28 KILLED IN TERROR ATTACKS- Insurgents Hit Bank, Pollice Station, Prisons

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28 killed in terror attacks Continued from page 1 Kano yesterday.

Only the two suicide bombers involved in the attack were, however, killed.

Gunmen also shot dead a security guard in Maiduguri, Borno State capital, yesterday, bringing the death toll from suspected terror attacks at the weekend to 28.

The other highlight of the Adamawa incident was that the gunmen, who carried out the operation, attacked a bank, a police station and a prisons facility where some inmates were said to have been freed.

Some relaxation centers and hotels, a source said, were also hit.

The bulk of those killed were said to have been shot during the attack on the relaxation centers and hotels.

Adamawa killings

Eye witnesses said the attackers first struck at the divisional police station which was set ablaze before proceeding to the prisons where the inmates were set free and the building also set on fire.The attack, according to the eyewitnesses, which took the residents by surprise, began moments after the last Muslim prayers, Isha’i. The attackers were shouting, “Allah is Great, Allah is Great’, as they marched round the town unchallenged.At the bank, the assailants were reported to have used dynamites to pull down parts of the building before gaining entrance into the banking hall and the strong room.

At press time, there was no confirmation of the amount of money stolen from the bank but reports said the amount could run into millions of Naira.

Almost all the hotels and other relaxation joints in the town were set ablaze and ransacked, even as fun seekers ran helter skelter for dear lives.

Sunday Vanguard learnt that most of the casualties were recorded in the relaxation centres as the attackers opened fire sporadically on people seen to be patronizing the drinking joints and their owners. Adamawa State Police

Command confirmed the incident. The command’s public relations officer, PPRO Mohammed Ibrahim (SP), said military and police personnel had been dispatched to the area. Also, the Comptroller of Prisons in charge of Adamawa State, Mr. Andrew Barka, confirmed the ransacking of Ganye Prisons, but failed to give further details.Ganye local government council shares border with the Republic of C a m e r o o n .

Wheel barrow bombers In Kano, operatives of militar y Joint Task-Force (JTF), yesterday morning, allegedly foiled the attempt by two suicide bombers to blow up the counter terrorism personnel manning a checkpoint, leaving the bombers dead.

Security sources said the bombers had disguised as water vendors pushing through a wheel barrow loaded with high caliber Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and were approaching the checkpoint located at the Eastern bypass by the petrol mega station when they were ordered to stop. They allegedly refused.

The source stated that the military personnel, who appeared curious about the ‘ water vendors,” shot and killed the two suspects instantly, while a shot fired at the wheel barrow resulted in a deafening explosion that unsettled the restive commercial city forcing residents to retreat to the comfort of their homes.

Sunday Vanguard learnt that the JTF immediately cordoned off the scene and mobilized men and heavy weaponry there.

Confirming the incident, the Kano State Police Command stated that four people were arrested within the vicinity.

The Command, in a statement by the state police commissioner, Alhaji Musa Daura, said investigations had commenced to ascertain those involved.

SOLUTION

Death in black spot In the Maiduguri attack, gunmen, suspected to be members of Boko Haram, attacked the Kaleri ward residence of a businessman, Alhaji Umar Ali Adam Kolo, and shot dead his chief security officer at about 1.45pm yesterday.

Kaleri ward of the metropolis, according to (JTF) sources, is one of the eight black spot areas of Boko Haram in the Borno State capital.

The chief security officer, according to an eyewitness, was trailed to his duty post at the compound on a tricycle immediately after the afternoon mosque prayers, and shot in the head and chest.

He slumped and died on the s p o t .

The eye witness said the suspects came through the Shehuri North areas, before riding into the Kaleri ward on a tricycle, chanting: “God is great! God is great!,” in Arabic language, before they shot and killed the security guard.

A resident said the security guard was early this year issued a threat letter to vacate his duty post of protecting his boss.

The JTF spokesman in Borno State, Leuitenant Colonel Sagir Musa, and the police image maker, DSP Gideon Jubrin, could not be reached as their phones were all switched off at the time of going to press.

Pope Francis visits predecessor for lunch.....says they’re brothers

BY SAM EYOBOKA WITH AGENCY REPORT

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OPE Francis yesterday made another history when he became the first Catholic Pontiff in more than 600 years to visit his predecessor.

Pope Francis was flown by helicopter to Castel Gandolfo for a private lunch with Pope Emeritus Benedict.

Benedict has lived at the lakeside castle south of Rome since last month, when he became the first pope in six centuries to resign, citing ill health.

Pope Francis traveled Saturday to this hill town south of Rome to have lunch with his

“brother ” and predecessor Benedict XVI, a historic and potentially problematic melding of the papacies that has never before confronted the Catholic Church.

The two men dressed in white embraced warmly on the helipad in the gardens of Castel Gandolfo, where Benedict has been living since he retired Feb. 28 and became the first pope to resign in 600 years.

And in a series of gestures that ensued, Benedict made clear that he considered Francis to be pope while Francis made clear he considered his predecessor to be very much a revered brother and equal.

Pope Francis meeting his predecessor for lunch, yesterday, the first time such a meeting has been possible for more than 600 years.

Oyinlola asks AGF to prosecute MTN directors

BY KINGSLEY OMONOBI

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ORMER Governor of Osun State and erstwhile Peoples Democratic Party National Secretary, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, has written to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, SAN, asking that members of the Board of MTN Nigeria Communications Limited be prosecuted as recommended by the police.

In his letter dated 21 March, 2013, titled, RE: POLICE INVESTIGATION REPORT ON A CASE OF CONSPIRACY, FORGERY AND PERVERSION OF THE COURSE OF JUSTICE BY MTN NIGERIA LTD, Oyinlola posited: “A company ’s ‘directing mind and will’ are members of its Board of Directors, who exercise control and management over the organization, and on whom the law imposes strict duties in the exercise of those functions.

“That being the case, the acts of the ‘directing mind and will’ or the ‘alter ego’ of a company are to be directly attributed to the company”.

Oyinlola, himself a lawyer, stated further: “Conversely, if the police have recommended that MTN be prosecuted for a

crime, my humble view is that to give effect to that recommendation, it is members of the Board of MTN that should face prosecution”.

Additionally, the former governor wants the suspended President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Isa Ayo Salami, prosecuted for alleged manipulation of call data records (including Salami’s) that MTN forwarded to the security agencies at the behest of the National Judicial Council’s Special Investigative Panel which heard Oyinlola’s petition in 2011 arising from his protest on his loss of the case on the Osun State guberatorial election.

The perjury case against Rotimi Odusola, Senior Manager, Commercial Legal with MTN, according to the ex-governor, is a separate and distinct matter altogether”, he concluded.

In a related development, he also forwarded a petition, titled: JUSTICE AYO SALAMI AND MTN: ADDITIONAL PROOF OF CONSPIRACY TO TAMPER WITH EVIDENCE, to the Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman, National Judicial Council, Aloma Mariam Mukhtar.

In the letter, which was acknowledged as received on 20 March, 2013 and to which

he attached NJC’s letter of invitation to MTN, Oyinlola said, “Further to my letter of the 14th of February, I wish to avail Council, through your office, of additional proof of conspiracy to tamper with evidence, involving Justice Ayo Salami and MTN Nigeria Communications.

“Paragraph 2 of the attached National Judicial Council’s letter of invitation to MTN clearly states that the request to appear as witness before the Special Investigative Panel, which heard my petition, was at Justice Ayo Salami’s instance.

“Additionally, aside the fact that the Chairman of the National Judicial Council’s Special Investigative Panel, retired Justice Umar Abdullahi, announced during one of the Panel’s sittings that Justice Salami was inviting the telecoms service provider to appear as his witness (the record of proceedings should reveal this), MTN’s representative, one Rotimi Odusola, was led in evidence by one of the suspended PCA’s coterie of lawyers, Lateef Fagbemi.

