Surrender and Embrace Amnesty now - Jonathan

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AMID 24-HR CURFEW IN BORNO

Surrender and embrace amnesty now, Jonathan warns Continued from page 1

under the 24hours curfew are Rawan Zafi-Customs Area, 202 Housing Estate, Bama Road, 303 Housing Estate Bama Road, Dakiwa Lowcost Housing Estate. Also affected are SimariZannari-Kwanan Yobe Area, 505 Abba Gana Terab Housing Estate, Muna Garage Road, Chad Basin Muna Garage Road, Baga Road Federal Lowcost Area, Bolori, Jajeri and Umamari Area.

The JTF appealed to the public to continue to cooperate with security agencies by providing credible and timely information which will assist the troops in carrying out their a s s i g n m e n t .

The statement said JTF operatives could be reached on phone numbers 08064174066, 0 7 0 8 5 4 6 4 0 1 2 , 08154429346 and 08142333138 to pass on information on terror activities.

implementation of the emergency rule in the three north-eastern states.

Reports, yesterday, said residents of a community in Borno State, Marte, were fleeing air strikes by the Nigerian Airforce jets and helicopter gunships on suspected Boko Haram camps.

The spokesman for the Joint Task Force (JTF) in Borno State, Lt. Col. Sagir Musa, listed 12 neighbourhoods in Maiduguri where a 24hour curfew was being imposed.

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) also said troops arrested 65 suspected Boko Haram members trying to enter the Borno State capital after fleeing aerial bombardment elsewhere.

The DHQ insinuated that the insurgents were trying to infiltrate Maiduguri.

The imposition of the curfew in the Borno State capital was said to pave the way for the troops deployed to the state to embark on a house- tohouse search, as well as face insurgents still hiding within the metropolis and Jere council area.

A press release by the JTF spokesman, Musa, said, “In order to sustain the ongoing Special Operations in the face of recent Boko Haram attacks in some areas within Maiduguri metropolis, the JTF is imposing 24hours curfew with effect from today (Saturday), 18 May, 2013”.. He stated that the areas/wards include Gamboru-Customs Area, Mari Kuwait Area of University of Maiduguri, Bakin Kogi Area and Kasuwan Shanu-Kofar Biyu Area. Other areas

‘LAY DOWN YOUR WEAPONS’ Hinting that the option of dialogue was still open to the Boko Haram insurgents, President Jonathan asked them, yesterday, to surrender.

“Those (insurgents) who are willing to dialogue and lay down their weapons can approach the National Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution on the Security Challenges in Northern Nigeria. The work of that Committee remains significant and relevant, and it is bound to be impactful”, the president, who spoke through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, in an interview with Sunday Vanguard,

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said.

He declared that “there can be no illusion of simplicity where the fight against terrorism is involved.”

Jonathan noted that “terrorists strike at will with deadly cruelty ”, adding, “The overriding consideration (in imposing emergency rule) is the peace, security and stability of Nigeria. While the option of dialogue and peaceful resolution is being pursued, government will also not condone impunity of any sort, or the obvious attempt by terrorists to create and run an enclave within the Nigerian state.

“If anyone is in doubt, the Commander in Chief of Nigeria’s Armed Forces has made it clear: this government will not tolerate any attempt to violate the sovereignty of Nigeria. Those who are willing to dialogue and lay down their weapons can approach the National Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution on the Security Challenges in Northern Nigeria. The work of that Committee remains significant and relevant, and it is bound to be impactful.”

Full interview in Story of the Week at pages 15 and 16.

‘OPERATE BY THE RULES’ In the meantime, the Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF) has advised the military to respect the sanctity of human lives, especially civilians who are not involved in the crisis in the three states where emergency rule has been i m p o s e d .

According to the Chairman of the Forum, Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, who is also the governor of Niger State, in a press statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Danladi Ndayebo, yesterday, in Minna, security agencies deployed to the affected states should operate by their rules of engagement.

The Forum expressed support for the emergency rule while believing the dispensation will complement the offer of amnesty made to Boko Haram to restore peace to the North.

The statement called on the people of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa to cooperate with the military personnel in enforcing the emergency rule to avoid unnecessary loss of lives. The governors, while commending Jonathan for taking the action, appealed to members of

From left; Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Aviation; Dr Alex Ekwueme, former vice-president; Senator Ike Ekweremadu, Deputy Senate President and Gov Sullivan Chime of Enugu State welcoming President Goodluck Jonathan to the foundation laying of the new International Terminal and inauguration of the remodelled terminal of Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, yesterday

Boko Haram to accept government’s gesture of amnesty so that lasting peace could return to the North and Nigeria in general.

The NSGF commiserated with the families of those who lost their lives in an attack by gunmen in Daura, Katsina State, on Thursday, and advised citizens to remain vigilant and report any suspicious movement or persons to the police or other security agencies.

A regular meeting of the Forum, scheduled to hold in Kaduna on Tuesday, has been shifted to Tuesday, May 28, 2013 to allow governors of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states monitor the take off of the emergency rule in their domains.

Top on the agenda of the meeting is deliberation on the report of the Committee on Reconciliation, Healing and security submitted to the governors in Abuja last month. The meeting will also discuss the proclamation of emergency rule on Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.

INFILTRATION In a statement on the arrest of 65 suspected insurgents, yesterday, the DHQ, in a statement, said, “In continuation of the mission to rid the nation’s territories of all insurgents’ activities, the Special Forces have apprehended 65 persons confirmed to be terrorists as they made attempt to infiltrate Maiduguri while fleeing from various camps now under attack.

“A total of 11 vehicles, 4 tricycles and 24 handsets were also seized in the process. All the suspects are in custody of Joint Task Force and are currently being interrogated.

“Meanwhile, the camps of the terrorists have been found deserted by fleeing insurgents when troops of the Special Task Force stormed the localities. The facilities have been occupied by troops”.

In another development, the

statement said, “Troops have engaged and dislodged elements of insurgents groups who carried out attacks on citizens in localities such as Gamboru ward yesterday (Friday).

“At the end of the encounter, a total of 10 suspected terrorists were confirmed dead while weapons such as Rocket Propelled Grenade launchers, assorted ammunition and rifle magazines were recovered. The area is being combed to fish out any of the surviving insurgents.

“Also, some of the fleeing insurgents from various camps have been noted to be in search of fuel from neighboring communities.

“Citizens are advised to report to JTF, any group of persons roaming around the local communities with large quantities of containers in search of fuel. The advance of troops is continuing in all fronts as scheduled.

“The Defence Headquarters has further enjoined the troops to sustain the intensity of the operations” FLEEING RESIDENTS In the Marte district of Borno State, yesterday, some residents were fleeing east, towards a town on the Cameroon border, 42 kilometres away (26 miles). “It has been scary in the past three days,” said Buba Yawuri, whose home is in the town of Kwalaram in Marte but who has fled to the border town Gomboru Ngala. “Fighter jets and helicopters kept hovering in the sky and we kept hearing huge explosions from afar,” he said.

He said that as the air assaults began, security forces told residents to stay indoors, cutting off his family’s access to food and water. “I couldn’t hold on any longer. I took the bush path and reached Gomboru Ngala early today (yesterday)”, he said.

Shafi’u Breima, a

resident of Gomboru Ngala, said the border town was receiving a continuous flow of people arriving from Marte and neighbouring areas.

The phone network in Borno State has all but collapsed since the emergency measures were imposed but residents in Gomboru Ngala use phone services from Cameroon and have been sporadically reachable.

The remote, thinly populated region has porous borders where criminal groups and weapons have flowed freely for years. The military has sealed previously unguarded crossings to block Boko Haram fighters from fleeing during the offensive.

The military campaign could prove to be the biggest ever against Boko Haram and is believed to be the first time Nigeria has carried out air strikes within its own territory in more than 25 years. Aerial support was believed to have been used against rioters in the North in the early 1980s. Many have warned that there is a risk of high civilian deaths and Nigeria’s military has been accused of massive rights violations in the past, including indiscriminate attacks on civilians.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said, on Friday, that he was “deeply concerned about the fighting in northeastern Nigeria” and urged the security forces to “apply disciplined use of force in all operations.”

There are also doubts as to whether the insurgency can be crushed by force, amid concerns that the militants will scatter and reemerge when the offensive eases,.Nigeria has been urged by various camps to tackle the root social causes of the conflict, including acute poverty and government corruption which has helped radicalise many young Muslims in the North.

The conflict is estimated to have cost 3,600 lives since 2009, including killings by security forces.

PAGE 6 —SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 19, 2013

LOOMING FUEL SCARCITY

Transport owners plead with tanker drivers to shelve strike

BY LAWANI MIKAIRU HE national T leadership of the Nigerian Association of

Road Transport Owners , NARTO, has appealed to

Petrol Tankers Drivers ,PTD, branch of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas, NUPENG, to shelve its planned nationwide strike due to commence on 23

May. .

PTD leadership had given NARTO a two-week ultimatum ,starting from 9 th May, that all their members nationwide will withdraw their services

thereby crippling the supply of petroleum products throughout the country. The dispute is about the agreement PTD has with NARTO on review of salary and condition of

service which was signed and was to take effect from August, 2012.

NARTO has, however, appealed to the leadership of PTD not to call out its members on strike as the said agreement will be implemented when the funds earmarked for the implementation are released by the Federal Inland Revenue Service who is holding on to the excess of 5% withholding tax wrongfully deducted by major oil marketers from road transport owners. This refund has been approved by the government through the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Authority, PPPRA. The National President of NARTO, Alhaji Kassim Bataiya, in a letter to PTD, said “We wish to state clearly that the association acknowledges the existence of the agreement between the national leadership of NARTO and that of PTD in respect of the

review of salary and condition of service for our drivers ,your members, which was signed and to take effect from the August, 2012. We assure you that our association is still bound by the content and spirit of that agreement “ Bataiya explained that the inability of NARTO to immediately implement the agreement was due to the refusal of FIRS to release already processed part of the wrongly deducted tax to NARTO because it was this fund that was earmarked for the implementation.

According to him, the failure of the FIRS to release the already processed 2.7 billion Naira adversely affected the expected income of his members thereby making it difficult for them to meet their obligation as contained in the agreement. He said NARTO was committed to ensuring harmony in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry and availability of petroleum products in all the nooks and crannies of the country.

Some Nigerians richer than the nation – Bishop Onuoha of corruption in the land

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA means that the issue will

ishop of the Anglican B Diocese of Okigwe South, Rt. Rev. David Onuoha, has expressed worry over what he termed “the serious threat corruption is posing to our corporate existence as a nation”.

Rt. Rev. Onuoha made the lamentation in his address at the second session of the seventh synod of the diocese held at Saint Matthew ’s Church, Umuezeala Nsu, Ehime Mbano local council area of Imo State.

“It is no longer news that our country sets a new record on this every year and all efforts at reducing the incidences of this national embarrassment succeeded only in the breach”, the bishop lamented.

He was particularly irked that the ever rising profile

remain in the public domain until a solution is found.

“The issue is not these mind-boggling annual revelations. What should disturb us as a nation are the denials, the rebuttals and deliberate refusal to acknowledge an obvious fact”, Onuoha said.

Continuing, the fiery Anglican cleric said: “What this clearly indicates is that this nation and her leaders are not in a hurry to fight this malaise. That we are in a society where funds meant for projects and services that will benefit all and make for national growth are brazenly stolen by a privileged few and still people from the same society appear to quarrel with views of massive corruption in Nigeria calls for a great concern”.

NYSC, firm sign MoU on skill acquisition for corps members

BY CALEB AYANSINA HE National Youth T Service Corps (NYSC) has signed a

Memorandum of Understanding with a private company, JFK Consult, on post-camp skill acquisition programme for corps members.

The programme, which targets corps members and other interested youths in the society, will commence on socio-media from where qualified candidates are going to be selected for two weeks training at the entrepreneurial academy in Abuja.

At the signing ceremony in Abuja, the Director of Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship

Development of NYSC, Mrs. Marry Damabia, who signed on behalf of the Scheme noted that the programme would build on the entrepreneurial lecture received by corps members during their orientation exercise in camp.

“The programme is part of the NYSC mandate; if we limit skill acquisition training to ten days in camp, nothing will be achieved. We have postcamp programme of entrepreneurial training and it is what we are entering now, so is about knowing what to do with the skill acquired. If you have a skill and you don’t have entrepreneurship acumen, then you can do nothing”.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 19, 2013 — PAGE 7

LACK OF FUND FOR DAD’S BURIAL

Lorry crushes FRSC official

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA

A

From left: Engr. Victor Ochei, Speaker Delta State House of Assembly, who represented Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State, Dr. Sam Sam Jaja, Dep National Chairman(South-South) ,Peoples Democratic Party and Amb (Dr) Kema Chikwe at the seminar.

IGBO LEADERS TO JONATHAN

What we want from you!

OLITICAL leaders of the P South-East, yesterday, listed the demands of the geo-

political zone from the Federal Government to include the Second Niger Bridge, due attention to roads and solution to ecological problems.

The leaders spoke while welcoming President Goodluck Jonathan, who was visiting the South-East, to Enugu, the capital of Enugu State.

The Igbo leaders spoke through Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State on a day Jonathan fulfilled his 2011 electioneering campaign promise to the Igbo by completing Akanu Ibiam International Airport Enugu.

Indeed, Obi referred to the fulfillment of the electioneering promise when he told Jonathan that the South-East merits its own international airport to enable the people, being the most widely travelled in Nigeria, traverse the world to market their entrepreneurial attributes.

On the Second Niger Bridge, the Igbo leaders said: “The bridge will serve as an important economic corridor that is at the heart of a globally recognized emerging industrial hub, not just for this nation, but for the entire Africa. The salient national benefits of a second bridge across River Niger cannot be

overemphasized.In our last meeting, you promised to flag off this project within the First Quarter of 2013. We humbly plead that you return to our zone in the not-toodistant future to fulfil this promise for which your commitment is not in doubt.”

On roads, they said: “The presence of a good road network. The present state of most federal roads in our zone remains deplorable and our people very often use these roads as a comparative measure of the federal government’s commitment to our zone. In this context, sir, we wish to once more as

a people appeal for your due attention to the Enugu-PortHarcourt, Enugu-Onitsha, and the Owerri-Elele federal roads, which we have repeatedly brought to your attention. These roads form a critical tripod in our national transportation mosaic. Similarly, a critical bridge on the hump of the federal road linking Abakaliki to Ogoja is in dire need of replacement.”

“The erosional incursions in our five states”, the Igbo leaders said, “seem to have no boundaries. Some work has been done, but much more remains to be done.”

Corruption is direct cause of poverty —Lardner

BY OLAYINKA AJAYI

F

OLLOWING the high rate of poverty ravaging the country, Tunji Lardner, a social commentator and a convener for good governance had lamented how corrupt leaders had caused abject poverty for Nigerians.

Lardner however added that what Nigerians are facing is as a result of corrupt leaders that had mismanaged public funds.

Speaking at a seminar organised by the West

African NGO Network, WANGONET, he stated that the introduction of the portal will stand as a data base for people to have access directly to corruption cases that had put the nation into comatose. “The essence of the portal is to show to Nigerians and the outside community who care to know how corrupt practices and embezzlement caused by our public office holders can be correlated to the poverty striking millions of Nigerians”, he lamented.

female official (names withheld) of Imo State Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, was, at the weekend, crushed by a tipper lorry, just as Governor Rochas Okorocha expressed deep shock over the tragedy that befell Umudagu, Ihitte Isi Mbieri community in Mbaitoli local council area, on Thursday night.

The Mbieri tragedy followed a torrential rain that was accompanied by thunder, lightening and a ferocious windstorm, which pulled down a huge tree known as Osisi Ukwu Uko and claimed lives.

Okorocha described the incident as “a very sad natural disaster” and wondered why some elders in the community resisted previous efforts made by some people

R

day, the labour unions directed all workers of Obio/Akpor to return to work immediately.

“In line with the rule of law and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Inspector General of Police and the Commissioner of Police Rivers State command should immediately direct their men to vacate the premises of Obio/Akpor Council Secretariat”, the statement said.

“We appeal to the local government council to pay the workers for the period of the lock out by the Nigeria Police Rivers State Command. We took the position because the

workers were ready to work, but were prevented to go to their places of work by the police.

“We advise the Nigeria Police Force Rivers State

families that lost their loved ones in the unfortunate disaster”, he said.

Meanwhile, Okorocha has visited the scene of the disaster and directed relevant government agencies to continue the rescue operation, as well as clear the debris.

The FRSC official who was crushed by the tipper lorry with registration number AE 285 ABN, on Friday, was said to be trying to cross the ever busy OwerriUmuahia federal highway.

The incident occurred at the roundabout close to Imo State headquarters of the FRSC Sector Command, Egbu.

Shocked FRSC personnel declined to speak to Sunday Vanguard on the death and referred our correspondent to the Sector Commander, who was said to be unavailable.

‘N9 billion shoreline project in Ondo abandoned’ paid as mobilisation to the

BY DAYO JOHNSON

A

IYETORO community in the oil rich Ilaje area of Ondo State, at the weekend, raised the alarm over the abandonment of the about N9billion shoreline project awarded by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) nine years ago.

They described the project as a fraud and a design to siphon public funds.

Addressing newsmen in Akure, the Principal Secretary of the Community, Prince Dele Kudehinbu, said over N3billion had been paid to the contractors awarded the project.

Kudehinbu called on Federal Government to institute an enquiry on the failed project awarded in year 2004. He noted that the contract for the project was awarded following cries for help by the people of the community on the environmental problems threatening to wipe it out.

According to him, the attention of the state and the federal governments was drawn to the problem and the NDDC awarded the project at N2.4b and N650m was

RIVERS: Labour asks police to obey court order, vacate council premises IVERS State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) and the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council (JPSNC) have asked the Inspector General of Police and the state commissioner of police to obey the judgment of the Federal High Court, sitting in Port Harcourt, by vacating the premises of Obi/Akpor local government area of the state.

Justice H.A. Nganjiwa, in his judgment, had ordered the police to vacate the council secretariat .

In a statement, yester-

to cut down the tree before it claimed scores of precious lives. “This is a very sad natural disaster. I wonder why some elders in the community resisted earlier moves by some people to cut down the tree before it claimed lives and brought untold anguish to many families”, the governor said.

He appealed to people to resist the temptation of dwelling on superstitious beliefs, especially as such negates what he called “sound sense of reasoning”.

Okorocha directed other communities with similar trees to cut them down immediately to avoid a repeat of the sad incident. In the interim, the governor directed the Mayor of Owerri, Dr. Kachi Nwoga, to make available to his office information in respect of the victims of the disaster. “Government has plans to give succour to the immediate

Command to focus on their constitutional duties of protecting lives and property, instead of tacitly taking sides on matters that are purely political.”

contractors.

The Secretary of the Community said that the contract was later terminated after four years for non- performnace and lack of technical know-how on the part of the company.

Kudehinbu added that in year 2009 a new board of the Commission cancelled the earlier contract and reawarded it to another company at a cost of N6.5b and N2.5b paid to the new contractor as mobilisation.

“It is disheartening to report that about four years after the award of the new contract and payment that no meaningful work on the project has commenced,”he said.

According to them, there was no adequate planning and preparation for the project before it was contracted and no credible precontract feasibility study as the contractors are looking for sand which is the raw material required for the successful execution of the project.

He pointed out that the project “is doomed to fail because of its faulty design.

But, the state representative in the NDDC Dele Omogbemi, denied that the contract had been abandoned. Omogbemi said the new contractors were facing some challenges in the area of raw materials for the project but will soon get over it.

PDP aids Uduaghan to deliver — Delta Speaker

T

HE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been commended for its programs aimed at repositioning the party towards providing more dividends of democracy to the people.

Making this statement at the closing of a two- day seminar for zonal, state and the Federal Capital Territory secretaries of the party where he represented the Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Victor Ochei, said:: “Such programmes are veritable tools needed in not only making the party proactive but also ensuring that the party

remains the envy of its contemporary in governance and the delivery of democracy dividends.”

The legislator posited that, Uduaghan’s numerous achievements in the state stem from seminars of this nature, which are not only proactive but result oriented as it provides introspective analysis of the party’s score card.

Earlier. in his paper entitled, Building Capacities of Party Bureaucrats: Matters Arising, Dr Akilu Sanni Indabawa recommended a five-point agenda necessary for improving the PDP.

Power supply: Senate summons Ministers, Perm Secretary, PHCN management, others •Faults FG on level of megawatts

BY HENRY UMORU

M

OVED by poor sup ply of electricity in the country, the Senate has summoned the Minister of Power, Professor Chinedu Nebo, Minister of State, Hajia Zainab Kuchi, and the Permanent Secretary, Ambassador Godknows

Igali, to appear before its Committee on Power on Tuesday to explain why the problem has remained unabated. Also to appear before the Senator Philip Aduda, PDP, FCT, led Committee on Power, Steel Development and Metallurgy are the management of Power Holding Company of Nigeria,

PHCN, as well as Chief Executive Officers, managers of all generation, distribution and transmission companies.

Disclosing this weekend during an oversight function to the Ministry of Power, Aduda, who disagreed with the Ministry’s position on the 4,500 megawatts of electricity it claimed the

power sector is generating, said that with his daily monitoring of the situation and reports he gets everyday, the production level, as at Friday, was 3,717 megawatts, just as he stressed that all hands must be on deck to give Nigerians electricity if the economy of the country must grow.

PAGE 8—SUNDAY Vanguard, MAY 19, 2013

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

SOS to Uduaghan on Gana/Ugberikoko Road Dear Sir,

I

'M compelled to call on the Delta State government to come to the aid of Gana/Ugberikoko Road residents in Sapele Local Government Area. This is the second time I will be using this medium to appeal to the state government in this regard. The present situation of the Gana/ Ugberikoko Road is one that calls for i urgent attention, as the road has become almost impassable owing to the dangerous potholes that have

overtaken the entire road.

Sadly, about 20% of Sapele inhabitants who are domiciled in this part of the town are daily subjected to unimaginable suffering, especially as they are usually held up for hours in the traffic gridlock created by these unwholesome and dangerous potholes.

The situation is usually worse in the mornings when most residents are setting out for their places of work, and most parents are taking their wards to school. There is no gainsaying that the

situation of the road has grown worse with the present raining season, as most of the potholes are now as deep as gullies and drainage channels. The situation of the road is best appreciated with the number of vehicles that daily breakdown on the road.

The state government will be doing the residents of Gana/Ugberikoko Road and other road users that ply the road a great and eternal good if this appeal is given prompt attention, as our daily experience on account of the deplorable state of the road is better imagined

Revive moribund industries in Abia Dear Sir,

B

EFORE the creation of Abia State in 1991, outfits like.

Modern ceramics industry umuahia, golden Guinea Breweries Umuahia, Aba Textile Mill, Aba Metallurgical Complex, Aba Glass Industry and many others were waxing strong with thousands of workers in their employ. The progressive pace continued even many years after the creation, but unfortunately, this fleet of industries that were the pride of the state and the envy of the neighbourhood states

started fizzling out in turn as the years progressed However, with the exception of Modern Ceramics that received the blessings of the state governor, Dr Theodore Ahamefula Orji with the collaboration of the Roman Catholic Mission, others are still dormant and any hope of their being resuscitated in the near future appears bleak The urgent need to revive these outfits cannot be over emphasized as doing so would augment the state source of revenue and at the same time provide employment to the teeming

youths as well as reinstating their former workers that are now left to their fate.

More importantly, it may not go down well in history for the present dispensation if the successive government happens to achieve the feat and possibly take the attendant glory. I therefore appeal to the chief executive of the state to do all within his strides to resuscitate these industries to serve as a lasting legacy to the future generation Nkemakolam Gabriel Port Harcourt 08072257360

than experienced!

Ohwevwo Ufuoma Eugene, is resident in Sapele

Let's not overheat the polity

T

HE recent comment made by Asari Dokubo on Tuesday 7th of May that if by 2015 President Jonathan fails to win the election there will be problem in Nigeria is a foul language and threat to the nation's corporate existence.

Though the law guarantees freedom of speech but it does not allow anyone to use foul or offensive language that could hit up the polity, gender disturbance or anarchy to the nation.

Nigeria is a peaceful country, we are not a terrorist country but a peace loving people, so, election should not be a do-or- die affair. President Good luck Jonathan should not encourage lawlessness and as such the former militant leader should be checked and advised not to threaten the corporate existence the country. What l noticed in his statement was his trying to draw the President attention to himself for his selfish interest.

AKIN OLADIPO AGBE The National President of Civil Rights Liberty Organization

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 19, 2013, PAGE 9

nial civil service. That was how the first set of old hands were moved from Executive positions to the Administrative services where policies in the service are actually made. Men like Simeon Adebo in the Railways, Charles Daddy Onyeama, Pius Okigbo, as DO (Development Officer, Aba) and Abdulaziz Attah who worked in the Eastern services on his return also from Oxford in 1948. But the true wave began in 1957, at the beginning of home rule.

,

P

HILIP Chukwuedo Asiodu is one of those Nigerians you might rightly call an old civil service mandarin.

These were of the cadre known in the Yakubu Gowon administration in Nigeria as “super perm secretaries.” I think the “super”in the Permanent Secretary came from “supernumerary” and it does locate the stature and situation of the office at its highest bar.

Philip Asiodu seemed born to that office.

From Kings College in 1954, Asiodu went on to Oxford, on the recommendation of his old principal, who incidentally from the records later was the head of the British Intelligence Services in British West Africa, even as he was principal of Kings. Such were the days. In any case, Asiodu came down from Oxford in 1957, smack in the moment of decolonization. Nigeria was in colonial transition.

Bright, young Nigerian graduates for the first time were being recruited in good number into the Administrative Cadre of the civil service, before then, the lone preserve of English colonial administrators.

It was a transition that actually began with Azikiwe’s nationalist agitation in 1946, and the agreements arrived at with Arthur Richards to begin recruiting Africans into the administrative service of the colo-

stint as Assistant Professor in New York State University in 1957, to join as Senior Assistant Under Secretary. It was a star-studded service of young, upwardly mobile young men, and they were catered for, and given great training in the service under the old British administration which had taken its model in the old Chinese Mandarinate designed by Confucius. The typical civil servant was a well-trained professional, but he was above all, an in-

The quality of people recruited into the service in the last twenty-five years at least does not reflect a civil service whose survival and effectiveness must be based on merit

Young graduates from Ibadan and elsewhere - the likes of Peter Chigbo, Cornelius Adebayo, Christopher Okigbo, Leslie Harriman, Philip Asiodu, Allison Ayida, who came later in 1958 after his Masters at the London School of Economics and so on were brought to the service as Assistant Under Secretaries.

People like Professor Eme Awa had returned with a PhD in Politics from the United States with a brief

,

tellectual of varied capabilities. Asiodu was one such star of the service. He moved from the Foreign Service to the Home Service, and spent a lot of his administrative experience as Permanent Secretary in two critical areas, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Mines and Power, from which Petroleum was carved out. As Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Mines and Power, Asiodu oversaw Nigeria’s Energy policy in the crucial

Coming up for air

S

WIMMING is a sport that looks deceptively easy; it employs hitherto lazy muscles to labour and the water tricks the joints into acrobatics that is impossible other wise. I find moving underwater the most fun and I stay under as long as possible but I come up for air because I don't belong there. I am a creature whose primary domain is land. I walk and swimming is but a break form walking. Swimming is a sport, an escape and even with all the sore muscles and joints, its a break from the norm. I however love the weightlessness of being under water or floating; just drifting without a care in the world. I find I can achieve the same feeling in the bath; I hold my breathe and stay under water for as long as my lungs will allow but I inevitably have to come up for air; back to

the realities of my thoughts and life.

Every day life falls into a routine at one time or the other. We wake up, clean up, eat, work, sleep and the next day we begin again, doing the exact same things and the days roll into weeks and into months and years pass by in almost in a blur. I have come to think of holidays and other such escapes as the time bubbles where we stop routine, just like being under water, being weightless and for want of a better word free. My brother came over for breakfast during the week and when I asked why he looked skinny he said he was tired of his kitchen. "Same thing comes out of that place everyday and I am tired of it all", he said. He is in fact so bored and tired of his every day diet that he has taken to skipping meals and drinking Complan (a milk based food

substitute) instead. Given that he has a kitchen staffed by a cook and 2 other helps, it begs belief that everything would be the same. The problem is the blandness of all the dishes since he has become diet conscious. It got us all talking animatedly and the subject was how routine life gets in middle age.

Most times you eat and can't even remember the taste of it; its just routine!

I remember the days when we used to hunt food down and we would go Buka/canteen crawling looking for exotic dishes in places we would be a tad ashamed we knew!.

Growing older has meant that safety and health are major considerations in all activities so our choices have become very tame and boring.

Lately it seems that there is a conspiracy to label all things delicious un-

the civil service, we need to emphasize that the Nigerian Civil war destroyed the Nigerian Public Service.

Experienced and capable men left the service for Enugu, and second rate people were quickly recruited and promoted to take their places. The messy postwar events under Gowon exacerbate the decay of the institutional processes; those who returned from the East after the war, in the triumphalist mood of the Federal side either humiliated them out of the service or failed entirely to absorb them and secure their experiences.

A great example is the case of Godwin Onyegbula, who had been Permanent Secretary in the Foreign Service, and served in the same position for Biafra. Men like Onyegbula, with their wealth of experience were let go at the end of the war. Those who were absorbed lost their places, and felt uncertain about their tenure. The loss of institutional memory began thence. I think Mr. Asiodu must acknowledge these facts. But the point he makes nonetheless is clear and points to a terrible crisis: Nigeria’s Public Service is in dire straits, and there is urgent need for reform, from the Foreign Service to the Home Services. The quality of people recruited into the service in the last twenty-five years at least does not reflect a civil service whose survival and effectiveness must be based on merit. I look around, of my generation of Nigerians, the crassest went to the civil service. Such a service cannot pretend to be the “thinking arm”of government, particularly because governments no longer think. The government of Nigeria acts on primitive

healthy! Which one of us ever had to worry about blood pressure and cholesterol when we were younger? Now we eat oilless. pepper less, saltless and often tasteless food; no wonder Complan is a better option than a meal.

Horse meat contamination in pork and beef has been in the news in Europe lately and I just laugh!! Most of us in this part of the world have eaten in some dodgy Bukas/canteens in the

stuck in the evening traffic and only God knows the origin of said meats!!

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Asiodu: On institutional memory

industrializing phase of the postcolony that executed the Second National Economic Development Plan, and he was also Chairman of the Board of what was then known as the Nigerian National Oil Corporation (NNOC) which later gave birth to the NNPC. Asiodu comes to policy issues therefore with a lot of cache; a boatload of experience and insight. He is a fine theorist and practitioner of the craft of public administration, and we can say this without much guilt or doubt. It is therefore always important to listen to him carefully and closely when he talks about the loss of institutional memory in the Nigerian service.

It was with such care that I read Asiodu’s exasperation at what has become the Nigerian civil service and Nigeria’s policy environment. Let me say, of myself, that having never worked in the civil Service, except for a brief stint as Training Development Officer in charge of Students Industrial Work Experience at the Industrial Training Fund, during National Service, I come to policy issues basically from close interest and close study of various administrative models rather than from any significant direct experience in the service. It seems to me that in situating the decline of the public service, Mr. Asiodu basically exculpates himself and the Civil Service of which he was part until 1975. I think that he does not fully account for the rot in the service, because that rot had started to emerge before the purges of 1975. True, it was far more under control; true there were greater disciplinary processes, oversights, and accounting models that limited the corruption

So back to routines and boredom, I think a break from the comfortable and the familiar may be just what we need to add some bounce to our sluggard steps and some colour to our grey lives. My work gives me the luxury of a flexible calendar so I can (family allowing) take off on the spur of the moment. I was away for

Growing older has meant that safety and health are major considerations in all activities so our choices have become very tame and boring

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past that we can only pray and hope we have not eaten humans!!!

Horse meat would be a relief compared to the vast array of dog, cat, snake, alligator and camel meat we all may have consumed! Besides who remembers the good old days of Go-slow shopping? Butchers used to hawk all sorts of meat to drivers and passengers

a week and even that short time gave me an extra appreciation for my life and its routines. I remember telling my husband that our house was beautiful on my return!

He had looked at me puzzled; after all I had only been gone a few days and nothing had changed.

Nothing changed; that was true but the familiar has its

impulse. It has neither a programmatic basis nor a clear raison d’etre. Mr. Asiodu is equally spot on the fact that no government can govern on the current model of the service with many special assistants and a highly politicized service not based on merit and selection. It used to be in the past, that the Civil service and the Universities took first choice of the graduates from the Universities; these days, the best Nigerians are taken first by industry.

Whatever is left either goes to the Civil Service or to the streets. This is a recipe for disaster and underdevelopment. The Babangida reforms basically turned the Nigerian Civil Service into little political fiefdoms. This must be rethought. It is time for the Federal Government to streamline the administrative structure of government service, under a maximum of ten ministries; reform the administrative service, and return it to its place as the engine of government policy and development agenda. Nigeria once certainly had a proud civil service which was destroyed by an interplay of forces, starting from 1967.

Nigeria will need to start the recruitment of the best and brightest, and in due course, restore institutional memory; what is basically called “the tradition” of the service encoded into its strictest operational rules or what it used to call the “General Orders.” Luckily men like Asiodu are still around to help guide that process. It is about time that government invites them into a room for a necessary debriefing. That time ticks too, for soon many of them will also disappear forever into history; and all that memory would be lost.

allure. Routine means order; that my life has taken shape over the years is by a combination of God's blessings, hard work and even sacrifice.

Being away is a break in that routine and is just like submerging under water or floating weightless without a thought but its only for a while.

Coming up for air will be a return to the established order and routine that is everyday life. I, just like you would crave that routine if it was dislodged or disrupted.

Having a routine is like air and every swimmer knows that you can only hold your breathe for a while; at some time you'll come up for air. Our hearty discussion ended on a note of gratitude.

Canteen crawling suggests you don't have food at home; thats a far cry from being bored because your personal cook is making safe and healthy dishes. Comes down to the fact that we all need to take a step back from our everyday routine so we can appreciate all that we have.

Routines are a luxury for those who have had their very survival threatened and over turned by tragedy, wars, and disasters.

What we call boredom they may call paradise...

PAGE 10—SUNDAY Vanguard, MAY 19, 2013

N

OTE: The two col umns below were started on Sunday, May 12, 2013 – before the President’s declaration of Emergency Rule in three states of Nigeria. More than ever, and despite the risks and dangers which could result from the measure taken by the President, I still believe that he needs our support to bring this war to an end.

If for no other reason than that the opposition has failed to offer a better proposal. Being anti-Jonathan is a political statement not a Plan of Action. Until somebody else comes up with a better solution Jonathan’s approach remains “the only game in town”. Until somebody else comes up with a better alternative, I stand firmly with the President on this issue.

“A soldier is HIRED to kill for his country; not to die for her. In so far as he dies, he is a failure…”.

This column could easily have been titled JONATHAN BETWEEN THE TWO JAWS OF A CROCODILE – HIS FRIENDS AND FOES or WHY BLAME THE JTF: THEY EITHER KILL OR THEY ARE KILLED? Anyone would have been appropriate. Before you continue to read this article, just picture yourself as the father, mother, brother, sister, wife or daughter of a soldier, sent to Bama, Kiama or Jos North, and suddenly coming under enemy fire. What do you expect him to do? If he is my son, and a

professional soldier, I expect him to shoot and kill every son of a bitch in the direction where the shots are coming from. Discarding sentiments, no soldier can do anything else. He shoots first and continues shooting until the other side stops or he is incapacitated or killed himself. To do otherwise is to waste all the resources the nation had spent to train him as a defender of our nation. The probes can come later, but the shooting must go first.

The soldier under violent attack simply has no chance to determine who is a civilian or enemy soldier while the firing continues.

Whenever I read or listen to “Human Rights Activists”, sitting in the comfort of their homes and air-conditioned offices in Lagos, Abuja or elsewhere, condemning the JTF, the first thing that occurs to me is: “There goes another ignoramus who does not know what happens on the battle field”.

Neither can the C-I-C, nor the field commanders, be held responsible for what happens afterwards – unless there is evidence that they have authorized targeting civilians. If not, any probe will be a waste of time –even if conducted by the USA. No US patrol leader will ask his troops not to fire back if they come under heavy bombardment. Often, retreat is not even an option because the troops might get killed anyway.

