Jonathan's ADC adamant

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One of Tompolo’s Assets

EFCC planned seizure of Tompolo’s assets splits N-Delta activists

By Emma Amaize & Sam Oyadongha

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•Tompolo's alleged mansion at No. 1, Agbamu Str., DDPA, Warri

HERE were divergent views, weekend, on the Federal High Court, Lagos order confiscating the property of ex-General Officer Commanding, GOC, Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo.

Some Niger Delta activists, contacted by Sunday Vanguard, declined to speak on the matter, saying Tompolo should have complied with the order to appear before the court, especially after a bench warrant on him was renewed.

$2.1 BN ARMS DEAL: Jonathan’s ADC adamant....keeps mum on N10bn cash disbursement

By Soni Daniel, Abuja

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FFORTS by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to extract information from Ojogbame Adegbe the aide-de-camp to former President Goodluck Jonathan, relating to the N10 billion allegedly moved from the Office of the National Security Adviser for political purposes, may have met a brickwall.

A source close to the investigation told Sunday Vanguard that Adegbe, a colonel in the Nigerian Army, was not opening up on the money or any other issue put to him by EFCC operatives.

The source, who spoke in confidence, said that the former President’s ADC was insisting that he did his job as a loyal and professional military officer to Nigeria and the Commander-in-Chief (C-i-C), and would therefore not dabble into monetary issues.

The source said that even though his lawyer was brought before the operatives for the former ADC to make his statement, he insisted that he knew nothing about the money but did the duties assigned to him by the Nigerian Army and the C-i-C. “The truth is that the

EFCC has not been able to extract anything tangible which they hoped to use as evidence in relation to the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of $2.1 arms cash from the Office of the NSA, who is also standing trial,” the source said.

It was not clear, as at last night, if the EFCC would free Adegbe to return to the United Kingdom (UK) to continue his senior military training course, which he was undergoing before he was summoned by the Nigerian Army to report in Nigeria.

It was on his return to the country that he was questioned by the army and referred to the EFCC to furnish them with what he knows about the $47 million, which was allegedly removed from the NSA account with the Central Bank of Nigeria and changed into N10 billion and given to him and the SA to the President on Domestic Matters, Waripamowei Dudafa, to give to PDP delegates during the primary that returned Jonathan as the PDP presidential candidate for the 2015 elections.

The reference to the N10 billion was contained in a statement of defence by the embattled NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki, and filed in court.

Dasuki said in the statement: “That I am aware in November (I cannot remember the exact date), my office requested the CBN to exchange N10billion from the account of the Office of National Security Adviser domiciled in CBN. The money was exchanged at $47m and some Euros which I cannot remember.

The exact amount was delivered at my residence.

“The money was for delegates that attended the nomination convention for the PDP presidential nomination. The money was paid and sent to Hon. (Waripamowei) Dudafa (SSAP Household) and ADC(C-IC) for distribution on the instruction of the President.

“Based on the statement of the Director of Finance and administration (Salisu), Ibrahim Wambai, and Yazidu Ibrahim, all the cash (both foreign and local) are usually given to them for official use.”

One of them said: “The court had no option than to seize his property until he decides to appear before it.

That is the sum total of the order because as the prosecution indicated, it has to go on with the case without Tompolo.”

Those who accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, of persecuting Tompolo, said “Tompolo Dockyard”, at Enerhen Road, Effurun, and listed as one of his property, belongs to his younger brother, Mr. George Ekpemupolo, currently the Chairman of Warri South – West Local Government Area.

However, the Ijaw Youth Council, Ijaw People Development Initiative, IPDI, Foundation for Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Crusade, FHRAAC, and Niger Delta Security Watch Organization, slammed the Federal Government and the EFCC for the order, which they described as unjustifiable.

IYC spokesperson, Mr. Eric Omare, said: “The situation is becoming worrisome, especially consider-

Banks refund N6.2bn excess charges in 2015 — CBN

By Babajide Komolafe

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HE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said that it compelled banks to return N6.2 billion excess charges to theircustomersin2015Director, Corporate Communication Department, CBN, Alhaji Ibrahim Muazu stated this in a press release titled, “Alleged Excess, Illegal Charges by Deposit Money Banks (DMBs)”

He said, “the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has received series of complaints from customers of Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) alleging excessive and in some cases illegal charges from their respective banks.

“The Revised Guide to Bank Charges clearly specifies allowable charges for all banking services and the CBN does not in any way

I won’t devalue Naira, Buhari insists •Asks the elite with appetite for luxury goods to pay more

By Levinus Nwabughiogu

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UHAMMADU Buhari has reiterated that his position not to approve further devaluation of the Naira President stands.

Buhari said that Nigeria, which is not an exporting nation, would be worst hit if the Naira was devalued.

He noted that only the Western countries, with lots of items to export, could benefit from the economic measure.

Contributing to a Presidential Panel Roundtable on Investment and Growth Opportunities at the opening session of the Africa 2016: Business for Africa, Egypt and the World at Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, the President asked Nigerians, who have developed taste for foreign luxury goods, to continue to pay for them rather pressure government to devalue the Naira.

“Developed countries are competing among themselves and when they devalue they compete better and manufacture and export more.

But we are not competing and exporting but importing everything including toothpicks. So, why should we

ing the fact that, from available information, some of the seized property are not Tompolo’s. It follows that the situation is degenerating into persecution of Tompolo and his associates by the EFCC. And, especially, the case is between lawyer Keyamo and Tompolo’s local political enemies”.

National President of FHRAAC, Alaowei Cleric Esq., said: “The application purportedly made by the EFCC to seize the property of Tompolo, pending his appearance in court, is nothing but an enforcement of selfrule without recourse to the law.

IPDI National President, Mr. Austin Ozobo, and President, Niger-Delta Security Watch Organization of Nigeria, Dickson Bekederemo, in a joint statement, said, “The seizure of Tompolo’s assets is unlawful, the order is illconceived, barbaric, obnoxious, vindictive and provocative. Tompolo has accepted to face trial and that is why he engaged the services of a lawyer to do the needful before he finally appears. Nobody sees fire and jumps into it.”

devalue our currency?”, the President said.

“We want to be more productive and self-sufficient in food and other basic things such as clothing. For our government, we like to encourage local production and efficiency”.

Buhari stressed that Nigeria, being a mono-economy dependent on oil, and with a teeming unemployed youth population, the way out of the current slump in the global oil market, is for the administration

to focus on agriculture and solid minerals development.

“The land is there and we need machinery inputs, fertilizer and insecticides,” he said.

Responding to a question on his performance since he assumed office, the President said that his administration had been quite focused on three fundamental issues of securing the country, reviving the economy and stamping out corruption.

condone the fleecing of banking customers under any guise.

“It was in the quest to provide a strong voice to banks’ customers and moderate the arbitrary charges that the CBN in 2012, established its Consumer Protection Department. For the avoidance of doubt, the CBN has investigated over 6000 complaints relating to unauthorized bank charges brought to its notice, following which banks have been compelled to refund the sum of over N6.2 billion to affected customers in 2015 alone.

“The CBN wishes to reiterate its resolve to continuously enforce the provision of the Revised Guide to Bank Charges and urges members of the public to report cases of infringement to enable it investigate and apply sanctions on any erring Deposit Money Bank (DMB).

“Bank Customers are reminded to always forward there complaints to: Director, Consumer Protection Department; email: cpd@cbn.gov.ng”.

ICPC receives 942 petitions — Ekpo Nta

By Emman Ovuakporie & Johnbosco Agbakwuru

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HAIRMAN of Inde pendent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, Mr. Ekpo Nta, says the Commission has received 942 petitions on corruption matters.

The ICPC Chairman, who disclosed this when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Anti-Corruption during the presentation of the 2015 Budget performance and defence of the 2016 Budget

proposals, also told the Committee that the Commission lacked forensic laboratory to expedite investigations.

Nta said his Commission had decided not to seek assistance from outside the country so as not to create the room for international bodies to dictate to the committee.

He explained that some of the 942 petitions had nothing to do with his office and he decided to channel them to the appropriate quarters, adding that investigations had been

concluded on 384 of the petitions, 59 charged to court and had secured convictions on five.

The ICPC boss said that the Commission always tried to be guided by the Human Rights Act and strictly observed the spirit of rule of law and due process in carrying out its assignment.

He said that the collaboration between the Commission and the National Universities Commission, NUC, helped in fishing out 26 universities that had given the country bad names.

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From left The Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi; UNN Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Benjamin Ohukwunta Ozumba; and Obi of Onitsha, HRM, Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe, during the investiture of the Ooni as UNN Chancellor , yesterday. Photo: GBENGA OLARINOYE

From left: Oladamoye Oyesiku, Abiodun Adeoye, Seni Adio, Kemi Jejeloye-Orianzi, Udochi Iheanacho, Dem Eleso, Dayo Adeshina and Tunde Kehinde at the 10th anniversary of Contact Solutions Limited (ConSol).

ACF to MASSOB: Your agitations are short on logic

By Emeka Mamah & Chinenyeh Ozor

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NUGU The Chairman of Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, and former Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Coomassie, has said that agitations for a new Republic of Biafra by Igbo youths were based on “long emotions,” which were “short on logic.”

Coomasssie spoke at Nsukka while accepting the conferment of honourary Doctor of Public Administration, DPA, on him, by the University of Nigeria, UNN, yesterday.

His words, “While I am not trying to put any one on the spot, you will agree with me that these allegations (of marginalisation against the north) have been around for many years. Yet, like all allegations made by angry people,theyarelongonemotions and short on logic.

“The problem of Nigeria has nothingtodowithitssize,diversity or attempt by any group to marginalise other nationalities.

As was succinctly put by the late great literary giant, Chinua Achebe, the trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely the failure of leadership. “For one thing, we have paid a heavy price fighting a bloody civil war in which over a million people lost their lives.

“Even a bitter enemy of Nigeria would not wish that we gothroughwhatalwaysattended the process of breaking up a country.

‘Nigeria will witness extraordinary reconstruction’

NBA to FG: Fight corruption within as persecuting or aiding the ambit of the law corruption. It is laughable that an agency of Government would

BY PETER DURU, MAKURDI No fewer than 3,500 persons were, yesterday, provided free HIV/AIDS counseling, testing and treatment for ailments by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, AHF, in parts of Benue State. The exercise, held in Makurdi, the state capital, and Daudu in Guma local government area, was in commemoration of the 2016 International Condom Day celebration, held under the theme, “Wrap your love.”

Addressing participants, the Regional Medical Manager of AHF, Dr. Grey Abiaziem, said the exercise, carried out in collaboration with volunteers, was geared towards HIV prevention and safer sex awareness.

The activities included a debate amongst students of Lobi School of Management Sciences & Technology and Benue State University and an enlightenment talk on condom education and safer sex awareness.

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Free Fall of Naira: Arisekola seeks intervention of past CBN governors

“My attention was drawn to the fact that in allocation for capital projects in this year’s budget, the South-West and South-South under a northern presidency have more than the three northern zones combined.

“Yet, no one is crying of marginalisation. “From 1999

By Wale Akinola

igeria Bar Association (NBA) has asked the Federal Government to prosecute the on-going anticorruption war “within the ambit of the law, and rule of law must, at all times, be given primacy.”

The umbrella group for lawyers in the country said at the weekend: “The war against corruption can be won within the ambit of the law. There is no need to resort to any other than legal means to win the war against corruption.” NBA President, Augustine Alegeh (SAN), conveyedthepositionofthebody during the National Executive Committee meeting of the NBA, held in Jos, Plateau State capital.

“There appears to be the need to draw attention to the essential elements of a proper trial in accordance with law. There must be a prosecution and a defence.

If one is absent, there cannot be a

when democratic governance was restored to today, trillions of Naira have poured into these states and local governments from the federation account.

“If no developments have taken place in my state or local government, shouldn’t I first of all,querythoserunningtheaffairs

fair trial. The duty of the prosecution is to prosecute not persecute. The prosecution has a duty to the temple of justice to bring all facts before the court even if some may aidthedefence.

Where the prosecution is found to havewithheldanysuchevidence, any conviction obtained is liable to be set aside. The duty of the defenceistopresentthedefenceof the defence AND NOT to make up a defence for the defendant.

Wherethishappens,counselrisks disciplinary sanction, if reported”, Alegehsaid.

“I have laboured to draw attention to this position in view of theerroneousviewbeingwrongly peddled by some persons that lawyers in defending persons accused of corruption are aiding corruption. Far from it. Counsel have a duty and are trained to prosecute or defend. Whichever position they may take they are carrying out legitimate duties and cannot be wrongly classified

of my state or local government?

“President Muhammadu Buhari is no miracle worker … but with the enthusiastic support and cooperation of all Nigerians, especiallytheyouths,whoshould have no difficulties embracing positive change, we are today poised to witness extraordinary reconstruction of Nigeria.”

retain Counsel to prosecute personsaccusedofcorruptionbut frown at Counsel representing such persons. What is good for the goose is also good for the gander.

“Finally, the constitutional guarantee of innocent until proven guilty remains alive and well. A person accused of corruption MUST be presumed innocent until a conviction is secured. This fine constitutional point appears lost to few persons who seem to believe that persons that are accused are already convicted. If it is appreciated, that persons accused are constitutionally presumed innocent then their dignity and their human rights must be guarded jealously”.

He lauded the Chief Justice of Nigeria for amending the Supreme Court appointment guidelines to include appointments of “deserving Senior Advocates of Nigeria”to the apex court.

BEN-BRUCE@60: Nigerians urged to embrace patriotism •Obasanjo, Ekweremadu, Dangote, Ovia, others pay tribute

By Charles Kumolu & Gbenga Oke th HE 60 birthday of the senator representing Bayelsa East in the Senate, Sen Ben Muray-Bruce, was a platform to task Nigerians on the imperative of patriotism to resolve the challenges bedeviling the country.

Drawing on what was described as the patriotic attitude of Murray-Bruce to national concerns, it was unanimously agreed that patriotism is critical to the application of common sense to national question.

The well attended event, held in Lagos, also witnessed the presentation of a book authored by the celebrator entitled: The Common Sense As The Pathway To Unleashing Nigeria’s Greatness.

The forum was attended by top serving and former political office holders, captains of industry, members of the diplomatic corps and veterans and leading artistes, among

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3,500 tested for AIDS in Benue

others.

At the gathering, anchored by a former Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. Odien Ajumogobia were, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, represented by a former governor of Cross River State, Mr. Donald Duke; Deputy Senate President, Sen Ike Ekweremadu; Senate Minority Leader, Sen Godswill Akpabio, Senate Committee Chairman on Federal Capital Territory, Sen Dino Melaye, former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel; a former governor of Anambra State; Mr. Peter Obi; a former governor of Ekiti, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, and a former Ebonyi State governor, Sen Sam Egwu.

Others are the President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote; a former Managing Director of Zenith Bank, Mr. Jim Ovia; a former Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu; Prof Pat Utomi; Mr. Francis Muray-

Bruce; Mr. Timi Alaibe; Sen Eyinnaya Abaribe; Otunba Gani Adams; Sen Gbenga Ashafa and Chief Ebitimi Banigo among others.

In his remarks the chairman of the occasion, Obasanjo, described Murray-Bruce as a patriotic Nigerian.

On his part, Ekweremadu said: ‘’Growing old is a gift from God, so I am saying congratulations to you Ben. Many people aspired to celebrate this age but they could not. So you are lucky to be 60 and on behalf of the Senate President and all the National Assembly, we all congratulate you on this feat.

Our country is in dire straights right now, we are challenged in every front but we are excited because we have a man like Ben Bruce and we believe there are so many of them in this country who working together can lift our country to get to that position several people are expecting us to be in Africa”.

Similarly, Ovia said: ‘’Ben believes he could make a living

from entertainment and from there he started the Most Beautiful Girl In Nigeria, he started a radio station and from there we have Silverbird television. Just before then, he talked of having a cinema. ‘’He has this idea that you must aim for the moon, maybe you will settle at the sky. Ben Bruce remains one of the most patriotic Nigerians have ever known and we need more people like him.’’

Acknowledging the eulogies, Murray-Bruce said: ‘’I have been around for a very long time.

My true love is politics, I grabbed it when the opportunity came. We have the leadership of the Senate and House. When I look at the economy and difficulties we have I became crazy about devaluation and came up with a hash tag on made in Nigeria goods. The Senate President has ordered made in Nigeria cars. people criticize the Senate but they are misunderstood patriotic Nigerians.

Publisher of Street Journals magazine, an online publication, Wole Arisekola, has decried the dwindling fortune of the Naira, calling on past Governors of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to intervene.

He lamented a situation where a dollar now exchanges for about N400.

Arisekola, who is also Chairman of Association of Online Practitioners, made this remark in a statement, yesterday, on the ‘state of the nation’, stressing:”There is a need for the intervention of past governors of the CBN. “A situation where one dollar is now being exchanged for N400 is not in the best interest of the Nigerian economy. Recall that we are an importing nation. Therefore, the current dwindling fortune of our currency is taking a toll on every sphere of the economy”.

Sen Ashafa tasks transport institute

By Olufemi Ajasa As part of its oversight functions, the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Land and Transport paid an inspection visit to the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT), Zaria to ascertain the level of projects being constructed by the institution.

Speaking during the visit, Chairman, Senate Committee on Land Transport, Senator Olugbenga Ashafa, charged the institution to imbibe modern management techniques as strategies in creating awareness on what they can do and how to generate revenue.“As it is now, the institute is something to be proud of, the management has done very well in maintaining a vibrant environmentally friendly atmosphere for people to come in,” Asafa said.

Benue South poll: David Mark in early lead

*Ameh Ebute loses polling unit

BY PETER DURU, MAKURDI The results of the Benue South senatorial rerun election held, yesterday, started trickling-in, last night, with the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate, Senator David Mark, establishing an early lead.

“This is just as the state Deputy Governor, Benson Abounu; and a former Senate President, Ameh Ebute, lost in their respective polling units.“Meantime, the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbe, could not cast his vote at his Zaria/Efugo 1, Ai-Oone 11 polling unit in Efugo, Otukpa, Ogbadibo local government area, following his alleged inability to produce a valid Permanent Voter's Card, PVC. “Some of the unofficial results at the dispose of Sunday Vanguard indicated clearly that the PDP might be coasting home to victory.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 21, 2016 — PAGE 7

essay

1993 (as amended) by Decree No.25, 1996 and further amended in 2003 and 2012 respectively and other agreements as contained in the 2009 FGN staff union agreement.

In demanding for the reversal of the action, the group further stated in the petition: "We are compelled to call your attention owing to the illegality in the removal of Vice Chancellors of 13 Federal Universities including the National Open University of Nigeria and the hasty appointment of friends •President Buhari and cronies in place of those illegally removed from office. doubt, eminently qualified for the office, "The constitution is quite clear on the being a university don. But she turned procedures to be followed in the appointdown the offer on the grounds of prinment and disengagement of Vice Chanciple, adducing the following reasons: cellors and none of these procedures were “It’s however unfortunate that I was not followed in the above case. consulted before the announcement in the "The appointment of Vice Chancellors is media. I also regret that I have to use the a tenured appointment, which presupsame medium to announce that I can’t poses that every appointee is expected to accept the appointment for personal serve the prescribed number of years as reasons.” It is really very strange that Vice stipulated by the Acts governing the Chancellors and members of university institutions." governing boards would be hastily The petitioners further alleged that four selected and announced without recourse out of the 13 newly appointed Vice to established procedures.

Chancellors are from Kano University, an Surprisingly, giving the oddity of this action they said “was a clear violation of development in the university system, one the federal character principle, for would have expected a challenge to come human rights as claimed by protesters.” from the custodians and watchmen of all The Committee of Vice-Chancellors of that is good in the process-driven, sacred Nigerian Universities (CVC) has also ground of the ivory tower. expressed resentment with the developWhile questions are now being raised ment, stressing that it was at variance from many quarters, not a whimper has with the law. In the statement signed by emanated from the camp of the Academic Professor Michael O. Faborode, SecreStaff Union of Universities (ASUU), the tary General for the Committee, the traditional campus standard bearer. university heads noted: "The power to appoint and remove a substantive ViceProtests Chancellor, and when the need arises, an The main redeeming voice so far, acting Vice Chancellor, is vested in the challenging this illegality, came from the governing councils."

Coalition of Civil Society Groups It is obvious that the position of the law (CCSG) protesting what they called is that Vice Chancellors of Federal illegal sack.

Universities are to be appointed by the In a protest letter by the Coalition to governing boards which include members President Buhari, signed by its President, of ASUU, while the president is merely Etuk Bassey Williams, and Secretaryinformed, by virtue of his position as the General, Ibrahim Abubakar, the group Visitor. That tradition has been on for a said the action contravened the provivery long time. The only time the Federal sions of the Universities Act No.11 of

SACKED VICE CHANCELLORS:

ASUU in the pocket of the ‘new sheriff’

By Sufyan Abbas Mohammed

I

n 2012, a zonal branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universi ties (ASUU) embarked on a strike action to protest the ‘arbitrariness in appointing a Vice Chancellor’ for the River State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt. The sin of the then Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, and the Pro-Chancellor of the University, Justice Karibi White, was that the appointment was made without recourse to the laid down rules.

A more grievous scenario emerged last week with the sack of 12 Vice Chancellors and that of the National Open University of Nigeria [NOUN], in what is seen as an outright violation of the laws of the universities.

Nothing demonstrates the incongruity of this latest appointment in the ivory tower more than the reaction of one of the beneficiaries, Najatu Muhammad, who took paid advertisement to reject her selection as the chairperson of the governing council of the Dutse Federal University.

As a means of poignantly capturing the drama, an online newspaper wrote: “Northern politician and activist, Najatu Muhammad, has rejected a federal appointment through the same channel by which she was appointed – newspaper!.”

Muhammad, a staunch supporter of President Muhammadu Buhari and an associate of the president’s wife, is, no

Government is permitted by law to appoint pioneer Vice Chancellors and the Registrars are when universities are newly established. This is because there would be no boards in place from the beginning to perform this role, as was the case in the time of the previous administration, when President Jonathan established 12 new universities.

Once the boards are established, subsequent Vice Chancellors are appointed by the board. In the same vein, university boards are never dissolved until they complete their tenure.

This was the autonomy that ASUU fought hard for and eventually got, not on a platter, but after a long drawn fierce battle.

One is then surprised that government has not only arbitrarily sacked VCs but has also dissolved varsity boards, some still in the middle of their terms. For a university system that had suffered many closures resulting from strike actions by the teachers, the country can hardly afford further avoidable breaches to academic calendars.

Unusual silence Even then, the unusual silence from ASUU while the university autonomy is being compromised, is not healthy for the system. There is no doubt that complacency on the part of this otherwise virile and very vocal union would worsen the impunity that is now gradually returning to the university system, at a time that education standards remain poor.

Would ASUU have been this cooperative under the Jonathan government? The answer, in my view, is definite ‘NO’.

Certainly, if it had been the previous administration that was impinging on the rights of the university, the ASUU would have called out its members to embark on indefinite strike.

There are obviously ample grounds for defiance now, especially as government, which is yet to lay out a single policy proposal on education, is seen to be reversing the gains of university autonomy. For ASUU, the danger in keeping quiet, apparently in awe of the aura of the “new sheriff in town”, is that they would be tacitly endorsing a regime of impunity and corruption, which the university lecturers fiercely fought against in the past.

•Mohammed is resident in Yola, Adamawa State

Minister urges university teachers to join anti-corruption battle

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he Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has appeal ed to university

teachers across the country to join the on-going war against corruption by making their voices heard.

The Minister made the call when he paid a courtesy visit to the Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos, Prof.

Rahamon Bello, just before he delivered a paper at the Gani Fawehinmi Students Chambers Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Symposium held at the university at the weekend.

“I implore you to join the current debate on the war against corruption.

Corruption is the single most debilitating factor other than insecurity in Nigeria today. We have lost lives, we have lost an economy because of corruption,” he said.

Mohammed said that, by virtue of their research work and academic prowess, the lecturers are better placed to enlighten the public on the economy, governance

and the polity as part of conscious efforts to further enrich the nation’s democracy. “I think the university lecturers, the

professors are really

keeping quiet. You have almost insulated yourselves from politics and governance. Today we hear a cacophony of voices about the economy,

governance and the polity from people who don’t have the kind of depth and scholarship that are available in the university,” he said.

Lagos investigates child–killer-disease, urges calm

By Chioma Obinna

F

ollowing the deaths of children between the ages of eight and 72 months in Otodo Gbame commun ity, in Etiosa local government area of Lagos State, the state government has appealed for calm as the cause of the deaths was under investigation.

Meanwhile, laboratory results of blood samples taken from the victims are expected to be out today.

Addressing a press conference, yesterday, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, said, so far, about 34 cases of sick children with Febrile Rash Illnesses (FRI) had been listed.

“The fatality of the

outbreak was also confirmed as the graves of 20 children who died from the FRI since the day of onset of signs and symptoms in the first case on 6th January 2016, were identified by their parents,”he stated.

Idris explained that the disease causing the outbreak was yet to be confirmed, adding that the signs and symptoms were suggestive of Febrile Rash Illnesses.

According to him, blood samples (and throat swabs) from the patients and water samples from the community had been taken to the Virology Reference Laboratory at LUTH and Lagos State Drug Quality Control Laboratory (DQCL),

LASUTH, Ikeja respectively and the result were to be made public today.

Assuring Lagosians that the state was doing everything to safeguard the health of the citizenry, he announced that the government was intensifying efforts to conduct mapping of all slums and blighted areas in the state towards reducing the health hazards associated with such areas.

On other interventions instituted by the state, Idris said intensive awareness creation and community mobilisation and health education had been launched in the area through meetings and community dialogues.

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Vanguard , FEBRUARY 21, 2016

SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 21, 2016, PAGE 9

Buhari will make a big mistake if he dumps National Confab Report

PDP militarized that election. So many people were badly beaten up and result sheets were carried away brazenly. If they had gone away with that victory, it would have destroyed the interest of people in elections. For the fact that we were able to get this back, you can see the happiness in the faces of people that they stole this thing and they could not get away with it, and they have another day, and we are ready for the election to pay them back in their own bad coin.

So, for me, I ought to have been declared winner because there was no need for a repeat of this election. But for the wisdom of the judges of the Court of Appeal that the nullification should suffice, I accept it. Good enough, it is just about 19 days away, and the extra cost of going for this repeat election should be borne by lovers of genuine democracy.

– Victor Umeh

•Chief Victor Umeh

By Vincent Ujumadu Immediate past National Chairman of APGA, Chief Victor Umeh, is the senatorial candidate of the party for the rerun election in Anambra Central. In this interview, Umeh speaks on his mission in the Senate if he wins.

Excerpts:

I

t’s some weeks to the Anambra Central senatorial rerun election.

How prepared are you?

I am fully prepared for the election.

My party, APGA, is ready and I have been going round to talk to the people and visiting them even in their private homes and reaching out to major stakeholders. I am talking to people of various groups as wells as maintaining a communication line with the voters of Anambra Central. I have also been on radio and television programmes, dishing out to the electorates the relevant issues and convincing them to continue supporting me.

Of course you are aware that this is not entirely a brand new election. We have campaigned very vigorously before the March 28, 2015 general election, which was later annulled by the Court of Appeal. One thing that pleases me now is that any place I go to, I discover that the people have made up their minds that I am the candidate they want at this time to go and represent them. So I find it very easy talking with them because even before I say anything, they take it over and start reeling my achievements and antecedents that make them properly convinced that at this time they need my services as a senator. In summary I will say that the level of enthusiasm on the part of the electorate of Anambra Central Senatorial District is quite high. So, I am just waiting for the day to come and let this elections be over so that I can settle down to task to work for them.

Do you see the forthcoming election as an easy battle for you?

In politics, if you are not humble, you can over shoot your range, but I will like to say without being immodest, that 15 of us were all part of the election in 2015, including the two others from PDP and APC and I clearly won the election. I got 86,000 recorded for me in the result sheet, and PDP, which was all over the place using Amoured Personnel Carriers, INEC and security agencies, got 93,000 recorded for it. It

In politics, if you are not humble, you can over shoot your range, but I will like to say without being immodest, that 15 of us were all part of the election in 2015, including the two others from PDP and APC and I clearly won the election was me, like David in the Bible, having 86,000 votes and the big goliath, who was everywhere having 93000 recorded for it. APC got 24,000 with its super candidate, Dr Chris Ngige.

Coming to the 12 candidates that are in the race now, no one can take anyone’s fight and fight for him or her, and most of them have been calling me that they want to work for me, They are candidates of other parties, but they believe in what I can do. I have also heard that those who are disgruntled have been ganging up to support the even the least of the candidates to see how they can stop me, but I don’t see how they can achieve that. I am confident that that election, when the votes are counted, I will win. Apart from my acceptability to the electorate, the APGA government in Anambra State is doing exceedingly well. I do not judge the success of a government, based on what armchair critics say. As a member of APGA and someone who has been in the leadership of APGA for over 13years and someone who has been championing APGA programmes, I can tell you that the government of APGA is doing very well for the people of the state. So the governor, being from my party will also act as a boost to me in the election. The governor has traditional critics who don’t like him and those who do not believe that as far as they are not the ones in charge, things are not going on well. I can say

that Willie Obiano has surpassed my own expectations in less than two years.

The level of projects being executed in the state and particularly in Awka capital territory and elsewhere will show you that this government is a very serious government, and the governor is thinking about how to make Anambra State a good state. He tackled the issue of security immediately he came in.

People thought it was going to be a flash in the pan which will stop after one month and criminality will start, but Anambra has been very peaceful no kidnapping, no armed robbery and all that. So I don’t see how people will want a party that is doing all these to go down. What will be the alternative? We have everything going for us in this election, Even if PDP and APC were going to contest the election with their strong candidates, we would have defeated them. What I insisted on not allowing to happen was to go into the election with illegitimate candidates, You go into the election with them and you expose the election to further risk of nullification. That is the essence, otherwise we are not afraid of any political party, APGA is a prominent political party and we know we have the structure.

Some people say the Court of Appeal should ordinarily have declared you the winner of that election. So how do you feel going through this process again?

Well, I am still grateful to the Court of Appeal because if you remember, the election tribunal made a joke of our petition at the tribunal, but the Court of Appeal decided to go deeper into the petition and decided to nullify the election and said that the PDP did not hold any primary to select their candidates and that was what put forward this arrangement of conducting another election. For me it’s very painful, but I have to bear the pain. If they had said no at the tribunal, this opportunity would not be here. That they were able to nullify the election and offer us a second chance is good enough. We will go through it and there is not cost that I will bear in pursuing justice that I will consider too high. If I had considered that charade of 2015 to stand, the psychology of people of Anambra Central Senatorial district would have been so greatly tortured.

They were traumatized with the way

Can you tell us those things that are dear to you which, when you get to the senate, you will work on?

I said it clearly that I was not averse to Buhari becoming president as a person, but we decided to vote the way we voted because of what our party considered very critical to the survival of Nigeria as a nation, and that critical thing was the promise made by Jonathan to implement the report of the National Conference, which he put together in the first place. The report of that National Conference remains a key to the survival of this country as a nation. Anyone who wishes it away is postponing the dooms day. This country cannot continue to be run in an atmosphere of tension, where there are too many grievances from various parts of the nation. Good leadership requires that a nation should be put on a pedestal of sustainable development and peace. There are too many people who have been cheated. I am known to be championing this cause all the time, the structural imbalance is skewed against the Igbo people of Nigeria because of the war. This will not last for ever. Nations have fought wars all over the world, America fought wars, many nations in Europe fought wars, and they come out of their wars stronger and things that caused the wars were looked into at the end of the wars, and ways of maintaining sustainable peace became the order of the day, but in Nigeria they refuse to agree that the war has ended.

They agree that the war has ended in principle, but the war is still on against the Igbo people of Nigeria. If I have time to state it, there are so many areas begging for attention. So outside the confab reports, the boldest efforts Nigeria has made towards preserving its desired unity where in a dialogue arrangement where there was give and take for all parts of Nigeria. The Igbo were given additional state, increasing their number of state to six, because we presently have five. The issues about local government were also addressed.

Local government funds can no longer be shared to the 774 local governments.

Money will be shared to the states and the states can create the number of local governments they want.

These were the things we agreed to at the National Conference. We also saw that who becomes the president of Nigeria was a major action in Nigeria anytime we are going to have an election. Everybody wants his own person or tribe’s man to become the president of Nigeria. So we said instead of killing ourselves over who becomes the president of Nigeria, let us have an arrangement where every part of Nigeria will have hope that one day they will ascend the presidency of this country and it was agreed that the presidency should rotate between the north and south and across the geo political zones, and with that type of arrangement, it won’t take time and presidency will reach to places where it had not gotten.

When I get to the senate, we want a

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PAGE 10—SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

We must deepen taxation to survive economic woes — Oshiomhole

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM, Benin-City

•Let us allow gov to give us a successor—Ogbemudia

P

OLITICAL leaders, royal fathers and academicians gathered on Wednesday, February 10 to listen to Governor Adams Oshiomhole, who proffered solutions to the economic crisis facing the nation, particularly the dwindling revenue from crude oil at a lecture organized by the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Edo State.

Dignitaries at the occasion include two-time former governor of old Bendel State, Dr Samuel Ogbemudia; Prof.Gregory Akenzua; foremost journalist and the Esogban of Benin Kingdom, Chief David Edebiri; the Enojie of Opoji, Ehidiamen Aidonojie 1; a former Minister of Science and Technology and former Vice Chancellor of University of Jos, Prof. Emmanuel Emovon,; Vice Chancellor of University of Benin, Prof. Faraday Orunmwense; and Chief Medical Director of the University of Benin (UBTH), Rasaq Bello Osagie.

After dealing with the lecture entitled, “Dwindling Revenue from Crude Oil: The Challenges for State Governments”, Oshiomhole took questions from journalists, during which he stressed that the only way Nigeria can survive in the face of its economic crisis is for Nigerians to pay their tax. While using Edo as case study, he urged the media interrogate those scrambling to succeed him, saying it is not “ about seeking for political power but having the ideas, the wherewithal to lift the state in the midst of nothing”.

Ogbemudia, who was the father of the day at the occasion, agreed with the governor admonishing the people of Edo to back whoever is the choice of Oshiomhole as his successor ahead of the forthcoming governorship election in the state, Ogbemudia said: “ Oshiomhole is a man who

Oshiomhole, flanked by eminent personalities during the lecture is a square peg in a square hole; a man who is wearing the proverbial shoes that knows exactly where it pinched yesterday, is pinching today and likely to pinch tomorrow; a man who has the courage to call a pot black even in the presence of the catering master. We have a man who is prepared to stake all he has for our state; let us follow him, use him, talk to him and listen to him because we know he will never lead us astray”.

However, Oshiomhole gave reasons the current economic situation may get worse just as he insisted that taxation is the solution.

“Every government after government preach the need to diversify the economy. If you read several budget speeches since 1960, every President, every Head of state, at the end, we are assured that the economy will be diversified,”the governor said. He continued: “These are issues that we have discussed over the years. The more we talk about diversification the more we remain dependent on oil.

Never before have we experienced the impact of a very very sharp drop in our national revenue, with such profound negative consequences on the lives of our people. Reducing government to a level that some of them if they were to run like a business enterprise, many states can be described as totally insolvent. I think the confusion we are in, we

focus more on the fact that salaries are not being paid. But the primary purpose of government is not to pay salaries. The primary purpose of government is not to employ people.

The primary purpose of government is to deliver services and provide infrastructure. However to deliver these services, you need to employ people men and women to deliver those services. Things have become so bad that nobody is even having any conversation whether the states, local and federal governments are still able to deliver on our primary purpose which is to deliver on the welfare of the people, through the provision of social infrastructure, human capital development and security and every other thing that is the responsibility of every modern state to provide for its citizens.

We must interrogate Edo guber aspirants properly “We in Edo must open and sustain the conversation, in the face of dwindling revenue from the only product that the nation relied on over the years, how do we survive?

And that is why we must interrogate those who want to govern us properly. If oil becomes zero, Edo has to survive. So the challenge for us is to put on our thinking cap, arising from the reality that oil money is no longer available and we must give services to our people, we must govern ourselves and lay foundation for the future. We once held an

Exco meeting which started at 9am and we adjourned at 7am the following day. And that was 22 hours none-stop. In the course of that meeting, I asked all the commissioners to bring their revenue sub heads and we looked at them one by one. And we discovered that people were cheating government in the payment of theirs. People charged so much in private schools but paid peanuts to government and we said that will not work. We discussed with the Chief Judge, our lawmakers and we all agreed that we must all pay taxes to meet up with our demands. I think we had to fight all sorts of battles in Edo in order to re-invent the concept of the tax payer because, everywhere around the world, governments are run on taxes not on crude oil money. We grew up our IGR and at a point it got up to N2billion.

“I think we have started the foundation and I believe the next government will widen it if this state will be able to remain afloat because our population will continue to grow, we will need to build more schools, employ more teachers, provide more laboratory equipment. We will need to sustain our urban renewal programme, we will need to sustain the fight against erosion in our cities, all of these requires huge financial output. So, if we do not do something differently to widen non-oil based revenue accruing to Edo, at a point, you will get to a level where the payment of basic services including salaries will be a huge burden. I have done my thinking, I have done my plans, up till the end of my tenure, I will never join the club of states that cannot pay salaries. The real reason we must deepen taxation is to make Nigerians critical stakeholders. To be a stakeholder is to have a stake and how can you have a stake if what is being managed or mismanaged, you can’t connect your sweat to it. If you pay so much tax, you will worry about how it is utilized. In Nigeria, we see it as government money and so long as we see it as such, it is not our money and if we don’t change that, good governance is far away”.

Why Cross River was losing cases in court — Joe Abang, Attorney General Emma Una., Calabar Joe Abang is Cross River State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice. He has been in legal practice for the past 25 years. In 2007, he contested against former Governor Liyel Imoke for the state top job. Since then, his political image has been on the upswing. He spoke with mycrossriver.com on legal issues in his State. Excerpts: YOU have appeared at the Supreme Court three times and several other courts in less than a month. Tell how your experiences.

I am not an arm chair Attorney General. You ask why I decide

C M Y K

•Joe Abang to be in court. The reason is that I try to show leadership by example.

