Nigerian electorate has a responsibility to make sure elections are not "do or die." In a recent scholarly article titled 'State, Youth and Electoral Violence in Nigeria's Fourth Republic: The Imperative of a Comprehensive Nationally Coordinated Youth Empowerment Programme', David Moveh of the Department of Political Science, Ahmadu Bello University states, "At the heart of Nigeria's crisis of governance particularly as manifested in electoral violence is a complex linkage between the state and the youth, who are the prosecutors of the violence. Regrettably, hundreds of Nigerians have lost their lives in the crossfire or as paid fighters for the country's political leaders."

4.Industrialisation & raw materials When I attended the 2013 Industry, Trade & Investment conference in Ibadan, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, CON, stated that no nation can be rich simply by exporting its raw materials. You must add value to

The irony of the orchestrated kidnap remains however the forceful “marriage” of our Christian daughters to Boko Haram Muslim insurgents

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might be a willing or unwilling participant in the “marriage” arrangement of our daughters from Chibok but she surely knows more than she is telling us.

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he Chief of Defence Staff; a three star General of the Nigerian Air Force told the whole world the “exact truth” about those girls. He said “we know where they are”. I believed him because he is next to the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, President Goodluck Jonathan, in military matters. He knows everything about the terrorists, either in or around the Sambisa forest of Borno State.

It was the authority of his knowledge that made him tell us the day he was appointed as CDS that Boko Haram would “come to an end by April”. Being part of the “marriage arrangement” of our girls later might be the way of telling us about “April” of which year the insurgency shall come to an end.

He knows about the “marriage” and probably presided over the “ceremony” as chairman hence his knowledge of where the girls were [are].

Former President Olusgun Obasanjo retains a father- figure for the whole country.

(process) it. In Florida where I grew up, the State is known for its oranges.

However, the oranges are grown there, but not exported. Instead, they are processed into orange juice and sold for profit. The economic irony in Nigeria is our exportation of raw material such as crude oil and importation of petroleum at a loss.

They say here, "go figure!" The GDP indicates that we have a long way to go. Yes, energy is tied to industrialisation. America has 24 hour light seven days a week.

Without electricity, you cannot have large industries. Today, it appears as though the power situation in Nigeria has worsened since last ear.

A friend was positing why he believes that Governor Fayemi lost the last election. According to him, the governor was giving the people what they wanted (such as rice) and not what the people really needed.

As 2015 approaches, we should all vote for leaders that has the political will power to do what is really needed.

This includes the local government elections, the House of assembly elections, the gubernatorial race, the National Assembly and the presidential elections. No seat should be spared our scrutiny.

*Rev. Akpodiete, a public affairs analyst, wrote from Asaba, Delta State.

Editor's note: The article titled"The Church: Sanctuary to moral mortuary" , authored by BOBSON GBINIJE was wrongly attributed to Chukwudi Enekwechi on Friday, July 11, 2014. The error is regretted.

He knows everything and this is true; a fact you can confirm by reading his account of the Civil war in cthat “all-knowing” book – My Command. The book revealed the warrior from Egbaland as a man who knows “everything” about the totality of the war, even if some of those battles he described were outside the sphere of the 3rd Marine Commando. The Baba is almost God the Omni-presence. He “knows” everything. His resent lamentation that the federal government has not given him the needed encouragement to put an end to the Boko Haram menace is additional evidence of a “man that knows everything”. He might not be there during the “marriage ceremony” [maybe the governor did not invite him] of the Chibok girls but he knows that “some of them might not come back because of pregnancy issues”.

Planners of the orchestrated “taking into custody” of the Chibok girls in the name of kidnap were out to stir antagonism of the Muslim world against Goodluck Jonathan and his government by presenting a scenario of kidnapped Muslim girls from the north. In executing the plan, they did not know that people would soon know that Chibok community is more than 90% Christian. The evil design meant against the President had become a blessing instead as the international community now sees the truth and has come into sympathy with the government.