“As a minister in the temple of justice myself, I would be elated, if the hunch I have, that Justice Ayo Salami and MTN constituted themselves into a cog in the wheel of justice, proves to be contrary”.

PAGE 6—SUNDAY VANGUARD, MARCH 24, 2013

Ex-army general kidnapped •Delta police rescue him in commando operation, kill one abductor, arrest 2

BY EMMA AMAIZE & FESTUS AHON

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four-man kidnap gang, demanding for N50 million ransom, on Wednesday, abducted a 67-year-old retired military officer, Major General Peter Unode, in Ekiugbo, Ughelli North Lo-

cal Government Area of Delta State, blindfolded and chained him in their den for two days.

They were waiting for the payment of the ransom negotiated with the family when the police, yesterday morning, stormed their den in an armada operation at about 8.00 am

and liberated the retired army officer.

Delta State Police Commissioner, Mr. Ikechukwu Aduba, who confirmed the operation, told Sunday Vanguard on phone that police killed one of the kidnappers in a gun battle at Ozoro, Isoko North Local Government

Area.

Police also seized two of the gangsters, according to the commissioner, who hinted that the residence used as operational base by the gang would be set ablaze.

Sunday Vanguard gathered the fourth kidnapper, who sustained bullet wound, was still at large, but police were hunting for him.

Aduba’s words, “The general was kidnapped on Wednesday. In a fierce gun duel, one of the kidnappers was gunned down, the rescued general described the raid of the kidnapping den, where he was chained as commando type and praised the bravery of the tactically disciplined squad, led by the Divisional Police Officer, DPO”.

The commissioner, who disclosed that no ransom was paid, asserted that the kidnappers whisked away Major General Unode in an ash-coloured Sienna bus after his kidnap, along Ekiugbo road, Ughelli.

Narrating his ordeal to

reporters, Unuode said, “I went with one S.O Oyibo who deals on bamboo sticks, along the Ughelli/ Port-Harcourt expressway.

On getting there, we saw one Toyota Sienna, parked close to the caravan, where the bamboos were kept.

“And we saw the owner of the Sienna car defecating close to the caravan and we expressed concern why the man was defecating close to the caravan, because another who wanted to buy 200 pieces of bamboo from Oyibo also went with us.

After a while, we saw Oyibo discussing with the man and as I moved closer, they stopped the conversation and the man zoomed off in his Sienna.

“After few minutes, the Sienna resurfaced and two boys emerged from it with pump actions and they were saying; na you say make our oga pack shit. They were three in the car, but only two came out and that was how I was bundled away through Amekpa.

“After a while, I was blindfolded and whisked away with impunity. As we were going, they said I should give them N50

million, otherwise they would waste me. And I told them I do not have that kind of money and that I am a retired Army General.

“And they took me to their hideout; a living environment. People in the area were speaking Isoko; the boys guiding me were also conversing in Isoko. I was hearing the sound of vehicles and motorcycles; the place was close to a busy road.

And from that Wednesday that they took me until I was rescued by the police, I refused food. I lived on water all through.

“Later they reduced the ransom fee to N20 million, later came down to N15, N10 and N5 million and the boys felt insulted when my son they were negotiating with mentioned N450,000. They seriously tortured me coupled with mosquito bites.

The mosquitoes took advantage of me because I was properly chained to a chair and helpless.

“I was chained on my ankle; my knees were tied; my hands were tied; my mouth was tied and I was still under blindfold.

I was subjected to all forms of inhuman treatment”.

From left: Brig-Gen Cletus Emein(Old Student and former Military Administrator, Niger State), Rev(Dr) Hyacinth Egbebo(Catholic Bishop of Bomadi Vicariate), Mr William Bozimo(National President, Old Students Association and Foundation Senior Prefect), Justice Kate Abiri(Old Student and Chief Judge, Bayelsa State), Prof Patrick Muoboghare(Delta State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education/Chairman of the Occasion), Prof Christopher Ikporukpo(Old Student and Pioneer Vice Chancellor, Niger Delta University/Guest Speaker) and Pastor Power Aginighan(Old Student and former Ag Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission), during the golden jubilee celebration of Govt. College, Bomadi, formerly St. Brendan’s College, yesterday.

Marginalisation: Egbema leaders kick

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HE leaders of Egbema kingdom, in Warri North local government, Delta State, have reiterated their dissatisfaction over the political marginalisation of Egbema Ijaw, and equally denied any fresh crisis with the Itsekiri in the area.

Reacting to report in the Vanguard of 22nd, 2013 on 36, titled “Fresh Ijaw/ Itsekiri crisis looms in Warri North”, they maintained that the Egbema Ijaw will further agitate against their political marginalisation, but will

not encourage any violent agitation.

The leaders, Chief E.E Ebimami, Elder G.E Lelekumo, Chief L.D.O Yebu, Apostle Sunny Jero, Chief Evans Abulu, Rev P. Obigha, and Chief James Ukulor, at a meeting in Warri , pointed out that the incident as reported in the paper further confirmed the marginalization of Egbema Ijaw, adding that it was completely misleading in the report that 300 persons were being held by Ijaw youths, and urged the public to disregard the report.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MARCH 24, 2013 — PAGE 7

APC Vs PDP: There is big war ahead of 2015 — Tukur

BY LUKA BINNIYAT The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alh. Bamangar Tukur, yesterday, said the party would face a “heavy ” war ahead of the 2015 elections, saying “ there is a group that just came up (ostensibly referring to APC) and wants to sweep the mat off our feet”.

The PDP boss, who was speaking at a reconciliation meeting of the PDP North West Zone, told estranged members of the party, “PDP is all about patronage. We are going to dole our patronage to all our members who remain in the party”.

Murtala Mohammed Square, the venue of the meeting, which was attended by the National Working Committee of the party, was hijacked by thousands of unruly, rag-tag supporters bearing the party banners and brawling over cash thrown at them amidst deafening drumming and praise singing. Policemen drafted to keep security also blocked the entrance to the hall, manhandling top members of the party who came in late, thus creating choas at the

venue.

Said Tukur: “I am here to tell all our supporters about the virtue of patience. Patience is such a priceless thing, that the Hausa people say, ‘a patient man can cook a stone and drink its sauce’. I want to plead with our members in this zone to imbibe this teaching. “This is because without patience, we will all be in disarray. And we cannot afford to be.

“Because there is a heavy war ahead in 2015.

A group has come up and wants to sweep the mat off our feet. We cannot allow that to happen. Because the PDP is the only party that is not religious, not sectional or tribal. We are one big party, and we intend, and we must remain so.

“What I am saying here is what I told our supporters in the South West. They are not

happy, because of the problem they face in the party in that zone, a minority has taken over power there.

“Let me inform you.

The PDP stands for patronage. We are going to give patronage to all our members who have contested elections and lost. There is enough in the party to go round everyone. There is no need to leave the party”, he said to the chairing of the hall. The Vice

From right:Chief Demola Seriki, representing Asiwaju Bola Tinubu;Prince Bola Ajibola, former Attorney General of Nigeria; Chief Oba Otudeko, Chief Launcher/ former chairman of First Bank Plc, Justice Ibrahim Tako Mohammed, Chairman of the occasion, during the 79th birthday and book launch in honour of Ajibola, held yesterday in Lagos. Photo ; Kehinde Gbadamosi

President, Arc. Namadi Sambo, who was in attendance, said in his speech, that party was fully organized and vibrant.

Said Sambo: “Our party is well noted for its adoption of rule of law and natural justice in the discharge of its activities.