Nigerians simply have to decide whether, or not, they need soldiers. If we do, we

must let them operate like soldiers; if not we should disband them and see if we will have a nation left in six months time. Right now Jonathan and the JTF have my vote. Nigeria is at war.

Nobody doubts that any longer. In fact, the country is engaged in several wars at once; we fight in the north, the south and the Middle belt. The reasons for the bloodshed vary from one place to the other; but they sometimes overlap as in Plateau. In the North it is religious and political; in the Niger Delta, it is essen-

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Support the president and JTF: In our own interest –1

Nigeria is at war. Nobody doubts that any longer. In fact, the country is engaged in several wars at once; we fight in the north, the south and the Middle belt away from their states of origin. But, they all have one thing in common – they would have done it in the service of their fatherland.

Incidentally, and that is the first and most important reason why the majority of us must support them. Ironically they fight, and some die, to defend the country which those shooting at them, everywhere, hope to live in and rule; to defend their families – who might not be involved in the actual carnage going on at the ever shifting war fronts. The C-I-C seldom dies because “kings” nowadays don’t go to the battle field with their troops. But, he too might “die” if his troops are overwhelmed by the adversaries and his government is brought down — making him a potential victim.

Too many of us have an

of all, it will be a great fall from grace only, and then their humiliation will be complete.

title; the second was attached to gold(Wura): he was a golden boy; this time around he was “knighted” for his work in Oyo State.

But why ‘Aare’ specifically? It has to do with his antecedent. His forebears were Aares. Hence OkeAare in Ibadan. Biola did not choose the title in Aiyede-Ekiti, Kabiesi Attah did; the same was true of the two Olubadans.

Biola must have followed my examples: I am Sotofaiye of Aiyede-Ekiti- a throwback to my professional work in the press.

At 46, he had accom-

I

is reported about him, should he have been “an ordinary Italian" the state would have locked him up a long time ago and thrown away the key.

My friend still thinks the Don will not serve the eventual four years prison sentence handed to him nor the five year ban from public political office. The bonga bonga sex scandal was one too many and it seems that the Don could not shake it off, so the judgement may finally close the political door to what have been his domain for over two decades in politics. This man has become a parody of a statesman, an embarrassment and the antithesis of what decent Italians expect from their elected public figures and this time, money may not buy him a get out clause. Nigerian Politicians should pay closer attention as this may be their eventual destination, it may be not today but sometime in the future, they may receive similar custodial sentence and money will not buy them a way out. Worst

Whoever recommends and helps a good cause becomes a partner therein; and whoever recommends and helps an evil cause shares in its burden. And Allah hath power over all things.-Surah 4 verse 85.

Yesterday, Biola Ajimobi, a senator of the Federal Republic and governor of Oyo State, was conferred

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“Our great democracies still tend to think that a stupid man is more likely to be honest than a clever man” -Bertrand Russell.

T seems the Teflon Don is finally getting his ju dicial just desserts or so it seems. On Monday when the Italian prosecutors demanded that the former Italian President Silvio Berlusconi, should be handed a prison sentence as well as a life time ban from politics, outside the court building the judgement was greeted with equal measures of cheers and jeers. Such reaction is typical Silvio he, often divides the emotions of Italians over the years and it seem that whatever he does or says, he gets away with it. My Italian friend however, is not convinced she is sceptical and feels that Silvio has got away with so much in the past with his numerous scandals, bribery and misdemeanours because he has control over most of the major media. Silvio, it seems controls a lot of what

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tially, all about control of stolen crude oil. In the Middle Belt, especially Plateau, it is the age old “Indigenes versus Settlers” struggle for territorial control. That, I realize is an over-simplification of reality because politics is an integral part of the conflict everywhere.

In all these, there are only two ubiquitous entities involved – the President, as Commander-In-Chief , C-IC, of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Armed Forces themselves, operating nationwide as the Joint Task Force, JTF. With little or no exception, neither Jonathan nor the Commanders of the JTF, started the battles for which they are called out to fight, to die, to get maimed for life; and, if possible, to help put down.

Aare three times over.

Berlusconi goes to prison

Many of those risking their lives in Borno State could be Igbos, Ibibios, Gbagyi or Nupes. But, they face dangers to bring peace to the Kanuri, Hausa and Fulani – among others – resident in Borno State irrespective of their ethnicity.

Similarly, I know from actual physical presence in their midst about four years ago, that the JTF stationed in Jos consists of Igala, Yoruba, Anang, Isoko and others. They also face possible annihilation while protecting those living in the war front. The Niger Delta JTF is certainly composed of Fulani, Higgis, Afemnai and Yoruba; again just to mention a few ethnic groups. Some have lost their lives; others will do so before peace reigns – far

We seem to have misplaced priorities and we rejoice that someone had just been viciously robbed and exploited by the marauding police: that is what we have come to expect?

the title of Aare Atunluse of Ibadanland. That was his third and it has its own romance. The first is that the Aare title is the third and they were bestowed on him by three first class Obas. The first, in 1995 by the late Attah of Aiyede-Ekiti, Oba Joseph Adeleye Orishagbemi; the second, by the late Olubadan, Oba Adeyemo Opeyinde, the following year and this time around by the reigning Olubadan, Oba Odugade.

The second romance had the same title – Aare – a war

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plished as managing director at National Oil. At that age, he had acquired his first Aare title and another followed a year later. And then he had turned his attention to politics becoming a Senator of the Republic and he did not shame me. His records are there for all to see.

Now, even the detractors concede to him that he has changed the face of Ibadan and the entire State. And there are many more in his bags of tricks.

Of course, he did not do it

ethnic/religious bias against the JTF depending on where they operate. The same fellow who carpets the government and JTF for operating in the Niger Delta against “people fighting for their rights”, would applaud Jonathan and JTF for standing firm in Baga; and vice versa – as if anarchy in the Northeast will result in something different from chaos in the SouthSouth. Even some patriotic Northern Muslims jump to the conclusion that dead civilians were slaughtered only by the JTF. They forget the suicide bombers who deliberately targeted commuters at university campuses, churches and at bus stations. What makes the war situations most confusing is the similarity to other guerilla wars worldwide – the enemy usually wears no uniform; so any dead body can be called “civilian” by those wanting to discredit government. Few, if any, carry any identity cards, so anyone could claim they were anybody for reasons best known to themselves – but mostly to accuse the government and the President of callousness. We should not allow them to demoralize our defenders. Indeed, who else do we have? Boko Haram does not protect us; neither do the so-called militants of the Niger Delta. They are in these conflicts only for themselves.

Only the President and the JTF are fighting for us – even if they occasionally make mistakes. But, even those errors of judgment pale by comparison with the atrocities Boko Haram has committed and will continue to perpetrate without stiff and overwhelming opposition from the JTF. The truth is; we need the President and the JTF and they also need us; it is a symbiotic relationship…

BAGA 185; MOSTLY

GHOSTS — 1 “When all think alike, none thinks very much”.

Walter Lippmann.

“Baga: 185 killed”; screamed the headlines of all Nigerian newspapers on the same day. I was furious and marched off to Uncle Sam’s house to register my anger and disappointment. Unfortunately, the Publisher of Vanguard was on his way to Ibadan for an important function when I got to his residence.

But, I still managed to register my complaint which was simple. “I think this is a falsely exaggerated story designed to embarrass the government and the print media had been made accomplices in spreading a dangerous rumour”. Then, I promised Uncle Sam to go North and find out myself if the figure was authentic. I didn’t have to go far to get a lead on what I can now tag as “The Baga 145 Dead Hoax”.

Ten years of living in the North making friends and living in various cities had accumulated for me finger tip knowledge of the region and a few friends – some of my friends are alive till today. One friend lives in New Marte, a community close to Baga – and it was to him I turned. My suspicion about the I85 casualty story arose from three irrefutable facts available to me.

First, I can never remember a single occasion in the past when the newspapers in Nigeria had agreed on the same figure when a great catastrophe had occurred. So: why now? The answer to that took little time to figure out. The figure I85 was given by someone seeking to plant a horror story after the battle.

Second, Baga, being about 230 kilometers from Maiduguri, no reporter could have been there as a witn e s s .

Visit:www.delesobowale.com

alone. He has his political associates and executives to thank. And there is his wife who complements him beautifully.

Those who bring sunshine to others cannot keep it from themselves.

-Sir James Barrie Biola, may you live long in good health and in accomplishments. Oye a mori ooo.

Kola and Dupe Animasaun.

friend's car to cart off their ill-gotten loot.

What happened next was my friend called the police.

And the police came (yes, that was shocking), they took an incident report and pass on the details on their radio so that the police can be on the lookout for the stolen car. The car was found (yes, I was shocked too). The police then came into their own, when they asked my friend to collect his recovered car and then they dropped the clanger: they told him" Oga, you have to drop something." So a bidding war ensued, a final price was agreed :N50,000 before he was allowed to drive away in his car.

Many people rejoiced with my friend that his life and that of his companion were spared and that his car was recovered but no one was hurt or injured. Is it me or am I missing the point?

That we seem to have misplaced priorities and we rejoice that someone had just been viciously robbed and exploited by the marauding police: -that is what we have come to expect? What was more worrying, that none of the people commiserating with my friend did not show any shock at the police corrupt behaviour instead, they shared and swapped horrific police stories each more shocking to me than the previous. Is protecting and serving the public definitely not the duty of our police force?

Oga drop something........

"The first sign of corruption in a society that is still alive is that the end justifies the means" -Georges Bernanos I learnt late last week that a friend was a victim of an audacious crime. As he recounted his ordeal-one that I am sure must be familiar to a lot Nigerians by now.

He was dropping his friend around eight in the evening to her home as they drove close to the gate of the property, the gateman quickly opened the gate to let them in. As he drove into the compound they were closely followed by six armed men, they forced their way in and at gunpoint, they proceeded in relieving them of their personal belongings. At gunpoint, they took them into the house and robbed them some more. They did the same to the neighbours and they rode off using my

SUNDAY

and completed showed that many things can be achieved through prudence and determination. More importantly, was my discovery that in Nigeria, it is

those who have money that have problems. While my colleagues who thought they knew how to lobby and attract huge government subventions were permanently under siege in their offices, I had little money but great peace. Contractors had no interest in my office because they got first hand information from their friends in government that only salaries were sent to me. Thus, while the scarcity of funds provoked ingenuity, the serene environment occasioned by the absence of contractors and busy bodies provided for me an enabling disposition towards innovation, efficiency and effectiveness. Even over sight functions by legislators concerning my organization were quite few during my tenure. In all, I got little money, little attention and little troubles including interference. So, who says there is no time when it is probably better to be poor?

Even if the issue is looked at from point of view of an entire government, it is also not difficult to see the evils of money. This year, 3 States- Enugu, Niger and Bayelsa announced their budgets at about the same time making it easy to compare the figures. The money available to Bayelsa to prosecute capital projects only was about the same as the total budgets of Enugu and Niger put together. Lagos, Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Delta States similarly have huge budgets which ought to put them well ahead of others. But there is no evi-

dence that the wealthy States are where we can best find the dividends of democracy. For example, Ekiti State cannot be described as one of our wealthy States but it has a commendable system of welfare assistance including free health care and welfare grants to the elderly to reduce old age poverty. In like manner, Jigawa State, a visibly poor State has a social security package for the disabled and other disadvantaged people. It is a pragmatic programme put in place by the Sule Lamido administration through which every disabled person in the State receives a monthly income of N7, 000.00.

Jigawa is poor but in 2012, it announced the completion of works on about 1000 kilometres of township, feeder and new roads in the State at a total cost of N56 billion.

In ‘wealthy’ States, road contracts are a different ball game. In the first place, they are never advertized; so, neither the issue of competitive bidding nor cost benefit analysis arises. Some of the contracts go for as high as N400million per kilometre and there can be variations two or three times. Half way through, the contracts can be reawarded while in some cases, they may never be completed because the State concerned is not essentially a poor entity.

Let us take a look at Go-

mbe State which is no doubt poor. It is the second from the bottom in the table of revenue allocation in Nigeria. Yet, it reportedly has the highest record of delivery in terms of water supply and road infrastructure in the country. In recognition of such giant strides, an award was conferred on the State Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Dankwambo, by the Nigerian Society of Engineers at its 45th National Engineering Conference and Annual General Meeting in Ilorin.

Gombe is indeed twice lucky. The first aspect is that it has as its Governor, a chartered accountant, whose passion is to harness the State’s meagre resources for optimal benefit to his people. As a result, Dankwambo cuts the State’s coat according to its cloth. He does not under the guise of development; procure huge loans that the next 3 generations of his successors cannot repay.

The second is that Gombe has the advantage of not being one of our wealthy States. Oh yes, paucity of funds plays a big role in dissuading profligacy. It is more difficult for instance, for a leader in a poor State to join the league of those who renovate government guest houses at a cost higher than what is needed to build a new university.

Is it not good to be poor some times?

through the ages to ensure that people stick to one sexual partner particularly after marriage, people find the situation suffocating, and go to extremes lengths to deceive their spouses in order to maintain some semblance of orthodox morality while having extramarital sexual relations.

Deception and hypocrisy in marriage to maintain a warped sexual ethic is bad, just as closing one's mind in marriage against all approaches of decent sexual encounters from elsewhere reduces receptivity and sympathy and opportunities of valuable human interaction. Many couples think that the best way to sustain

also do the same thing to their husbands. In most cases, when such effort to prove infidelity succeeds, the marriage breaks up. This usually happens if the woman is at fault. Most Nigerian men believe, wrongly, that extramarital affair by their wives is an abomination, whereas they can indulge their sexual appetite with other women without qualms. Unless a man is a chronic womaniser, his wife is not likely to divorce him because of occasional infidelity.

Majority of our women are dependent on their husbands for sustenance, and the double standard of sexual morality is such that people merely wink when a man commits adultery, whereas if a woman does exactly the same thing the full weight of religion-based moral indignation and sanction is brought to bear on her. A genuinely happy

cessful marriage because of infidelity. Is easy divorce the answer or solution to every marriage experiencing problems? Given the rapid increase in divorce cases in many countries, one can justifiably conclude that for many couples the answer is a resounding "Yes". I believe that granting easy divorce is a wrong approach to the turbulence of marriage.

Clearly, when a marriage is childless, divorce could be the best for couples that have expressed strong desire to discontinue their union.

When children are involved, matters become a little more complicated. Whenever the psychological basis of marriage has, for whatever reason, decayed to the point where a couple quarrel heatedly on a regular basis in the presence of their children, it is better to annul the marriage to prevent both physical and emotional damage to the children. Of course, sexual instinct in humans is polygamous; but for various reasons it is important that adults, not just married people alone, should control themselves.

However, the individual must exercise the control of sexual impulse necessary for marital stability voluntarily: it should not be an imposition by an external authority no matter how elevated or sublime. To repeat, most times it is better for a couple to forgive each other if sex with someone else happens. Russell rightly argues that a marriage which begins with passionate love and produces children who are desired should generate such an intimate connection between a man and woman that they will feel their companionship is worth preserving, even after

sexual passion has dissipated, and even if either or both feel sexual passion for someone else. Unfortunately, this rational attitude to marriage is not prevalent because of jealousy. Jealousy, which, according to Russell is an instinctive emotion, can be controlled if it is recognised as bad, and not supposed to be the expression of a just moral indignation or an emotional concomitant of genuine love. A marriage that has lasted for a considerable period in which the husband and wife have shared numerous deeply felt events is too precious and should not be annulled simply because one or both partners are passionate about someone new. People that have lived together for many years should really think long and hard before seeking divorce, because the passage of time consolidates values that enrich human experience within the intimate relationship of matrimony. Other fallacious views about marriage include the belief that all adults must marry, that the dignity and honour of a woman resides in her husband, and that marriage is necessary for happiness and fulfilment in life. Unless one is completely pachydermatous to reason and commonsense, there is no ground whatsoever to suppose that everyone ought to marry.

Aside from people with serious physical and mental disabilities, a significant number of so-called "normal people" lack the intellectual, economic, emotional and moral wherewithal to marry, let alone produce and rear offspring.

TO BE CONTINUED.

When is it good to be poor?

May be wealth can place a person in a position to meet virtually every need. On the other hand, it can make him to be irrational. What does anyone need 16 different living rooms for in his house? Is it so as to have enough rooms to meet with 16 different visitors at the same time? Again, what does any person need 12 different bedrooms for? Is it so as to be able to sleep on more than one bed at the

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D

IFFERENT writeups attract differ ent readers. While some people prefer lighthearted articles that relax the mind, other persons that are often described as ‘serious’ readers are hardly interested in storylines.

Rather, they want the point to be quickly but logically made. What such persons tend to overlook however, is the ease with which stories enhance the quality and opinions being made by writers. Indeed, stories can help readers to easily comprehend the issues in focus in a write-up. This is why today’s article is softened with a few stories on prosperity and vanity.

Our first story is that of my rich friend who built a mansion with 10 waiting rooms, 16 living rooms and 12 bedrooms. Those who visit him daily leave his premises in awe after going through the inspection tours organized for visitors to the mansion. Each visitor would exclaim that the man has arrived meaning that it is good to have money. But is it really expedient to be stupendously rich?

times when it is probably good, if not better, for a person not to be wealthy.

This is a subject from which as an individual, I gained ample experience during my days in service.

From 2003-2008, I headed the Nigerian Television Authority-a federal government parastatal which was compelled (only during my tenure) to rely on internally generated revenue. The several projects I initiated

Sometimes, too much money can increase the level of a man’s insanity. In other words, there are times when it is probably good, if not better, for a person not to be wealthy

same time? A deep thought on these issues is likely to suggest that sometimes, too much money can increase the level of a man’s insanity. In other words, there are

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PhD, Department of Philosophy, University of Lagos,

ALL this indicates that those who look up to religion for guidance on the issue of marriage are liable to make serious mistakes.

There is strong evidence from psychology most especially psychoanalysis that obsessive and irrational condemnation of sexual freedom by most founders of religion is due to a combination of superstitious beliefs about sex and thwarting of natural sexual impulse in early life.

However, promotion of happiness in this life is not important in the agenda of prophets whose overriding concern was inculcation of virtue in preparation for the hereafter, which explains their pathological preoccupation with adultery and fornication. The notion that a happy and successful marriage must be one built on lifelong exclusion of other sex relations is a relic of irrational jealousy and possessiveness hiding under the veneer of religious virtue.

As we argued earlier, human beings, left in their natural state, are polygamous in their sexual orientation. Therefore, although there are reasonable grounds for avoiding extramarital affairs, it makes a lot of sense for married people to forgive each other in

cases of occasional sexual infidelity, more so if the offending partner has other excellent qualities that make continuation of the marriage worthwhile. Sexual exclusivity either in marriage (or outside of it) stems from the psychology of ownership of property, that is, on the conviction that the husband and wife own each other just like people own material objects. However, a human being cannot belong to another human being the way a table or shoe belongs to its owner. Human beings are existentially free, which means that freedom to choose is inherent in all of us.

If sexual fidelity were fundamental to our survival, we would have evolved biological and psychological mechanisms to ensure a man, once married, ceases to be attracted to any other woman, and a woman, once married, ceases to be attracted to another man.

Fortunately, human beings are not anthropoid apes who instinctively remain monogamous. Humans have the power of imagination to break up entrenched habits and begin a new mode of behaviour. That is why, in spite of all that culture and religion has done

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Facts and fallacies about marriage (3)

Vanguard, MAY 19, 2013, PAGE 11

The double standard of sexual morality is such that people merely wink when a man commits adultery, whereas if a woman does exactly the same thing the full weight of religionbased moral indignation and sanction is brought to bear on her

their marriages is to become each other's policeman.

This is a frustrating attitude borne out of excessive jealousy and lack of trust.

A man who suspects his wife of having an affair would stealthily search her text messages, easily believe gossips about his spouse flirting with another man, and use private detective to spy on her. Wives

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marriage is possible only when there is complete equality between husband and wife, and there must be no interference with mutual freedom. Intellectual and emotional maturity are desiderata in this regard, since both are necessary for controlling the natural tendency for sexual promiscuity as well as excessive jealousy that makes couples dissolve an otherwise suc-

PAGE 12—SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 19, 2013

ANTI-CORRUPTION CAMPAIGN

Nigeria has so much to learn from Finland —Dr. Akinroye, Honorary Consul of Finland are full of women doing actively well. So, this is an area where I feel Nigeria and Africa in general need to look at, and be able to say women need to come up. I’m glad however that women have made remarkable progress in Nigeria over the last decade, but more work has been to done.

Of what benefit could your appointment be to the teeming number of Nigerians who aspire for greener pastures abroad?

R

enowned cardiologist, Dr.Kingsley Kolapo Akinroye, was, in November 2012, appointed the Honourary Consul of Finland, following the opening of the Honourary Consulate of Finland in Lagos by the Ambassador of Finland to Nigeria, Her Excellency Mrs Riitta Korpivaara. Prior to his appointment, he had pursued medical studies and a research fellowship in Finland and notably acted as the Secretary General of the Finland-Nigeria Friendship Association for years.

Akinroye, who is also an executive of the World Heart Federation, Geneva, and the Executive Director, Nigerian Heart Foundation, speaks on the the mutual benefits expected to emanate from the ties between Nigeria and the Republic of Finland, acknowledged to be one of the most competitive economies in the world.

Excerpts:

What should we expect from you as the Honorary Consul of Finland?

What is expected of me is to be a bridge between Nigeria and Finland, especially in the areas of business, trade and culture, which are essential to each country. Finland is very well known for education, information technology and communication, and I also hope to see how that could be used to benefit our health sector, which is my area of specialization.

Politically, Finland is a very stable, quiet, advanced, and wealthy country with very small population. But you do not see their wealth on them because they are very shy about everything and do not make noise; they’re very simple people! These are the areas where I feel Nigeria and Finland, with their population of

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BY JOSEPHINE IGBINOVIA

Don’t you foresee some kind of difficulties in your job, considering the fact that Nigeria is popularly branded with negativities by the rest of the world?

As indicated in the corruption index by Tr a n s p a r e n c y International, you find out that down below the ladder is Nigeria, identified as the 35 th most corrupt country in the world, while Finland is up the ladder, among the first three countries in the world with least corruption

, about 160 million and 6million respectively, can both rub off on each other.

That is where we have to learn from each other. As indicated in the corruption index by Transparency International, you find out that down below the ladder is Nigeria, identified as the 35th most corrupt country in the world, while Finland is up the ladder, among the first three countries in the world with least corruption. That is an area from which I want my country to learn. We can do it; there’s nothing impossible.

If you know the history of Finland, you’ll find out they worked hard to get to where they are because they are generally a very courageous people. I’m sure Nigeria will one day rise in the corruption index ladder, but I would advocate we start gradually.

Another thing that is also very interesting about Finland is the power of women. The cabinets, corporate levels, industries and communities

If people are genuinely going for holidays, tourism, education, etc., I’m sure Finland will be able to accommodate them. Ideally, there should be no barrier for anybody to be able to move to any part of the world, but I do know that if the requirements are fulfilled, no country will bar anyone from travelling. This is the first consulate that is being opened by Finland in Nigeria and I’m happy that the Honourary Consul will not give visa, but can only advise. The visa officer who is based in Abuja still wields total control over that and that takes a lot of pressure off me to be able to promote what I really want to promote: trade, commerce, culture, education, healthcare, etc. The door to Finland is very open to Nigerians, but, like I said earlier, all requirements have to be met. This same issue of difficulty also applies to foreigners abroad who wish to come down to Nigeria, if you would like to know! So many of them are even afraid of going to Nigerian embassies!

But like I said, if you fulfill the requirements, no country will close its door against you.

Notwithstanding, it will be to my happiness to see an increase in the number of Nigerians going to Finland because that will be a good indicator of mutual progression of friendship between the two countries because when there’s friendship, everything follows and develops easily.

SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 19, 2013, PAGE 13

FIDDLING AND INSURGENCY

‘Deliver us from evil’

By JIDE AJANI

PROLOGUE

W

HAT is evil? Where is evil? Who is evil? When does evil strike? How does evil strike?

We may ask these questions, not necessarily as rhetoric.

But more as a function of a sense of hopelessness and helplessness!

And not because we do not have an idea of what it is; but much more because the mere thought of it evokes a feeling that would make you shriek in fear.

All men have evil constantly hovering over them like a ghost.

All nations suffer the same fate.

Even for Christians, The Lord’s Prayer, as encapsulated in one of the aspects of the Sermon on The Mount, by Jesus Christ, makes reference to evil – “DELIVER US FROM EVIL”.

Evil comes in different forms and ways.

Can we confer omnipresence on it? Of course, yes! In so far as the intendment is to connote its negativity.

But the common denominators are that it inflicts pain, horror, misery, malevolence, wickedness and all that can be negative. Dictionaries allude to all these.

There are, still, some questions around and about evil that may not open themselves to straight forward answers.

For instance, who knows why evil thrives? Forget about what theologians would say; but please focus on contemporary. Anything that is dubious, not straight forward, impure, negative, unfair, and sinful C M Y K

and which inflicts undeserving pain can fall within the realm of evil.

Take, for instance, the true story of Catholic priest Oliver O’Grady, who admitted to having molested and raped approximately 25 children in Northern California between the late 1970s and early 1990s. A documentary film was made about his evil deeds. Now, when you try to make sense of these evil acts by a ‘man of God’, you can be right to wonder about the omnipresent nature of evil – it is everywhere; even the house of God. However, just as the deep calls to the deep, evil, no matter how small and insignificant, begets other further evils!

The Jama’atu Ahl-Sunnati Lil Da’awati Wal Jihad, also known as Boko Haram, has been inflicting evil on a grand scale on the people of Gombe, Kogi, Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto, Yobe, Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno and Jigawa States.

Just three weeks ago, the Joint Military Task Force, JTF, in collaboration with military forces from Niger and Chad, stormed Baga in the north-easternmost flank of Borno State. It was an operation intended to flush out Boko Haram insurgents.

There are conflicting reports about the fatalities. Evil came to Baga town in its full regalia.

In 2011, evil visited the United Nations office in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja; that same year, it visited the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters in the same FCT – and earlier at the Mammy Market of the Sani Abacha Barracks in Abuja; it visited Suleija on Christmas day in 2011; evil visited a motor park in Kano in 2012 and again in 2013 on a scale that was so massive.

To all these, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, last week, decided

to take on this evil head on by declaring a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States.

Some have applauded; a few have criticized the declaration.

However, there is much more to the evil in Nigeria today than many – especially those in the corridors of power - would want to admit.

There is the evil of poverty ravaging the land; there is evil of misgovernance; there is evil of sycophancy; there is evil of extra-judicial killing; there is evil of inept leadership at almost all levels; there is evil of insurgency; there is evil of underdevelopment; there is evil of intolerance; there is evil of conspiracy; there is evil of deceit; and there is the grand evil of corruption. The list could go on.

If all these evils persist in the land, a question – and a reasonable one at that – that needs answering is: Who perpetrates these forms of evil?

Nigerians - The leadership and the followership.

At the end of the day, there is need for deliverance. Does that mean the land should be cleansed of the present crop of people inhabiting the area called Nigeria? No! The emergency rule in the three states would not solve all the problems of insurgency in the North East but it is a good move, though belated. It follows the same pattern of declaring emergency rule in local governments, allowing, in the process, for migratory expedition on the part of insurgents. There was carnage – another form of evil – in Nassarawa, where policemen were murdered like goats. Some policemen were also ambushed and killed in Bayelsa, President Jonathan’s home state. Kidnappers are still on rampage in parts of the South-South. In Benue, another killing field is being prepared anew.

Is it that the conspiracy to make Nigeria ungovernable coming to pass? Not really. Because, if the

insurgents in the North can fit into that theory, what about the killings in Bayelsa, Nassarawa, Benue and the rampaging kidnappers in the SouthSouth and South-East?

What is needed is a common aspiration, one that places the Nigerian nation above ethnoreligious and political considerations. That sense of common aspiration that would not make a presidential aspirant expected to be a loyal party man abandon party agreement and take cover under the constitution when the option of leaving the party is there, is what Nigeria needs. That sense of common aspiration that would not make a presidential candidate and his party incite killing of innocent Nigerians in the name of protesting an election that they couldn’t have won, is what Nigeria deserves. That common belief in a collective that greatness and full potentials can be achieved without recourse to tribal marks, tribes or tongues, is what Nigeria needs. The conviction that stealing from the public till while institutions of state are starved of funds would create a volatile and dangerous environment and, therefore, is bad for development, is what the country needs. The deployment of opposition politics for the general good of the nation and not for malicious gains of effervescent nature is what would lead to development.

These are the things that can deliver us from evil; not cheap threats to the corporate existence of Nigeria. Those who issued threats in 2011 are living witnesses to the despoliation of the North-East Zone. The rascals issuing new threats today should learn. Just as President Jonathan should disembark from his disposition of meekness and engage a more active mode – the declaration of last week may be a little late; but not too little.

PAGE 14— SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 19, 2013

THE POLITICS OF STATE OF EMERGENCY

An agitated President and a nation at war

BY BEN AGANDE, Abuja

H

e has become angry, very angry, lately. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, President and Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria, has not been sleeping pretty because of that.

Also, he has become constantly agitated. Looking mostly forlorn, Jonathan is aging fast.

Therefore, at a meeting with the top apparatchik of the security services, it was an enraged Jonathan who asked his security chiefs to explain how the country descended to the abyss that it has found itself.

According to a source at the meeting of the National Security Council, NSC, the President expressed anger at the impunity with which “charlatans” have challenged the authority of the state. “ The President told the service chiefs that the time has come for the country to stamp its seal of authority and rein in the deterioration of the country. It was a clear order and the import on the service chiefs was very *President Goodluck Jonathan manifest; and they knew that they must do something drastic, the source said.

So when the NSC met again the second day after the President cut short his visit to South Africa and returned home, the skeleton of the probable actions to be taken by the security services was already on the table. There were suggestions that in order to, at least, reduce the capacity of the insurgents operating in the North East, there was the urgent need to deploy the full weight of the nation’s security services to confront them. Sunday Vanguard source said the Chief of the Defence Staff told the President that “there must not only be a show of force but also a willingness to respond firmly and resolutely to the challenge. The argued that since there had been “the Federal Government needed to source went on: “The Defence long-standing violent conflicts consult both locally and with the Chief ’s proposal was that while the between Fulani herdsmen and local three other countries that share army would be deployed in full force farmers as in Benue, or like the case borders Nigeria in the north eastern in the three states now under of Nassarawa, which had been flank to get their support and full emergency rule viz: Borno, Yobe and embroiled in a war of attrition cooperation.”

After getting the Adamawa, airforce helicopter gunamongst its various ethnic groups for support of the countries, the ships should also be deployed to give a while, the state of emergency President then embarked on air support not only to the army on would provide security agents an engaging local political leaders ground but also to stop the insuropportunity to flush out the armed including the leadership of the gents from escaping through the bandits that have continued to hold National Assembly to inform them of porous borders with Chad, Niger and the local residents hostage. Though the impending decision of governCameroun. Since Nigeria already ethnic clashes in Nassarawa have ment.

“There was the need for the had a military cooperation with the been going on for over a year, the President to carry along all stakethree countries, it was decided that crises have been under reported in holders so that it would not be seen the governments of Chad, Niger the media and the President, who as a witch-hunt,” the source added. and Cameroun should be put on was said to have been inundated Sunday Vanguard investigations notice through appropriate diplomatwith security reports in the area, revealed that the initial plan by some ic channels in order to ensure their wanted to use the opportunity security officials was for the state of full cooperation and participation in provided by the murder of security emergency to be extended to Bauchi, the planned military operations”. agents in Lafia to rid the area Benue and Nassarawa States.

In the According to another source, the state of small arms and bring the perpecase of Nassarawa and Benue States, of emergency declaration would have trators of the heinous act to justice. In proponents of the emergency rule been announced on Monday, but

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C M Y K

In the case of Bauchi, it was argued that once the military began to squeeze the Boko Haram insurgents in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa and the international borders with the three neighbouring countries are effectively closed to them, they would naturally gravitate towards Bauchi and try to establish new frontiers there

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the case of Bauchi, it was argued that once the military began to squeeze the Boko Haram insurgents in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa and the international border with the three neighbouring countries are effectively closed to them, they would naturally gravitate towards Bauchi and try to establish new frontiers there.

But the proposal to extend the state of emergency to Nassarawa, Benue and Bauchi was later discountenanced as several factors were said to have weighed against them. From the security point of view, it was argued that for a country that has already overstretched its armed forces in carrying out internal security duties, extending the frontiers of the deployment in three more states, especially with the large number that was being envisaged, would send a wrong signal about the ability of government to maintain peace within its territory.

Secondly, since some of the states being envisaged to come under state of emergency are controlled by opposition parties, the argument at the meeting, Sunday Vanguard gathered, was that the opposition parties would read political connotation to government’s action thereby affecting the intention of government.

The combination of the larger security and political implications was largely responsible for the reduction of the declaration of state of emergency to only three states.

In order to win the support of the local political leaders and ensure Continues on page 18

SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 19, 2013, PAGE 15

Govt will not condone impunity of any sort – Abati *Says Jonathan is focused on development

By BEN AGANDE In this interview, Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Public Affairs, Dr. Reuben Abati, speaks on the administration’s successes, but, more importantly, on the security situation in the country. Excerpts:

Y

OUR assessment of the performance of the Jonathan administration which you have put at above average has not affected the scathing criticism from Nigerians. Why do you think Nigerians are very critical of this administration despite the sterling performance as you have consistently said?

This being a democracy, there will never be a time when people won’t criticize government. The positive freedom that democracy offers includes the right to complain about everything including the weather. But even this must be done responsibly.

Freedom does not mean the right to be irresponsible. Under the Jonathan administration, there has been real freedom. Nigerians have never had it so good. But what is bothersome is the tendency by some people to insist on promoting falsehood. I have read articles based completely on false premises, and even when the ignorance is pointed to the authors of such articles, they claim that this is a free countr y. Now, that is not the exercise of freedom. It is sheer irresponsibility.

Second, we have a President that is humble and accessible; focused and disciplined and a system that supports fundamental freedoms. In exercising their freedom, the people ask for more; they want more. Thus, expectations are high. There is a fast food mentality that has over-conditioned our conception of democracy. That is another reason why there is so much criticism. But democracy is not a fast-food recipe. It is a process, like putting a building together or bringing a child to life. And this government respects due process.

Our own expectation is that people will come to understand this point in due course.

The good news is that the majority of Nigerians knows and appreciates the fact that this government has been very productive in delivering on President Jonathan’s transformation agenda. They are happy with what has been done in the agricultural sector to diversify the economy, create jobs and add value through a value-chain, business oriented approach to agriculture.

Are you sure they are happy with the value chain?

In the agric sector, this government has ended the season of tractor and fertilizer scam and re-energized the private sector and state governments, to take agriculture more seriously.

Our aviation sector is different today.

The airports have been upgraded, facilities for air traffic control, which used to be a major issue in the past, have been provided. International best practices are being enforced. The C M Y K

Abati.....Suicide bombing, nihilism, was something we thought impossible in Nigeria

Jonathan administration has placed more emphasis on capital expenditure, resulting in massive investments in infrastructure.

Electricity supply has improved in many parts of the country; the power sector privatization process, abandoned by previous administrations has been revived, and there is every indication that in due course, the interest and commitment that this has generated among private sector investors will yield the desired goal of an effective, modern, and competitive electricity sector and market. At the moment, generation is

The states and local governments must also do theirs otherwise the Federal Government will continue to get blamed for roads that do not fall under its care.

Industry, trade and investment is another area where this government is doing well. Investment flows into the country keep rising every day because there is renewed confidence in this economy. The capital market has stabilized; our economic outlook is good, with the economy growing at an average of 7% per annum, and in 2013, IMF has projected that the country may record up to 7.2% growth rate. In this

When you try to transform a system and promote change, it is normal that people who used to benefit from the old, retrogressive system will protest up, distribution is up; things can only get better.

The railway sector is alive again. The trains are moving, moving goods and persons from North to South, North to East, and West to North. When you consider the fact that the railway sector practically died and became a poster case for abandonment, inertia, and mismanagement, you’d appreciate what this administration has done. At the same time, the roads are being fixed across the nation. There is a total road network of 200,000 km in Nigeria.