Recently, we had 22 Youth Corps members posted to my ministry and these are people the Council on Legal Education expects us to train. I am not going

to sit down in the office and teach these young lawyers how to practice law. I led the team for the hearing of the state case at the Supreme Court. I was also in the High Court with the young lawyers to teach them how to go about this business. I have noble plans for the Ministry of Justice and for the growth of the profession in the state. I have made it known to my principal, Gov. Ben Ayade, and he agrees with me that there is a lot to be done in the Ministry. On the day of my inauguration, the governor gave every Commissioner terms of reference and when he got to my turn, he said, “I trust

you will give us justice”, and that I will do. This morning, I was with the Speaker of the House of Assembly on my plans to review our laws that are obsolete and have impeded the prosecution of criminals. I am bringing executive bills to amend Section 390 of the Criminal Code which will make it easier to prosecute criminals. Any part of our law that is inhibiting the prosecution of criminals would be reviewed and amended to make it easier for us to have access to justice.

I have sent my team to go and under study the Lagos State judicial system. I want to set up the Office of the Public Defender and Citizens Adjudication Centre separate from the Ministry of Justice. The office will be somewhere in town so that if a husband and wife quarrel, they can go there and resolve their differences, landlord and tenant misunderstanding can be taken care of there, issues that should not take people to court can be addressed there. We will

Continues on page 11

SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 21, 2016, PAGE 11

‘Buhari will mak ab R epor t’ makee a big mis misttak akee if he dumps National Conf Confab Repor eport’ Continued from page 9 Nigeria where there will be equal rights and opportunity for all people of Nigeria, not just for the Igbo people. We will make efforts to close the gap created against the Igbo people. We want equity and fairness. We can easily achieve that through legislation. Every aspect of Nigerian life, you can use legislation to put things in proper perspective, and it will work for everybody. So if I go to the senate, I will pay my primary responsibility to Anambra Central Senatorial district, and I will get everything they are entitled to get as a federal constituency in Nigeria in any form, be it infrastructural development, be it youth empowerment programmes, be it women empowerment programmes, be it education. Anything that it being done at the centre for

•Chief Victor Umeh federal constituencies, that of Anambra Central will come home complete and none will be found wanting. I will be

alert to my responsibility. On a second stanza, I will contribute to nation- building; I want to be a part of any group in the senate or the national assembly for that matter that will be championing for a better Nigeria – a Nigeria that every citizen will be proud of.

In the senate there are too many progressives from all parts of Nigeria, so the issue of people thinking that the status quo will always remain; even those who think they have the advantage today are aware that it will not be forever. Or if these pressures and agitations keep building in the land, people will be forced to let go some of the things they are holding. So that there will be peace in the land. At the senate I know there are people from the north who are progressive minded and will want Nigeria to move forward.

Nigeria of today is not like the Nigeria of 50, 60 years ago.

Even in the north, education has changed things, people have gone to other climes, and have seen how things are done, particularly in the area of civic rights.

I want to help in building a more united Nigeria, a Nigeria where everybody will have confidence in. If we do not achieve that, we are wasting our time, and that is why I said we will address the various problems facing the country.

That is why I also said that the only document that has addressed the problem of the country is the report of the national conference, which Jonathan handed over to President Buhari as one of the major handover documents, So we will keep our eyes on that report.

If you win the rerun, you will be the only APGA senator in the senate. How will you feel about such a situation?

Well, this is the only senatorial seat that APGA has a very bright prospect of taking now and I don’t see that to be a problem. I think the people of this zone need a very strong character in the senate. They will say that one APGA senator in Chief Sir Victor Umeh is a large slot, but there is nothing like winner takes all in this matter. If you check all that I have just said about achieving unity at the senate for the good of our people, you will understand that the issue of being from one party or the other in the senate will be drastically reduced. We will begin to see ourselves as brothers and sisters working for the interest of our people.

‘Wh oss River w as losing cases in cour ‘Whyy Cr Cross was courtt ‘ Continued from page 10 station lawyers there to render free services to the public.

We realize that the economy is so bad and not all our people have money to hire a lawyer to defend them or prosecute their cases.

During the last administration, there was this complaint that the state was losing so much money because people were taking government to court and winning. How do you intend to address the situation?

When I assumed office, I was worried about that, but I have spoken to my directors and I discovered that they are intelligent and knowledgeable.

Then question then is, why the deluge of cases against the state and I discovered that they lacked motivation.

So I decided to get the governor to approve the harmonization of the directors and law officers salaries in the Ministry with those in the judiciary.

Today, our lawyers are well motivated. After that, I did a study of the cases done in the past in Ogoja, Obudu, Akamkpa, Akpabuyo and discovered that law officers always stayed away from court because the former governor approved the Litigation Fund for Law Officers but access to the fund was not possible and this meant many lawyers could not go to court to represent the state because you don’t expect them to pay transport fare to court from their salaries. This invariably led to the default judgments that the state experienced. Default judgment happens when one party attends court and the other does not. But such judgment can be set aside upon cogent reasons before the judge who gave the judgment, so it is not the final judgment. I am in the process of setting most of them aside and I am calling the beneficiaries of the judgments to come forward for discussion. I give you an example of so many local governments that have come here with garnishee judgments against them. Their accounts were frozen and so what did I do? I called the person who got the judgment and said he is

owed N500 and froze the account of the local government with one million naira and the workers’ salary is there. “So, let us sit down and talk it out”. I have called one or two judges to say “the Attorney General is interested in this matter, we want to withdraw it and discuss” and the matter is withdrawn and we resolved it. We have so many of them and I intend to resolve the problem through a synergy between the Bar, the Bench and the Ministry. I have a case where a man sued the state for 5.6 million and, when I saw the file I told my staff to call the man. I asked him what was the problem and he said the state was owing him salary of 156,000 naira. Now if the lawyer does not attend court, the judge would give ruling for 5.6 million. So I appeared before the judge and said we could not continue with the matter in court, so the matter was taken off the court. The next day, I wrote a letter to the department concerned and asked them to pay the man and the matter was resolved.

Prolonged adjournment of cases seems to impede justice delivery. How do you ensure that cases are completed within a short period.

Justice delayed is justice denied. This has its origin in the culture of our civil service. The bureaucracy affects even the judiciary. Cases are adjourned not because the court takes delight in it.

If a counsel on one side is ready and the other one is not, the rules require that you must agree. We have amended the rules for civil procedure in Cross River where when a case is filed, everything that concerns the case is also filed while the other party is also to file everything that he needs to defend the case and, soon after, a date is given for pretrial consent. Maybe it is not a matter that would go to trial and the pretrial judge may advise out- of- court settlement. These are the new checks and balances to prevent prolonged adjournment and prolonged hearing.

How are you coping with the work environment, considering the avalanche of outstanding cases in the courts against the state?

I met over 570 files on my desk and so I stay here till 9 pm everyday to attend to the files and, today, there is no file left. I can assure you that there will be no more heaps of files while I am here. I do not believe that public service is a place where people demonstrate ‘I don’t care attitude’. Let us begin to make a difference. The governor is from the private sector and I am from that sector too; so let’s

see the difference we can make. In the private sector, if you leave a case file till the next day, how do you feed your family? You want to make sure that it is treated and you get your money and move to the next one.

So to justify my salary, I have to treat a case file and move to the next one. Also, I feel that after years in private practice, I should contribute to the development of my state and I thank His Excellency for giving me the opportunity.

PAGE 12—SUND AY 12—SUNDA

Vanguard, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

RIVERS:

In the light of the Supreme Court judgment

By Charles Kumolu & Levinus Nwabughiogu

W

ITHOUT prejudice to the eternal sanctity of the judiciary, the Supreme Court verdict, which validated the election of Nyesom Nwike as the governor of River State, has raised critical concerns in the polity.

It was indeed a judgment that has left both the victor and vanquished with confounding mixed feelings, considering the tensed expectations that preceded it.

Some sections of the public are also not left out in the mixed bag that the aftermath of the ruling seems to be, especially on the strength of their negative perception of the April 12, 2015 governorship election in the state.

This, perhaps, accounted for the flurry of statements from both partisan and non-partisan observers, which fundamentally depicted the feeling of unbelief and outrage.

Though, a few felt the perceived disapproval disposition towards the apex court’s decision was ill conceived, findings confirmed the action to be in line with global democratic practices.

For instance, Thucydides had in his: History of Peloponnesian War, asserted the right of a loser in a political contest to believe and speak out that his loss could have been informed by questionable factors.

The Athenian historian and political philosopher observed thus in the 431 BC book: “In a democracy, someone who fails to get elected to office can always console himself with the thought that there was something not quite fair about it.”

Thus, the mood of those, with contrary inclination towards the verdict, may find justification in the aforementioned.

Future of political culture However, of the various condemnations that have trailed the judgement, the declarations of a constitutional lawyer, Prof Itse Sagay, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives party, APC, in the Rivers poll, Mr. Dakuku Peterside and the party itself, largely pricked the conscience of many actors in the issue and as well sprouted moral questions regarding the future of Nigeria’s political culture.

Sagay, who currently chairs the Presidential Advisory Committee on Corruption, had remarked: ‘’ “The judgments are very perverse.

Particularly, relating to Akwa-Ibom and Rivers. Everybody knows there were no elections in those two states.

Everybody knows that people like Governor Wike climbed to the governorship seat over dead bodies and blood of human beings.”

On his part, Peterside observed: “It was not a product of justice but rather a product of compromise and

orchestrated contrivance to legalise electoral violence and rigging”.

A few days later, the governor, while addressing civil servants in Port Harcourt, exhibited unconscionable indiscretion of the highest order by re-echoing his earlier incendiary statements threatening INEC personnel with death over the forthcoming national and state assemblies rerun elections.

He said: ‘Anyone who plans to rig an election is an armed robber and should be treated as such. If you are coming to rig an election in the state, first prepare your will before embarking on the journey. Inform your wife or husband and go ahead to say your last prayer.”

Product of compromise, contrivance But, reacting to Wike’s statement, Dakuku said: “It is therefore obvious that the decision of the Supreme Court on the state election was not a product of justice but rather a product of orchestrated contrivance to legalise electoral violence and rigging and, in turn, reward injustice. This calls for serious introspection by our judiciary and judicial officers.”

Continuing, he said: “Despite my acceptance and temperate public comments on the verdict of the Supreme Court on January 27, 2016, Wike, by his unguarded utterance last Sunday, seems to give credence to the pervading doubt being expressed on the judgment in public space especially in the media.

“Many Nigerians continue to wonder why PDP and Wike’s supporters went on wild celebration across the state as early as 9a.m on the day of judgment even if the actual verdict was handed down at about 6:20 p.m of that day. It clearly suggests that they might have been in the know of what the judgment would be long before the Supreme Court pronounced it. This is coupled with several comments especially on the social media some three weeks earlier such as ‘Thank God there will now be no need for a rerun election.

It is surely ending at the Supreme Court, etc. etc.”

Expectedly, the state Commissioner for Information, Dr. Austin Tam-George, dismissed Dakuku as deliberately seeking attention.

To him, the statement by Peterside was aimed at inciting President Muhammadu Buhari and the military against the governor and the people of the state.

“The attack on Wike who merely warned that nobody should come to Rivers State to rig elections is contrived to misinform and create confusion so that the APC would, as promised by their National Chairman to Dakuku Peterside, forcibly intervene in the state by means of election rigging in order to win all the seats up for re-election in the State Assembly with a view to impeaching Governor Wike,” TamGeorge stated.

•Wike

It is therefore obvious that the decision of the Supreme Court on the state election was not a product of justice but rather a product of orchestrated contrivance to legalise electoral violence and rigging Remarkably candid Same measure of defence was also employed in his response to Sagay’s comments, which observers still consider remarkably candid.

He accused the eminent lawyer of being sympathetic to a former governor of the state, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, adding that he could not understand why Sagay would be “re-litigating a settled matter in the street in the manner he did.”

“We condemn this carefully orchestrated campaign of calumny launched by the APC and its cowardly surrogates against Nigeria’s justice system, which is the bedrock of our evolving constitutional democracy. Working with other Nigerians and our sister states in the Niger Delta region, the government and people of Rivers State will continue to defeat the dark political fundamentalism of the APC. We call on the international community to restrain the APC from its desperate attempts to politically dominate our people and plunder the resources of our land,” he stated.

While acknowledging the right of the victorious side to respond to statements they find unworthy, analysts were quick to fume at the attempt to make the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, an issue in the matter.

Reference point In taking an exception to the referencing of the former governor, who is reputed to have elevated governance beyond the usual height in Rivers State, Coordinator of the Committee for Good Governance and Policy Compliance, CGPC, Dr. Agbuyaga Uyanwane, maintained that it was wrong to unjustly cast aspersion on the minister.

Uyanwanne, an expert in peace

•Dakuku and conflict resolution, told Sunday Vanguard: “The development in Rivers as it relates to the Supreme Court judgement on the election of April 12, 2015, came a sad commentary. With due respect to the judges of the apex court, I am inclined to state that a dangerous precedent has been laterally created as a result of the judgement. The illegalities and atrocities that were the hallmark of that context in Rivers, are in public purview, even international observers attested to this. ‘’Why would anyone in his reasoning approve the proceeds of that exercise. Since the judiciary is the last and ultimate arbiter, the judgement has been accepted. But our right to express our total dismay should not be contained neither should anyone insult the sensibilities of those, who made our democracy a reputable reference point in Africa.”

In addition, he said: “From the day the infamous judgement was made, we have been witnessing vituperations aimed at tarnishing the integrity of the former governor of the state, who succeeded were others failed. That smacks of irresponsibility and recklessness given the fact that Nigerians were witnesses to the electoral violence and robbery that characterised the poll. One is just freighted by the fact that the verdict did not bode well for a political culture that is on the path of rejuvenation.

“Since eternal vigilance has not stopped being the price of liberty, we will remain steadfast in the resolve to ensure that power stops stealing from the many to the few.”

Apex court verdict in order – Ozekhome, Ali Meanwhile, two Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), Chief Mike Ozekhome and Mr. Yusuf Ali, have thrown their weight behind the Supreme Court verdict.

Ozekhome said the card reader, which the apex court jettisoned in arriving at its verdict on the Rivers elections, was a mere innovation by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

“It was never meant to and can never supplant an authentic register of voters duly validated by INEC. Card reader was meant to facilitate accreditation but, in many instances, the technology failed due to a combination of factors such as manipulation by INEC and politicians, failure of electricity, failure of the device itself, etc.

“So where a petitionee wishes to attack results declared such as that there was over voting, he must tender the very original voters register so as to compare the voters accredited by the card reader, incidence form,

etc and then determine of these outnumber the names in the register.

What we saw in these petitions was that the authentic voters register was never tender in evidence. Moreover, only 20 to 50 witnesses testified to over voting where you had over 30,000 polling booths. How can 20 people know what happened in 30,000 units?

“For instance, some of the cancellations by the Court of Appeal caused grave miscarriage of justice. How do you cancel entire ward results of a ward with ten polling units simply because there were problems of over voting in about two or three polling units out of ten that make up that ward, thus criminalizing and disenfranchising the whole ward and its innocent voters?

“It was these anomalies that the apex court rightly corrected. God bless the justices of the Supreme Court for not being distracted by the cacophonous Babel of politicians rantings and expletives of hate and calumny. They are the rantings of disgruntled bad losers who could not understand that the apex court, as the conscience of justice, cannot be bought nor decide cases on the altar of public sentiments and opinion”.

Ali said he hardly gets disappointed on the pronouncements of courts. “The fact that the court did not decide the way I thought it would go, I only see it as a challenge for the future. On the issue of card reader, you have to appreciate the reasoning of the court on this matter. Incidentally, I was deeply involved in virtually all the cases that had to do with the card reader. I was on the Rivers matter where the card reader was actually the central issue and the way Supreme Court went about it was that the Electoral Act recognizes the voters register”, the SAN said. “The card reader is not directly mentioned in the Electoral Act but through subsidiary legislation made by INEC, the guidelines. In the hierarchy of legislation, the constitution is superior to an Act of the National Assembly. The Act of National Assembly is superior to the law of a state. The law of a state is superior to the bye laws of a local government and a guideline is at the bottom of the legislations. So, I think the reasoning of the Supreme Court is that there is no way you can promote something that comes into live through a guideline above what is recognized expressively in the Electoral Act. In any event, if you look at the card reader critically, it is virtually complementary to voters register. What we need to do is do amendment to the Electoral Act to give the card reader some kind of place”.

SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 21, 2016, PAGE 13

Psquare’s trouble: Why Peter Okoye may be hell-bent on sacking their brother With TOFARATI IGE

A

social media storm was kicked up when one-half of one of Africa’s finest pop duo, P-Square, Peter Okoye, recently took to his Twitter page to announce that their elder brother, Jude, has been sacked as the group’s

manager.

One of Peter’s tweets read, ‘Pls whoso ever makes any transaction with Northside Entertainment or Jude Okoye on Psquare’s behalf does so at his or her own risk. #warning.’ He went on to rant that he had wanted Jude out of the picture as far back as 2013, but Paul

insisted on having him continue as their manager.

Genesis For discerning observers, they would know that the trouble in the P-Square family didn’t start today. Tongues had started wagging some years ago when Peter began to make moves which

indicated that he wanted to stand on his own. First, he got a solo brand ambassador deal with Olympic Milk.

This was followed by his own reality show, ‘Glo Dance With Peter.’

However, the story didn’t start there.

Insiders allege that Peter’s grouse stemmed from the fact that Jude insulted his wife, Lola Omotayo, and was against their marriage from the start.

This was said not to go down well with Peter who has since been looking for a way to get his own pound of flesh. It should be recalled that he didn’t attend Jude’s wedding, though Jude didn’t also attend the nuptials between him and Lola.

While the wedding was going on, Peter was busy uploading pictures on social media. He had said at the time that his immediate family consisting of his wife and kids was more important to him than his siblings. He tweeted, ‘People talking s**t about blood” which blood is thicker than the 1 of my children? #mufus… #mufus talking about family! My number 1 family for now is the 1 I built.

And nobody can change dat. #amout.’

This was months after the group was alleged to have broken up.

The Cynthia Morgan Connection Okoye’s Northside Entertainment artiste, Jintoude Cynthia Morgan has also been unwittingly dragged the drama. Among his series of tweets during the

week, Peter had alleged that Jude snatched Cynthia from his grasp before he could sign her to Square Records. Peter’s tweets read, ‘Was in the studio with @cynthiamorgan1 working with her and u told her to excuse us… You then said you heard I wanted to sign her. And then ask what will pple be looking at Jude as if I sign an artiste… 3day later @cynthiamorgan1 returned my contract and said jude said me trying to sign her on a different label is becoming a problem… But after 2 weeks she signed with Jude.... My brother think am…But let’s not go deep.... I still stand my ground. He is fired.’ In the heat of the recent fallout among the brothers, there was a sneak of a rumour that Cynthia Morgan had got pregnant for Jude. It was indeed whispered that it was Jude’s getting the dancehall queen pregnant that got Peter incensed with anger, prompting him to want him out as their manager.

But Cynthia in a tweet hours ago has put paid to the rumour, stating that what has ever existed between her and Jude is purely professional

•Psquare with brother, Jude

Fans divided over Psquare’s palaver

BY KEHINDE AJOSE

2

016 is fast turning out to be a year of never-ending controversies on the Nigeria’s entertainment scene. The Psquare clan has also joined in the melee started by Olamide-Don Jazzy, Dammy Krane-Wizkid, Black Face-2Face and others. Earlier this week, one half of the duo, Peter Okoye in a series of tweets revealed that the team has fired their manager, who happens to be their elder brother, Jude Okoye. Their fans have reacted in various forms, airing their views on the lingering controversy.

An Instagram user, who goes by the name Olaniyi Sade took on Peter Okoye’s wife Lola, accusing her of instigating the rift between the Psquare brothers. She went as far as calling her a witch. She puts it this way: “Madam Lola, these brothers were not quarrelling before now, you came into Peter’s life and things changed for the worse” Another fan who bears the name Dozzy said: “Family issues shouldn’t make it to the internet, it should be resolved amicably” Mor Njoku an Instagram user had this to say: “If Psquare ever go solo that will be the end of their career if they keep up with this stupid drama” I love peter, I love Paul, but the truth be said, I think Jude should retire. Its simple understanding. He should appreciate the fact that he fed through •Peter Okoye and wife you guys for 10 years” declares a fan on Instagram

•Cynthia Morgan

Paul’s Stand Paul Okoye has however chosen to stand with Jude. He uploaded a picture of himself with Jude on his Instgram page, deleting Peter from it, and replacing him with a studio. He added the caption, ‘This is where I belong and this is where I stand...you do music in the studio, not on social media, you have family issues, you discuss that in close doors, not on social media…Family is family, blood is blood…If you don’t do family business, then who am I to you?’

Paul has also been making moves outside P-Square. He was recently unveiled as a brand ambassador for the Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI) alongside Tiwa Savage, Mike Ezuruonye, among others.

This is even as he has launched his own Rude Boy Records, and signed an artiste, Muno.

Imminent break-up?

With the ongoing drama in the Okoye family, it is all too apparent that the story isn’t over yet. More credence has also been lent to the feelings in some quarters that the group may still ultimately break up.

Even though Peter has apologized for his latest rant, it is believed that he only did it to calm frayed nerves, and not because he has really forgiven Jude. He wrote, ‘I am not perfect, I make mistakes, and it hurts people. But when I say sorry I mean it. I am so SORRY for my actions. I sincerely apologize.’

While time may provide the ultimate answer, the actions of the people in the eye of the storm point to the fact that the centre is uneasy and may no longer hold.

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

PAGE 14 — SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 21, 2016 Onikoyi68@gmail.com

My Valentine’s day photo-shoot depicts my edgy side —Zaina

Guinness launches new product with musical jamboree T

rue to its position as the leading beer brand in Nigeria, Guinness Nigeria Plc has yet again scored another hit with the introduction of its newest product, Guinness Africa Special.

This is the first innovation by Guinness Nigeria on its’ flagship stout brand in ten years.

The New Guinness Africa Special, which has been dubbed #TheSpecialOne, received an amazing acceptance when it was launched recently in Port Harcourt, Abuja, Enugu and Ibadan.

Speaking on the rationale behind the unique launch of Guinness Africa Special, Portfolio Marketing Manager, Guinness, Ms. Liz Ashdown, said that the new product was created to satisfy the needs of young Nigerian consumers who constantly crave for something special and relevant to them.

“The level of acceptance this new beer has received since its introduction a few weeks ago, has been amazing. It is a product that says more about our vibrant youths than their usual lager, with a taste they love and at a price of only N200 they can afford,” she said.

Guinness Africa Special is the most recent innovation and is brewed in line with Diageo’s high quality standard from the heritage of Guinness stout with African herbs and fruits.

Making the occasion to feel as special as it was, a number of top musical acts thrill guests at the launch. Leading the musical onslaught is DJ Spinall who was on the wheel of steel with special spices coming from Phyno, Olamide and •DJ Spinall a number of other artistes.

Hannah Ogundare’s seductive Valentine’s message U

BY KEHINDE AJOSE

V •Zaina Agoro

alentine’s day may have come and gone, but the memories of that day linger on. Zaina Agoro, the svelte beautiful pop-star was among the entertainers who captured the memories of the special day by embarking on a Valentine’s Day themed photo shoot. The Sarewale sensation opened up on the reason for the photo shoot.

“I teamed up with Toyin Lawani of Tiannah Styling and we thought it would be nice to infuse fashion with personality for Valentine’s Day. I think the shoot describes my personality to an extent. I’m quite enigmatic and I have an edgy side as well as a more innocent side.”

When asked if she deliberately showed off her sensual side, she had this to say:”Honestly I wouldn’t say it was intentional as it wasn’t planned. When I wore the dress, that was just what I ended up exuding.”

Victor Olaotan, Bimbo Akintola, Ara, Yinka Davies storm ‘The CEO’s Gathering’ event

BY ROTIMI AGBANA

W

hile many Nigerians were busy gearing up for the St. Valentine’s day celebration on its eve, some Nollywood veterans and artistes spent their Val’s eve patriotically, exhibiting the love and passion they possess for their great nation, at a recent event which held at Terra Kulture organized by Effects Concepts Nigeria Limited, tagged ‘The CEOs Gather For The Love Of The Nation’. The event brought together captains of industry, heads of

organizations and chief executives, in one night to discuss ideas on re-igniting patriotism and redirecting national consciousness for the love of Nigeria, geared towards fostering national unity.

Celebrities from the entertainment industry were not left out of the loop as the event witnessed the presence of Nollywood celebrities like Victor Olaotan, who was the MC for the day, Kalu Ikeagwu, Bimbo Akintola and Zara Udofia-Ejoh. Guest artiste appearances were Yinka

p and rising Yoruba actress, Hannah Ogundare certainly has some ideas about laying out her personality bold and bare. In fact she has once confessed that she feels more at home without bra and there is no better way to rub that fact in our faces than the photoshoot she took recently to mark the St. Valentine’s day.

Recall Hannah told us she has never really had any romantic Val’s day because guys run away from her on the premise that she is already taken.

Perhaps, this shoot is her Val’s message – as they say, actions speak louder than words.

Davies, Frank Konwea, Zaaki Azzay and Nigeria’s foremost female talking-drummer and stage performer, Ara. The focus of the night was a reawakening and rejuvenation of the love for Nigeria in the minds of its citizens. According to Adeleke Ajayi, convener of the event and MD/CEO of Effects Concepts Nigeria Limited, it has gotten to that time when every Nigerian should reawaken the love they claim to have for this great nation of ours and begin to do things that will engender national development beyond what we presently have. In his own words “I love this country and my desire will be to see a Nigeria where seasoned professionals are determined to cause a significant change to their communities and the nation at large. It is time”.

L-R: Managing Director and CEO DKK and Associates, Mrs Tope Jemerigbe; CSO to the late General Sanni Abacha, Alhaji Hamzat Al Mustapha; Oodua People’s Congress Leader; Dr. Frederick Fasehun; and Chairman Effects Concepts Nigeria; Prince Doyin Sijuade

Youths to celebrate Adeboye @ 74 with 74-hour than seventy worshippers, praise leaders non-stop marathon praise concert More and gospel artistes will perform at this year’s •Hannah Ogundare

L-R: National Youth Programme Director, Pastor Oluwadare Adeboye, Head of Music, Pastor Kunle Ajayi and Co-coordinator, 74 Hour Marathon Messiah Praise, Femi Oyetunde, during the 74 Hour Marathon Messiah Praise media briefing, held at the Redemption Camp on Saturday.

74 Hour Marathon Messiah’s Praise.

The event is a non-stop praise concert aimed at expressing gratitude to God for his mercies upon the life of General overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor E A Adeboye, and to create a new pattern of Praise in this dispensation. The National Youth Programme Director, Pastor Oluwadare Adeboye, at a press conference disclosed that this year’s praise concert will be held in Nigeria, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

Pastor Dare said that there will be three stages in three different locations, the Nigeria session will hold at RCCG Youth Centre, Redemption Camp Ogun State, South Africa session will take place at the RCCG South Africa 2 Headquarters in Johannesburg, while in the United Kingdom, it will hold at the RCCG Jesus House, London.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 21, 2016, PAGE 15

PDP WOES

Blame Obasanjo

– Mantu, ex-Deputy Senate President •Says former President laid the foundation •'Jonathan operated at the mercy of governors'

BY BEN AGANDE, ABUJA In this interview, a former Deputy President of the Senate and a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Senate Ibrahim Mantu, says the PDP lost the 2015 presidential election because it allowed impunity to grow within its ranks. Blaming former President Olusegun Obasanjo for starting the impunity in the former ruling party, Mantu also speaks on the anti corruption war of the APC- led government and the chances of the PDP in 2019. Excerpts.

•Senator Ibrahim Mantu

H

ow do you explain the events that led to the Peoples Democratic Party losing power after 16 years in government?

Every serious Nigerian politician should thank God that, for the first time in the political history of this country, the military has allowed democracy to survive for 16 years, uninterrupted. There has never been a time in the history of Nigeria that the military allowed democracy to survive beyond one term. The first republic lasted only one term, the second republic lasted another one term and three months, the third republic was dead on arrival before this fourth republic came on stream.

Many people will say we have not achieved much but, honestly, we should not only be counting our woes. We should also be counting our blessings. Almost 17 years of democratic rule has given us an opportunity to establish some democratic institutions that can promote and deepen democracy. For instance, the National Assembly has been able to establish the National Assembly Service Commission which hires and fires its staff. Before then, the National Assembly was dependent totally on civil servants deployed by the executive to work for it. When we came in in 1999, we had lots of problems with President Obasanjo because many of the assembly staff were loyal to the executive arm of

C M Y K

government; so any time we were to do anything that would put a search light on the executive, the staff would tip the executive off.

But now the National Assembly Service Commission has the power to hire and fire its staff; so the question of double loyalty no longer arises.

Secondly, from 1999 to 2007, once the National Assembly embarked on an action that the President found not palatable to him, he would direct the Accountant General not to release the money ear-marked for the National Assembly. That was a way of forcing us to abandon some of the things we were trying to do.

So many times, people like me, who happened to be close to Mr President then, would have to go and beg the President to change his mind. This went on till we were able to put the National Assembly on first line charge like the judiciary.

The anti-corruption agencies like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Offences Commission were the creation of the National Assembly. Today, people don't look at things holistically. They are only looking at the down side of events in the polity.

I am saying all these to let you know that because the military did not interrupt the polity, we were able to achieve some of these things. Of course we have

amended the Constitution successfully twice; new laws have been introduced into the system. We still have a long way to go, but, gradually and steadily, we will get there.

Democracy is certainly deepening and I know that we will get there one day.

All these that you have enumerated were achieved when the Peoples Democratic Party was in government. But when PDP is mentioned today, what comes to mind is how the party introduced impunity, fraud and corruption into governance.

How did the party get to that level?

If you go back to history, the founding fathers of the PDP meant well for this nation. If you recall, the PDP was founded by people who were political antagonists. There was no way, before the formation of PDP, that you could have someone like Abubakar Rimi and Adamu Chiroma in the same party.

Adamu Chiroma was in the defunct NPN while Rimi was in the NPP and the NPP people called themselves progressives.

The NPN and the NPP were like parallel lines. But after General Buhari put all of them in prison after the collapse of the second republic, some of them shared cells. They realized that there were two parties in the country: the military and the political

It was supposed to subject itself to the verdict of the people. But power is like an intoxicant.

When somebody is drunk, you see him stagger

class. That experienced in 1984made them realize that the political class must work together to ensure that the military did not take power again. The PDP is a product of this experience that the politicians had in Kirikiri when they realized that the only thing that will prevent the military from seizing power was to ensure good governance.

The founding fathers of the PDP decided that, in order to make progress, regional politics must be dispensed with. They decided that there must be a mega party that was truly national in character and in spirit. We had a party that was acceptable across the nooks and crannies of the country, so that it would be truly national. That is why the slogan of the PDP is "Power to the People". The people were supposed to be the power behind the party. It was meant to be a people-oriented party from the beginning.

A party that depends on the people is supposed to do that which the people want at any given time.

It was supposed to subject itself to the verdict of the people. But power is like an intoxicant. When somebody is drunk, you see him stagger. The PDP was embraced by the people; it was embraced at every section of this nation.

Nigerians from all walks of life, from all religions, tribes and ethnic groups embraced the party in 1999.

Continues on page 16

PAGE 16—SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

‘Former President laid foundation for PDP’s woes’ Continued from page 15 But as time went on, we were getting drunk and more drunk on power and impunity started setting in. I must say, with due respect, that President Olusegun Obasanjo laid the foundation for the impunity that we saw in the PDP because governors became too powerful and started feeling untouchable.

How did this start? Obasanjo was a military head of state and the military system of government is unitary; one line order. The military governors in all the states at that time were like ambassadors of the head of state.

In the second republic, when the NPN was in power, anything the President wanted, he would ask the Chairman of the party. If the President wanted to appoint a minister, he would tell the Chairman of the party who will pass the message to the states using party structures. It was the Chairman of the party and the President that would decide finally who will be made a minister. The criteria for choosing somebody for ministerial appointment or any other appointment that would require the approval of the National Assembly was the responsibility of the party because the party would look at those people who contributed so much to the growth of the party. It wasn't how much money you had or how many people you had bribed. In most cases, those that found their names may not have any idea about it because it was usually based on their relevance and contribution to the success of the party that qualified them for government position.

As a result of that, everybody would struggle for the success of the party with the hope that he could also benefit. Loyalty was strictly to the party. But when Obasanjo came, instead of asking the party to submit names to him for Senate consideration, the governors were the ones sending names to Obasanjo for ministerial, ambassadorial and board positions. Invariably, the governors became like the Alpha and Omega.

The governors were the ones who nominated ministers, ambassadors, members and chairmen of boards, chief executives of parastatals, etc.

So, instead of party members being loyal to the party, they became loyal to the governors. Naturally, absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Absolute power intoxicates absolutely. It gives birth to impunity, disrespect, abuse of ideas and gives you the impression that you don't need anybody.

Governors did not stop at forwarding names for people to be appointed by Mr president. In 2007, governors extended their areas of influence to include who was entitled to go to the House of Representatives. The Senate is supposed to be for elder statesmen so that we will have people who would be able to reconcile the governor and any other person in

C M Y K

the state working against the governor. But this time around, the senator was usually a former aide of the governor who could not disagree with the governor not to talk of calling the governor to order when derailing. Same thing in the state House of Assembly.

That was why a budget will be submitted to the state assembly and, same day, it would be approved.

At the national level, though President Obasanjo was not able to manipulate the National Assembly as he would have wanted, he saw the National Assembly as nuisance. He felt their was no need for the National Assembly; so there was no need for him to court their. That is the reason some people wanted to impeach him, but some of us felt that doing so would be heating up the system and providing an alibi for the military to come in again.

The impunity increased.

It's like planting a tree. As it grows, it becomes stronger. The tree of impunity was planted by Obasanjo

Even when Obasanjo left office, the impunity that the PDP was known for continued. What happened?

The impunity increased. It's like planting a tree. As it grows, it becomes stronger. The tree of impunity was planted by Obasanjo. By the time he left, the tree had mature and became a monster beyond control. Even the President that was in power could not control it because it became a monster. President Godluck Jonathan was at the mercy of the governors. The governors became the Alpha and Omega. Even the selection of delegates during our conventions was no longer through elections, but the governors were the ones who hand picked them. Since the governors became so strong, the President had to subject himself to their authority.

Do you see the possibility of the PDP bouncing back?

Yes. I have told you how we lost the dreams of the founding fathers of the party. A party that was supposed to be driven by the desire and will of the people was no longer in a position to do what the people wanted again. It was imposing its selfish wishes on the people because of the power of incumbency. The voice of the people was no longer heard.

During the presidential campaign, many of us who were supposed to know what was happening in the political terrain were marginalized because they did not want to hear our advice.

They were living in delusion.

Those who were advising that we would lose election if we continued in the path that they had taken have been vindicated.

It was clear to some of us then that the PDP was going to lose election if we continued on that unfortunate path that they had taken. Our people were clearly mad. It was as if God wanted to destroy us; so He first of all made

•Senate Ibrahim Mantu *Mantu...Govs became the Alpha and Omega in PDP leaders of our party mad.

We have paid for our sins. Those who committed the offence and even innocent people like some of us are all now victims. That not withstanding, all hands are now on deck to rebuild our party. We must go back to the dreams of the founding fathers of our party. We must go back to the people and apologize for betraying the mandate that they gave us. We must go back and tell the people that we now know that power belongs to them. 16 years in power made us arrogant. The leaders of the party must go down on their knees and beg the people for forgiveness. We have seen the consequences of impunity, the consequences of selection and not election, and we must resolve that never again will we go the same path. Once we do that, and we are seen to be sincere, Nigerians will forgive us of our sins. If Nigerians see that we allow our congresses to be freely and fairly conducted, if they see that the powerful people amongst us are no longer imposing their in-laws and girlfriends as candidates of the party; if they see true repentance, then Nigerians may give us a second chance.

What is your reaction to the revelations from the Office of the National Security Adviser under Col. Sambo Dasuki?

Corruption is a universal disease. Whoever may have been in that position might have done even worse. That is not to say because members of the Peoples Democratic Party are the ones involved now, we have to support corruption. Corruption is an evil and all hands must be on deck to fight it. It does not matter which political party those involved in the act belong to. Corruption has denied us God- given blessings and prosperity that we are supposed to enjoy. This country has no business with poverty.

There are few countries in the world that God has blessed as He blessed Nigeria. We have abundant human resources. God has blessed us with quality human resources. There are countries that human capital is their main source of revenue. We can pave the streets of our cities with gold if not for

corruption.

I am totally in support of what President Buhari is doing because I am a Nigerian. Even though I am a privileged Nigerian, I know that I can live a better life if not for corruption in the country. If my friends and relatives are living comfortably and don't come to me for one assistance or the other, I would have been living a more prosperous life. Nigerians have been shortchanged by corrupt people.

Every well- meaning Nigerian should join the crusade against corruption. We must fight it to a stand still. We must reposition our country so that we can benefit from the resources that God has given us.

The people who have been arrested so far are related to only the Office of the National Security Adviser. By the time the searchlight is beamed on the ministries and governors , you will see that corruption knows no party affiliation. There are some business men who connived with politicians to steal public funds. By the time we beam the searchlight on other sectors, you will see that the people acting as if they are saints would be exposed. We must join hands with the President to fight corruption. There is corruption in every part of the world, but the problem with Nigerians is that they are greedily corrupt!

Civil servants are the worst culprit.

We must extend the fight to the civil service. They are the ones that corrupt politicians. Me must get retired civil servants who are unblemished to come and cleanse the civil service. Unless we do that, we will not be able to achieve much in our fight against corruption.

What should we expect in the next three years?

As I said before, with a repentant spirit, PDP will bounce back in a very strange manner. Nigerians will forgive us because we will have an opportunity to showcase that we are born- again through the way we will conduct our national congress. When Nigerians see us doing things that we were not doing before, they will believe us. I have no doubt in my mind that there is nobody today in PDP that would want us to lose the election in 2019. As I said, it is now time for us to go to the people to ask for forgiveness and be determined to do the right thing.

SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 21, 2016, PAGE 17

Mak e yyour our On And Of elationship R ock Solid Make Offf R Relationship Rock

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BY ONOZURE DANIA

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08039527576 •Charles,35, needs a lady with large hips and curves, aged 20-35, for a relationship in Asaba Delta state. 08127937046 •Adeyemi, 52, employed and resides in Lagos, needs a God fearing lady, aged 2850, for a serious relationship.08122456866 •Mike, 27, resides in Benin, needs a lady, for a serious relationship.07085596921 •Dozie, Imo state, but resides in Lagos, needs a lady, for a serious relationship, aged23-30.