“The decision to embark on this tour is in order to properly position the party to face future challenges. “The assembly of the crème of our Party faithful at this meeting only signals and lends credence to our desire to ensure that we develop new ideas, initiatives and innovations that will further solidify the Party and move it forward”, he said.

Governor of Kastina State, Alh. Shehu Shema, who spoke on behalf of the governors of the zone, said the PDP had brought a lot of development to the country since it grabbed power in 1999.

“From the forest of the South-South, to the sands of the far north, you can see what the PDP has done for the country.

“But we also have our own challenges. And that is part of what we shall be addressing soon”.

‘Maitama Sule not dead’ A

lhaji Maitama Sule, eminent politician and former Nigerian ambassador to the United Nations (UN), is not dead, according to Project Nigeria.

A statement, last night, by the group which he cochairs, said the elder

statesman, contrary to a claim that he was dead, was hale and hearty.

The statement read: “In view of the rumour flying around the country and the barrage of inquiries to our national secretariat by media operatives, political

associates, admirers, supporters and Nigerians in general following some unconfirmed reports in the Nigeria media that Elder statesman Alhaji Dr Maitama Sule is dead, Project Nigeria wishes to formally refute the rumour

Yoruba, other Nigerian languages on the verge of extinction, Prof Akinwunmi Isola warns

BY DAYO JOHNSON, Akure

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university don, Prof. Akinwumi Isola, has raised the alarm over the looming extinction of Yoruba and other indigenous languages in Nigeria.

According to him, failure of the people to speak Yoruba language to the young ones was capable of wiping out the language.

Isola, a literature icon and professor of language, said this at the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko while delivering the 4th convocation lecture of the institution, which was presented in Yoruba language and entitled, ‘Kini A fee Maa Fii Ede Yoruba Se?’He expressed concern that the country did not learn a lesson from China, which, he said, was able to achieve

the present level of development because the people use their mother tongue for education and other transactions.

Isola, therefore, suggested that government should make Yoruba language compulsory from primary school level to higher institutions to ensure that the young ones understand the language from early stage of life. The don lamented that many elites consider their language as inferior to the foreign ones, saying some of them don’t speak Yoruba language in their homes let alone train their children with it. According to him, “Government should also ensure that the Yorùbá language is made the medium of instruction in primary schools as it was done during the If?? experiment some years back.

The vice chancellor of the

university, Professor Femi Mimiko, said the decision of the institution to present the convocation lecture in Yoruba language showed that it was committed to the development of the language.

that Alhaji Maitama Sule, co chair of Project Nigeria is dead “For the avoidance of doubt members of the secretariat team of Project Nigeria did converse with the Elderstatesman yesterday and today again and he said he is not just alive but hale and hearty and in very sound health. Furthermore, as we issue this statement now Alhaji Maitama Sule is speaking at a lecture at the Bayero University, Kano, Kano state to prove that he is in good shape.

“We wish to thank members all Nigerians who showed concerned about

the wellbeing of the elderstatsteman and wish to assure them that Alhaji Maitama Sule will still be here to contribute his quota to the ongoing effort of Project Nigeria (National Consensus Group) to restructure Nigeria and make it a stable and prosperous polity for all.

“Lastly, we wish to advise those who may have other motive in peddling this unsavoury rumour to please desist forth with as we call on the security apparatus of the Nigerian state to be alert and vigilant towards the personal security of the el-

derstatesman.”

Soldiers dislodge gunmen from Warri waterways

BY EMMA AMAIZE & EMMA ARUBI

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ilitary personnel have chased away the gunmen, who laid siege, on Thursday, to the Benin River in Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State and hijacked four boats.

The siege caused tension in Sapele, Koko and other communities, as Ijaw and Itsekiri natives, oblivious of the dangerous dimension, skirmish-

es between the two ethnic groups had taken in the past, ran helterskelter.

However, security agents, moving in gunboats, acted promptly, as they launched series of raids on suspected hideouts in some communities in search of the gunmen, who abandoned their location in the face of superior firepower.

A member of the Delta Waterways Security Committee, DWSC, Comrade Omolubi Newuwumi, told Sunday Vanguard

that security agents recovered the four hijacked boats same day, adding that peace had returned following military intervention.

An organization, Egbema Radical Change, ERC, which claimed responsibility for siege, however, said, “ We want to make it clear to the public that the ongoing protest is not meant for criminal activities, but for political injustice in Warri North Local Government Area by our Itsekiri brothers.’’

BRIEFS Methodist Church counsels on insurgency

By Akoma Chinweoke

Methodist Church Nigeria wants the Federal Government to address the issue of Boko Haram insurgency with a view to stamping out terrorism in the country permanently.

At the 22 nd Annual Synod of the Church, held recently at Diocese of Remo , Oko Circuit, Sagamu, Ogun State, the Synod noted the insecurity in the land and expressed worries that the tempo of criminal activities had continued unabated in spite of condemnation from religious bodies.

The Synod also urged the federal and state governments to address the issue of power instability in the land.

Power of God Ministry

Following the stagnation of business and careers in the country, the Power of God Deliverance Ministry Incorporation, popularly known as ‘Power Must Change Hands Ministry’, is organizing a fiveday programme, tagged, “It must be better than these”, from March 27 in FESTAC Town, Lagos.

The spiritual head of the church, Prophet Uche Nwaeze, disclosed that God was set to set free those in captivity and deliver the people from satanic molestation.

He added that Wednesday- Thursday will be for breaking of ancestral covenant and curses while Friday is praise and miracle night. The final leg is the Sunday worship and miracle service.

Madam Ngozi Uzoukwu passes on

The death has been announced of Mrs. Ngozi Ruth Sunday Uzoukwu, aged 78 years, after a protracted illness. Her remains will be laid to rest on Friday, April 5, 2013, at her home town, Amafor, Isingwu Village, Umuahia, Abia State, after a funeral service at St. John’s Methodist Church, Amafor Isingwu.She is survived by husband, Elder Sunday U. Uzoukwu, sons, daughters, daughters-inlaw, grand and great grand children, among whom is Charles Uzoukwu.

Late Ngozi Uzoukwu

PAGE 8—SUNDAY VANGUARD, MARCH 24, 2013

Nigerian firms shun UN corporate rule – NESG DG

BY DANIEL GUMM

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IRECTOR-GENERAL of Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), Mr. Frank Nweke (Jr), at the weekend, expressed disappointment over how Nigerian companies failed to comply with the United Nations corporate sustainability.

In his remarks at the two-day seminar/workshop on Ethics, Compliance Practices and AntiCorruption Collective Action, which held in Lagos, Nweke said that it was wrong for Nigeria’s companies to rush to New York, United States, to seek for what they could readily avail themselves here in Nigeria.

He advised company

Chief Executive Officers, CEOs to take responsibilities on issues that bordered on the UN Global Compact voluntary corporate sustainability initiative that focused on areas of human rights, workplace ethics, environment, and anti-corruption.

He stated that in order to achieve collective initiative on UN Global Compact, we should begin to engage the Small and Medium Enterprises to understand the policy of government.

Earlier in her presentation, Mrs. Olajobi Makinwa, Head of Transparency and Anti-Corruption Initiatives, UN Global Compact, explained that the UN Global Compact has been working closely with the NESG through collective efforts, since the

Apathy mars Bayelsa council polls

BY SAMUEL OYADONGHA, Yenagoa

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OTER apathy and late arrival of election materials, yesterday, characterized the local government council elections in Bayelsa State.

Though there was a ‘no movement’ restriction order, most of the registered voters did not turn up at the polling booths to exercise their franchise in spite of the clement weather through out the election period.

The elections were held to elect eight chairmen and 105 councillors.

Some of the popular markets in the state capital including Opolo, Kpansia, Tombia and Swali were in full operation until they were forcefully closed down by armed

policemen who also mounted road blocks along the major roads in the capital city.