The irony of the orchestrated kidnap remains however the forceful “marriage” of our Christian daughters to Boko Haram Muslim insurgents. These poor girls have been given out in “marriage” by unholy powers that shall perish soon. Let us wish them a happy marriage life though that is the tragedy of the whole saga!

*Mr. Etakibuebu, a public affairs analyst, wrote from Lagos.

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48—Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 14, 2014

The pains and preparations in reviving The Punch, by Ogunsola Chief Ajibola Ogunsola, erstwhile chairman of The Punch played a key role in the revival of The Punch, one of the country’s leading newspapers. Ogunsola who trained as an Actuary, took over the position of chairman as a family responsibility turning the paper which in the mid eighties in death throes into one of the country’s successful newspaper businesses.

Presently, a delegate at the ongoing National Conference, Ogunsola who turns 70 today in this interview speaks on the lessons of life, the challenges in lifting The Punch among other issues.

Excerpts:

BY CHARLES KUMOLU

At seventy what is the feeling like? am lucky to have good health. If you are in good health and you have enough money to buy and eat things you want to eat, and sleep on the kind of bed you will want to sleep on, live in a very comfortable house, have a good family, then you are likely to feel good. I feel good. That is how I feel at seventy. The secret of my looking younger than I am, perhaps as far as I know is that we have good genetics in our family.

The second element is that I try to exercise three or four times a week. And the exercise which I do is not strenuous. I take simple walk in my compound and when it

I

was obvious that it was going to be tough, but knowing that I had no choice but to accept the position, I was determined that I will face the hard slug.

What were the particular things you did then?

One cannot remember all the things that one did. But what I remember most was that we brainstormed a lot both at the board level and in my interaction with the management. At the board level then, it was just me and the non executive directors, later on, we had some executive directors who were also members of the management. Then there was my interaction with the General Manager and some heads of department. Some of those meetings lasted for several hours. There were some meetings that lasted till eleven pm. We went through hell. I

,

The other thing at that time was that Abiola said that the security reports about me were bad. He said that Babangida told him that

rains, I do it inside my sitting room. I avoid soft drinks. I learnt that of soft drinks from the present Olubadan. We met at a party where I was mixing coke with beer and enjoying myself, he asked why I was taking that. He said he stopped it many years ago. He then gave me a lot of diet prescriptions. He was eighty three then. So, I don’t drink all those things anymore, except occasionally when I go out.

How did you feel taking over as chairman of Punch given that the newspaper was at that time believed to be in death throes?

The circumstances of that time were such that I had no choice but to accept to become the chairman. I had no choice but to accept the position. It

,

don’t want to go through that again because we had no money. After the first chairman died, he was succeeded by late Chief Muyiwa Aboderin, who was the eldest child of our mother. Muyiwa was the number one while Olu was the number five of our mother’s children. I am number six of my mother’s children. All the other five are gone. I am the only one alive. Being lucky enough to be around is another reason why I have to celebrate being seventy. We performed no magic to revive Punch, all we did was to work hard. Perhaps my own singular contribution was to insist and ensure that we got as much information as possible about the working of the system before we took any decision. My background as an actuary also played a role.

•Ogunsola After my mathematics degree in 1967, I went abroad to qualify as a fellow of the Certified Institute of Actuary in the UK. That prepared me for the statistical approach of trying to put many things as possible before taking decisions. After a brief spell as the Head of the Life Department at NICON at that time, I went to Niger Insurance Company where I became the chief executive in 1984. My brother (Olu) died, 1984 and I became chairman in 1987. By the time I became chairman Chief Muyiwa had not died. By that time I had left Niger Insurance and was a Consultant Actuary then. I had management experience on how to handle people and I attended some management courses which I chose for myself as the head of Niger Insurance Company. That helped me in preparing for management. In my early years as the chairman, one the staff gave me a book written

by Harold Evans, who was formally of the Times of London. The title of the book is Good Times, Bad Times. It

was on his experience as the editor of the Times of London.