07063266885 •Moses, 30, dark in complexion and jovial, needs an employed or self employed lady, for a relationship that can lead to marriage. 07032740087 •Innocent, 35, a businessman, needs a beautiful lady, aged 20- 30 from Imo state for a relationship that will lead to marriage. 08064619172, 08036110961

Searching Male •Emmanuel, humble, a Christian, from AkwaIbom state, but resides in Lagos, needs a humble Christian lady for a wife.

08109870454 •Oluwasegunfunmi, 32, 6fit tall, chocolate in complexion and handsome, needs a beautiful, employed and caring lady, for a serious relationship that can lead to marriage.

08111140248 •Tony, 27, handsome and cool, from Delta state, needs a very beautiful, caring and romantic lady, for a relationship.

07038678547,08182828871 •Andy, 33, average height and God fearing, needs a matured lady who is God fearing, for a relationship.

07031000745 •Paul, from Delta state, needs a caring lady, for a relationship.07052579873, 08050448671 •Ademola, a businessman and resides in Abuja, needs a lady, for a serious relationship.07065789706 •Ikenna, 33, fair in completion and from Abia state, needs a tall lady, that is employed, aged 23-30, for a relationship.

07060765699 •James, 30, from Delta state, needs a lady, aged 35-70, for a relationship.

07030628814 •Ken, 34, 6.2ft tall, dark in complexion, slim, gentle, honest, from Delta state but resides in PH, needs a tall, mature minded and neat

DISCLAIMER! Dear readers, please note that we neither operate, nor are we an affiliate of any match–making agency in or outside the country. Any reader who transacts business with any one claiming to be our agent does so at his/her own risk. Our mission is only to provide a platform for social networking.

Also note that neither Vanguard, nor Yetunde Arebi will be liable for any error in the publication of requests which may result in any form of embarrassment to any member of the public. We therefore request that text must be sent through at least one of the numbers for contact. This notice is necessary to enable us serve you better in our refreshingly different style. You can send your requests to 33055. For enquiries, text or call 08026651636

He man in your life is not making you feel cherished and a p p r e c i a t e d .

In fact, he is being reckless with your heart and your love.

If you go on like this, and don’t figure out what to tell him and how to handle his behaviour, you’re going to stay stuck in this situation. You are not going to be your best self for as long as your relationship is unstable

and “on and off.” Love can bring out the best in you and your partner but only when your love is aligned. If you’re in an “on again, off again” relationship then you’re by definition not aligned with your partner in your love.

•Onyeka, 32, a business man, neat and presentable, needs a beautiful lady, aged 18- 25, for a relationship, that will lead to marriage.

08162742848,08036110961 •Mikey, from Warri Delta state, needs a God fearing lady, who is employed, aged 30-35 and a decent, Christian, for marriage.

07012471080,08033655284 •Klopp,36,dark in complexion, tall, quiet, a University graduate and a businessman, needs, a fair in complexion lady, who is busty, pretty, a graduate, employed or into business for a relationship, that will lead to marriage.

08029440742 •Henry, from Delta state but resides in Edo state, needs a fat lady, aged 18-25, for a relationship.08151872857 •Prince, 23, from Delta state Asaba, needs a beautiful lady, aged 18-20, for a relationship.

08022582251 •Great, employed, needs a lady, who is fair in complexion, busty, tall and ready for marriage, aged 2550. 08128087438, 08079442335 •Pascal, needs a lady, for a serious relationship.

08035400073 •Femi, from Ogun state, but resides in Enugu, needs a lady, for a serious relationship.08147200525, 09054330415 •Omar , tall, sexy, employed and resides in Port Harcourt, needs a tall and busty lady who is classy, for a serious relationship.08188825884, 08055221583,07089590456 •Elvis, fair in complexion and resides in Warri Delta state, needs a loving, caring, sexy and God fearing lady, for a serious relationship, that will lead to marriage.

07030944064 •Dele, 40 and employed, needs a lady who is serious, for marriage, aged 25-35.

07038916740,08123033283 •Kunle, 39,fair in complexion, a businessman, needs a God fearing lady, aged 30-35, for a serious relationship, that will lead to marriage. 08165643991 •Tunde, 34, fark in complexion and resides inLagos, needs a God fearing lady, who is employed , for a relationship.08032054314

who is caring and financially ok, in Lagos.07069793584 •Jessi, 25, slim, light in complexion, pretty and from Delta state, needs a sugar daddy, that can take care of her.09055594264, 08064609432

Sugar Cares Searching Female •Omotanwa, 23, a student, resides in Lagos, needs a God fearing sugar daddy, within Lagos, Ibadan.

08022059798 •Amanda, slim, busty and romantic, needs a sugar daddy, aged 49 and above,

Searching Male •Sammy, 34, a graduate, needs a sugar mummy, aged 40 and above for a relationship. 08122673413 07065353273 •Melvin, 35, resides in Yenogoa, needs a sugar mummy with sparkling eyes.08071401495, 08033772239 •Victor, 24, needs a lovely and romantic sugar mummy, within Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta state, for a relationship.07065483734 •Ikechukwu, tall, dark in complexion and resides in Onitsha, needs a rich sugar mummy that can assist him financially.08031903750 •Matthew, 48, resides in Lagos, needs a sugar mummy, for a relationship.

0 7 0 1 6 2 3 3 0 4 2 , 07086628306 •Akpobome, 40, from Delta State, needs a very neat and busty sugar mummy.

08058418745,08058415287 •Obi, needs a sugar mummy, for a relationship.

0 8 1 6 2 0 2 0 7 7 2 , 08166856505 •Smith, 36, tall, dark in complexion, handsome and sexually active, needs a tall, fair in complexion, beautiful, busty and curvy shape s u g a r mummy.08028882202 •Lawson, 28, resides in Lagos, needs a lovely and caring sugar mummy, aged 35-45. 08149316688 •Sunny, 6ft tall and resides in Lagos, needs a sugar m u m m y. 0 8 1 2 6 4 7 9 6 0 4 , 08132032876 •Chris, 29, resides in Benin, needs a sugar mummy, aged 29-50.08071225257, 08033925021 •Mark, 45, needs a sugar mummy that can help him to set up a business, aged 45-60. 08083554415 •Bestman, 40, tall, handsome, chocolate in complexion, needs a good and caring sugar mummy, for a relationship.

09082251081,08136447251 •Azoh, 33, handsome and resides inBenin, needs a caring and beautiful sugar mummy.08155597259 •Victor, 25, honest, caring, needs a romantic sugar mummy, that resides in Lagos, aged 35-49.

07019288384

PAGE 18—SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk 08056180152, SMS only

The daughter who took financial responsibility for her dad’s love-child!

W

"

hen Bukky ’s husband died suddenly of a heart attack in his early 60s, she was inconsolable. They ’d been inseparable over the decades and the obituary she put in the papers would draw tears from a sadist’s eyes. She cut a pitiable figure as her husband laid in state in the beautiful expensive casket she had insisted be bought. As sympathizers filed past the corpse, a little boy of about ten stood rooted to the spot, gazing with the morbid fascination children have for the dead The widow was now curious. “Whose child is that’ She wanted to know thinking he might be a relative’s child. Nobody offered an answer in spite of the fact she could be heard loud and clear.

That really made her suspicious. She then asked one of her daughters to find out who the little boy was.

The daughter shrugged and told her mother they would discuss the matter later. That she knew who the boy was.

She quickly forgot her grief and comported herself. Were people laughing at her show of deep bereavement, knowing of the little boy ’s presence and probably her mother’s?

Or do they feel sorry for her? Talk about the wife being the last to know!

But did that make her departed husband any less the wonderful husband and father she remembered him to be?

“That’s hardly the point, is it?” She said heatedly a few weeks

after the funeral. “He succeeded in deceiving me over the years.

Things like this happen all of the time for heaven’s sake. Everyone has their skeletons rattling in the cupboard and I would have preferred my late husband to tell me about the existence of a child rather than find out in this cruel way. I mean you can imagine how desperate the boy ’s mother would have been for her little son to pay his last respect to his father.

“She’d carefully dressed him up in his best suit and the boy had obviously been schooled not to utter a word. He just stared. I will never forget that scene as long as I live. It is sad that we were married for so long without my husband trusting me enough to tell me of the existence of a lover with whom he had a child who was as precious to him as my children.”

Wouldn’t it have saved a lot of people unnecessary heartaches if Buki’s husband had come clean about his other child before he died? And poor Buki’s daughter was so afraid to tell her mum about her half-brother for fear of what? Some years back, I was with a relation when she had this male visitor who looked a bit apologetic as he was ushered in.

He’d obviously discussed money matters with her as she presented him with a fat envelope. His gratitude was touching, refusing the offered refreshments, he bolted out of the door. “That was

Y

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

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

RELATIONSHIP

A relationship should be one of the most beautiful things one can ever get involved in as adults; it's such a sweet feeling when two imperfect people from different family backgrounds come together

‘legitimate’ children.

Nobody gives a damn these days how you have your child or with whom as long as that child is not delinquent!”

Thankfully, as far as the law goes now, there’s no ‘illegitimate’ child as long as such child is acknowledged by its dad.

This will surely bring some sanity to inheritance law and the right of the ‘other’ child

my half-brother” Wemi, my relative told me, “but my mum knows nothing about him, and I will be the last person to tell her.’

Apparently, Wemi’s mum is the type who has a tight control over her husband. He’d promised her when they got married that he would never take a second wife.

But did that mean he would never have children by other women? Wemi was just 15 when her half-brother was born. “My dad never acknowledge him publicly for fear mum would leave him,” she said . “As a matter of fact, it was the lad who came to introduce himself to me when he got admission into a polytechnic and his mother couldn’t afford the fees. He was a spitting image of my dad too and I promised to see him through his higher education. Since then, he’d always been there for me whenever I want

anything done - unlike my full siblings.

“When I asked dad about him, he looked a bit frightened. He pleaded I shouldn’t tell my mum but when I told him that I’d already agreed to see the poor lad through school, he was so pathetically grateful that I felt sorry for him. Why was he hiding the child?

What about the poor boy ’s mother? I later learnt she hadn’t married well and her three other children weren’t better off than my half-brother. A little financial help from dad from time to time would have made a lot of difference. The thing is dad had been in trouble with the law once and it was mum’s family that bailed him out. But that doesn’t mean he has to be grateful to her for the rest of his life.”

Wemi’s dad finally kicked the bucket early this year and the truth was out when the obituary came out with

to have their two hearts literally beat as one but some relationships are one-sided. Only one person is giving the Love while the other doesn't care, one person is fighting while the other person seems indifferent. One person is hurting while the other person doesn't show concern!

Now I noticed something in these kind of relationships; one person is always apologizing all the time even when he/she is not at fault! "Baby I'm sorry" ,"I didn't mean to offend you", has suddenly become the regular lines used in these kinds of relationships!

For how long will you continue to beg? How long will you continue to feel like a stranger to someone who claims to love you? How long will you continue to beg someone to love you? How long will you continue to love and not be loved in return?

Get some self-respect please!

A relationship where you have to beg and apologize

the man’s name as the third child. He’s done well at school and has a very good businesses selling cell phones and SIM cards to various outlets all over the place.

“Mum pretended to be shocked at first,” Wemi said. “But I had this feeling she knew all along about this man (you can hardly call him a boy now!). He formally met mum before the funeral and on the day of the funeral reception, his table was impressive.

It was with pride that I poached choice wine and food from his wife who showed me more respect than my siblings and their partners! I was proud of the difference I made in his life.

“I wish dad were alive to see how well turned out his secret son had been.

He knew he was doing well, but he would never guess it was well enough to almost outshine his other

Vintage Booze?

(Humour) A guy walks into a bar and says to the bartender, “I want you to give me 12 -year scotch, and don’t try to fool me because I can tell the difference.” The bartender is sceptical and decides to trick the man with a 5-year scotch.

The man takes a sip, sowls and says ‘Bartender, this crap is 5year scotch. 1 told you I want 12-year scotch.”

The bartender tries once more with 8-year scotch.

The man takes a sip, grimaces and says, “Bartender, I don’t want 8-year scotch like this filth. Give me 12- year scotch!”

Impressed, the bartender gets the 12year scotch. The man takes a sip and sighs, “Ah, now- that’s the real thing.” A disgusting, grimy, stinking drunk has been watching all this with great interest. He stumbles over and sets a glass down in front of the man and says, “Hah, I think that’s really far out what you can do. Try this one.” The man takes a sip and immediately spits out the liquid and cries: “Yechhh! This stuff tastes like piss!” says the drunk. ‘’Now how old am I?”

all the time is a relationship where you can never be respected! There's nothing you'll do that will please him/her! They hurt you and at the end you'll still be the one to apologize! Is that love? What you have forgotten is that you are as important as the other person, you should not feel inferior in a relationship that's supposed to be your source of joy and inspiration!

Always remember this; if you beg to avoid a BREAK UP when you are just dating be ready to beg to avoid a DIVORCE when you finally get Married!

You deserve better.

Chris Onunaku 08032988826/08184844015, dekris4real@gmail.com #KriSpiratiOn2016.

SUND AY Vanguard , FEBRU ARY 21 , 2016, P AGE 19 SUNDA FEBRUARY

How to get your man back in the saddle!

Y

ou’ve served up a delicious meal crawling with every piece of his favourite meat, plunk a bottle of wine or his favourite tipple on the dining table, before cuddling up to him on the sofa as he switched on the TV. Today is bound to be the night you get a bit of rumpy-bumpy, right? Most women would quite rightly expect a passionate end to such a satisfying evening. But these days, it seems, we’re likely to get a lot less than we hoped for. Perhaps a peck on the cheek. Or simply a hug. ‘Not tonight, love,” says this man you’ve virtually broken your culinary skill trying to please.

Before you know it, he’s hot footed it into the bedroom, already dozing off!

You lie there next to him, frustrated as you listen to his snores instead of the music of the bed springs and the banging of the headboard.

Where has all the action gone? This shocking role reversal is becoming common with men these days, and experts believe it might get worse! According to Pauline, a relationship counsellor, “such complaints were unheard of ten years ago. But today, almost half the men I counsel claim that sex leaves them cold. Men used to come to us at the clinic I work with, with impotence problems, but we now have a lot of men who say,

as women did in the sixties, ‘I can have sex, but 1 don’t want to, it’s not rewarding.”

“These men tend to be in their 30s, 40s and even 50s and married.

They haven’t simply gone off their partners, but off sex altogether.

This is because a lot of men claim they ’ve lost their sex drive. When you ask them what’s going on in their lives, they may list six or seven really big, stressful events. This kind of pressure will override desire every time. Unfortunately, men rarely talk about their relationships, let alone their problems. This could be due to a lack of balance in the lives of

our men.

“For instance, we have the longest working hours compared with a lot of countries, which makes for a stressful life. Stress can build up - eventually people find it impossible to switch off and relax. If a man is still worrying about work when he should be getting in the mood, sex simply isn’t going to happen.

On top of which the current credit crunch has made things worse and men need to talk more with their partners so they’re aware of how they feel.

But Beatrice, a middle-aged caterer who runs a very successful afternoon ‘bukateria’ doesn’t agree.

“Most men are too tired to have sex when they get home because they’ve had their fill at work. If walls could talk, my restaurant would have volumes to tell. Is it the ‘ regular ’ girls who bring in different drooling men who would obviously have ‘deserts’ after the money they’d shelled out for lunch? Or the drunken punters who bring in girls uglier than their wives and brag of their ability to still pull in spite of their age?

“A few weeks ago, a regular brought in a smashing looking girl almost half his age and treated her to very expensive lunch. He was back again in the evening for his ‘one-for the-road’. When I jokingly asked after his afternoon date, he said he’d rounded off lunch in his office where he had a very comfortable couch - more discreet than being caught sneaking out of a ‘slaughter house’! If a man like that get home, even if the wife employed the services of the best chef, all he could do would be to eat - the wife should forget any action. And believe me, there are loads of them like that. If they don’t have couches in the office, they resort to motels. They tell you the wives are already in the net - they ’re not going anywhere. It’s their wayward catches they lust after to get value for money spent!’

I didn’t have any thoughts on

her sarcasm - but she might have her point. Anyway, in case you’re anxious on what to do to get your man back in the bedroom, the expert advises you should start by creating time. “Your partner needs to schedule in some relaxation time for himself and for you as a couple. So get out your diaries and make some dates.

It sounds clinical, but it may be just what’s required.

Once you’ve put these dates in your diary, stick to them no matter what.

“Take the focus off sex.

Instead spend time on your sensual relationship. Start touching each other again but necessarily working up to a sexual experience. Rather than just a glancing kiss on the way out in the morning, hold each other for a while. Linger, don’t simply pass by. Also remember to say: ‘You’re special’. You need to remind each other that there’s more to your relationship than paying the bills.

“Don’t forget to communicate during the day. A friendly text every now and then will start to reconnect you as a couple.

Whilst you’re at it, have some fun. There’s nothing sexier than laughing together and having fun. Go to bed half an hour earlier, have a cuddle and unwind in each other ’s arms, talking about the day - or talking dirty. Whichever turns you on!”

08052201867(Text Only)

Tone your muscles with The Rocking Posture

F

or most people over thirty the abdominal region gets to be the least toned set of muscles of the body. We work with our hands and walk with our feet, therefore, somehow, those parts are almost always in better shape than the abdominal wall.

A trim waistline doesn’t only look impressive aesthetically, it also speaks volumes of the state of health of the individual.

Reduce the girth and presto!

You instantly look youthful.

You will begin to digest your food and absorb it more efficiently.

Once the belly is shrunk appreciably, we can then learn to perform certain exercises which can help the system achieve better bowel action - a veritable way f eliminating toxins.

As regards exercise, there are countless ways to deal with the bulge of the belly.

Some get results from practising dit-ups, others from legraises and so on.

But there are some less familiar practices that deal with flabby stomach a lot more thoroughly.

Besides strengthening the muscles of the abdomen, some of these practices can be used for purification purposes along

with drinking large quantities of salt water. The following exercise will help trim the waist and keep it so, forever. I

have had the same waistline since the past thirty years and I am fifty two now. If yours truly can do it, so can you! All

it takes is diligence. Lets consider the Rocking.

Technique: Sit with the knees drawn and the hands placed at the back of the knees. Now, lunge both legs forwards and quickly draw them back and thrust them forth again. Keep this to and fro movement of the feet going continually. If you break the rhythm by hesitating you rill immediately fail to keep going. You may do as few as 5 thrusts and withdrawals of the feet initially and then increase the number of times as you improve.

Benefits: The Rocking toughens the upper thigh and abdominal muscles. The exercise is reputed to also improve the soundness of sleep.

*The Rocking

Yoga Classes STARTED Physical Therapy Centre @ 32 Adetokumbo Ademola, Victoria Island Lagos.

9.00am — 10.00am on Saturdays

PAGE 20—SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

Hurrah! I Got My Country A Special Status in Europe

D

o not envy David Cameron on this Europe issue. And do not begrudge him for celebrating his "victory" at the Brussels office of the European Union last week Friday. Rather, give it to him for his doggedness and resoluteness to ensure he writes himself into the United Kingdom and EU history books. If you ask this young man what his motivation is, he probably would tell you, it is the love he has for his people.

As the Prime Minister of Europe's most flourishing economy, Cameron definitely has a lot to think about in a continent that some of the countries are "unviable economically."

Cameron, like his citizens, is worried about UK's membership of the EU. This is the basis of the agitation for the reforms that would reposition and reestablish Britain for more control of her resources and borders.

There is no doubt that Cameron is still a believer in the union, but wanted some fundamental changes, which he hoped would favour his people. A section of the British public see the advantage of a continued stay in the Union, but with radical reforms that will yield more gains. These were the ones that supported the Prime Minister, but felt a little disappointed that his much acclaimed reform deals were watered down at the negotiating table.

On the other hand a large section of the British public feel short changed by the country's membership of the Union, and would rather exit it now. These ones care less about what was negotiated in favour of Britain in Brussels on Friday. For Cameron, this group would not dampen the celebration of his success. The reforms meant a lot to him, as a no deal would have put him in an uncomfortable position politically at home.

However, the agreed deal seem to have bolstered his ability to convince the British public that staying in the "new" Europe would be very good.

This last week was definitely one of uncertainty for Cameron. It was also a stressful one for him.

However, at the end he came out smiling, and like a victor, he could not resist some chest thumping to announce that he had negotiated a deal that will confer a "special status" on Britain in Europe. A deal, according to him, that can guarantee his citizens a better regime in a new European Union. A reform that will protect the Pound Sterling and strengthen the UK economy.

One area of the reform that Cameron seem extremely happy with is the eventual regulation on the payment of child benefits for children living abroad in 2020 to conform with the rate in home countries.

Although Cameron failed in his bid to ban the payment of child benefits for children abroad, he still took credit for this watered down version of his proposal. In the same vein, the much publicised 13 year "emergency brake" on in work benefits for EU migrant workers was changed to seven years.

Cameron presented the details of the deal to the Cabinet yesterday and seized the opportunity to reiterate his commitment to keeping Britain in the EU. The Prime Minister did not deceive himself thinking everybody will buy into his idea of keeping Britain's EU membership despite the deals on reforms. Cameron knows not all his lieutenants, especially cabinet members, will go along with him. You win some and lose some.

The Prime Minister made a great show of outing his Justice Minister Michael Gove at the press conference in Brussels on Friday. It is common knowledge that Gove is supporting the "Out" campaign. To this Cameron said "of course I am disappointed that we are not going to be on the same side as we have this vital argument about our country ’s future. I am disappointed but I am not surprised."

Losing a friend or ally is not Cameron's worry right

All the leaders were also concerned for their citizens. The greatest concerns came from the Eastern European leaders who felt their citizens might be short changed if Cameron's reform plans were approved to the letters

now. His determination for now would be for the British people to buy into his negotiated reform deal.

His selling point would be that he got the best deal in the present circumstances for Britain. One thing that is sure is that Cameron knows he has a lot of work cut out for him to ensure success at the referendum, which may be called as early as June 23rd.

As Cameron was celebrating his victory in Brussels on Friday, Nigel Farage, the leader of the United Kingdom

Independence Party (UKIP), a long time opposition figure to UK's membership of the EU, was on the streets on Friday with David Davis, a one time Tory leadership contender, George Galloway of the Respect Party and a few others campaigning for Britain's exit. As the journey towards the referendum becomes clearer, these are the types of political marriages that we shall be witnessing in the coming months.

For the Prime Minister, this is a victory that has taken its toll. He is well spent on this issue. He has been involved in diplomatic junketing in a bid to convince his other EU leaders that Britain deserves the reforms. From one end of the continent to the other, the PM travelled with his plans under his arms. There is no doubt that all the travels and the long hours of meetings had affected Cameron. At the press conference, his voice failed him a few times.

The week was uncertain despite his travel far and wide, he could not confidently say who was with him or against him. As at Thursday when Brussels played host to the EU leaders, Cameron was still fighting tooth and nail to secure the best deal for his people. All the leaders were also concerned for their citizens. The greatest concerns came from the Eastern European leaders who felt their citizens might be short changed if Cameron's reform plans were approved to the letters.

The journey to negotiating a reform for Britain in the EU was no doubt Cameron's nightmare. It was a battle both on the home front where the "Brexit" group accused him of going hat in hand begging the EU leaders to save his face with a reform plan that "pamper" to the continued membership of the union.

Even within his party, the opposition was growing while important figures such as Boris Johnson stayed on the fence not sure of the outcome of his leader's moves.

Arriving at the EU Brussels headquarter on Thursday, Cameron was emphatic on the fact that he would be "battling for Britain. If we can get a good deal I’ll take that deal,” he said. “But I will not take a deal that doesn’t meet what we need. I think it’s much more important to get this right than to do anything in a rush. But with goodwill, with hard work, we can get a better deal for Britain.”

Now that he's got the negotiated deal, the next step in the determination of Britain's role in the European Union is the referendum. The hard work starts right now, as both sides would be canvassing the public on the advantages and disadvantages of staying in or out of the Union. Going by the June 23rd date that has been pencilled down, the work starts in earnest.

Interesting days of campaign are coming again.

Many are the demands of the British people, but the European Union has graciously condense them into manageable points.

Be watchful and prayerful

B

rothers and sisters, I start Joyful Homes, this week, by giving thanks to the Almighty God for life.

This is something we usually take for granted.

It is commonly said that “ while there is life, there is hope”. To a believer, this also is an assurance that your desired miracle is on the way.

A miracle is something out of the ordinar y, something medical science cannot explain, something that happens as a result of divine intervention.

The truth is that many miracles generate controversy because people who view issues only from the physical question them.

For instance, a woman, who had been considered barren for about 20 years, had a breakthrough and had a son.

Ordinarily, you would expect that everyone around her would share in the joy.

You are wrong. Some people began to ask questions : Was she pregnant?

Is it possible for her to have a child at about 50 years? Did you see her in any maternity gown?

Questions and questions. A few people, who saw her, said they knew she was pregnant but others did not believe.

Why? They had assumed that every pregnancy must shoot out like Kilimanjaro mountain, which is not true.

Unknown to them, this woman was under serious demonic attack from household enemies who had vowed she would never have a child in her marriage.

She was, however, determined to have children. So, she persisted in prayer, fasting and praise worship.

Dreams This woman, after series of prayers, had a dream in which she was told she would never have children.

During a service at Laughter Foundation Inter national Ministr y, Lagos, which she attended, all women were given a prayer point. After the prayers, she had the dream again but, this time around, a small voice told her, “ They are liars”. That was a clear indication that a battle had started between the forces of darkness and the Light of God. Of course, you know who will win.

It was not long after this that she got pregnant.

And she continued to pray. Then, she had another dream.

She saw two women who placed their hands on her stomach .

The women had with them a man who appeared like a herbalist.

The three of them tried to bring out the baby during which the woman saw herself losing a lot of blood, but they could not bring out the baby.

Frustrated, they left saying, “ God had shielded the baby the way a mother hen protects her chickens”. The woman woke up terrified but thankful.

The good news is that even though she carried this baby for years, going from Nigeria to Europe and doctors could not see the baby, God intervened and she gave birth to a baby boy.

Hers is a clear demonstration of

The truth is that many miracles generate controversy because people who view issues only from the physical question them “power pass power”. The household enemies eventually surrendered to the power of the Almighty God. Now, the lesson here is found in the book of Proverbs 3 verses 24 to 26. Verse 24:” When thou liest down , thou shall not be afraid : yea thou shall lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet”.

Our emphasis is verse 25: “ Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked , when it cometh”.

Verse 26:” For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken”.

I’m making the point that this woman exhibited confidence in God with persistent prayer. She failed to succumb to the forces of darkness.

In other words, she made up her mind to prove her enemies wrong . Her bad dreams rather led her to seek

God more and she eventually broke though.

What is it that you are believing God for? A job, a mar riage partner, a child or two?

Whatever it is, always bear in mind: “With God all things are possible”.

Be watchful As we pray, we cannot afford to live a care -free life. What do I mean ? I’ll share s few examples to buttress my point.

A woman, who had been waiting on the Lord for children, got pregnant .

About a few months into her pregnancy, a social event came up in her village and she decided to attend.

On getting to the village, she stopped to see her father who lived with his second wife. Her own mother had been separated from her father.

The stepmother then urged her to eat. She brought a plate of rice with some pieces of meat. Though the lady told her she didn’t want to eat, she agreed to eat essentially to please her father.

As she was about to eat , the still small voice told her not to eat. So, she quickly looked into her bag and found a small black nylon. Quickly, she poured a part of the food into it and adjusted the plate in a manner that anyone would think she had eaten the food.

After a few minutes, the stepmother looked in and commended the lady for eating the food.

She soon left them and went to her mother.

Somehow, she forgot the rice in her bag.

The following morning, she remembered the rice and decided to throw it away.

What did she find?

White rice and the pieces of meat had turned black, as black as charcoal.

Of course, her biological mother screamed and wanted to create a scene. Her mother got the message. Her rival either planned to terminate the life of her daughter or that of the baby in her.

The lady pleaded with her mother not to create any scene. Instead, she sneaked out of the village. Of course, she did not attend the party that she travelled to attend.

The lesson here is simple. Be watchful.

Don’t be careless.

Perhaps more importantly is the grace to hear from God. How often do you hear from God? Are you ears receptive?

We need to pray and praise the Lord to the level that we are able to hear from Him. Hearing from the Lord saves us from danger.

It reveals to us plans of the enemy even before they are executed.

I suggest that when we make our supplications to the Lord, we should also ask for the grace to hear from Him. The still small voice is crucial to a breakthough.

Yours is on the way, in the name of Jesus.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 21, 2016, PAGE 21

PROLOGUE

•President Buhari....A free-falling currency is a sign of deep trouble and nothing keeps investors away better than that

NAIRA IN TATTERS!

‘Buhari must act now or lose control completely’

BY DELE SOBOWALE “Love and business and family and religion and art and patriotism are nothing but shadows of words when a man is starving.”O. Henry, 1862-1910. VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS p 232. he Federal Government of Nige ria is doing a wonderful job fight ing corruption. The last time this monster was tackled, head-on in this country, was in 1984, by the same Head of State Buhari. Then as now, the price of crude oil created the havoc. Then, as now, there were discordant views about whether or not the government should devalue the currency or not. Those on the left wing of Nigerian politics, the Nigerian Labour Congress and socialists who arrogated to themselves the love of the masses, were against devaluation of the currency. The usual argument is that it will lead to inflation which will negatively impact the masses. The only price increase the NLC favours is wage increase because in their own books of economics wage increases don’t increase the cost of production of goods and services. That one sided and somehow inaccurate reading of economics has always been at play in this country – led by many who either never studied the subject or failed it.

However, the Federal Government might be making a drastic mistake if the leaders think that fighting corruption is substitute for putting food on the table.

The two are not mutually exclusive and prolonged starvation might even undermine the fight against corruption. Hungry people everywhere don’t care who is jailed. Unless, this perceived monomania is corrected, neither the battle against corruption nor mass starvation will succeed in the long run. President Buhari

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must turn his attention to the economy.

NOW! The truth is “No government deficit [or any other measure known to man] can create inflation unless the quantity of money [in circulation] goes up.” (G. Haberter, in INFLATION, ITS CAUSES AND CURES, VBQ, p 103). Everybody knows that the classical definition of inflation means too much money chasing too few goods – irrespective of whether those goods are imported or produced locally.

Nigeria remains an import-dependent nation; and we all contributed to making it that way and we have not even started to control our appetite for imports. As long as imported goods constitute a significant percentage of our consumption, we must be prepared to find the dollars to import those products.

On Wednesday, February 17, 2016, the PUNCH tucked into page 28 a story which should have been headline news instead of the usual “EFCC said” stuff. The report by Femi Asu read as follows. “Nigeria’s March crude programme is struggling to find outlets, with some 25 million barrels still unsold even as the April programme is expected to start arriving this week.” For those who might not fully grasp the meaning of that report, it needs to be explained fully because it illustrates the catastrophe confronting us as a nation.

Twenty five million barrels unsold, given a budget calling for export of 2.2 million barrels a day means that the country might not dispose of eleven days production. So on volume alone the deficit is 35 per cent. Simultaneously, the budget was benchmarked on $38 per barrel. Instead the March deliveries are going for $32 per barrel or 16 per cent less. Altogether, Nigeria will suffer revenue deficit on ac-

The Federal Government might be making a drastic mistake if the leaders think that fighting corruption is substitute for putting food on the table...Hungry people everywhere don’t care who is jailed count of crude oil of close 22 per cent, after all deductions have been made.

That would have been bad news enough. But, January and February sales were also below budget levels. So, by the end of the first quarter, the nation would have suffered a deficit of close to 25 per cent for the period under review. Meanwhile, the non-oil revenue sources have not started to deliver the surplus that would cushion the impact of the fall in crud oil income.

Adding to the nation’s economic woes is the rapidly dwindling external reserves which had been reduced by close to 23% in the last one year and are unlikely to rise in 2016.

Every economic index known to man calls for an urgent decision to be made by the Federal Government before all control is lost. A conference held last week had the Governor of Edo State stating his opposition to devaluation. He was ably supported by the Labour representatives present. However, they failed to tell Nigerians what government is supposed to

do when imports exceed the foreign exchange earnings of the country and what is to be done when the external reserves run out or get so low as not to be able to support our level of imports or external payments. Often forgotten is the fact that some states of Nigeria, the Federal Government, banks and private companies have incurred loans denominated in dollars and which they must find dollars to repay. The dollars are not forthcoming in the quantum required to meet our obligations.

President Buhari had been focusing on the battle against corruption and on external affairs. There is no discernible individual in government who is responsible for the economy. The Vice President who had made some comments on economic policy had ended up confusing the nation. He was the one who first announced that N8 trillion would be spent in 2016; that the 2016 Budget now languishing in the National Assembly, will be based on Zero Sum method and that the nation targets $25 billion loan to help fund the budget. The first two had turned out to be mere play on words the third will depend on whether or not foreigners and even Nigerian investors have confidence in our ability to manage our economy.

The acid test of whether a nation can manage its economy is the health of its currency. Right now, even the best propagandist the Federal Government can appoint cannot convince Nigerians and the global community that all is well. A freefalling currency is a sign of deep trouble and nothing keeps investors away better than that. Even now, the free-fall of the naira is partly caused by capital flight.

Those who had adopted a wait and see attitude, wanting to see how this government will manage the economy, are no longer waiting because they have seen enough.

Dr Arthur Burns, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank in the USA, equivalent to our Governor of the Central Bank, once said that if a nation allowed an untenable economic situation to persist for too long, suddenly, there are no good options left.

Nigeria is slowly but surely approaching a situation where there are no good options left. Even now, the options have been reduced to few. But, another delay will spell doom.

The Federal Government must act now – or hand Nigerians to unpredictable fate.

PAGE 22—SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

NAIRA IN TATTERS

Forex Exchangerate ratenow now Forex crises: crisis: Exchange N400/ N400/ USD1 USD1 in in parallel parallel market market it benefit ffinancial inancial ins titutions … Those who benef institutions fr om crisis from point the w or war d waay ffor orw ard … Economis ts, Economists,

By Emeka Anaeto, Economy Editor

I

n what is becoming increasingly clearer, a cocktail of bad choices, incoherent policies made worse by instability in the markets, as well as a fastidious clinging to antiquated ideas, the fate of the Naira hangs in the balance as it continues its downward slide.

This report will show why the Muhammadu Buhari administration’s misplaced belief that hope is best served for dinner, at a time when there may be no one at the table because the prognoses for the Naira and the economy, do not inspire confidence and growth.

Sustained, unmet demands during the week, forced the Naira to depreciate to a record low of N385-N400/ US$1.00 at the weekend, showing an unprecedented week-on-week decline of 13.8 per cent in the parallel market.

Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, had intervened with supplies of the foreign currencies on Thursday at the interbank market where banks buy foreign currencies at the official rate of N197/ US$1.00, Unfortunately, market dealers lamented that the C M Y K

volume supplied was too small to meet the demands presented by the banks on behalf of their customers.

They told Sunday Vanguard that the development prompted frenzied recourse to the parallel market by some dealers and their customers the next day, crashing the fragile Naira further.

The dealers are raising fears that the decline would continue in the new week as there appear to be no response to the trend yet from the monetary authorities.

One of the BDC operators and President of BDC association in Nigeria, Aminu Gwadabe, said “ we have demand coming from importers while dollar supply has dried up”.

He had also told Reuters, “In my own view, the central bank should address the supply side of the market by allowing oil companies and banks to sell dollar to Bureau de Change operators as an immediate measure to reduce pressure on the Naira”.

Some financial market observers believe that the exchange crises is now complicated with malpractices spreading beyond the initial allegation of CBN that it was the BDCs that were involved in arbitraging, an allegation which was followed with a ban on their participation in the CBN foreign exchange sales at the official rate last month.

Operators believe CBN’s intervention in the inter-bank segment would not be able to stem the slide in the value of Naira in the parallel market unless the apex bank increases its volume of foreign currency sales and possibly revert to daily sales instead of once a week intervention.

This claim fuels speculations that, somehow, even the foreign currencies sold to banks by CBN find its way into the parallel market.

Economists and financial analysts views

Commenting on the state of the Naira, Bismark Rewane, one of Nigeria’s eminent economists and CEO of Financial Derivatives Company, a Lagos based financial advisory outfit, said “Nigerians are perplexed at the endless slide of their currency, which is now trading at the lowest point ever. This is happening even when the oil price is up at $31 barrels per day.

“The debate, whether to devalue the Naira or not, is not the real issue. The discourse should be whether we need an exchange rate policy or not.

“The absence of a policy is a recipe for economic anarchy and a race to the bottom”.

John Litwack, World Bank’s Lead Economist, argued that trying to hold on to the exchange rate when the economic fundamentals have moved can be counterproductive as the country may end up losing a lot of reserves.

For Mr Temitope Oshikoya, CEO/Chief Economic Strategist, Nextnomics, “official devaluation may not be the answer to adequate dollar inflow”. According to him, “we have heard countless of time that capital inflows are just waiting in the wings to pour back in if only Nigeria would devalue its currency. Recent evidence from emerging markets suggests that they should go and tell that to the marines!

“We note here that in contrast to perceived wisdom there is no guarantee that capital inflows would surge into the country following further massive depreciations.

“For many emerging markets, where depreciations have been considerably greater, weakening exchange rates have aggravated current problems associated with rising foreign-currency debts.

“But, thus far, there is little to suggest that the depreciations have had much of a salutary effect on economic growth, which for the most part has remained sluggish.”

Financial institutions’ and investment houses’ perspectives: We expect CBN to change policy GTBank In its financial outlook for the currency market in 2016 one of Nigeria’s leading commercial banks, Guranty Trust Bank Plc, had this to say: “In recent times, the CBN has introduced some policies in a bid to address the issues of speculative foreign exchange demand and round-tripping.

“Given the forecast that oil prices are set to fall below

Continues on page 24

SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 21, 2016, PAGE 23

Our stand on Naira crisis, by Bureau de Change operators *Say they were getting only 5% of forex before ban

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BY UDEME CLEMENT

he crisis rocking the financial sector has deepened as ex change rate rose to over N370 per dollar. The foreign reserve also declined by $1.14billion. Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) in commercial banks, according to statistics averaged 4.7 percent last year and may increase to 10 percent in the medium term by 2016, due to the banks exposure to oil and gas sector. At present, NPLs in 17 banks are estimated at over N9.9trillion, even as the World Bank’s loan to Nigeria stands at over $6.29billion.