The situation was not different in the rural enclave which could be accessed by road as there was glaring apathy towards the polls with the natives seen going about their normal businesses.

In most areas visited, voters complained of the disappearance of their names from the voters register, the late arrival of electoral materials, nonavailability of the ad-hoc staff of the State Independent Electoral Commission among others.

In Kolokuma-Opokuma council area where Timi Alaibe hails from, though the election materials arrived late, the exercise was peaceful.

Empowerment: Ndokwa pleads with Jonathan

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HE people of Ndok wa nation have urged the government of President Goodluck Jonathan to create opportunities of development and empowerment for their youths and called for an end to the marginalization of the area in every ramification.

President General of the Ndokwa National Union, Mr. Paul Enebeli, made this plea in Abuja when leading a delegation of Ndokwa people to the Special Adviser to the

President on Niger Delta Affairs, Mr. Kingsley Kuku.

‘It was reported in a newspaper with the headline ‘Ndokwa nation demands inclusion in amnesty’, but the fact is that the region is demanding for empowerment for its youths and not amnesty as it was reported.

The President General said that governments at all levels were unfair to his ethnic group, a situation he said must be redressed.

beginning of the project.

She stressed that the role of compliance/ethics officers working with other parts of the business, “is critical in the fight against corruption.”

Makinwa said that transparency “ reduces transaction costs and expands an opportunity for investment, competitiveness and growth,” adding that “without full integration of compliance and and ethics into organisation’s strategies and operations, meaningful progress on anti-corruption cannot happen.”

From left: Chief Abiola Ogundokun, Senator Olufemi Okunrounmu, Bishop Bolanle Gbonigi and Bashorun Seinde Arowogbofa, at a meeting of Yoruba Unity Forum on the Yoruba marginalisation recently.

Jega opens up on controversy ‘INEC has not registered any APC’

BY LUKA BINNIYAT, Kaduna

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HE Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, yesterday, said that no political party with acronym “APC” has been registered. .

Speaking on a live audience participation Radio Nigeria Hausa programme Hanu Dayawa, monitored in Kaduna, Jega said the All Progressive Congress (APC) just recently officially notified the commission that it intended to merge some opposition parties into one.

Said Jega: “This issue has generated controversy in the past few weeks.

Firstly, the truth is that no political party wrote to notify us that it is planning to merge with some other political parties until the past five days or so.

“Therefore it not true that we were notified.

The issue became serious when one group came out to seek for registration and I guess that was what made them to write and notify us. But that is not the issue. The main issue is that there are guidelines for registered political parties who want to merge to become a new party.

There are also guidelines for individuals or groups who want to form a political party for registration”.

The INEC boss explained that the guidelines for registering new political parties are different from those for registered political parties wanting to merge, say-

ing registered political parties merging must have agreed to merge and each of the political party in the merger must have held a convention and agreed to withdraw their registration as a political party to become part of the new party to be form through the merger.

“After their conventions, they are expected to write and request INEC to withdraw their former registration and say they want to join a new party. In spite of all the controversies, none of these political parties who want to merge has held their convention” Jega stated.

“We only read in the newspapers that they have the intention of merging and nobody wrote us until about five or six days ago. If anybody wants to register a political party, you are

expected to tell INEC of your intention by saying that you want to register a party with so and so name and you want to know the procedure for doing so.

“Only one group came.

The group asked one lawyer to write INEC saying they wanted to form a political party with a particular name and they wanted to know the rules and procedures for registration as a political party.

“If this other group has done so, we would have replied them and tell them the rules and the procedures they are supposed to follow to be registered. So, the issue of whether we have collected the name of this other group and whether we have agreed to register them does not even arise because we just replied to their letter by telling them the procedure.

“While this was going on, some people started making noise saying that they wanted to merge with so, so name. Some of them were even saying that we have registered the other group with that name. It is not done like that.

“People are just making noise over the name which is in the market while we have not even gotten to that stage.

While all these noise were going on, another group came up seeking for registration with the same name.

“We have rules and guidelines for all this and we are determined to follow the rules to avoid any confusion. But we have not reached a stage where we can say a group has been registered with so, so name.

So all these noise is just part of our politics in Nigeria”.

Expert calls for improved security infrastructure

BY ISHOLA BALOGUN

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RANSPORT facility operators in Nigeria have been advised to urgently protect the facilities against the terrorist threat.

Reacting to the deadly bombing of the Sabon Gari Kano land transport terminal by suspected Boko Haram fighters, renowned security consultant, Dr. Ona Ekhomu called for robust security measures at land transport facilities including bus stations, interstate taxi parks and state-owned transport corporations. He also called

for proper protection of railway terminals, river transport jetties and airports throughout the country.

Ekhomu said that since transportation infrastructure has been targeted by Boko Haram terrorists, there was a need to beef up security of these terminals in order to arrest future terrorist bombings.

He called for the following security measures in transport terminals: passenger identification card enforcement, body search, use of hand-held metal detectors, use of bomb-sniffing dogs, hand

search of carry on luggage, etc. He also called for the application of CPTED principles such as structural barriers, speed brakes, concrete bollards and blast curtains in order to defend transportation infrastructure against terrorist attacks.

West Africa’s first chartered security professional Ekhomu said that transportation systems needed to be competently protected since they formed a part of the national critical infrastructure. Such protection will increase their resilience against terrorist attacks.

SUNDAY

Idima Ohaeke Abam in Arochukwu Local Government Area of Abia State is known for bravery and war. In the past, head hunters had an association. Like mercenaries, they could be hired to fight other people’s wars. The area was feared. There were head hunters who could, on one machete strike, severe a man’s head from his shoulders. That was before the coming of the ‘white man’.

During the Nigeria - Biafra War, the community served as a bastion of resistance. Its people fed the Biafra enclave – soldiers and civilians – to the end. The war came to an end when Nigerian troops threatened the community. It was here that Biafran soldiers gave up all arms and ammunition after the surrender.

So, what could make a king of the community run away for his dear life to stay at the palace of another friendly king, a community Idima has ancestral covenant (Igba Ndu). This is the story of HRM Eze Atum Akwara, the Onyerubi 1, Ohaeke Autonomous Community. He formally returned to his community, last year, after spending 12 years in exile. He is telling his story for the first time and it is vintage Sunday Vanguard.

Enjoy it!

You are king here? have been king for over 20 years. I was king when we were part of Imo State. I was king when government said they wanted a king to represent Abam clan.

Then Eze Ike Okoroafor was king of Ozu Abam, Eze Iroegbu was king of Ndi Oji Abam, and I was king of Ohaeke Abam.

So, government decided they wanted only one king to represent the entire Abam.

Then I became the king of Abam.

How did that happen?

After the government announcement, the political and traditional leaders of all Abam assembled at Okike Izu, in Amaelu. There it was decided that we would abide by what the government had said. Eze Okoroafor wanted to be chosen above all, the same for Iroegbu and so was I. But when I was asked to speak, I said it was only God who could make someone king over others. I advised we go into prayers for God to provide someone who would be king of Abam and who will be a worthy leader. I suggested that a ballot be drawn and whoever wins should be accepted as God-chosen. This suggestion was greeted with applause across the hall. So it was so decided.

Subsequently, there was a general prayer session, before the ballot was drawn. Okoroafor was the first to pick from the box after which he was asked to stand aside. The same with Iroegbu and then myself.

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When they opened Okoroafor ’s ballot, it was No.2.

Iroegbu’s ballot was No. 3 and mine was No.1. The hall came alive. It was an open and transparent exercise and there was peace. I was made Eze Abam Onyerubi. I served in that capacity for five years before government returned us to our former positions which subsists till today.

At a stage you had problem with your community. What happened?