He had been removed by the chairman and you could see reading through the book that he was bitter about it. Reading through it, I was able to form my own ideas what a good relationship between the chairman of a newspapers company, the top management and editors should be. It helped me because I know that journalists are sensitive about their relationship with the chairman of the company. It is a relationship that is supposed to be handled carefully.

What can you point at as your legacy in the newspaper industry?

What I will say is that during the period I was the president of Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria, I was respected by my colleagues.

And that is an important achievement. That means that they saw that I tried to make a difference. There were things we tried to do, which we did not succeed in. We made efforts in the adverts sphere. There are legacies that can be ascribed to me. But one should

not claim these things alone.

I came up with the issue of Ombudsman and we were able to appoint a retired Federal High Court judge as an Ombudsman. I also tried to get the industry to adapt certain things about advertisement, which I thought would be good for the industry. But the industry did no buy my ideas on that. I know that my colleagues respected my contributions.

In your time in Punch you were reputed to be a very hard man who sacked staff at will leading to a lot of tension among staff?

Whatever was done, was done in order top make things better. That is just a simple answer to your question.

Without any attempt to cast aspersion on any group of persons, we had problems on grammar. Almost throughout the period of my chairmanship and it is not only Punch. All the newspapers with exception of one or two that stood out.

Later on, the problem crept in because you cannot continue

Continues on page 49

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Continued from page 48 to be better than your environment. The people you are recruiting are from the universities and the universities are no longer teaching English.

When we were in secondary school, we looked at people who graduated with BA in English like small gods. There was nothing like grammatical mistake from them. We believed and it was probably true that they wrote English more than English men.

We are talking about Soyinka, Ogundipe, Erele and some others. So grammar was one of the main issues we had to face during my time. And a staff that is not competent, is not worthy to be kept in the system, because he or she will pollute the system. And if the system is polluted, you will find out that it is the staff who are frustrated. They will be the ones who will become politicians in the company, carrying stories from one person to the other. So we thought that there was no point leaving incompetent staff in the system.

All that we could do was advertise and take those we need. We expect that the person will improve. We recommended particular magazines, books and courses to help them improve. We brought in university professors to train them. We brought in lawyers to take them on libel, still some of them were committing libel. I always say that a journalist knows when he is writing libel.

There is nobody who will write something libelous without knowing. To be able to get our desired results, we had to do some of those things.

The pains and preparations in reviving The Punch – By Ogunsola Another thing we did was to start conducting periodic English tests. And if you fail more than twice, you will find your way out. We also gave room for improvement but if you don’t improve there is no point keeping you. Similarly in advertisement, if you don’t perform there is no point keeping you. In any case, I am sure that staff who don’t do

well are still fired.

Creditors In addition to the banks that were being owed, there were plenty of bills like libel suits.

Some of you might have read in an old interview of mine, how I used to hide under the table when creditors come for their money.

The credits were not incurred

in my time. Whenever they came, the Chief Accountant would tell them that I was yet to arrive from a foreign trip.

And that was not true.

There was a particular case when the people came to look for me and I hid under the table. There was a particular painful case of a nice man.

That man is dead now. He had actually carried all the air conditioners, I came out and begged him. I pleaded that within forty eight hours we will do whatever we can to pay part of the libel money. It was a longstanding court judgment. He was an Igbo man. Knowing that there was no money, we went to court the following day to appeal the judgment and asked for a stay of execution. That was the only way we could survive. What we did was wrong. There were others who were not so kind to us.

How was it possible to reactivate the company considering the various times the paper was closed by the military?

The first closure was in 1990 under Babangida. I think it lasted for about six weeks.

That was hell because we had just started creeping out of the hole and then there was a closure.