About 65, 000 of that is paved with bitumen; 54% of which belongs to the Federal Government. The Federal Government is working on its roads.

case, we are talking about inclusive and real growth. When last did you hear of any company relocating to neighbouring countries? That used to happen in the past, not anymore.

The ports have been sanitized. I mean, sanitized, because duplication of agencies resulting in real terms in the duplication of artificial toll gates at the ports has been checked. The gain is measurable in terms of the growing efficiency of ports operations.

Before this President assumed office, there used to be long queues at fuel stations, universities used to be shut down for months. That has changed.

The fuel queues have vanished. School sessions have become regular. This is

the case because someone has been working hard, relating well, and paying attention.

Our foreign relations is much better.

President Jonathan’s diplomacy has strengthened Nigeria’s relationship with its neighbours, the rest of Africa and the world. Our national pride and honour has been restored. I must add that under this President, the integrity of elections has been achieved. Today, Nigerian elections are always considered free and fair. This is a major legacy achievement by President Jonathan.

When you try to transform a system and promote change, it is normal that people who used to benefit from the old, retrogressive system will protest.

Those are the ones spewing scathing criticisms to use your phrase. Then you have members of the opportunistic opposition who have declared publicly that their main task is to discredit and pull down the Jonathan administration.

They should not be taken seriously because they have no useful ideas they are bringing to the table. Ignorance poses a big threat to democracy, and the most vicious brand on our shores is the thinking by opposition elements that the best way to play politics is to destroy the government of the day with any possible means. That is not politics; that is perfidy. Being in the opposition does not mean being congenitally contrarian. And that is why I find it instructive that the attempt by the leadership of the Action Congress of Nigeria to shoot down the President’s proclamation of State of Emergency in Bor no, Yobe and Adamawa states has been dismissed by many Nigerians as utterly irresponsible.

It is two years since President Jonathan assumed office and I am saying he has done very well, and he is committed to doing even more, and he enjoys the confidence of Nigerians at home and abroad. There are security challenges, yes, and that probably accounts for some of the criticisms, but the administration has demonstrated great resolve and confidence in dealing with the challenges.

The inauguration of the committee on dialogue with members of the Boko Haram sect has not in any way affected the activities of the sect. Is the President discouraged by this development?

He is not discouraged. Rather, he has taken the decision to deploy all necessary and appropriate tools in concert with local and international stakeholders, to ensure that we all overcome the evil of terrorism that is threatening our well-being as a nation.

Terrorism is a new kind of threat on our shores. Suicide bombing, nihilism, was something we thought impossible in Nigeria.

But here we are. It is also important to note that there can be no illusion of simplicity where the fight against terrorism is involved. Terrorists strike at will with deadly cruelty. Besides, in Nigeria, there are many sides to the terror, many factions within the group, and now they want to take over the country.

Government’s commitment is to get the factions to lay down their arms, government’s commitment is to enforce the rule of law and justice; government’s commitment is to beat terrorism.

The overriding consideration is the peace, security, and stability of Nigeria. While the option of dialogue and peaceful resolution is being pursued, government will also not condone impunity of any sort, or the obvious

Continues on page 16

PAGE 16— SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 19, 2013

‘Jonathan is focused on development’ attempt by terrorists to create and run an enclave within the Nigerian state.

Hence, the declaration of a state of emergency in Bor no, Yobe and Adamawa states by President Jonathan.

If anyone is in doubt, the Commander in Chief of Nigeria’s Armed Forces has made it clear: this government will not tolerate any attempt to violate the sovereignty of Nigeria. Those who are willing to dialogue and lay down their weapons can approach the National Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution on the Security Challenges in Northern Nigeria. The work of that Committee remains significant and relevant, and it is bound to be impactful.

In the South-South, the spate of attacks on oil facilities is on the increase despite the amnesty programme. This is even more worrisome because the President’s home state of Bayelsa has recorded most of these attacks. What is happening?

It is not true that there is renewed insurgency in the Niger Delta. If anything, the amnesty programme in the Niger Delta has been very successful.

Thousands of Niger Delta youths have been sent for training in South Africa, Botswana, Europe and elsewhere. Over, 1, 000 of them, ex-militants just returned from South Africa.

In Botswana, I was there when President Jonathan met with a graduating class of ex-militants. Their former leaders, selfstyled warlords have been reintegrated back into society. They are now gentlemen, not anarchists. President Jonathan’s focus is to create new role models among Nigerian youths and his administration has done a lot in that regard. The Almajiri Education Programme is one example.

YouWIN is another example. There is also the Youth in Agriculture programme.

What is happening at the moment in the Niger Delta are isolated, episodic, and opportunistic cases of criminality including crude oil theft or occasional protest. It is not an insurgency. You have on one hand, militants who failed to take part in the amnesty programme all through Phases One to Three, who have now suddenly woken up and are insisting that they must be accommodated outside the original framework. Then, you have the greedy, attention-seeking “Na my brother dey there” noisemakers who just want to be noticed. And the crude oil thieves. Now, crude oil theft is a serious matter; because it is economic sabotage and an assault on the Nigerian state.

Government is dealing with that decisively.

Some people have said that the crisis in the People’s Democratic Party is an indication of the people’s frustration with the President. How will you react to this?

Secondly, why is the President fighting the governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, as people have alleged?

There is no connection between the politics within PDP and what the people feel about President Jonathan. Every political party has its own internal dynamics. The PDP as a political party can and will resolve its own internal issues.

As a political leader and as Nigeria’s Head of State and Head of Government, President Jonathan’s focus is on service delivery, performance and progress. I am C M Y K

sure that people are able to differentiate between intra-party politics and the very business of governance. And surely, there is no political party anywhere that does not have its own internal issues to deal with. Secondly, the allegation that President Jonathan is fighting Governor Rotimi Amaechi is wrong. There is no rift between the President and the Governor.

Amaechi himself has said that much publicly.

The insistence by the president to retain Arumah Oteh, the DG of SEC has created an impasse on the passage of the 2013 budget. Is Oteh so irreplaceable that the country’s budget would be put on hold because of her?

There is no impasse as far as I know over the passage of the 2013 budget. The 2013 Budget is not on hold; it has been passed by the National Assembly and it is already being implemented. I think both the Executive and the Legislature must be commended for ensuring that the 2013 Budget was prepared and passed early.

Considering what used to happen in the past, that is indeed commendable.

I am aware that both arms of government had agreed to look into some grey areas and take care of these in a supplementary

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Continued from page 15

Dr. Reuben Abati... No impasse over 2013 budget don’t like Arunmah’s face. She has a very pretty face by the way, and a sharp brain.

Those who are gunning for her head should adjust their lenses.

The leader of one of the groups in Niger Delta, Asari Dokubo, has sensationally asserted that there would be no Nigeria if President Goodluck Jonathan is not elected in 2015. Some people have alleged that he is speaking the mind of the President, that is why he has neither been called to order nor arrested. How do you react to this?

I speak for President Goodluck

President Jonathan’s position is that corruption is inimical to national growth and development, worse still, it amounts to economic sabotage.

Through a well-articulated reform agenda, the Jonathan administration is waging war against corruption

budget that is now being considered. But nothing has been put on hold. What the Jonathan administration has introduced and has been able to achieve is to make the budgeting process open and transparent, so much that today even masons and motorcyclists pretend to be experts in budget analysis. I like the idea of people taking ownership of something as fundamental as the Appropriation Act, but we must beware of beer parlour economists taking charge.

There are big and serious issues involved. The budgeting process cannot become an instrument for vendetta. It cannot be reduced to the level of personality conflicts. That will amount to a reductio ad absurdum. Arunmah Oteh was head-hunted for the job of Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission. In 2010, her appointment was endorsed by the National Assembly on the basis of merit and the excellent credentials that she brought to the job.

She is one of the very many high-fliers in President Jonathan’s team of the best and the brightest and she has acquitted herself very well. She met a Stock Exchange that had been reduced to a penny stock market and a source of fright for local and international investors. She has rescued that market from the decline slope; she has strengthened it, and reorganized and rebuilt confidence in it. Our stock market is becoming bullish again, it is on the rebound, investors are streaming back in large numbers. That should be rewarded not opposed just because some people

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Jonathan. The last time I checked, I was still his official spokesman, not Asari Dokubo. And I can tell you that President Jonathan has not issued any formal statement with regard to the 2015 general elections, other than to state that he remains focused on the assignment that Nigerians have given him and that the time has not yet come for 2015 politics. INEC has not issued any directive on it. The political parties have not either. When the time is ripe, he will make his position known. Are you with me? I can also tell you that President Jonathan who is an exponent and champion of the one man, one vote, one woman, one vote, one youth, one vote electoral principle will never play the politics of threat and intimidation. He believes in Nigeria and the right of Nigerians to choose their own leaders. For him, politics is not a do or die affair. It is an opportunity to serve and make a contribution. He sees leadership as a privilege not a birthright. As for Asari Dokubo, I stand by my earlier comments on him. You’d have to google that, because I don’t want to waste precious saliva.

In the next few weeks, this administration would be two years.

Some Nigerians have argued that their electoral investment has not been worthwhile because of the myriads problems that have remained unsolved. They cite the increasing insecurity, unemployment and corruption as some of the areas that this government has failed. Would you say Jonathan has met the expectations of Nigerians?

I believe I had answered this question

much earlier. But you must have your reasons for bringing it up again and my well-informed, categorical and affirmative answer is yes. The only new thing perhaps is your pointed reference to unemployment and corruption and I will deal with the issues quickly. First, on the matter of insecurity, you must have seen that Nigerians are quite happy that President Jonathan is taking a very decisive step in that regard with the declaration of a State of Emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states and the signal that no form of impunity will be tolerated in any part of Nigeria.

President Jonathan is committed to solving the problem of insecurity, just as he is solving inherited problems in other sectors of the economy: agriculture, aviation, education, infrastructure development, aviation, industry and so on.

The combined effect of these efforts is to further open up the economy, deepen its absorptive capacity and create opportunities for job seekers. Once the economy continues to grow, it opens up access for skilled labour automatically.

In addition, there are specific schemes for job creation: YouWIN, the Graduate Internship Scheme under the SURE-P and the youth empowerment programme in agriculture. There is also a specific emphasis on entrepreneurship promotion from curricular review to that critical school to work intersection that is central to development dynamics.

What of allegations of corruption?

Corruption! There has been so much misinformation and blackmail on this subject. To say that the Jonathan administration is not fighting corruption is a wrong-headed expression, which I have no doubts attracts very easy donor funding and so, that attracts so many opportunists.

You just have to shout corruption as many times as possible for you to become a saint, and also smile to the bank. Don’t be fooled; some of the people claiming to be holier than thou are the most corrupt elements in this country and one day, they will get their come-uppance.

The hypocrites aside, President Jonathan’s position is that corruption is inimical to national growth and development, worse still, it amounts to economic sabotage. Through a wellarticulated reform agenda, the Jonathan administration is waging war against corruption in the power sector, in the civil service, at the ports, in the downstream sector of the Petroleum industry, and more importantly in politics through the administration’s emphatic insistence on the integrity of electoral processes, this has been empirically proven in all the elections conducted under President Jonathan’s watch.

After two years in office, President Jonathan deserves commendation. He has shown great resolve and resourcefulness and has led us all with a good heart, conscience and a result-oriented, productive strategy.

SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 19, 2013, PAGE 17

AMNEST Y AND BATTLE AGAINST TERROR

This govt is confused — CAN chief ,

BY CALEB AYANSINA

S

ince 2009, there have been bloodletting in the North on the grounds of Islamizing the country by Jama-'a Ahl al-sunnah lida'wa wa al-jiha-d, also known as Boko Haram. In this interview, the Bishop, Diocese of Kubwa, Anglican Communion, and National Treasurer of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, the Right Reverend Duke Akamisoko, speaks on the national insecurity created by the activities of the group and other pertinent issues that need to be addressed if Nigeria is to move forward.

Excerpts: Recently, there was the allegation that Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, was too close to government and, therefore, it was being run as a government entity?

Close to government? No! I am the National Treasurer of CAN, government doesn’t pay me. I don’t receive salary from it; I don’t know what is too close. If there is anything, at every particular time, we have criticized this government on various policies and programmes; so, I think it’s erroneous to say we are part of government.

What is your take on the call to impose tax on religious bodies?

Tax for what? Do we have the money? We don’t have much money that they will tax us on. What we do is we give more back to the society than what we receive. Even the national cake, the oil money that is going to government presently, we have not seen them use it judiciously. So, tax on what basis? On what grounds? I think that statement is not right. There is no need to think of taxing the Church in Nigeria.

What about the call to license preaching to curb insecurity?

In any organized society, things are regulated, and I can tell you, go outside this country, where will you see people open churches any how?

You can’t do like that in UK, not in Singapore. The authorities will ask you, what is your background? What is your training? You can't just get up and say you are a medical doctor, and you want to open a hospital, the body will ask you, are you a doctor?

The hospital you want to open, they find out what are the basic things.

Now in US or UK, for example, there are various procedures. The government will tell you the laid down rules. If you don’t have the requirements, you can't open a church. You have not been to any training theologically, you can't just wake up and open a church, and start shouting halleluiah. It is not the issue of licensing; it is the issue of being regulated, nobody should just C M Y K

I think government finds it difficult to find solution to the problem of insecurity in the country, and, possibly, it doesn’t know what to do. And when you have a problem and you don’t know how to solve it, you do trial and error

The Right Reverend Duke Akamisoko wake up and say he is a preacher.

In northern Nigeria, it was properly regulated during the colonial rule. If you had Almajiri School, they will ask what you are teaching there. What is the content of your curriculum? And that is the problem we are having today with the Almajiri. People just gather some youths, you don’t know what they are teaching them; they teach these people all manner of things; they come out and become violent. They can kill; the school where they were being taught, nobody wants to find out what type of man is teaching them, and anybody can teach anything.

The issue is that any society that things are not regulated, that society will not move forward. Even in your home, there must be some rules governing every aspect of life; there is no aspect of life that should be left; even the church, on the street, everywhere; what kind of teaching is going on there?; the person preaching, what is the background? What is the qualification? A graduate of economics says he is a preacher; no conditions, no basic tenet for it.

So, sincerely speaking, the way religious organizations are run in this country is faulty. And if we continue like this, we will not get the desired result. There must be checks and balances.

So, we have to check ourselves, and it is not the responsibility of CAN; CAN is not government, there is a department of government in most organized societies that regulates religion.

In UK or US, religious organizations are known as non-profit organizations and what happens is

,

checked. If you say, for example, that you own a church and you have 500,000 Naira, that money you must show evidence of how you use it; you are not using it for yourself; government believes you are using it for the benefit of the community. You will send your expenditure profile, how much is coming in, how you use it, they will see where you use it and people will monitor what you use 500,000 Naira for. But in Nigeria, the money they make in churches, they use it for personal things. And the most painful part of it is that our leaders always go there and know these things.

The agitation for Northern Minorities Commission, are you in support?

It is just that we have a collapsed system, and when you have a collapsed system, you have all kinds of agitations, all kinds of expressions, because the system has collapsed. The Northern Minorities Commission or anything of such is nothing that can solve our problems.

What will solve our problems is a government that is accountable to the people and the resources are used for the generality of our people.

I think that the desire for commissions comes because people feel they are neglected.

Go to the Niger Delta Ministry, despite the fact that money is being pumped there, you will not see the impact of that ministry. So, creating ministry upon ministry, we will just be moving round and round and no problem would be solved.

In America of about 300 million people, how many ministries do they have? They have 14 ministries, 300million people, double our own, and they have 52 states; they don’t have a minister per state. But in this

country, we have one minister per state, and there is another one, they say the six geo-political zones, you have one minister each. So it is not the creation of all these ministries that will solve the problems.

Taking cognizance of the removal of Christian Religion from school curriculum in some parts of the country, can we say we have religious freedom in Nigeria?

We have cried over and over about it that Christians in the North are not enjoying the freedom they should enjoy. It is true that for quite a long time, Christian Knowledge is not taught in primary and secondary schools in most northern states, and government is aware of this; they can’t claim to be ignorant. The issue of freedom to worship is just there in our constitution, but in practical terms, especially in the North, it is not there; to get land for churches is difficult in many places in the North.

To get a land for church, you have to disguise that you are not a church. If you want to build it, you are monitored, you are asked not to build, you are asked not to do this or do that; that doesn’t happen in the country that wants to allow freedom of worship.

Sincerely speaking, in the far North, there are lots of hindrances against the church and the governors know that Christians are suffering in silence.

On the issue of security, what is your view on the amnesty committee set up by government?

I think government finds it difficult to find solution to the problem of insecurity in the country, and, possibly, it doesn’t know what to do.

And when you have a problem and you don’t know how to solve it, you do trial and error. The world today is a global village, and we know how all these problems are solved in other parts of the world. There is nowhere in the world you have terrorism and you solve it by amnesty; not in America, not in Britain, not in Pakistan, not in Iraq, not in Indonesia, not in Malaysia, and we have records; go to the internet, you will see these things, how they are dealt with. When people rise against the government, rise against the people, to kill and destroy, the government takes a stand against the assailants; you don’t go about begging them; there is nowhere in the world where terrorism is solved by amnesty. I have not read it anywhere and Nigeria cannot be an exception. For example, after the 9/11 attacks in the US, when Osama Bin Laden and his al Qeada struck, the Americans did not wait for them, they went to their domain. America mobilised all the resources, went after him in Afghanistan; they did not grant amnesty.

*Interview conducted before last week’s emergency rule declaration in three states.

PAGE 18— SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 19, 2013

THE POLITICS OF STATE OF EMERGENCY

An agitated President and a nation at war Continued from page 14

their full cooperation with the security chiefs in the execution of their mandate while the state of emergency lasts, the NSC decided that the governors of the affected states as well as other elected officials should be left to continue in office as a confidence building measure and to send a message that the emergency rule was not targeted at them but at dealing with the worsening security situation in their areas. To convince the governors of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa of his sincerity, the President summoned them to the Presidential Villa to inform them of the impending decision of the Federal Government and to reassure them that it was not targeted at them. Although the governors were said to have been unhappy with the turn of events, the seriousness of the threat posed by the insurgents made them reluctantly accept their fate.

For Jonathan, his speech announcing the declaration of state of emergency was one of his strongly worded since he became President. While reiterating the resolve of the Federal Government to deal with the insurgency, he said,“We have a duty to stand firm against those who threaten the sovereign integrity of the Nigerian state. Our will is strong, because our faith lies in the indivisibility of Nigeria. “ Following recent developments in the affected states, it has become necessary for Government to take extraordinary measures to restore normalcy. After wide consultations, and in exercise of the powers conferred on me by the provisions of Section 305, sub-section 1 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended, I hereby declare a State of Emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.

“Accordingly, the Chief of Defence Staff has been directed to immediately deploy more troops to these states for more effective internal security operations. The troops and other security agencies involved in these operations have orders to take all necessary action, within the ambit of their rules of engagement, to put an end to the impunity of insurgents and terrorists.

“This will include the authority to arrest and detain suspects, the taking of possession and control of any building or structure used for terrorist purposes, the lock-down of any area of terrorist operation, the conduct of searches, and the apprehension of persons in illegal possession of weapons.

“I want to reassure you all that those who are directly or indirectly encouraging any form of rebellion against the Nigerian state, and their collaboC M Y K

*Soldiers deployed for emergency rule rators; those insurgents and terrorists Obasanjo, government declared who take delight in killing our emergency rule in Plateau State security operatives, whoever they when Christian militias attacked may be, wherever they may go, we Muslims in the predominantly will hunt them down, we will fish Christian state which led to a reprisal them out, and we will bring them to attack on Christians in the predomijustice. No matter what it takes, we nantly Muslim northern state of will win this war against terror”.

Kano, a natural flashpoint of reliThe swift deployment of the full force gious bigotry in the country. of the military capability to the Before the latest declaration of the affected states and the preponderant state of emergency, there were tellsupport the action of the President tale signs that the burgeoning has received is, perhaps, an indicasecurity challenge in Borno and Yobe tion that the time has come for the needed an extra ordinary measure security forces and, indeed, all to restore normalcy to the states.

Nigerians are agreed that the time of Since 2009 when the activities of the treating the insurgency of Boko Boko Haram attracted national and Haram and other terrorist groups international attention following the with kid gloves is gone. crackdown on the Islamist group and After weeks of anxiety and susthe eventual murder in custody of its pense, the Federal Government, on charismatic leader, Yusuf MohamTuesday, finally declared state of med, by the police, the scope and emergency in the three states where ferocity of the attacks by the group, a blistering rage of terrorist activities which publicly announced its affiliahas not only led to the wanton loss of tion with the Al-Qaeda in the Islamic lives but has also, in a most Maghreb, have been on the upprofound way, threatened the swing. Government responded with territorial integrity of Nigeria as the increased military presence in the Boko Haram insurgents and their epicenters of the attacks, prompting associates had literally taken over accusations in some circles of highsome parts of the states, burnt down handedness on the part of the public buildings and hoisted their security services. flag.

They were also said to have estabBut what appeared to have set the lished a quasi-authority in their areas ground for the latest action of govof operation by taxing the locals there ernment was the bloody attack by to prosecute their brutal war against members of the sect on government the Nigerian state. buildings, security services and their The declaration of a state of emerbarracks which led to huge casualty gency in the three states was not the on the part of the attackers, security first time government would wield agents and civilians. In April, a fierce the big stick to rein in security attack by Boko Haram, in Bama, in challenge in the country. During the Borno State, led to the death of over tenure of former President Olusegun one hundred and eighty five people

and the destruction of a large swathe of the houses in the fishing settlement. Though the security services and the sect continued to trade blames on who was responsible for the attack and arson that followed, the large civilian casualty and large scale destruction that ensued sparked national and international outrage leading to the call by the government of the United States of America to call for an independent investigation into the incident. President Goodluck Jonathan ordered an immediate investigation into the incident and also gave his nod to the planned independent investigation by the National Human Rights Commission to get to the root of the attack.

While the outrage that greeted the Baga attack was yet to abate, the Boko Haram, in a daring raid, attacked the symbols of government authority in Bama, another town in Borno. In this attack, said to have been carried out by over 200 armed members, military barracks, police stations, prison facilities, government buildings and offices were targeted in a coordinated assault that led to the death of more than 55 people.

The gunmen were said to have killed 22 police officers, 14 prison officials, two soldiers and four civilians, while 13 of the sect’s members died in the clash with the Joint Military Task Force members.

The suspected terrorists were also said to have freed 105 prison inmates during the attack which lasted several hours. Since the beginning of the bloody insurgency in the North, it was the first time that members of the security services, especially the police, would die in such a large number in one fell swoop. The leadership of the security services was outraged by the audacity of the insurgents and needed to reassure the nation that it still had the capacity to carry out its constitutional responsibility of protecting lives and property.

What was to follow in the orgy of attacks on members of the security services was beyond the widest imagination of even those who are most pessimistic on the capacity of criminals to carry out crimes. In Nassarawa State, a group of miscreants, alleged to be members of a cult, laid an ambush for a combined team of the police, the State Security Service and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps that was on a mission to arrest a suspect in the attack on some places in the state, allegedly dispossessed them of their guns and massacred about 80 security officials. It was one action that even, at the height of Nigeria’s civil war, never happened.

The national outrage that greeted the despicable act of the hoodlums found expression in the action of the president that followed. Jonathan, who was on a state visit to South Africa and was billed to proceed to Namibia for another visit, had to cut short the trip and rushed back home to personally supervise the reaction of the nation’s outraged security services to the brazen challenge to the authority of the Nigerian government.

SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 19, 2013, PAGE 19

* War cannot be won on battlefield alone

BY DELE AGEKAMEH

T

he declaration of a state of emergency by the President in the three states of Yobe, Borno and Adamawa is a welcome development. Although, in actual fact, it is overdue, but it is never too late. Considering the number of people who have died in the hands of the Boko Haram insurgents, nothing is too much to bring peace to these affected states, and for that matter, the whole country.

Many Nigerians have spoken across ethnic, tribal and political divides in support of the move, but there have been some dissenting voices here and there too. But if you weigh the advantages and disadvantages of this declaration, you will discover that if the intention of the President is to bring peace to the troubled states, there is peace in sight. We must be cautious though, that this peace may not come sooner because of the enormity of the destruction that has been wreaked on the affected states and, by implication, on the whole of the northern region .

The insurgents seem to have dug in everywhere now: 1) because they know the terrain; 2) because some of the indigenes appear not to be cooperative with security agents and the Federal Government. And, again, I sincerely believe that some of the politicians in these affected states are, rightly or wrongly, benefitting from the crisis. So, in essence, even though President Goodluck Jonathan will not personally go and direct the military operations, indigenes and all the stakeholders should cooperate by volunteering information to the security agents as well as ostracizing the bad elements in their midst. For the military, as the President rightly directed in his short broadcast, they C M Y K

Beyond emergency rule in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa must adhere strictly to the rules of engagement. But then, you cannot rule out some few excesses which are the consequences of war. The military should avoid the type of hullabaloo that attended the Baga attacks which have continued to generate controversy worldwide.

The international community should also understand the peculiarity of the Nigerian environment and those factors that have encouraged this wholesale act of brigandage all over the place. What I expect now is that tested, capable and neutral commanders should be appointed to take care of the operations in the different states or sectors while a synergy should be created for them to work hand-in hand. Mind you, with my experience as media adviser to Gen.Adetunji Olurin during the emergency period in Ekiti State between 2006 and 2007, you could see that even though the political apparatus was wiped away, whether legally or illegally now is another matter entirely, the politicians were still engaged in clandestine moves, intrigues and blackmail to rubbish the efforts of the government to restore peace. But thank God, by the time Olurin was departing, substan-

tial peace had been restored in the state and that became the foundation for the prevailing peace in Ekiti today.

In the case of Yobe, Adamawa and Borno, the scenario is a bit different.

This is because this insurgency has many dimensions to it – political, religious, greed and selfishness.

Whatever the case is, it has been allowed to fester for quite a long time and so, the whole place is in a mess.

What is therefore required is like the saying that “a serious problem requires a drastic solution.” The politicians will have to decide whether they still want a state they could call their own. But, definitely, Nigerians want a country – a united, peaceful and prosperous country they can always be proud of.

For the religious bigots, there is nowhere in the Holy Quran or Holy Bible where it is stated that people must kill in order to make heaven, as the insurgents who have been brainwashed by their leaders are wont people to believe. In any case, what will drive a 20-year old boy to go and blow himself up with the utopian promise that, by doing so, he would make heaven? It is baseless, senseless, if not outright madness.

That is first degree hypnotism.

For the military as well, they must conduct their operations with the normal peace-keeping guidelines.

This is short of saying that they should conduct their operations with human face; the objective is to preserve the unity, peace and sanctity of this country, and not engage in any form of ethnic cleansing.

Again, let us bear it in mind, some of the gullible people who are being led by the nose by the Boko Haram insurgents were made to believe they could provide a better alternative to the government that seems to have ‘neglected’ them. That is why they easily get converts for their satanic doctrines, who believe that they, Boko Haram, can make a difference.

So, simultaneously, as the military operations are going on, military engineers, educationists and others should be deployed side by side to rebuild such infrastructure as schools, hospitals, worship places and others that may have been destroyed during the period of madness. By doing this and others, which corporate organizations refer to as corporate social responsibility and I think there is a military operational terminology for this; the confidence of the people will be rebuilt, both in the military as a protective force and in government as a caring partner.

In areas where social amenities are grossly inadequate, such as, hospitals, potable water and others, efforts should be made to put them in place as quickly as possible to ameliorate and rekindle the confidence of the people that we all belong to one united, progressive country. This war is not a war to be won on the battlefield alone, we must also make concerted efforts to win the hearts and minds of the populace.

* Agekameh is National Media Director of the National Think Tank.

PAGE 20— SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 19, 2013

Email: woman.vista@yahoo.co.uk

(07036819426)

Re: Escalating sleeping disorders S

OME of our readers were shocked to read that inability to sleep soundly on a regular basis could be considered a health disorder, and that the condition could bring on some debilitating health problems.

A few had actually thought that the body would get used to little sleep in the long run and so, there isn’t any need to worry about the condition.

After reading the views of the expert, they now realize that it is something that should be checked before it develops into something unpleasant.

One or two readers think it’s all a false alarm on the part of health experts.

Some shared how they have improved their ability to have a sound sleep; hoping it would help others sleep soundly without resorting to using drugs to induce sleep.

‘Was the professor in your write-up really serious when she said at the seminar that a lack of proper sleep could lead to diabetes, memory deficit, reduced lifespan, etc.?

Sorry, madam, I don’t believe a word of that.

How come elderly people in the village live a long active life on very little sleep? My dad said that his father who died at 97 used to go to bed quite late, and then wake up at around 4 am to go to the farm. He said that at 80, he was still climbing palm trees to tap palm wine. I think it’s modern day living, with all the worries, lifestyle of sweet things, no exercise and the drugs we imbibe that bring on those health conditions mentioned. A sound sleep is desirable, but don’t get people so worried about not having it that they begin to have symptoms of those ailments. - Ifeanyi, Imo State.

‘Ma, I’m surprised to read that there’s a U.N day for Sleep. Is this necessary? However, people of this generation are responsible for their own lack of sound sleep.

If they adjust their lifestyle to include time for safe leisure like going for walks, reading, listening to sane music, instead of pursuing money at breakneck speed at the risk of their health, comparing themselves and families C M Y K

with other people, they would have the peace of mind to have a good night’s rest. I agree that the government could put many things in place to reduce stress in living in this country, but when people are not at peace with themselves, they can’t sleep soundly, and their health suffers.

Period.

Tola, Isolo, Lagos.’

‘Madam, you didn’t mention in your write-up how religious zealots, who go round with a loud speaker preaching at dawn, contribute to their fellow Nigerians’ sleep disorder. There should be a law against these early morning

preachers who interrupt our sleep. If you’ve had a hard time getting to sleep at night due to one reason or the other, as you finally settle down in the coolness of dawn to have at least one or two hours sound sleep before you wake up, suddenly you’re woken up by a loud call to repent from your sins so that you don’t miss heaven! It’s usually impossible to return to sleep when the preacher moves on.

Sometimes, some would position themselves outside your gate, enumerating the sins you might be

View-Point

Helen Ovbiagele

If you find it difficult to sleep on a regular basis, try eating bread or, any carbohydrate without anything else, last thing at night

Woman Editor

committing. Who wants to hear that at dawn? Ma, don’t get me wrong. I’m a worker in my church, and we do go evangelizing to win/save souls, but church leaders are firmly against going to disturb people’s sleep at dawn. Deacon Paul, Ikeja, Lagos.’

‘Aunty Helen, good day. With regards to ‘Escalating Sleeping Disorders …........., naturally, a man/woman should work for 8 hours, relax for 8 hours, and sleep for 8 hours on a daily basis, but most Nigerians don’t adhere to this law of nature.

They wrongly believe that the more hours they spend in the office/pub, the more money and buddies they would acquire.

There was this story of a

lawmaker who, having spent much time in entertainment joints earlier on, fell asleep while his colleagues were debating national issues. He was alleged to have suddenly woken up and shouted, ‘I support the microphone!’

Nigerians should learn to do the right thing at the right time. Celeste, mnse. Frc.’’ ‘Sister Helen, how won’t many Nigerians develop sleeping disorders when they engage in annoying noisy activities like street parties, loud disco music from the numerous guests houses which are found on almost every street in big cities; and then the insanely loud

music from your neighbour’s music system? Wherever you are, you find things that drive sound sleep away from the average Nigerian. It’s time to consider legislating against disturbingly loud noise which can ruin your peace. In most western countries, it is an offence to indulge in unruly parties and loud music in the neighbourhood. Residents don’t hesitate to call in the Police to check offenders. You’re not allow to play your music above room level as you have the option of installing soundproof doors and windows. This is something leaders here should think seriously about. Sleeping disorder is dangerous when it persists. - Ahmed, Ikoyi, Lagos’ ‘If what the health expert says on sleeping disorder is correct, we all should do something individually to combat it. Stress plays a big role in robing us of a sound sleep.

Many of the things we chase and worry about will not bring us much good in the long run, if we develop debilitating ailments as a result of the chase. Why can’t the welfare department of local government areas organize talks on various aspects of health for the residents in their areas? This way, the grassroots can be reached effectively. Also, talks can be organized for civil servants, private workers, etc. once a month during breaks. Such talks will go a long way in improving the health of Nigerians. - Comfort, Owerri.’

‘If you find it difficult to sleep on a regular basis, try eating bread or, any carbohydrate without anything else, last thing at night. I saw this advice in a magazine, and have been eating dry bread last thing at night for many years now. It works.

Make sure you don’t use butter, eggs or anything else. - Rosie, Lagos.’

‘Going for walks after supper, not only helps you digest your food, the gentle exercise soothes the body and brings on deep sleep. This may sound simplistic, but it works.

Avoid heavy music, games, or anything that will stimulate you, at least thirty minutes before you go to bed. Fruits, and foods like rice, vegetables, etc. may not digest easily, so, avoid having them late at night. Heavy foods may knock you out in the evening, but they may bring on indigestion which would keep you awake on a regular basis, and before you know it, you will begin to struggle to sleep each night. There are tapes with special music that induces sleep. - A Primary Health Worker.’

We thank all those who sent in their views, but regret that we can only publish these few.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 19, 2013, PAGE 21

Email: woman.vista@yahoo.co.uk

(07036819426)

B

ARR.(Mrs.)Olayinka Oladunjoye, the Honourable Commissioner for Education in Lagos State, is the visionary behind the mind-blowing reforms on-going across the state’s education sector. In this exclusive chat with Vista Woman, she talks about her ministry’s strides since 2011, and also its plans for the future. Excerpts:

BY JOSEPHINE IGBINOVIA

What were these challenges?

The result of WAEC was a major challenge. In the past three to four years, we’ve been having steady progress, though not the very best. From 2007 to 2009 for instance, we were between 8-9 percent up. In 2010 also, we were between 16-17 percent up, but in 2011, we had a sharp nosedive down to about 9%, and this got us really worried. We put heads together, and then embarked on several reforms, as well as a long-term strategy for better performance. This involves instilling firm examination culture in the pupils, very early. To the glory of God, our 2012 WAEC result sky-rocketed to 19%; including credits Mathematics and English! Like I said about catching them young, to be admitted into Lagos state junior secondary schools, every child must sit for a firm examination. This is because once the foundation is solid, WAEC results would continue to get better. Apart from the fact that they have to score at least 50% in English, Mathematics and in their continuous assessments cumulatively before they can be eligible to go into JSS1, this eliminates the culture of parents putting their children in JSS1 from primary four because a child must be in primary six to be able to have the complete continuous assessment. This also applies to pupils coming into our state secondary schools from private primary schools and we’re strict on it; every child coming to Lagos state schools must meet the stipulated criteria.

Another benefit of this to us is that we are able to plan because we are sure of the number of children coming into JSS1, and we have an idea of how many will be in SS1, SS2 and SS3 so we could plan for infrastructure, teachers, furniture, etc. Another policy introduced is that students C M Y K

must ‘come to school’ and ‘stay in school’ 90% to be eligible for promotion. I’ve involved parents and stakeholders in this, by organizing a stakeholders’ meeting in our various educational districts, and I’ve emphasized the importance of their coming to school to see their children’s work. Parents have a role to play in inculcating morals and values in their children, and I’ve made it known to them that if they do not fulfill 50% visitation to their child’s school, the child will not be promoted. These are part of the things we’ve introduced as reforms. Also, if you’re a student and you’re seriously undisciplined, you’re leaving the system. Another thing we’ve introduced is Competency Framework for •Barr. Olayinka e n s u r i n g competence in teachers so that they can develop into core professionals.

We’re working on this in collaboration with the Education Sector Support Program in Nigeria-ESSPIN of the Department for International Developmentwhere to send their child to.

Mind you, our own schools, DFID. The number of poor standard including the model colleges, schools across the state is on are also involved in this the increase; what are you grading exercise.

But how successful can this doing to check this?

Well, you’ve just pre-empted exercise be when we have me because even this morning, thousands of unregistered we are assessing three hundred schools as pilot schools. Because we want to meet our MDG goal- education for all, we cannot just close schools arbitrarily. What we want is for these schools to at least be able to meet up with the minimum standard.