When Sunday Vanguard visited some Bureau de Change (BDC) in Lagos, last week, some operators were changing naira at 370 to a dollar, while others were doing at 377 depending on the location. Some BDC operators, who spoke with our correspondent at the premises of Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja, blamed the scarcity of forex on declining oil prices, while others expressed displeasure on the new forex policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), saying the apex bank’s decision to ban BDC from the official forex window was worsening the situation.

The South West Chairman, Association of Bureau de Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Mr. Taiwo Ebenezer, who spoke on Business Morning with Channels Television, said that the only allocation of forex that was coming to BDC before the ban was five percent, while the remaining 95 percent went into big transactions.

He said, “So, if CBN can sustain that five percent, the scarcity will drop, thereby allowing the naira to appreciate a little. In 2015, the economy recorded about $20billion remittance C M Y K

The reality is that it will take a little time for the economy to stabilise.

Therefore, everybody must work together to move the economy forward. We must curtail the rate of imports and look inward to see how we can build the non-oil export sectors to earn more foreign exchange

from Nigerians abroad. If the CBN can approve for us to access this source of forex and other windows like dollars from International Oil Companies, exports proceeds and other windows as part of the autonomous market sources, the exchange rate would reduce to at least N250 per dollar.”

On if BDC initially had access to some of these forex windows, he said, “We accessed some of these windows until 2014, when the current CBN governor took over the apex bank, and operators of BDC were banned from having access to such windows. We

have written to CBN and suggested that these windows be opened, if not, we should not be surprised to see naira depreciating up to 400 and above per dollar. Also, about 30.000 of our members across the country became jobless due to new CBN policy on forex.”

He went on, “The BDC plays a crucial role in the financial system because we give dollars to operators of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), business travellers, people travelling abroad for urgent medical services, those going on vacation and people going to school abroad. So, let the apex bank relax some of its forex policies for scarcity of forex to reduce”.

Responding to the issue of excessive demand of dollar By Nigerians for importation, he said, “While we are not supporting excessive imports of goods that can be manufactured locally, there is need for government to revamp the industrial sector to curtail excessive imports, they must ensure that the education system is of a better standard, provide adequate health facilities and other things needed to turn our economy around, until those things are put in place, people need forex now for transactions. The CBN should see BDC as a tool they are using to maintain exchange rate stability, because they gave us operating licences and the guidelines to operate within the financial system.”

Nigerians not ready for zero-base budgeting: In a chat with Sunday Vanguard, a financial expert and the former National President, National Union of Banks, Insurance and other Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE), Mr. Ade Martins Odigie, explained that the zero-base budgeting system

that President Muhammadu Buhari is proposing, is a technique that does not give room for any form of financial estimation, either for projects or general expenditure in various sectors of the economy.

He said, “This type of budgeting method calls for the actual cost of financial commitments needed for projects development for a fiscal year.

For example, if government wants to embark on a community project of let say N10million, it means the exact N10million should be allocated for such project, and not N15million. That way, it does not allow for any financial estimation that is above the actual cost of the project. But the issues that must be taken into consideration are; are Nigerians ready for zero-base budgeting? Are we trained for it?

“Zero-base budgeting is a good economic policy because it allows for transparency and accountability in the system. But the economic implication is that, it brings about slow growth because the President, who is the chief accounting officer of the country, must know everything that is spent on any project. As such, it slows down the growth process.”

Giving insight into the latest disclosure that NPLs may rise from 4.7 percent to about 10percent in the medium terms, as 17 banks account for about N9.9trillion exposure to the oil and gas sector, he said, “The way the trend is going, banks may begin to downsize on their workforce because a lot of things are putting pressure on the banking system. For example, the crisis in the economy itself is putting pressure on the banks, following the declining crude oil prices. Many companies, in particular oil and gas owe banks a lot of money”.

“The Treasure Single Account (TSA) introduced by the current administration is also shrinking the volume of money the banks have. This is because, before the TSA system, many banks were keeping money for federal parastatals and other agencies of government. Now, they do not have access to such funds since the money is transferred into a single account.

Aside from that, there are demands for credit from banks by manufacturers and entrepreneurs operating in different sectors of the economy. So, the pressure on banks is overwhelming. “ On the way out, he said, “The reality is that it will take a little time for the economy to stabilise. Therefore, everybody must work together to move the economy forward. We must curtail the rate of imports and look inward to see how we can build the nonoil export sectors to earn more foreign exchange.”

PAGE 24—SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

foreign exchange policy, we believe that the barrage of international pressure might eventually sway the CBN. “For instance, given the size of external debt the FGN outlined, we believe that it is unlikely they plan to raise all from the Eurobond market rather through a combination from multilateral institutions and bilateral arrangements.

“Any borrowing from a multilateral institution such as the IMF will involve some agreement to revisit the current exchange rate policy.

“Also, Nigeria foreign exchange policy has come under opposition from other trading partners (US and EU) at the World Trade Organization (WTO)”.

Low reserves, oil prices will force policy reversal on CBN - Dexter Analytics

*CBN Gov. Emifiele

Ex at Excchange rrat atee now N400/ USD1 in par allel mar parallel markket Continued from page 22 present levels, which would result in a further decline of external reserves, we believe that the CBN’s stance might not hold on for the entire year.

“If oil price declines further and stays below $40 per barrel for a protracted period of time, say 6 months, we expect that the CBN might be compelled to devalue the Naira”.

Pressures will push up inflation – Afrinvest Group

Reacting to the latest developments in the foreign exchange market last weekend, Afrinvest West Africa, a Lagos based investment house said “owing to the stance of the CBN and the federal government on foreign exchange adjustments, the increase in speculative activities at the less-regulated segments of the market and widening spread between the official and parallel market rates may not likely generate any reaction from regulators in the short term.

“However, the mounting demand for foreign exchange as shown in the huge decline in money market liquidity when banks made provisions for Thursday foreign exchange auction suggests an adjustment may be unavoidable in the medium term.

“Speculative activities may not likely reduce until more certainty and transparency are brought to bear in foreign exchange management.

“Going forward, the challenge of greater import costs on businesses is expected to further impact both the core and food inflation rates as cost push factors weaken operating margins amid demand pressure in the foreign exchange market”.

IMF may force devaluation on CBN – Cordros Capital

In its review of the currency

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outlook, analysts at Cordros Capital Limited, a member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, said “a combination of weak commodities and the US Fed’s tightening cycle has not fared well for the Nigerian domestic currency in recent times.

“The Naira has declined against the US Dollar for two successive years in the official market. During the period, the Naira has also experienced significant pressure in the parallel and BDC market segments, reaching record lows. These declines have occurred in the face of the country’s weakening fundamentals, primarily the crash of crude oil prices since 2014, which used to represent as much as 90 per cent foreign exchange receipts, putting enormous strain on the country’s reserves which declined by 15.1 per cent in 2015.

“Furthermore, the country’s ability to attract foreign exchange inflows has been constrained by the implementation of the cocktail of restrictions on foreign transactions by the CBN and the divergent monetary policy in the face of the US Fed’s tightening cycle which has weakened the attractiveness of the domestic portfolio investments to foreign investors.

“In 2016, we forecast a further decline in the Naira across all major market segments, following consensus estimates for lower oil prices and further Fed tightening. In the meantime, we believe the CBN will double down on its demand management strategies in the shortterm.

“However, while the pace of reserve depletion has reduced in recent months, lower crude oil prices should translate to lower receipts and accelerated depletion of reserves in half year 2016.

“Consequently, we believe as the reserves continue to deplete and the current account deficit begins to widen, the CBN would begin to revisit its exchange rate peg of 197/$.

“Unfortunately, we believe any exchange rate adjustment will be uncompetitive, given the ongoing dynamic between monetary and fiscal authorities. The fiscal authorities, spearheaded by the President, seem hesitant to endorse devaluation.

“Aside from fundamental drivers which may push the CBN to adjust its

The country’s ability to attract foreign exchange inflows has been constrained by the implementation of the cocktail of restrictions on foreign transactions by the CBN and the divergent monetary policy in the face of the US Fed’s tightening cycle which has weakened the attractiveness of the domestic portfolio investments to foreign investors

After an analytical overview of how Naira got to its sorry state in the past one year, Dexter Analytics, a Lagos based economic and financial research company, had these to say concerning the present and future state of the Naira: “In 2016, we expect that the CBN will relax some of its grip on the currency so as to bolster growth.

“As it stands, the CBN cannot afford to fund cheap dollars due to the present level of reserves ($28bn) and oil prices ($30/bbl). To confirm this, in just two weeks into the year, the CBN has reversed a policy that restricted deposits into domiciliary accounts and has stopped sales of Forex to BDCs, urging them to access dollars from autonomous sources.

“Thus, we posit that the CBN will likely relax its management of the currency by halfyear 2016, which of course means greater burden for businesses and individuals who rely heavily on importation.

“On the flipside, it would help stabilize the Naira and curb round-tripping through alignment of the official and parallel market rate”.

Those benefiting from Naira crash

It is not all woes to all stakeholders in the Naira debacle. The widening premium between the parallel market rates and the official/interbank rates have increased the activities of speculators and round tripping further worsening the currency situation.

According to Nairametrics, Nigeria’s leading online investment and financial medium, “it’s not just speculators who have benefited the most from the misfortunes of the Naira. Several other market participants are also benefiting every single day the Naira plummets against the dollar at the parallel market”. At least four groups have been identified with making fortunes from this misfortune. They include “diaspora Nigerians, banks, BDC operators and friends and cronies of some top CBN officials”, stated Nairametrics.

Diaspora Nigerians

This is perhaps the best time to live and work outside Nigeria especially if your income is in dollars. Nigerians living abroad reveal that they have started part-time currency business involving trading their dollar or Pounds Sterling income for Naira at black market rate with which they invest in real estate in Nigeria. Some of them even borrow cheap funds in hard currency for the purpose of this transaction.

According to Nairametrics, “some believe this is the best opportunity to buy land and houses as the value of the dollar has now risen by about 70% against the Naira while property prices have been somewhat depressed”.

In addition, the diaspora Nigerians have been doing a quasi-money transfer services to other Nigerians whose children are abroad following the restrictions imposed on such transfers by CBN last year. They charge fees or effect the transfers at pararrall market rates.

Commercial banks

Banks have been under pressure since the price of oil began its devastating fall in July 2014. With huge exposures to the oil and gas sector they have seen their loans increasingly become risky with borrowers missing out on their obligations. However, they have also posted massive gains from foreign exchange sector of their businesses as can be seen in their income statements at the end of financial year 2014 and the first 9 months of 2015. Most people who purchase items online have also confirmed that banks charge them as much as N290 to the dollar even though the CBN pegs the rate at around N199.

Besides, banks’ staff also take advantage of the scarcity of the hard currency to force foreign exchange users especially importers to pay close to parallel market rate for foreign currencies obtained from CBN. They ask the customers to pay two cheques, one to the bank covering the official rate and the other to designated bank account covering the difference.

BDC operators

These are another big benefactors of Nigeria’s foreign exchange woes. The CBN in January banned sale of foreign exchange to BDC operators accusing them of buying foreign exchange from the CBN at N199 and then selling at the black market. According to the CBN, it’s no wonder that BDC have risen “from a mere 74 in 2005 to 2,786 BDCs today. In addition, the CBN receives close to 150 new applications for BDC licenses every month.”

Even after the ban, BDCs are still thriving in many commercial cities in Nigeria as they have a way of sourcing the currencies from leakages in the CBN official window and diverting same to black market for over 70 per cent profit margin.

Exporters

Businesses engaged in exports are also huge benefactors of the declining exchange rate. Revenues from their exports officially should, naturally, be routed through the CBN as export proceeds.

However, it is understood that some of them move a chunk of that to the black market. With gains as high as 80 per cent, most of them find it hard to resist the lure of selling their hoard at the black markets rather than at the official window, even though that practice violates the exchange law.

Friends and associates of the CBN

Nairametric’s report also suggests that people close to the management of the CBN or indeed the government are also befitting from the fall of the Naira. They get preferential treatment from the CBN by buying at official rates rather than at the black market rates where a lot of Nigerians go to.

The CBN has also expressed its desire to sell foreign exchange to businesses it perceived are creating jobs at home rather than to cater for “irresponsible demand” which the CBN opines are what other importers of “non essential” goods and services engage in. For the coming weeks, the outlook remains bleak except the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the CBN, acts fast - and wisely too.

SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 21, 2016, PAGE 25

two fishes diving out of the sand and they used floodlights to light them up. I had to look for a way to put the bottles together. It was not easy but I thank God that it turned out well.

How many bottles did you use?

At a time I lost count. I can estimate close to 5,000 discarded plastic-PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) bottles of soft drink brands like Coca Cola, Fanta, Pepsi, Sprite, 7 UP, Lacasera etc.

The sculpture is about 10.6 feet high and 6 feet wide and the cement base carrying the work is 5 feet wide and 3 feet high, hence, the sculpture is 13.6 feet in height with the cement platform.

ELUAGU’S WASTE TO WEALTH STORY

‘5,000 discarded plastic bottles I collected from gutter paved my way to success’

By Ebele Orakpo

N

ecessity, they say, is the mother of invention.

Mr. Nzubechukwu William Eluagu, a visual artist and graduate of Fine Art (Sculpture) from the Yaba College of Technology, took waste recycling to another level with his final year project; an audacious 13.6 feet sculpture entitled, Your Destiny Is In Your Hands, made mostly from waste materials.

In this chat, the 2013 HND holder says he was forced to think of an alternative way to execute his project as a result of paucity of funds. Excerpts: Inspiration: One day, I was going to church and I saw plastic bottles littering the gutters. I said to myself that I could use them to create something. I wondered why artists have not started using them because I noticed that none of my predecessors had used something like that. Again, I had this urge to reduce waste and, at the same time, reduce cost for myself. I wanted to do something inexpensive with readily available materials. That was what really motivated me. Even if I don’t score an A, I will be fulfilled that I used something that was thrown away and recycled it into something nice.

How did you construct the over 10-feet structure, did you use a C M Y K

ladder or crane?

Well, I did the job beside the school’s Computer Centre. It used to be a sculpture garden so there is a metal and concrete work there that aided me to climb. Basically, I did the work on the ground before mounting it. After doing the iron reinforcement, I attached the bottles. I also used a metal drum which I borrowed from one of my lecturers to stand on because I didn’t have the luxury of scaffolds.

Again, there was no time because I was under intense pressure. While in school, especially during my HND, I had to fend for myself. It was very challenging but thank God, I had some contracts in arts and it helped me. In my final year, I had so many contracts I had to finish and the people were on my neck so much so that I felt like running away from school but, at the end, I had to do something.

How long did it take to complete the project?

It took roughly three months but I had to finish the work within three weeks because the lecturers were on my neck, the external moderators were coming so I just had to do it. In fact, the way I planned to do it was not the way I finally did it. Though it was my project, friends assisted me when there was so much pressure. It was my fiancé that actually suggested I did it in a certain way. Though it almost caused a quarrel between us because that was not the way I had wanted to do it but she was insistent and before you know it,

we started doing it her way. It was going to take much of the materials and I was trying to manage my materials because I did not have so much money to spend. Anyway, at the end of the day, it came out well. Although the allotted time elapsed, I was able to meet up within a reasonable time frame. Even before the work was mounted, the external moderators had given their marks, but God so kind, my head of department at the time was so fatherly to us in the sense that he encouraged us.

He personally told me that the only thing that will make a person fail is if the person did not do anything at all. So his words encouraged us because in my set, we were four in class and three of us did something extraordinary, something that had not been done in the history of Yabatech.

The project is unique because as the problems arose, I had to think and solve them. I never envisaged that this or that problem was going to come up. There was no blueprint for me to follow

Many people could not fathom what I was thinking to get such an idea of using waste material. Up till today, many don’t understand; they still think that I might have gone astral or something strange must have happened to me. Some ask me if someone showed me the structure in a dream. I said no, I knew what I wanted to do, I knew what I wanted to use but I never knew how I was going to do it or how it will turn out. I did not even care whether people would like it or not; I just knew this is what I wanted to do and the material I wanted to use. The only place I have seen the bottles used to create a sculptural piece is in Brazil where they used it to create two fishes mounted on the Rio de Janeiro beach but they did not show the process, you just see the

How did you get the shape of the ball with the bottles?

The sculpture is a composition of a pair of stylised hands carrying a sphere, in which one hand is on top of the sphere and the other under it.

The sphere symbolizes man’s beautiful and dynamic fate or ‘destiny’ and it is made of the corks and cut-off bottom of the used PET bottles.

The hands symbolize man, his aspirations, dreams and actions and they guard his destiny (the sphere) with utmost care.

I got some chicken mesh or German net, fabricated it and got the cut-off bottom of the bottles attached to it. From the design, I had decided some parts were going to be green, especially the lower parts and as it goes, it will be transparent color and then green again. I used the bottle covers to add some colour so it will not just be green and white and someone will say I was trying to create Nigeria here. I did not want it to be particular to anybody; I just wanted to talk about our destiny being in our hands.

I had to look for a way to make an astral design, something organic so that when people see it, it will look like magic, as seen in Van Gogh’s painting of the starry skies. I had to create something abstract, something that does not have a definite form. The project is unique because as the problems arose, I had to think and solve them. I never envisaged that this or that problem was going to come up. There was no blueprint for me to follow.

Lighting: I put light bulbs inside. It was part of the plan from the onset because I was motivated by the fish on the Brazilian beach.

Since I could not afford flood light, I used bulbs. Because there was no time, I could not do LED lights which could have been nice and easy to maintain so I opted for simple low energy bulbs, placed in strategic areas like three steps in the hands below and above and concentrated more on the sphere.

Colour: The colour of the sculptural piece is green and white.

The green symbolizes fertility, abundant wealth and opportunities endowed upon man

by God to explore, while white (colourless bottles) symbolizes the character (honesty and truthfulness) that man must exhibit alongside his skills in order to attain success and reach his destiny.

The light (that comes on at night) symbolizes the ambience of success that radiates and enlightens the world, positively touching and influencing lives but which results only from a dream or destiny working with true character.

PAGE 26— SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 21, 2016, PAGE 27

PAGE 28 — SUNDAY

Vanguard, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

Sapele Boma Bo ys star Boys startt ‘new year’ in style

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t is certainly a new year with new promises for members of Sapele Boma Boys Club as they gathered in Lagos recently for their end-of-theyear party. The members and their spouses as well as their friends had a frolicking time-out in Anthony Village, Lagos. Photos by Biodun Ogunleye

R-L: Prof Egerton Uvieghara (chairman of the occasion) , Chief Apollo Oseragbaje and wife, Mrs Florence Oseragbaje

L-R: Ursula Chibundu, Mrs Rita Amuka,Patricia Otuedon and Amina Danesi .

R-L: Prof. J. P. Clark, Amb (Dr) P. D. Cole, Engr Eddy Agbahor and Arch Fred Dudu.

L-R: Mr. Richard Okotie, Uche Doris and Utiejin Dudu.

R-L: Chief and Mrs Olatokunbo Thomas and Sq Leader Goddy Ashimene (Retd)

L-R: Mr Peter Arigbe, Barr Omasan Agbajoh and Mrs Syreeta Owolabi .

Mrs. Isabela Agbahor (l) and Mrs Tobi Odunaiya

Wedding bliss ffor or the Umejeis and the Egbons

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The couple with the groom's men and bridesmaids

L-R: Dame (Prof.) Sola Majekodunmi; Dr Chuks Umejei and E O Odiga .

C M Y K

he wedding between former Miss Jane Isioma Umejei, daughter of Mr and Mrs Obiora Umejei and Mr Edosa Victor Egbon, son of Mr and Mrs Atiwe Egbon was held at St Andrew ’s Anglican Church, Ogudu Road, Lagos.

The reception held immediately after the church service at Ogudu Recreation Centre. Many important dignitaries graced the event. Photos by Joe Akintola, Photo Editor

L-R: Chief Murphy Otujaremi, Chief Rexon Golly and Mrs. Emeko Adegun.

R-L:Godwin Adokpaye, Ted Mukoro, Bejy Osararegbaje, Raymond Esiri and Ben Atseyinku.

The couple, flanked by Mr and Mrs Atiwe Egbon, groom's parents .

Mr and Mrs Obiora Umejei, bride's parents

SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 21, 2016, PAGE 29

Do our legislators have alcohol allowance?

T

he condemnable attempt a few days ago by just 5 Kogi State legislators to remove their Speaker, Momoh Jimoh Lawal, ought not to be referred to as news. This is not to suggest that negative issues don’t make news because everyone knows that bad news is the most popular news. But considering that the newer and fresher an event is, the easier it is for it to make news, hooliganism which has since become a hobby of our legislators and which is no longer new, ought not to make news in the ordinary sense; rather it should make condemnable news. In other words, it shouldn’t even be described as news but as a story which the teller presents in a negative sense.

Unfortunately, we the narrators hardly remember to sensitize the people that it is the story of shameless actors. Well, if the every-ready maker of bad news does not know

how to be ashamed once a while, the audience particularly their kith and kin must learn to do so, on their behalf. As people in our part of Nigeria would say, the relations of a thief are usually more stigmatized than the criminal.

It is certainly time for Nigerians to become intensely worried over the behaviour of their representatives who seem to suggest that once what they are engaged in, has a potential to produce some material gains for them, nothing else matters. The situation becomes more worrisome when it is realized that legislators are the only Nigerians with unjustifiably huge salaries that are officially shrouded in secrecy. Whereas, there is nothing wrong if legislators remove a speaker they no longer have confidence in, must they always carry it out without due process and in a violent manner? On national

PhD,Department of Philosophy, University of Lagos 08116759758 opuruiche2000@yahoo.com

President Buhari: The bigger the head, the bigger the headache (2)

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hese cases went to the Supreme Court until the fourth time in 2015 when God agreed that I will be President.” Clearly, President Buhari was expressing his frustration with the Nigerian judiciary, which has increasingly come under critical fire for surreptitiously allowing hideously corrupt top public officials to escape justice. That said, the virus of corruption has penetrated every aspect of our national life to a debilitating degree, such that only a sustained moral reorientation led by a more scientifically minded improved Nigerian equivalent of Mahatma Gandhi can reverse the situation, in the long run.

By May 29, 2016, the present All Progressives Congress (APC) government would have spent on year in office. As things stand right now, many Nigerians who voted for President Buhari are regretting why they did so, because their existential situation has been worsening instead of improving since Jonathan left office. Part of the disillusionment stems from the unrealistic promises, which the APC made during the electioneering campaigns, including the promise to quickly reengineer the economy, improve power supply, and dismantle Boko Haram terrorists. Of course,

discerning Nigerian knew that the promises could not be kept, mainly because of the murky antecedents of agbata ekee prominent politicians propping up Buhari for the presidency as well as the depreciating price of crude oil, the lifeblood of our economy, in the international market. We must also consider the fact that the President is ageing and, despite desperate attempts by his subalterns to present him as a converted democrat, he is yet to jettison the military mentality of “command and obey with immediate effect.”

Therefore, there are powerful internal and external factors that will prevent Buhari from actualising the fantastic promises he made to Nigerians. And because there is no good reason to believe that those factors will no longer be present in the next four years, we should recalibrate our expectations from the present administration.

Now, based on media reports, the federal government is preoccupied with recovery of monies allegedly stolen by key members of the Jonathan administration, epitomised in the $2.1 billion dollar arms Dasukigate.

Recent revelations of corruption in “high places” are nothing new in our country. Plausibly,

television, it is always easy to see the leaders of the ‘coupists’ in a posture of intoxicated fellows as if alcohol allowance is part of their high salaries. Each time a speaker or deputy governor is removed by legislators; there is usually the story that they are instigated to so act according to their governors’ temperament.

Painfully, their alleged inducement often runs into millions of naira from the

It is certainly time for Nigerians to become intensely worried over the behaviour of their representatives who seem to suggest that once what they are engaged in, has a potential to produce some material gains for them, nothing else matters public treasurya recklessness which is part of what has brought our economy to its current poor state.

Although the governors are quick at distancing themselves from the subject, as Governor Yahaya Belo has already done in the case of Kogi, the flagrant break down of law 1970 marked a decisive turning point in the emergence of corruption as a disease killing Nigeria slowly.

Although ringleaders of the aborted January 15, 1966, claimed that corruption was one of the major reasons why they staged the coup, it was after the Biafran war that corruption mutated into an unofficial philosophy of leadership in Nigeria.

Unfortunately, the cartography of corruption and the quantity of public funds and assets stolen by mentally deranged public servants, from top to bottom, have been increasing with each successive government.

In my opinion, Nigerians should support President Buhari in his efforts to deal with corruption. But the best way he can earn our support is by ensuring that the antigraft and law enforcement agencies adhere strictly to the rule of law and democratic norms in prosecuting the war against corruption, contrary to the bizarre recommendation by some socalled eminent scholars with highfalutin academic titles that “a limited rule of law” should be applied in dealing with high profile corruption cases. On this issue, the President’s scorecard is just average: we should not allow ourselves to be carried away by the figures and names peddled by the media to the extent of keeping silent about, or tacitly endorsing, any unconstitutional means deployed by government to fight corruption. This point is very important, because Nigerians should be reminded constantly that the slow-and-steady methods of democratic governance are the price we have to pay in order to avoid the dangers of totalitarianism. In this connection, granted that the Nigerian constitution is gravely flawed and that government must kill corruption before it destroys

and order that the legislators engage in must have been backed by the authority. Here, history is our guide.

In February 2010, when members of the Edo House of Assembly violently ousted Speaker Zakawanu Garuba, media reports reflected not just the presence of law enforcement officials within the Assembly complex but also ambulances and medical doctors who had been arranged there to administer first aid. Who called them in? Some seven months later, 9 legislators suspended 15 of their colleagues in the Ogun State House of Assembly.

The legislators were reportedly escorted by 10 policemen. That there were more policemen than the legislators being escorted looks like the fulfillment of a promise to provide security for the event. It also explains why the legislators are ever ready to reverse themselves daily the way the ones in the Niger State House of Assembly ridiculed themselves in 2012 when they had to elect 2 Speakers in a week as though they were drunk for half of the week. They sacked Speaker, Mohammad Gamunu on May 15, for alleged incompetence and unanimously elected Isah Kawu representing Bida 1 constituency as the new Speaker. Before the latter

had time to assume duties, they sacked him again for incompetence and elected another legislator, Adamu Usman, to take his place.

The offence of the less than one week old speaker was not disclosed. The Assembly merely said it acted on a motion which was moved under matter of urgent public importance.

What was the rational for moving a motion of vote of no confidence on a speaker who was yet to perform any specific role in his few days in office-in other words, how was the level of his competence determined? It was difficult to ascertain the role of the Executive if any in the matter as a rumour that the state government provided over N200 million to induce the lawmakers to terminate the less than one week old leadership of their House was denied by the executive. But no one denied the other story that before the removal of Kawu, civil servants in the state had been mobilized to march on the Assembly Complex, to demand his removal. Also not disputed was the story that military and armed policemen were similarly drafted to the premises of the Assembly on the day of the planned removal which suggests that the law enforcement agencies were privy to the plan While the pattern of removal of speakers seems to suggest executive manipulation, greed on the part of the legislators is

more discernible as they always put forward irrational reasons for their actions. The December 2009 classical case of Speaker Ahmed Hassan Jumare of the Kaduna Assembly is instructive here. His colleagues who sought to remove him from office suddenly declared him as an illiterate and discountenanced his claim that he obtained his qualification from the State Polytechnic located in the same city as the House of Assembly. Also to be noted is the fact that every legislator that is due for removal is usually described by his peers as incompetent.

When Ibrahim Sadiq, Speaker of the Adamawa State House of Assembly and his deputy were removed from office in 2011, incompetence and lack of administrative acumen were the reasons given by their colleagues. A few days later, Kano lawmakers removed their speaker-Yusuf Abdullahi Falgore for gross incompetence. In the case of Ebonyi State, the situation was exactly the same with the removal of Speaker Ikechukwu Nwankwo.

Against this backdrop, is there any legislator in any State Assembly in Nigeria that is not incompetent? Are they all under the influence of huge alcohol allowance or are they competing for visibility with the National Road Transport Workers?

the country irreparably, we must insist that due process must be followed in dealing with corruption cases, from the investigation phase up to the prosecution phase. For example, reports of unlawful detention of suspects and disobedience of court orders tend to bring back memories of Buhari as a military

between government and the governed. Without the trust and willingness of Nigerians to support the war against corruption, President Buhari would not achieve much success. I believe that the President made a tactical mistake by stating categorically that his anticorruption searchlight would be beamed solely on the predecessor; which implies that he is unwilling to do anything about the elephantine corruption perpetrated between 1985 and 2010. I think that the anti-graft agencies should be allowed to do their work and pursue corruption diligently irrespective of who was implicated and the time it was committed. That way, some of the prominent members of the ruling party would fall into the anti-corruption dragnet, which would boost the credibility and reputation of Buhari as a leader who is really committed to the death of official corruption in our country. In any case, President Buhari is duty bound to do fight corruption beyond Jonathan’s administration, because the roots of some corruption cases being investigated presently can be traced backwards to several years before Jonathan became President in 2010.

Therefore, whether Buhari likes it or not, some of those running around him now hoping to avoid his anticorruption dragnet might eventually be causalities in his war on corruption.

That the current government is mishandling the economy can be seen in the scandalous 2016 budget which, according to one of my friends, suffers from “gross elephantiasis of corruption” caused by padding extravaganza. On December 22, 2015, President Buhari, while presenting his first budget, boasted that “we are determined to ensure that our resources are managed

prudently and utilised solely for the public good” and that “one of our early decisions was the adoption of a zero based budgeting approach, which ensures that resources are aligned with government’s priorities and allocated efficiently.” This is precisely what is terribly wrong with this government, that is, the conviction that fine rhetoric, good intentions, reputation and strong faith are the essential ingredients required to run a government successfully. The shambolic manner this year’s budget was prepared could be interpreted as evidence that the APC was never prepared for governance, never mind the belated sacking of the Director-General for budget, Mr. Yaya Gusau by the President. Remember, while campaigning for President, Buhari promised to run a financially prudent government by blocking the loopholes through which public funds were siphoned.

But consider this: according to information available in the media, Buhari earmarked N1.7 billion for domestic expenses at Aso Rock villa; N3.4 billion for the clinic there, N3.9 billion for renovating the presidential villa, whereas N3.6 billion was voted for the acquisition of state of the art BMWs. Now, although all these figures demonstrate profligacy of the worst kind, especially at a time the economy is asphyxiating due to plummeting prices of petroleum, the most outrageous is the allocation for vehicles. What are President Buhari and his cohorts going to do with cars worth over N3 billion? What about the ones used by former President Goodluck Jonathan? Were they damaged beyond repairs or did the former President take them away when he left office on May 29 last year? Tobe continued.

What are President Buhari and his cohorts going to do with cars worth over N3 billion? What about the ones used by former President Goodluck Jonathan?

Were they damaged beyond repairs or did the former President take them away when he left office on May 29 last year? dictator who has little respect for democratic principles.

Moreover, the perception in certain quarters that the President is surreptitiously shielding corrupt politicians who made his electoral victory possible by targeting opposition politicians only so that APC could consolidate its power casts aspersions on the real motive for the anticorruption programme.

Leadership is largely about perception, about how the citizens understand and interpret the actions of their leaders. Consequently, when people lose confidence in their leaders and start imputing ulterior motives in the activities of government no matter how well intentioned, then there is a serious problem, the problem of alienation or disconnection

PAGE 30—SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

Why I am bringing 500 African CEOs together —Amir Ben Yahmed

BY ONOME AMAWHE

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frican CEOs will be arriving Abidjan,thCôte d’Ivoire for the 4 edition of the annual AFRICA CEO FORUM. To be held from March 21 - 22 2016, participants at the forum will discuss a range of economic issues and current affairs. Based on the event’s central theme for the year, issues such fall of commodities prices and slump of foreign direct investments are expected to hog the limelight in the wake of Africa’s uncertain environment.

As one of the most important dates in business calendar, the AFRICA CEO FORUM attracts more than 800 influential top government officials, business leaders and experts from both Africa and around the world including over 500 CEOs. The meeting enables participants, such as bankers, investors, financial market specialists, heads of global institutions as well as other international figures, to meet face-to-face in a friendly atmosphere where they can exchange views and ideas designed to benefit Africa’s economic future.

AFRICA CEO FORUM, a Groupe Jeune Afrique event, made its debut in 2012 in Geneva, and has since become a major African business event earning reputation as “the foremost international meeting for African CEOs, bankers and investors”.

The Abidjan-based African Development Bank and Rainbow Unlimited, a Swiss company specializing in economic promotion events has partnered the event since inception. Previous editions of forum were held in Geneva, Switzerland. In bringing home the event, the organizers chose Abidjan, the Ivorian economic capital.

In a statement, the President and Founder of the AFRICA CEO FORUM, Amir Ben Yahmed, noted: “For the forthcoming edition we have chosen a country and a region that is showing clear signs of robust economic development. The fact that the African Development Bank is based there-our partner since the first edition-was a further contributing factor.”

In this interview, Amir Ben Yahmed discusses the challenges—and opportunities—that he sees awaiting African CEOs on the horizon.

When you started the Africa CEO Forum in 2012, did you envisage that the event would turn into a global brand within the short period of its existence?

Even if it can sound presumptuous, it was our objective from the very beginning to create the best event dedicated to African private sector. We observed through our publications, especially Jeune Afrique’s TOP 500 African companies ranking, the extent to which African CEOs from different countries were not connected and didn’t know each other. They needed a place to gather and network. A place to exchange best-practices and to learn from each other. A place where African CEOs would promote economic integration and intra-

Our goal is to expand its footprint outside of Africa’s boundaries.

As Africa is attracting an increasing amount of international investment, one of our aims is to gather those investors at the forum

regional investments all together.

There was also a need for dialogue between public and private decision makers. No such platform existed before. Because we were responding to those growing needs in Africa’s business spheres, the success was immediate. And we are just getting started; we are growing and improving year after year.

At the time you started, what were the signs that signalled your first success?

The resounding and unanimous positive feedback. Whether from CEOs or media. We introduced something different. Something that they couldn’t find at other forums, either because they were too sector specific or too focused on the public sector. Based on the success of the first forum, our participants have requested unanimously that the discussions initiated in this pan-African setting - which is particularly conducive to business networking - be continued every year. This is highlighted by the fact that 82% of our 2015 participants stated that they plan to attend the 2016 event. Now that the forum has gained so much success, countries are competing to host future editions.

How has the forum performed since inception? What has been some of its key achievements?

With more than 1300 companies represented since the first edition, The AFRICA CEO FORUM has now established itself as the unparalleled international event dedicated to promoting African private sector. As such, the event brings together an increasing number of top African and international CEOs and investors. The results of this growth and success are illustrated by the statistics of the 2015 edition: 821 participants (incl. 500 CEOs) attended. 63 countries were represented, including 43 African countries. The event comprised 50 sponsors and partners, 18 panels and more than 100 toplevel speakers (including famous American economist Jeremy Rifkin). 13 Ministers of Economy, Finance or Industry from all over Africa also took part in the event.

What are some of the issues and challenges faced in organizing the forum?

Bringing together Anglophone, Francophone and Portuguese speaking African top CEOs, as we did, is a real tour de force. The challenge is to find a way to address their challenges and strategic priorities in

innovative and new ways every year. But that’s also the main key performance indicators for the forum which makes it successful: We aim to bring CEOs from neighbouring countries together that were not connected in the past, even though they have a lot in common. This allows them to explore new synergies which might not have been possible before.

How do you plan to grow the forum to retain its position as a foremost gathering of top business executives from the continent?

We plan to keep our standards high because they are critical for the forum’s success. These high standards depend on the quality of our participants (only CEOs can attend the event) and our programme, which focuses on African CEO’s strategic priorities.

In this regard, the forum is a place for cutting-edge discussions, where CEOs can engage with new concepts and ideas that will help them develop their businesses. Also, innovation is key to maintaining our competitive advantage. One example is introducing new formats such as the “CEO Roundtables” that were appreciated by our participants last year. Another example is developing new tools to enhance the on-site experience. For the next edition, we will unveil a brand new mobile app that will make

the networking experience even better.

What is your ultimate vision for the forum?

Our goal is to expand its footprint outside of Africa’s boundaries. As Africa is attracting an increasing amount of international investment, one of our aims is to gather those investors at the forum. For previous editions we had delegations coming from Japan, Europe and the US to name a few. We are now seeking to attract investors from China, India, the Middle East, Brazil and other leading emerging regions.

How does the forum add to Jeune Afrique’s capabilities to sustain it place in its niche expertise?

Since it was first established in 1960, Groupe Jeune Afrique has played a key role in every major stage of African development and has promoted Africa’s progress worldwide. It is the leading publishing Group with the two biggestselling international magazines dedicated to Africa: Jeune Afrique and The Africa Report. We are also the number one in digital media in Africa, with over 2 million unique visitors per month on Jeune Afrique’s web sites and over 1,7M followers on Facebook and 1M followers on Twitter.

In 2011, Groupe Jeune Afrique started to diversify its activities to become not only a major player in event management (AFRICA CEO FORUM since 2012, Investir en Côte d’Ivoire in 2014, Investir au Congo and Sino African Entrepreneur Summit in 2015) but also in photography (Jeune Afrique Pictures) and audio-visual production with the creation of “Galaxie Africa”, which aims to create content programmes for Francophone African TVs. It works two ways: The forum reinforces Group Jeune Afrique and Groupe Jeune Afrique reinforces the forum. The forum embodies the Group’s expertise in addressing African decision makers’ challenges and needs.

It also reinforces brand awareness of the Group amongst some of our participants who are not aware of the Group before attending the forum.

People used to come because they knew Jeune Afrique. Now they come because of the forum and they can discover everything Groupe Jeune Afrique has to offer.

How do you see participating companies utilizing the forum to increase their brand awareness?

The AFRICA CEO FORUM is the unparalleled place for a company to promote its brand and activities in Africa and worldwide. The opportunities there are real. Beginning with the high level networking opportunities which allow companies to showcase their activities and find new partners. Also, they can benefit from extensive international media coverage. Last year we had more than 55 representatives from the international and African media that covered the forum in Geneva. This is a great opportunity for visibility. For instance, deals were even signed on site last year. For example, a major deal was signed between Nouvelle Société Interafricaine d’Assurance (NSIA) one of Africa’s biggest banking and insurance groups, and the National Bank of Canada.