If he had known that keeping The Punch closed for another one month would be the end of Punch, they would have done that because I am sure they wanted to kill us. We were lucky that it lasted for about six weeks although there were intense efforts to get it reopened. Abiola was useful then. I visited about three of the top Yoruba traditional rulers. I visited Olubaban, for-

tunately the Alaafin was visiting Ibadan at that time. So, I also visited the Alaafin of Oyo, from there I moved to Ife. I did all in one day, just to get them to reopen The Punch. Olubadan was very interesting because he had phoned Alafain to tell him that I was coming. I then left to see the Alaafin who was in the G.R.A Ibadan.

I discussed it with him and he promised to do his best. I then left at 5pm and arrived Ooni’s palace at 7 p.m. They could not phone Ooni that I was coming because they were not in good terms. When I arrived I said Ooni should be told that the chairman of Punch was around to see him, because if I said Chief Ogunsola, it would not have been easy. He was not in the sitting room, he was upstairs.

He came down. I told him I had been to other Obas. He promised to assist by talking to the authorities. Duro Onabule at some point made efforts.

The other thing at that time was that Abiola said that the security reports about me were bad. He said that Babangida told him that. I did not know what could have led to that because I was not in politics, I was not an activist.

But Abiola told that Babangida said the security reports about me were bad.

Maybe he used that to justify the closure.

I know that there were rumours that some people in government wanted to buy The Punch and I then revived it. In fact somebody told me that some people high in government will like to buy the Punch and I said no that we will get it revived ourselves.

Making Lagos work after Fashola

BY TOBI ADETOLA

A

quintessential public servant, those who know him quite intimately, see him as an exemplar in accountable governance, selflessness and unalloyed uprightness whose only “weakness” is his implacable commitment to public good, no matter whose ox is gored!

Oh, your surmise is damn right! The man I’m discussing here is the one who, today, many in the Lagos State public service environment fondly address as Mr. Public Service – Mr Akinwunmi Ambode. His name is synonymous with the pivotal aspect of a promising public administration.

He pointedly hugged the limelight when he became the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance of Lagos State in January 2005; a year after, he rose to the position of AccountantGeneral of the state.

The magic wand he brought into the service in good measure readily became an integral ingredient of the evergreen accomplishments of the then state government led by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu (now nation-

•Ambode al leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who has since earned himself the sobriquet: Architect of a modern Lagos State!

Even Tinubu’s most virulent foes and Ambode’s (if there is any), would testify to the incontrovertible fact that the symbiosis between Tinubu’s administrative genius and the

sublime professional expertise of Ambode and his ilk, oiled by the shared passion for public good, ensured the historic feat of the Tinubu-led bail-out of the state from the hands of interlopers.

Ambode’s Midas Touch in the state’s public service under Tinubu, coupled with his achievements as Managing Consultant/CEO of Brandsmiths Consulting Limited, a public finance and management-consulting firm with vast knowledge of public sector administration, readily threw him up as a primary subject of public discourse since his interest in the 2015 governorship tussle in the state sneaked into public domain.

“From recording the second best result in the entire West Africa in the Higher School Certificate (HSC) in 1981 to graduating with honours in Accounting from the University of Lagos at 21 and a Masters’ degree in Accounting combined with being a Chartered Accountant all at 24 the stage was set for a brilliant career in Accounting. One could therefore rewrite his biography with the title:

Ambode and the Power of Focus.”

These lines were contained in a writer’s recent thoughts about Ambode, who was born at Epe in Lagos on June 14,1964, with an impressive educational voyage through St. Jude’s Primary School, Ebute Metta on Lagos Mainland, Federal Government College, Warri and the prestigious University of Lagos.

Even the cynics of the deepest dye would find it hard to disagree with Tinubu when he described him at a forum as “an uncommon civil servant” in whom he discovered an embodiment of the sterling attributes of a great accountant.

His workaholic successor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), in a letter of commendation to the accounting icon, appreciated “the high sense of dedication, selflessness, loyalty and integrity” which he brought to bear during his glorious public servant days.