Presently, we’re grading and categorizing all schools in Lagos state in collaboration with ESSPIN, and at the end schools scattered all over the of the process, those ones that state? fall below the minimum That’s the beginning of the standard will be closed. We’ll exercise. Right now, we’ve have grade A, B, C, and D called on all schools in the state schools, and we’ll let the world to come into our data-base. We know the actual grade of each gave them the end of April 2013 school. Grade D which is at the as the deadline for registration, lowest rung of the ladder and all schools not found in our should have the basic standard, data-base after this exercise are infrastructure, teachers, etc. It ‘deemed’ to be closed. We now left to the parents to decide

OLAYINKA OLADUNJOYE:

Revamping education in Lagos State

,

H

ow has it been since you assumed office?

Interesting! I came into office in July 2011, and till date, we’ve been doing our best and have been able to surmount most, if not all, of the challenges.

however might consider reasons why they could not meet up with the deadline. We want to know how many schools we have in the state and this data-base is what we need. After the grading exercise, Grade D schools can aspire to go to C or B, C can

In the past three to four years, we’ve been having steady progress, though not the very best.

From 2007 to 2009 for instance, we were between 8-9 percent up

,

aspire to go to B, and B can aspire to develop to A by letting us know when they upgrade their facilities. Like I said, those schools that cannot meet the barest minimum standard will have to be shut down.

What are these minimum standards?

We’re still fine-tuning them; they ’re not for public

consumption yet. However, before the end of the year, that is, by the new school year, we would have put things in place.

But don’t you think some officials might, for one reason or the other, grade schools wrongly?

No, there’s credibility. Like I told you, we’re doing this with international agencies and I’m sure it will be difficult for them to compromise. I also want to humbly remark that in this ministry, to a large extent, we have our integrity and we do not compromise standards. I won’t even allow such to happen. What I’m even thinking about is how we could help schools that do not meet the barest standard access loans from banks; if infrastructure is their challenge. We need as many schools as we can, with basic infrastructural facilities, so that every child will be in school since we’re campaigning that we do not want any child to be out of school. That’s why we are encouraging private schools.

To be continued next week….

PAGE 22 — SUNDAY VANGUARD , MAY 19, 2013

He wants his money and gifts back!

Dear Rebecca

I

am a girl of 20, an undergraduate. I met a bachelor two years ago who clocked 40 this year. He really loves me and he is ready to do anything for me. He is trader and he has not allowed me to lack anything since I met him, spending lavishly on me.

The problem at hand now is that, he insists on marrying me but I don’t love him and I can’t marry him. I only like him. I have been advised not marry him because of the age difference. I have tried to really love him but I find it difficult. Please I want advice on how to peacefully get him out of my life without any trouble or problem and I don’t want to break his heart while doing this. He has told me that if I don’t marry him, I must refund all he’s spent on me or, he’ll kill me.

Ify, Abuja REPL Y REPLY

W

e always warn girls on this page not to ask men for money or presents, and not to allow any man to spend lavishly on them, whether these men are proposing marriage or not. Girls should learn to live within their means and what their parents or guardians can provide

for them. Take your eyes off expensive living until you are able to provide such a life for yourself.

There’s pride, self-respect and peace in not allowing a man to provide for your needs. Limit what you accept from a boyfriend to simple things you can easily afford to give him too for his birthday. e.g books, tie, perfume,etc.

Also, girls should not accept to marry a man just for fun, his money, or ‘in order not to break his heart’ when you don’t love him and certainly can’t marry him.

Now, yours is a dangerous case because the man has sensed you no longer want to marry him and he’s asking you to refund all he’s spent on you or face death. This may or may not be an idle threat.

The best way out of the mess is for you to refund his money. If you can’t do this all at once, do so in installments. First of all, go and have discussions with hie friends and relatives that he respects and tell them that you had made a mistake in allowing him to assume that you would be his wife.

Say you are sorry and that they should help you plead with him to forgive you. Add that you would like to pay back all he’s spent on you. He may increase the sum of the money he actually spent on you; don’t argue but say truthfully how and

Friend snatched my girl Dear Rebecca

I

have never for once missed your column each tine I read the Sunday Vanguard. I must confess, you are an inspiration, please keep up the good work.

I have a problem. It’s about a friend of mine who snatched my girlffriend. Should I abandon both of them?

Rebecca, I don’t know what to do. Does she belong to me or to him?

Please I want you to advise me on what to do.

Danladi, Sokoto Borno State.

REPL Y REPLY

T

he girl belongs to none of you. You did not give vital

details about the three of you eg, ages, what you do, your feelings for the girl and why your friend decided to have a relationship with her when he’s aware that she is your girlfriend. Also, you didn’t say what the girl’s stand is on the issue and how she feels about you.

Your long mail was full of jazzy nicknames and a list of the names of the people who had tried to solve the problem, and who you want mentioned in our response.

Dear Rebecca is a serious column which is out to help people who write in with a serious purpose.

It is not a ‘shoutout’ page for sending out greetings to friends and relatives. Your long mail was well-written, though.

when you intend to pay back using bank drafts.

Carry out your promise and keep evidence of the payments. Don’t begin to flaunt a new boyfriend all over the places as this would make him angry and he may get violent. Once you make this decision through the others, keep away from him, even if he sends for you. Keep a low profile and face your studies. If he’s a church goer, you can appeal to him through his pastor. Your parents or guardians should be aware of all your actions.

Molested as a child, I now hate sex!

Dear Rebecca

I

am 22 and I’ve.just rounded up my OND programme. I don’t even know how to start but I will try to begin somewhere.

I find it hard to fall in love with a man no matter how hard I try, it doesn’t work out. Still, I wasn’t like this before now. I dated a guy back in my Secondary school. days. Things were fine, but having sex with him became an issue cause I easily get irritated about sex. This is because I was molested when a child and this made me exposed to sex at a very tender age of 10. Because of this, I hate having sex and if I have to, I’ll have to get drunk before having it. I’ve tried everything humanly possible for me to act like every other normal girl, but the more I tried, the more I hate sex. To cut a long story short, that my boyfriend ended up sleeping with my best friend, and now they have a baby. This broke my heart and led me to lesbianism for a short while. By God’s grace and intervention, I’m now out of all that.

My main problem now is that I find it hard to trust a man, let alone going into a relationship. My longest relationship ended within a month and that was a long distance relationship. My friends have tried helping me in their own little way but it’s not working. I am always a loner, and it’s me, my TV and my novels. I wish to get married someday, have my own children and fantasize about having a happy ending. But I cant fall in

love. I cant have a real relationship. I have been labeled a cold person, selfish, a heartless bitch, etc. I even find it hard to get aroused sexually, not to talk of reaching orgasm. I don’t know what is happening to me.

Please, if you can help me, I would be grateful.

REPL Y REPLY

I

’M sorry to hear about how you were taken advantage of, as a child. How sad!

An expert says it can be a harrowing experience for a child to be forced to have sex, but wondered why at the age of ten you allowed it to happen.

This is because a child of ten is almost an adult in terms of exposure these days, and old enough for secondary school. She would know what sex is about, and is perhaps curious about it. Unless she has done something wrong which she wouldn’t like reported to her parents, she wouldn’t allow sex. If she does, then she’s a willing partner in the act; maybe out of curiosity, or, a true desire to have it. You didn’t report a case of rape in your mail, or of close family members or friends being involved.

This means the molestation must have happened outside the home. You didn’t say you confided in your parents or siblings. Could it be you found yourself in the wrong place and got initiated into having sex, and you had to keep it a secret from your pare n t s ? You may have hated sex at a point, but you didn’t distance yourself from what could lead to it. While in secondary school you had a boyfriend. You said you

had issues with having sex then, and he went and had sex with your best friend. This broke your heart, and you then tried same sex.relationship for a while, and then tried to use alcohol to make you bear having sex. This means that sex is a big thing in your life; hence you’re talking of no longer being aroused sexually or reaching org a s m . You’re far too young for this sort of frustration. Could it be that to you, sex means being loved and needed? Is it only when you’re having sex that you feel important and cared for? Was there a shortage of love at home and you had to go find it outside? Was this why you couldn’t confide in your mother? We’re not apportioning blame here, but an analysis of your situation is relevant for your moving forward. If it’s permanent love that you’re looking for through sex, and boyfriends, you’ve realized now that it isn’t possible.

As long as you’re dealing with human beings, the love you get love from them, (except perhaps your parents and a few relations), is subjective, and only available when you’re obedient and they are pleased with you.

Also, sex will not make someone yours forever, or even make the person faithful to you. Your partner may become dissatisfied with your performance in bed, or may long for a ‘fresh’ sex partner, so that he can feel excited. You’re then cast aside like an old football. When we have sex in a way not approved by God (fornica-

tion when not married, and adultery when married and having sex with someone who is not your spouse), terrible things happen; either physically (diseases) or emotionally (betrayal and rejection). God wants us to have sex only in committed relationship like proper marriage; not a promise of marriage.

I’m sure you’re not a cold heartless person just because you’re scared of having sex, or trusting a man in a romantic relationship. What’s happening is that even though you crave a relationship with men, sex is no longer fulfilling/exciting as it used to be all those years when you were just starting out.

God is trying to re-direct your attention to the right way.

Now is the time to call a halt to all sexual activities. Nobody dies from not having sex or a boyfriend. You’re only 22.

Go to God in prayer to heal you in mind, body and spirit. Promise him that, since He says that the human body is the temple of God, you would preserve your body from henceforth, and the next time you will have sex will be on your wedding night and with the man He has chosen as a husband for you.

Put all those sexual misadventures behind you, and put yourself under the authority of God. Your priority right now is to have as much education as you’re able to, pass with good grades, and stand a chance of landing good jobs. Sex and boyfriends are not qualifications for a bright career.

Good luck.

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

SUNDAY Vanguard, MAY 19, 2013, PAGE 23

Virtually caught with his pants down!

M

OST young couples these days have sex as if they invented it.

Makes you wonder what the stuff you have indulged in over the years should be called ‘A Beginner’s Guide To Sex?!’

To today’s avid rabbits, sex is what you have when and where you feel like it. If one or two people happen to be watching with disapproval when they do their stuff, tough! They’re just jealous as far as these sexexperts are concerned.

What brought this on was an incident that happened at an outing recently. It ws at one of these high-brow shows with jaw-dropping gate fees. I wasn’t there, but the main ‘actor’ was. “I went with this love of my life,” he said, bragging. “‘We’d both met at a friend’s house. Folu, my girl, had popped in to discuss my friend’s finances with him and I was immediately smitten.

She was tall and elegantly turned out, smiling at both of us most of the time, her mesmerising eyes boring into mine from time to time. There and then, I had this irrational urge to kiss her. As soon as my friend rose to visit the bathroom, I

grabbed her hand. ‘Give me your business card,’ I begged, ‘I have to see you.

“She complied and left shortly after. I was hardly out of my friend’s house before I was on to her mobile. It was an irrational behaviour - a 41year old divorced father of two carrying-on like a teenager with a crush.

She agreed for me to drop by at her place and I did. The lust sizzling between us was a bit frightening. I asked, her out for a drink and she agreed after I’d worn down her resolve. I took her straight to my apartment and she didn’t protest much as I started falling all over her whilst she was still having a drink. Within minutes, we were frigging at each other, making love on my impressive leather sofa, then in the bedroom.

The experience was mind-blowing. I’d never been this brazen with a woman before. Folu, also a single mother of two confessed she behaved out of character. We were both in lust!

“A few weeks later, the sex was so good we were inseparable. When her car broke down, I offered her my most expensive car to use as

long as it was necessary until she got her car fixed. I was to travel abroad on business for a few weeks anyway and she came with me to the airport. For the days I was away, we had hours of phone-foreplay in long-distance calls. As I arrived Murtala Muhanmled Airport, I saw her anxious face broke into a saucy smile when I finished with customs. In the car, I pressed her close to me7 my groin almost bursting with lust! We barely made it through my front door before my hands were sliding up her dress and her sexy undies. We made furious love right there in the living room, her buttocks squashed

against the wall. “‘We then took things to the bedroom and continued in the shower! Over the weeks, our mad sexy lust became a romance, we made love anywhere and everywhere we could - in the kitchen and even in the car until I nearly had cramp. We were now spending all our spare time together, splitting it between my place and hers. After almost nine months, our libidos were still in overdrive. When she was offered tickets to the show by her bank, I jumped at the chance to go with her - not that I like that kind of thing, but because she would be there and we might strengthen our

bond!

“The show was a bit boring and I was dying for a fag. Folu was looking exceptionally sexy but I could hardly drag her out with me. After I’d had my fag, I went to use the loo. There were a couple of portable ones and I discovered the attenders had scampered, maybe to watch the show!

Excitement mounting, I went back in, told Folu what Ijust discovered. I told her I was going back to the loo, she was to join me a few minutes later. The cubicle was rather tiny but when I heard Folu’s surreptitious knock I quickly pushed her inside. She was wearing a mini black dress, making our lovemaking easy, fast and furious.

We were crammed against each other with the tiny sink poking into my back but the experience was explosive and amazing. “‘We must have been making too much noise as there were impatient knocks on the door.

“What is going on there?” A voice yelled. It must be one of the attendants now back from his jaunt. We were right in the middle of things and before we could do anything, the silly man

had opened the door. A queue of faces stared: at us. Folu frantically readjusted her dress, her knickers in her bag, whilst I stood in full view, my privates on parade!

“Luckily, the queue consisted mainly of young people and they applauded and cheered.

They followed us as we went in, but I quickly dragged Folu towards another exit and left for home. Folu was a bit worried the storyy might get back to her superiors at work. A few of her colleagues were at the show but none was on the toilet queue. Thank goodness nothing like that happened. As we reviewed our sexploits, we both agreed the sex was fantastic as it was al fresco, with a tinge of danger! “‘As for me, I couldn’t be happier, I have a fantastic sex life. A lover who gets my engine nmning again, and again and again - at the touch of a button. It’ll take more than a bit of exposure to make our passion fizzle out! And to think we found passion after we’d both experienced a bad marriage!

Never give up on lust is what I say!!”

ting down with both legs outstretched in front of you.

Now bend the left knee and bring the right foot across the left thigh. Bring the left hand to clutch the left knee.

The right hand must be

placed across the back.

Now twist the upper body as you look over the right shoulder. Keep your head up. Do this for some 15 seconds and change legs to twist the other way.

08052201867(Text Only)

Long lasting use of legs

T

HE other day, a lady student of mine in the presence of her sister asked me how come some people who look so trim from working out in the gymnasium don’t seem to be able to sit in the lotus posture or any posture that requires a bending of the knees?

The other sister cut in with the statement that though people might look great from the outside, they may not be necessarily fit in an all-round sense.

Well, my answer to the question was that most people think that it’s of most importance to workout the musculature to the neglect of the joints. That’s a pretty sad mistake, seeing that when old age begins to set in, it’s the joints that give the most trouble. Little wonder most aging people require a third leg in the shape of walking stick.

I’m not against the use of walking stick,s it’s just that

people allow themselves to need them too early after middle life.

The ankles, the knees and the hips seem to be the first to go. Most elderly people have trouble with one or more of these areas.

If grandpa and granny have locomotion problems, how do we ensure we do not go the same way at their age?

The sensible thing I think is to start to take care of the legs long before old age overtakes us.

This care should mean eating right and exercising right. Exercising right in this sense means ensuring the workout we engage in should include ankle bends, knee bends and the spinal twist which affects the entire waist. For some, the ability to do such exercises will come easy, while some of us might have to work a little harder. Whatever the case, it will be reassuring to know you have

attained the situation where your joints do not creak from the slightest demands.

As youngsters, we allow our bodies to get into all kinds of postures when at play. But when we soon grow up and are supposed to pick up all kinds of things which never seem to serve us right. Taking ourselves too seriously, we do not ‘play’ enough and gradually we acquire a grown up’s body. And what kind of a body is that but one that is less responsive and almost a dead weight.

The body is wonderfully made. We can only help ourselves by making changes in ourselves our habits and beyond! We regain a fitter body.

Here are some yoga exercises to help you regain suppleness in the joints.

Vajrasana or the deep knee bend is done by simply getting down on your

heels with the foot lying down with soles up and toes pointing backwards. Arrange the hands neatly on the thighs. Good to practice while watching TV or something. Remember, this is one exercise you can o even after a heavy meal. Sit in the posture for as long as possible.

The Supta-Vairasana or the fish is done same as the previous one. The difference being that with this one, you fall on your back, arch your neck and put the dome of the head on the floor with the hands arranged as if in prayer on the chest. In this posture, the stretch on the joints is a lot more intense.

The Horizontal Thigh Squat is performed by standing straight with the feet about a foot apart and lowering the upper body till the knees are fully bent and you’re on the balls of your feet. Stretch the hands in front. Do that twice or thrice and for the duration of a minute each time.

Matsyendrasana or the spinal twist is done by sit-

* The Spinal Twist

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

PAGE 24 —SUNDAY Vanguard, MAY 19, 2013

bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk

08056180152,

SMS only

Why affairs are not the solutions you think they’d be

M

OST times, lying with my husband watching him sleep on his back, beer belly rising and falling with each snore, he doesn’t look appetizing in the least especially with his treble chin and bald head. I am starting to find him repulsive ... “ Melisa looked so forlorn as she told me about the state of her marriage that I had to laugh. She wasn’t amused. I reminded her they’d just been married 12 years and it was a bit early for her to start being resentful, especially when she has two adorable kids and a well heeled husband who gave her and the children virtually everything they wanted.

“But what about meaningful sex? Seun was fit and energetic when we got married with a body to die for. Now he’s flabby and unattractive.

His weight had more than doubled; the only thing that hasn’t changed is his personality. He’s still kind and loving with a good sense of humour. Trouble is, I just don’t fancy him any more. I want rippling muscles - not rippling fat!”

I warned her to be extremely careful. After escaping the seven yearitch, maybe, 12 years is when her marriage should have started showing signs of being in a rut - she should strive for both of them to get out of it. “I don’t know about Seun”, she said simply, “but I’m trying my best to do just that. As a matter of fact, I’ve just met someone at work. He is a technician we briefly used. Though

Y

he is single, he knows he’s nothing but a bit-onthe-side. And he’s so sexy. Instead of the usual boxers, he wears clinging lycra cycling shorts which makes him look deeply sexy. It is easy to get away to meet him as Seun works really late now he’s been promoted to management level.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Seun, but sex with Ephraim is like an icing on a cake.” I told her she was treading on dangerous grounds but she just laughed in my face.

Months later, she came running back to me, “it is Seun” she said, a bit frightened, “it is as if he suspects I’m having an affair. Last night, he came outright to ask why we never seem to make love any more. That I couldn’t get away quickly enough whenever he touched me. I told him not to be silly, that I love him, which I do, but I was always a bit tired. ‘Is it because I’ve put on a lot of weight,’ he asked me, ‘don’t worry about that. My new post means I could join any club I want and I have joined one with an impressive gym. You could come along too if you like, so we could get healthy together. ‘ “I assured him I would help him lose weight. But there’s another weight I have to lose-and that’s Ephraim. He is cute, but Seun is the man I love.

I’m seeing him tonight.

He’s had enough fun and it is time to let go ... “.

Well, it wasn’t as easy as she thought. When we met some days later, she told me “That Ephraim is a lunatic. As soon as we settled down to our favourite meal at the res-

OUR column to express your loving thoughts in words to your sweetheart. Don’t be shy. Let it flow and let him or her know how dearly you feel.

Write now in not more than 75 words to: The Editor, Sunday Vanguard, P.M.B. 1007, Apapa, Lagos. E.mail: sunlovenotes@yahoo.com Please mark your envelope: “LOVE NOTES"

Forever

This is us, Never alone,

woman is having an affair, she’s sending the signal her marriage is not happy and what gullible lover wouldn’t think he might just be better than her husband enough to take her away from him!

taurant where we usually went first before sex, I told him I wanted to call it a day, that my husband could be dangerous now he was suspicious. I thought he’d be fine - after all we both knew all we could have was fun nostrings sex. But his face changed. ‘You can’t just dump me like that’, he fumed. ‘I really love you’ •. ‘I was shocked, ‘look’, I told him gently, ‘you’re a lovely man, but I want to concentrate on my marriage’. I was really put off by his sudden declaration of love. Our arrangement had nothing to do with that. He glared angrily at me, ‘Oh really?’ he spat.

‘You should have thought of that before.’ With that he stormed out of the door. I felt sick and shaken. But at least it was done and over with Thank goodness I hadn’t given him my mobile number.

So, I kept that turned off when I was at home. Better to be safe than be sorry!

“As soon as I switched it on the next day, there were pleading text messages from him and more kept on pinging text messages. I erased them all.

He had to understand we were now history. And as Seun’s flab began to melt, his treble chin slimmed

down and his beer belly shrank. I found myself thinking about Ephraim less and less. Then last Saturday when I was vacuuming, there was a knock on the door. I was irritated thinking Seun had forgotten his key again. He’d nipped out to the gym to meet a few friends. Only pulling open the door, I found Ephraim glaring at me.

“So I’ve finally tracked you down, ‘ he snarled.

“Why have you been ignoring my text messages?” I couldn’t believe my eyes and ears.

Was he mad? “You have to go”, I yelled at him, terrified Seun would arrive any minute, ‘I’ve told you it is over ’. I tried to shut the door in his face, but he went berserk. ,Booting the front door open, he pushed his way into the flat.” “I love you Melisa”, he wined, “and I’m not leaving your house until you admit you love me too”. His eyes were bulging. He looked really demented.

If I didn’t get him out of the flat soon, Seun would come back and find out about every-

We have each other, Whether in the same room, Or by phone, You will always be there, I know you’ll never leave, And there’s one thing I know, This is….. FOREVER!!

Cent 0bama centobama@gmail.com +2348061379003

Dear Guys,

Value the woman in your life. Women are the beauty of life. Her heart colors every rainbow, her soul brightens an angel's sky. A woman's beauty is her heart, she has pride and dignity and that is not to be taken away from her, she is to be respected and loved truthfully and not abused.

She is to be appreciated for the children she gives life and for the life she gives the family. Never take any woman's heart for granted for all she dreams of is uncondi-

thing. ‘Ok, ok, I love you too, now go!” How could I have found this simpleton sexy? I fumed silently.

“He calmed down and eventually left, but not before issuing an ultimatum. ‘Start seeing me again’ he threatened, ‘or I’ll tell your husband everything’, I told him to get lost! Since then, I haven’t seen him, not even at work since he knows where my office is. But every time the door-bell rings, I’m edgy, terrified it’s him, Seun is now looking great and our marriage is the best it’s been for a long time. I just pray Ephraim doesn’t come back and ruin it all. Why are some men so childish? A single girl that goes out with a married man doesn’t believe it would be a happy-everafter relationship. So, why can’t a married woman do the same with the hope that the man would be grateful for a few free bunks?” Shows you how naive some people are. I reminded her that she must know of a few men whose bits-onthe-sides have turned to second wives they never really bargained for. And if a young married

Why bald men are at greater risk of having a heart disease Men who go bald on the crown of the head also have their risk of heart disease increased by a half, say scientists.

Those with the classic bald spot, which has afflicted a lot of middleaged men in recent times were 52 percent more likely to have coronaryartery disease than those with a full head of hair, they found.

Their study, involving almost 40,000 men, showed that those whose hairlines were only receding were 22 per cent more at risk of heart disease - a level the researchers said was not statistically significant.

Men with both receding hairlines and crown-top baldness were 69 per cent more likely to suffer coronary artery disease than those who had kept all their hair.

The findings came in a review of six studies by scientists from Tokyo University, published in the online journal BMJ Open.

Doctors do not yet fully understand the link between baldness and coronary artery disease. Experts believe men with high levels of testosterone are more likely to lose their hair, especially if baldness already runs in the family, and testosterone is also linked to heart disease. The hormone can damage hair follicles.

tional love. May it be your partner/sister/-mother or other, always appreciate them. A woman's beauty is love undefiled.

Chris Onunaku Dekris4real@gmail.com 08032988826.

Truths about life

Until Abraham separated himself from Lot, he couldn't gain alot. Until you seperate yourself from the crowd, you can't get a crown. Until you leave the multitude you can't reach the altitude of your blessings. Until you know your vision you can't fulfil your mission. If the egg shell is not broken, the young chick can't come out. Until two break the cell, you can't excel. Remember those who mind their opposition, lose their position.

Udoka K.C. Eze, emeraldson4u@yahoo.com 0813 625 1188

SUNDAY Vanguard, MAY 19, 2013—PAGE 25

The suspect, Dr Chimezie Osigwe

The late Lucy Osigwe’s body inside cupboard...ritualist at work?

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA

D

r. Chimezie Osigwe, 64, is a retired school principal of Awa Community Secondary School, Ejemekwuru in Oguta local government area of Imo State.

He not only allegedly killed his mother, he was said to have also dried her remains and stored them in a cupboard in a room that allegedly served as his shrine!

The 78-year old mother, Mrs. Lucy Osigwe, reportedly went missing sometime in 2003, some 10 years ago! There was no clue whatsoever about her where-abouts.

Dr. Osigwe lived in a dilapidated house. He had no fleet of cars and estates. Some members of his Ejemekwuru community said he was a recluse. Nobody understood his ways. Everything surrounding him suggested abject poverty!

Two stories were told about how the remains of his allegedly missing mother were found. One of the stories had it that a relation of the man was not particularly happy that Osigwe was reluctant to settle his indebtedness to him and decided to search his house to help himself with whatever he could lay his hands on.

But instead of finding cash, the young boy allegedly stumbled on the old woman’s remains and narrated the story to other relations who then mobilized and stormed Osigwe’s shrine where the boy’s story was allegedly confirmed.

The other story had it that some youths from feelers from the late woman’s maternal

How son killed mother, hid body for 10 years home, Amakohia, Awa, also in Oguta local council area, showed that they made the startling discovery.

A villager, who spoke to Sunday Vanguard, said that following the inexplicable disappearance of the old woman, some villagers decided to double check the stories told by Osigwe.

“On getting to Ejemekwuru, our people demanded to know why the woman had remained missing for 10 years. the son told the villagers that his mother was mad at a point and ran away to an unknown place”, the villager recounted.

Not satisfied with the response, as well as the nonchalant attitude allegedly exhibited by the son, the villagers, according to the villager, went berserk, destroying things in sight and ended up spotting the large cupboard containing the remains of their loved one.

“With this startling discovery, the villagers quickly lodged a complaint with the police who subsequently swung into action”, he stated.

Confirming the discovery of the woman’s body, Imo State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mohammed Katsina, said it was found in a large cupboard inside the shrine located in the suspect’s private room.

“The missing woman’s life-

less body was found in a village called Ezuru Umuagwu, Ejemekwuru, Oguta local government area of Imo State”, the CP said.

“The corpse of the 78-yearold Mrs. Osigweh, declared missing in 2003, was found in a large cupboard inside the shrine in a private room in a circumstance depicting ritual practice. “The embalmed body, which was kept in that condition for about 10 years, was alleged to have been placed in the warehouse by her son, Chief Dr. Chimezie Osigweh, a 64-year old retired school principal”.

The Imo police boss alleged that the suspect was a member of a sect, adding that “preliminary assessment of the scene of crime revealed that the late woman could have been murdered for ritual purpose”.

Katsina also alleged that members of a sect used to hold secret nocturnal meetings in the place to enhance their occultic powers.

“The principal suspect, Chief Dr. Chimezie Osigwe, who is the son of the woman, has been arrested and is making useful statement to the police”, the CP said.

The suspect refused to disclose why he treated his mother disrespectfully for ten years.

He rather pleaded that he

should not be forced to say anything for fear of being attacked by his enemies.

“Do you know that I have escaped three assassination attempts? Please, I will not say anything because my enemies are all over the place so that they will not use it to attack me”, Osigwe told journalists.

Irked by the adverse image created by criminal stories from Imo State in recent times, royal fathers from the state rose from an emergency meeting in Owerri, condemning the fac-

tory baby saga and Osigwe for allegedly killing his mother for ritual purposes.

The traditional fathers also ordered the banishing of the alleged perpetrators from their ancestral homes.

Rolling out the decisions of the royal fathers at the secretariat of the State Council of Traditional Rulers, the Chairman, Eze Sam Agunwa Ohiri, explained that they took the decision in view of the shame the two incidents brought to the state and its people.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT

t culprits Poly to kicknic,ou Nekede, has warned that

T

he Federal Polytech ishment on any it will apply commensurate pun ng in sorting, mutilateaching staff found to be engagi t and all forms of extion of results, sexual harassmen estina Njoku, read Cel s.)

(Mr ploitation. The Rector, Dr. ’s Quarterly General the riot act during the institution olved in any of these Assembly. “I urge any staff inv body caught in any Any vices to desist from it forthwith. surate music”, the men com of such vices will face the s. Njoku enjoined staff Rector warned. Continuing, Mr eeism, loitering and to avoid lateness to work, absent dlers will end up ped truancy, stressing that rumour school. “Rumour the not and destroying themselves themselves and not peddlers will end up destroying troys himself or herthe Polytechnic. Anyone who des nic management of tech self should not accuse the Poly . said she ”, witch-hunting him or her

PAGE 26—SUNDAY Vanguard,

MAY 19, 2013

Man needs another kidney, N8m to survive

BY FLORENCE AMAGIYA

G

aniyu Balogun, 42, could hardly do any thing on his own. He was assisted to Vanguard Headquarters to share his story. To him, life is cruel as it has turned once a promising young man with great dreams, into a bedridden chap on the verge of death within a short space of time after a diagnosis revealing the presence of acute kidney failure, or what is termed as ‘end stage kidney disease.’

Today, he is going through the biggest shock of his life, worsened by the inability of his family to raise the whooping sum of N8million required for a transplant in India.

According to his medical reports, a kidney transplant will have to be carried out in India as soon as possible. Balogun who visited Vanguard Headquarters could not control emotions has he narrated the pains

and the regular dialysis he is presently undergoing. “One of my kidneys has failed, while the other is on the verge of collapsing.”

Speaking on his behalf, Shakiru Balogun, his younger brother lamented that, “it started like a joke, a mere typhoid fever of some sort. It was treated in due course but resurfaced later and metamorphosed into kidney failure.

“We began to run from pillar to post, seeking medical attention. We visited several hospitals including traditional hospitals, but the illness didn’t abate. It got to a point when he could hardly move around on his own”.

With his sky-rocketed blood pressure results and his swollen legs, his family came to his rescue by taking him for a new round of medical checkup. He was taken to Ifako General Hospital to see another specialist.

“Several tests were conduct-

ed in different laboratories in Lagos and it was discovered that his kidneys were failing ; he had developed kidney problem. Medical investigation revealed that he has an elevated urea of 176mg/dl and creating 8.7mg/dl which is referred to as ‘Acute Kidney’ failure.

“He became so sick; he couldn’t pass out urine on his own. He was given what the doctor described as salvage dialysis because of his inability to urinate. Further examinations suggested that he had developed an ‘end stage kidney disease’ which would require a regular maintenance dialysis of about 2-3 sessions weekly which cost N30,000 per session. He will also require a definite treatment of kidney transplant”, he lamented.

According to Shakiru, “he was referred to Gbagada General Hospital to a department known as the Renal Squad

Ganiyu Balogun...on his hospita

from Ifako General Hospital and he was hospitalized for a while.

Since, he developed swollen legs and high blood pressure, the doctors gave him medication to help ease his condition. “He has been going through several dialyses to sustain him, but he couldn’t do the dialysis where he had his reference because there was not enough space for every patient in the hospital.We took him to a private hospital in Oshodi for another round of dialyses.

“These movements, tests

l bed

and treatments have cost our family more than eight hundred thousand naira, N800,000, but all efforts were to no avail. Unfortunately, our family is financially constrained as they can no longer pay his medical bills. Shakiru Balogun battling tears, said he would never wish his enemy go through what his elder brother is going through presently. To help Mr. Ganiyu Balogun back on his feet, send your donations to Balogun Wakilu Olabode Account Number: 3019269394, First Bank, Agidingbi.

Husband drags wife to court for indecent dressing

BY ADEOLA ADENUGA

I

am not angry with my wife for not having kids but with the way she dresses provocatively, leaving her breasts and buttocks virtually naked. Anytime I complained, she will say that is what is in vogue.

“She brought a concubine to my mother’s burial but I didn’t catch her then”.

With these words, a 42-yearold man pleaded with an Agege Grade ‘A’ Customary Court in Lagos to dissolve his 7-year-old marriage over the wife’s alleged wayward life.

The petitioner, Mr Owoseni Benson, a carpenter, who lives at 10, Lucas Street, Obawole, Isaga, Lagos, told the court that his wife, Adenike Oladeru, was troublesome to extent that the house they currently live in is the third house they rented. ”She fights everybody in the house, possesses all kinds of bad habits one can think of.

There was a time she attempted suicide claiming that I re-

buked her for being childless.

I only advised her to stop being troublesome with people”, Benson said. ”I had a child when I was in secondary school. She asked me to bring the child home so that if she lived with us, I would not be able to marry the mother, but when the child

came to live with us, she didn’t give her rest of mind. ”There was a day we went to settle a rift in my sister’s place, she stood up and gave me a hard slap because I complained she goes after men. ”I caught her with a man late in the night, she did not come home that night, she went to

stay with her aunt for a week. ”In 2011, she called me and said she was fed up with the union and gave me a month ultimatum. Two weeks later, she started parking her bags and left to re-marry.

“I came to court to dissolve the union because she has come to beg me that we should con-

tinue, but I don’t want her anymore”.

Meanwhile, Adenike, a hairdresser, refused to come to the court for the fourth time since the proceedings started.

Court president, Mr Emmaunel Shokunle, adjourned the case to May 27 for judgment.

Randy airline official seeks divorce

BY ADEOLA ADENUGA

A

former airline cashier, Mrs Grace Oguche, pleaded with an Agege Grade ‘A’ Customary Court, Lagos to dissolve her seven-year old marriage to her husband, Mr Maxwell Madu, over his alleged poor performance in bed and being unemployed. ”Ever since we got married, I hardly enjoyed sex with my husband”, she said in her testimony in chief. ”My husband does not perform well on bed. It was God’s grace that we had the only child of the union.

”My husband maltreats me, calls me a prostitute”.

She added that her husband failed in his responsibilities and she was the one taking care of the house, yet he never appreciated her.

“I want the court to dissolve the marriage because he is unable to satisfy me in bed and not responsible at home.”

Meanwhile, Madu denied the allegations and said,” I agreed with her bid to dissolve the union. Because of my state of unemployment, my wife went to another man’s house for sex. ”My wife is never satisfied with sex, rather she complains so that she could get it

somewhere else. ”I love my wife, but I do not understand why her attitude changed towards me. ”My wife comes home late, flirts around with different men and ,at times, she does not come home.

“So, I want the dissolution of the marriage because my wife gets sexual satisfaction outside”. Court president, Mr Emmanuel Shokunle, told the couple to maintain the peace and adjourned the case to May 20 for further hearing.

SUNDAY Vanguard, MAY 19, 2013, PAGE 27

THE BEE VENOM AS HIV, CANCER CURE

BY EBELE ORAKPO

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f reports from the re searches of a team of medical practitioners at the Washington University School of Medicine, USA, and the testimony of an Ibadanbased apitherapist are anything to go by, perhaps the world should get ready to heave a sigh of relief from AIDS and cancer.

Unlike most other ailments where the body•fs defence apparatus fights foreign objects thereby protecting the body, in the case of HIV, it attacks the soldiers, the T-helper lymphocytes, also called CD4 or T4 cells. Noted Wikipedia Free Encyclopedia; •gThese are white blood cells that are essential part of the human immune system. They are called helper cells because one of their main roles is to send signals to other types of immune cells, including CD8 killer cells. T4 cells send the signal and CD8 cells destroy and kill the infection or virus.

But as a popular Igbo adage says, when the lion is incapacitated, the antelope visits to settle old scores, so if CD4 cells become depleted, as is the case in untreated HIV infection, or immune suppression, the body is left vulnerable to a wide range of infections that it would otherwise have been able to fight.•h Following the report of the US-based medical scientists (Hood J.L, Jallouk A.P, Campbell N, Ratner L and Wickline S.A) that a toxin (melittin) found in bee venom could destroy HIV and tumor cells without harming nearby cells, there have been varied reactions from the public. Some described it as a miracle, others were skeptical while a few said it was impossible. Sunday Vanguard sought opinions of experts.