In fact, at the last edition, 70% of our participants identified or clinched business opportunities, which is a key indicator of how companies can make use of the forum to increase their brand awareness.

Continues on page 31

SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 21, 2016, PAGE 31

By Dapo Akinrefon

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r Akinyinka Akinnola is a governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Ondo State.

An engineer with experience spanning over 30 years in building services, manufacturing and infrastructural development, Akinnola says all that should matter is for the next Ondo governor to be somebody who is able to get the job done regardless of where he comes from. He bares his mind on why he is the best man to occupy. Alagbaka House. Excerpts: The incumbent governor has different ratings among different people. Many people do hail his health programme, among other things. What would you do about these programmes if you get elected? And what do you hope to do differently?

What we need to realize about governance is that continuity is the bedrock for growth.

We’ll review all programmes we may inherit and certainly such programmes that are good and viable will definitely be sustained.

We do not know the financial models upon which they are based but if these programmes are beneficial to the people and are financially viable in terms of sustainability they should endure. That is my view regarding that.

As for what I hope to do differently, my experience over the last 30 years has been in engineering, infrastructure and manufacturing and that is what I really bring to the table here. My own task is to embark on industrialisation of Ondo state on a scale never seen before in this country.

Ondo state produces over 40 percent of the cocoa from Nigeria and of course we have timber and vast land for agricultural development. I shall concentrate the state’s resources first on these areas and ensure a calendarised programme that will encourage in-situ processing and thereby adding additional value to these items.

Eventually raw materials taken out of Ondo state without any value addition will attract heavy taxation. This will encourage the setting up of industries and the resultant creation of employment. We shall develop and deploy an efficient inspection and monitoring mechanism for this . Also, Ondo state has a comparative advantage for the setting up of location positive industries.

What is meant by location positive industry is whereby the raw materials are domiciled within the state as a natural resource. We have the glass sands in Okitiputa, we have iron ore in the Akokos, we have granites in the Iwaro area and so on and so forth. We will seek for private public partnerships for the development of these resources also with the caveat of calenderised value addition.

As you are aware also, Ondo state has one of the longest coastlines in Nigeria joining up with the Lekki coastline. Traditional commercial water transport routes ( from the colonial era) to Lagos shall be revisited and developed as a means of getting produce out of Ondo more economically and safely. The whole riverine area is prime for a major commercial

Ondo 2016: I’ll make government work for the people — Akinnola which I am going in is totally different from the platform through which Omobola Johnson or my father had served.

•Akinyinka Akinnola

fishing and fisheries enterprise and sea salt production. These are just a few of the programmes we shall be looking at.

Your sister was the immediate past minister from Ondo. Your late father was a notable Ondo personality and indeed a former commissioner in the old Western region. And now you are also running for the office of governor. People are tempted to ask whether your family is the only one in Ondo State (chuckle).

My father was a commissioner in western state more than 45 years ago and had since been in private business but constantly contributing to the progress of the state.

Apart from industries set up in Ondo state during his stint as commissioner for Industries in the western region, he was also the representative of Ondo state on the federal revenue mobilisation committee and pushed for the adjustment of our boundary with Edo state that saw more oil installations falling within Ondo State and thus increasing our revenue from derivation . My sister Omobola Johnson is a very accomplished technocrat . She was the Country Manager of Accenture in Nigeria and it was from there she was chosen to be on the Vision 2020 programme of the Yar’Adua government and she excelled.

From there again she was called to be part of a presidential advisory committee with President Jonathan and it was from there she was selected to be minister. She is not a politician; she never contested for any office.

She was selected on her merit and she performed creditably well. I, in contrast to my father and sister, am going in for an elective office along with about 20 other contestants to compete. So the platform on

The theme of your campaign is ‘less politics, more governance.’ How did you arrive at this and what do you mean exactly?

As you rightly observed, that is the theme of my campaign. Less politics, more governance. The reason we get into governance is because of the electorate: to provide services to the people, security, social services and employment and so on.

But we see that politics is given more time than governance. At a time government should busy itself with governance all you hear of is political scheming, re-alignments, camping and decamping, etc., etc. The amount of time that ought to be given to governance, relative to what it should be, is not so. Governance is about the executive and the legislature coming together to work for the people. All actions ought to be geared towards governance.

Over 20 aspirants are jostling for the APC ticket. Many of them are not from Ondo axis. You come from Ondo West like the incumbent governor Mimiko. Will it be logical to have the next governor from Ondo when another Ondo man is just concluding a two-term of eight years even though he is in another party?

The man on the street is less interested in where the governor comes from but more in what the governor is able to do to better the life of the common man. What is important is a passion, a commitment and the competence to do this job. Too many times we have been short-changed by the politics of placement and positioning which insinuates that there should be a direct benefit from the people of a particular area because the Governor comes from there. But the fact is that a turn by turn approach to governance doesn’t give us the best the state deserves. Let us look at it. There is representation for the wards at the local government , and for the local governments at the state House of Assembly. The governor does not represent any ward or local government. He is the Governor of the entire state and is not mandated to represent any group or area, thus his origin is of no importance.

The level you are now is that where the delegates are the kings. From experience these delegates often don’t believe in the best man for the job. They go for other criteria in most cases. What would you do to make them yours at the primaries?

First thing is that I am running on a platform that has democratic values. I mean my party the APC. The delegate system now being adopted gives a wider

voice to party members as it is more inclusive. We are engaging the delegates. A lot of them we have spoken to and interacted with, and what I see is that people are beginning to understand that this is beyond a game of immediate gratification.

Everybody has been pushed to the level where they cannot fulfil basic aspirations or take care of the family and they are realising that it is time to bring in sincere and appropriate people into government.

Still on zoning: some persons have said every part of Ondo has qualified persons to govern the state and so their zones should also be given a chance. What is your thought on this?

Ondo state is very rich in terms of human capital. From all over the senatorial districts we have very competent people .

The question is do all these people always come into government and compete? In a competition - which this exactly is - I don’t think anybody should be saying anybody from here is good or anybody from there is better or it should be reserved for anyone.

We should all come out and compete. The party (delegates) will decide who emerges at the end of the day and then the electorate will decide. Zoning, a lot of the time, doesn’t create an atmosphere where the best can be gotten. It doesn’t create healthy competition.

If elected governor, you will be coming in at a time revenue is at an all-time low.

What would you do to ensure governance does not suffer?

First of all, success in governance, like any other human endeavour, is determined by the quality of people you have in charge.

I will build a team of competent people with more experience and knowledge than myself in their chosen field of endeavour. We have all had experience in the private and public sector, confronting problems and proffering solutions . We are going to take our eyes off the federal allocations because that can hardly sustain us as it continues to dwindle, and concentrate on internally generated revenues through various activities and programmes.

Some persons have said that all Buhari is doing is waging anti-corruption war while neglecting other areas. What is your take on this?

Every government will have a primary focus. I do not see all the things that the president see and do not have all the information that the president and his ministers have. But let me say that corruption in this country is the single most destructive element to our growth and it needs to be attacked the way Mr President is attacking it. He has shown great courage and commitment by starting from his own historical base which is the army.

Why I am bringing 500 African CEOs together —Amir Ben Yahmed Continued from page 30 What are some of the examples of how the forum is different from other events of its kind?

Most forums and conferences focused on Africa have a strong emphasis on the public sector. The Africa CEO Forum is different because 90% of our participants are CEO’s. Yet, it is true that more and more business events are taking place in Africa, but few of them can claim to gather as many high-level international, Anglophone and francophone top CEOs in one place. Besides, the quality of our programme is our main competitive advantage.

What is the theme for this year’s meeting and the main idea behind this? / Are there certain topics you foresee dominating the economic or investing debate at the next meeting?

Africa is currently facing conflicting trends such as the fall of commodities prices, slump of foreign direct

investments, multinationals disappointed at an African middle class not yet fully delivering on its potential. On the other hand, there are also promising trends.

Like the fact that Africa has witnessed continued growth for the past 15 years with the emergence of a strong private sector or the phenomenon of repatriates coming back from the western world loaded with skills, money and ambitions.

Also, Africa is now officially on the growth agenda of almost all multinationals.

It’s hard to say which of these trends will offset the others, but one thing is sure Africa’s near future is very uncertain. As a company what should you do in such an uncertain environment? Play it safe or play it bold? We argue for the latest. The 2016 ACF will strive to answer these questions and provide CEOs with the tools to navigate through uncertain times.

With so much uncertainty surrounding Africa, from the political and economic to social factors, how can the Africa

CEO Forum help foster a cause to help the continent’s dynamism while maintaining its security?

It was already the theme we had chosen for one of our panels in 2015. The discussions showed that African CEOs do not intend to give up on the continent.

Economic growth remains strong in Africa and business opportunities are growing. By bringing representatives of the African private sector each year, we provide the perfect setting to exchange on these matters.

What role do you see individual investors playing today, and what sector has the greatest potential for both social and financial return?

The private sector is already the main engine of Africa’s growth. As such, it generates around 70% of Africa’s output, 70% of its investment and 90% of its employment. And there is still a lot to be done on the continent. Obviously, the issues are not the same depending on the countries and the different levels of

development. Infrastructure is a key sector, along with the development of the middle class. As for social return, we see emerging private investments in health and education which are supposedly to be handled by the state. It is now becoming private sector priority.

You’ve been able to pull some the continent’s biggest names in Business to attend the event. Who’s on that list that you’re still trying to get out there?

So far we have been able to attract high-level personalities to our event, aligned with our vision and our programme, which is elaborated in partnership with business leaders and experts renowned both in Africa and internationally. It is certain that our doors are open to all Nigerian CEOs, as long as they wish to attend the AFRICA CEO FORUM to share their experience and take part in developing Africa’s private sector.

PAGE 32—SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

Penultimate Sunday, the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, stirred controversy, when he attempted what some have described as an unholy ranking of kings.

The Alake, while receiving the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, pontificated by claiming that the latter was the highest ranked Oba; and he went further to claim that the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba of Benin, the Alake of Egbaland and Awujale of Ijebuland, are second, third, fourth and fifth, respectively.

Since that statement, many have called to question its appropriateness and the source of its authority. In the following pages, Chief Bisi Omidiora, the Balogun of Ife, and Deputy Chairman, Council of Ife Honorary Chiefs; literary icon, Odia Ofeimun; and Chief David Edebiri, the Esogban of Benin, attempt to give insights into the issue.

In fact, both Ofeimun and the Esogban poured cold water on the Alake’s claim. You’ll find the three articles interesting.

BY BALOGUN BISI OMIDIORA

I

n a fairly researched response to what I considered to be a serious misrepresentation of historical fact on the origin of Oduduwa, the founder of Yoruba Race by some historians, I wrote an article on Ile-Ife which was published in the Guardian of 1st June 2004, the Punch and Tribune of 13th June 2004.

The article received commendation from many Yoruba leaders, elders, state governors, and traditional rulers particularly my Kabiyesi His Royal Majesty Oba Okunade Sijuwade CFR the Ooni of Ife who wrote a letter dated 24th June 2004 thanking me “on behalf of all the citizens of Ife territory, for finding part of my precious time to write the beautiful article on Ile-Ife which could stand the test of the day anytime and anywhere in the world.

Touched and inspired, by the current debate on the place of Oranmiyan in Ife history, it has become necessary and expedient to draw the attention of the public once again to part of the content of that article written eleven years ago with a view to throw some light on some historical facts relating to:(a) The sacredness of the city of Ile-Ife that gave it an immunity from external attacks invasion and destruction for many centuries in Yoruba. (b) The phenomenon of Oranmiyan in Ife history and his historical place among the lists of past Oonis of Ife. (c) The need for prayer for unity, common front, togetherness, mutual love and respect for one another among our respected and highly revered Traditional Rulers in Yoruba land which all concerned citizens of Ife strongly believe will bring lasting peace, and progress, relevance and impregnability to that “most heterogeneous part of Nigeria” – The Yorubas, at home and abroad.

My father-in-law, His Royal Highness Sir Adesoji Aderemi, The Ooni of Ife (1950-80) if he were alive would certainly disagree as Kabiyesi Oba Okunade Sijuwade did, with the statement that was made in the press sometime ago that Ijebu-Ife had long existed before the founding of Ile-Ife or that Oduduwa the progenitor of Yoruba Race derived his root from Benin and more recently by the statement of a high ranking Traditional Ruler that Oranmiyan never reigned in Ile-Ife. As a chartered accountant

C M Y K

whose stock in trade is logic, truth, fairness and accuracy, certain facts exist, which have not been disputed by various writers on the history of Ile-Ife in respect of which I stand to be challenged or corrected.

(1) That Ile-Ife is the cradle of Yoruba race and most of the Yoruba towns and crowned heads traced their origin from Oduduwa and the ancient city of Ife. (2) Ile-Ife was the burial grounds of Oduduwa and the Grove of Oranmiyan (3) That before Oduduwa’s death and burial in Ile-Ife, he blessed and crowned his children and dispatched them to different parts of Yorubaland where they established their settlements and became crown kings.

Oduduwa was not a mythical personage as some historians claimed. It is an incontrovertible fact that he lived to a very old age at Ife, married many wives and produced many children some of who predeceased him. He reigned, died and was buried in Ile-Ife where his sacred grove was deified and worshipped till today. It was generally accepted that Obalufon Ogbogbodirin was the eldest son and Oranmiyan the youngest.

Okanbi was the eldest daughter who beget The Olowu of Owu and six other famous kings.

The place of Ile-Ife in the hierarchy of Yoruba race was clearly evidenced by the life and death of Oranmiyan, the youngest son of Oduduwa and the fourth Ooni of Ife. It is a well established fact that Oranmiyan described as “a man of great physical power and mighty conqueror”, founded Oyo and installed his son, Ajaka as the first Alaafin of Oyo. He then went on to become the first Oba of Benin, and installed his son, Eweka (owo mi ka) in his place, “thus giving the Benis the long line of kings from the Oranmiyan dynasty, before returning to Ile-Ife to occupy the throne of his father, Oduduwa, until his death”(Prof.

Ade Ajayi).

This historical fact on the Oranmiyan Dynesty in Benin was confirmed in the most recent book of the Oba of Benin under the title “Cradle of Ideas” a compendium of speeches and writings of Omonoba Erediauwa of Great Benin” edited by Osarhieme Benson Osadolor and published 2013 where the highly respected monarch was quoted as saying during his opening Address on Thursday 29th April 1982 at the exhibition of The Lost Treasures of Ancient Benin. “We cannot discuss Igueghae without discussing the historical link between Ife and Benin. There is no doubt that both the Ife Royal House and the Benin Royal House have a common

The Place Of Oranmiyan In The History Of Ile - Ife

Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi ,the Ooni of Ife

Oral history from our forefathers at Ife told us that even though Oranmiyan was on the throne as Ooni of Ife, he was often away from Ile-Ife on his war expeditions against the neighbouring hostile nations to other parts of the country

ancestor The point of disagreement is who that ancestor was and where he came from” page 157.

On the Oranmiyan dynasty, the monarch went further to say that “one can safely conclude from the evidence available, that Eweka was the first Oba to rule in Benin and that he had a Bini mother. The precise date of his reign was however not absolutely certain, because Eghareuba gave the date as 1200 and Talbot and Bradbury

immediately with his mystical sword and vanquish the enemies thus leading to the saying in Ife that “in time of war the Ifes always called on Oranmiyan” (Ijo ogun ni Ife npe Oranmiyan) and he would answer them.

The Ifes certainly got indulged in the habit of calling or sending for Oranmiyan, their king, to save them in time of trouble. This culture of always looking upon and total reliance on the power and ability of their Oba to solve most of their problems persists among Ife indigenes at home till today. It extends to all manner of disputes or domestic quarrels between husbands and wives, among relations and between the indigenes and the strangers on variety of subject matters, big or small, which were regularly brought to the palace of the Ooni of Ife for his arbitration and counsel. Ifes never experienced a vacuum on the throne of Ooni of Ife. It had always been “The king is dead, long live the king”.

According to Ife oral history, there was a particular incident, when fight broke out between two factions in Ife which nearly developed into a civil war. One of the factions decided to invoke the spirit of Oranmiyan, their king by calling on him to come home to defend Ife. Oranmiyan appeared at once with his magical sword thinking that the factions fighting

•Balogun Bisi Omidiora around 1300”Further research would be necessary. In the same manner, one can say that the period of the reign of Oranmiyan as the forth Ooni of Ife cannot be precisely dated.

Oral history from our forefathers at Ife told us that even though Oranmiyan was on the throne as Ooni of Ife, he was often away from Ile-Ife on his war expeditions against the neighbouring hostile nations to other parts of the country. Although the body of Oranmiyan might be far away from Ife many indigenes believed that his spirit was permanently with them at Ife. Consequently, whenever there was war at Ife, on land or territory or an attack on the sacred city by hostile neighbouring towns, the Ifes would send to Oranmiyan wherever he might be, to come home and save them.

Remarkably, each time the Ifes called, Oranmiyan would appear

themselves were an external force.

He started to fight and kill those he thought were the external aggressors until when he realized that the people he was killing were his own subjects. Oranmiyan angrily and mournfully pitched his mystical sword on the ground and disappeared to the palace, where he vowed never to use his sword again, when he later joined his ancestors he was buried on the spot where he pitched his sword.

In remembrance of the Ooni Oranmiyan, a gigantic monument of some ten feet high (an obelisk) was built around the sword which Ifes called “Opa Oranmiyan” (The Oranmiyan’s staff) at a designated area, where Oranmiyan was buried, deified and worshipped till this day.

Because it was an acknowledged fact that Oranmiyan the

Continues on page 34

SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 21, 2016, PAGE 33

CONTROVERSY OVER THE RANKING OF MONARCHS

Why Oba of Benin is number one,

by Odia Ofeimun

I

am a Republican, not a Royalist. But, in a country in which we have all conceded the coexistence of Republican and Royalist values, it should be considered quite unseemly to watch one set of the interacting values being rough-handled, muddied or treated with improper decorum without feeling a need to intervene on behalf of rectitude. I have been so challenged since the eruption of the controversy ignited by the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, who allowed himself to do a ranking of Yoruba Obas that placed the Oba of Benin as third in the hierarchy. In one sense, as Chief David Edebiri, the Esogban of Benin, immediately retorted, it is wrong to rank the Oba of Benin among Yoruba Obas because the Oba of Benin is not a Yoruba and therefore cannot be placed on a list of Yoruba Obas. I call it 'in a sense' because the Esogban's position may be disputed on the grounds, as will soon be clear, that there is too much siblinghood between Yoruba and Benin traditional rulers for the ethnic difference between them to be rendered in cast-iron terms.

The special relationship between Yoruba and Benin obas, not unlike the relationship between Benin and Onitsha kings, or between Lagos and Edo kings, makes it all the more impolitic to do a ranking of the Benin monarchy in Yoruba royal affairs without abiding by certain inter-subjective and shared norms. And let me note, very quickly, that it is the presence of such norms that makes it quite normal for Chief Edebiri to put the Oba of Benin as Number One without appearing to contradict himself. In his response to the Alake, Chief Edebiri has argued, quite simply, that the term oba was not used to describe Yoruba kings until the Oba of Benin got there.

This may well be disputed. Except that it has the merit of being close to verisimilitude when he argues that the king of Ibadan was called Olu, the king of Abeokuta was called Alake, the king of Oyo was called Alafin; only the Benin monarch was Oba. With the backing of glotto-cultural studies, however, we should be able to impute that the term, oba, is a root word shared by both the Yoruba and the Edo languages and that among the sixteen kings that reigned in Ile-Ife before the arrival of Oduduwa's party, many had oba as prefix to their names. To say this amounts to jumping ahead of the argument a little. But let me add, for those who are not familiar with this piece of anthropology, that Oduduwa, the acknowledged founder-ancestor, the progenitor of the Yoruba nationality, was a stranger who met a historical line of obas in Ile Ife, the last of whom was Obatala, the leader of the Igbo, the autochthons , later deified as god of creativity or creation, sometimes synced with Orunmila, for wisdom. Make your pick.

Let me also add that, from the studies of the Ifa divination system made by several scholars, as imbibed from traditional Ifa devotees, it is those sixteen elders whom Oduduwa met in Ife that provided the sub-structure of Ifa as a formal system of wisdom into which people could be initiated in the way that we all go to tertiary institutions to learn philosophy, jurisprudence and mathematics.

C M Y K

•Oba Erediauwa

All traditional cultures in the world, seeking to have their day in the sun, have tended always to confer even other-worldly features on their monarchs as a form of self promotion for the tribe, nation or race

Or mathemagics, if you like. It is of very grave significance in this narrative that we should acknowledge that the Ifa Divination system, before the intervention of Islam, Christianity, and Lord Frederick Lugard's balkanization and regionalization of traditional gnosis, was based on the existential patterns or prowess of the sixteen elders, or kings, who formed the planks upon which the wisdom of the people, by ritual accretions, was organized. Every good student of Ifa should know that in the Edo Divination system of Igwega, two of the sixteen elders have been displaced by Edo personages who are not to be found in the Ife version as designed by Agbonmiregun, the Master, who went from Ekiti to Ile Ife and established the rounded system of Ifa Divination as passed by other masters between the Edo, Nupe, Igala and Yoruba devotees.

It can be imagined that, as a matter of ritual, they gathered at Ife, which was quite the centre of

their world, for a divination that transcended ethnicities but was based on a common worship of the earth mother, Efa. All the forest peoples, from Dahomey to the Cameroon mountains, across the Nri of Igboland and past Ogoja, were devotees of one form or other of Ifa Divination. The historian, Ade Obayemi, has imputed that so many concepts in Yoruba Ifa, which some devotees may regard as mumbo jumbo, are actually Nupe terms that proper glottocultural analysis and translation could redeem. This partly explains why Benin Kings could induct or abduct and adopt Igbo medicinemen who became part of the common national culture, as Egharevba, the Benin historian vouchsafes. What a linguistic, glotto-cultural analysis tells us is that, in Ile-ife, before the dispersal occasioned by Oduduwa's emergence, the Yoruba language, as one among many in the Kwa language complex, was once the same language with others including Igbo and that they still share common root words beyond the simple ones like Omi and miri.

So if Chief Edebiri's resort to linguistic analysis wont help a resolution of the ranking of the Yoruba obas, what will? I suppose it is the discomfort of trying to answer such a question, and the fear of being wrong-footed in a bid to dabble into what appears to be quite esoteric, that has warded off many of the dignitaries who have been asked by journalists to respond to the controversy. Some of them think it a needless controversy that could detract from more worthwhile issues of the moment. True, there are crying problems that our society needs to face and resolve. Some political entrepreneurs who require a united front in order not to disperse collective energies have been quick to advise against worsening of the already existing inter-ethnic divisions in our midst.

Somehow, they do not consider that to ignore the controversy or down play its driven logic, could harden the ranking that has been attempted and, to that extent, make it quite affirmable with the accretion of time. Of course, those

who are already convinced of its veracity and have lived in the shadow of its ritualized affirmation, all their lives, would want the ranking to remain as they know it.

Hence, they act bored by the controversy and would therefore wish that we move on quickly to other matters. Unfortunately, (or fortunately, depending on how you see it) the controversy won't go away.

At any rate, this is not the first time it has visited or reared its head. The ranking, as it happens, is so deeply rooted in the ethnic unconscious of some people that there is good reason for the palace in Benin City to wish, with each eruption of the controversy, to put the records, or lack of records, straight. It happens to be the case that the ranking of the obas takes on a life of its own within every effort to build a sense of common nationality among Yoruba people.

Every bid by the Yoruba to unite under a common leader or in conformity with a presumption of common ancestry, has always yielded one form of such ranking or the other. It has become part of a modernist or modernizing project which nation-builders escape only when they are able to put the knowledge industry at the centre of their quest. Especially, with the establishment of the Egbe Omo Oduduwa on home ground in 1948, the business of building up such a knowledge industry, creating a formal historiography to get it right, has been part of every bid at nation-building. With bounding successes in research and publications, everything seemed to be going fine before the regression that came with political crisis in the sixties and the virtual abandonment of the enlightenment project that Obafemi Awolowo is still rightly praised for.

Frankly, it has since boiled down to the old saw about putting things in books if you want to hide them from Africans. Otherwise, too many scholars, Yoruba and nonYoruba, in our midst, unrecognized by a thoroughly philistine, anti-enlightenment elite, have sweated their lives out researching and correcting the whimsical, myth-suffused folklore and the ultra-parochial rendering of the past, that many of our leaders regard as history, with a capital H. The result is that, with so much cultural illiteracy abounding, we all go mucking around with woolly and crooked thoughts about ourselves and our neighbours to the detriment of social and political projects that could save our part of the world from backwardness and decay. Specific to the ranking of the Yoruba obas: So deeply ingrained is the ranking among not only the Obas, but many Yoruba big wigs! The palace in Benin City has had to be effusively vigilant, on perpetual watch, as it were, rebutting every indication of a resurgence of the claim. It happens to be a claim that many, including Professors of History, lacking the requisite cultural literacy have humoured with shrugs and incipient concordance in order not to be wrong-footed by popular opinionating. Surely, being only too willing to wish the sleeping dog of history back to sleep whenever it is roused by controversy, they wittingly or unwittingly, contrib-

ute to allowing the already stated position to remain the unspoken but reigning truth of the matter.

The implication, even if unintended, is that they withdraw enthusiasm from the need to clear the mushy debris of insupportable folklore that masquerades as history. They contribute to the death of historical consciousness in our part of the world.

What must be borne in mind in the case of the Alake's recent pronouncement on the ranking of Yoruba obas, is that it happened during a visit by the newly crowned Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, who has been making commendable representations on behalf of Yoruba unity since his elevation to the throne. His definitive un-jinxing of the hiatus between the Ife and Oyo monarchies, by a visit that dammed several decades of distancing, has raised enormous and quite salutary vibes across the country.

Much beyond Yorubaland. One wishes that it was actually always the case that we had obas, like him, who would stop distracting their people with arguments about the past that divide rather than bring people together. As such, it was to be expected that visits between kings of different communities swearing descent from a common ancestor would yield some brag, and even some luxuriating in sheer grandiloquence, for the sake of ethnic pride and national self-glorification.

Quite understandable. In such situations, all traditional cultures in the world, seeking to have their day in the sun, have tended always to confer even other-worldly features on their monarchs as a form of self promotion for the tribe, nation or race. In particular, new Obas have tended to attract a hyper inflation of oriki and other panegyrics in order to match the character sketch of an igbakejiorisa, a virtual divinity. Such moments in history inspire what, in his essay on The Monarchical Tendency in African Political Culture, Ali Mazrui describes in the context of the quest for aristocratic effect, the personalization of authority, the sacralization of authority and the quest for a royal historical identity. In the case of the Ooni Ogunwusi, until the Alake's 'goof' which the Benin Palace has rebutted, something ethereally all-accommodating, sanguine, and salutary seemed to be attending to his forthright bid for unity wherever he went. Now, clearly, what has been pulled out of the bag by the Alake, even if returned to the bag, can no longer spell in a way that will make all comfortable.

It calls to be taken in hand and dealt with in a manner that will not continue to put the Nigerian Project at the mercy of poorly designed ethnic projects. Indeed, now that the Alake, through his media spokesman, has insisted that his ranking of the obas is bam on the mark, and not retractable, it calls for a serious engagement of the issues beyond reliance on work-a-day folklore. To be sure, his insistence may be quite benign in the context of intra-ethnic muscle-flexing which may cause only mild grating, such as when the Alafin of Oyo haggles with the Ooni over decades, as to who is

Continues on page 35

PAGE 34—SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

Oba title alien to Yoruba —Esogban of Benin

Our own traditional history says that the Ooni of Ife was a Benin prince who wandered from here to Ife and settled there and became the ruler.

That is the position; if they don’t know, they should send people here and we will teach them

•Chief David Edebiri SIMON EBEGBULEM, BENIN CITY

T

he comment by the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, that the Oba of Benin is ranked third in the hierarchy of Yoruba monarchs came as a rude shock to the elders and palace of the Oba of Benin.

The palace did not take it lightly as it described the comment as a distortion of history which, according to it, amounted to historical suicide.

The Esogban of Benin Kingdom and the Odionwere of the Kingdom, Chief David Edebiri, who is the second in command in the palace of the Benin monarch, insisted that the Oba ranks higher than any monarch in Yoruba land just as he asserted that the Ooni of Ife is a son of the Oba of Benin, who wandered to Ife,where he settled as king. While taking a swipe at the Alake, Esogban, popularly referred as the ‘Oracle’ of Benin Kingdom, declared that the title of Oba is indigenous to the Binis while it was imported by the Yoruba.

His words: “We wanted to discard this report as something that is not necessary. We do not see how the Alake of Egbaland suddenly woke up to think that the Oba of Benin is also a Yoruba Oba. There is no basis for such classification. Oba of Benin has nothing to do with Yoruba Obas. It is simply unnecessary. Unless they simply want to stir up unnecessary controversy. We are not in Yoruba land. To be frank, it is because many of them are not willing to come up with the truth.

The word Oba is alien to the Yoruba monarchy, it is not part of their title from time immemorial.

For instance, the one they call the Oba of Lagos, these are recent adaptations. In the 50s, there was no Oba of Lagos. What they had was the Eleko of Eko. In Ibadan, they had the Olu of Ibadan. In Abeokuta, they had the Alake of Egba land. In Oyo, they had the Alafin. In Ilesha, you have the Owabokun. So no Yoruba monarch had, as part of his title, the word Oba except the Oba of Benin. And that word Oba is C M Y K

indigenous to Benin. It is only in recent times you find everybody bearing Oba. When the Western Regional Conference of Traditional Rulers took place in Benin-City in 1942, go and look at the attendance; there was no other monarch in the whole of the Western Region then that bore the title Oba except the Oba of Benin.

So, it is an unnecessary excursion, an unnecessary attempt to turn history upside down by the Alake by classifying the Oba of Oba as third in the hierarchy of kings”.

‘Ooni was Benin prince’ Continuing, he said: “Our own traditional history says that the Ooni of Ife was a Benin prince who wandered from here to Ife and settled there and became the ruler. That is the position; if they don’t know, they should send people here and we will teach them. We will show them land marks. What the Alake said is unnecessary misrepresentation of history. Maybe the Alake wanted to mention a different place and not Benin. The monarchical rulership in this part of the world started from Benin during the era of the Ogisos. It was the son of the last Ogiso, Owodo, who wandered from here to Ife and he became a ruler there, carrying everything about the Benin monarchical system to that place. There is no basis for such classification. The Ooni of Ife, by historical facts, is a son of the Oba of Benin; so they are not in the same class. The Oba of Benin is the only one that answers Oba, the rest don’t. But, today, we hear Oba here and there, they are all recent adaptations. I am saying, categorically, that the word Oba is indigenous to Benin and not to the Yoruba nation”.

Esogban, who took time to give the historical background on the connection between the Yoruba and the Binis on Kingship of both races, said: “The truth of the matter is that when Owodo, the last Ogiso, asked that his only son, Ekhaladera, be executed to create room for other children to come. The executioners, when they got to the place, allowed the prince to wander away and killed one of the animals, used the blood to rub

their sword. They came back to report that the son had been killed.

The prince then wandered and stayed at Ughoton for some time.

When he heard that they were looking for him again in Benin, he left there and passed through Okada. There are landmarks to show where the man passed through and came out where we now call Ife. When he came out from the bush, a man, who had been wandering in the bush for several years, the people saw him, they did not know where he came from; they could not speak his language. The people quartered him in a place. At that particular moment, a pregnant woman in that community had been in labour for several days. But this man, because of his vast knowledge of herbs, which he learnt from his father’s palace in Benin, told the people not to worry about the woman. He went to the bush to pick some leaves, squeezed them and put them in a cup and gave the woman to drink. As soon as the woman drank the herbs, she was delivered with the placenta coming out.

“People started shouting that this man was a god, he descended from heaven. That is why, today, the

Yoruba history of Oduduwa is that he descended from heaven. The matter is explanatory. That was how the Ife people started worshipping him and he became the king there. He introduced all he was used to do his father’s palace. All the paraphernalia of kingship, he started to introduce it there. He had so many children. It is said that the Alaafin of Oyo is one of his children too, but that matter is hotly disputed in Yoruba land. This question of Ekhaladeran is a story that no one can dispute because, if you say that the man who became your Oduduwa descended from heaven, that nobody knew where he came from, then the story that he came from Benin is reliable.

“The Benin people, after experimenting republican for some time, the style was not better than the rulership of kings; so the elders met and said they wanted to revert to monarchical government. The man, who was the administrator then, warned them that monarchical government was too hard, difficult to operate. And this was where the Ogiamien came in. Ogiamiens’s father was the administrator. His name was Eviaen. When he wanted to die, he tried to substitute his son to continue as administrator. But after his demise, the Benin people said he had no blue blood running in his vein, he could not rule. “Rather than accepting one with no royal blood, let us look for the man who ran away from here.” Under the leadership of Chief Oliha, the Binis sent people to search for Ekhaladeiran with the landmarks. Finally, they got to Ife and met the old man, and delivered their message to him.

He agreed that he was a Bini man but that he was too old now to leave Ife the, and that he had got so many children and he carry them away now. More so he had become a king there but that what he what could do was to send one of his children to Benin. What the Bini people were anxious about was the DNA that must be of royalty. Then he actually tested them with something. After the first visit, the second visit, Chief Oliha was able to pass the test. He said Oliha, “I am handing over

my son to you to come and be king in Benin”. That was how the prince came, but he could not speak Benin language and he was unable to enter the city proper. He stayed in Egor, but he was already an Enogie (Duke) in Egor created by the Ogisos. There was a flourishing administration in Benin Kingdom. He stayed there for few months and, during that period, he impregnated the Enogie’s daughter. The Enogie’s daughter the prince from Ife impregnated gave birth to a deaf and dumb prince. The Yoruba man found that the people of Benin were difficult to rule. He voiced it out that “Benin people are difficult to rule.” That means Ilebinu. That is how the word Ibinu which was corrupted by a white man to Benin came into the dictionary. This place was called lle, Edonile, we still call it that name till tomorrow. First it was Igodomigodo, from Igodomigodo to lle. So the man said he was going back to Ife. And from Egor he returned to Ife but left the unborn child here. In his absence, the boy was delivered, but he was deaf and dumb. Emissaries were sent to the father in Ife to inform him about the child. Then from Ife, they prepared seven magical marbles and directed how the marbles will be played on the floor. Whenthe marbles were played at Use, the prince successfully hit the head of the opponents marble which was complete knock out. After he hit that marble, the man exclaimed. He spoke for the first time in Yoruba dialect, Owomika (my hand caught it), that translated to the first king in the present dynasty, Eweka the first. It was Owomika that was corrupted to Eweka.

“These are the facts of history, not fables. The clarification by the Alake of Abeokuta is contradictory, it is completely irrelevant because we do not know anything about their own classification. We don’t belong to the same cultural entity; so, how can you classify the Benin Oba with Yoruba monarchs? Even if you agree that the Oba of Benin is a Yoruba man, he is not a Bini man, there are Benin people here”.

The place of Oranmiyan in the history of Ile-Ife Continued from page 32 youngest son of Oduduwa reigned, died and was buried in Ile-Ife, all Yoruba kings as part of their ascension and coronation ceremonies were expected to receive and handle the greatest symbol of Oranmiyan’s strength Oranmiyan’s sword (IDA ORANMIYAN) as representing their sword of office from Ife. It has also been the custom for many years for most crowned Yoruba Obas to visit the grave of Oduduwa in Ile-Ife for blessings during their coronation ceremonies. It is on record that the previous Alafin of Oyo and the Oba of Benin were at Ife to handle the Oranmiyan sword as part of their coronation ceremonies.

These coronation and burial rituals according to Jacob Olupona the author of Ile-Ife, the city of 201 gods, might have been modified or have disappeared in the contemporary Nigerian state, the last coronation ceremony

performed recently for the Oba of Benin, whereby the Ooni of Ife sent “a traditional gift” to the new Oba confirmed the ancient connection between the two kingdoms. In the same manner, I know that similar traditional gifts were sent to the present Alafin by the Ooni of Ife during Alafin’s coronation, as a token of the blood connection between the Royal court of Ife and the palace of the Alafin of Oyo. Ile-Ife has always been lucky to have great and influential monarchs; who are well educated and internationally exposed. Sir Adesoji Aderemi KCMG (193080) Oba Okunade Sijuwade CFR (1980-2015). These monarchs blended tradition with modernity which made our neighbours to say with envy “Oba ni Ife ni, won ko ni eniyan” (the pride of Ife is only in their Oba and not the people) This adage had never been true because from Oduduwa to Oba Sijuwade, great warriors, outstanding politicians, educationist, businessmen and other eminent personalities had come out of Ife”

According to history Ibadan was founded by Lagelu the Balogun of Ife, who hailed from Ile Atiki Ilare Ife the same compound with the writer of this article. Those other great warriors of Ife who left with Balogun Lagelu and said to be part of the foundation of Ibadan were Balogun Okunade Maye, Balogun Singushin, Balogun Ayikiti, Balogun Oga, and Balogun Derin Ologbenla who fought many wars.

The strong and dreadful rule of Balogun Maye at Ibadan after the death of Balogun Lagelu was said to have caused some rifts and dissatisfaction between Ibadan and Ife but the common lineage of Balogun Lagelu with Ife soon brought Ibadan to the side of Ife in a common ally, between Balogun Ibikunle of Ibadan and Balogun Ologbenla of Ife to form a strong contingent for the defence of Ife against the Modakekes and Oyo resulting in the peaceful resettle-

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SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 21, 2016, PAGE 35

‘Why Oba of Benin is number one’ Continued from page 33 superior. But when the matter goes intercultural, applied in a multi-ethnic situation, it can get truly pernicious, with grave repercussions; enough to unsettle the balance of respect between neighbours. This is especially so when all the verifiable propositions to the contrary are dismissed without a second thought; such that the cooping of ethnic self-assurance, on the one hand, is turned into a means of thumbing noses at or down-grading neighbours who, on the other hand, have been no less illustrious from antiquity to the present.