Tobi Adetola, a social critic, wrote from Lagos

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Vanguard CLASSIFIED

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OLOGUN —We, formerly known and addressed as Mr. Ologun Gideon Olugbenga, Mrs. Ologun Adejoke Olufunmilola, Mr. Ologun Kehinde Sola, Mr. Ologun Ayodele, Mr. Ologun Oluwafemi Ebenezer, Mr. Ologun Kayode Peter, now wish/want to be known and addressed as Mr. Abiloro Gideon Olugbenga, Mrs. Abiloro Adejoke Olufunmilola, Mr. Abiloro Kehinde Sola, Mr. Abiloro Ayodele, Mr. Abiloro Oluwafemi Ebenezer, Mr. Abiloro Kayode Peter.

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World Cup 2014: Brazil media brand hosts ‘ridiculous’

B

RAZIL’s thirdplace play-off against Holland on Saturday was a chance for a redemption following their jawdropping 7-1 humiliation to Germany in the World Cup semi-finals.

However, in Brasilia the horror show continued as they were comprehensively swept aside 3-0 by a far superior Dutch team.

Goals from Robin van Persie, Daley Blind and Georgino Wijnaldum completed a miserable

few days for the hosts as they try to repair their footballing reputation.

Brazil’s media have reacted to the 3-0 defeat.

Correio na Copa leads with the damning headline ‘Ridiculous’ following the loss to Louis van Gaal’s side.

The paper continues with: ‘After humiliation against Germany, the Selecao suffers a blackout in the third place play-off and says goodbye to the tournament in a melancholy way.’

Dejected: Brazil players after the defeat

Messi vomits in World Cup final Continues from Back Page

Mats Hummels (L) and Lionel Messi compete for the ball during the World Cup final .

It was during the first half against Germany that Messi doubled over and vomited on the pitch.

Despite several medical tests, Argentina and Barcelona team doctors haven’t been able to find the cause of Messi’s problem.

The striker has played it down, saying it’s just something that happens to him in training, during matches and even when he’s at home. It doesn’t appear to affect his performance, though.

Messi has gone on to score in several matches after throwing up on the pitch.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Lagos, Oyo win ARS Lagos zonal finals THE Lagos Zonal Finals of the U-17 Airtel Rising Stars championship took place yesterday at the National Institute of Sports (NIS) Pitch, Surulere, Lagos, with matches packed with excitement and great football skills.

Lagos female team emerged champion of

the Lagos Zone after defeating their Ogun counterpart 4-3 in a penalty shoot-out as the regulated time ended goalless.

In the male category, Team Oyo defeated Ogun 8-7 via penalty after the game ended 11 during regulation time.

54 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 14, 2014

Brazil 2014 World Cup F-L-I-C-K-S! Obrigado! Thank You! Goodbye!!!

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T’s time to say goodbye from Brazil. After 37 days of effective coverage of the World Cup, I am happy to say a big ‘THANK YOU’ to all of you, our dear readers, for staying with your favourite Vanguard Newspapers, the Most Read Newspaper in Nigeria and the best online in Africa. I say a big thank you, too, to our sponsors –NNPC for oiling our machines throughout the World Cup. I thank Ohi Alegbe, Corporate Affairs Manager, for his good works. Many thanks to my colleagues on the desk who did the big job led by indefatigable Onochie Anibeze(Saturday Vanguard Editor), Solo Nwoke, John Egbokhan, Jacob Ajom, Ben Efe and many others with rich sports history in our newsroom(and those who shout Arse, Arse Arse. Vanguard is a unique place to work in. It’s a family. There is one love in Vanguard. As for my friends in Brazil, it’s so emotional to say goodbye. I was choked up with teary eyes to let go of your hugs and kisses. I promise that you and I will meet again when we least expect.

And like Helen Rowland said, ‘’a man never knows how to say goodbye; a woman never knows when to say it”. Thank you!