Bee venom as a weapon: Engr. Ayodele Salako, an Ibadan-based apiculturist/apitherapist, said although most orthodox medicine practitioners do not believe in alternative medicine, the answer to most diseases of man lies with nature and, unless we go closer to nature, we will not discover its many wonders.

He added, •gHoney bee venom , also called apitoxin, is one of the major products of the bees and they use it to defend themselves, the queen bee and their territory, it is their weapon. Also God has

Experts perspectives

* Relief from bee sting put something in the bee ven- Therapy, BVT,•h he stated.

Mr. Ndubuisi Okwum , a om for healing so once a bee stings you, 45 minutes or one staff of Scripture Union, Nigehour later, it dies and that ven- ria, echoed Salako’s view. He om, within your body system, said: •gI learnt a bit of apibegins to do a lot of wonders. culture at Umudike, Abia State The introduction of that ven- and since the 90s, I have om through the stinger into known that bee sting can cure your system may cause some malaria (apipuncture), so I am pains and that pain is the pain not surprised at this recent research development.•h that kills pains,•h he said.

Mr. Harry Porter , reacting to the story, HIV, cancer: Bee Bee venom therapy (BVT): Salako reeled out a number venom to the rescue on Vanof ailments that could be com- guard website, said; •gThis is bated with bee venom which what we call nature signature. include headache, insomnia, This is the suggestion of what osteoarthritis, fractures, in- a fruit or leaf or animal or inflammation, high blood pres- sect can cure by looking at its sure, skin problems, back structure and what it resempain, infertility in women, eye bles. Taking a good look at problems, wounds that have bees, you can see that the refused to go for about two- comb resembles a DNA structhree years. •gThe best reme- ture and a virus. So it•fs a dy for arthritis is Bee Venon great possibility that the cure

for HIV can come from it.

More research is needed to get a pure sample that will do this without rendering the surrounding cells useless or dead.

•gIf you have a severe headache and I administer BVT via a bee sting, there will be quick relief. As an apitherapist, I studied body anatomy so I know at what points to apply the bee sting so that the venom can be carried through the required route to the targeted site. If you complain of insomnia and I give you BVT, within 20 minutes, you will sleep off,” said Salako, noting that “a farmer who goes to the farm and is being stung by bees will not fall ill easily. He is free from having fever regularly, free from insomnia, high blood pressure, skin problems, eye problem, back pain, HIV etc.

Bee venom is very powerful against many ailments.”

Bee venom against HIV Salako, who claims to have been treating HIV-positive people with bee venom, said; •gI have used bee venom to treat some HIV positive patients. I say it on live broadcast but many people don•ft believe it. If Vanguard can just look for one confirmed HIVpositive patient, they should send him/her to me. After 8 ?

12 weeks of treatment, the person will go for another test.

Usually, after the first 8-12 weeks of treatment, he will notice a decrease in the viral

load. Then we continue the treatment for another 4-5 weeks and the patient goes for another test until there is no more AIDS virus in the system.

Apart from the BVT, I also apply other bee products like propolis with honey. •g The researchers had said that •gbee venom contains a potent toxin called melittin that can poke holes in the protective envelope that surrounds HIV and other viruses. It has even shown melittin-loaded nanoparticles to be effective in killing tumor cells.•h Asked if any kind of bee could be used for BVT, Salako replied in the negative saying; •gThe female bees are the only ones that can sting so only female bees are used in BVT. The male bees are called drones; the mature female bees are called queens which lay the eggs. The drones cannot sting; their main function is to fertilize the virgin queen during her mating flight after which they die.•g Extinction of bees: Some people argue that if the anti-HIV./cancer activities of bee venom proves to be true, then bees may become extinct sooner than later but Salako allayed this fear saying that a queen can lay about 2,500 ? 3,000 eggs per day, adding that it will rather create the much needed job for the youths.

Hundreds of doctors storm Lagos slum

BY JOSEPHINE IGBINOVIA

F

It is not enough to propagate cleanliness, a little step further as demonstrated by Dr (Mrs) Fatimah Shema, the First Lady of Katsina State in this picture will make the awareness campaign easier and faster to understand and even prolong the lifespan of the people. These demonstrative acts of this Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria graduate have become a feature of major township spots in the state whenever there is sanitation exercise.

rom across Nigeria, they came down to Lagos on a medical mission, and the target was the slum - Makoko in Yaba Local Council Development Area.

National President of the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, Osahon Enabulele, was the team leader and the agenda was to bridge the gap in Nigeria’s ailing healthcare coverage and eradicate selected basic health challenges amongst indigent Nigerians by the year 2014, as part of their contribution to the centenary celebration. It was also part of week-long activities for the 53rd NMA national conference hosted by the Lagos chapter headed by Francis Faduyile. The Aiyetoro Primay Healthcare Centre was the venue, and various tents with inscriptions ranging from dental to hypertension, eye care, gynaecology, diabetes and body mass index were crowded with Nigerians from Makoko’s estimated one million dwellers that scurried at the unusual opportunity.

28—SUNDAY, Vanguard, MAY 19, 2013

Dele Sobo wale’s daught er w eds Sobow daughter weds

I

L-R:Elder James Durotoye, groom’s dad, the couple, Mr and Mrs Oluwaseun Oloruntoba Durotoye, Mrs Bola Okinbaloye, groom’s mum, Dr Dele and Mrs Grace Sobowale, bride’s parents with Mrs Funke Salako

L-R:Olufemi Agbe-Davies, Prof Abisogun Leigh and Chief Olusegun Oshunkeye

t was a blissful day marked with panache and style when Vanguard’s veteran columnist, Dr. Dele Sobowale, gave the hand of his daughter, Arinola Omoihefe, in a holy wedlock to Oluwaseun Oloruntoba, son of Elder James Durotoye and Mrs Bola Okinbaloye.

The ceremony took place on Saturday, May th 11 at the LTV 8, Eko FM ground in Ikeja, Lagos. Both families of the bride and groom were resplendent in the colour scheme of the day which was coffee brown and green.

Several notable personalities graced the occasion. Photos by Shola Oyelese

Lifeline for ESUT

I

n a bid to reposition Enugu State University of Science and

Technology (ESUT) to be one of best in Africa and globally, a N10 billion Infrastructure Development Fund was launched. The event was chaired by Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu.

L-R: Amb.(Dr.) Hassan Adamu, Chancellor & Wakili Adamawa, Dr Chilo Offiah, Pro-Chancellor & Chairman, ESUT Governing Council, Senator Ike Ekweremadu & Senator Ayogu Eze

L-R:Prof Abisogun Leigh, chairman of the occasion, with Senator Ganiyu Solomon L-R: Prof Ike Ndolo, Chairman, ESUT Trust Committee, Dr Chilo Offiah, Pro-Chancellor & Chairman, Governing Council, Prof Cyprian Onyeji VC, Mr. Chris Igbokwe, Registrar, & Prof Aloysius Uzoagulu, DVC.

L-R:Mr Solanke Sobowale with Dr Dele Sobowale, the bride’s father Unveiling of D’banj as Brand Ambassador for Bank of Industry (BOI)

Ms Evelyn Oputu, MD, Bank of Industry; Mr Dapo Oyebanji, D'Banj and Mr Uche Nwuka, Senior Manager.

L-R:Mrs Victoria Sobowale , Mrs Grace Sobowale and Dr Biola Dele Sobowale, and Prof Abisogun Leigh.

Special patrol operation ‘Operation Shield’ by men of Federal Road Safety Corps along Benin-Asaba Road

L-R: Mr.Wole Olanirani (Asst. Corps Marshal) Zonal Commanding Officer Zone RS5 [Edo,Delta and Anambra] Mr. Eloka Anyaoku, Dep.Corps Marshal [TSC] and Mrs Uche Chukwurah, Asst. Route Commander (ACC) Unit Commander RS5.23 Issele-Uku, Delta State

R-L: Senator Ike Ekweremadu presenting kolanut to Alh. ( Dr) Hassan Adamu, while Dr Chilo Offiah watches.

L-R: Prof. Ike Ndolo, Prof Cyprian Onyeji, Senator Ike Ekweremadu & Senator Ayogu Eze

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 19, 2013 —29

Tope Akinlo eds Olanre waju K arun wi Akinloyye w weds Olanrew Karun arunwi

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he Akinloye and Karunwi families became one recently when their children, Olubolarinwa Temitope Akinloye and Olanrewaju Adebiyi Karunwi, tied the nuptial knot. The union, sealed at the Redeemed Christian of God (Christ Church Parish), Oworonsoki, Lagos, was attended by well wishers and friends. Photos by Akeem Salau

Mr and Mrs Olanrewaju Karunwi

L-R:Mr Segun Akinloye & Mrs Yetunde Akinloye, bride’s parents, with the couple.

L-R:Mr &Mrs Karunwi, groom’s parents, with the couple.

Glorious day for Gloria NIJ fetes the Salis and Chike

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he families of Akpata of Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State and Prof.

Emielu of Elu, Isoko North Local Government Area of Delta State became one when their children, Oghoghome Gloria and Osamwonyi Chike, got married at St. Peters Catholic Church, Benin City.

The couple, Chike and Gloria, signing the marriage register

L-R: Catholic Rev. Father, Mr and Mrs Akpata, the couple, Catholic Rev. Father and Prof. and Mrs Emielu C M Y K

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embers of Nigerian Institute of Journalism in Lagos last weekend joined one of theirs, Chief (Mrs) Olabisi Owolabi Salis, wife of frontline politician, Chief Owolabi Salis and husband in celebration of their wedding anniversary. It was a fun-filled day. Photos by Lamidi Bamidele

Moment of bliss for Ngozi and TToun oun

O

peoluwa Ngozi and Adetoun Adegbola finally sealed their relationship in a marital bliss which saw family members and friends joining them to celebrate the day.

From right: Chief (Mrs) Olabisi Owolabi Salis; Chief Owolabi Salis, former governorship aspirant in Lagos State; Mrs Clara Obazele, Senior Lecturer and Mr Jide Johnson, HOD, Mass Communication, Nigerian Institute of Journalism

The couple, having their first dance Members of NIJ with Chief and Mrs. Owolabi Salis

PAGE 30 — SUNDAY Vanguard, MAY 19, 2013

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SUNDAY Vanguard, MAY 19, 2013, PAGE 31

C M Y K

PAGE 32— SUNDAY Vanguard, MAY 19, 2013

Alhaji Lateef Olufemi Okunnu

By BASHIR ADEFAKA How do you feel at 80? ell, let me say the birth day, on 19 February, 2013, was like any other day to me. It was an occasion to thank Allah for His blessings and keeping me alive till this time; healthy and I am satisfied with the life I have lived; the life of service: service to Islam and service to Nigeria.

So, it was an occasion to thank God really, not to celebrate.

And I started receiving good wishes from the students of King’s College who, every year, always wish me happy birthday.

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Nigeria will soon clock 100 years, 20 years older than you, and the government of the country is glowingly preparing for it. What kind of Nigeria would you like to see at 100?

It is absolute idiocy for anyone to want to celebrate 100 years of bondage or to celebrate the occasion when we were under colonialism. We do not celebrate slavery. Celebrating independence? Yes. Celebrating the day when British established its rule over the country now called Nigeria? No, capital ‘NO’. It is absolute idiocy for anyone to celebrate the day Nigeria came under colonialism. You do not do that! Independence? Yes. Occasion for expression of nationalism? Yes.

New states will kill the federation – Olufemi Okunnu

*‘We should not celebrate slavery in the name of centenary’ *Tells Obasanjo to retire from politics Federal Commissioner for Works and Housing in the General Yakubu Gowon regime, 1966-1975, Alhaji Lateef Olufemi Okunnu, SAN, 80, remains a major name in the building of modern Nigeria. He oversaw the programme for the change-over of traffic from left to right-hand which started in 1969 but became effective on 2 April, 1972 following the recommendations of the Alhaji Babatunde Jose Panel. The octogenarian explains, in this interview, why Nigeria should not celebrate slavery in the name of centenary. Excerpts: Enugu mines, Odi massacre?

Yes! Aba riots? Yes. Slavery?

No. Colonialism? No. I have never heard of any country celebrating the birth of colonialism. Away with it and I really hope that the government will have nothing to do with it.

I heard that the idea came from the private sector. If they

want to celebrate the day the British entrepreneurs and traders came to Nigeria, that is their business! If they want to celebrate the Portuguese who came before the British, that is their business! But, to me, it is absolute idiocy. You do not celebrate slavery and you do not celebrate colonialism. We did not celebrate the

Berlin Conference of 1885, we did not celebrate the day Africa was cut into pieces by Europeans to satisfy their interests. So, it is no celebration as far as I am concerned.

Nigeria should not celebrate slavery.

What is your state of mind regarding the latest revela-

tions and developments in the nation’s judiciary which border on corrupt practices at the bench?

By dismissing two, three corrupt judges, we should give kudos to the judiciary and that is how it should be. But let us talk about Nigeria as a unit.

As former American President Bill Clinton said, we are not moving forward. He himself said that when he became president, he pencilled Nigeria as one of the 20 countries which would be up there in economic terms in this century and he said we are not there yet and that we are still far from it. We do not know

Continues on page 33

SUNDAY Vanguard, MAY 19, 2013 — PAGE 33

I did not talk much about the railway because that was under the portfolio of the Federal Commissioner for Transport in our time. I would rather put it this way: Before we came in, there was this integrated transport system: the railway, the highways – federal, regions and local governments – also there were shipping lines. Shipping has not been really developed to a reasonable standard up till now, especially inland waterways.

We just have it on paper but, really, the Inland Waterways Authority Act runs foul of the Constitution. That is another matter entirely.

Now, I am happy that the government, as we have read and, I think, I have seen one or two trains passing by somewhere in Yaba; I am happy that they are now reviving the railway system, which was comatose. In my time, it was still running very well as it ran before our time, during the Alhaji Tafawa Balewa regime.

And, of course, the colonial people left a reasonably good, not really very good railway system. because the standard gauge is about 5-foot 6” or something, but what we have is about 3-foot 6” which is not fast enough.

Continued from page 32 how to spend our money. We are not spending our money from the resources of this country, especially the oil money, wisely. We are not spending it to create wider economic base for this country. The bulk of the money is going into recurrent expenditure; salaries and part of it stolen by all forms of government both federal and states.

Viable industrial base e should concentrate on creating a large, viable industrial base in this country. Manufacturing is suffering. Capital expenditure in our budget, federal or state, should take about 60 percent, not 15 percent or 20 percent as it is now. And we should reduce the cost of governance.

Let me tell those who are asking for new states, for goodness sake, do not kill the federation. The more states you have, the weaker the states in federal structure because they have no money to sustain the state governments. So, let us forget about creation of new states and concentrate, at the federal level, on spending money wisely on capital projects. Industries have closed down in the past five years in Nigeria. Why? Because there is no electricity to power those industries.

Government should spend so much time as we did in our time under General Yakubu Gowon, 1967 to 1975. We built these roads. I am sad to see the roads I built throughout this country in this sorry, poor state and the various governments, right from the Babangida government, are guilty of the poor state of infrastructure, especially the highways.

I am happy to hear that the government of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan is going to - I hope -rehabilitate the Warri-BeninAuchi-Kotonkarfi-Abuja Road.

It is one of my roads. It has not been rehabilitated since that road was built in the 70s.

There are many other roads like that. Lagos-Ibadan Road is still in very poor state and there is controversy over that one. Shagamu-Benin Road is also in a very, very poor state.

When the government of General Muhammadu Buhari came in 1983 to 1985, the roads were still okay. But the successive governments from the time Buhari left, up to the time of Obasanjo’s civilian administration, are guilty of this non-performance as far as federal highways maintenance is concerned.

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terms. You served your term as military head of state, 1976 – 1979, three years, and you served eight years as civilian president. Leave Jonathan alone to govern. Stop harassing him. Leave him alone to govern and retire gracefully as an elder statesman. That is my birthday advice to General Obasanjo. He is my friend and I am giving this friendly advice to him: Retire from active politics and be an elder statesman. You have the opportunity to advise at the Council of State. Stop harassing Jonathan on the pages of newspapers or in People’s Democratic Party. Retire from active politics and be an elder statesman. That is the role which befits a retired president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

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orruption has remained a worrisome phenomenon. Why some point accusing fingers at politicians who are the rulers, others put the culpability on civil servants.

Who is to blame and what is the way out?

All of them are guilty.

But in your time as Federal Commissioner for Works and Housing, the same civil service was there. How did you handle them? Who is to blame really?

There are clean people, there are honest, well-meaning, disciplined people still left in Nigeria. They are out there.

But maybe they do not allow them to thrive. The weight of corruption is so heavy that it also covers those who are not corrupt. But you see corruption in almost all the various segments of our economy, whether in the public service, in the legislature, in the judi-

,

Plea to Obasanjo And let me plead with General Obasanjo that he is no longer the president of this country. He should stop harassing successive governments. Let him leave them alone! You have served your

‘No to celebration of slavery’

ciary as you have found two, three judges being dismissed from the bench. There is corruption all over; it pervades the whole society and I hope that, with determination and courage, the governors and president of Nigeria will help to reduce corruption to the

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barest minimum. You cannot wipe it out. There will still be bad eggs but you can reduce it to the barest minimum.

Your time in the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing will, for a long time to come, be remembered for the building of what is today called Nigeria railway to boost transportation in Nigeria. Sometime ago, you

Let me tell those who are asking for new states, for goodness sake, do not kill the federation. The more states you have, the weaker the states in federal structure because they have no money to sustain the state governments

Standardisation he standardisation of a railway system, especially the tracks, which was mooted some 20, 30 years ago, I hope the government should now go back to it, modernise the tracks and make them up to international standard. But it is welcome news that the railway is being revived for carriage of people and goods in the country.

Let me correct you, in my time, I concentrated largely on effective transport system or highways throughout the country, not only Lagos State.

Lagos State, of course, had its own fair share of good roads, bridges and so on. But I am very much impressed by the progress which former Governor Bola Tinubu and now Governor Babatunde Fashola in their respective times have put into the traffic situation in Lagos. Beyond reason, they have improved the transportation system especially the highways in Lagos State. You see the roads all over the place; there is a Lekki-Epe Road that is wonderfully put through by a state government, which has not got so much money as the Federal Government.

I see the Badagry-Lagos Road and rail road which are being built. Again that is revolutionary. It was to be the first of its type in Nigeria. So, I commend Lagos State government for its foresight and I am very happy they are following our footsteps. They are doing very well in many areas especially on transportation.

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gave an advice to Lagos State government on how to build railway to mitigate traffic logjam in the state, which I believe Governor Fashola is working on. But, generally speaking, why do you think Nigeria railway remains a sorry case in Nigeria today?

PAGE 34—SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 19, 2013

How to reverse jobless growth, by Prof. Ajakaiye *Says withdrawal of polymer notes by the CBN is based on durability BY

UDEME

The move by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to jettison polymer naira notes less than a decade after it was introduced by the same bank has sparked controversy in the financial sector. While some experts stressed that the new development is a clear case of policy inconsistency on the part of the monetary authority, others said the sudden change in currency printing in the economy is based on the durability of the existing notes in circulation. The deputy governor, banking supervision, Mr Tunde L emo, explained that the decision by the CBN to halt the printing of polymer is due to the discovery that the notes fade easily, notwithstanding earlier experiments, which showed that the notes could last longer than paper money. In the same vein, the sudden decision by the apex bank to scrap polymer notes because of poor quality contradicts the result of the previous experiment conducted by its officials, which concluded that polymer was superior to paper notes in terms of quality and resistance to water. D r. Olu Ajakaiye, a professor of Economics and one time Director General, Nigeria Institute for Social and Economic Research (NISER), speaks on the need to support government policies aimed at developing the financial sector for tangible economic growth.

O

NLY six years after the polymer notes were introduced into the system, the apex bank is putting measures in place to reverse the policy by June 2013, on the condition that polymer notes fade easily.

Don’t you think that currency instability can have adverse effect on the economy?

To begin with, we have to look at the period of introduction of the polymer notes and the policy evaluation during that period. The monetary policy on polymer notes was introduced by the apex bank under the leadership of the former gover nor, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo.

It was in 2008 economic year that Soludo first unveiled the 20 naira polymer note to the public, initially to test its acceptance by the public. After that initial demonstration, the current governor of CBN, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who came in as Soludo’s successor, went ahead in 2009 to formerly release the remaining 5, 10 and 50 naira versions of the polymer notes.

So, within the period of six years that these notes have been in circulation in the country, the CBN must have been carrying out systematic

Sanusi Lamido Sanusi experiments on the notes to ascertain the quality and durability of these notes, which informed the decision to reverse the policy. What I am saying in essence is that the pronouncement by the CBN to halt the policy may be anchored on the condition of durability of the existing polymer notes in circulation. During the process of evaluation and experiments carried out on the polymer notes, the CBN must have discovered that the polymer notes fade quickly, and, as such, are not durable like the paper notes.

So, coming to the issue of economic implications, I want to believe that the CBN must have done its home work exhaustively before making that

Mr Tunde Lemo

Dr. Olu Ajakaiye

ground work before making the pronouncement. Aside from that, the issue of counterfeiting, which people complain is common with paper notes can easily be addressed with the use of modern technology. So, the issue here is that the CBN is concerned with the durability of the notes.

As a professor of economics, how will you assess the economy in the first quarter of 2013?

Currently, the growth rate of the economy stands at between 7 and 8 per cent. So, in terms of growth rate, the economy is doing well. The major challenges are unemployment and poverty in the country. This shows that the rate of growth now does not reflect on crea-

,

STORIES CLEMENT

In terms of growth rate, the economy is doing well. The major challenges are unemployment and poverty in the country. This shows that the rate of growth now does not reflect on creation of jobs and poverty alleviation

pronouncement on the need to reverse the policy. This implies that the CBN does not just wake up to make any pronouncement on monetary policies without carrying out a thorough assessment of the economic situation in the country.

The Federal Government spent huge sums of money to replace the paper notes with polymer in circulation now as a printing firm– Securencypartly owned by Reserve Bank of Australia, was contracted in 2006 to produce the notes, and suddenly, CBN wants to reverse the policy. Do you consider the financial implications?

The interesting thing is the fact that the apex bank has also openly declared that switching to paper naira notes for some denominations may not attract additional cost of printing, which implies that CBN must have done some under-

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tion of jobs and poverty alleviation. In analogy, what we are experiencing now is jobless growth.

In that case, what will you advise government to do?

Government should refocus on job creation. To achieve this within a short time, government can tie-up incentives to creation of jobs. What I mean is that government should give incentives to agencies and enterprises to the extent in which they create high quality jobs for the people, especially jobs in the expansion of manufacturing firms to enhance speedy economic transformation.

Agriculture is doing relatively well at the moment, but what we need is to expand our capacity to achieve optimum production. We can realise this by embracing large scale agriculture using modern technology like what obtains in developed countries. Small scale agriculture is not what we need in Nigeria with a population of over 160million.

Aside from that, government should invest more in agroallied businesses to enhance processing of agricultural produce into finished products.

All of these are channelled towards the direction of growth and development. As I said earlier, the major issues are transforming the current growth rate into job creating growth, by giving incentives to large scale manufacturers and enterprises creating jobs in Nigeria, and also giving the desired attention to infrastructure development.

How can this be done?

Through reduction in taxes

for such enterprises and giving other incentives based on the number of quality jobs created. The job creation I am talking about here is not people selling recharge cards along the road, but massive manufacturing and industrial development. If this is done, the economy will achieve rapid transformation and increased growth within the next three quarters.

Many people think Nigeria may not achieve the muchtalked about Vision 20:2020.

Do you have similar opinion?

Achieving the target of being among the top 20 economies by 2020 depends on the approach. For instance, the services we have right now are not sophisticated enough to support and enhance a knowledge-driven economy, especially to achieve the Vision 20:2020 target. If you look at the banking industry you mentioned earlier, you can see that the sector is doing well in terms of monetary policies formulation and implementation.

The reality is that the CBN will do its own aspect but other sectors of the economy must be developed as well to achieve holistic development.

Doing this will create a synergy in the system for tangible growth and development.

You were a member of various planning committees in Nigeria, including the Joint Planning Board, National Council on Development Planning and National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS). What measures will you advise government to put in place to address the issue of food security in the country?

The challenge of food security can be tackled through massive investments in agriculture, agro-businesses as well as Small and Medium Enterprises (Sees) in the country. This also involves formulation and timely implementation of policies that are best suited to address these issues holistically.

‘Terminal operators not responsible for high cost of doing business at the port’

T

HE Chairman, Seaport Terminal Operators’ Association of Nigeria (STOAN), Princess Vicky Haastrup, has exonerated private terminal operators from the high cost of doing business at the port.

Speaking in her office shortly before receiving the Commissioner of the Port Authority Police Command (PAPC), Haastrup said that contrary to the malicious information from the enemies of port reforms, terminal

operators have actually reduced the cost of doing business at the port especially in the areas where they have direct influence.

She said, “The concessionaires did not bring about increase in the cost of doing business at the ports. Of course, people do not want to hear this but that is the truth.

At the ports, there are so many factors that can militate against bringing down costs of operations. We have so many people who operate within the

port system. We have the concessionaires, the ship agents, clearing agents and numerous government agencies. The concessionaires have put in a lot of investments for efficient operations. For instance, within one year that we took over, we were able to increase the turnaround of vessels by about 75 per cent and in three to four years, we had doubled that achievement.

If you

Continues on page 35

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 19, 2013, PAGE 35

Experts brainstorm on continent’s corporate sustainability

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BY AKOMA CHINWEOKE

E

XPERTS from within and outside African content will converge and discuss issues bordering on innovation and sustainability that concern how responsibility in leadership promotes innovation and encourage youth empowerment and active participation as well as the effects of climate change and the increasingly inadequate natural resources that demand better governance. These issues are the highlights of the 2013 edition of the Africa CEO Roundtable & Conference on Corporate Sustainability & Responsibility (AR-CSR™), scheduled to take place from June 20 – 21, 2013, and organised by ThistlePraxis Consulting Limited.

Ashish J. Thakkar, President, Mara Group and Forbes Africa’s Youngest Billionaire, is Keynote Speaker. This year’s industry flagship, all-inclusive CSR & Sustainability management event of the year, and the first of its kind in Africa, holds under the theme, ‘Driving Innovation through Transformational Leadership & Sustainability’. Leaders will share their expertise and experiences on an array of business and development topics, and make a case for a greater focus on transformational leadership

Ashish J. Thakkar in seeking innovative and responsible ways for sustainable development.

Some events have been scheduled to take place such as the CEO roundtable sessions followed by a one-anda-half-day conference, Sustainable Solutions Showcase (an exhibition of eco-friendly products and sustainable service solutions), eco-tourism tour, Networking cocktails and gala dinner amongst other inspiring and intellectually stimulating activities.

The AR-CSR™ platform remains relevant to discuss issues of Sustainable Corporate and Economic Development, Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility, as well as the enhancement of a public-

Customs seize N220m chicken, turkey, printed wax

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA

S

MUGGLERS suffered a huge loss following 22 seizures with duty paid value, DPV, of N220.3 million recorded by the Federal Operations Unit, FOU, Zone C of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS. The Customs Area Controller, Mr. Victor David Dinka, disclosed this while briefing newsmen on the activities of his command in the past one month.“This command recorded 22 seizures with duty paid value of N220,348,500 for the month of April 2013. The goods seized this period were higher than the three seizures made during the corresponding month in 2012, with DPV of N1,840,000”, Dimka said.

The Customs boss further disclosed that the contraband goods seized included cartons of imported frozen chicken and turkey, printed wax, used hand bags, second hand clothing and blankets.“Other goods like imported furniture, imported rice, used shoes for ladies and gents, among other items, were impounded at different locations of Eleme, Calabar, 9th Mile Corner Enugu, Benin-Agbor axis and OwerriPort Harcourt Road within the Zone”, he said.

Giving a breakdown of the current seizure, Dimka said that the highest

contraband impounded within the month under review was 8,317 cartons of imported frozen turkey and chicken, with DPV of N84,951,400.

“Others include 77 bags of rice with DPV of N970,200 impounded April 13, 2013, along Benin road, 369 cartons of imported furniture with DPV of N34,398,840 along Eleme-Aba road,

From a business perspective, the goal of sustainability is to increase long-term shareholder and social value, while decreasing industry’s use of materials and reducing negative impacts on the environment

,

private synergy for the attainment of a credible business environment in Africa, through comparing notes, learning new trends and providing support for organizations and practitioners alike on the constantly changing direction of businesses across the world. From a business perspective, the goal of sustainability is to increase long-term shareholder and social value, while decreasing industry ’s use of materials and reducing negative impacts on the environment.

18,295 pairs of shoes, 355 pieces of ladies handbags and purses with DPV of N31,893,600”, Dimka said.

Answering a question, the Area Controller said his men seized a 20feet container stocked with 429 jumbo bales of second hand clothing with DPV of over N43 million, 20 window blinds, 24 bales of second hand blanket, three bales of table linen with DPV of N1,704,000.

He warned that “the game is up for smugglers”, stressing that unless they abandon their illicit trade, they will continue to get the heat from the command.

From right: Mrs Modupe Oyekunle, Chief Executive Officer, Masterpiece Resource Development Centre (MRDC), Mr. Abiola Popoola, Chairman, MRDC, Mrs Abosede Alimi, Head, Marketing and Communications, First Bank Plc, and Mr. Dapo Adelegan, Guest speaker, during the launch of Community Driven Enterprise Initiative (CDEI), organised by Masterpiece Resource Development Centre and First Bank Plc, held at 29, Abeokuta Street, Ikeja Lagos. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi

The 2013 edition of the AR-CSR™ is presented with support from Diamond Bank. Ventures Africa and Africa Magic are Media Sponsors.Past editions of the AR-CSR™ featured notable speakers such as H.E. Mary Robinson, Former President of Ireland and President, Mary Robinson Foundation; Prof. Craig Smith, INSEAD Chaired Professor on Ethics and Responsibility; Dr. Gro Brundtland, Two-time, First and Only Female Prime Minister of Norway, Former Director General, World Health Organisation, Chairman, UN World Commission on the Environment and Development (aka Brundtland Commission) and UN Special Envoy on Climate Change; and Graham Sinclair, President, Africa Sustainable Investment Forum and Principal; SinCo. ThistlePraxis Consulting, the convener, is a management consulting firm that assists organizations in all sectors through the delivery of innovative solutions from effective strategies. Through its six-point portfolio, it advocates standards, responsibility and sustainability as key elements to ensure profitability and tangible impact. “Our track record of value is hinged on an increasing list of satisfied clients and investments in pragmatic products and thought leadership initiatives that resonate with targets, every time”, the firm said.

‘Terminal operators not responsible for high cost of doing business at the port’ Continued from page 34 do not develop the port or you do not invest in port operations, there is no way you can achieve that.”

Haastrup, who is also the Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ENL Consortium, operators of Terminals C and D of the Lagos Port Complex, Apapa, said, “Concessionaires have drastically reduced the dwell time of ships which translates to cost reduction. We have reduced the number of days ships stay at berth and that has reduced cost. The longer the time the ship stays at berth, the more money they pay. I remember the first rice ship that we did at ENL terminal in conjunction with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), because we had one-month handover period at takeover in 2006, it stayed for 45 days at berth. There was a particular one that stayed for 60 days.

We can discharge those ships in 12 days today. When a ship enters into demurrage, it costs money. So, that we’re able to handle ships efficiently and practically knock down the dwell time of the vessels at berth is a clear reduction in operations cost”.

PAGE 36— SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 19, 2013

I planned to spend just one year in the university – Pat Utomi

BY FEYI BANKOLE

Nsukka experience His ambition was to become a pilot, but because he had finished secondary school three years earlier than the stipulated age of 18, Patrick’s father advised him to go and study at the university while he matured a bit. Again, the entry age for university education was 17, so, he first enrolled at the Federal School of Arts and Science before finally gaining admission in 1973 into the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, to study Mass Communication.

“My going to the University of Nsukka, to me, was simply to have one year of partying, making friends and then go off to aviation school. In fact, a great story was how I chose the course of study; I just closed my eyes, put down the pencil and it turned out to be Mass Communication!”, he recalled.

An historical event however set the tone for the phenomenal ‘Prof.Pat Utomi’ who we now know. It was after the civil war and lots of books were being donated to the university from around the world. Patrick’s department was given the responsibility of creating a management team for the school library but no student was willing to work voluntarily.

The library was, therefore, closed.

Eventually, he volunteered to man the library and in the course of his duty, he indulged in reading until he read every single book on the shelves.

“As a result of that, at age 26, I had two master’s degrees and a Ph.D. As a veritable witness that once upon a time in Nigeria knowledge mattered, at age 27, I held a presidential advisory position in the country”, he said.

Youths and political leadership “Did you just mention 27?”, I probed, aligning such political feat with the cry of contemporary Nigerian youths who query why society wouldn’t give them leadership opportunity, but he quickly added that “nothing is ever freely given to anyone”.

“You take it! You take it by how responsible you show yourself to be. Let me give you an example of something that happened when I was 19. Lest I forget, I eventually finished

*Pat Utomi

*Pat Utomi ... wanted to become a pilot

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H

e is popular for his proclamation, “Nigeria has no business being poor!”.

Christened Patrick Okedinachi Utomi but largely known as Pat Utomi, our inspirational guest is a passionate entrepreneur and social activist.

After a brief career in journalism, Patrick was appointed a Special Assistant on Political Affairs in Alhaji Shehu Shagari’s administration which was later aborted. He moved to Volkswagen of Nigeria where he became the first Nigerian to hold the post of Deputy Managing Director in 1989, and, at 35, he became the acting Managing Director until he voluntarily left at 38 to join the teaching profession. He soon became a Director at the Centre for Applied Economics at the Lagos Business School of Pan African University. A former presidential candidate, Utomi presently sits on the board of several multinational companies.

wars in different African countries.

My going to the University of Nsukka, to me, was simply to have one year of partying, making friends and then go off to aviation school

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my Mass Communication programme because my father kept cajoling me into spending more years at the university.

Like I was saying, because I wasn’t really sure of what I was doing in the university, I engaged in university politics and contested for the seat of the Student Union Government Director of Socials.

But because my encounter with the library was already rubbing off on me, instead of organising parties, I opted for creating an environment and platform for thinking.

I thought Nigeria wasn’t taking its student population into account when formulating major policies, and I wanted to get students to play a critical role in determining the foreign policies of the country which were the most important at that time; being the days of crisis and

Experience with Foreign Minister at age 19 I wrote to the then Foreign Minister, Colonel Joe Garba, but there was no response. So, I went down to Lagos and to his office. I met his secretary, but she looked at me from head to toe and told me to go back to my school and direct my letter to the Dean of Student Affairs who will direct it to the ViceChancellor who will then, and I mischievously quipped, ‘ who will then send it to God?’ When I got outside with the intention of waiting for the minister to resume work, his vehicle drove in. As he stepped out, I shouted: ‘Colonel Garba, I disagree with your position on Angola!’, and he asked, ‘Who said that?’ I showed up and we started discussing and walking to his office.

That was how I walked past the secretary, straight into the minister’s office! That was the beginning of a friendship that lasted the rest of his life. He agreed to come to Nsukka to debate our position on the matter, and, like a joke, he came amidst doubts from different quartersincluding the Vice-Chancellor who didn’t prepare in any way until he heard on radio that the minister had landed at the airport and was on his way to Nsukka. The point is: young people are too willing to accept just anything; everything is taken! Had I listened to the secretary who said I should go back and write through this and that, that event might never have happened! You don’t have to be rude

about it! Like it is said, if you wash your hands well, you will eat with old men”, he stressed.

Digesting John Kennedy mystic Patrick also remembered how he was indoctrinated with the mystic of America’s first Catholic president, John F.Kennedy. That apparently inspired his famous gospel of individual responsibility to national development.

His parents lived in northern Nigeria, Kaduna precisely, during the first ten years of his life. He later grew up in Jos, Maiduguri and Kano because his father who was working for the British Petroleum was transferred quite often.

“In Gusau where I spent my most formative years, I was significantly affected by a group of American Catholic priests of the Dominican Order, who ran the church and school of Our Lady of Fatima. At age seven, I would ride a bicycle about five miles at 5.30am to prepare the church for mass every day.

Coincidentally, the President of the United States of America was John F.Kennedy who happened to be the first Catholic to be president of the US. So, you could imagine the excitements of the Catholic priests! Therefore, between ages 7-9, I was fed the Kennedy mystic: ‘Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country ’. I read virtually everything the American president said at that time and they’ve had great effects on me”, Patrick said.