The core issue is that, whether intended or not, the ranking of the obas across ethnic boundaries implies an attempt at a form of suzerainty of one ethnic group or nationality over another. By imputing a vertical ordering of sorts, it puts a dubious historical stamp on sheer fictions that could be truly disorienting. In an age when, as we know, aspiring internal colonialists begin the quest for assimilation or overcoming of others by, first, having to invent whimsy as a verity of times and tides, it can get quite far reaching. Who needs to be told that such tides must be stemmed before they harden into inscrutable canon! Or, let me put it this way: that as someone with an instinctive intellectual empathy with all ethnic groups craving for self governance, seeking unity in their ranks or working to disperse the succubus of a unitarized federalism that rampages across and assaults our Godgiven and highly creative diversity, I would seriously invite all Nigerians to abhor the over-parochial presumption that seeks to put others down in the process of crafting a new sense of self for any ethnic nationality.

Who can tell what could be made of a cunningly designed myth of ethnic superordinance as a means of turning the freeborn into a non-citizen in his father's house? This is not just a matter of rhetoric. It raises questions, not to be taken lightly, in the face of a new Ooni, preaching unity of the Yoruba people, at a time when dithering Yoruba elites, annoyingly self-deprecatory in normal times, have been finally goaded by hard times, to reach the point of agreeing to join in forging a united economic front around the Odua Investments; with Lagos joining the fold. It begins to serve as a warning or a threat, however, when a paramount Oba, such as the Alake, claiming fourth position in the hierarchy of Yoruba Obas, chooses to flaunt one myth that has been permanently disputed by a neighbor for as long as it has surfaced. Even for people who do not normally care about such things, it begins to grate, when it is realized that such ranking is based on myths that cannot even bear forensic scrutiny.

Let's face it: between the Edo and the Yoruba, those who wish that all of us should live by myths can be seen as strategically roughening up the insuperable distinctiveness of the Edo people within a notion of the siblinghood of their palaces. What they may not realize, and therefore need to be told, is that it gets truly atavistic, when others claim you as sibling only in order to degrade or down-grade what you are. It has the same kind of feel as the myth which makes a distinction between Hausa Bakwai and Hausa Banza with a peculiar cunning of history built into it. It could be worse when it comes from a very unnecessary wish to assimilate others while negating their interests through a cold indifference to facts, thus turning whimsical mythology into history.

The good part is that, in an age when History is being displaced by so much cant, ignored and muddied by those who prefer to re-invent the past as a means of achieving modern ambitions at other people's expense, there are criteria of ascertainment of knowledge which can be deployed to test the veracity of narratives. No matter how cleverly or high-mindedly such narratives try to overcome what is already known or knowable, the point is that they can be defeated by invoking the awesome wealth of information at the behest of contemporary knowledge industries. I dare say that on this matter of the ranking of the obas, the saving grace is that all the information needed to

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•Oba Erediauwa decide one way or the other can be found in debates that have been going on, for decades, among historians and anthropologists, disquisitions between cultural philosophers and the search for balance between literary critics.

In my book, In Search of Ogun: Soyinka In Spite of Nietzsche, (published in 2014) I have pooled together a number of the strands in order to indicate the necessity for movement away from metaphysical dead ends and the parochial dredge of many of the arguments which over privilege inwardlooking ethnic issues rather than their universalistic implications. The point is that ethnic solidarity may be quite a good workshop for developing values that are relevant for wider activism in the promotion of shared human values, but the latter must always be properly minded to obviate the tendency for self-apprehension to be turned into the case of a snake eating its own tail unto death. I see it as a case for unveiling supposedly esoteric or secret knowledge, making public property of arcane issues of cults and conclaves, such that, for instance, we can appreciate the reality of Yoruba people who may worship a deified Edo personage; Edo people who are devotees of a Yoruba god; and the treason of history which can confront people of different ethnic groups, even enemy nationalities, with the reality of a common ancestor. In Soyinka In Spite of Nietzsche, I contend with principles and values that promise astute approaches to management science and management of society by looking through and beyond positions that are derivable from the gods our ancestors worshipped. I am concerned that it is because we do not always keep the right perspectives on such matters that, adding the ranking of obas, we run into major altercations. For the purpose of this writeup, my intention is to dwell less on metaphysics and issues of cultural philosophies. I wish to engage current issues by recalling and engaging one of the many altercations that came to a head in 2004, yielding a big blow-out between Ooni Olubuse and Oba Erediauwa, after the latter's publication of his autobiography, I REMAIN, SIR, YOUR OBEDIENT SERVANT in which he devoted a chapter to 'The Benin-Ife Connection'.

In that particular chapter of the book, Oba Erediauwa questions the veracity of the two versions of the origins of the Benin monarchy that came from Egharevba's authoritative and highly regarded A SHORT HISTORY OF BENIN. In the first edition, Egharevba wrote: "Many many years ago, Odua (Oduduwa) of Uhe (Ile-Ife), the father and progenitor of the Yoruba kings sent his eldest son Obagodo - who took the title of Ogiso - with a large retinue all the way from Uhe to found a Kingdom in this part of the world". ..."And in the fourth (and now current) edition of the book, the late author wrote: "Many, many years ago, the Binis came all the way from Egypt to found a more secure shelter in this part of the world after a short stay in the Sudan and at Ile-Ife, which the Benin people called Uhe...The rulers or kings were commonly known as "Ogiso" before the arrival of Oduduwa and his party at Ife in Yorubaland, about the 12th century of the Christian era".

Anyone reading the two versions in the first and fourth editions will be tempted to agree with Erediauwa that there were interpolations that amounted to a bias in

By imputing a vertical ordering of sorts, it puts a dubious historical stamp on sheer fictions that could be truly disorienting

the narrative. One may not agree with Erediauwa's claim that Egharevba's "Edo ne'kue (Edo-Akure - partly Benin partly Yoruba....) blood in the man manifested itself" or that the editors, "the experts in the Ibadan University contributed to the contradictions". But it is too obvious that something happened to the narrative that is quite out of sync with the authority on display. Erediauwa simply avers that "the earliest rulers or kings in what is today Edo or Benin were known as "Ogiso". The first was known as Ogiso Igodo and the last (of the thirty one or so of them) was Ogiso Owodo, the father of Ekaladeran who became known as Oduduwa in Ife. In essence, Oduduwa came after the Ogisos.

Not before. According to Erediauwa, the idea of a Benin Prince choosing a title in order to be king did not even begin in Benin History until after Oduduwa's youngest son, Oramiyan, fathered a child, the dumb one, in Benin, who literally gave himself a name when on winning a game of akhue he gave a shout of victory, OWOMIKA,"my hand has struck it", his first intelligible speech. The Benin people corrupted the name and it became Eweka. Also, it became tradition, thereafter, for every king-to-be to go to Use, the site of the game of akhue, to choose a name before climbing the throne. So to say, Egharevba, whom we all owe so much, got it all mixed up. As Edo traditions have it, Ogiso Owodo was advised by the oracle to have his son Ekaladeran executed for being the source of the unhappiness in the land during his reign. Unaware that he was being deceived, he sent the public executioner, Oka Odionmwan, to do the job. But the executioner decided to have pity on Ekaladeran and "on reaching the outskirts of the city" let him off. From there the prince wandered into the world, settling alone, first in Ughoton, where the elders gave him hospitality, before he moved to a village on the outskirts of Ile-Ife. When his Igodo people first learnt of his being alive and went searching for him, they found him living as leader in one of the stranger settlements outside the main bowl of Ife. 'Oke Ora (Ora Hill) between Ile Ife and Ilesha', insists Ade Obayemi. Although Adebanji Akintoye in his A HISTORY OF THE YORUBA PEOPLE, does not attend to the claim that Oduduwa came from Benin, he posits that it was from the settlement outside the Bowl of Ife that Oduduwa moved down into the city with his party to occupy one of the key stranger quarters, pooling them together until he became leader of all the stranger elements. He moved against the autochthons, and seized power. The seizure of power is acknowledged by all the authorities on Ife history. It led to the exile of Obatala and his party of autochthons; it led to famine as can be imagined if the earth tillers go on awwol.

Even after the crisis appeared resolved and Obatala returned, he had to function under Oduduwa's authority. Many of his followers, like Obameri, moved to Oduduwa's side.

Diehard supporters of Obatala like Obawinrin who could not take it and continued to fight, were beaten out of the Ife

Bowl into Igbo Igbo of the rain forest. As Erediauwa puts it: "It is a historical fact, known I believe to present-day Ife people, that the original settlers whom Ekaladeran (Oduduwa) met moved away from Ife to a place called Ugbo, a very ancient Ilaje town in Okitipupa area. Ife elders, especially the traditional title holders, must know the rest of the Ugbo episode as it affects Ife and Oduduwa because Ife people today perform a ritual festival that re-enacts the events that caused the original settlers including their village head to flee from Ife and Ekaladeran (or Oduduwa) to become the head of the community".

For that matter, it is claimed by some contemporary Nigerian historians that many of the areas which answer Igbo in their names across Yoruba land were redoubts of resistant groups belonging to the Igbo, led by Obatala. Adiele Afigbo, not by any chance a frivolous historian, has argued that the expulsion of the Igbo from Ife was not just myth but history as the movement of Igbo people from the western side of the Niger to the eastern side of the river was a consequence of that fracturing, terrorism, a virtual mfecane, that took place with Oduduwa's overcoming of the indigenes. In the end, both Obatala and Oduduwa were deified and some kind of patching up of the narratives have been attempted by successive generations to hide the fact that there was a grand fissure. But that is where myth comes into its own. Such that on page 57 of his book, Adebanji Akintoye, without dwelling on how it was possible, comes to the conclusion that "It is on the soil of Yorubaland that Oduduwa was born and raised; it is only in that soil that his roots can be found". We may well shrug.

Such an understanding obviously led Ade Ajayi in a Vanguard inteview on May 16, 2004, to insist that although more researches still need to be done, "people cant just wake up one day and say that Oduduwa must have been a Benin Prince that they wanted to execute, ran and ran to a village and you call Ife a village?" Ade Ajayi adds: "Who is the Oba of Benin to come and tell the Yorubas what they should believe about themselves? I think it is very very wrong and impertinent to assume that you know more about the Yoruba people than the Yoruba know about themselves. On what basis?

What information could he have? When he says from his studies, what did he study?

What books? Is it in the colonial days or before then or its the books written by educated Yoruba people of the 19th century?"

What cannot bear scrutiny, because it must crumble, is Egharevba's Obagodo hypothesis which attempts to impose a theory of Yoruba origins on the kings of Igodomigodo in a period that shares parallel sorties with the era of the first sixteen kings of Ife before the arrival of Oduduwa. That era, of which Obatala was the last of sixteen kings in Ife and Owodo, the father of Oduduwa, was the last of thirty one kings in Igodomigodo, ought to be properly matched, not confused, if only because it puts in proper perspective the arrival of Oduduwa's son, Oramiyan, and his three lunar months as ruler, that changed the name of the city from Igodomigodo to Benin, before the city was renamed as Edo by the great great grand child, Ogun Ewuare, in the 15th century. At any rate, talking serious history, rather than mythologies, no self-respecting historian, in our century, buys the hoary stuff about the Yoruba progenitor coming from Egypt, Mecca, the Sudan or which ever zone is supposed to provide aristocractic effect or ancient, sacralized, historical identity that affirms greatness of a people. Whether in Johnson's History of the Yoruba, Biobaku's valiant efforts or F. Ade Ajayi's embarrassingly un-researched put-down of Erediauwa's narrative as uninformed, they amount to the purveyance of a Hamitic thesis, a local variant of which I have called the Obagodo hypothesis, which have been smashed by dedicated Yoruba historians since I. A. Akinjogbin and his co-revolutionary historians.(See CRADLE OF A RACE) They have long moved beyond all the romantic historicism of the earlier foragers

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‘Why Oba of Benin is number one’ Continued from page 35 in oral traditions. Ade Obayemi, in particular, was among the first radical dissenters from the received myths who realized that Oduduwa could not have come from outside the world of the Niger Benue confluence. Keen dredgers of the history of Ile Ife like Isola Olomola, reached the same conclusion: Ife was a centre that attracted people from far and wide before Oduduwa came amongst them and literally scattered the system of cooperative governance under the chairmanship of Obatala who would later be deified as god of creation or creativity, a lover of wine whose devotees are advised against alcohol.

The question no one has answered is how it was possible for Oduduwa to have been born in Yorubaland and still be described as a stranger by all Ife traditions, by Ifa, and those who like Olubushe II, accept the romance that Oduduwa came from Mecca, Egypt, Sudan or from the sky, with a chain.

What cannot be escaped is that not knowing where Oduduwa came from is at the heart of the matter. Rejecting, instead of researching, what must now be called the Erediauwa thesis which argues that Oduduwa was a Prince of Igodomigodo, does not help matters. Once the ranking of the obas in Yorubaland comes into the picture, the issue gets over-loaded. The Erediauwa/Benin story just happens to be the only one available that tells Oduduwa's story with some certitude. Reject it or not, it still does not affect the critical aspect of the narrative which indicates that Oduduwa actually sent his youngest son, Oramiyan, to Igodo whether in response to a distress call or because he saw a vacuum and decided to fill it. Oramiyan's three months in Benin was too full of troubles that he could not resolve.

He left in annoyance, damning the people as a people of intrigues and quarrels, Ile-

The question no one has answered is how it was possible for Oduduwa to have been born in Yorubaland and still be described as a stranger by all Ife traditions, by Ifa, and those who like Olubushe II, accept the romance that Oduduwa came from Mecca, Egypt, Sudan or from the sky, with a chain ibinu, which only a child born amongst them could tackle or accommodate. But he left a pregnant woman behind whom Oduduwa had to send procurers and minders for until she delivered. The child turned out dumb and could not speak until that famous game of akhue when he gave a shout of victory that earned him the name, Eweka, which started a dynasty.

What all the traditions, and therefore History, vouchsafes is that Oramiyan, on his return journey made stop overs at various stations but pooled his forces together at Kaltunga/Oyo where he begat the Alafin, and started another dynasty. He eventually returned to Ife and and became the king after the death of Oduduwa. Shall we say, he rounded the circle. From Ife back to Ife. What is not denied by any authority is that all the Kings of Benin, Oyo and Ife, thereafter had the same ancestor. Unless, ethnic pride, sheer narrative mischief and ugly cult disorders enter the picture, how is it possible in the narration of the folklore, myth, or history, to rank the three dynasties and not

follow the order in which they were established and acknowledged at Ile Ife! Which odu of Ifa tells us a different story other than the one that accepts the chronology just adumbrated! So, there is no denying it: whether you believe the Ekaladeran story or not, you have to accept that Oduduwa sent his youngest son who thereafter displaced all the older sons, overtook them, and made them invisible to the claims of history. Those who are not Oramiyan's children may well kick and seek another ranking that puts them in the picture. But they have no locus because it is actually Oramiyan's children who built the empires that survived the ravages of history. Among those children, as has always been accepted by ALL AUTHORITIES, the Benin Monarch came first. To do a somersault about it and seek to make Eweka appear like the third in the hierarchy is simply jiggery pokery, rigging, and sheer distortion of History. When Ade Ajayi says that Oba Erediauwa's "own father used to attend and meet at the conference of Yoruba obas regularly during colonial rule", he is quite right. Ajayi adds, truculently however that Oba Akenzua, Erediauwa's "own father did not object to this but he (Erediauwa) from his own point of view of politics thinks it is a departure from his own status ....." and " that Ife monarchy is derived from Benin monarchy".

The truth of the matter is that even if anyone rejects the fact "that Ife Monarchy is derived from Igodo monarchy", it changes nothing about the reality that the Monarchy in Benin City is still Number One among Oduduwa's children. I mean: let it be assumed that Oduduwa came from Egypt, Mecca, Sudan, Ethiopia (where the Oromo Region has a nationality fraction called Oromiyas) or from Orun, as heaven or a place we do not know, with a chain made of iron if not some other metal, it does not change the fact that the dumb one who learnt to talk by naming himself OWOMI-

KA, 'my hand has stuck it', the first Benin monarch after the Ogisos, was the first child of Oramiyan whose children built the empires that our part of the world remembers.

No question about it: there is the other significant issue that whoever becomes the Ooni of Ife is closest to the Opa Oranyan, and therefore must be deemed the preserver of the family grain, the shrine of nativity. A special place may therefore be reserved for him in the celebration of the family business which monarchy always is, in every culture where it exists. It does not however remove from the eldest child the imprimatur that age provides. At any rate, Edo culture has been, for centuries, a strict upholder of the principle of primogeniture and therefore some remove from parleying with those who have no respect for the firstborn adult male in the matter of monarchical rule. The reality is that whenever the Oba of Benin sat among Yoruba obas, he knew he was the eldest. He did not have to say it for it to be true. Those who deny him his place may stand on ethnic arrogance, which is hollow.

The rest of the world knows that if there are other forms of prowess that can grant suzerainty, superiority or primacy to a king, the Edo king had and has it. In a century when governance is based on democracy by numbers, it may well be argued that the Edo people do not have as much population as the Yoruba to decide the matter. But matters pertaining to monarchies are not resolved by a democracy of numbers. A king is a king because he is the child of who he is. Or if he can impose his will, by rod and staff. If the latter is the tack of those who continue to engage in the ranking of Yoruba obas, the average Edo can then invoke the Edebiri principle which advises that the Oba of Benin is not a Yoruba and therefore cannot be placed on a list of Yoruba Obas.

‘The place of Oranmiyan in the history of Ile-Ife’ Continued from page 34 ment of the Ifes in their home land in 1882 (Chief M.A. Fabunmi).

It is on record that Balogun Ayikiti (Ayikiti ninu aran) was elected Ooni Orajigba Ojaja during the period of the Modakeke conflict and ruled for two years 1878-1880. He was succeeded by Balogun Ologbenla who was elected Ooni of Ife in 1880 but never came to Ife to be crowned until his death in 1894 at Oke-Igbo which he founded. He was a great warrior page 18 of my book Ile-Ife in the hierarchy of Yoruba Race.

No historian has ever disputed the existence of the Oyo Empire during the reign of Alafin Ajaka but the Ibadan people were reputed to have the most formidable forces in Yoruba land which prevented any of his people from been taken as slaves or prisioners of war. The military strategies of Balogun Lagelu and his successor Balogun Maye made Ibadan historically unconquerable (Prince Adelegan Adegbola source of Yoruba Civilisation) which contributed to the belief by some that “were it not for the Ibadan people, the official language of the Yorubas would have been Hausa-Fulani (Article on Ibadan, Oluyole and Washington

by Augustine A Togonu-Bickersteth in British Communication Magazine December 5th 2000).

Ife was for many centuries a demilitarised holy city of 201 gods (or is it 401) (Prof.

Oluponna) with an immunity against external attacks, invasion and total destruction. Neither in history were the staff and grave of Oranmiyan and burial ground of the legendary Oduduwa perished.

Writing on the past Oonis of Ife, Chief M.A. Fabunmi the late Oodole of Ife on page 72 of his book An anthology of historical Notes on Ile-Ife listed them as follows.

(1) The first Ooni of Ife was Olofin Oduduwa the founder of Yoruba Race.

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crowning of two of his own sons, namely Prince Eweka as the Oba of Benin and Prince Ajaka as the Alafin of Oyo. Similarly, writing on who were the successors of Oduduwa on the stool of Ooni of Ife, Adeagbo Akinjogbin has three different past Ooni’s list which consistently placed Oranmiyan as the forth Ooni of Ife see pages 112 to 115 of his book. The cradle of a race from the beginning to 1980.

•Balogun Omidiora (2) The second Ooni of Ife was Obalufon Ogbogbodirin the eldest son of Oduduwa He lived and reigned for unusually long period of time.

(3) Obalufon alayemore, son of Obalufon Ogbogbodirin became the third Ooni of Ife after the death of his father, while Oranmiyan was on sojourn in Oyo. (4) After a prolonged war adventure, that took Oranmiyan to Benin, Oyo and other parts of the North East, Oranmiyan returned to Ile-Ife. He was welcomed to Ife as the Akinlogun (war hero).

Ooni Obalufon Alaiyemore was driven into exile and went to found the town of Efon Alaiye. Oranmiyan was placed on the throne of his father Oduduwa as the forth Ooni and the Lord of the Royal palace of Ife (Adebanji Akintoye history of the Yoruba people).

Chief M.A. Fabunmi’s list has 49 past Onis of which His Royal Majesty Oba Okunade Sijuwade was the 50th Ooni of Ife. Chief Fabunmi further stated that Oranmiyan was the only Ooni of Ife who had the distinguished honour to approve the

Most writers on the past Oonis of Ife started with the reign of Ooni Lajamisan the 9th Ooni of Ife sometimes referred to as the first Ooni of modern Ife. Lajamisan Ooni was so important in the history of the Ife Kingdom because after him, the succession to the throne was stabilised in his bloodlineso that all Oonis after him have come from it (Adetunji Akintoye) Lajamisan was a direct descendant of Oranmiyan.

According to history, Ooni Lajamisan gave birth to Ooni Lajodogun the father of Ogboru, Lafogido and Osinkola, which are today three of the four Ruling Houses in IleIfe, the forth being Giesi, a grandson of Ooni Ogboru who rule Ife for over seventy years.

The writer of this paper is not an historian, but by virtue of his training as an accountant and in keeping with the motto of his Alma mater - the London School of Economics (LSE) which is RERUM COGNOSCERE CAUSAS (to know the cause of things) he has been able to carry out a thorough research and audit on the privileged information obtained from his family connections and his close relationship of over 60 years with the palace and the Royal Court of Ife. This together with the written contribution of very distinguished writers on the history of Yorubas which cannot be faulted have enabled him like an auditor “to give a true and fair view of the

position of Ile-Ife as the cradle of Yoruba Race and Oduduwa as the progenitor of Yoruba Nation.

He was also able to certify with the authority of Sir Adesoji Aderemi and Oba Okunade Sijuwade the Ooni of Ife and all concerned citizens of Ile-Ife that Oranmiyan was the youngest son of Oduduwa, the grandfather of Ajaka the Alafin of Oyo and Eweka of Benin and that Oranmiyan ruled in Ile-Ife for many years, died and was buried at Ile-Ife. CONCLUSION The Yorubas have been singularly blessed with a rich culture, an history that has endured and existed long before 30001000BC, and which despite the devastating inter tribal wars has stood the test of time.

Our Traditional Rulers in the past have been able to keep sacred, respected, and unrubished this great history of the Yoruba Nation, which history was taught to us in our primary school days in the 1940s.

Happily Governor Fashola in a recent statement at a book launch on 19th February 2014 at Lagos promised to restore the study of History in the curriculum of all Lagos State schools. I like to encourage all the South-West Governors to do the same.

If we were to judge and anticipate, by the controversy and distortions of historical facts that are happening around us today in Yoruba land, one must wonder, what legacy are we likely to leave behind for our incoming generation?

Long live the Federal and State Governments of Nigeria.

Long live the respected Traditional Ruler Institutions in Yoruba land.

•Omidiora ,OON, FCA is the Balogun of Ife and Deputy Chairman, Council of Ife

SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 21, 2016, PAGE 37

Ben Murray-Bruce at 60 Faces at the 60th birthday anniversary and book presentation on Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, held at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, on Friday. Photos by Akeem Salau

•From left: Mr Jim Ovia, Chiarman, Zenith Bank Plc; Senator Murray-Bruce; Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President, Dangote Group.

•From left: Mr. Niyi Adebayo, a former Governor of Ekiti State; Peter Obi, a former Governor of Anambra State;Senator Ike Ekweremadu,Deputy Senate President;Mrs Evelyn Murray-Bruce, wife of the celebrant; Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, and Godswill Akpabio, a former Governor of Akwa Ibom State.

•From left: Dr. Tee Mac Omatshola Iseli; Reno Omokri; and Senator Ben Murray-Bruce.

•From left: Henry Imasekha,Chairman, Berkeley Group Plc;Francis Ogboro and Mr .Emeka UgwuOju,President South East and South South Professionals.

•From left:Mrs Evelyn Murray-Bruce, wife of the celebrant; Mrs Margaret Murray Bruce, mother of the celebrant; Senator Murray-Bruce and Jonathan MurrayBruce, son

•From left; Mr David Okeme; President, ADVAN; Mrs Ediri Ose-Ediale, Executive Secretary, and Mrs Bimbo Alabi, 2nd Vice President.

•Mallam Nuhu Ribadu (left) and Mr Jimi Agbaje

•From left: Mrs Rose Williams; Senator Masi Garuba and Senator Gbenga Ashafa.

•From Left; Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo of Gombe State; Senator Ike Ekweremadu, and Gbenga Daniel, a former governor of Ogun State.

•Dr Babafemi Adenuga (left) and Mr. Brian Hammond.

•From left: Senator Ike Ekweremadu; Gbenga Daniel; Mrs. Onari Duke; Donald Duke, a former governor of Cross River State; Senator Murray Bruce; and Mrs Evelyn Murray Bruce.

•Senator Ben Murray-Bruce with fellow senators.

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PAGE 38—SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

Finance Minister, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, lists the gains of the Treasury Single Account (TSA).

Adeosun spoke during a TSA workshop for states AccountantsGeneral in Abuja.Excerpts from her address: he global economic challenges which are affecting our nation demand optimum efficiency in the management of public funds.

The objective requires an overhaul of the financial management approaches adopted to meet financial obligations on time and ensure that cost effective financial support is provided to public institutions In practice, TSA is an essential reform for any government wishing to pursue fiscal sustainability and prudent management of its resources.

It increases accountability and transparency, improves the processing of payments and collections and reduces borrowing costs. ·TSA at the federal level has allowed, for the first time, visibility of the total quantity of government funds at any point in time. ·The balance, which changes daily as MDA’s remit revenues and make payments, according to the latest reports from CBN exceeds N2.2 Trillion. I can report that work is now ongoing within The Treasury, to determine how much of these funds can potentially be utilised to part

T

How TSA is curbing corruption —Adeosun, Finance Minister The TSA has provided us with financial information on the revenues of agencies funded by government and has reduced revenue suppression

fund the 2016 budget and how much relates to pending commitments. This, of course, will reduce the amount to be borrowed · The TSA has provided us with financial information on the revenues of agencies funded by government and has reduced revenue suppression. This information is being used to drive our programme to enforce compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Act and ensure that Revenue Generating Agencies generate expected surpluses and remit to the Federal Purse.

•Mr. Casmir Maduafokwa

•Adeosun ·TSA has eliminated opportunities for brokerage and other corrupt practices that previously encouraged agencies to accumulate funds with commercial banks rather than apply them to their intended uses.

We believe that this will reduce payment delays to contractors, minimise late payment penalties and will consequently improve project completion times and service delivery. · TSA has corrected the practice

of government borrowing short term funds at high rates of interest, whilst simultaneously having idle funds in various bank accounts. ·By reducing the number of accounts in operation, monitoring and control has significantly improved.

We need to improve the revenue base of the country through full implementation of TSA and blocking of all leakages and improving the efficiency of

revenue administration. The revenue base of the Country is still low and its administration still leaves room for improvement. This clearly indicates that the underlying assumptions underpinning the 2016 budget may only be realised with serious efforts put in place towards revenue efficiencies and expenditure discipline such as implementation of the TSA and Cash Management concepts by all tiers of government.

I am aware that some states are already implementing TSA. I urge those states to kindly share their experiences with others so as to encourage those who are yet to decide to take their first step in this direction.

At the federal level, I can assure that our experience has been worthwhile. TSA has provided complete and timely information on government cash resources, Improved operational control on budget execution, enabled efficient cash management, reduced bank fees and transaction costs, facilitated efficient payment mechanisms and it has also reduced the FGN ways and means requirement to bridge the budget funding gap.

My rice-for-all project, by Aliko Dangote ...Ready to hit over 800,000hectares in 2019

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ith oil not able to sustain the economy anymore, attention is shifting to agriculture which, decades ago, was the propeller of the then buoyant economy. This is one of the reasons the President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, made a foray into productive agriculture. Last week, he launched his Dangote Rice Outgrowers Scheme in Hadejia, Kafin-Hausa local government area of Jigawa State.

Starting with 20,000 hectares of rice cultivation under the scheme, known as Outgrowers, to be expanded to cover 800, 000 hectares over the next three years, Dangote said time is now to turn to agriculture to save the nation’s economy.

The business mogul commenced the scheme with the distribution of treated rice seedling for planting to 5,000 farmers.

He explained: “We are committed to the development of the Outgrower scheme by providing local, value added products and services that meet the ‘basic needs’ of the populace.

To this end, the Dangote Rice Farm Ltd will run an initial pilot in Hago-Fadama, Kafin Hausa and Auyo areas which would see Dangote Rice developing small hold farmers by providing quality inputs (certified seeds, fertilizers, agro-chemicals and petrol), improved agricultural practices and technology to increase yield and produce quality rice paddy which would also be bought back from them by Dangote Rice Limited. The Outgrower programme in Jigawa is expected to create more than 10,000 direct and indirect jobs to the host communities.”

Over the period, aside the Outgrowers aspect of the investment, he explained,

Dangote Rice is planning to plant approximately 150,000ha of long grain white rice and produce near one million tons of high quality par boiled white rice for sale in the Nigerian market L-R:President\CE, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, Minister of State Agric Heineken Lokpobiri, Executeive Governor of Jigawa State, Badaru Muhammed Abubakar, at the Launching of Dangote Rice Outgrowers Scheme in Hadejia Jigawa State.

Dangote Rice is planning to plant approximately 150,000ha of long grain white rice and produce near one million tons of high quality par boiled white rice for sale in the Nigerian market.

“Our internal policy within Dangote Rice Ltd is to procure 30% of our Rice production from local farmers who will be developed into outgrower groups. These Outgrowers will be simultaneously developed alongside our commercial farming operations.”he said.

Why rice?

Dangote continued:”Before the discovery of oil, our economic was built around potentials from our palm oil, groundnut, cotton, and rubber plantations. Now the price of oil has plummeted from a peak of $116 per barrel in June 2014 to as low as $29 per barrel in January 2016, this means there is huge loss of revenue to the government”. Dangote said Nigerian agricultural commodities and food imports bills has averaged over One Trillion Naira in the past two

years in 2013 and 2014, with foods like sugar, wheat, rice, fish accounting for 93 per cent of the total cost of imports, a situation he described as unacceptable for anyone who loves the country”.

He disclosed that the Dangote Rice Outgrowers Scheme has been designed as a one stop solution for the value chain.

In his remark during the rice seedling distribution, Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heneiken Lokpobiri, lauded the initiative of Dangote, saying the intervention in the government efforts at providing food security for the citizenry, creating jobs and reducing dependency on food importation was being boosted.

Lokpobiri explained that D20 billion is spent on importation of food items that could be produced locally, a situation he said Dangote Rice investments would help to reduce.

Also speaking, the Special Adviser to Alhaji Dangote on Rice and Coordinator of the Outgrowers Scheme, Mr. Lulu Carlos, stressed that 6.1mmt of

rice is consumed annually but not more than 2.6 million metric tons are produced locally leaving the rest to importation.

Lulu said: “We are happy to start today the partnership with the first Outgrowers bloc of 200 hectares, shared among eight communities. I’ve seen the same project born in my country, Brazil, whereby from 2.5 Mt tons in the beginning to today where we reached 9 tons of paddy rice per hectare in productivity.

“This has transformed our

country (Brazil) from a net importer of rice in 2000 to a ne t exporter in 2009.

This was achieved through a big out grower scheme in the rice region which, today, involves thousands of independent farmers responsible for 80% of the 12 million tons locally produced rice and a small number of large Commercial farms supplying the remaining 20%.

“Also, Alhaji Aliko, has instructed me to conduct the project here for at least 30% from out growers and 70% from our commercial farm to be established in the state. But this is not our limit. We are today convinced that this equation will have more and more out growers participation in the future, due to very good and welcome response we are getting from all the communities we are dealing with”.

Jigawa State governor, Alhaji Badaru Muhammed Abubakar, thanked the Dangote Rice Limited for choosing Jigawa as the pilot state for the project. He pledged the readiness of his administration to provide all necessary support to the project.

Oil communities re-affirm Okovwurie as chairman

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he chairmen and president generals of Urhobo Oil and Gas Producing Communities in Delta central senatorial district, have maintained that Comrade Efe G. Okovwurie remains the only duly elected and recognized chairman of Host Communities of Nigeria HOSTCOM, Urhobo chapter.

In a statement signed by chairmen of Urhobo local government chapters and presidents of oil communities, they described one chief allegedly parading himself as chairman of Urhobo HOSTCOM as an impostor. “ It is our responsibilities by law

as chairmen of local government chapters and chairmen oil producing communities to elect executives of Urhobo HOSTCOM, which is presently led by Okovwurie, therefore, we urge law enforcement agents to caution such impostors not to breach the peace agenda of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa”.

According to them, “ Okovwurie was duly elected as chairman of Urhobo HOSTCOM and his tenure will expire in November 2017, any person claiming to be chairman is impersonating and committing a criminal act”.

SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 21, 2016, PAGE 39

Saraki: The Chief Salesman of Made in Nigeria Goods

BY YUSUPH OLANIYONU

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on’t be surprised if the salesman you will see in your neighborhood next time is a sixfooter, smooth-looking and well spoken man. His face will look

familiar because you have encountered him physically or through the media, particularly tele vision, the print and online.

You will wonder if he is not the man holding that top public office.

What does he want? What is wrong with him? What is he selling? Or are you mistaking him for somebody else?

As you ponder on the questions, you probably will realize he is the person you actually thought of.

The number three man in the countr y. That is the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki. What is wrong is the fact that Nigeria’s economy is in a bad shape. There is therefore the need for change of attitude and positive, practical actions to save the nation, rebuild its economy and put its youth back to work.

Saraki as the head of the nation’s legislature has identified his role as a lawmaker who is constitutionally charged to focuss on oversight responsibility on executive bodies and also advocating for the direction that will bring overall development to the country. He has also decided to offer himself as the salesman for Made in Nigeria Goods.

The Senate President has at various fora articulated the viewpoint that the right response to the falling value of the Naira against the dollar (N358 to $1) is for the country to increase its productive capacity and change from an importing, foreign goodscrazy and oil dependent country to a nation which is self-reliant, with many buoyant local industries and hundreds of thousands of youths gainfully employed.

He envisaged that the employed youths will become tax payers. Thus, domestic taxes will become a veritable source of revenue for funding infrastructural development and social services.

These positions have been espoused by the Senate President in many prepared and off-the -cuff speeches he made at different fora, particularly while receiving many of the numerous groups, organizations, foreign missions and individuals that have paid courtesy call on him in his office.

Recently, the man has decided to put his words into action. First, when a group of artisans and local manufacturers from Aba town in Abia State sought to pay him a courtesy call and their contact man, Senator Enyinanya Abaribe, said the visit was to promote their locally manufactured products with the Senate President coming to open their trade fair, they got an immediate appointment.

It was during the visit that the Senate President unfolded his plan to immediately initiate the amendment of the Procurement Act, particularly Section 34 of the law which gives discretion to government agencies about patronizing locally produced goods. He added that the word ‘ may ’ will become ‘shall’ to compel agencies to only buy locally made goods. In cases where there is no option to imported items, the said

prefer US made products in their purchases. Section 217 (3) Of the South African constitution provides a framework for the policy of preferential procurement for government agencies. Also, the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act 5 of 2000 and the regulations published under it in 2001 prescribed requirements regarding Black economic empowerment considerations.

Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki inspecting one of the range of cars manufactured

by Innoson Motors in Abuja yesterday.

agency must get clearance from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).

“This is the only way we can create jobs, solve the problem of unemployment and stop the growing army of aggrieved youths who pose danger to society. We can do it. We have the population which translates to a huge ready market.

This is how we can genuinely help our people.

“The chairmen of our relevant committees are being put on notice to ensure that they focus their oversight on these areas.

We must make sure that government agencies like the Armed Forces can patronize the shoe making industries in Aba and other places”, he said.

Saraki went on to declare open the Made in Aba Trade Fair at the Area 10 Playing Ground, Abuja, where he gave assurances to the local producers that they have an ally in him and that he has dedicated himself to fighting their cause through legislations, oversight and advocacy activities. He promised to personally speak with heads of security agencies to stop importation of their foot wears and other kits as they can be easily produced in Aba and other towns.

Saraki on his twitter handle thereafter call on Nigerian manufacturers to send him a twit of products they are producing and their addresses so that he can re-twit. Immediately the offer was made online, many young Nigerians entrepreneurs responded.

And thus, the Senate President became an advertising platform for Made in Nigeria products.

Perhaps taking a cue from the comradeship demonstrated by Saraki with the Aba manufacturers and other local producers of goods, the owner and management of Innoson Motors based in Nnewi quickly approached the Senate President that they

Call it Okrika, ‘bend down boutique’, ‘fairly used’, ‘secondhand’, ‘bend down select’, ‘wash and wear’ or whatever you like, Tokunbo clothes and shoes are the only saving grace of many people in this country

will want to meet and acquaint him with their products as the only local manufacturers of automobiles in Nigeria.

Less than 48 hours after they sent words to him, they got an appointment.

Spokesman of Innoson Group, Mr. Sunny Nwosu commended Saraki and the Senate leadership for the prompt response to the request for audience sent by the company, an opportunity that had eluded them in the past.

“In less than 48 hours of contacting the Senate President, we were told to come over. We are encouraged by your views on Made in Nigeria goods. What we need is the support, encouragement and inspiration from decision makers like you”, he said.

Their host however said he was only doing his job and exhibiting his passion by identifying with them.

He said one of the actions government should

quickly take at this point to save the national economy is to ensure that local industries are patronized by government agencies so that Nigerian manufacturers can enjoy the advantages accruing from the big market that her population offers.

“That is why this eighth Senate is determined to amend the Procurement Law to ensure that government agencies patronize Made in Nigeria products. I am sure the House of Representatives is in support of this. It is our joint responsibility to ensure that you succeed. If you are successful, a lot more small and medium scale enterprises will draw inspiration from you and they will become successful.

“That will help to create jobs which is one of the mandate presented to us by the youths of this country during the last elections. We in the legislature will look at all laws and help to create an enabling environment for local businesses to thrive in Nigeria”, he said.

The Senate President said using laws to protect locally made goods is not peculiar to the country as it has been done in the United States under President Herbert Hoover in 1933 while China and South Africa have also enacted similar laws in the past.

He lamented a situation where a company like Innoson only sold about 3,000 vehicles in 2015 when Nigerians buy about a million vehicles annually, adding that If Nigerians patronise Made in Nigeria cars it will force foreign manufacturers to set up plant here. The Senate President further promised Innoson Group that he will get in touch with them as he has collected the price list and the information booklet on the automobiles produced by the company. He also had a short drive in one of the SUVs produced by the company, thereby providing a testimonial endorsement for the Nigerian manufacturer.