Generators for sale!

Our deepest fear as we set to come home is electricity. We’ve seen the light that we are afraid of befriending darkness. I’ve been used to light these days that I did not reckon that it could blink for a second. The 30-storey Santana Gold Guest Flat where I stayed in Sao Paulo is powered by electricity.

Nobody uses the staircase. There is a bold sign in Portuguese that the staircase should be used ONLY

exists, because the electricity companies(whatever they are called) keep sending us bills for what we do not use or see.

What did you buy?

Many requests were sent to me to buy Brazilian hair(head). Others said that I should come back with a Brazilian girl. Still, many others want me to come back with anything Brazilian. How I wished! Frankly, these things are not obtained by reason of prayers or wishes. If they were to be obtained by wishes, nobody would lack anything. Our financial gurus(upstairs) calculate your money ahead of your trip not knowing the exchange rate of the country.

They are wizards. As a Journalist, I can’t count that’s why I have accountants. As long as I have them, I don’t need to worry about numbers. Hold them responsible for not meeting up to your requests o!

many Portuguese-based Newspapers. He spoke to us on many issues.

Education: This is an area that interests me much in Brazil. All Schools here operate in the night. Both private schools. It gives them the opportunity to work in the day and that also helps in their economy. There is no fear of darkness or security. Every aspect of their lives revolves in the night. Even going to churches has to be in the evening. If you fix a service in the morning, nobody will attend. They rest in the morning.

Hospitals: Everything here is controlled by Municipalities which is equivalent to our Local Governments. They are more effective and own more of the social services to the people. Every Municipality owns several hospitals that are of world standard.

Recently, they employed 600 Doctors from around the World including Nigeria and mostly from Cuba and posted them to the rural areas. Free treatment for women and children. Such cases like HIV and AIDS are treated free whether you have your papers or not.

To them, it is an offence to go for medicals abroad. All diagnosis are done here and treatments. It is unlike Nigeria where the rich scramble to go abroad for the commonest illness. Nobody goes to India for any kind of treatment. They employ the best of hands to ensure that all things are treated at home and at very cheap rate if not free. They practice politics with a human face that helps their people. Politics does not interfere with the services they render to their people. The Federal cannot lord things over the municipalities.

Whether they belong to opposing parties, they work harmoniously for the welfare of their people. The roads, trains, buses are majorly owned by the municipalities and the Federal does an oversight function.

Retiremnt: eThe official retirement age here is 60.

And once you are retired, you become the responsibility

Nocturnal Education

during emergencies. I forgot that they use electricity.

I was only reminded of electricity by a colleague who called home and they gave him the usual news. ‘’There has not been light since you left home o”, the voice warned. Disheartened, my friend set out to check out if he could buy cheap generating set.

His reason is that since there is constant light, generator would be at give away price. Did he get to buy? He came back with a long face. ‘’They asked me what I need ‘generator ’ for. Too many questions”. There is no generating set here and there is no pollution from carbon monoxide. At times, it is better not to see light than to move from light to darkness. In Nigeria, we believe that electricity C M Y K

Reverend Father Marcellinus Offor, cmf, can be said to be a Brazilian but he detests that. He is a Nigerian who is proud of his roots. He speaks Portuguese, Spanish, English, Latin and a cocktail of other languages. He is a missionary. He is on a mission of saving souls. At least, Brazil needs his services more.

He is well read(a tradition with Rev Frs) but he masks his priesthood so much that you would begin to ask why. ‘’I don’t want people to respect me or believe me because they know that I am a Reverend Father. I want people to be free to relate with me. That way, they tell me the truth, even the ones that hurts and get to know everything”, he said as he visited me in my Santana Gold Guest Hotel in Sao Paulo. I met him perchance but he appeared to have known me more to my amazement. ‘’I love reading Vanguard Newspaper. I don’t know if it’s a spell. A day is not complete without Vanguard. It’s a culture that started in Nigeria and thank God Vanguard can be read everywhere in the World online. That’s how I got to know names of virtually everybody in Vanguard without meeting them. Once I read your stories in Brazil, I knew I had to meet you”, he said, speaking English with the accent of Portuguese. He is conversant on all fronts and has a flair for writing as he writes for so

of the state. They get you a house and pay your gratuities for life. All you need do is live a life of enjoyment because they believe that you have contributed to their nation. Besides, unemployed youths as well receive social wages.