Gratitude to Nsukka library A thankful Pat Utomi couldn’t stop paying tribute to his library encounter as he recalled his graduate school experience at the Indiana University, Bloomington, USA. He explained: “Obviously, the encounter with the library at Nsukka did me a lasting favour in the sense that I continued to develop myself.

While in graduate school, my father passed away. Being the oldest of seven children, I needed to return home as soon as possible, so, I had to take on extra loads. Typical graduate load was nine credit hours a semester and strong guys would carry 12, but I carried 15 credit hours! Fortunately, my performance earned me so many grants and I didn’t need to take up jobs to foot my bills.

After my first semester, every other semester was on one grant or the other. Till date, when you enter my car, it’s impossible not to find a book.”

SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 19, 2013, PAGE 37

‘NIMET HEAVY RAINS ALERT

Our plan to combat killer-floods, by NEMA chief BYABEL DANIEL As the rainy season picks up, the North Central Zonal Office of the National Emergency Agency (NEMA) has embarked on a disaster risk management campaign in order to mitigate the effect of the flood predicted by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) this year. In this interview, the NEMA Coordinator in the zone, Mr. Mohammed Abdulsalam, speaks on the preparedness of the agency in the zone to avoid a repeat of the 2012 flood disaster.

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NEMA Coordinator, Mr. Mohammed Abdulsalam (right), giving relief materials to flood victims. the rural areas where they are serving, because we observed that people in the rural areas respect them a lot, and they could be agents of transformation. We call them Rural Emergency Vanguard.

Corps members have been very useful to us in the area of public awareness campaign.

Where they have any project like construction of public toilet or cleaning of blocked drainages, they call for assistance financially or technically from us. We help them to carry out such activities.

Going by the NIMET prediction, what measures have you put in place to minimize the effects of climate change in the zone?

You will recall that the prediction was made by NIMET on 15 February.

Shortly after, our headquarters office convened a meeting with stakeholders in Abuja, vis, the federal ministries of environment, water resources, Nigerian Red Cross, Federal Fire Service, among others.

After appraising our exercise of last year, we looked at what needed to be improved upon.

Then we drafted letters to respective state governors and state emergency managements on the prediction and what we intend doing to be able to pass the message across. It is about 11 weeks now since we received the prediction from NIMET. Since that time till now we have organized not less than 11 different workshops and consultative meetings with

states emergency managers across the country with our DG starting from Lafia. After assessing their level of preparedness, and where they needed our assistance, the DG promised assistance where necessary. States that needed a little push, the DG promised to pay advocacy visits to the states to encourage the governors to release funds to empower the agency to put them in a higher level of preparedness against possible flooding.

What is your advice to

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OW was NEMA able to handle the victims of the last year flood in the North Central Zone?

Well, despite the early warning exercise we carried out to sensitize the people to prepare against the predicted rainfall by NIMET, people did not take our advice seriously.

So when the rain started heavily in July and August and they could cope with the deluge, we had to come to their rescue with other stakeholders. We were able to save a lot of people and their properties.

Can you sum up the number of persons displaced by the flood in the zone?

About one million people were displaced with more than half of that number from Benue State.

What were your major challenges in the handling of the flood victims in the zone so far?

The major challenge we faced was the non-challant attitude of the people to the advice and direct instruction from government agencies to protect themselves, not only against flooding but also on any other disaster that may likely occur in their surroundings.

We did not rest on our oars but continued to sensitize the people by organizing workshops and training programs to sensitize them and create more awareness.

Among those who are enlightened, we ask them to preach the gospel of disaster reduction particularly to people at the grassroots. We created what we call Disaster Rescue Group among students and trained them on how to handle fire disasters and other disasters in their schools and immediate environment. We also trained corps members to train others across the country starting from their places of primary assignment during their service year. We set a target of at least 20 people in

fathers do not want them leave their communities. We had to ask them to choose areas they feel will be good for them pending when the flooding will be over. It is our duty as government to protect them, and that is what we are doing.

We had special meetings with some of the communities in Nasarawa and Benue States, and the respective governments took note and are planning to build safe havens for them, especially those living along river banks who are basically fishermen and

We should stop building on waterways or flood prone areas because, during flood such people will not be able to hold the force of water

people living and farming in flood prone areas?

What we observed is that majority of the victims of the last flooding are mainly residents of rural areas. Most of them are peasant farmers or fishermen and they cannot be evacuated entirely from their means of livelihood. Most times, the challenge we face with some of them is that they cling fast to their traditional belief saying their great grand

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rice farmers.

What would you tell Nigerians as their obligations as we approach the peak of the rainy season?

First and foremost we are appealing to the media to play their role as major stakeholders in disaster management by informing Nigerians on behalf of NEMA. Secondly, people should stop dumping refuse in drainages because it can stop

water from flowing appropriately. Thirdly, we should stop building on waterways or flood prone areas because, during flood such people will not be able to hold the force of water.

These are the major challenges we are facing. People just dump refuse anywhere.

Where people keep their refuse waiting for rain to start and then they just dump them for the rain to help them dispose and not knowing that the refuse could block water passage when stuck. The general saying that water must find its way will then happen as the water uses every possible way to flow when the normal passage is blocked thereby resulting into flood because people may not be able to cope with the water capacity. So people should keep to this simple rule and it will go a long way to reduce flooding in our communities. This is how we can protect our lives and the environment.

The campaign has been on in collaboration with our major stakeholders which include the ministries of environment, water resources and youth leaders, faith based organization who carry the message to the people at the grassroots. In each of the 74 local governments across the country, we are working towards training at least 200 able bodied youths to serve as first respondents in their communities in cases of disaster before the arrival of major stake holders.

C M Y K

PAGE 38 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 19, 2013

.... CRIME AND NATIONAL SECURITY

By SIMON EBEGBULEM, Benin City

F

OR some time now, armed robbers and kidnappers have taken over an area referred to as “Evil Forest” located along the Benin-City bypass, and seen as a haven for criminal activities.

Luxury buses plying the East-Lagos routes have on many occasions been attacked, passengers robbed and women raped in the area. Those who resist are killed. Families of many kidnapped victims are asked to go to the ‘Evil Forest’ to drop ransom. In the past, policemen dared not go near the place because they may not come back alive to tell the story.

However, since the coming of the current Commissioner of Police in Edo State, Mr Folunso Adebanjo, things have changed. After he assumed office early February, he read a riot act to criminals in the state to repent or flee the state. Many thought it was the usual bravado of a new officer posted to the state as it was in the past.

But Adebanjo took the bull by the horn, mopping up huge assortment of weapons used by criminals in different hideouts in Edo. Sunday Vanguard learnt that the CP relocated temporarily to the ‘Evil Forest’ with his men to confront armed robbers and kidnappers in their own domain. With scores of detectives, Adebanjo combed the place in search of kidnappers, particularly those involved in the abduction of the family of a Supreme Court Justice.

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fficers of the Depart ment of State Security Services, DSS, in the state are also not resting on their oars, following the arrest of nine suspected dare-devil kidnappers, penultimate week, allegedly involved in several abductions in the state in the past three years including the killers of a DSS operative last year.

CP Adebanjo, who gave an insight into his battle with criminals at the ‘Evil Forest’, told Sunday Vanguard, “I have been there with about 100 men, comprising Mobile Policemen, SARS, AntiKidnapping and other officers, on that Expressway on Iruekpen axis. I was there about a week ago and we have mapped out strategies to tackle the criminal elements. If you have been C M Y K

*All kidnapping, robbery suspects

BATTLE OF THE ‘EVIL FOREST’

Edo police boss versus kidnappers, armed robbers following us, last week, we killed two of the suspected robbers in a gun battle with our men. “When they were robbing, there was a distress call, our men rushed to the scene, engaged them in a gun battle and killed two of them. And we have arrested so many others. We have our CIB men on ground. I think they always come from the Aduwawa area, that is where many of the people committing these atrocities come from, but, lately, I’m sure you have not been hearing so much of it”.

He added. “We are beefing up our patrol in that area, we are repairing some vehicles too so that there will be

enough to patrol”.

A

sked if he was not scared of being killed when he passed the night at the ‘Evil Forest’, the CP replied, “When I was posted here, I asked for protection from God because, without God, whatever you do is in vain. I was able to mobilise the DPOs and told them my mission and vision here, that the police cannot do without the people, that the people are key and once you have the people on your side, a lot of things will begin to take place and, with their cooperation, crime can actually be reduced. I talk every Monday with all the DPOs in

the city; then once in a month, all the DPOs in the state, we come together and review the situation. I outlined my vision; everybody must work hard. I go out in the night. I am not a CP that stays in the office. I go in there, everywhere, midnight, anytime. This kidnap of the Justice wife, I am just coming from the area (Evil Forest). Yesterday I was there too. It is leadership by example. I go out in the night to check where my men are supposed to be.

Then my telephone numbers are all over the place.

People are giving us information and that is why we are getting results. I didn’t

lobby to be here, I never knew I will be here; so I put everything in the hands of God and I believe He protects me. Keeping crime low is my concern”.

So brazen were the criminals that they put their victims on notice, as was the case of a bishop in Benin-City. The bishop summoned the courage and complained to the police about the kidnap threat messages and calls he was receiving from strange phone numbers. The police swung into action and arrested one Roland Aregbo (28), on May 3, who the Edo State Police Command said is helping in its investigations.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 19, 2013 — PAGE 39

BATTLE OF THE ‘EVIL FOREST’

“During the operation, a distress call was sent to the police control room in BeninCity; the Ekpoma and Ehor Police Divisions were then informed about the robbery.

The policemen moved swiftly to the scene, but upon sighting the police, the hoodlums opened fire. Police returned fire, leading to the death of two of the hoodlums. Some items recovered from them included N32, 583 cash, First Bank ATM card, voters’ card belonging to one Isioma Eyemolu Mercy, mask, cutlasses, daggers, touch light and bags containing victims’ clothes. The police then combed the bush where stains of blood littered the area, an indication that some of them escaped with bullet wounds.

T

*Inspecting recovered arms

Announcing the recovery of a cache of arms in the state in the last two months, Adebanjo disclosed that the police command also arrested scores of suspected kidnappers, including “six dangerous suspects,” and recovered weapons used in carrying out their nefarious activities, including 113 AK 47 rifles magazines and seven boxes containing 6, 300 AK 47 live ammunitions.

C M Y K

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ccording to him, the police made several other raids and recovered the following items: a locally made SMG machine gun, seven cut to size guns, one pump action gun, one locally made single barrel gun, live cartridges, one Audi car, an ash-colour Honda Civic car with registration no: Lagos DE 829 LND, a Toyota Hilux van belonging to Reynolds Construction Company Limited, with registration no: Lagos LND 631 XD, cutlasses and wraps of weeds

Efforts are on to arrest other members of the gang. It is worthy of mention here that the Toyota Camry 1992 model received by one Ihejirika has been recovered.

•Commissioner of Police in Edo State, Mr Folunso Adebanjo, suspected to be Indian hemp. He revealed that the command shot dead two armed robbery suspects who were part of a seven-member gang that barricaded the Benin-Auchi-Okene express road. He said the police, in response to a distress call, accosted the suspected armed robbers, who he said engaged his men in exchange of fire - two of the suspected criminals were gunned down.

He said, “It is our collective concern to ensure safety of lives and property in Edo State. The command has, in the last two months, put in measures to ensure the state is unsafe for criminals. On Monday, suspected daredevil armed robbers alleged to have barricaded the ever busy Benin-Auchi-Okenne express road were shot dead by men of the Edo State Police Command. The heavily armed men, number-

,

ing seven, engaged the police, who were responding to a distress call, in a gun battle, following which two were killed, while others escaped into the bush.”

The CP added that the hoodlums attacked some commercial buses and their passengers at the IruekpenEhor axis of the road where they robbed unsuspecting passengers of their money, mobile phones and other personal items.

he area is said to be notorious and prone to armed robbery attacks, as many passengers often times lose their money and valuables to hoodlums operating on the road.”

He further disclosed that men of the command, acting on intelligence reports, unmasked a three-man gang of car jackers and receivers of stolen goods. According to the CP, one of the suspects, Aba Josiah, confessed to receiving four Toyota Camry cars from one Emeka Onyeji, who he said remain at large.

He said: “Arrested is one Ihejirika, who confessed to receiving a Toyota Camry 1992 model from the same Emeka Onyeji, at a price of N300, 000. The middle man to the armed robbers, one Uti Aigbovbiosa, has been arrested and is being interrogated. Efforts are on to arrest other members of the gang. It is worthy of mention here that the Toyota Camry 1992 model received by one Ihejirika has been recovered.

“On March 16, upon information received by AntiKidnapping Squad 9, one suspect named Scot Omoefe Philip, who was earlier charged to court for an established case of kidnapping, but was granted bail in court, got the opportunity to commit more crime, and was re-arrested. Arrested along with him was one Monday Atimogie.”

Other recovered items listed by Adebanjo include 24 live and five expanded cartridges, seven mobile phones, one ring, necklace and one dagger.

The CP said the battle against the armed robbers will continue.

PAGE 40—SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 19, 2013

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he police, after investigations, arrested and detained the technician while Sikiri was taken to the General Hospital, Epe, for treatment.

Sikiru said he went to the police station the following day. While outside, he was accosted by a man who allegedly claimed he was the brother to the technician and offered to buy another fan in replacement of the now lost fan. Sikiru rejected the offer, insisting instead on his own fan. And that

*Sikiru ...seeks means to take care of children

*Babies ... lost mother at child birth

AFTER 13 YEARS OF WRONGFUL IMPRISONMENT

A citizen’s battle to keep motherless twins alive!

By ADEOLA ADENUGA was a mistake, because, when he returned to the station the following day, he saw the man who accosted him the previous day now in police uniform. Before Sikiru could say Jack and Jill, the Divisional Crime Officer (DCO) of the station, summoned him and informed him that the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) had ordered that he (Sikiru) be detained. And he was promptly clamped into cell. That was the beginning of his sojourn in confinement.

According to Sikiru, the next day, he was transferred to the State CID, Panti where he was detained for three months, June to August 1990. In August, 1990, he was taken to Magistrate Court 3, Yaba and charged with attempted robbery. He was later remanded in Ikoyi Prisons and ‘forgotten’ While in prison custody, he paid money raised by his family to lawyers who vanished into thin air. But he never lost hope in his Catholic faith. Sikiru

,

ITH tears dripping down his cheeks, Oluwarotimi Sikiru looked lost. He knelt down as if addressing some audience. “I am appealing to good spirited Nigerians to come to my aid. My suffering has been compounded since going to prison for an offence I did not commit,” Sikiru said.

Sikiru was in jail for 13 years as prisoner awaiting trial until February 14, 2003 on trumped-up robbery charge. He remarried after his release as his wife abandoned him during his years in jail.

The new wife died at child birth, leaving behind twins, both girls, for him to cater for.

Being unemployed, the reason citizen Sikiru is seeking assistance during his visit to Vanguard is to enable him fend for himself and take care of the motherless twins. He wants to return to the transport business he was engaged in before his imprisonment. He told the story of his journey to Ikoyi Prisons.

Sikiru narrated how a standing fan he got from his expatriate boss, and which he sent to a technician for repairs, was bought by a policeman, at the technician’s workshop at Odomole, Epe, Lagos State.

This was after he had paid the technician for the repairs. According to Sikiru, the technician, suddenly started playing a hide and seek game with him. He later caught up with the technician, only to discover that his fan had been sold.

That was in February, 1990.

Enquiries by Sikiru on the whereabouts of his fan, later resulted into fisticuffs during which he was injured. According to Sikiru, following his injury, he summoned one of his colleagues who reported the matter at the Epe Police Station.

The period in labour (about a month) must have drained and exhausted her, such that after the delivery, she died three days later

, regained his freedom, on February 14, 2003, with the help of Legal Defence and Assitance Project (LEDAP) who visited and took up his case at the Ikoyi Prison after languishing there for thirteen years.

Back in freedom, Sikiru’s ordeal does not seem over yet. He remains jobless and literally living on friends and relatives. Today, his ordeal is compounded.

Sikiru, in Vanguard, had this to say: “When my wife I

married after the first one abandoned me during my confinement became pregnant early last year, we did not have much problems until she was due. Then I took her to Shagamu General Hospital, but that was when the Lagos State doctors embarked on their strike action.

“She stayed about a month in hospital and in labour.

Later the doctors said they would operate on her to evacuate the baby in her womb.

B

ut they called a very high amount of money which I could not afford.

Since they insisted we must pay, I went round soliciting for help. In the process, I contacted the former governor of Lagos State, Baba Lateef Jakande, who gave me a note for the doctors at the hospital”.

He continued; “This worked like magic and the doctors subsequently reduced the amount and when this was paid, they did the operation and delivered my wife of twins.

The period in labour (about a month) must have drained and exhausted her, such

that after the delivery, she died three days later. But the twins are still alive and doing well. The twins are several months old now.

“My major problem now is how to cater for the twins.

Being unemployed for such a long time and the trauma I have gone through from the prison experience, the coming of the twins, a blessing that should have brought joy to me and and my family, has added to my worries. I have no job, and I have no money”, he said.

“I appeal to governments and individuals to please, help me. I pray that Almighty God will equally bless all”. Sikiru would like to go to transport business or any other business if public spirited people can help.

The former prison inmate can be reached on phone number 08123879366 or through Sunday Vanguard Editor. Financial assistance can reach him through account details: Ecobank account number 0011078341; account name: Rotimi Sikiru Morufu.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 19, 2013, PAGE 41

‘Over 20 lecturers, relations kidnapped in Delta varsity’

BY EMMA AMAIZE

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HAIRMAN, Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Delta State University, DELSU, Abraka branch, Dr. Emmanuel Mordi, at the

weekend, said at least 20 lecturers, their spouses and relations, had been kidnapped in the last two years by gunmen.

He stated this in Abraka while briefing the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Ikechukwu Aduba, who visited the

university, just as the Vice Chancellor, Prof Eric Arubayi, confirmed that the university and Abraka community were under siege.

Aduba, however, explained the role police were playing to stem crime in the state, especially in

the university community, and pleaded for support in passing useful information to the police.

Mordi, worried by the manner kidnappers had zeroed-in on lecturers, feared they might destroy the academic environment.

He made particular

reference to a lecturers in science education, Dr. (Mrs) Mercy Mokobia, kidnapped, on April 9, at about 1.00a.m. in her bedroom and has not been found till date, as well as Dr. Ugochukwu Uzuegbe, abducted, on May 9, in Edo State, but regained

Glo X-Factor, singing reality show, goes on air

X

-Factor, the world’s number one singing reality TV show, which national operator, Globacom, brought to Africa, for the first time in March, went on air yesterday.

A statement from the company said highlights of the auditions held in

Nigeria and Ghana was broadcast on African Independent Television (AIT) at 7-8 p.m., Silverbird Television (STV) at 8.30-9.30 p.m. and Wale Adenuga Production Television (WAP TV) at 4-5 p.m.

Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and

Ghana’s Viasat will broadcast the programme on today at 5-6 p.m. and 89 p.m. respectively, the statement added.

Auditions for the show have so far been held in Port Harcourt and Abuja in Nigeria as well as in Kumasi and Accra in Ghana. Lagos auditions

are scheduled for the 25th and 26th of May. With the programme going on air, Globacom noted, entertainment lovers will be able to see all the exciting highlights of the battle by thousands of aspiring singers to make the final stages of the

competition that will see the winner going home with a N24 million cash prize. The winner will also get a recording contract with Sony Music for the recording of an album and professional management of the winning individual or group.

freedom after payment of ransom.

His words, “It is unfortunate and very frightening that it has become our lot in recent years to be saddled with the burden of combating kidnapping and related nefarious acts which have posed danger to the security of lives and property of our members”.

He regretted that since 2011, ASUU members had been in constant danger of losing their lives to kidnappers and armed bandits.

Aduba took time to explain the measures police had taken to secure the academic community and how it traced the kidnappers of Mokobia to Ozoro, where one of the suspected kidnappers was shot dead and three of the female members arrested with part of the ransom collected by the gang.

He said the police were doing everything to locate the lecturer while detectives were trailing the two fleeing suspects.

The police boss, however, vowed to crush kidnappers and warmed that any building owned by kidnappers or used to hold victims hostage would be demolished.

Jonathan gets commendation prominent Niger A Delta activist, Chief Michael Johnny, has commended President Goodluck Jonathan for the declaring the state of emergency in the troubled Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.

Johnny, who made the commendation, through his media assistant, also charged governors in the country to continue to support the federal government in the fight against terrorism.

He blamed the insurgence in the troubled Northern states on the governors for collecting security votes, without providing adequate security for their people.

The activist also charged governors in the country to be up and doing.

Remembrance service HE 20th year T remembrance of Olori Felicia Abike

Odubanjo (Iya Kola) holds on May 25 . Olori Odubanjo, who passed on to eternal glory on the 21th of April 1993, will be remembered by the family with a service of songs at St. James Anglican Church, Atikori, Ijebu Igbo, Ogun State.

Late Olori Odubanjo

PAGE 42—SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 19, 2013

Nigeria’s Global Competitiveness – NEXIM As An Anchor

President Jonathan

their international economic relations to the exent of ‘direct confrontation”, using export trade as platform. So to them, the basic role of EXIM Banks no longer suffices; it has been taken to the level of proactive and aggressive marketing. So, they now compete in form that seem like ordinary BUYERCREDIT FINANCING. In real sense, Buyer-Credit facility is not designed for global trade support, but to as an instrument for global economic competitiveness, for relative advantage, one versus the other. So, for instance, China will gladly push huge funds through whatever channel open to them in any country that may so request, in form of economic growth and developmen supportfunding, while in real terms, the objective or interest is taking advantage of the recepient country or economy for China’s economic advantage, using the ‘support facility’ as an in-road.

NEXIM understands the inherent disadvantage in B U Y E R - C R E D I T FINANCING, and has positioned to structure ownfacility for our local market, rather than expose our local resources with enormous export-import trade earning potentials to such exploitation.

But unfortunately, NEXIM is incapacited as you read this piece, due to grossly inadequate funding. May we just put on record here that this initiative is by far a proactive and innovative structure borne out creativity which is frontal among developed nations in global economic engagement, developed by our own NEXIM, yet cannot be implemented due to nonavailability of funds. Sad! But that is only a small fraction of the consequence of NEXIM’s financial incapacity.

As shown in the pie-chart below, between 2009 to date, NEXIM has recorded appreciable results in its engagement through a careful allocation of available scarce resources in the key areas with very high economic growth potentials of our economy. Within same period, it has invested N12bn in lending to Nigerian Export manufacturers. Secondly, NEXIM has invested N6.6bn in funding agro-processing for export trade/business. Thirdly, NEXIM is pioneering the opening-up of the Solid Mineral mining sector (coming at a huge cost –

,

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HE platform for international relativity and competitiveness has since shifted from military to economic engagement. As a global trend, therefore, discerning nations have since focused on building impactful, profitable and enduring economic structures for such engagement. To wit, global rating and grading for nations are more than ever before, based on economic indices.

As mentioned in our article last week, the position of World Economic Foruming on conomic growth and development, as the focal point for ratings in Global Competitiveness is based on the paradigm shift. MC&A DIGEST team has, in recent times, decided on concerning itself with the readiness of Nigeria for the new world order, looking from operative policies, symbolic structures and the commitment invested in ensuring the functionality, effectiveness and efficiency of such structures, starting with NIGERIAN EXPORTIMPORT BANK, NEXIM. Nigeria’s (and indeed any nation’s) economic growth potentials and extent of target actualisation in the face of progressively keen global competitiveness, rests on a tripod of proper trend analysis, articulate policy development and proper, consistent, articulate and p u r p o s e - d r i v e n implementation. Last week, we mentioned the position of leadership in driving national economic growth process. It must be globally relative, strategic and in competitive.

One example we keep throwing up is the trade policies of nations such as China, India, Turkey and the United States of America.

These countries have driven

to facilitate the most efficient sea transportation of export trade commodities across the regional and global markets, for a more profitable exportimport trade, among the target audience.

We must put in perspective that the oil resource that our economy run on now is only 3rd in the rating of contributors to our GDP – after Agriculture and Trade/Commerce. Suffice, therefore, oil as a resource cannot be said to have the capacity to sustain our economy in the near-future (even if the recklessness attendant upon the present resource wastages), is

The promise ahead of us all is that if NEXIM is adequately funded, Nigeria’s industrialisation process will speed-up, our economic development will get a boost

having committed N2.2bn so far), based on a forecast of a sector with very higher foreig earning potentials, projected to far higher than our Oil can generate, if fully exploited.

Fourthly, NEXIM has so far expended huge resources into activating fundamentally important infrastructures to facilitate profitable and efficient export trading in form of its SEA-LINK PROJECT. This is an initiative that has attracted collaborators across the world who have identified with the enormous benefit there-in. The big idea here is

,

curtailed. We must, therefore, strenghten our resolve to drive for a more robust support for NEXIM Banth through adequate and appropriate funding, as a nation, considering its enormous potential as a catalyst for economic growth and development.

The thrust for Nigeria in our quest for global competitiveness and relevance should be seen as founded on proper funding of NEXIM Bank. It psitions as the potent channel for our national investment for

enduring economic growth and development, as a nation.

Last week, we noted poor funding as the major obstacle facing NEXIM Bank, limiting its ability to explore its potentials. Presently, it will require well over N100bn to attend to attend to applications already approved for their potentials, innovativeness and export trade potentials. In fact, our focus shifted towards NEXIM Bank as a result of the complaint of some of those applicants who are getting frustrated waiting for NEXIM’s support. These are initiatives with huge capacity to generate employment, help our collective position in global competitiveness and drive our economy growth and development, yet NEXIM cannot do anything to get them up and running because of non-availability of funds. We need to look at reviewing the capitalisation of NEXIM, if we are serious about growing our economy through exportimport trade.

The promise ahead of us all is that if NEXIM is adequately funded, Nigeria’s industrialisation process will speed-up, our economic development will get a boost, employment will rise considerably and our economy will be diversified in real sense. On the whole, Nigeria will be better positioned in the commity of nations in line with global competitiveness. As a way forward, therefore, NEXIM Bank’s present meagre N39bn paid-up share capital, needs to be reviewed upward by well over 200%.

What it now ‘has’ is not comparable to the amount invested by India on a single project in Ghana.

There is need for a rethink!

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 19, 2013, PAGE 43

SWORD OF THE SPIRIT COINCIDENCES DON’T EXIST

M

Y DVD play er has a slowmotion application. When you press it, you see the film you are watching in slowmotion. That way, you are likely to notice things you would otherwise have overlooked. When I first met the Lord, he set my life to slow-motion for the first two to three months so I could see things I had not noticed before. Suddenly, I discovered that everything about my life followed an ordered pattern. There was discernibly a guiding hand to all the things happening around me.

I would ask the Lord a question and wait for him to answer; and he answered every time. But what was fascinating was the way he answered. In some cases, he answered directly in my mind. But more often than not, he used the things around me to answer.

I would turn on the television and he would use someone on the screen to speak to me. Someone would come to visit me and would answer my question without my asking. I would open my bible and the answer would speak to me from one of the pages.

On one occasion, I asked the Lord a question while driving. When I looked up, the answer was there; boldly written on a billboard. I then wondered whether the billboard was a vision or whether it was really there. So I went back again on the same route. When I got there, the billboard was right there, with the same message on it. Apparently, it had been there for a while.

But why was it that the exact time I asked the Lord the question was the exact time I drove past the billboard?

Did I ask the question or did the Lord cause me to ask it at that particular time? Your guess is as good as mine.

After some time, the Lord switched off the slow-motion and everything went back to normal speed. But now I know it is up to me to be observant.

Accordingly, I now spend every day of my life on the look-out for God. I make it my business to know what God is doing in the situations and circumstances of my life. It is my business to know the purpose he has purposed for me. Jesus says: “I must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.” (John 9:4).

God is not a coincidental God

Finger of God Once, the Police arrested my former Business Manager, Ernest Oboh, on trumped-up charges. I had to go to the station to see what I could do.

Before I left, I said a short prayer asking God for help. I asked him for the favour of God and the favour of man.

When I got to the Police Station, I spoke to the arresting officer. The man listened to me intently for a few minutes and then directed that my Manager be released immediately. Then he gave me his reasons. He said to me: “I am releasing him for three reasons. I am releasing him because I have a lot of respect for people who have grey hair, and you have a lot of it. I am releasing him because I un-

derstand you have a doctorate, and I just have lots of respect for people who have doctorates. I am releasing him because you are a pastor, and I just have a lot of respect for pastors.”

I told the officer: “I am sorry to disagree with you, Sir. You are not releasing him because of any of those reasons. You are releasing him because before I came here, I went down on my knees and prayed and asked God to give me favour.”

You see, right from the beginning of that episode, God brought the case to a man whose mind he had already prepared to be sympathetic to me. All the issues about grey hairs and doctorates were simply the devices of God. Somebody else could have hated me precisely because my hair was grey, and he could have hated me for having a doctorate.

Strategically-placed helpers Many years ago, some Liberian refugee members of our fellowship were arrested for “loitering,” and we had to go to the police station to secure their release. So we knelt down and asked God to take control. When we got to the Station, we were directed to the office of the Divisional Commander. Immediately I walked into his office, I saw the kingdom of God. All over the walls were posters with slogans affirming the supremacy of Christ.

When I sat down, I said to the DCO: “I see, Sir, that you are a Christian.”

In answer to that question, he and I started sharing testimonies about the goodness of the Lord. This went on for some 30 minutes, after which he suddenly said: “By the way, why have you come to see me?”

I told him some members of our fellowship were arrested for “loitering,” and I wanted to see if I could secure their release. The policeman was angry. “For loitering!” he exclaimed. He not only directed they be released immediately, but that those who arrested them should be locked up.

Don’t panic Joy Ogwu’s son was going back to the United States from Nigeria. He had an American passport and a Nigerian passport simultaneously. He came in with his Nigerian passport, which meant he did not have a Nigerian visa. But if he tried to leave with his Nigerian passport, they would require him to show a visa for his destination. That meant he would have to show his American passport.

But dual nationality had then been suspended in Nigeria. If he only showed his American passport, they would ask him how he got into the country without a Nigerian visa.

It was a “Catch 22” situation. Joy

took the matter to God and asked for his help.

Then she went to the airport with her son. But on getting there, she had a panic attack. Perhaps there was someone she knew who could help her? Perhaps if she spoke politely to the immigration official he would overlook the matter? Perhaps; perhaps; perhaps.

Finally, the Holy Spirit spoke: “Did you not ask me for help? So why are you still anxious?”

Remorseful, she stood there in the middle of the airport terminal apologising to God. She had scarcely finished praying her apologies when someone called her name. “Professor Ogwu is that you?” She looked up to see this distinguished military officer standing in front of her with a big grin on his face. “What are you doing here?” he asked.

“My son is travelling to the United States.”

“Where is he?” the man asked taking charge. He took charge so completely he ushered him past immigration and literally on to the plane. Problem solved.

When Joy told her husband what happened, he was unimpressed. “It was just a coincidence,” he insisted. Coincidence my foot! Our God is not a coincidental God.

WATCHMEN NIGHT

IN

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“Behold, bless ye the LORD, all ye servants of the LORD, which by night stand in the house of the LORD” (Psalm 134:1).

INTERCESSORS are needed to serve as night watchmen in the house of the Lord. You can be one of them. (Luke 2:8; Ex. 12:40-42; Luke 6:12).

The work of God flies on the wings of intercession. Where you have many people who are committed to praying day and night for the work of the Lord, the work moves by leaps and bounds.

Where there are no intercessors, the work drags and suffers great setbacks no matter what else is done (Acts 6:47).

In the early church, they prayed, and prayed, and prayed, and prayed. They prayed by the watch hours (Acts 3:1). They prayed as an apostolic band (Acts 4:23–31). They prayed and buildings shook (Acts 4:31). They prayed and the earth quaked (Acts 16:25–26). They prayed and prison doors flung open (Acts 12:1–11). They prayed with fasting (Acts 13:13). They prayed continuously without ceasing (Acts 6:4). They prayed until something happened (Acts 12:5). They prayed and changed the world (Acts 17:6).

The greatest need of the Church today is for men and women who will stand by night in the house of God, lifting up holy hands that the glory of God will descend and abide upon Zion. Are you one of them? May the Holy Spirit stir your heart.

(Ezek. 22:30; Luke 2:36-37; Lev. 24:1-4).

You are not to fold your hands watching your Church struggling against the forces of hell. You are not to join the band of those criticising everything about the Church, from the Pastor, to the choir, to the ushers. You are not to be amongst those castigating your Pastor or your spiritual leader. You are to be in the band of Aaron and Hur, lifting up the hands of Moses in prayer and intercession (Exodus 17:11-15). May you hear the voice of the Lord. May you respond to His all. May you make a difference in your time.

“For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath preparedfor him that waiteth for him” (Isaiah 64:4).

Anglican Primate says emergency rule is not an option

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BUJA – THE Primate, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Com munion), Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh says emergency rule will not address the security challenge in parts of the country, reports CALEB AYANSINA. Okoh, a retired military officer believes that insecurity should be addressed comprehensively, arguing "if you declare a state of emergency in Nassarawa state, the people would move to Benue. When you declare it in Benue, they would move to Abuja because there is a link. We had state of emergency in some local governments in the North, it didn’t change anything. So, it is like an ad-hoc measure, you hit it here and the thing escapes to another place, there would be no end.

Okoh who stated this at a press conference on the forthcoming third Session of the 8th Synod of the Diocese of Abuja (Anglican Communion) with the theme; ‘Christian Stewardship’ in Abuja, described declaration of emergency rule in some troubled states as

‘ad-hoc measure’ that would not solve any problem.

“So, I would rather say that, the insecurity in our land should be addressed comprehensively, and that is why I said the matter on ground is a national issue that requires the co-operation of every Nigerian as we are facing the amalgamation year anniversary.

“I want to say people should stop playing politics with national security, because if there is no Nigeria there would be no political parties, nobody will win any election, if there is no Nigeria. So the type of responses from people in this country show that their own interest is not for the survival of the country or the progress of the country,” he stated.

The Cleric further noted that with the present situation on ground there is need for the government to convey national conference for every part of the country to bare their mind on the way to move the country forward.

The Primate also called for disarmament of Fulani herdsmen to curb the ongoing bloodletting in some parts of the country.

PAGE 44—SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 19 19, 2013

chimeena@yahoo.com 08056180157

Friends, Nollywood, Govt abandoned me, says ailing Actor Peter Bunor

•Peter Bunor

V

ETERAN Nollywood actor and one of the industry’s patriarchs and pioneer role interpreters Peter Bunor has been to death and back since he was struck by a deadly stroke.

His state of health presently is so bad to the extent that except help comes to him urgently, the industry may witness the loss of another star actor after Enebeli Enebuwa. To many who know how bad his health conditions have been in the last one year, his being alive today is a miracle.

There are even rumors that he has kicked the bucket.

However, Bunor is alive but not a happy man.

Reason being the ill treatment he has suffered in the hands of former colleagues in the makebelive industry. The Ogwashi Uku, Delta State born actor who narrated his ordeal in tears recently, said he is bitter with his colleagues and pray for God to touch their hearts.

He revealed how everyone including some of the young actors and actresses he mentored in the industry have abandoned him simply because of ill health.

The actor who spoke to Vanguard Arts in Asaba, where he is recuperating also expressed his

disappointment with Delta State government , which he accused of also ignoring him.

Concerning his plans to reaching Delta State Government for assistance he said : “ I want to speak with the State Governor and I believe he is a wonderful man. He has a great passion for all Deltans. But I am still trying my best to see how I could reach Governor Uduaghan, which has not been possible. I believe that if I can have access to him, he will do something for me. Since this thing happened there has been no single actor that called me to ask about my condition. It is a shame on their part. Would they say they don’t know that I am sick?’

Sick Bunor also said that since his travails started last year that he hasn’t even received a common phone call from any of his former colleges not to talk of assistance.

He said that his colleagues rather prefer to hear his obituary news or any other bad news as they have started spreading rumor that he is dead. ‘ I had a stroke and that was the end of it. I was unconscious, and if you are unconscious you are dead.