With the plan to amend the Procurement Act of 2007, Saraki and his colleagues are seeking to reenact the Buy American Act signed into law on March 3, 1933

by Hoover which compels US government and its agencies to

In China, Article 10 of the Government Procurement Law provides that domestic goods, projects and services must be used for government procurement except when the required goods are not available in China, the objects of procurement are for use outside China or it is specified otherwise in other laws and administrative regulations.

Thus, what Saraki and his colleagues seeks to do with the Procurement Act is putting the law on the same pedestal with what obtains in some developed economies.

Shortly after the Innoson Group left Saraki, a group called South East Traders Association visited him and pleaded that he should help them intervene on difficulties they are facing in their importation business. The Senate President did not mince words in telling them that he is not in support of importation. He enjoined them to start producing some of the goods they import locally and they will have his total support.

The pattern that is emerging from all these encounters by the nation’s chief legislator is that the man has become the Ambassador of Made in Nigeria goods. Call it protectionism.

Call it backward integration. Or local content and backward integration campaign. These are some of the concepts that we have heard of in the past.

What Saraki seemed determined to achieve is to put the weight of his office, the influence of his name and the richness of his personal and official resources into helping Nigerians who have dared to be different by undertaking production of goods that will offer quality alternatives to their fellow country men and women..

This definitely is a noble campaign. It is also an idea, as Victor Hugo said, whose time has come. We pray that he succeeds in this endeavour . So, when next you see this suave, prominent and determined salesman of Made in Nigeria products in your neighborhood, don’t be

surprised. Just support, accept and encourage him. It is another way of salvaging a country in economic crisis, particularly outside the hallowed legislative chambers.

Olaniyonu is Special Adviser (Media and Publicity) to the Senate President.

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SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 21, 2016 immediate release of all the vehicles seized by them. His pronouncement was greeted with wild jubilation by hundreds of persons in the premises 08116759757 seeking the release of their seized vehicles. He reiterated the disbanded of EDSTMA in a bid to sanitize and rid Edo roads of not my boys, these are people who still unwholesome activities. Speaking believe they are in the old days, when during the unscheduled visit to the PDP was in power. And that is why we premises of the state Ministry of must stop this wickedness against our Transport, Oshiomhole said: “I have people”, the governor said. Sunday received a lot of complaints from Vanguard observed that victims, who members of the public. Even some failed to part with the money requested, of our Commissioners have will be dragged to their office, located at observed a lot of extortion going on.

Sapele Road, where they will All of these young men and women immediately deflate the vehicles tyres just go and put on T-shirts, and issue papers to them to pay some unauthorized, unemployed. They amount of money. Even after passing just take over some strategic streets through the rigours of the payment and and extort money from members of your vehicle is released, you still have the the public. Whether you are guilty or task of getting somebody to pump your not, they take you to this place, issue tyres to leave the compound. All these fake receipts, and we have seen a led to their disbandment but some number of the fake receipts. One members of the agency regrouped this was shown to us this morning, and year and continued their extortion. we find a similar example here now.

Oshiomhole gave them a shocker of So, I want to, once again, publicly their lives when he stormed their office announce that these men, called at Sapele Road, scrutinizing all the EDSTMA, have since been receipt books in their possession. The disbanded. They have no business governor was amazed at the number of on the roads. Henceforth, anybody seized vehicles found in the compound they harass, the person should and even several keys that the owners report them to the nearest police decided to abandon, apparently due to station. We are going to set up a lack of money to secure the release of monitoring squad, made up of *Visibly angry governor with govt officials and the their vehicles. Visibly angry Oshiomhole policemen, both plain clothes and unruly youths persistently yelled at the officials, uniformed, to arrest anyone that describing their activities as not only a decides to turn our high way to led to serious accidents. Like Oshiomhole described the crime against God and humanity but extortion point. Anyone that situation, they exhibited wickedness even to nursing fraudulent. He ordered the arrest and harasses motorists in the state will mothers and travellers passing through Benin-City to detention of some of the officials and be sent to prison.”

Lagos or to the East. “And it hurts me more because each time they go out to commit these atrocities, people call them ‘Oshiomhole Police’ and I have no police. I never sent them to cause pains to our people and that is why I am personally pained. They are not my police, they are

‘Oshiomhole Boys’ disbanded SIMON EBEGBULEM, BENIN CITY

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uesday, February 16, 2016 must be an unforgettable day for officials of the Edo State Transport Management Agency (EDSTMA) and the state Ministry of Transport under the Commissioner, Isimeme Irogbe, when Governor Adams Oshiomhole stormed their premises. The action flowed from the outcry from members of the public who accused the EDSTMA members of alleged extortion, harassment and all sorts of illegality which Oshiomhole had persistently warned them against. The governor had lamented how the EDSTMA officials were destroying the image of his government particularly as they were popularly referred to as ‘Oshiomhole’s Police’. The agency had been set up last year to control traffic in Benin-City and also restore sanity to parks and markets, after market women converted walk ways into shops. Sadly, their introduction, which also helped in the employment of over 10,000 youths, became a problem to the state government which disbanded the agency late last year.

Meanwhile, even nursing mothers were said to have been molested by the agency officials under the guise that they beat traffic light. The officials, it was alleged, would try to forcibly take the steering from drivers while on motion, a situation that

We are ready for detractors of Amnesty Programme —ex-militant leader, Muturu

By Innocent Onoja

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HE Delta State Chairman, Phase 2 Ex-militants of the Amnesty Programme, Kingsley Muturu, has vowed that ex-militants were ready for those he called “detractors of the smooth running of the Amnesty Programme.”

Muturu stated this in Warri, Delta State, against the backdrop of the call by a group African Anti-Corruption Network, AACN , on a radio programme, demanding the immediate sack of the Chairman of the Amnesty Programme, Brig-General Paul Boroh (retd), over allegations of corruption.

He said the call was suspicious, as there were

was no basis for removing a man whose efforts were seen to have been designed to sail the programme to a successful end.

He challenged the group to prove their allegations, saying they were out to cause distraction and accused it of being on instrument in the hands of those who had been distracting the smooth running of the programme right from the time of Kingsley Kuku.

The ex-militant leader noted that beneficiaries of the programme had passed a vote of confidence on Boroh as a result of his “determination to move the programme to a successful conclusion after the mandate given him by President Muhammadu Buhari.”

Suspected woman cultist, 3 others held in Lagos

By Esther Onyegbula& Faith Ake LAGOS State Police Command is investigating four suspected cult members, also known as Awawa Boys. The suspects are identified as Marian Adeshola, 20, Moshood Dapo, 17, Sodiq Kazeem, 19.

The state Commissioner of Police, CP Fatai Owoseni, told Sunday Vanguard that the alleged gang was among those terrorising Agege and environs.

It was gathered that the suspected gangsters, who called themselves “Awawa”, meaning, ‘We are alive’, reside in the same neighbourhood.

It was alleged that the only female among them, Mariam, had been involved in different robbery cases in the area.

The alleged gang was said to

have met their water-loo after they robbed a victim in Agege who identified them and immediately reported the matter to the police.

GOFAMINT dedicates nine assemblies

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HE Gospel Faith Mission International, GOFAMINT, on Saturday, dedicated nine assemblies in Region Eight, made up of Ilasamaja, Akowonjo,Abesan,Idimu, Amuwo and Egbe Districts. The assemblies dedicated were Beulah at Shasha, Overcomers at Ajasa, Breakthrough at Abesan and Solid Rock at Ipaja. Others were Gloryland at Ayobo, Peculiar People at OkeAfa, Victory Estate at Iba, Olabisi and Children Church at Idimu.

According to the Regional Pastor, Clement Abe, the dedication of the churches will afford the Region to have many assemblies befitting for service.

APGA founder, Okorie, tasks Buhari on elderly people

By Yinka Ajayi

I

n a bid to curtail sudden death of senior citizens, President Muhammadu Buhari has been implored by Chief Chekwas Okorie to make provisions for aged people in the proposed 2016 Budget. In a chat with Sunday Vanguard on the demise of his mother Lolo Ugonma Okorie, founder of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA and United Progressive Party, UPP, Chief Okorie said: “President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration

should deem it necessary to make provisions for the aged in the 2016 Budget.”

He added that: “It is so unfortunate that despite the determination of this administration to curtail youths unemployment, which they perceive as a time bomb, this administration did not make provision for the aged in our society. There should be provision in the budget that caters for the old and aged among us who do not have prosperous children in the society to cater.” While Okorie commended government’s anti-corruption war against looters of the nation’s treasury, he however reiterated the need for governments at all level to make provision for the aged in the society enshrined in the constitution.

Foundation to inculcate reading culture revolution

By Princewill Ekwujuru

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harles Soares Obiorah Foundation, CHASOF, says it’s to inspire reading culture revolution in children from ages zero to five years in Nigeria through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library Initiative.

Mrs. Victoria Osadebe, CHASOF President, at a briefing in Lagos, said the Foundation has identified a huge need in the formative “age 0 to 5 of our children , which is lack of reading culture, so we decided to key into the Dolly Parton Imagination Library initiative which has grown and spread globally to United kingdom, Australia, Belize and now Nigeria, first in Africa.”

Osadebe who said the Imagination library is designed to inculcate early love for reading in children right from birth year will thereby be laying solid foundation that will help them reach their full potential in life.

According to her, “the ultimate goal is to inspire the foundation of reading culture revolution in Nigeria. We believe that a preschool child in our country will own his library of age appropriate books that will encourage and inspire in him or her the love for reading and learning.”

Premiere autism centre marks 10th anniversary with workshop, training

BY JOSEPHINE AGBONKHESE

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IGERIA’S premiere school for autism, Patrick’s Speech and Languages Centre, PSLC, has kick-started a six-month plan of activities for the celebration of its 10th year anniversary.

Heralding the celebration recently in Lagos was a 4-day training tagged “Healthy Relationships and Autism: A Guide to Adulthood” facilitated by Dr.Lawrence R. Sutton, a notable American expert in autism.

According to Mrs Dotun Akande, Founder/Proprietress, PSLC, and Winner, Vlisco Woman 2015/16, the choice of a training to kick-start activities for the anniversary was informed by the need to rebirth Patrick’s history.

She said: “We want to continue with the trend that we started with.

Typically, in our early years, we usually organised trainings every February to sensitize parents on different issues and support them with ideas about autism.

“But when GTBank, which has bankrolled the centre since inception, took up the training portal, we relaxed. However, events over the years have made it necessary for us to return to the drawing board,” she added at the event attended by a representative of GTBank CSR Department, Mrs Tolulope Onipede. Other activities lined up for the anniversary include an Autism Awareness Walk in April, in partnership with Vlisco; a workshop on nutrition, behaviour, speech and language, work programme uniquely developed in Patricks, vocational education, learning difficulties, self-help skills, occupational therapy as well as physical activities; plus a variety of trainings slated for each month before September.

“For September 11th which is Patrick’s birth date, we will be having a lunch and dance drama to depict autism, in which we will be bringing together everyone that has supported us over the years. We are also launching a documentary and a handbook on autism,” Akande added.

Calling on government to consider seriously the plights of family with children living with autism, Dr.Sutton said that the disorder presently affects one in 45 children in the US even as it grows higher in every part of the world.

He advised that children living with autism be assisted with all available supports to enable them become independent adults who will be useful to themselves and society at large.

SUNDAY VANGUARD,FEBRUARY 21, 2016, PAGE 41

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BOY wanted a new pair of shoes. His mother told him to ask his father for the money. So he approached him cagily. “Daddy, I need a new pair of shoes,” he said.

“Could you please give me the money to get them?”

Moments later, he came back to see his mother.

“How much did he give you?” she asked him. “Daddy did not give me any money,” he replied frowning. “What did he say?” the mother enquired. “Instead of money, he gave me grace.” “Grace? What the dickens is that?” “He gave me the grace to do without a new pair of shoes.”

Lethal grace If the truth were told, many Christians don’t like the grace of God. Hebrews says Jesus died by the grace of God. (Hebrews 2:9).

That indicates God’s grace can be deadly. Indeed, the grace of God gets people killed. “By the grace of God, the man broke his neck while attempting to rescue a cat stuck in a tree.” What kind of grace is that? The kind that God dispenses.

In order to bless Josiah for being repentant, God decided to kill him by his grace. He said to him: “Because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and you tore your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you. Surely, therefore, I will gather you to your fathers, and you

WHY THE GRACE OF GOD IS SO AMAZING shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place.” (II Kings 22:19-20).

As a result, by the grace of God, blessed Josiah died prematurely at the tender age of 39 years. Did God fulfil the number of his days? Of course he did. Did John the Baptist die before his time? Of course not. He fought the good fight, proclaimed the Messiah and God called him home. Yes, God called him home by allowing Herod to chop off his head. That is the grace of God. Unacceptable grace The grace of God often deals us seemingly bad hands in the poker game of life. It means while God saves some in life, he saves others in death. For example, in the scriptures, the centurion’s servant was saved in life: whereas Lazarus was saved in death. It also means God delivers not only from death but also from life.

Isaiah says: “The righteous man perishes, and no one lays it to heart; devout men are taken away, while no one understands. For the righteous man is taken

The grace of God requires us to take pleasure in the things we have learnt to hate in the world away from calamity; he enters into peace; they rest in their beds who walk in their uprightness.” (Isaiah 57:1-2).

Since God has no regard for human distinctions, his grace often the unqualified. It makes the first to be last and the last to be first. It makes the wise to be foolish and the foolish to be wise. The grace of God puts the treasures of his kingdom in fragile earthen vessels. It ordains strength out of the mouths of babes and suckling infants. This makes his grace unacceptable to men because his thoughts are not our thoughts; neither are his ways our ways.

(Isaiah 55:8).

Paradoxical grace How many people would like to be shot by armed robbers? How many would like to be in a ghastly car accident? How many would like to fail their exams? And yet all these things simply make

us eligible for the grace of God. By the grace of God, armed robbers shot me, and it turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to me. Because armed robbers attacked me Jesus rescued me; prompting me to give my life to Christ. Because I was shot, Jesus healed me miraculously of bullet wounds.

Nobody had to remove the bullet from my body. And so today I can tell others experientially that Jesus is a healer indeed. That is the grace of God. Would Lazarus have believed Jesus is the resurrection and the life if he did not die and experience the benefit of Jesus raising him from the dead? Probably not! To know what we believe, we need to experience what we believe. The scriptures say faith is foundational. (Hebrews 6:1).

Therefore, add to your faith.

Add to your faith virtue and to virtue knowledge. (II Peter 1:5). Don’t just believe that Jesus is the resurrec-

tion; know the power of his resurrection.

Peter counsels: “Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” (II Peter 3:18). For this reason, the Lord does not ask if we would like to suffer affliction in order to grow in the knowledge of him. He just puts us in the wringer and expects us to ask for the grace to bear it.

Difficult choices Thus, the grace of God requires us to take pleasure in the things we have learnt to hate in the world.

When God’s grace is sufficient for us, we take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions and in distresses. The world teaches that these things are bad and should be avoided at all costs. But the world is a lousy teacher. There is nothing bad about these things. It all depends how we regard them.

Suffering only inflict flesh wounds; it cannot kill him. No man ever died because he suffered.

Lazarus suffered and lived. The rich man lived in pleasure and died. It is sin that kills and not suffering. And yet we are

taught in the world to love and enjoy sin, and to hate and avoid suffering.

Paul warned Timothy that in the last days perilous times would come, not because men would suffer, but because they would be lovers of pleasure. Sin is the real enemy. The battle of sin is the battle for the soul. It is the battle where, if we are not careful, Satan might prevail over us.

But our suffering provides no triumph to Satan.

Forced to choose between sin and suffering, most of us gladly choose sin. But Jesus teaches that certain sufferings are instruments of God’s blessings. (Matthew 5:10-12).

The value of grace therefore is that it addresses the real danger, which is sin.

The grace of God ensures we are patient in tribulation and don’t give up.

Jesus told Peter that Satan had determined to sift him like wheat, but that he had already provided the grace to ensure that his faith would not fail.

Therefore, the grace of God offers the real protection. What does it profit a man if he never suffers but at the end of it all he misses the fellowship of God? What does it matter how much we suffer as long as we have the grace to endure it?

These are the assurances of the grace of God: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”

(Isaiah 43:2).

RCCG partners Justice Acts against human trafficking BY

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OLAYINKA

LATONA

HE Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, King’s Court Parish and a Francebased non-governmental Christian organization, Justice Acts, have called on the Nigerian government, parents and various stakeholders in the country to join hands in the onerous task of arresting human trafficking in the country.

The clarion call was made while RCCG played host to visiting members of the Justice Acts, France, one of the ministries of Youth With A Mission, YWAM, at the King's Court Parish in Victoria Island, Lagos.

The pastor-in-charge of RCCG Lagos Province 39, Pastor Ben Akabueze who was represented by his wife, Pastor Ngozi Akabueze emphasised the need for children to be educated and avoid being tricked. She also advised that people should be contented, as greed and quest for riches had been seen as factors responsible for human trafficking.

According to her: “Godliness with contentment is a great gain. In the midst of challenges, economic recession; some people will still make it. I believe in the midst of challenges there are opportunities.

Recession is a global issue and it is even better for us in Nigeria because Nigerians are hospitable. We should not allow our present challenges to draw us into selling our future through child trafficking."

Akabueze explained that RCCG under the leadership of the wife of the General Overseer, Pastor Folu Adeboye believes that God requires us to provide protection for those most vulnerable and that the

Church must give a voice to the voiceless.

According to her, RCCG has a home called “The Habitation of Hope Ministry” where streets boys and girls are rehabilitated and educated up to higher insti-

tution level while some are involved in different vocational trainings.

In her words: “We see Justice Acts as an organization that has the same vision with RCCG, and we appreciate that the organiza-

tion did not see the problem as a Nigerian problem but a global one which is against humanity and all hands must be on deck to eradicate human trafficking.

“RCCG, King’s Court has a ministry called “Beth-Tzedekah”, a

home that rehabilitates prostitutes, especially the young ones who are educated up to university level. They are encouraged and reunited with their families," she added.

Ohanaeze women pray for forgiveness of Nigerians T

he National Executive mem bers of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Women Wing International have prayed that God should forgive Nigerians whatever sins they had committed.

The interdenominational prayer meeting, which was held at the Victory Chapel, Government House, Owerri, Imo State, was followed by fasting, praise and worship.

In her remarks, the wife of the Imo State Governor, Nneoma Rochas Okorocha, urged Ohanaeze Women Wing to be steadfast in their mission and vision, urging them to continue to seek divine intervention for peace and unity in Nigeria.

She said, “I am emotional to what is happening today. It is not ordinary, it is divine. If Nigeria must move forward, it must start from your bedroom. You must let your husband know the need for worthiness. For that reason, there is need for us to come together as women. Nigeria is waiting for the woman, in the sense that she has the ability to arrange her home”.

The wife of the Governor also observed that “God loves Nigeria that is why He has not allowed us to divide. So, please, my fellow women do not look at material

things. Starting is always difficult.

Remember, there is huge responsibility God has given to Ohanaeze women and therefore be faithful to the mission and vision”.

According to the National Presi-

dent of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Women Wing International, Hon. Calista Nkiru Adimachukwu, from Anambra State,“ We are here today, to pray for the problems in the whole world, Africa and Nigeria, not only

in Igboland, Nigeria and the whole world". Things are not going properly the way it should.

That is why we are in Imo State government Victory Chapel, to ask for divine mercy”.

LOT-WBC seminary graduates 11, matriculates 6 By

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Etop

Ekanem

HE Light of the World Bi ble College and Theological Seminary, LOT-WBC, held its 7th matriculation and graduation ceremony at The Holy Church of Zion Mission, Ikate, Surulere, Lagos where 11 graduated in different fields while six matriculated.

Speaking at the occasion, the Rector of the institute, Dr Emma Dan, said the seminary was established by God and inaugurated in June 2009 in Lagos and since then the school has been rolling out great men of God. He advised the graduands to always say the truth where ever they go and uphold the words of God, adding: “Moral upbringing is very important. For the incoming students, they should emulate the qualities of past students. You are not raised as entrepreneurs but to win souls for

God. Some pastors are running after riches and forget about the lost souls. You will not be asked how much money you made but how many souls you won for God.” On his vision for the seminary in five years’ time, Dr Dan said: “Ac-

cording to the vision God gave to me, we hope to expand into different countries. We will move higher and the seminary with be expanded. We hope to be one of the preferred seminaries in the country".

PFN @ 3O: Dedicates Bishop’s Court

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S part of activities marking its 30th anniversary, the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, the much-anticipated dedication of the Bishop’s Court, a multi-purpose facility built to the glory of God by the PFN for the use of the Pentecostal Community in Nigeria, has been fixed for Thursday in Lagos.

Following extensive consultation with members of the National Advisory Council and the National Executive Council, the PFN under the leadership of Rev. Felix Omobude, had opted, in line with the mood of the nation, to commemorate the 30th an-

niversary without pomp and ceremony.

NEC is immensely grateful to God for the vision He gave to the previous executive that started the project, and all the members who generously pooled resources together and sacrificially contributed towards the completion of the project.

Rev. Omobude, on assumption of office as PFN president, had not only expressed his determination to ensure the completion of the project, but promised to dedicate the fund raised for the project exclusively for the realisation of the objective.

Page 42— SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

VIEWPOINT

By Stella Igwenyere VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF Examining a pastor-politician’s perspective on the war against corruption

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T has never been in doubt that Nigeria is endowed with enormous socio-economic resources, but our 16-year democratic experiment is riddled with the most outlandish acts of corrupt enrichment by the political elite.

Notwithstanding, Nigeria still retains an immense capacity to be a world economic leader.

This does not remove the fact that President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption campaign to rid the nation and particularly our polity of this societal malaise must be holistically prosecuted.

This is the view shared by the Chairman of the Fresh Democratic Party, FRESH, Rev. Chris Okotie, whose comments were widely received in the social media. The pastorpolitician posited: “We have an

VIEWPOINT

By Felix Osagie

VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF

Setting agenda for a new senator

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HIEF Godday Ojumah, a Lagos and Warri based communication magnate cum politician, during the Annual General Meeting AGM) of Qualiserve Group, held at the event centre in Victoria Garden City (VGC), described Senator Ovie Omo-Agege as a dogged and tireless political war horse.

Ojumah, the Aragba-Orogun born communication guru from Ughelli-North LGA of Delta State, expressing joy over the electoral victory of Omo-Agege at the Appeal Court, said, “I will always commend and salute the fighting spirit of the senator”.

Painting a canvass of the

RIGHT OF REPL Y REPLY

By Abel Osbevire

VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF

Replying the critics of a former governor.

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N two articles in your paper of Sunday, February 7, 2016, so much ignorance was exhibited.

The first was on President Muhammadu Buhart’s frequent foreign travels and, the second, on Chief James Onanefe Ibori, a former governor of Delta State.

In the piece on President Buhari, which was a stout defense of his foreign trips, Adenrele Animasaun stated that the travels are the antidote to the country’s present challenges. She emphasised that the trips will fast track the recovery of stolen funds stashed abroad.

Then, she lambasted those who think otherwise, and advised the President to stay more at home to tackle the worrisome situation.

The President has absolute right to travel. What is worrisome, however, is the frequency of those trips, which, certainly, for now, is detrimental to the interest and

Chris Okotie’s thoughts on anti-graft war ex-general in power (President Muhammadu Buhari) who is an epitome of discipline and transparency. I urge Nigerians to support his anti-corruption campaign which aims to rid this country of PDP’s legacy of a government of the corrupt, by the corrupt, and for the corrupt”.

Global pundits are not oblivious of this.

On February 7, 2015, an Economist magazine article stated: “Ever since 1999, when the army relinquished power, Nigeria has been ruled by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a sophisticated political machine greased by billions of dollars’ worth of oil money. Yet less cash is available these days. A sharp decline in the oil price has coincided, unluckily … with the election.

Government revenues have halved in recent months and the currency has tumbled by a quarter. Civil servants are paid late, if at all. Infrastructure projects have stalled. But the

government’s biggest liabilities are the result of its own greed.

Officials have never been shy about dipping into public troughs but the present lot is, by common consent, especially avaricious.”

These challenges, which President Buhari inherited, are not new; they have become Nigeria’s familiar dirge for successive military and civilian governments. But, as the abberation is engaged in a battle by the President’s anti-graft machinery, another new component of corruption, which Rev. Okotie challenged in his 13 February, 2016 edition of Vanguard newspaper commentary; “Rev. Okotie disagrees with Cardinal Okogie”, is the convergence of religious leaders to swindle the nation under the gusie of spiritual support.

The pastor-politician wrote; “If Attahiru Bafarawa was the alleged agent of the Muslim prayers welfare package, who

then collected on behalf of the multitudes of Christians? Who is that Christian proboscis whose insidious suction availed himself of billions of naira on behalf of the followers of Christ?

Who is that Judas? Maybe Judases?”

His thoughts on the prayer welfare package in the Dasukigate episode demands close examination by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. The world watched in utter disbelief as Nigeria’s politicians, elites and cronies almost ran the country aground with the most unprecedented coalition of corrupt political leaders.

The shocking discoveries of massive looting which EFCC’s probe of the immediate past government are throwing up, shows that the ruling elite has been responsible for the state of the nation’s collapsed economy.

Politicians dipped their hands in the till, and carted away billions

of dollars as if the currency is running out of print.

However, the anti-corruption crackdown is not a one-man demolition job. That is why Okotie’s call for support of the anti-corruption drive demands that these activist and propaganda media organizations should offer assistance rather than recrimination, by deploying their investigatory skills into unmasking institutions and persons in their societies who have collaborated with our thieving politicians to siphon and launder our common patrimony into foreign accounts. As they and their countries share more information, opportunities to squirrel away our looted cash abroad will continue to produce results.

•Igwenyere is a member of Fresh Democratic Party, FRESH. She is based in Delta State.

Omo-Agege as timeless political war horse political dynamics of Delta State, Ojumah laid emphasis on how the senator was committed to the battle to reclaim his stolen mandate.

He noted that Omo-Agege will use the same dexterity and tenacity to put in a robust and effective representation in the 8th senate.

He compared the stamina of the senator to that of a camel that can trek long distances in the desert without water.

“It is a very good thing for democracy, for us to see now that votes are truly counting in our time”, he stated.

Ojumah observed that the political space will henceforth attract more disciplined and mature players who will add

colour and candour to the game of politics in Nigeria.

On legal process that enthroned Omo-Agege, the communication expert noted that the judiciary is getting

He compared the stamina of the senator to that of a camel that can trek long distances in the desert without water

better every day, adding that there is hope that they will improve more with the passage of time to the level of what obtains in advanced democracies.

He thanked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for its efforts to rejig the political process in Nigeria compared to the sordid past experiences we had which could hardly be called elections. He added that, notwithstanding the improvement recorded, there is still room for improvement in many areas for the electoral body.

According to him, OmoAgege will bring back the lost glory of Delta Central in

You got it all wrong on Buhari and Ibori well-being of the country, given the prevailing situation.

The economy is ailing.

Insecurity in most parts of the country, particularly the NorthEast, South-East and South-South, is alarming. All these require the personal attention of the President.

On the piece on Ibori, you rudely insulted a man you hardly know.

You spoke of Ibori in the same manner and venom as his persecutors, chief among whom is the self-styled Mr. Righteous, who goes about today, pretending to love Nigeria more than every other Nigerian,. Yet he remains one of the greatest architects of the country’s present day challenges.

No one says Ibori is a saint.

I am tempted to believe that Animasaun is not widely travelled in Nigeria. She may be well conversant with Lagos, her probable place of birth and upbringing. But it is doubtful if she has ever been to Delta State.

Therefore, she can never fathom why lbori is adored by Deltans and

millions of Nigerians across the country, who know him intimately.

I invite her to Delta to do an independent study on the phenomenon called James Onanefe Ibori. I dare say that her findings will shock her.

But let me give her a hint of what earned Ibori the love of his people.

He came into office in 1999 as a young man of 4O years and nine months (ignore the British who said he gave a false date of birth), without experience in governance.

Yet, he resolved the Warri crisis that defied three military administrations, in six months.

Then he rolled out an ambitious work plan for the rapid development of the state. He established four polytechnics, built five gigantic bridges across major rivers; built thousands of kilometers of roads, and established a world-class teaching hospital.

On the political front, he championed the agitation for resource control and true

federalism, Astounded by the criminal neglect of the region, he was moved to start a fight against the marginalization, of the people of the Niger Delta. For this noble cause, he and Chief DSP AIamieyeseigha, the then governor

For Animasaun’s information, and those who hold the same view, Ibori was a man of great financial means prior to 1999

national politics.

He frowned at distractors who still think otherwise after exhausting the windows of legal redress over the election.

Ojumah boasted that within a short time, even the senator’s traducers will see the political genre Omo-Agege is made of.

Urging all political opponents to sheath their swords, he prayed God to grant the senator the Solomonic wisdom to carry out his legislative assignment in Abuja.

One cannot agree more with the position of communication magnate-cum-politician.

•Osagie lives in Asaba, Delta State.

of Bayelsa State, now of blessed memory, in particular, paid a price.

Ibori is a victim of politicat persecution. Have you not read the latest on his case, the sordid revelations pertaining to the London Metropolitan Police and the Crown Prosecutors?

Does it still require further evidence to pin-point the source of Ibori’s troubles?

For Animasaun’s information, and those who hold the same view, Ibori was a man of great financial means prior to 1999. He singlebandedly bankrolled the formation of the PDP in Delta in 1998. He was also responsible for financing the party’s candidates for all the elections of 1998.

I can bet it that whenever Ibori returns, which could be sooner than anticipated, Animasaun will have reason to join the train of his admirers: in a welcome party.

•OSHEVIRE was Senior Special Assistant to Governor Ibori on Media and Publicity, 1999-2007. He was also a member of the Delta State House of Assembly, 2007-,2011.

SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 21, 2016, PAGE 43

Jonathan Presidency was a disaster foretold (1) “In every community there is a class of people profoundly dangerous to the rest. I don’t mean criminals.

For them we have punitive sanctions. I mean the leaders. Invariably, the most dangerous people seek power.”Saul Bellow.

VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, VBQ, p 124.

“Dele how can you Nigerians hand over your country to all those crazy people?”

NigerianAmerican calling from the US. n old friend called from the United States last week.

He is a naturalized Nigerian American who had not been in Nigeria since he left about twenty years ago. He had been following the revelations concerning the arms deal and withdrawals of millions of dollars from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, allegedly purely for the PDP campaign. He went on to inform me, as if I don’t know, that even Nixon’s Watergate scandal, which many still regard as the most shameful event involving an American President was a mere child’s play compared to

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this. Still thundering, he asked, “You mean the President of Nigeria can actually ask somebody to go to the Central Bank and take money out for distribution to his party members and nobody asked questions until now?

No wonder your country is underdeveloped. And, is it true that this Jonathan guy has a Ph.D?” Feeling thoroughly embarrassed, I meekly answered, “Yes, he has a doctorate in Zoology.”

Permit me if the expletive he uttered in response to that declaration is unprintable. I felt ashamed of my Fellow Countrymen, especially all those who made the Goodluck Jonathan presidency possible from 2011 to 2015. Only a totally conscienceless and unpatriotic Nigerian can fail to admit that this disaster will for ever haunt this generation of Nigerians. Posterity will always ask if we ourselves were not crazy to have elected such an individual as our President; they will definitely judge all those who worked for his reelection as insane – even if with benefit of hindsight.

If the cap fits You tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything."

—Mark Twain hen the president was last in the UK he gave an interview to the Daily Telegraph. There was an uproar due to some of his comments in the interview. It seems that his remarks cut too close to some peoples' sensitivities and perhaps, too honest,way too honest for some. It is not a secret that there are some, I mean, a higher than acceptable level of criminality among Nigerians and these criminals are feted in a big way. In other countries, they lock their criminals and they make an example of them.

So what do we do to our criminals?We let them off with a fine and we celebrate our corruption merchants, don't we? No,not PMB . He said:"Some Nigerians claim that life is too difficult back home,yet, they are in different prisons all over the world accused of drug trafficking or human trafficking and all sorts". I mean,Nigerians did coin 419, didn't they?

I don't think these Nigerians have anybody to blame but themselves for their notoriety.

How times have changed.

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PMB was asked if he thought that Nigerians have an image problem abroad? and he replied:"Certainly. But we are on our way to salvage that. We will encourage our countrymen to stay at home,work hard and make a respectable living at home."

He warned Nigerians to stop trying to make asylum claims,when their reputation for criminality has made it hard for them to be "accepted" abroad. We are tarred with the same brush and you do sometimes feel that you have already been judged by virtue of one's nationality. In fact, you have to work harder to prove that you are trust worthy.

It is true that, it has become difficult to believe Nigerians home and abroad,due to the reputations of the wrongdoers.

Rome was not built in a day, so I admire PMB's determination to rid or reduce corruption and criminality in Nigeria andNigerians, but it has taken years to develop this reputation and it would not be easy to change our attitude.

It's not impossible,mind you, but it will take sometime.

He has his work cut out and I don't envy him, but if anyone can do it,he can.

As my caller was ranting on, and calling Nigerians a bunch of unflattering names, I eventually got in a word. “My friend, this disaster was foretold, as early as 2009; followed up in 2010 and repeated in 2011 and 2015.” However, before getting into my “I told you so sermon”, let us pause and identify those who produced the catastrophe called Jonathan Presidency, because if history is ever to do justice to this generation of adult Nigerians, it must single out the major culprits of this monumental calamity.

Step forward Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR, ex-President of Nigeria, and dictator of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, from 1999-2011.

Baba, always full of words, but lacking the wisdom to distinguish between what needs to be said or left unsaid, was the architect of Jonathan’s emergence as Vice-President in 2007. The Americans have always regarded the VP position as a “heart beat from the presidency”; not the “spare tyre” which an uncouth Nigerian called it. And, when Yar ’Adua’s heart stopped beating in 2010, Jonathan stepped up to the Presidency. A man whose lean credentials could not have fetched him Head of Department in a decent university, who had never been in charge of anything, never unilaterally achieved any objective, became the President of the largest black country on earth.

Never had the job and the new helmsman been more mismatched in recent history. It was akin to sending an ant to go lift a truckload of sugar. It takes Where do you begin to address the incredulous level of corruption;the trillions and billions of dollars of oil cash that went missing during the previous administrations?.

Now that some of the suspects have been arrested in the UK,other countries are eager to assist the Buhari's administration to recoup the stolen money from these thieves in fine clothing.

PMB commented that:"One of the biggest suspects is in Britain now, although I am not going to name that person. But Britain has earned our respect in theway it deals with these matters. Our only problem is that it seems to be too thorough and it takes too much time. If there are obvious cases,like bank accounts infrastructure, houses and hotels, I would hope they could do it quicker,so that we can claim these things back promptly".

Yes,the truth hurts and many of us are in denial;too many Nigerians live beyond their means and if they could they will steal,embezzle and they will try and get rich or die trying. There are some honest and hard working Nigerians but there are those who aren't.

Let's be honest: not everything is well and not all Nigerians are Lilly white!PMB said that those who had joined the migrant exodus to Europe were doing so "purely for economic reasons rather than because they were in danger and that because of the number of Nigerians imprisoned for law-breaking in Britain and elsewhere, they were also unlikely to get much sympathy. True, many have cried wolf so many times unfortunately, those with

what it can for itself.

Wisdom would have dictated that the nation would stomach the obviously unprepared fellow for a year and then through a free and fair election choose someone with a great deal of experience and all the leadership qualities Jonathan lacked or had not developed. But, OBJ, then Chairman of the Board of Trustee of the PDP, would not allow commonsense to prevail. Operating with self-

I felt ashamed of my Fellow Countrymen, especially all those who made the Goodluck Jonathan presidency possible from 2011 to 2015. Only a totally conscienceless and unpatriotic Nigerian can fail to admit that this disaster will for ever haunt this generation of Nigerians assumed superior sagacity, he hardly allowed Yar’Adua’s body to be laid to rest when he started yelling.

“Jonathan, you must run for the Presidency; don’t tell me you won’t run.” Well, Jonathan ran; Obasanjo supported him and he won the election in 2011. As the reports on Jonathan, Obasanjo’s 2011 candidate for President, trickle in, objective observers of “Ebora Owu” must ask: “Where is the commonsense in recommending and pushing a disaster on the people?”

Wisdom is obviously lacking in the selection; patriotism is suspect. And, let nobody deny Baba Iyabo’s (and where is

Not all Nigerians are dishonest but they are many giving us a bad name genuine case are tarred with the same brush. It has not been right for a long time with Nigeria and Nigerians. Let us call a spade, a spade. And let's stop kidding ourselves, everyone knows and PMB has not said anything new.

"Never tell the truth to people who are not worthy of it." —Mark Twain It is a bitter pill, to swallow: truth but about time,we face it .

Not all Nigerians are dishonest but they are many giving us a bad name.

"Never be bullied into silence.

Never allow yourself to be made a victim.

Accept no one's definition of your life, but define yourself." — Harvey Fierstein Evidently, PMB reportedly may have succumbed to pressure to replace heads of federal government agencies and parastatals in particular, those who were appointed by the last administration. It was said that 35 chief executives and directors-general of agencies were given their matching orders.

Most were unceremoniously evicted from their post. There was no need for this, if ain't broke why fix it.

I mean for continuity sake it would have been prudent to let them get on with the job at hand.

Iyabo?) role in the whole of a mess in which we find ourselves.

Among those now gloating over the revelations of grand larceny under GEJ are those “progressives” who once belonged to a political party called Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN. They certainly don’t want to be reminded about their own ignominious role in Jonathan’s victory in 2011. But, the history of this era and this unfortunate episode will be incomplete and falsified if their contribution to our present predicament is left out. Theirs was a purely mercenary one as will be briefly described.

The party in 2011, as most people with short memory would recall, had its own Presidential candidate, one unfortunate stalking horse called Mallam Nuhu Ribadu. Ribadu’s was once a highly regarded corruption fighter as the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, who had been badly roughhandled by the PDP government – mainly because most of his victims were PDP governors. So, ACN adopted him as their flagbearer – despite raised eyebrows by people who thought a swindle was in progress.

The way the merchants of ACN dropped Ribadu, a few days to the 2011 elections can best be described in the words of O. Henry, 1862-1910, “It was beautiful and simple as all truly great swindles

are.” (VBQ p 239). The party had canvassed for votes for election into various offices and had largely “captured” the South West – until the Presidential Election.