Freedom: They are free in all sense of it. Sometimes, their freedom hurts them. The Police are everywhere watching them and do not interfere in anything even when they know it will lead to other things. Nudity, kissing, at parks, beaches, trains are part of their lives.

They love people and are free with visitors. As for me, there is no place like home. I want to come home because I am on a mission. My desire is to see a Nigeria where things work. Where there is constant electricity, water, good roads with hospitals providing healthcare for both the young and old especially women. Our politicians need to borrow a leaf from other politicians instead of being self-centered and wanting to own the whole world. And what does it profit a man if he owns the whole world and loses his soul?”, Reverend Offor asked as he prayed for journey mercies for me and other Nigerians and the rest of the World as they go back to their bases.

Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 14, 2014 — 55

NFF crisis: Maigari's board set to be reinstated S

PORTS minister and Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Tammy Danagogo will today, receive the report of the Nigerian delegation that spoke with FIFA in Brazil about lifting the suspension placed on Nigeria by the world football’s governing body.

The delegation returned to Nigeria yesterday and is expected to submit the report of their meeting with the FIFA to the sports minister.

No official confirmation on the outcome of their meeting with FIFA topshots, but sources have informed that the issues will be resolved today – albeit temporarily.

The Plateau state high court that sacked the Maigari-led board failed to sit last Friday as earlier scheduled due to an industrial action embarked upon by state high courts in the country, but is expected to sit today as the suit filed by Mrs. Ebiakpo RumsonBaribote against the Nigeria Football Federation is due to be heard, sources said.

But we were further informed that negotiations are already underway with Mrs. Baribote, whose husband, Victor RumsonBaribote is serving a fifteen year ban imposed by the embattled board of the Nigeria Football Federation, to withdraw the suit.

“Mrs. Baribote has agreed to withdraw the suit, but is asking for the 15-year ban on her husband to be lifted, and for him to be reinstated as second vice president of the NFF,” one source said.

“The suit will most likely be withdrawn today, and (Aminu) Maigari and his board will be reinstated but that will not be the end. This move is only to comply with FIFA’s directive, and get the suspension lifted,” another source disclosed.

It was also gathered that FIFA were marveled at the corruption accusations and documents presented

against the Aminu Maigari board by the Nigerian delegation but informed the delegates that the NFF board still has to be reinstated for the suspension to be lifted.”

Nigeria has got until Tuesday July, 15, to comply with FIFA’s directive, else will miss out on the FIFA women’s U20 world cup set for Canada from August 5.

•Danagogo

•Maigari

*CHAMPIONS: Germany players hold high th eWorld Cup trophy.

Suarez’s bite on Chellini costs Liverpool £25m

L

IVERPOOL lost in the region of £25m in the deal which saw Luis Suarez join Barcelona.

The sale of Suarez was always going to happen this summer as reported But the predicted £100m fee that Liverpool wanted did not materialise.

That was because an auction between Barca and Real Madrid did not happen. Madrid withdrew any interest after Suarez’s bite saga at the World Cup.But Liverpool feel they have done well at £75 million, even though the Uruguayan’s confirmed buy-out clause was £100m. Manchester City wanted to sign Lionel Messi this summer.

City would have gone as far as paying Messi’s buy out clause from Barcelona of £200million.

DISSAPPOINTMENT: Argentina Captian Lionel Messi rues the missed opportunity match his idol, Diego Maradona's record.