It was when I opened my eyes that I realized that I was in a church here in Delta State. I didn’t even know when they brought

me down to this place. When I open my eyes, I was so hungry. I had not eaten for a long time. All I could remember is that I was on admission for a long time before they took me to a church where God healed me.’ He said.

Continuing he added that : All I can say now is to thank God that I am alive. I have also given my life to Jesus Christ as you can see that I am now a Pastor. ” Asked to throw more light on when he was struck by

,

BY MCPHILIPS NWACHUKWU & EMMANUEL AGOZINO

God is in control.”

Though sidelined from the stage for the past one year, the popular actor thanked God that the stroke did not snuff life out of him.

He noted that the journey of his life in the past oneyear has been an uncharted script that has taken him from the throes of death to the land of the living.

“Let me tell you the truth.

After I had this stroke I did not know how I was looking.

That is why I am not happy with this so-called people

I want to speak with the State Governor and I believe he is a wonderful man

the illness, he said that it would be difficult to remember as the after effect of stroke is something that makes anyone to forget his past.

“If I tell you that this was the particular day I had this stroke then I did not have stroke. Up till now, I am still trying to find out how they brought me here in Asaba.

Because when you are hit with stroke you will even forget your own name. I forgot my name. In fact I never knew I still exist. Up to the time they took me to the Bible school I never knew.

That is stroke for you. I pray that no man experiences it. I am happy, I’m getting better.

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you call my colleagues.

Bunor who still remember how he joined the movie industry said whatever he achieved was not by any favour but through his talent.

A

ccording to him:“I didn’t study Theatre Arts. I started while looking for avenues to make little money for my school. I was paid about N10 per episode in any soap that is local production, but on network programme like Cock Crow at Dawn I got about N150 per episode, which was a big money then.

I did this continually and that was how I found myself

in the industry. I didn’t actually know that it was going to be like this.

I was just doing it then to put something in my pocket.

While I was in Jos, I used to go to act with the NTA Jos, between 1980-82.

I even took part in the first soap opera that went on network and also had a stint with some of the local television productions like Mirror and others.

I have equally taken part in different television soaps like Memorial Hospital, Checkmate, Sound of Destiny, Second Chance, Third Eye and several others.

So, when the home video thing came up, it was like a joke but I found myself in one of the major English video called Glamour Girls in 1994.

It is the first English movie that started off what we are doing now.

Otherwise, I would say the first movie that was produced in the industry is Living in Bondage.’

Throwing more light as to his acting prowess, he said, “I still act in soap because before I had this problem I was involved in Treasures.

But let me just say clearly that the difference is clear.

When you talk about Nollywood video, you know it involves money and you know you need to live up to your billing to prove that what they are paying you is worth it.”

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 19, 2013, PAGE 45

Group showcases Nigeria at Khartoum Theatre Festival

BY TAYE OBATERU

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IGERIA featured for the first time at the 13th edition of the Al Bugaa International Theatre Festival in Khartoum, Sudan, held in March, this year, through a young theatre group known as Theatre Emissary which flew the country’s flag at the event.

For the past 13 years, theatre groups from across the globe gather in Khartoum, Sudan, to celebrate and share the theatre spirit and experience.

The 2013 edition which opened on March 27, featured theatre companies from Egypt, Algeria, the United States, Nigeria, South Sudan and Khartoum based theatre groups alike. Individual theatre practitioners from Germany, Morocco and the United States were

not left out.

The festival/competition organized by the Al Bugaa Theatre, run by Ali Mahdi Nouri, brings together young minds of theatre and the patrons in an enclosed environment to share ideas of theatre practices in their respective countries. If affords opportunity for initiating international collaborations and harmonizing the theatre cultures around the globe.

‘Theatre Emissary’ from Nigeria packaged and performed an absurdist play, ‘Two Characters Undefined’ written by Paul Ugbede, a young playwright, and directed by Taiwo Afolabi. Afolabi who is the artistic director of the group narrated the play’s essence to Vanguard.

“The play was written to reflect the absurdist nature of some key elements in the Nigerian timeline since independence, concluding a

•Members of Nigerian Theatre Delegation

predominant subject of “nothingness in the vicious circle of life and existence”.He said.

He explained that the thematic preoccupations of the play include social understanding, unity, love, the concept of God and mutual contributions for continuous existence.

The universality of the art was also evident which was why the play could be understood by the Arab audience despite the language barrier.

The universal themes discussed were understood by the audience through symbols and image rides embedded in the play.

The play told the story of two characters named Ratty and Phil played by Charles Etubiebi and Samson Oklobia respectively. They were supposed to be on a journey of life but were not because they could not go through the door standing between them and their future.

They were distracted and seemed reluctant to make necessary moves that could launch them to their destiny. The play is full of life, movements and a lot of monologues from both actors, which requires a whole lot of understanding and characterization, which the actors delivered effectively.

The high level of professionalism exhibited by the company in terms of set design, interpretation of characters and the clear cut projection of the play ’s central message on stage earned Theatre Emissary the Best Male Actor at the festival. ? Before performing in Khartoum, Theatre Emissary performed the play in Benue State, receiving applause from the audience response on the message, the delivery and the artistic interpretation.

Experts tip culture as panacea for Unity

BY PRISCA SAM-DURU

Bothered by the prevailing threats to national security, peace and unity, stakeholders in the Arts and Culture sector in Nigeria gathered during a workshop at the Nigerian Institute for International Affairs (NIIA), Victoria Island, Lagos, last week, where the media was saddled with the responsibility of fostering the unity of Nigeria.

Tagged, “Culture as a Panacea in the Peaceful Co-existence of a Multiethnic nation: The Role of the Media”, the quarterly National Media Workshop for Arts Writers/Editors, which is the 9th in the series, organised by the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO) had eminent theatre scholar and social critic, Professor Femi Osofisan, of the Department of Theatre Arts, University of Ibadan as chairman of the occasion.

In his well detailed lecture titled “Culture as a Panacea in the Peaceful Co-existence of a Multi-ethnic Nation: The Role of the Media” Mr. Alvan Ewuzie, Associate Editor of the Sun Newspapers harped on the role of the media towards building a strong Nigeria, where security of lives and

Troupe marks Nigeria’s Centenary with storytelling competition

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he National Troupe of Nigeria is set to host the second edition of the annual dramatised storytelling competition for schools.

This time, the competition will be held for schools in Lagos and Abuja.

The maiden edition of the dramatized storytelling competition which is held in line with the National Troupe’s objectives of providing a platform for the discovery and showcasing of talents, featured students from primary and secondary school in Lagos.

The competition is also being held to celebrate, Nigeria’s one hundred years of existence. But specifically, the coordinator of the dramatized storytelling competition and Director of Drama of the National Troupe Ms Josephine Igberaese says the programme is being held this year to also complement the January 18th1980’s resolutions on storytelling adopted by the conference on folklore held under the auspices of the Centre for Nigeria cultural Studies, the Federal Ministry of Culture and UNESCO to encourage the preservation and promotion of Nigeria folklore. ‘’Since the storytelling is the science of the survival of old beliefs and customs in modern times, and the study of ancient observances and customs, the notions, beliefs, traditions, superstitions and prejudices of the common people-this therefore is the task ahead of those intellectual gathering of students from schools to examine how the dictates of storytelling could be effectively utilized to achieve national integration through this carefully selected sub-theme” Igberaese said.

Artistic Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Troupe Mr. Martin Adaji says the competition aims at ensuring meaningful communication of all aspects of storytelling. Adaji said it is designed to explore how storytelling could be utilized to correct inadequacies of the youth especially in the age of technological advancement.

Billed to hold in Lagos and Abuja in the last week of May and first week of June 2013, the competition, which is opened to primary and secondary schools in and around Lagos and Abuja will begin with the preliminaries and elimination stages.

Don decries lack of support to ANA •From left: Dr Ayokoroma, Prof Osofisan and Prof Mrs Ogunleye property are guaranteed, adding that, “the media has the latent power to bring up issues to public attention and thus, cause desired changes in such sector.” Ewuzie, therefore called on the media to sensitise the public on the potency of utilising cultural events in fostering unity amongst the multiethnic groups in Nigeria in the same way football is being used in fostering national unity, irrespective of challenges. He also warned them not to let political authorities look down on cultural events as they have tended to do.

He recommended a 10-point Agenda

which covers the areas of funding, ownership, patronage, publicity, and strategic planning, to media organisations through which the latent power of the media can bring cultural issues to public attention so as to effect the much needed change.

According to him, “for a country as far-flung, diverse and populous as Nigeria, the term peaceful coexistence may not come easy...”, stressing that, the onus falls on the media to play cautious and conscious role in its reportage so as to promote unity amongst the people rather than help escalate the situation which already,

T

HE immediate past provost of the Delta State University, Asaba Campus, Prof. Sam Ukala, has lamented the lack of support by Delta State Government for writers who he said were “the conscience of the society”.

The university don said most progressive states were seen to support writers, saying for example that 7 buses were donated by the Zamfara State Government when Zamfara hosted the Association of Nigeria Authors (ANA) convention a few years back.

Ukala was reacting to suggestions in the monthly meeting of ANA in Abraka that the Delta State Government was cold to ANA in the state because the body was not headquartered in Asaba.

“It is not a shame or mistake that ANA is headquartered in Abraka. This is where remarkable writers were with the state university location when ANA started and they could easily congregate”.

PAGE 46 —SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 19, 2013

Advertising wars: Separating facts from fallacy

BY KELECHI NWOSU, CELEY OKOGUN AND JENKINS ALUMONA VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF The trend for people outside the advertising industry to circumscribe practitioners

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HE ASCOMDI Report of 2010 proved that 75% of media debts are traceable to non-registered advertising agencies This may sound unbelievable but that is the stated fact.

It has become necessary to resurrect the ASCOMDI Report in the light of the lie canvassed in the media that “many chief executives of local advertising agencies had refused to remit payment to media organs after being paid by clients. These showy executives, who live large like the Joneses, would rather buy luxury and swanky homes overseas…” Louisa Aguiyi-Ironsi wrote in her now famous attack article.

Some background will be useful here. Sequel to accusations and counter-accusations spanning nearly a decades by media owners - Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON), Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), and Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN) – that the Association of Advertising Agencies of

Nigeria (AAAN) owed over a billion naira, the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria( APCON), under the then Chairman, Mr. Chris Doghudje, a veteran and Fellow of the industry, stepped into the fray.

Doghudge, in 2007, formed an all-parties stakeholders’ reconciliation committee made up of two representatives each from all sectoral bodies in APCON. Known as ASCOMDI, the committee’s terms of reference was to determine the total debt profile in the industry, investigate the claims of all parties with a view to identifying the true debtors and true creditors, and design an amicable solution acceptable to all parties. On Thursday, May 27, 2010, APCON held a press conference to present the report of ASCOMDI to all sectoral bodies. Of interest is the report that N766.6 million (out of the claimed N1.145 billion debt) was traced to nonAAAN member agencies!!! For better understanding, there are media buyers and independent producers/marketers who go direct to media houses to buy slots, spots and spaces.

It is therefore a fallacy that less than three years after the conclusion of what was accepted as a through process, promoters of “Nigerians can not do anything right “ are busy trumpeting and old lie in the hope that loud repetition of a lie will make it the truth.

Frankly, we are less concerned

about the messenger but more fixated on the dissemination of falsehood, manipulation of facts, misleading conclusions arising from ignorance, shallow mindedness, and hatred.

Again, it amounts to pure deceit of the Nigerian people to state that NPAN has “blacklisted” some advertising agencies because of the debt issue.

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VIEWPOINT

the firm belief in our abilities by the business community and the strong acceptance of our communication message by the Nigeria citizen. The industry has received kudos and knocks in equal measures from the Nigeria people as the final critics, cynics and consumers of communication messages; resulting in some of the

Not everyone can create effective communication, and creativity is a growing commodity in our market which must be elevated and rewarded, not disparaged

Aguiyi-Ironsi would have done the public some good if she had included some names of the blacklisted agencies in her article.

This year, organised advertising, under the auspices of AAAN, is 40 years old and advertising, as a business, is nearly a century in Nigeria, following the footprints of the country’s centenary celebration. So, at what point did the Nigerian advertising industry lose the “trust of both the business community and Nigerian citizen”? The successes we have recorded as an industry could not have come without

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great brands we know of today and in the past. We cannot, as a nation, over romanticize the telecoms success which has become the poster boy of every government in the last decade. But truth be told, no one can divorce advertising from the over 15% aggregate year-on-year growth the sector has witnessed in the 10 years. And if you doubt it, let wait six months and take stock of all the variables when the dust settles on the raging war in the current Mobile Number Portability (MNP) scenario. Of course, in a parity market like the telecoms sector, advertis-

ing becomes the differentiator.

Another issue that the current debate has thrown up is the expectation of the AguiyiIronsis of this world that advertising practitioners should wear rags and live in huts.

They chose to forget that advertising people are professionals some of whom have worked their way up the ladder and also deserve some degree of comfort. They ignore the fact that most top executives /heads of agencies have given over 20 years to the industry and that what is perceived as a swanky lifestyle is nothing compared to the lifestyles of colleagues on the marketing side and or even the banks. There seems to be an unspoken but really concerning trend for people especially outside the industry to circumscribe admen based on perceived value . Clearly not everyone can create effective communication, and creativity is a growing commodity in our market which must be elevated and rewarded, not disparaged.

If the MD of a successful bank deserves a private jet, why begrudge the MD of a successful advertising company the use of a new SUV? If the MD of a top telcoms firm lives in Ikoyi, why should the MD of a top advertising company make his home in Ajegunle?

Nwosu,Okogun and Alumona are admen who live and work in Lagos.

Oshiomhole: A stone rejected by the builders

BY AMBROSE OSAWE VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF The architect of Edo State reconstruction

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DO State functionaries of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), like Nero, the ancient Roman emperor, fiddle while Rome burns. What is evident about all the issues they have trumpeted since the last elections is an attempt to remain relevant especially when appointments of floating, idle, and indolent politically insensitive party scavengers are in the offing.

In their attempts not to allow Edo subside and slide into political tranquility, they latched on to trivialities and dabbled into trifles that add no feather to the glowing cap of the state - the Heart Beat of the Nation.

Soon after Oshiomhole’s victory in the last governorship election came an unnecessary legal tussle about school, qualifications and certificates.

Once again we are being tak-

en for another round of irrelevant rigmarole when there is so much to be done especially after years of inaction in the area of physical development.

The distraction caused by such irrelevances, trivials and trifles aimed at disabling performance in order to contrive incapacitation is not just counter productive but inimical to the well-being of the citizens of Edo State yearning for developments that have since eluded them or been delayed as a result of incompetence and corruption by successive regimes.

Paper qualification may be necessary but not sufficient for total assessment of leaders whose innate qualities are evidently compactible with qualitative leadership.

This is the first time Nigeria is having a Ph.D holder as head of state. But how is he solving Nigeria’s political, economic and social problems?

Not only in Nigeria but also in other climes, emphasis is not so much on certificate but competence. Oshiomhole appears to have satisfied all conditions for leadership.

Any attempt therefore to waste time over whether he is

one year older than what is published in the press is an unnecessary distraction, unhelpful to the needs and aspirations of Edo citizens.

Edo State is made up of three senatorial districts of unequal size. The South Senatorial District, populated by the Binis; constitutes more than half, with about 68% of the population of the state.

A PDP chieftain from Edo Central Senatorial District, which is only 15% of the entire population of Edo State, is also the ever reccurring

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VIEWPOINT

Senatorial District do not have any representation at the federal level in the power equation of the state. Even though Oshiomhole is from Edo North, he has been sincere, honest and fair in the even distribution of the dividends of democracy across the state.

The Binis hooked up to him as an agent of democratic equalization and even distribution of scarce resources once appropriated by godfathers who unfairly at their whims and caprices nominated and hand picked government ap-

Paper qualification may be necessary but not sufficient for total assessment of leaders whose innate qualities are evidently compactible with qualitative leadership

chairman of an important and juicy Federal Board.

Chief of Staff to the President is from Edo North, the same Senatorial District as the governor. The Binis of Edo South

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pointees provided they are in their good books.

PDP, and its state and federal organs have a better and more serious responsibility to examine why they lost woefully

both at the governorship and local government elections just concluded in the state.

Rather than face concrete political issues, they get entangled in unproductive trivials and trifles.This is followed up with worthless press releases to distract and cause confusion. This is not the type of positive contribution expected from the opposition party in a democratic governance.

It is even more worrisome to speak of how Oshiomhole once pleaded to be adopted by the PDP which turned down his request.

But the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr. Matuh, who made this allegation, did not tell us who begged to be granted commissioners slot for the PDP in Oshiomhole’s incoming administration in 2007 and why the commissioners were later dropped.

Whatever the situation, Oshiomhole, the stone the builders rejected, is now the cornerstone in the reconstruction of Edo State. *Osawe is a journalist, a historian and a former member of House of Representatives.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 19, 2013, PAGE 47

Let’s preserve our institutions

BY OBIORA CHIDOLUE OKPALA

VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF Another look at the Reps battle with SEC

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HE legislature is the most critical branch of government by virtue of its close affinity with the people. Members are elected directly by the people, and, as representatives, it remains the soul of our democracy. Because of its central importance, it cannot be separated from the core of our democratic political process; it remains the bastion of our democracy, the only preserve of the common man for protection against the excesses and recklessness of the executive.

Consistently, shots are thrown at the nation’s legislature by the executive each time they want to carry out their oversight responsibility.

Fiyeofori Lawson , of the Anti Corruption Network, wrote, recently, of the executive’s continued affront against the legislature after some ministers and top government personnel of the MDAs failed to turn up at the joint public hearing by the investigation panel of the House of the Rep-

resentatives into the implementation of the Subsidy ReInvestment and Empowerment Programme, SURE-P. He argued on why top government functionaries who are supposed to be accountable to the people, will not attend a public oversight into the activities that affect the public.

Going through a write up in a newspaper of May 4, written by Clem Aguiyi, entitled, “Aruma Oteh: Whose battle are the Reps fighting?”, I couldn’t help but laugh; laugh in the sense that I do not know why an average Nigerian professional would want to decimate an institution like our very own House of Representatives.

Owing to the fact that the image management mechanism of the National Assembly is poorly managed; on a daily basis, its image are dragged in the mud in the media and across the social strata of the nation.

And to frustrate their efforts in discharging their constitutional responsibilities, agencies saddled with the statutory powers of regulating and checkmating corruption resorts to intimidation and harassment of the legislature. Excesses of the executive and its flagrant abuse of power remain the bane of the nation’s anticorruption crusade.

Otherwise how can you justify EFCC’s quick resort to arraigning lawmakers who were aptly discharging their legislative duties on trumped charges of misappropriation?

EFCC had accused two members of the House, Messrs Herman Hembe and

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VIEWPOINT

The critical question before Oteh is, the ticket issued and processed by SEC, why didn’t they cancel it when the two members didn’t make the trip?

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Chris Azubogu, of misappropriating $4,095 dollars each being estacode given by the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) to travel to the Dominican Republic in October, 2011 for a capacity building conference on capital market.

Initially, Aruma Oteh alleged that Hembe, the Chairman of the House Committee on Capital Market, demanded N44.5 million from her. When EFCC could not substantiate her claim before a court, they turned back to allege that the lawmaker and his deputy took $4,095 as estacode for a trip they did not embark on thereby committing an offence.

The accused honourable members pleaded not guilty to the charges and raised preliminary objections to the charges on various grounds.

The critical question before Oteh is, the ticket issued and processed by SEC, why didn’t they cancel it when the two members didn’t make the trip, mindful that Azubogu claimed that SEC had asked him to keep the ticket that it will be used for a trip to Russia?

Was a demand for refund made and refused by the members? And why chase an estacode of $4,095 when the ticket well over N1.2 million could have been cancelled to recover tax payers funds.

At the House public hearing, Oteh made an allegation of a N44.5 million bribe; this could not be substantiated when official documents showed that SEC initiated and approved the sponsorship of the public hearing. Rather than the

EFCC to critically evaluate the facts before the matter, it hastened to intimidate and harass the law makers.

And why was Oteh, who made a spurious allegation of bribery, not in court; after all, the position of law is that if you make an allegation that cannot be substantiated, you have to come and clear yourself for misleading the people and court.

Aruma refused to appear before the Ethics and Privileges Committee of the House to prove her allegation thereby running foul of an institution that is critical to the success of our democratic experience.

While the media must be commended for being a whistle blower on issues of corruption, it should be criticized when practitioners ignore the core of media objectivity and turn newspaper columns to channels for sycophancy and patchiness.

Who is Clem Aguiyi fighting for?

There is no rational to question the integrity of the House in discharging its constitutional mandate. Oteh must come before the Ethics and Privileges Committee of the House to substantiate her claims. The executive must be careful not to set precedence that will encourage flagrant abuse of the position of authority by public officers. Let’s preserve our institutions. *Okpala is a public affairs commentator

age of lives. Many Nigerians of northern extraction are supportive of Boko Haram in their bid to push out the Jonathan administration.

In 1980, it took frantic planning and scheming for the then governor of Kano State, Abubakar Rimi, to get the assent of a reluctant President Shehu Aliu Shagari to involve the military in flushing out the Maitasine menace. It took the military only one day to track down the dreaded Maitasine and, when he was wasted, his followers fizzled out and many of them who came from Niger, Chad and Benin returning to their countries.

Who says these Boko Haram leaders and fighters are faceless? How can they be faceless? The communities in which they live know them very well.

The information leading to the discovery and eventual death of Osama Bin Laden was gleaned from one of his former bodyguards in far away Guantanamo Bay Prison facility in Cuba And, in Bama, on Tuesday, 7 May, these insurgents struck again razing a police station and killing 22 officers. They also attacked a military barrack killing two soldiers. They went to the Bama prison, killed 14

warders and freed 105 prisoners. Four innocent civilians and 13 of the Boko Haram members lost their lives.

The amnesty issue for Boko Haram is a non-starter but because the sponsors of the sect will make enormous profit, they have decided to egg the president on. The amnesty package, we are told, is about N20million Naira for the leaders and N5 million for every Boko Haram fighter. The amnesty advocates seem to be more interested in what they will get from the amnesty largesse.

Most of these amnesty funds will go to the Almajiris from Chad, Niger and Benin who have been doing the killing because I shudder to think that my fellow Nigerians will slit a human throat or plunge a long knife into a pregnant woman’s stomach and dislodge the unborn child. Nigeria, how deep has thou sunk into the quagmire of satanic iniquity.

All Nigerians must join hands to fight this great evil before it consumes us all, before it puts a wedge on this nation and puts us asunder.

BEN NANAGHAN lives in E m a i l : bennanaghan@yahoo.com LAGOS.

Jonathan’s cross

BY BEN NANAGHAN

VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF Boko Haram Islamists are not spirits

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan’s biggest cross and most successful northern strategy to confuse and distract him and even make his tenure challenging was Boko Haram insurgency.

The insurgency group, a refurbished and well engineered assemblage of the old ill-equipped, bow and arrow outfit, underwent structural and organizational metamorphosis in anticipation of Jonathan’s victory in the 2011 presidential election.

The creators of Boko Haram are the untouchable northern elite who sit in mountain castles overseeing the insurgency in Nigeria. But it was learnt that the sponsors of Boko Haram have almost lost control over the organization.

Boko Haram has therefore become a Frankenstein monster to the sponsors. The Boko Haram leaders themselves have now resorted to executive kidnapping to raise funds

for their capital-intensive venture whose ultimate aim is to rubbish, intimidate and overthrow the Jonathan administration.

Indeed Boko Haram is the greatest cross the president has to bear throughout his presidency and maybe for ever as he may later have reason to blame himself for not stamping out the menace once and for all.

On a daily basis, the group has continued the outpouring of its undiluted venom on the Nigerian population, pillaging, burning, raping, killing, maiming all the way with a Federal Government political advantage over the army. I am aware that the Nigerian Army is bound by a Federal Government Code of Conduct in its fight against Boko Haram. This unwarranted restriction to pacify the North’s advocates of Boko Haram is another cross weighing heavily on Jonathan.

Baga, a small fishing village, was a Boko Haram base until the army attacked on Tuesday 17, April. The northern sponsors of the sect moved the media to hype the attack and elevate Boko Haram. The media gave outrageous figures to embarrass the Jonathan administration, putting the Baga

casualty figures at 185 dead and 3,000 houses razed. And many Nigerians believed the story on a small fishing camp with far less than 1,000 houses, according to the National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA).

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VIEWPOINT

Who says these Boko Haram leaders and fighters are faceless?

How can they be faceless? The communities in which they live know them very well

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A senator from one of the northern states even mischievously put the number of burnt houses at 4,000.

My candid advice to the president is to deal with the Boko Haram issue as a crime against the state since its leaders ridiculed Jonathan’s amnesty program. Politicizing the insurgency issue is another way of prolonging the suffering and continued wast-

Contribution of not more than 1,200 words should be sent to sundayvanguard@yahoo.com

PAGE 48—SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 19, 2013

Clark vs Orubebe: Associates, aides in proxy war

BY EMMA AMAIZE

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S

INCE South-South leader, Chief Edwin Clark, exploded, May 9, against the Minister of Niger-Delta, Elder Godsday Orubebe, over the alleged ambition of the latter to become the governor of Delta State in 2015, associates and aides of the two prominent politicians have withdrawn to the trenches in different parts of the state from where they have been firing sporadic shots.

A source familiar with the goings-on said some leaders, who Orubebe spoke to, advised him not to personally respond to the diatribe of the elder statesman. So far, he is complying.

However, echoes of war are reverberating in Burutu, War ri, Ughelli, Ozoro and Asaba, as conscripted foot soldiers engage themselves.

The substance of Clark’s vitriol is that whereas President Goodluck Jonathan had directed his ministers and other appointees not to engage in politics as to declaring their intentions for 2015, Orubebe, who he nominated for the position, was not only flouting the presidential directive, but also doing so with impunity.

He was convinced that the minister, who did not bother to sound him out, might have allowed the spoils of office to derail him.

Notable Ijaw leaders from Delta State declined comments on the feud, saying efforts were already on to reconcile the two politicians.

Findings by Sunday Vanguard that showed most of them did not want to be in the bad books of any of the combatants.

Betrayal

PDP stakeholders, led by the Arepamo-Owei of Kabo-Owei kingdom, Chief Mike Loyibo, h o w e v e r, said they were miffed that some alleged Orubebe proxies faulted Clark over his comments, saying, “This is a man that went all out to make you minister against all opposition. Let me inform those benefactors who attacked Dr. E.K. Clark that Godsday Orubebe has challenges from his political histor y. Just because he wanted to be Special Adviser under James Ibori, Orubebe betrayed the whole of ANPP in Delta State.”

Clark did not nominate Orubebe - Ekwagbe

A former aide of the minister, who insisted he was not speaking for him, Mr. Ekenwan Ekwagbe, stated: “ As somebody that worked closely with both Chief Clark and Elder Orubebe, I thought that I should correct certain impressions, especially with regards to the nomination of Elder Orubebe as a Minister

Chief Edwin Clark of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2007, and later in 2011.”

“When Dr. Goodluck Jonathan was mandated by the late President Yar’Adua to nominate a Minister for the South-South region, two youths from Bayelsa State and an elder statesman (names withheld) from Rivers State who had been a Federal Minister four times readily nominated Elder Orubebe to the government. He was graciously accepted for the good work he had done previously. Therefore, Chief Clark also saw Orubebe’s nomination on the television screen like every other Nigerian.

“I wish to also state that the fact that Clark came into the scene prominently when Orubebe’s swearing-in ceremony was stalled following opposition by some leaders in Delta State does not mean that he nominated Orubebe for the appointment. There is no gain denying Clark’s

Elder Godsday Orubebe contributions to ensure that Orubebe was sworn-in.

However, it should be noted that Clark’s desire for a Ministerial appointment for a member of the group was for a former gubernatorial aspirant from Delta North who bank-rolled the group’s activities.”

He added, “I thought that the truth should be told and the records put straight so that E.K Clark will not continue to give a wrong impression to the unsuspecting press and the public in general.”

Ijaw activists back Clark

Ijaw People Development Initiative, IPDI, a group of Ijaw activists in Delta State, weekend, stated that Clark was realistic in his warning that Orubebe should forget about being governor of Delta in 2015.

The group in a statement by its national president, Comrade Austin Ozobo, insisted, “Orubebe cannot be governor of Delta State

Chief E.K Clark brought him to limelight, even against the e x p r e s s objection of His Excellency, the late President Shehu Umaru Yar’Adua

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because he is a failed leader, who does not have the interest of the people at heart.”

It censored Ekwagbe, who criticized Clark for the statement, saying the former aide to the minister, allegedly relieved of duty by Orubebe because of his level of performance, was not in the position to disparage Clark.

“We will collectively resist any attempt to impose Orubebe on Deltans. The advice issued Orubebe by Clark is a timely one as the minister was beginning to rankle not a few persons with his warped ambition to rule the state when he has failed as Minister of Niger-Delta,” Ozobo said.

‘Orubebe should resign’

Sons and political associates of the South-South leader, who demanded the immediate resignation of the Minister of Niger-Delta for

alleged inability to deliver on his mandate to the people, also upbraided Akwagbe for defending the minister.

Addressing reporters in Asaba, leader of the group, Chief S.O. Iyawa, who said Orubebe bit the fingers that fed him by disrespecting Clark, called on anti-graft agencies to “commence the immediate investigation of all allegations of corruption against the minister in the interest of fairness and j u s t i c e . ” “As for his unbridled 2015 governorship ambition, we wish to maintain that the oracle has spoken”, he stated.

“We, the sons and associates of Chief E.K Clark, have read with great consternation, the unguarded vituperations credited to the Minister of Niger Delta, Elder Godsday Orubebe, and his agents against elder statesman, Chief E.K Clark, published in some national dailies.

“Chief E.K Clark brought him to limelight, even against the express objection of His Excellency, the late President Shehu Umaru Yar’Adua.

“Mr. Niger Delta Minister fired the first shot which amounts to an abomination to tradition and custom, a trifle too embarrassing and apposite, to the express directive to all public officers, never to mix up extant constitutional obligations of public office, with the delusions of grandeur, about 2015.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the elder statesman and technocrat, Chief E.K Clark, was merely reminding Mr. Minister of the morality of the presidential directive”.

Clark solely made Orubebe minister —Evah

BY TONY NWANKWO

Comrade Joseph Evah, coordinator, Ijaw Monitoring Group (MIG) and former Publicity Secretary, Ijaw National Congress (INC), in this interview, speaks on the state of the nation. Excerpts: There is a call by the House of Representatives that Kingsley Kuku and Asari Dokubo should be probed for threatening Nigeria’s unity?

They are only following similar comments in the past from the North. Since there was no sanctions for the previous threat, they felt it is’ a normal thing. So we want the House of Representatives to invite all those that made similar comments since independence in 1960.

Aides of the Minister of the Niger Delta, Elder Godsday Orubebe, have been attacking Ijaw leader, Chief E.K. Clark. What do you say to that?

In a normal situation, I expected the minister to

, Comrade Joseph Evah disown the writers of those senseless comments. Ijaws all over the world with conscience are ashamed of the publication particularly in a situation where the authors are claiming to be defending a man who used the name of Chief E.K. Clark to be minister in his life time.

What is happening to Ijaw land? When people acquire some wealth, they look down

on elders and leaders. It is not part of our culture. Those of us who are not politicians will never allow these politicians to rubbish our culture and tradition. We are not saying people are not meant to disagree but a situation where our society will now turn to animal kingdom where conscience means nothing to people is unacceptable. How can somebody bit the finger that fed him within a period of six years because of naked ambition? It is not Ijaw way of life. We don’t need the Bible to tell us that. We will not allow politicians to play politics with our culture and tradition. In Africa culture, if a father publicly abuses his son, the son will never reply until he returns to the innermost part of the home to re-open the issue or the son will look for the age-mate of his father to complain for settlement but, because Nigeria is a mad countr y, nobody cares whether

neighbors are laughing at the level we open our nakedness in public.

Can we describe Clark as the most prominent Ijaw leader?.

The man you label as Ijaw national leader was the same person who got the Aso Rock Villa to make Orubebe minister. When that tension was making front page stories, where were these followers of Orubebe? In fact, Chief Clark led Orubebe by the hand like a kid to the chamber of the Presidential Villa to be sworn-in as minister after Chief James Ibori tried to stop Orubebe and Chief Clark vowed that his boy, Orubebe, must be made minister. We all added our voices. I have all the press statements I made to support Chief Clark’s efforts; so what is happening now make me sick and we can’t keep quiet.

How did Chief Clark have the boldness

Continues on page 50

SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 19, 2013, PAGE 49

ONDO ELECTION PETITION VERDICT

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The losers and winners

The ruling of the tribunal, no doubt, has put the judiciary on trial in the open court of the people who relied heavily on the courts to dispense justice without fear or favour

*Mimiko: Let’s bury the hatchet *Akeredolu, Oke: We’ll pursue matter to Supreme Court

BY DAYO JOHNSON

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A

Dr Olusegun Mimiko the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in instituting a petition against the victory of Mimiko.

However, the thinking of the two major parties, according to findings from their leaders, was that since the election was adjudged peaceful and it became difficult to rubbish it, they decided to ride on the back of the two weaker parties and push for the cancellation of the election on technicalities. But it did not work out.

The Accord Party, in its petition, claimed that INEC omitted its log on the ballot paper used for the governorship poll contrary to the 2010 Electoral Act. Its candidate in the election, Olawale Ojo, insisted that INEC sent three of its officials to monitor its primary but still excluded his name from the list of contestants. It therefore prayed the tribunal to order INEC to conduct fresh poll that would allow him to p a r t i c i p a t e .

However, the petition could not fly when the National Secretariat of the Accord Party told the tribunal that the party fielded no candidate for the election and that the said candidate was on his own.

The petition was subsequently thrown into the bin can.

This was a big minus for the A C N which thought that if its candidate’s petition failed, that of the Accord Party could scale through and the tribunal will order a re-run.

From the moment the petition was thrown out and its appeal suffered same fate, the enthusiasm in the party members nosedived and it was clear where the pendulum will swing when the chips are down. The absence of notable leaders of the two parties in the court on the day of judgement showed that they had inkling that their 90 minutes of play in the court recoded no goal.

In the case of the CPC

Chief Olusola Oke petition, the tribunal struck it out at the pre-hearing stage for lack of merit coupled with the position of the party disowning the petition before the tribunal. A breather came when the Court of Appeal ruled that the tribunal should try the petition on its merit but the candidate, Soji Ehinlanwo, after the Court of Appeal ruling, petitioned the NJC, asking that the threemember tribunal should be disqualified from hearing his petition. The matter died there.

The straw that the ACN and PDP held to gave way after the appeal failed to rule in their favour and, by the time the tribunal went into full hearing of the petitions, it became crystal clear that they were ill-

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FTER 178 days of legal gymnastics, the threemember Election Petition Tribunal, led by Justice Andovar Kaka ‘an which sat over the October 20, 2012 governorship election in Ondo State dismissed the 190 paragraph and 403 pages petition of the Action Congress of Nigeria, A C N, candidate, Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), as well as the 1,480 paragraphs statement on oath and 248 page petition of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Chief Olusola Oke, likening their failure to prove their matter convincingly to a game of soccer in which the players had no goal to show for their 90 minutes of play.

It therefore went ahead to uphold the victory of Dr Olusegun Mimiko as the governor-elect of the state, saying the petitions “lack merit and is devoid of ingredients the petitioners sought to establish.” ”It is clear that the petitioners relied on corrupt practices to push the cases but section 131 (1) of the Evidence Act stipulates that election should not be cancelled if it is not substantially noncompliant with the relevant law. ”Like soccer, it must show goals scored with figures and the petitioner must not only assert but show evidence that the non-compliance, if proved substantially, affected the results and the outcome of the poll.”

To political analysts who attended the proceedings, the verdict was expected as the petitions filed by the four political parties that participated in the election against the victory of the Labour Party candidate were ”dead on arrival”. The tribunal wasted no time in throwing away sizeable number of paragraphs in the petitions filed by the parties, hinging its decision on the fact that they were vague, non- joining of persons alleged of criminality during the said election and that many of the paragraphs were mere hearsay. But these were contested by the parties in the Court of Appeal but many of the decisions of the tribunal were upheld while few were returned.

Analysis of the post-election showed that two of the major parties allegedly sponsored the petitions of two other parties.