I had problem through one of our politicians (names withheld), after I took Ejike Egbe, Ngozi Atum, Jacob Ike and the late Nze Nwosu of Amaeke Abam with me to persuade him to participate in politics. I had wanted someone to come out to represent our people. Initially he declined saying he was a Christian, and I said I never brought a goat or a chicken to ask him to make sacrifice. All I wanted was for him to participate in politics so that whatever was our due could reach us. After sometime he accepted. But later, he had a misunderstanding with Mazi Nkem Okoro, then Arochukwu LG chairman.

Okoro summoned traditional rulers to say the politician, now a parliamentarian, was destabilising the government.

The traditional rulers insisted they would recall him from the House. I told the gathering that justice is served only when you listen to both sides of a story. I urged the leaders to find time to enable the politician to defend himself. I said we shouldn’t judge someone at his back. They agreed.

A letter was written to him and he gave a date that would be convenient for him to attend.

He never showed up. I thereafter summoned my community elders to join in the peace process. They accepted, but he showed up to say anybody engaging in any peace process

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By TONY NWANKWO

We single-handedly fed Biafrans – Eze of Ohaeke Abam * Mob attack sent me on 12-yr exile

Eze Atum Akwara the community. That he would no longer like to see my son, Ngozi, in Idima, same for Ejike Egbe, Obo Dike and Okorukwu Ogbaegbe who was eventually murdered. I stood up to ask him where he came from that he could, because of politics, decide who could and could not be living amongst our people. At a stage I got angry, picked up my walking stick and left for home. At home I put on my generator, and suddenly the parliamentarian appeared with some seven men and he came to me for a fight. Luckily my house had an escape route as they made for me. They hounded my wives and children when they couldn’t get

NDDC came here and destroyed the place in the name of road construction. Our children are agitating on the poor work they did and I hope they will listen

was not doing so on his behalf.

Thereafter, the politician came before the community to say I had signed a document to recall him from parliament.

And I never signed any papers. Even till today, he never brought any paper I signed to that effect. Eventually, the community summoned me to the village square where I repeated my efforts to make peace between him and the council chairman. The Assembly said I had done no wrong and dismissed the case. After seven days, the politician brought drinks and provided meat for the people and said he never wanted to see me in

Vanguard, MARCH 24, 2013, PAGE 9

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to me. They destroyed my house and I escaped to Amaeke Abam. At Amaeke, the community couldn’t provide refuge for me. Amaeke people insisted they would hand me over to government.

At the local government, the chairman decided they would take me to the governor, then, Orji Uzor Kalu. It was the governor who liaised with Eze Aro, Eze Ogbonnaya Okoro of Arochukwu. The governor told Eze Aro to protect me and ensure my safety. That if anything happened to me, it was the Eze Aro that government would hold responsible. That was how I came to be with Eze

Aro, and I lived in his palace in Arochukwu for 12 years.

And government ensured your welfare?

They ensured my protection.

The chairman of the council then was paying me N20,000 every month.

Another chairman came and increased it to N30,000 every month.

Another chairman who came refused to pay me anything. I had to write to government about it.

A traditional r uler, who once was leader of Abam 22 communities, now having to live in exile? How did it feel?

I wish to thank the Almighty God for my protection and that of my family. I left Idima with 16 children until I returned after 12 years, I didn’t bury even one of them. God was guarding us and Aro people stood by me. They did everything to soothe my frayed nerves. Their king, Eze Ogbonnaya Okoro, stood by the ancestral covenant between us and Aro people and he never wavered in my defense. God will continue to bless and prosper him, his family and his people. Ordinary people in Aro were supporting me. They made me their own even when government after Orji Uzor Kalu abandoned me to my fate.

How did government respond to your quarrel with the politician?

The government of Orji Uzor Kalu set up a panel of inquiry where my position was vindicated and government promised to rebuild my palace which was destroyed and vandalized. No bricks was left standing, my property were vandalized and stolen. After a peace process initiated by the governor, he gave money to rebuild my palace and promised to continue to fund

the project. But then he left government and the incoming administration couldn’t do anything. I have written several letters to them, highlighting my fate, and till date nothing has happened.

The building remains at the level it was left by the Kalu administration.

As traditional ruler of Idima Abam, what would you plead with government to do, particularly one sees you have no all season road here?

Government should at least do my house so that I can have a roof over my head. I lost my three cars during the period.

Government came here and saw the level of destruction.

This community has no roads.

We could be the food basket of this state but there are no roads, so farm produce is allowed to rot and waste. This is an agricultural community.

Idima single-handedly fed the people of Biafra, but today, due to no all season motorable road, these things are wasted within, as transportation is expensive. NDDC came here and destroyed the place in the name of road construction.

Our children are agitating on the poor work they did and I hope they will listen.

Unfortunately, NDDC, known for its expertise in road construction came here and chose to retain the footpath our ancestors left behind. As it is, two cars coming from opposite directions cannot pass each other. The road they did is that bad. I believe and hope they will come to remedy the situation soon. We have a history here. During the Nigeria - Biafra War, the community served as a bastion of resistance. Its people fed the Biafra enclave – soldiers and civilians – to the end. The war came to an end when Nigerian troops threatened the commuknity. It was here that Biafran soldiers gave up all arms and ammunition after the surrender.

What would you say about the crisis between this community and Ndi Ememe as regards the land dispute?

This problem is just a crisis caused by an individual. Ndi Ememe has never had any crisis with Idima people. I was not yet born and I am going to 90, when Ndi Ememe was established. The lands there are owned by maternal families from Idima Abam. Here, we don’t struggle for land.

Land does not belong to individuals, lands belong to maternal families and kindred. It is outsiders, land speculators who are stoking the fire for Ndi Ememe to create land crisis so they can benefit. But they are wrong, because no one can take Idima land, not today, not tomorrow.

PAGE 10—SUNDAY Vanguard, MARCH 24, 2013

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sults state by state without paying much attention until it got to Lagos; where I expected Ribadu to clear one million-plus votes. Instead, it was Jonathan who scored one million-plus votes. I rang the bell for a nurse and lodged a complaint that the drug given to me was affecting my vision. She asked “why Sir?” I replied that what I was seeing on television could not be true; Jonathan could not possibly clear Lagos, Ogun, Ekiti, Ondo, Edo and Oyo states.

“But, that is true Sir”, she said. Still not believing, I picked up my phone and called a close associate, a columnist with the NATION to double check. My friend not only confirmed the figures but he added. “I also voted for Jonathan, but, not PDP. In fact many of my colleagues here did the same”. That was a deadly blow; but it was also revealing of how, even a majority of ordinarily intelligent people can be wrong.

Future historians should have no problem in selecting a statement which summarises our collective selfdestruction in this era. It will be that statement which, in addition to the scandal of spending, reportedly, about N500 million

All the president’s men “The greater a man is in power above others, the more he ought to excel them in virtue. None ought to govern who is not better than the governed.” — Publius Syrus LL eyes were on Rome for the in auguration of Pope Francis. On addressing the devoted and the world leaders immediately at the Mass where over 200,000 gathered, he called on world leaders and people all over to defend the weak.

He seemed to address the leaders directly that the young, old and those in need were often neglected and ignored.

Pope Francis said the pope himself must be inspired by the lowly - "the poorest, the weakest, the least important, those who Matthew lists in the final judgment on love: the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, and the sick, those in prison". The following day he again left the Vatican, incognito, to vis-

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it a sick friend in hospital.

The new pope is a frugal man, a friend of the poor, in the long tradition of another icon of the Catholic Church, whose name he has borrowed, St Francis of Assisi. As bishop, he used to travel around Buenos Aires on public transport and cook for himself in a small apartment.