Suddenly, supporters started receiving multiple text messages; party workers went from door to door; and, a few days to the election the party faithful were ordered to cast their votes for Jonathan. Poor Ribadu was seating in Yola expecting an avalanche of votes from Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti; Edo also. The man must have thought something was wrong with his eyes and his TV set as the results came in from those ACN strongholds.

I was recuperating in a hospital in Abuja when it happened and as AIT brought the results, I had to ask a nurse if I was going mad.

Jonathan cleared all ACN states except Osun. Later, we learnt from the OWNER of the party that they sold the votes and Nigeria for N17 billion when Ribadu was considered a loser. So, the South West votes in 2011 also helped GEJ to become President. ACN, please step forward to receive your traitors’ medal…

POSER TO TWO PEOPLE Forget the conscienceless others. I would like to know how Okonjo-Iweala and Reuben Abati feel now about being associated with GEJ. Were they aware all these things were going on or were they ignorant? I pity them. GEJ covered them with “gold”; now he is splashing them with guilt. The money will end at the grave site; the dishonour for ever.

As we know,most of these appointments are about who you know. And it seems this administration, wants their own people and of course, there is a change of guard so it should in all areas. The question is:are they merely changing like for like? If only,they could employ the right people to these posts, who could do the job and stop playing politics with these posts! I read Onyeka Onwenu'sopen letter on how she was removed . She is a woman of substance and has always been dignified. She said:" When the call came on Sept 13,2013,to serve the Nigerian people as DG, National Centre for Women Development, I took it as a call from God and I answered in the affirmative".I have no doubt that Onyeka is very very hard working and very patriotic.

In fact, she always was.

Oyeka in her letter,said she served over two years in a very difficult environment: no enough money, staff with low morale, many absent workers and collecting salaries. She said that she turned the place around and was able to inspire manyto take pride in their work. This is laudable and should be recognised. The ugly problem we have is the problem with those who treat the workplace as their territory and undermining her position. This is not new, in fact, this behaviour is our undoing and will prevent success and progress. Her letter was very poignant :"There remained,though,a remnant who felt that the centre was their personal preserve and that the

position of Director General should only go to someone from their personal preserve and that the position of Director General should only go to someone from their part of the country " This is disrespectful, especially when someone has track record and had worked so hard. It is a low blow, when tribe and region become the criteria for employment and not by experience or qualification.

Onyeka is a very capable and qualified person. She endured so much :"I was initially dismissed as just a Musician. When that did not work, I was targeted and abused for being an Igbo woman who came to give jobs to and elevate my people.

When these detractors could not provide answers to the spate of improvement we were bringing, they resorted to sabotage and blackmail.

This type of victimisation goes on across most workplaces and it has become common place. They are afraid of her capabilities and are small minded people with inferiority complex.

This should not be the case.

It takes a strong person not to buckle and Onyeka, is made of sterner stuff and she remains strong and dignified in her resolve despite all the bullying and harassment. She said "The first such salvo was fired when a Senate Committee visited on an oversight mission a few months after my arrival.

All three generators at the centre were cannibalised overnight, just hours to the visit. we got over that incident and trudged on.The rest of our activities and accomplishments, modest as they are, are public knowledge.

PAGE 44—SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

rexmarinus@hotmail.com

Blame Jonathan

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ast week, Vanguard reported a curious drama during the State House briefing after the meeting of the National Executive Council, between State House Correspondents and the Minister for Information, Mr. Lai Mohammed. It seemed like the Buhari cabinet did not have much to talk about. There is of course much going on. Boko Haram is still killing and pillaging.

The Chibok girls are as good as lost. To remove the sheen from that fact, the President was reported a while ago to have pointedly told parents of the girls of Chibok to go home as there’s not much else he could do for them. Well, that’s very disappointing because President Buhari and the APC made it a cardinal point of their election promise to return the kidnapped girls of Chibok to their families as soon as they are installed in government. Not to return the girls will amount to a breach of trust and a failure to fulfil a cardinal electoral promise.

Goodluck Jonathan lost Nigerians, and began to lose his re-election following the massive international outrage that accompanied the kidnap of the Chibok girls.

The Jonathan administration was vehemently criticized for its slow and half-hearted

response, and for its inability to mount a strategic rescue operation to get back the girls from their captor. The loss of the Chibok girls was Jonathan’s greatest undoing, and it is actually in my thinking right after all, that for that alone, he deserved to lose the presidency. Right under his watch over two hundred young women disappeared from a boarding school. This was more than a security lapse, it was a clear failure of national security. It required a great operational capability to move that number of people through many borders, and it needed only a decayed or frayed security system to permit that.

Because the president failed to protect these citizens of Nigeria to whom he had sworn both allegiance and service, he did not deserve to be returned to his job as president.

In actual fact, Jonathan’s slow response, and the campaign mounted in protest grew to frenzy. In the end, he went to the National Assembly and secured $1 billion in supplementary funding for his national security operations to fight Boko Haram, and mandated that operation on his National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki. If truth must be told, by the time of the elections, Jonathan’s new strategy had put Boko Haram

SocialEtiquette With Janet Adetu info@etiquetteconsortium.com JSK Etiquette & Image Training Janet@JSKEtiquette JSK Etiquette Consortium — 08188135000

‘Where is our road courtesy?'

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f you were to complain about three main things in your environment today, I’m very that one of those things top on your list would have something to do with our roads. Traffic is a major deterrent to the proper functioning of our daily activities. In the past the roads used to be predictable, but today we experience all sorts. One moment the road is unusually free and we cruise the streets in minutes, only to find that the next day there is absolute gridlock.

Unfortunately many times we never get to know the real reason behind some of these gridlocks. Spending two to three hours on the roads actually sets off a negative tone for the day.

You become exhausted, frustrated, drained and upset before your day has even started. To crown it all you are still expected to function normally. It is not surprising that when you step into your office, your shop or your business, one

little thing can tick you off.

As a result you become aggressive, snappy, unwelcoming and just so rude. Sadly this is the common trend we see all around us where incivility on our roads is on the uprise.

Why are people so rude on our roads?

Have you noticed that even when you are in a traffic jam wanting to change lanes nobody wants to give you that one second break and allow you to come in front of them. It is like everyone is the owner landlord of the road and is in more of a hurry than you are. Why is everyone always in a hurry?

Interestingly, road rage is not just limited to private and public vehicles only, now the tricycles, motorcycles and pedestrians have joined the band wagon. There is no courtesy on our roads, so evident when you look around and see up to 70% of the vehicles all have one scratch, dent, bump or

on the run, degraded its operations, and the tide had turned very clearly. Another three to six months of sustained action at the level may have seen the end of Boko Haram by now. But it was already too late for Jonathan’s government. He had waited far too late in the day to mount a serious counter offensive against the Islamic insurgency. It was too little too late. But there were visible signs of an impending Boko Haram defeat at the eve of Jonathan’s departure, on the strength of which Mr. Lai Mohammed, the Minister for Information, and Chief spokesman of this administration, no sooner in the life of the current administration was almost too quick on the draw to claim victory and the defeat of Boko Haram. Lai Mohammed was quoted at various times to say that Boko Haram, “technically” had been defeated and “degraded.” But six months later, Boko Haram is still there, and under the watch of this administration, has mounted even bolder, more ferocious attack, and on a greater killing spree than was possible under Jonathan.

The Buhari administration has thus far failed in its promise to defeat Boko Haram. The significant pushback achieved at the twilight of the Jonathan administration has been lost.

There is no clear-cut policy on the insurgency by this president except to move his military headquarters and put more boots on the ground. But an insurgency such as this requires a different strategy of counter-insurgency beyond traditional warfare techniques, and Jonathan’s last strategy before his electoral defeat had come to understand this. Meanwhile,

the Buhari administration is busy conducting a killing spree of unarmed Biafran protesters in the South East of Nigeria, while Boko Haram insurgents are running wild in the North East. Something clearly doesn’t add up here, but back to Lai Mohammed. His critics have dubbed him “Liar Mohammed,” an unkind cut from his name, “Lai.” I have always liked the name, “Lai” because a great friend of mine

To justify the president’s increasingly expensive and wasteful foreign trips, the minister said, “You cannot run an economy by being isolated.” True enough. But that is why we have a Foreign Ministry and a foreign minister from the University was called “Lai” and he was a great guy.

Besides, I will not go so far as calling a Nigerian minister, “Liar,” but it often takes a great alchemist of untruths and distortions, to do the work of pure propaganda, as Mr. Mohammed has often done for the current administration. His strategy when everything fails is, “blame Jonathan.” So, in this last briefing of journalists, only two items were lined up: his attempt to explain the president’s numerous foreign travels, which has recently come under severe criticism, and his need to blame Jonathan for everything else. Reporters wanted to know a bit more – the

radical slide of the naira, Boko Haram, the budgetpadding scandal, the administration’s economic projections. But Lai Mohammed was in his element. Blame Jonathan.

To justify the president’s increasingly expensive and wasteful foreign trips, the minister said, “You cannot run an economy by being isolated.” True enough. But that is why we have a Foreign Ministry and a foreign minister. Trained diplomats would not tell the Telegraph in London as the President recently did that “Nigerians are mostly criminals.”

Such a statement is not meant to inspire or invite investor confidence. But what did Lai say? Blame Jonathan.

Buhari has to travel because Nigeria had a pariah status under Jonathan. That is a lie, minister. Nigeria’s international standing actually improved under Jonathan. But this blame Jonathan game is getting old and worrisome.

Budget goes missing, blame Jonathan. Buhari travels, blame Jonathan; Boko Haram continues to strike, blame Jonathan; Naira crashes, blame Jonathan; Economy worsens, blame Jonathan.

One truth is clear: Jonathan revived the comatose railways, rebuilt long rundown federal highways, reequipped the Armed Services, built twelve new Universities, and expanded the middle class. Above all, his greatest achievement was that Nigerians felt true liberty and freedom: no Nigerian lived in fear of government’s persecution, and he brought to an end, the spate of assassinations and kidnappings that marked the height of

disfiguration. I often wonder why it is peculiar to certain environments. I have often had cause to compare with other nations. When you look at the activities on the roads, people give way to other road users, they drive with caution and everyone is to a large extent very civil on the road. The result being well kept vehicles driving around. Of cause many international countries do have their own bouts of

When you look at the activities on the roads, people give way to other road users, they drive with caution and everyone is to a large extent very civil on the road. The result being well kept vehicles driving around

road rage, most times the incidents are recorded and addressed. Why are we so different?

I often say that when you are driving you have to drive your personal vehicle physically, and others mentally. You have to be

extra alert by predicting what the other driver is going to do. As much as you cannot control the behaviour of other drivers, the onus is on you to be a normal as possible, even in the midst of rude gestures, vulgar verbal insults and absolutely bad driving.

How does road rage impact you?

Many things have been identified as acts of road rage, it happens so often that it has almost become a norm and therefore nobody really is concerned. Just imagine how your productivity drops just because someone upset you on the road that morning, you then decide to retaliate. Your entire mood is displaced, your thought process is scattered and your ability to concentrate marred.

What does road rage look like? Are you a victim? i.

Using your horn excessively to talk aggressively to other drivers ii.

Driving at 50km

per hour on a 20km residential road iii.

Deliberately causing lane obstruction by cutting others off a lane iv.

F l a s h i n g headlights in the daytime and full lights at night v.

Aggressive fast speed driving and sudden braking vi.

Driving bum per to bumper - very close tailgating vii. Shouting and yelling verbal abuses and insults viii. R e n d e r i n g threats by open confrontation ix.

Deliberately hitting other cars and causing collision x.

B a d mannerisms including spitting at others from the vehicle, talking on the phone while driving xi.

Rude gestures with the hand Dealing with discourtesy (road rage) on our roads

national insecurity before him. He wasn’t without achievement. His greatest undoing was the kidnap of the Chibok girls and his slow response to it.

Lai Mohammed’s attempt to place the current failures of the current administration on Jonathan is both laughable and tragic.

What is increasingly clear is that the APC had no plan to govern. Buhari’s first steps in government was all wrong: he started by alienating an entire segment of Nigerians, and he was too slow to respond to the realities of the crisis in the international oil market.

Rather than pick up from Jonathan running, he crawled for six months, and seemed startled and confused by his own electoral victory. That period of inaction for six months when he failed to organize his government, stanch leakages, and establish necessary reforms has led to the current crisis with the Naira in a freefall, and the economy leaking badly like a wicker basket.

Buhari’s economic policy that limited the circulation of money has led to a crisis of production and distribution.

When he finally presented his budget, it became clear to Nigerians that this president is the one who really has no clue what running a contemporary nation is about in the 21st century, and the Tsunami that is about to hit him if he fails to reposition his priorities. He is already nine months in office, and he is still blaming Jonathan. Come three years hence this government will still be blaming Jonathan. Blame Jonathan is, it seems, the Buhari administration’s most consistent domestic policy. O ma bloody se o!

Road rage is everywhere, it will take a lot to eradicate it completely.

Being a driver on the roads is not just possessing a driving license to avoid discourtesy and road rage these are a few tips you can ponder on: a.

Learn how to drive the vehicle in front of you, behind you and master your own. b.

Keep your sanity while driving on the roads stay cool, keep calm c.

If in the unfortunate circumstance someone hits you accidently naturally you will be angry, you are allowed to vent your frustration but only for a moment d.

Do the extraordinary keep your composure, take a breather, then say it is OK e.

Control your emotions, relieve your stress and resolve the matter f.

Resolve that it could have been worse therefore it is not that bad g.

Put life first before money if you can h.

Be courteous, civil, safe and healthy We all want a better place to live in, there are more pressing issues that people have to face in life without having to add the anger of others on the road.

Courtesy on our roads as well as the reduction of road rage is indeed the right step towards being a better nation.

Wishing you Safe Driving on the roads!

S UNDAY Vanguard Vanguard,, FEBRUARY 21, 2016—45

Atlanta ’96 superstars confront Lagos All Stars

NOGIG 2016 flags off Feb 28

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LL roads lead to Campos Square, Lagos this morning as the stars of Nigeria’s glorious Atlanta 96 Olympic football gold medal winning team once again take to the pitch, 20 years after they stunned the world.

The likes of Sunday Oliseh, Emmanuel Amuneke, Nwankwo Kanu, Austin Okocha, Victor Ikpeba, Taribo West and more will take on a Lagos All Stars team as part of celebrations to mark the event at Social Media Week Lagos.

“I think it is wonderful that SMW Lagos is doing this,” said Amuneke. “Sometimes you don’t realize the importance of what you have achieved until much later, and I think that now we all appreciate what that meant to everyone.”

Among other events lined up are a gala night at SS 7 in Victoria Island to honour the heroes, while a series of panels and sessions on Thursday, February 25 will relive those wonderful moments in Nigeria’s football history.

“It is hard to think that 20 years have flown by so quickly,” said Ikpeba, who would go on to win the African Player of the Year prize a year later. “It was a moment that none of us will ever forget and we appreciate SMW Lagos for putting this together.”

“The victory of our team at Atlanta 96 was a seminal moment for Nigerian & African football, for us it is a privilege to host these Nigerian heroes and to celebrate them,” said Obi Asika, Chairman and CoFounder, SMW Lagos.

“Please come out and support them, take a selfie, and relive those special moments.

A special word of thanks to Lagos State football Association, Seyi Akinwumi and his team, Ayo Alli and the Gbamm team and all who have worked tirelessly with us to make this

Iwobi Continued from back page the post by Hull’s Eldin Jakupovic and Theo Walcott was also denied by the inspired goalkeeper.

With one eye on Tuesday’s Champions League last 16 first leg at home against Barcelona, Arsenal made nine changes from the team who beat Leicester City last week to move to within two points of the top of the Premier League.

But promotion-chasing Hull went one better, making 10 alterations to their line-up from last week’s draw with Brighton and Hove Albion.

Both Wenger and opposite number Steve Bruce face an unwanted replay, though, after a frustrating afternoon.

Later on Saturday Watford face Leeds United, Reading host West Bromwich Albion and Bournemouth play Everton in the day’s only all top-flight clash.

C M Y K

Hard Push.... Arsenal’s midfielder Theo Walcott (L) chases Hull City’s defender Moses Odubajo during the FA cup fifth round at the Emirates Stadium. Photo AFP

Ikorodu Utd Continued from back page the country.

Ikorodu United will today have their first taste of NPFL football this season when they host Abia Warriors at Onikan Stadium, while MFM FC is away to Nasarawa United.

The clubs came from different backgrounds before gaining promotion to Nigeria’s elite league at the end of last season but they have brought back top league games and excitement to Lagos, the Centre of Excellence, where football fanatics have missed premier league actions for a decade.

Now the fans are chanting, ‘the League has come home.’

Ikorodu United FC, which was founded in December 2014 under the chairmanship of Adewunmi Ogunsanya, is among the few clubs that are privately-owned in Nigeria.

Youngsters such as defender Kabiru from 36 Lion FC, Ebiye who was signed from Bethel FC and the others offer further encouragement that the Ikorodu side seems well placed to survive in the NPFL. Club boss Ogunsanya, while speaking on his club’s preparedness for the season, said Ikorodu United “is ready to surprise other participants of the professional football league.”

Coach Benson is not the boastful type but the former in-

ternational believes Ikorodu United will be a force to reckon with among the NPFL teams this season, considering their traditional style of keeping the ball, passing accuracy and scoring stunning goals.

For MFM FC, the journey to the premiership took the

‘Prayer Warriors’ about a decade, playing through the ranks, from an inter-church football tournament named after their General Overseer Dr. Daniel Kolawole Olukoya, to the amateur and then the Nigeria National League.

Oliseh Continued from back page cial Africa Cup of Nations qualification tie against Egypt on March 25 in Kaduna.

Oliseh, disclosed on a Brila FM sports programe that his team list is being delayed because it is hard for him to move around Europe to meet the players he intends to invite for the tie.

He said: “I am struggling financially, waiting for approvals to move around Europe, so it has been quiet. It has to do with transport, accommodation and other expenses while mov-

ing out.

“I need to spend 15, 20 minutes on the phone to speak to each player before he is invited,” said the under-fire coach.

He disclosed that he intends to open camp in mid March with players from the local league ahead of the must win encounter with the Pharaohs of Egypt. Oliseh said seven or eight players from the African Championship team will be in the Super Eagles that will face the Egyptians who are playing Burkina Faso in a friendly to boost their preparations.

LL is now set for the commence ment of the 2016 Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Games. The Games being supported by telecommunications giants, Globacom will flag off Sunday, February 28.

This is the 16th in the series. The opening ceremony will be held at the Chevron Rcreation Centre, Gbagada.

Nine companies, including Chevron, ExxonMobil, DPR, NCDMB, PTI, NLNG, NNPC, Total and SPDC will be vying for honours in ten events in the week-long event being hosted in Lagos. The events to be competed for include Golf, Table Tennis, Tennis, Swimming, Squash, 8 Ball Pool, Chess, Scrabble, Athletics and Football.

According to Chairman of the Main Organising Committee, Ambrose Imokhai, events of the games would be hosted at the three different locations in Lagos: The Chevron Recreation Centre, Gbagada, Ikoyi Club 1938 and Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere Lagos, which will host the final of the football event on the final day.

Imokhai said at the pre-games press conference that “the essence of the games is not just about winning but about enhancing our physical and mental wellbeing in line with the industry’s health, safety, environment and quality policy.”

Above all, the games, he said, create a forum “for unity, breaking barrier of officialdom and bureaucracies to allow for bonding and friendship among staff of the industry.”

The closing ceremony will be attended by chief host of the games, the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr Ibe Kachukwu while the Minister of Sports, Solomon Dalung, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode among other dignitaries will also grace the grand finale.

FA Cup Continued from back page winning 24 and losing only one in their last 29 FA Cup games in Stamford Bridge.

City, the 2014 Premier League titleholders will need to regroup the soonest possible time. The good thing going for them though is that skipper Vincent Kompany is expected to play.

There is a good chance that Oscar, after achieving full recovery from a calf injury, will start for Chelsea and Eden Hazard will step aside. Also, Nemanja Matic is finally eligible to play after the European suspension, while Kurt Zouma isn’t expected to be back in action anytime soon with his knee injury, and Radamel Falcao is likewise out with the thigh injury.

‘City must ignore Costa wind-up tactics’

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ERNANDO says Manchester City must “ignore” the wind-up tactics of Chelsea’s Diego Costa when the two sides meet in the FA Cup fifth round on Sunday.

The Spain international has

enjoyed some heated exchanges with City, and the match in London is expected to be no different.

Fernando is braced for what the 27-year-old has to offer and says his team-mates must keep their cool.

“We know what he is like, what he will do,” Fernando told The Sun. “Costa is always the same. He tries to obstruct opponents, to wind them up.

“But we know what to expect from him. He always tries to provoke.”

46 — S UNDAY Vanguard SUNDAY Vanguard,, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

Messi’s ingenious penalty

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City Heights...Kelechi Iheanacho tells his rags to riches story.

I couldn’t afford N50 to watch EPL — Iheanacho M

ANCHESTER City rising star, Kelechi Iheanacho has revealed his rags to riches story. He has been quite a marvel at City where he plays side by side with his boyhood idol Yaya Toure. Looking back now, Iheanacho says he is living his dream.

Iheanacho will be in City’s squad that will face Chelsea today in the FA Cup and back home in Nigeria, viewing centres will be filled to the brim to watch him play.

Despite being 4,500 miles away from Stamford Bridge these devoted fans in Imo, the Nigerian state where the teenager was born, will pay N50 to squeeze around a TV in the hope of seeing him. They

are the lucky ones.

As a child, Iheanacho was not so lucky and in his first major newspaper interview since bursting onto the scene this season, the 19-year-old reveals the hardship he felt as a youngster.

‘We didn’t have the money,’ he told Daily Mail. ‘Maybe after the game I’d hear the scores and all that. I’d be at home playing football and my friends would come back after being there to tell me. We didn’t have a television at home.”

“Sometimes I watched the Spanish league — it was a bit cheaper, maybe N30,’ he adds. ‘But the Premier League was N50.

Sometimes I’d watch the Premier League if I found the money, or I’d go there and beg them to let me in.

Omeruo desperate to regain Super Eagles place

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EFENDER Kenneth Omeruo hopes his loan spell at Kasimpasa in Turkey may earn him an international recall with Nigeria.

Omeruo is on a season-long loan deal from the English Premier league club Chelsea where he is yet to make his competitive debut.

“The only way I can earn a recall is to continue doing well with Kasimpasa and keep my place in the team,” Omeruo, one of

•Omeruo

Chelsea’s 32 players out on loan across Europe, told BBC Sport.

“Injury has had a negative impact on my run with the Super Eagles and I would love to get back to playing for my country again.

“My job is to keep progressing on and off the pitch, I don’t want to look too far ahead,” the 2013 Nations Cup winner added.

Omeruo was first called up by Nigeria in January 2013 and he went on to play at that year’s Africa Cup of Nations and Confederations Cup - and at the 2014 World Cup. The centre-back has had a frustrating club career, spending last term on loan at Championship side Middlesbrough where a loss of form meant he lost his place and was down the pecking order.

But the player says he is thriving at Kasimpasa and is revelling in playing regular football again.

“I am enjoying it very much and the experience is great so far.

“It has been good to get involved with a competitive club like Kasimpasa who are ranked among the best defensive sides in the Super Lig.”

Or sneak in for the second half and pay half the money.

‘I support Barcelona because I watched the Spanish league. I saw Yaya [Toure] playing for Barcelona... and now I’m playing with him. It’s a dream come true.”

Early in his career Iheanacho had been due to sign for Porto but he has no regrets on turning his back on the Portuguese club when City came knocking two years ago.

His father, James persuaded him to move to the ‘very cold’ north west of England with City paying Nigeria’s Taye Academy £350,000 after scouts were impressed with the striker at the Under-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates where he was named player of the tournament.

Then came a short stint at MLS side Columbus Crew in 2014 before Pellegrini put him on the bench at West Bromwich Albion on the opening weekend this season. He has not looked back.

‘I wasn’t expecting that,’ he says.

‘I was working with the EDS [Elite Development Squad]. He said I was going with them to Australia in pre-season and after we came back I was in the first team. I was a bit surprised.

‘You feel a bit nervous, these are great players. It’s important to listen.

‘I’mhappyplayingwiththemnow and they give me confidence to play, theyencouragemealot.Thatdoesn’t mean I’ll disrespect them or feel I’m one of them now. I wouldn’t just do anything I liked — I’ve got to keep my head down, keep working hard.’

Iheanacho admits finding that drive did not come easily at school, even though his mother, Mercy, was a teacher. She passed away in 2013, a few months before his life-changing Under-17 World Cup, and her memory serves as a constant source of determination.

‘It was hard for us when my mother left us,’ Iheanacho reflects, suddenly holding back tears. ‘We couldn’t do anything so I said to myself “move on and keep working hard.”

WAS to write on controversial Bash Ali’s penchant for blackmailing people in sports, from sports writers to administrators because he wants to create a fake Guinness Book of World Records by being the oldest boxer to have stepped into the ring.

Ordinarily, everyone is entitled to aspire or to dream but when that aspiration or dream must be achieved by pulling someone down, then it calls for the thorough examination of the aspirer or dreamer.

I was still pondering on what to write, or re-write, because I have written about Bash in the past, when current world’s best football player, Lionel Messi dug into his football knowledge reservoir to stun the football world with a penalty kick that is still talk of the town till this moment.

Many analysts have said so many things about Messi’s action and his person, with some almost calling him a cheat. Some said he and team-mate, Luis Suarez were disrespectful of their Celta Vigo opponents.

Surprisingly coach of Celta Vigo, Eduardo Berizzo came out to clear the air on the penalty, stressing that he was not particularly pained by the way the penalty was scored but by the number of goals his side conceded. They managed to pull one back towards the end the game to make it 5-1.

On his part, Carlo Ancelotti, a legend in his own right as a world class coach, rather than say whether the penalty kick was within the law or not, said he was surprised by the penalty assist by Messi to help Suarez achieve his hat-trick in that match.

Even though agreeing that the Argentine star was within the laws and could do whatever he wanted, Ancelotti told an online medium that such penalty even though accepted in Spain, could cause problem for both player and club if it is done in Italy.

One thing however, none of the analysts on television, radio or newspaper within Nigeria or around the world told us more than that the kick was controversial. Only one foreign analyst disclosed that such a penalty had been taken way back by another Barca legend, Johan Cryuff.

The Cryuff angle got me thinking and I had to dig deep into football literatures and found out that two types of penalties exist.

The first one is the conventional penalty where, after the referee signals by the whistle for a player to take it, he goes direct to the ball without interrupting his/her movement and kicks it.

The second type which none of the analysts or coaches talked about even though they agree that it was within the law is the twoman or “tap” penalty. Here it is written that “when the penaltytaker, instead of shooting to score a goal, taps the ball slightly forward so that a team-mate can

run on to it. The team-mate, like all other players, must be at least ten yards from the penalty mark when the ball is initially kicked” It added that this strategy “depends on the element of surprise, so that the team-mate can reach the ball ahead of any of the defenders.” Neymar said, he and Messi had practised it during their training sessions but that Suarez was closer to the ball that day than himself hence he scored it.

What this shows is that Messi and his team-mates are constantly reading about the laws of the game while also putting it into practice. It keeps them ahead of their peers and hence they get results which keeps propelling their team.

Contrary to reports that the kick had been done previously by Cryuff, the first earlier recorded two-man penalty was taken by Rik Coppens and Andre Piters in the World Cup qualifying match between Belgium and Iceland on June 5, 1957.

The second attempt which however failed to result into a goal was by Arsenal’s Thierry Henry and Robert Pires in 2005 during a Premier League match against Manchester City at Highbury. It is reported that “Pires ran in to take the kick, attempted to pass to the onrushing Henry, but (Henry) miskicked; as he had touched the ball (but barely moved it), he could not touch it again, and City defender, Sylvain Distin reached the ball before Henry could.

So Messi’s tap for Suarez on St. Valentine’s day is the third in history. It has opened a new vista for players hungry for goals but it may not be easy again as defending players will be more watchful so that they are not taken on aware by ‘tricky’ players.

Akwa Utd in FIFA’s eye During the week, Akwa United Football Club of Uyo, still basking in their feat of pulling an away 10 win over a Congolese team, V. Club Mokanda in Pointe-Noire last weekend in the Confederation Cup, ran foul of a breach in the transfer of their former player, Meshack Chukwubuikem.

They are alleged to be owing the player and his agent N2.5m but have refused to pay, prompting the player and the agent to take the matter before FIFA which has now ruled that the NFF should dock the team three points from the league if they fail to pay the money after the grace period of 30 days from the notification of this decision.

There has been calls from Nigerians that our league should be run professionally and the keeping of agreements like transfer payment is part of what makes the league a professional one. I believe that our clubs should stop thinking that they are part of the civil service of state governments and so can treat their players and technical officials as civil servants.

S UNDAY Vanguard Vanguard,, FEBRUARY 21, 2016—47

Hiddink: Chelsea players must rediscover passion G UUS Hiddink has encouraged players to rediscover their love for the game and play in the moment since taking caretaker charge of Chelsea.

Hiddink suffered his first loss of his second spell in interim control last Tuesday at Paris St Germain and

goes into today’s FA Cup fifth round against Manchester City seeking a victory to extend his 100 per cent record in the competition.

The Dutchman won the trophy in 2009 after Chelsea beat Watford, Coventry, Arsenal and, at Wembley in the final,

I’ll give Mikel new role against Egypt – Oliseh

N

IGERIA coach Sunday Oliseh has said he expects Chelsea star Mikel Obi to play in a role that will give the Super Eagles results, revealing further he would prefer to play the midfielder in a defensive position, like Chelsea do.

It was also the same role he played when he broke out internationally under coach Samson Siasia at the 2005 FIFA U20 World Cup in the Netherlands.

“With the national team, it’s not what you want that matters, it is what will bring us results,”said Oliseh in a radio

interview.

“If you don’t want to do that, I will play players who want to help us, like I did against Swaziland.”

In October, Oliseh dropped Mikel to the bench for all 90 minutes when the Eagles hosted Swaziland in a 2018 World Cup qualifier in Port Harcourt.

The Eagles coach maintained Mikel is best as a central defensive midfielder.

Oliseh’s predecessor Stephen Keshi played the Chelsea star mostly as a free player in the engine and that freed him to join the attack more often.

Everton.

Chelsea won the Premier League and Capital One Cup last season, but their astonishing fall and the departure of Jose Mourinho in midDecember led to Hiddink being called upon to restore stability for a second time.

“Deep down you must play with joy,” Hiddink said.

“If you play with joy then the best comes out of a player. Joy is not always laughing. It is enjoying being a professional, enjoying training and doing your job, which is sometimes tough.

“But if you enjoy it and if you do it, not all day smiling, but you feel a little bit natural, then I think the performance is unconditioned.”

Striking...Barcelona’s forward Luis Suarez (R) vies with Las Palmas’ defender Pedro Bigas Rigo during the Spanish league at the Gran Canaria stadium in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Photo AFP.

Suarez happy to sweat for Barcelona L

UIS Suarez believes Barcelona showed they are willing to suffer to retain their Liga title after a battling 2-1 win at Las Palmas.

Suarez opened the scoring with his 41st goal

of a phenomenal season but the anticipated procession did not follow.

Willian Jose equalised for the third-bottom hosts, who attacked their illustrious opponents throughout and were entitled to be aggrieved as replays suggested Suarez was offside in the build-up to Neymar ’s 39th-minute winner.

“To win trophies you have to suffer,” Suarez told television reporters,

having also scored in Wednesday’s 3-1 victory at Sporting Gijon.

“We’ve had two away games to suffer but we got the three points.

“We always try to play in a different way. These games are the ones that give you the league.”

Barcelona moved nine points clear of secondplaced Atletico Madrid, who travel to Villarreal on Sunday.

Suarez and his team-

mates will turn their attention towards the defence of their Champions League crown at Arsenal on Tuesday and he added: “It’s important for the team to keep picking up points and to get good results. “[The busy schedule] is not an excuse but we know that we have many games in the last month and a half.

“The players want to play, have continuity and win.”

Mourinho heading to Man United, Moratti reveals

J

OSE Mourinho is on his way to Manchester United, according to the sister of honorary Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti.

The Portuguese coach is in Milan to commemorate the club’s 2010 triumph in the Champions League, which was masterminded

by the former Chelsea boss.

And after leaving a lunch with Mourinho and her brother, Bedy Moratti was asked by journalists whether Mourinho would be returning to Inter.

“No, he’s happy now, he’s going to Manchester United,”

Infinix Mobility floats youth football tourney

By Jonah Nwokpoku

M

OBILE device maker, Infinix Mobility has launched a football tournament for Nigerian youths.

Themed: ‘Infinix HOT Cup’, Infinix said the tournament is geared towards developing skills, promoting engagementandinculcating the virtue of team work in the Nigerian youth, adding that the youth need to be motivated through activities that will help hone their skills while working together.

The tournament is expected to host 56 young Nigerians drawn from different tertiary institutions in Lagos State including: University of

C M Y K

Lagos, UNILAG, Lagos State University, LASU and Yaba College of Technology, YABATECH.Thecompetition which kicked off February th 6 , at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, in Ikeja will run through March 5th Speaking on the tournament, Inifinix’s Public Relations Manager, Marotta Camille said: “With Infinix HOT CUP, we have a competition that will empower Nigerian youths and show their determination towards the sport. Football will help young Nigerians to groom their team building skills and work together to achieve a common goal. Winners of today make tomorrow’s leaders.”

she said.

Mourinho has long been linked with a move to Old Trafford, with Louis van Gaal coming under increasing pressure due to the nature of United’s performances.

TP Mazembe win third CAF Super Cup

T

P Mazembe on Saturday clinched a third CAF Super Cup when they defeated Tunisia’s Etoile du Sahel 2-1 in Lubumbashi.

Five-time African champions Mazembe have previously won this prestigious annual matchup between the winners of the Champions League and the Confederation Cup in 2010 and 2011.

Etoile, who won the 2015 Confederation Cup, have also won the 23-year-old competition twice.

Ghanaian striker Daniel Nii Adjei opened the scoring for Mazembe after 20 minutes when he powered his header off a Jean Kasusula cross from the left beyond goalkeeper Aymen Mathlouthi.

SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 21, 2016

AFCON 2017 qualifiers:

I’m struggling financially, Oliseh cries out

S

UPER Eagles coach, Sunday Oliseh has revealed he is financial-

ly handicapped in his preparations for the cru

Continues on page 45

•Oliseh

Iwobi fires blank as Hull frustrate Arsenal

H

•Mikel

Chelsea is also trying to maintain its own streak of

OLDERS Arsenal’s long unbeaten run in the FA Cup continued but they were frustrated by stubborn Championship leaders Hull City on Saturday, drawing 00 in a dreary fifth-round tie at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsene Wenger’s side piled on late pressure but could not find a way past the massed ranks of Hull’s defence and will need a replay in their quest to become the first club in the modern era to win the competition three years in a row.

Despite overwhelming possession, the closest Arsenal came to breaking the deadlock was Joel Campbell’s free kick that was tipped against

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•Iheanacho

FA Cup:Mikel,Iheanacho on collision course T

WO proud clubs will be facing each other today with both hoping to redeem themselves after losing their previous games. Chelsea will be hosting Manchester City, looking forward to getting back on the winning track after a 2-1 defeat at the hands of French club Paris Saint-Germain in Paris for

the Champions League.

However, today’s match will be a lot more challenging for Chelsea who will be missing team captain John Terry due to a hamstring injury.

Manchester City, on the other hand, has been struggling as of late with a couple of losses to Tottenham and Leicester City.

While the defeat to Tottenham wasn’t really surprising considering that the club is also a title contender, the one against Leicester City at home is a cause for alarm. Incidentally, two Super Eagles players, John Obi Mikel and Kelechi Iheanacho who scored solitary goals for Chelsea and Manchester City in

CROSS WORD PUZZLE DOWN ACROSS 1. Sample (5) 1. Governor of Sokoto 2. Niger state town (4) State (8) 3. Observe (5) 5. Assistant (4) 4. Lecture (6) 7. Praise (5) 5. Everyone (3) 8. Upright (4) 6. Use (6) 9. Lantern (4) 10. Inquires (4) 11. Tradition (6) 13. Lagos masquerade (3) 12. Carpet (3) 14. Colour (6) 15. Exclamation (2) 15. Resistance unit (3) 16. Pig’s nose (5) 17. Coax (4) 18. Agent (3) 19. Rollicked (6) 20. Glitters (6) 21. Hatchet (3) 24. Forward (5) 22. Satisfied (4) 25. Nigerian state (6) 23. Nigerian state (3) 27. Boring tool (3) 26. Cry of derision (3) 29. Ghanaian fabric (5) 27 . African country (6) 31. Perform (2) 28. Endure (4) 32. Oshiomhole’s state (3) 29. Child (3) 34. U.S. currency (6) 30. Spoke (6) 36. Vow (4) 31. Adorn (5) 38. Musical quality (4) 33. Baking chambers 39. Inclination (5) (5) 40. Eager (4) 35. Asterisk (4) 41. Damages (8) 37. Possessed (3)

their defeats to Tottenham and Paris Saint Germain will feature for the two Premier League giants in today’s encounter.

Considering the mediocre play of both clubs the last time out, this tie is actually a toss-up. Manchester City won six of the last 11 games against Chelsea, which means they are out today hoping to maintain that streak. However,

Ikorodu Utd host Abia Warriors

W

ITH anticipation building for the 2015/16 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) season which kicked off yesterday, two newly promoted clubs from Lagos State, Ikorodu United FC and MFM FC, are prepared to pull their weight among the best clubs in See solution on page 5

Continues on page 45

RESULTS NPF Plateau Utd

2

Tornadoes

1

FA Cup Arsenal Reading Watford Bournemouth

0 3 1 0

Hull City West Brom Leeds United Everton

0 1 0 2

Today’s Matches NPFL Rivers Utd v El Kanemi v Giwa v Heartland v Ikorodu Utd v Kano v Nasarawa v Shooting v Sunshine v

Enyimba Wikki Ifeanyi Ubah Warri Abia Warriors Enugu MFM FC Lobi Akwa

4pm 4pm 4pm 4pm 4pm 4pm 4pm 4pm 4pm

FA Cup Blackburn Tottenham Chelsea

West Ham Crystal Pal. Man City

3pm 4Pm 5pm

v v v

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