VANGUARD, MONDAY, JULY 14, 2014

Messi vomits in World Cup final

WORLD CUP FINAL 2014:

A

rgentina captain Lionel Messi vomited during the World Cup final, as he has

done on many occasions both for Argentina and club team Barcelona.

Continues on Page 53

Germany rule the world M

JUBILATION: Germany players celebrating their World Cup victory last night. Photo: AFP

ARIO Goetze scored a superb extra-time winner as Germany Sunday, beat Argentina 1-0 to become the first European team to win a World Cup held in South America.

Bayern Munich star Goetze struck in the 113th minute to finally break Argentina’s resistance as Lionel Messi’s dream of emulating Diego Maradona ended in defeat.

The decisive moment of a World Cup brimming with wonderful goals came with penalties looming in front of 74,738 fans at Rio de Janeiro’s famous Maracana Stadium.

Andre Schuerrle burst clear down the left flank and crossed for Goetze.

The 22-year-old took the ball on his chest and then volleyed past Sergio Romero to spark delirium amongst the

largely pro-German crowd.

Argentina and Messi were left squandering a handful of gilt-edged chances, including one that fell to Messi in the second half.

Messi was largely anonymous for most of the evening and his miserable evening was summed up when a late free-kick to equalise sailed over the bar.

The victory was celebrated raucously by Brazilians in the crowd, who had dreaded the prospect of sworn South American rivals Argentina lifting the title in their backyard.

An absorbing first half saw Germany forced into a reshuffle moments before kick-off with inexperienced Christoph Kramer replacing Sami Khedira after the Real Madrid star injured a calf in the warm up.

NFF crisis: Maigari's board set to be reinstated — Pg.55 QUICK CROSSWORD

TODAY'S

PUZZLE

YESTER DAY'S YESTERDAY'S

ANSWERS

ACROSS 1 Empasise (6) 5 Filter (6) 9 Supple (5) 10 Mend (6) 11 Whole (6) 12 Principle (5) 14 Sea-eagle (4) 17 Fruit (3) 18 Unusual (4) 20 Giant (5) 22 Sickened (5) 23 Marketing (7) 24 Swift (5) 26 Weary (5) 29 Tear (4) 30 Posed (3) 32 Dreadful (4) 33 Shoot (5) 35 Pure (6) 36 Company (6) 37 Relative (5) 38 Quiet (6) 37 Lacehole (6)

DOWN 1 Thoroughfare (6) 2 Regret (6) 3 Aperture (4) 4 Temptress (5) 5 Pane (5) 6 Marquee (4) 7 Beast (6) 8 Required (6) 13 Atomic (7) 15 Firearm (5) 16 Relaxed (5) 18 Inflexible (5) 19 Allude (5) 21 Entrap (3) 22 Insect (3) 24 Brawl (6) 25 Involve (6) 27 Ceremony (6) 28 Fraud (6) 30 Passed (5) 31 Name (5) 33 Stupefy (4) 34 Colour (4)

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS ACROSS: 1 Start 7, Absorb 9, Par 10, Bed 12, Fault 13, Iron 15, Aimed 17, Refuse 19, Edge 20, Hotel 22, Tap 24, Deleted 27, Din 28, Rated 31, Grow 33, Oddity 35, Inner 37, Eros 38, Stone 39, Dad 41, Cab 42, Bronze 43, Greet

DOWN: 1, Banish 2, Escort 3, Orb 4, Safe 5, Trade 6, Relegate 8, Beau 11, Distended 14, Need 16, Meat 18, Fled 21, Operator 23, Peri 25, Lion 26, Date 29, Tyrant 30, Dispel 32, Wince 34, Drab 36, Neat 40, Dry

HOW TO PLAY SUDOKU

P

lace a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line can have two of the same number).

Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (also nine lines from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within a bold block (nine blocks) contains number from 1 through 9. This means that no number can appear twice in any block, column or row.

No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, division or multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination.

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