This is a good way to start off. No this Pope is not just talking, judging from his time as a cardinal, not only does he talk the talk but that he walks the walk. There is no reason that the Pope will change his tune and his focus after all when he was cardinal he shunned the cardinal mansion and rented himself a small but modest flat. The Vatican is in for a change and a good change too; this man does not want to stand on pomp and ceremony.

After his successful election, he again shun the Limousine and took

Future historians should have no problem in selecting a statement which summarises our collective self-destruction in this era

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ing through corrupt self-enrichment. Then, all those who voted for Jonathan can hold themselves partly responsible for what happened two weeks ago.

Jonathan will come again to ask for your votes. But, because most Africans are stupid, he might again be re-elected. Have you noticed that no single high profile robber had been sentenced since Jonathan became President? You voted for him. My hands are clean!!! · N1.5 billion converted

to London to purchase property.

25. Converted 241 million pounds to buy London property.

26. Converted 3 million pounds to buy property in London.

28.Converted $409, 761.24 to buy property in London.

29. Converted 1 million pounds to buy property in South Africa.

30. Converted N250 million to buy property at Ikoyi.

the coach to the hotel he was staying, paid his bill and refused help to carry his luggage.

There is a need of a common sense approach; someone in touch with the masses, he chose a good name and he seemed to want to emulate his name sake, Francis of Assisi. Pope Francis, 76, when referring to Francis of Assisi and saying that the role of protector was not just a Christian one.

He said: "It means protecting all creation, the beauty of the created world... It means respecting each of God's creatures and respecting the environment in which we live. “It means protecting people, showing loving concern for each and

tect every man and every woman, to look upon them with tenderness and love, is to open up a horizon of hope," Pope Francis said.

And for good measures, this shows the character of the man who is Pope.

After the election was declared in the Sistine Chapel, a Vatican official called the Master of Ceremonies offered to the new Pope the traditional papal red cape trimmed with ermine that his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI gladly wore on ceremonial occasions.

The Pope reportedly replied "No thank you, Monsignor, "You put it on instead. Carnival time is over!"

The carnival may be over but I am sure the

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“Every country has the government it deserves”, Joseph de Maistre, 17531821.

OU voted for Jonathan, not PDP. That’s fine. Now you’ve got Jonathan; the worst PDP imaginable and Alamieyseigha as extra dividend. So, why are millions of My Fellow Countrymen complaining? From late 2010, until the last Sunday to the 2011 Presidential election that year, we drummed the message to ears that were blocked and brains that were turned off.

The message was as clear as can be. DON’T VOTE FOR JONATHAN; YOU WILL REGRET IT. I was flat on my back in a hospital in Abuja, courtesy of a benefactor, on that Election Day. But, prior to that I had used every forum to campaign against Jonathan – my early morning prayers sessions at the church, my clubs, my family meetings etc. Each time, the majority had listened to me politely, some had argued with me. I was under the impression that people were convinced. My first shock came in the early evening of the day after the election. Coming out of induced sleep at the hospital, I had watched the AIT television rendering the re-

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Alams: Cheer up; worse is coming

on a phony thanksgiving, has made possible the outrage of granting state pardon to an ex-convict, who still has cases to answer outside Nigeria; despite jumping bail. Alamieyeseigha, is one of the reasons Nigeria, our dear fatherland, is classified among the most corrupt worldwide. However, just for the record, let me present to, Fellow Nigerians, “ who voted for Jonathan not PDP”, some of what Alams was accused of accumulat-

to buy Chelsea Hotel, Abuja. · N450 million to buy property on plot 26, Bashir Dalhatu Close, Abacha Estate, Ikoyi · N435 million to buy property at John Kadiya Close, Asokoro, Abuja. · N420 million to buy property at 1, Community Road, off Allen Avenue, Ikeja. · N1 billion to buy shares in Bond Bank, Ikeja. · Three million pounds transfer to Barclays Bank, Plc, London. · Seven million pounds transfer from Lagos to Royal Bank of Scotland, London. · 8 Fifty million pounds transfer from Lagos to the Royal Bank of Scotland.

23. 175 million pounds

The Nigerian system is messed up. Why? Simple, it’s because of the level of poverty, discrimination, tribal differences, and religious fanatics

every person, especially children, the elderly, those in need, who are often the last we think about." And he went on “all those who have positions of responsibility in economic, political and social life" to be protectors of creation. “To protect creation, to pro-

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majority of Catholics were not invited then but with this new pope he will welcome many with open arms. Such humility and openness should be emulated by our state and religious leaders.

Re: My Brother’s keeper comment

31. Transferred $160,000 to open account in U.S. 32. Transferred N35 million to Portharcourt to buy property.

33. Had N105 million balances in personal account No 2010062850006 at Bond Bank, Plc. For God’s sake, go and add up the figures yourself, bearing in mind that there was more. Then honestly ask yourself, what point a President who could grant pardon to anyone capable of this magnitude of alleged heartless looting of public funds mean. That is the man you voted into office.

CALLING IGBOBI COLLEGE 58-62 SET

Tempus fugit, and, if you have not completely buried your Latin under mountains of eba, amala, booze and other things best left unmentioned, still means, “time flies”. We all left dear old Igbobi College, fifty years in December. So our class’s 50th Anniversary comes up in April. Please contact Segun George, KSJW, our class President to find about the arrangements. More to the point, we need your donations, starting from N100,000.

Segun’s number : 08033013349.

P.S. Condolences are in order on account of our dear late ELIJAH JOE, aka Deacon Ayo Ositelu, who was a member of the planning committee for this event until the end. May his soul rest in perpetual peace.

QURAN A-Z IN PRINT; SOON TO BE LAUNCHED -- 1

The appeal made on behalf of the young Muslim Author, Nurudeen Seriki, months ago, to publish his

I just finished reading your article on "My brother's keeper" from Sunday Vanguard dated the 10th March, 2013. It was properly written and I praise your effort. It’s so sad that such activities still takes place in our universities in Nigeria. I blame all of us (youths, parents, the school authority, the Government) for these unruly events.

It takes a village to raise a child. Some youths have already been initiated into cult groups even before gaining admission into tertiary institutions, some parents have already initiated their kids long before they got admission into school, the school authority cannot protect students, and the Government does not care who dies or who lives.

The Nigerian system is messed up. Why? Simple, it’s because of the level of poverty, discrimination, tribal differences, and religious fanatics. May God help us. FT The dirty dozen So President Goodluck Jonathan did grant pardon to eight Nigerians; Alamieyeseigha, the former Chief of General Staff, General Oladipo Diya; the late former Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters and brother of late President Umaru Yar ’Adua; Major

book, has yielded amazing results. For purposes of transparency and accountability, let me summarise how we got here –especially for those who have either assisted or promised to do so.

Funds promised or donations could not possibly get the book published. Providentially, and, unexpectedly, a Christian publisher, Mr Agbo Areo, offered to print 1,000 copies free of charge. But, at that stage, it was still in manuscript, far from publication and I had in the meantime seen the book as an opportunity to make a statement about religious tolerance – especially among Christians and Muslims. We needed a strong partner.

Without hesitation, we turned to Alhaji Animasaun, my Egbon, on this page for almost seventeen years.

Incidentally, that perhaps should serve as a lesson for those who might have thought that Alhaji and I had broken off on account of our disagreement on this page. Nothing could be further from the truth. We both grew up, substantially in Lagos, where, people disagree, fight physically one minute and you see them the next drinking together as if nothing had happened.

For us, there is never a final fight.

Alhaji, who we pounced upon without calling first, received us and helped to develop the manuscript in a way neither Nurudeen could ever have imagined.

In the end, what we now have is more than a book.

It is a statement by two Muslims and two Christians that all of us in Nigeria still need each other in order to create something good from nothing.