While the A C N surreptitiously sponsored the Accord Party, the PDP helped

Rotimi Akeredolu alleged that the election in most polling units and wards in 15 out of 18 local government areas of the state.

In his reply to the petitions of the candidates of the A C N and PDP, Mimiko declared that the candidates were just wasting their time and prayed the tribunal to throw out the cases for being frivolous, vexatious, patent abuse of court process as well as lacking in merit and s u b s t a n c e .

Mimiko said he would be relying on Forms EC8A-D, ballot papers and voters registers used during the poll, reports of local and international independent observers, and reports of local and international media on

The straw that the ACN and PDP held to gave way after the appeal failed to rule in their favour and, by the time the tribunal went into full hearing of the petitions, it became crystal clear that they were ill-prepared for the matter

prepared for the matter. The witnesses they called rather than helping their cases threw spanner into the petitions.

Before this, the candidate of the A C N, Akeredolu, had prayed for the nullification of the election on the basis that Mimiko was not duly elected by a majority of lawful votes, that the election was invalid by reason of corrupt practices and or non-compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act and other electoral frauds.

The candidate of the PDP, Oke, averred that the Mimiko was not duly elected by majority of the lawful votes cast at the election just as he

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the conduct of the election as well as video clips and p h o t o g r a p h s .

While delivering its verdict on the two petitions that scaled through during the proceedings, Justice Kaka, an came hard on the 41 witnesses called by the ACN candidate and the 45 by the PDP describing them as “unreliable liars.”

The Chairman of the tribunal said that, after a thorough perusal of the arguments of the petitioners and the cross examinations by the respondents, they ”failed woefully to prove that the governorship election of

October 20 was not in compliance with the Electoral Act”.

He added that the witnesses gave evidences on mere hearsay and were never present at any of the polling booths where they wanted the tribunal to believe they acted as the party agents Justice Kaka’ an said Akeredolu’s petition failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt the allegations of corrupt practices and noncompliance with the Electoral Act. On the petition of the PDP and its candidate, Oke, the tribunal said that he failed to proof that the election was not conducted in compliance with the Electoral Act and that he failed to show to the tribunal why he should be declared as the winner of the election as contained in his petition.

The two candidates of the A C N and PDP kicked against the verdict and announced their intention to challenge it to the Supreme Court.

Oke, who was the first to react, said the judgment “constitutes a brazen defeat of the expectations of the people of Ondo State who had desired light after four years of total darkness.”

The A C N, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Rotimi Agbede, said the party “”received with shock the ruling.” ”The ruling of the tribunal, no doubt, has put the judiciary on trial in the open court of the people who relied heavily on the courts to dispense justice without fear or favour,” he added.

“We are however consoled by the fact that this is just the first leg in the struggle to get justice for the people of Ondo State and free them from the serial chain of poverty which the LP government has sentenced them to.”

However Mimiko, while addressing party faithful who trooped to the Government House, Akure to celebrate the verdict, called on “opposition party members to partner with us in meeting the expectations of our people.”

With the combative stance of the two “ wounded footballers” that they will pursue the matter to the Supreme Court, it is not yet party time for the Iroko of Ondo politics and his party members across the s t a t e .

PAGE 50—SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 19, 2013

Governing Katsina is not a tea party affair -—Gwajo-Gwajo Honorable Yau Gwajo-Gwajo is serving his second term as Speaker, Katsina State House of Assembly. In this interview, he says the parliament is not a rubber stamp to the executive even as he speaks on how the lawmakers are collaborating with the Ibrahim Shehu Shema administration to move the state forward.

T could not have been easy being the head of the House for the past six years?

This is my second term as Speaker as you rightly mentioned. I think most importantly it is the will of God. Whatever you get or become, it is the will of the Almighty Allah. I think it also boils down to the relationship one has with one’s colleagues. My colleagues knew me even before coming to the House, they knew my antecedent as a former local government chairman, they probably thought I would direct them well more so when the speakership was zoned to my area,so it was easy to lead my colleagues eventually. Having said that, I must also add that I have been in politics since 1991 during the two-party era of the General Ibrahim Babangida military administration where I was elected as councillor. I was teaching before then.

What is the relationship of the executive with the legislature?

It has been very cordial. I can say more than 100% cordial. Our relationship has been excellent.

But the reason for this peaceful relationship is simple: Our gov-

I

ernor has only one vision which is how he can contribute his quota to the development of the state which fortunately he has been doing even before he became the governor, and since we are also here for the development of the state, it makes our job easier. You see, there is need to have focused and prudent leadership in anything we do, whether in the states or the federation. Once the leadership is focused, it makes transformation of the state easy to do.

This state is presently the way it is because we have a leader who knows that governance is not a tea party affair; who knows that it is about destiny of the people; it is about the commonwealth of the people. If you are not prudent and focused, one cannot have the kind of development we are witnessing in the state presently. Do you know that education from primary to tertiary education is free here? Do you know that healthcare too is free particularly for infants and people above 60? Do you know that accident victims are treated free even to the point of surgery There are over 200 new schools built and more and still being built? Do you know that more than 400 students are outside the shores of this country on scholarship reading all kinds of courses?. It is only in this state we don’t differentiate which tribe you are.

We are all Nigerians. Also we are one of the few states that its legislative arm enjoys full financial autonomy just like the judiciary.

And when you have financial autonomy, it makes you independent. And that is why we don’t need to inform the executive when we are going on sight. On agricul-

Gwajo-Gwajo

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BY CHINWEOKEAKOMA

When you have financial autonomy, it makes you independent. And that is why we don’t need to inform the executive when we are going on oversight

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ture, this government has done well in terms enriching the farmers and their produce. The government has improved irrigation in the state. For example, the Jibia Dam, in order to improve the economy of the state nay the North, the governor inaugurated a special committee headed

by Professor Kala, which assessed the potentials of irrigation in the state, at end of it,27 irrigation sites were rehabilitated and improved upon, thereby, from 100 hectares, 3,500 hectares are be-

ing cultivated now. Now, the dam is beneficial to everybody inclusion neighbouring states and Chad. Now wé are cultivating 15,000 hectares per year. The government also supplied more than 10 irrigation pumps distributed to farmers in order to boost production.

Concerning the oversight function, some people believe that you merely rubber stamp or endorse what the executive is doing. :Let me say this, our own oversight function is real. We make resolutions and send to the executive. I want to thank the governor at this point because there is really no resolution that we have sent to him that he didn’t give clear understanding and acceptance. When it comes to the budget, most of our resolutions are designed within the budget. 75% of the budget goes to capital projects and this 75% is within the resolutions of the Assembly. So when he is preparing the next budget, we are always represented.

Also we go on oversight every quarter ,item by item sub head by sub head, according to their releases so that we cross check what is in the paper with what is on the ground. Beyond that, each and every one of us return to the House to give account of what the executive has done in his constituency. We thank God that Ibrahim Shehu Shema that is governor because there is really no state, may be one or two governors implementing the way we are doing here. And this is because majority of the budget estimates are things that are implementable and that is why it is eas-

ier here to implement the budget as the items originated from the people themselves. Nobody toys with that. There is something we called CDC initiated by the governor which has represention from the entire state. It is a combination of the local governments, traditional rulers, commissioners, youths and the rest.

The essence is to generate theiir needs and present them to the state government because we discovered that, sometimes, the state may be constructing roads for the locality but what is most important to them at that time was water. The state may be preparing borehole to discover that their most pressing need is electricity.

This is why the state government led by the governor says let the budget originate from the people.

Let them design their projects according to their needs. Again, it is only in this state that a contractor would not borrow before executing a job. Once you have the contract papers, it is as good as cheque because immediately you are paid your 40% mobilization and, on completion of the job, without knowing the governor, commissioner and, without them seeing you, once it is been certified, you collect your cheque.

These are verifiable facts. This is probably the only state whose treasury is very sound. That is why the cooperation we are giving the executive is under must because we are here for the good of the people and the governor is executing projects that are beneficial to the people, we don’t have any option than to support him in order to give his best to the people.

Clark solely made Orubebe minister —Evah to openly challenge President Yar ’ Adua and vowed that there will be no peace in Delta State unless his boy (Orubebe) became minister if he is not Ijaw national leader? No Ijaw person dead or alive has made that history. Chief E.K. Clark is a special breed and, in some planets, people like him are worshipped.

The minister ’s supporters say Clark’s son lost election; so where is his political relevance?

Such people should be ashamed of their conscience. In fact it was because of the humiliation of Orubebe by the Ibori factor in Aso Rock at that time that made E.K. Clark to deepen his attack on my friend Governor Uduaghan. When Yar ’Adua emerged as president, James Ibori was so powerful in the Villa, so it was easy for Ibori to insist that since Chief Clark was against Ibori’s choice of Uduaghan as the governorship candidate in 2007, he (Ibori) also sought to humiliate Clark’s candidate for ministerial position. I hope the family of Orubebe will call him to order before he embarrasses himself the more. I hope Pres-

ident Jonathan will call him to order; you see, if Ibori did not disgrace Orubebe during the swearing-in of ministers, Clark would have easily settled his problem with Uduaghan.

You were close to Governor Uduaghan when Chief Clark pulled against him. How were you able to handle the problem?

It was a difficult situation but I was able to control myself. I never showed disrespect to our national leader. Anybody who says Chief Clark is a self-styled !jaw leader needs spiritual deliverance. In the last constitutional conference of ethnic nationalities organized by the Obasanjo administration where all the geo-political zones in the country sent their best brains, South-South leaders such as Admiral Akhigbe (former military vice president), Chief M.T. Mbu (first republic minister), Dr. Gamaniel Onosode, one of the grandmasters of the economic world (Global Economic Guru), Chief A.K Horsfall, pioneer Director-General of National Intelligent Agency and former Director-General of State Security Service {SSS), among other super men, nominated Chief E.K Clark to lead our region to engage in intellectual warfare with

the other zones to secure the future of our children’s children that led to the famous walk out by our delegates that brought fear to the rest of the country.

Is that the elder statesman that Orubebe and his co-travelers are calling self-styled Ijaw leader? They need spiritual deliverance.

There was this stalemate at the swearing-in of ministers from the Niger Delta during the Yar ’Adua period. What happened?

You know that President Goodluck Jonathan is the father and patron of all gentlemen in Africa. The former vice president was marginalized and he carried the burden until he became the acting president before the death of Yar ’Adua. Jonathan was so isolated in the system to the extent that even when Yar Adua decided to meet with militants from each state of the Niger Delta, he was not included in all the arrangements. He went to the venue as a speculator. The late president was relating with Bayelsa militants through the governor. I think Jonathan is the most loyal deputy that the world has produced.

Sometime ago, you hosted Uduaghan in Lagos, and Chief

Clark kicked against it How do you reconcile such positions?

Pa E.K Clark is not against any tribe. I hosted Uduaghan because he saved Ijaw students from starvation when Goodluck Jonathan was vice president. Jonathan could not

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Continued from page 48

I never showed disrespect to our national leader.

Anybody who says Chief Clark is a selfstyled !jaw leader needs spiritual deliverance

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operate freely. So, I decided to mobilize Ijaw students to storm Abuja, to give Jonathan moral encouragement. I mobilized over 6,000 students from various higher institutions with the theme, “Niger Delta must be like Abuja. Some of the personalities that attended the programme were the first lady, Mr Oronto Doughas, the current

Bayelsa Governor Seriake Dickson, Ben Bruce among others. The then vice president was not even comfortable with the programme, so he tried to discourage me. He told me if I did the programme they will think he sponsored it. But I insisted that it must go on because we wanted the world to know that the future leaders were behind the vice president.

Our expected population doubled when students started arriving Abuja. So feeding and accommodation became a problem. I went to the villa to see the vice president. I told him to provide us with food and he called one of the Niger Delta governors to help.

The governor met us and asked me what was my business if the vice president was being harassed. I put a call to Governor Uduagha to beg and he sent his commissioner for information, Mr. Oma Djeba, to Abuja to arrange food for the students. That was how Ijaw students were able to stay in Abuja.

So for an Itsekiri man to be concerned about the condition of Ijaw students nation-wide, we felt the best way to honor him was with Ijaw supreme honour.

SUNDAY

Rivers: The gathering storm eral Government and the federating units are autonomous and independent of each other. This has been stated again and again by both national and international authorities, including our own Supreme Court. As Wheare put it, “the fundamental and distinguishing characteristic of a federal system is that neither the

S

INCE the rumour that Governor Rotimi Amae chi of Rivers State is nursing an ambition to be the next vice president to a northern presidential candidate in 2015 started circulating, many disturbing developments have occurred.

Whether this rumoured ambition is true or not, it is totally irrelevant. The truth is that every Nigerian over the age of 40 is entitled to aspire to be president or vice president of Nigeria. This constitutional entitlement is not in any way qualified by the party or zonal relationship between an incumbent president and the aspirant. That is why the series of unfortunate events that have occurred in Rivers State since the so-called aspiration was published are most disturbing, ominous and dangerous.

The publication in various newspapers in the last few weeks have disclosed that the following disturbing events have occurred: 1. The grounding of the official private jet of the Rivers State Government, intended apparently to cripple the Rivers State governor ’s movements around the country.

2. Prevention by police of the state House of Assembly from functioning.

3. Escorting some suspended members of the House of Assembly accompanied by hoodlums masquerading as protesters by the police with the apparent intention of initiating impeachment action.

4. Prevention of the Caretaker Committee of a local government council from functioning.

5. The withdrawal of the security details of the Speaker of the

Itse Sagay state House of Assembly.

6. The threatened withdrawal of the security detail of the governor himself.

What all these events establish is that neither democracy nor federalism is functioning properly in Nigeria. Any Nigerian, more so, a high official like a governor, is entitled to have presidential ambition. It is his constitutional and democratic right.

To lay a siege on him and his state because of the rumour of vice presidential interest is a major assault on our so-called democracy. The sort of events that have been occurring recently in Rivers State have a threatening and intimidating effect and are unworthy of any society governed by the rule of law. When any Nigerian is threatened and his environment surrounded by the sort of dark clouds and storms being witnessed in Rivers State, it is democracy and democratic rights in the whole country that are endangered.

The above developments have also demonstrated the fact that Nigeria is not a federation, but merely a unitary state pretending to be one.

In a federation, both the Fed-

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BY PROFESSOR ITSE SAGAY

The sort of events that have been occurring recently in Rivers State have a threatening and intimidating effect and are unworthy of any society governed by the rule of law

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central nor the regional governments are sub-ordinate to each other, but rather, the two are coordinate and independent”. In short, in a federal system, there is no hierarchy of authorities, with the central government sitting on top of the others. All governments have a horizontal relationship with each other.”

(Wheare, Federal Government, 4th Ed…OUP, 1963) According to Professor B.O Nwabueze: “Federalism, therefore, may be described an arrangement whereby powers within a multinational country are shared between a federal or central au-

Vanguard, MAY 19, 2013, PAGE 51

thority, and a number of regionalised governments in such a way that each unit including the central authority exists as a government separately and independently from the others, operating directly on persons and property within its territorial area, with a will of its own and its own apparatus for the conduct of affairs and with an authority in some matters exclusive of all others. In a federation, each government enjoys autonomy, a separate existence and independence of the control of any other government. Each government exists, not as an appendage of another government (e.g. of the federal or central government) but as an autonomous entity in the sense of being able to exercise its own will on the conduct of its affairs free from direction by any government.

Thus, the Central government on the one hand and the State governments on the other hand are autonomous in their respective spheres.” (Nwabueze, Federalism in Nigeria under the Presidential Constitution, Sweet & Maxwell, 1983, p.2.)

In Attorney-General of Lagos State v. Attorney-General of the Federation [2003] 6 SC Pt. 1, p.24 at pages 35 and 57, Uwaifo JSC explained the nature of a federation lucidly as follows: “But I do not need to repeat that Nigeria operates a federal system of government. Section 2(2) of the 1999 Constitution re-enacts the doctrine of federalism.

This ensures the autonomy of each government. None of the governments is subordinate to the other. This is particularly of relevance between the State Governments and the Federal Government, each being, as said

by Nwabueze in his book, The Presidential Constitution of Nigeria, pages 39-42, an autonomous entity in the sense of being able to exercise its own will in

the conduct of its affairs within the Constitution, free from direction by another government. I think it is significant that shortly before and since the independence of Nigeria in 1960, all the Constitutions that have been enacted have taken the pattern of federalism. Under this system, each tier of government has its legislative competence or functions conferred on it as the case may be”.

In conclusion, Uwaifo JSC., stated thus: “it is a non-controversial political philosophy that the Federal Government does not exercise supervisory authority over the state governments.” (at p.60) From what has been happening in recent weeks in Rivers State, it is clear that if every state has its own Police Service, there will be no need for the Federal Police to provide security for state authorities and agencies.

Therefore, to the extent that states do not have their own police forces, our federalism remains incomplete and under developed. The National Assembly, therefore, has a lot of re-thinking to do about the present attempt to amend the Constitution.

What it has done so far, is, in fact, a perverse movement towards more centralism and unitarism and that is contrary to the interest of an enduring Federal Republic of Nigeria.

It is now obvious that there is need to look at our constitutional provisions in order to re-structure them for the achievement of true federalism, in which states and their governors will be able to assert their autonomy and independence from the Federal Government. The current events in Rivers State are ominous and do not portend well for the future of the Federal Republic.

•Sagay is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN)

APC: ‘How merging parties will harmonise positions’

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BY OLALEKAN BILESANMI ONE of the brains behind the merger that produced All Progressive Congress, APC and a former deputy governor of Jigawa State, Ibrahim Hadejia (who at a time was the state attorney general secretary to the state government), says nobody can stop an idea whose time has come adding that, by the end of November, the party would have been fully operational. Hadeja a lawyer and banker, is a member of the Board of Trustees of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP. How far has the merger plan gone?

LL merger activities are progressing as scheduled. The timetable and time-frames set up for the various sub committees by the main merger committee are all being met. The critical committees on party constitution and manifesto have broken up for the various parties to provide inputs into the draft constitution and they are presently harmonising same with the aim of producing the final document so we are on track.

Some of your members (ANPP) are believed to be

Ibrahim Hadejia indisposed to the process. How true is this?

I am not aware of any ANPP member that is working to scuttle the merger. We cannot all have the same level of enthusiasm and there are peculiarities within the various states. People may have reservations or fear of loss of position or influence and this is normal in any change situation, I can assure you, however, that the majority of the members of the main merger parties are anxiously awaiting the eventual amalgamation into a bigger and more dynamic political enterprise.

Giving up on our chosen name without a fight will be encouraging the political mischief and chicanery that gave rise to all kinds of pretenders trooping into INEC to register APC clones

,

Some are asking why it is compulsory you must stick to the APC acronym. If you have other people fighting over the acronym,why not get another name? What’s really is so special about the acronym that you can’t let go?

I personally see nothing special about any name, after all the four merging parties are losing their original names and identities, but giving up on our chosen name without a fight will

be encouraging the political mischief and chicanery that gave rise to all kinds of pretenders trooping into INEC to register APC clones. It’s apparent from the blunders and haphazard preparations for registration by these agents,that this is just a knee jerk panic reaction to the merger plan and Nigerians are now aware of the powers behind these moves.

Virtually all the merging parties have different ideologies, this gives room for scepticism on the cohabitation of these strange bed fellows?

I don’t believe that any political party in Nigeria at the moment has any identifiable ideology that binds its members together. Let's be realistic, how many party chieftains in this country can give you a run down of their parties manifesto or ideology? Any ideology that will take us out of the mess that this country is in at the moment is fine with me and I believe I speak for the common folk that make up the bulk of our party membership. Let's just work towards a change from the status quo, we will cross the ideology bridge when we get to it.

Already the issue of positions among the parties appear to be tearing the party apart even before the conclusion of the merging which gives credence to the fact that the merging will not last.

I am not aware that there is any tussle for positions. The criteria for the emergence of party leadership is still being worked out, but I know that the underlying principle will be strict insistence on internal party democracy for the emergence of party structures at all levels with consideration being given for certain peculiarities at the state or zonal level. You can’t argue with that. It may interest you to know that informal meetings and inter party leadership discussions are taking place all over the country. In my state, we have had over three meetings that has led to the emergence of a harmonisation committee comprising all the merging parties with the sole aim of ensuring a smooth transition from individual components to one mega party. This is completely outside the purview of the activities of the central merger committees. The level of enthusiasm for this venture at the local level is incredible.

PAGE 52 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 19, 2013

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 19, 2013 — PAGE 53

LACK OF FUND FOR DAD’S BURIAL

Succour for Abuja suburb residents BYCALEB AYANSINA

L

Cross River State Governor, Senator Liyel Imoke (left), receiving a letter of invitation to China from Deputy Mayor of Chang Chun Province, China, Mr. Gui Guangli, when the latter led a delegation on Trade Mission to Government House, Calabar.

A

Chinese trade delegation, on a visit to Cross River State, has made known its intention to open a truck manufacturing plant in Calabar Free Trade Zone.

Leader of the group and Deputy Mayor of Chang Chun City,China, Mr. Gui Guangli, disclosed this to Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State during a courtesy call.

Guangli said the team had spent two days in the state exploring possible areas of investments and, having found that

IFE International Foundation Incorporated (LIFI) has brought succor to the residents of GbagalapeNyanya in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as it offered them material and medical assistance.

Addressing the gathering in Gbagalape, in Abuja, the President of LIFI, Dr Olubunmi Wilson, said the gesture was part of the foundation outreach programmes to put smile on the faces of the less privilege and needy in the society.

According to her, “over

China to build truck plant in Calabar there are great opportunities, it decided to start with the establishment of a truck plant.

The Deputy Mayor maintained that the manufacturing company has eleven outlets across the world including Japan, Germany and United States, adding that, from their study, the state is conducive for investments, given the

availability of airport, seaport and free trade zone.

He remarked that the truck which will be produced in Calabar will be of high technology and high class, and that volume of production will be determined by the economic indices of demand.

Responding, Imoke commended the Chinese Trade Mission for the

decision to establish a truck manufacturing plant in Calabar which he noted will strengthen and develop the economy of the state.

He explained that the state will collaborate with the mission to explore areas where it has comparative advantage as it was expecting more areas of support and c o o p e r a t i o n .

the years, we have adopted different communities, assisting them with relief material like cooked and raw food items, medical supplies, guidance/ counseling, clothing, ed ucation and skill acquisition programme. ”This year outreach includes provision of capacity building for small scale farmers to increase yield during harvest. The training will be conducted by LIFI agricultural facilitators for small

scale entrepreneurs.”

Wilson disclosed that the foundation would establish a food bank in every state of the country, saying, “our goal is to reach out to every community in Nigeria through our food Bank project”.

Speaking on behalf of the residents, the wife of Chief of Karu, Mrs Sarah Kyauta commended the foundation for the gesture, adding that their programme had touched some souls.

Graft probe: Group lauds AGF BYJIMITOTA ONOYUME

TTORNEY General A of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, has been commended for inviting the police to investigate allegations of corruption levelled against him.

In a joint press statement in Port Harcourt, yesterday, Amachree Odiedim of South South Youth Leaders Forum and Garba Umar of Association of Ethnic and Religious Tolerance said the action of the minister was worthy of emulation.

The groups said the police should be allowed to

drive the investigation to its logical end, adding that the call for a probe panel to be set up on an issue already being handled by the police was unnecessary.

According them: “ It beats our thinking, that despite such courageous step taken by the Attorney General of the Federation, there are yet those who are mounting unwarranted pressure on the President to set up a probe panel to investigate the AGF, we wonder if such persons have any respect at all for the police or even assume that such a Probe Panel has legitimacy more than the police in issues of this nature.”

PAGE 54 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 19, 2013

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 19, 2013 — PAGE 55

I

DIDN’T want to bog readers with the news that yours sincerely was appointed into the Board of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF as one of the Stakeholders of the game but something has necessitated it hence I am writing on it today.

The National Sports Commission, NSC, at the expiration of the tenure of the Sports Association Boards decided to reconstitute them to drive sports to the next level, especially having them make an impact at the Rio 2016 Olympics in the face of the seeming poor results recorded at the last Games hosted in London last year.

Among the 11 members of the new NBBF Board is yours sincerely who was invited to be part of the elections which held last Tuesday at the Abuja National Stadium. I got to the Stadium, duly did the accreditation and waited for the go-ahead to be given to proceed to the voting area.

However, before I got to Abuja, I never knew who were on the Board

When journalists are no longer stakeholders except one Musa Kida who my friend and colleague, whose name I will not mention here, said was gunning for the position of president of the NBBF. I’ve heard the name before as one of the ex players who supported the game but I never knew he worked in an oil company.

My friend wanted me to vote for him since I was one of the delegates because as an oil company worker, he would help bring sponsors for the game from the oil sector. I told him I will decide on who to vote for when I get to Abuja. And must have listened to whoever was offering himself for election.

I got to know when I arrived Abuja that Tijani Umar, the incumbent president who got back on the Board through the zones was contesting and naturally I picked interest in his candidature, not because he was

someone I have known over the years as a basketball faithful but as someone who has performed in the last four years and had received commendations from the sports governing body in the country, the NSC and needed to consolidate on the gains recorded so far.

Voting time came and we sat to listen to the electoral officer, Dr Muazu, a director in the NSC. Dr Muazu had hardly finished speaking on the modalities for the voting exercise when one of the delegates, Oguche Mark, who I heard is related to the Senate President, David Mark, stood up and queried the constitution of the new Board.

He wanted to know why some people he never knew from Adam could be appointed into the Board and wanted also to know what stake I hold in basketball.

Head Office wins Total MD’s Cup

H

EAD Office has defeated defending champion, Northern Region in the final of the 2013 Total Nigeria PLC Managing Director’s Cup, reports John Egbokhan In an exciting match decided at the Onikan Stadium and watched by former Super Eagles coach, Samson Siasia, the Head Office team whipped their Northern foes 4-2 to become the first team besides the beaten finalist to win the competition which started in 2009 and is competed by staff of Total to promote a healthy work balance life.

After winning the past two editions of the competition, the Northern team came into yesterday’s game as the favourites and actually underlined that status when it scored the opening goal with just two minutes played in in the first half.

But the Lagos based Head Office side, not wanting to be outshone on home soil, equalised three minutes after the first goal before adding the second before the half time.

In the second half, Head C M Y K

Office, playing some good attacking football, scored two more goals before Northern Region reduced the deficit to 4-2. At the end of the match, the winning team celebrated its victory and was presented a giant trophy by the Managing Director of Total Oil,

Francois Boussagol, who commended the participating teams and the planning committee for a near-perfect organisation of the event. “It was a really beautiful event and I praise the planning committee for their efforts. The teams did well”, said the Total MD.

When he finished, Kida took over and said the election process was flawed and I a result would not be free and fair. He said he was not willing to take part anymore.

At that stage, Mark wanted the process to stop but Dr Muazu told him he should not walk out but put his protest down in writing and that a panel in-charge of such protests would look into it. Another aggrieved member, Osita Nwachukwu almost assaulted Dr Muazu, stressing that he was covering a fraudulent process and in fact told the sports medicine director that he, Osita, had been in sports longer than him.

At that stage, Dr Muazu brought out a protest form for the group which also included Babs Ogunade, representing South West on the Board and Mark took it and the quartet walked out of the election ground.

While outside they argued that while real stakeholders like retired

T

HE much anticipated Abesan Cup will kick off today at the Community Primary School ground in Idimu area of Lagos with three matches scheduled to hold.

Defending champion, Prostars will take on Shalom in the first match of the day as Prostars are aiming to become the first team to win back to back

Col Sam Amedu were left out of the Board, a common journalist was nominated. They said several things about the whole process, I was told, but it didn’t stop Umar from returning as the NBBF president.

Mark, I’m told, is in his 30s. Osita I don’t know but he doesn’t look 40. When I started journalism in 1990, both Mark and Osita were definitely still teenagers and so may not really know where I am coming from.

I started covering the NBBF when U.K. Umar and Gyang Buba were presidents and I was a stakeholder then but now that I have been called to help in the administration, I am no longer a stakeholder, to these ex players.

I don’t want to say anything about Col. Amedu who has been and still remains a friend. He has a lot of stake in basketball but I don’t want to believe that he too, like Kida, Osita and Mark, is que-

Prostars begin defence of Abesan Cup title titles since the Abesan Cup started in 1999. Their opponent, Shalom got to the quarter final of the competition last year and are desperate to improve their last performance. In other matches, Adonai will square up with

Calabar 2014: Team Lagos Chess opens camp

T

HE Lagos State Chess Association has invited 15 players to commence camping preparatory to the 2014 National Sports Festival to be hosted by Cross River State in Calabar..

The camp opened yesterday at the Teslim Balogun Stadium and officials of the LSCA say they are embarking on early preparations to improve on the Team Lagos Chess performance at the last festival hosted by the State.

“Lagos won one gold medal and two silver at the last Festival and though it ranked below our target, it marked a huge improvement in past performances which is why we want to build

on that modest success to put the state among the top three Chess playing teams at the next Festival”, remarked Coach Bayo Adebayo, Technical Director of LSCA. A training program submitted by the Technical Director was approved at the last board meeting of the association on Monday. “We have designed a program to run a monthly camp with 15 players invited for the start up this Saturday (yester-day) at the Teslim

Chess players at a training session Balogun Stadium. It has been designed to keep

rying my involve-ment in basketball.

I want him to know that there is always another time and that time could be his to mount the saddle. He should join hands with the new board to help move basketball to the next level so that when it reaches his turn, he will be supported too.

For Kida, Osita and Mark, they should know that they are no longer players who come before journalists in the ranking of stakeholders of the various sports. Like FIFA, IAAF and others, FIBA recognises the role of the media and accords them that respect.

Nobody, not even the Kidas, Ositas and Marks of this world, would distract me from contributing my little quota to taking basketball in Nigeria to the next level. Because the interest of the game is bigger than any of us, I’ll advise them to team up with the Tijani Umar-led Board and help basketball in their own way.

the athletes active and competitive”, Adebayo further disclosed.

Golden Planners in Group A while Oleke entertain last year‘s losing finalist Oniru in a Group B game. A total of 32 teams drawn from Lagos and Ogun states have been drawn to take part in the competition expected to hold in four centres, Idimu, Egbeda, Agege and Sango.

Some of the participating teams are infantry, Midas, Austin Tigers, Labro, Diamond, Noble, Rainbow, Oleke, Jojo, Future Heroes, 3wheelers, Rozie, Newstar, Young Eagles, Goldenboys, United FC, Pioneer, Sportives and Adonai.

The rest are Prostars, Shalom, Golden Planners, Oniru, Larry, Sheriff, Dynamic Rangon, Owuwu, Idikan United, Sheriff, Pro-liberty and Oceanwaves.

YSFON congratulates Elegbeleye

T

HE Youth Sports Fed eration of Nigeria (YSFON) has congratulated the newly appointed Director General of the National Sports Commission, NSC, Gbenga

Elegbeleye even as it expressed confidence that he has what it takes to move sports forward in the country.

In a congratulatory message signed by the

National President of (YSFON), Nasiru Yussuf Gawuna and made available to our correspondent, the Federation noted that the new Director General having served

as Ondo State YSFON chairman as well as vice chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Sports is most qualified for the position.

SUNDAY Vanguard, MAY 19, 2013

Confed Cup:

Mba set to inspire Rangers to victory A

FRICA Cup of Na tions star Sunday Mba will adjust his sights to the Confederation Cup this weekend as the contest for group places begins. Mba’s Nigerian club side Enugu Rangers host two-time winners CS Sfaxien of Tunisia today in the highlight of eight first leg play-off fixtures.

The 24-year-old midfielder scored the only goal of the Cup of Nations final to give the Super Eagles victory over against Burkina Faso in Soweto last February.

He also struck the winner in the shock quarterfinal triumph over hot pretournament favourites Ivory Coast in South Africa.

However, a transfer wrangle between Enugu and fellow Nigerian side War-

ri Wolves kept him sidelined for several months.

Mba made his African debut for Enugu in an African Champions League qualifier this month and scored a wonder goal in Angola.

But his long-range shot could not prevent Rangers losing to Recreativo Libolo and being demoted to the second-tier Confederation Cup. Enugu are among eight Champions League dropouts tackling eight survivors from three rounds of Confederation Cup eliminators.

And Mba will aim for a smoother build-up and more goals when Rangers tackle 2007 and 2008 Confederation Cup winners Sfaxien.

The late completion of

his transfer from Warri meant he left Nigeria only 15 hours before the kickoff in Angola.

“It was a crazy situation as I arrived in the town where the match was being staged just an hour before the kick-off.

“I changed into my playing kit inside the taxi taking me from the airport to the ground,” he recalled to Nigerian reporters.

Enugu just missed the first Confederation Cup final in 2004, finishing group runners-up behind Asante Kotoko of Ghana on the head-to-head rule.

Rangers are one of only two west African clubs to reach the play-offs with 2009 winners Stade Malien of Mali hosting Lydia Academic of Burundi.

Flying Eagles name provisional list for U-20 World Cup

N

IGERIA have named a 30-man squad ahead of next month’s FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey including 18 players from the recent African Youth Championship held Sin Algeria, where Nigeria placed third.

These players include skipper Abduljaleel Ajagun, Enugu Rangers striker Alhaji Gero as well as Olanrewaju Kayode and Umar Aminu, who was the top scorer at the 2013 AYC. Twelve new players have been picked preparatory to the U-20 World Cup. They include Switzerland-based goalkeeper Sebastian Osigwe, Daddy Moses Simon, who recently signed for Ajax Amsterdam as well as Nigeria U17 defender Wilfred Ndidi, who features for Nath Boys in the Lagos Junior League.

Altogether there are six players from overseas clubs with the rest coming from the Nigeria League.

The FIFA U20 World Cup kicks off June 21 and ends

July 13

The full squad:

Goalkeepers: Samuel Okani (Enyimba), Jonah Usman (ABS FC), John Felegha (Eupen, Belgium), Sebastian Osigwe (FC Emmenbrucke, Switzerland) Defenders: Shehu Abdullahi (Kano Pillars), Moses Orkuma (Lobi Stars), Ikechukwu Okorie (Enyimba), Kingsley Madu (El Kanemi), Collins Jamilu (HNK Rijeka, Croatia), Chizoba Amaefule (Dolphins), Wilfred Ndidi (Nath Boys), Oluwasemilogo Ajayi (Charlton Athletic youth team), Hassan Abubakar (Wikki Tourists) Midfielders: Agboyi Ovbokha (Bayelsa United), Mathias Samuel (Kano Pillars), Abduljaleel Ajagun (Dolphins), Christian Pyagbara (unattached), Uche Agbo (Enyimba), Michael Olaitan (Olympiacos, Greece) Forwards: Edafe Egbedi (AGF Aarhus, Denmark),

Daddy Moses Simon (Unattached), Lucky Omeruo (Bayelsa United), Chidi Osuchukwu (Dolphins), Bright Ejike (Heartland), Umar Aminu (Wikki Tourists), Olanrewaju Kayode (unattached), Daniel Etor (Akwa United), Alhaji Gero (Enugu Rangers), Sikiru Alimi (Union Bank FC), Samuel Eduok (Dolphins)

CROSS WORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1. Nigerian state (5) 3. Snarled (7) 7. Of the dark race (5) 8. Respond (5) 9. Consumed (5) 10. Wit (3) 11. Church part (5) 13. Entrance (4) 15. Stitch (3) 17. Deed (4) 19. Hope (6) 21. However (3) 23. Thanks (2) 25. Curve (3) 26. Class (5) 29. Important (5) 30. Before (3) 31. Revise (4) 34. Mate (4) 36. Italian City (4) 39. Push back (5) 40. Heed (4) 42. End of day (5) 43. Exposed (8)

•Mba

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44. Halt (5) DOWN 1. Rubbish (7) 2. Go in (5) 3. Proceeding (5) 4. Eye-socket (5) 5. Fortune (4) 6. Faculty head (4) 14. Newt (3) 15. Heavenly body (4) 16. Damp (3) 18. Keen (4) 20. Treaty (4) 22. Goad (4) 24. Always (4) 25. Beer (3) 27. Grow old (3) 28. Stray (3) 32. Lucifer (5) 33. Fashion (5) 34. Schemes (5) 37. Leer (4) 38. Otherwise (4) 41. Pup’s cry (3)

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SOLUTION on page 5

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