General Shehu Musa Yar ’Adua; Major Bello Magaji, rtd, Mohammed Lima Biu, former Head, Bank of the North, Shettima Bulama, Major Segun Fadipe(rtd), and late Major General Abdulkareem Adisa (post humus).

His PR machine said he had done nothing wrong that it is the presidential prerogative to pardon anyone he wants to and beside they protest OBJ was imprisoned and pardoned, became the president of Nigeria.

Well, that’s pot calling kettle black. Where have they heard that two wrongs make a right and besides,we do know that Jonathan was Alamieyeseigha's deputy as Bayelsa State governor when the Federal Government masterminded his removal from office to pave the way for his subsequent trial for money laundering offences. Do not tell me that there are no conflicts of interest, but that means nothing to a president that cares less what we think or feel as long as we can vote him back in come 2015.

This is so apparent and the move is so audacious as it seems there is one law for some and another for others. This is going to turn ugly and how do leaders tell us one thing and do something else.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MARCH 24, 2013—PAGE 11

The Prof Chinua Achebe Tributes

We lost a national treasure – Tinubu

*He was a literary giant – Oshiomhole, Ngige *The deceased was a scholar of distinction – Amosun *My close encounter with him – Fashola *How he motivated me —Amaechi

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ributes continued to pour in for Professor Chinua Achebe yesterday.

Former governor of Lagos State, Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu, said the deceased was a national treasure. Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State and former governor of Anambra State, Senator Chris Ngige, described him as a literary giant.

To Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State, Achebe was a scholar of distinction.

Tinubu described the death of Achebe as the loss of yet another national treasure who died unfulfilled in his dream to see a better governed, fully demorcratic and united Nigeria. “Achebe’s words were like the arrows of God penetrating the fortresses of our leaders and striking their hearts to do good, unfortunately not many harkened and that is why we remain stuck as a people and a country”, he said.

According to him, notwithstanding Achebe’s exploits on the literary stage and his world acclaimed status, he had one regret and that is the failure of successive Nigerian leadership to birth a new country and liberate Nigerians from abject poverty and want.

Tinubu recalled how Achebe’s life and writings touched many and mentored several. “In my personal encounters with him, his simplicity, his forthrightness and his engaging personality struck me.

Achebe and his writings were one and the same. He breathed what he preached. Though he elicits different reactions from different people, Achebe’s love for his people and his patriotism was unquestionable. His devotion to creating a better society was resolute”.

Oshiomhole said with the death of Achebe, Nigeria has lost a literary giant who left an indelible print in the sands of time.

In a condolence message by his Chief Press Secretary, Peter Okhiria, the Edo governor said: “His death evokes nostalgic emotion in the minds of all who read his books. His epic novel, “Things Fall Apart”, which earned him the sobriquet, ‘father of modern African literature’, is perhaps the best known book in this part of the world, aside the Holy Books. We pray God to grant his family the courage and strength to bear his loss. We also pray our Heavenly Father to grant his soul peaceful repose.”

Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola of Lagos State described Achebe as the father of modern African literature.

Fashola, in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Hakeem Bello, recalled his meeting with Achebe last December at Brown University, Providence in Rhodes Island United States, where he had gone to deliver a keynote paper at the 2012 Achebe Colloquium on Africa, saying he was particularly saddened by the fact that there was nothing that indicated that the meeting would be the last.

“I am particularly saddened by the

fact that when I met him at Brown University last December, I never realized it will be my last with him.

It is, indeed a great loss and given the great contribution he has made in shaping the course of African Literature, he will be sorely missed, especially by the literary world”, he said.

The governor added: “He is a towering African figure whose personality transcends the walls of ethnicity and religion and whose literary prowess has taken Nigeria and, indeed, the African Continent to the pinnacle of international recognition.

Noting that he read ‘Things Fall Apart’, as a literature student in secondary school, he stated, “I must say, without any reservation, that Prof Achebe’s ingenuity as writer and the power behind his words influenced my generation to no small extent and opened our eyes to the rich culture, tradition and belief of our people. “And here, perhaps, lies his greatest contribution to the Black Race; for through such world classics as Things Fall Apart, Professor Achebe was able to keep our culture, tradition and belief alive in spite of the onslaught of other cultures”. Ngige described the death of Achebe as a great loss to humanity. Saying Achebe was number one among his peers in the literary world, he observed that his flagship novel, ‘Things Fall Apart’, ranked as one of the most read novels all over the world, having been translated into more than 35 languages.

Rivers State governor and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), Rt Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, expressed shock and sadness over the passing of Achebe.

Amaechi, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. David Iyofor, described Achebe as one of Nigeria’s and Africa’s finest literary giants whose works speaks volumes and is internationally recognized.

He recalled his fond memories of Achebe including his play “A man of the people” which is the governor’s favorite work by the writer .

“I love and have read ‘A man of the people’ over and over again, mostly because of its portrayal of leadership as it is in Africa. I have also commissioned that a movie be made out of it for the benefit of more people especially our youths who are the leaders of tomorrow. It is such a shock to me that our dearly beloved Achebe, the man who gave us several notable works of literature is gone,” the governor said.

“I still have fond memories of the time I spent with Prof.

Achebe at his home in Providence, Rhodes Island and when I was invited as a keynote speaker to his annual African Colloquim at Brown’s University. His intelligence still motivated me. I remember his kind words, his fatherly advice and encouragement. Achebe is a

Mrs Omobola Johnson, the daughter of the late Chief Bayo Akinnola, the Lisa of Ondo, Dr Kofo Odusote; Mrs Lola Osuntokun; and Mrs Remi Soyanwo; when sympathizers paid a condo-

lence visit to the family of the late Lisa at their Olubi Close House in Ibadan yesterday

man that will be greatly missed not only by Nigerians and Africans, but the world.”

“As the nation mourns this irreparable loss, I pray that God grants his family the strength to bear this great loss, and to all of us, I say find solace in the fact that Achebe impacted our world positively. He lived a fulfilled life fighting for change in the political landscape of our great nation and Africa, using his pen and voice, and has left behind an array of literary works that are indeed most remarkable.”

Amosun condoled with the government and people of Anambra State and world’s literary community on the exit of Achebe.

In a press release signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mrs Funmi Wakama, Amosun described the death of Achebe as a great loss to Nigeria. ”Professor Achebe was a scholar of first magnitude and one of the pioneers of modern African literature.

Through such works like A Man Of The People and The Trouble With Nigeria, Achebe deployed his literary gifts to mirror the ills of our society with a view to building a better and prosperous Nigeria,” he said.

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he governor urged the new generation of Nigerian writers to imbibe the sterling qualities of the erudite scholar and produce such interesting works that would help revive the culture of reading among the Nigerian youths.

In her tribute, the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, said Achebe attained some immortality of sorts through his groundbreaking literary prowess.

“Though dead in body and flesh, Prof Achebe lives forever not only in our hearts and minds, but also in the literary sub-conscious of the entire world which read one piece from the iconic writer, and waited in bated breathe for the next. His last Epistle- ‘There was a Country’ is the crowning of a glowing career in the Arts and Literature that will continue to captivate and inspire generations the world over,”she said in a statement signed by her SA (Media), Joel Obi. The Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon (Engr.)

Victor Ochei, said Achebe’s death represented a colossal loss to Nigeria and the galaxy of global literary fraternity.

Ochei, in a tribute, submitted that this development has created a vacuum in the chronicle of avowed patriots, whose contributions have offered the needed diverse but constructive suggestions, in navigating Nigeria

From left: Chief Folake Sholanke (SAN); Chief Mrs Olufunbi Akinnola, widow of the Lisa of Ondo; and Mam Robert during the visit

British Prime Minister, David Cameron (centre), flanked by the Deputy President of the Senate, Sen. Ike Ekweremadu (right), and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, in a group photograph with members of the Nigerian delegation to the enthronement of the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury in Kent, UK. through the complexities of nationhood.

On his part, the Minority Whip of the House of Representatives, Samson Osagie, said Achebe’s book ‘There was a country’ should spur present and future leaders of our country to strive towards the greater ideals of democracy, development and socio-economic justice for all.

Osagie said: “I wish to express my deepest condolence to his immediate family, Nigeria and indeed the literary world. Here is a man who consistently turned down national honours as a mark of his resentment against social political and economic injustice and bad governance of our dear nation. His contributions to literature and the overall human development are out standing and will be missed”.

Associate Professor of African and World Literature, University of Denver, Dr. Maik Nwosu, said Achebe interrogated the movement of African history with an uncluttered sophistication and a cultural sensibility that shaped modern African literature.

“Sometimes contrastively

compared to Joseph Conrad, whose image of Africa Achebe notably criticized, the river from Conrad’s Heart of Darkness to the earth in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart signposts two modernisms (or European modernism and its African counter-discourse),” he added. London-based Nigerian poet and playwright, Efemena Agadama, described the demise of Achebe as a great loss not only to Africa but to the entire world.

He said Achebe started writing when the world had a different perception of the African continent which he fearlessly challenged.

“He challenged that wrong notion not through reductionist diplomacy but by the very standard that was being used at that era – brave writings and that notion and unfair mindset of Africa was changed forever.

“Achebe is one of the world’s greatest writers that ever lived so we as Nigerians, especially writers, should avoid the classification of Achebe as one of Africa’s greatest writers. That is reductionist to a literary icon that gave birth to a new style of writing in the world”.

PAGE 12—SUNDAY VANGUARD, MARCH 24, 2013

The Prof Chinua Achebe Tributes

Straight from the Oracle: Achebe in Conversation...

In this interview culled from Okike Magazine Number 30 founded at the University of Nigeria Nsukka, African literary icon, Prof. Chinua Achebe spoke with the then editor, Professor Ossie Enekwe, about his his vision as a cultural catalyst, pan African scholarship and, most importantly, how much he desired a climate of peace in post -war Nigeria to help further his literary vision.

I told you what you should do and you haven’t done it”. So I think that I have a kind of feeling of: “Well, I’ve written these novels, which are important in my view, and they have not been fully, adequately, dealt with. So why should I write a fifth, and a sixth? Now, that’s one point of view. You may think that this is just an excuse, but in a way I think that there’s something quite fundamental there. I think that the job of my readers is to get the maximum out of what I have done.

J too have to sit back - especially after the number four and assess, what I have been doing, ask myself questions and see if there is need for new departure. Because it’s so easy to get onto the same routine. A novel every two years; perhaps, improving technique. But I’m not interested in that. I’m interested in doing something fundamentally important - and therefore, It needs time. And what I’ve been doing, really, is avoiding this pressure to get into the habit of one novel a year. This is what is expected of novelists. And I have never been really too much concerned with doing what is expected of novelists, or writers, or artists. I want to do what I believe is important. And so I’ve been thinking; I’ve been working out things in my mind, and part of it is the Nigerian crisis. I have to ask myself:

Why are you returning to Nigeria at this time, and what do you plan to do there?

I’m returning to resume my life, if you like, in Nigeria, I came to the States on a short visit, to begin with. When I left Nigeria in 1972, I thought I would be here for one year, or at the most, two years. But it’s dragged on beyond that to four years. So it’s an overdue return, and I’m looking forward very much to my work at Nsukka.

Now, about your novel... does the delay have to do with what you wrote in Morning Yet on Creation Day that ‘he should not forget the past? Is it related to the problem of delving into the causes of the Nigerian crisis? Or is it simply part of your slow and meticulous writing habit?

Well .. .I’ve had this question in a different way before, and I’m sure I’m going to contradict myself here. I would say that the reason I

 Chinua Achebe

didn’t come up with another novel was the civil war, the crisis in Nigeria and the problem of finding the kind of emotional and artistic stabilitypeace of mind, if you like - that is needed. This is part of the answer, of course. I think the

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What would you like to do, specifically, at the University of Nigeria?

Well, I have so many things, I really don’t know where to begin. I have so many ideas; there are so many things that need to be done, so many possibilities - you know; one is terribly excited, but at the same time, you’re almost confused, because you don’t know where to begin. But one can start from a personal angle. I’d like to complete the novel I’m working on. I had hoped to have at least the first draft ready here before going back. It didn’t work out that way. I hope to complete it in Nigeria,. So that’s the first thing. Secondly, I want to see the work of the magazine, Okike, developed in its natural soil, with people who share the same kind of vision as I have.

Thirdly, I’d like to pursue my own understanding and study of Igbo culture, which excites me more and more everyday. You can’t do that from America-you need to get back to the soil. So, I’d like to get back, but I’m not sure just what specific areas.

This is one of the major cultures in Africa, and it’s received scant attention. And somebody ought to get down to work on it, you know, just to uncover the mainspring of Igbo thinking. This is a major undertaking. And I’m not certain just what aspect I shall begin with, but that doesn’t matter - this is the major area that needs to be attended to.

So, that’s the next thing that I’m excited about - getting back to Igboland, getting back to the study of Igbo people and Igbo culture.

can get into the habit of being pressured by one’s publisher, one’s readers, one’s fans - you know, everybody saying: “We read the last novel. Now when is the next one”. And I think that is something that, for me, is not very desirable. I think I

I’d like to pursue my own understanding and study of Igbo culture, which excites me more and more everyday. You can’t do that from America-you need to get back to the soil

crisis had something to do with it because I did abandon a project of writing that I was already embarked upon. But I think that, as I look back on that, there is a second element, which I have not until now talked about. And that’s the fact that I don’t really feel that there is any obligation on my part to produce a novel every other year. It’s not my style, and perhaps I was really making this point - it may have been unconscious-that one

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have to fight to work at my own pace. I think probably why I began to think of this was that I saw a TV interview that somebody did with Bernard Shaw on one of his visits to the United States. You know, Bernard Shaw never liked Americans, and he was always off-hand. So this interview was interesting because Shaw was almost anticipating his interviewer, and saying: “Don’t ask me what should we do’ because when I was last here

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hat happened to Ni geria? What hap pened to my relationship to Nigeria? What happened to the Igbo people in relation to Nigeria? And how are we going to deal with this in future? Should this kind of thing ever happen again, how would we deal with it? How does Nigeria move on into this stage of evolution”. And these are very important questions. And I don’t think you can answer them if you’re busy churning out one novel after another.

So the kind of thing I want to do in the interim isa book of essays, which could pull together some of my thoughts in the past, but also include some of the more recent things that I have been thinking about.

And this seems to me necessary. You can clarify your own thinking much more directly in an essay than you can do in a novel. A novel is like life. I mean, there is no way a novelist can be held to account for what happens in a novel. I mean, even a character you like can be totally odious to other people. So a novel is not a way to clarify your mind. An essay is - it’s logical. And so I think probably I needed to take time off to attend to the logic of a situation.

You talked about dealing

with some aspects of Igbo culture. You would like to get back to study the Igbo culture. Some time ago I heard that you were planning to write an Igbo dictionary. Is this true. If so, what are your plans?

No, it’s not true. I’m not planning to do an Igbo dictionary.... I think that’s something that people in Linguistics should be dealing with.

In 1974, during a conference in Columbia University, you disclosed that you were developing an inclination or rather, that you have a talent for the theatre.

Earlier, in an interview at the University of Washington in Seattle, you had expressed an intention to’ write plays in Igbo language. What is your concept of theatre?

Well, I don’t know that I can answer the question of concept, because I really would prefer to produce a play and then from that play, discuss my concept of theatre.

In other words, there is a certain artistic inevitability in creation which I do not want to anticipate, to pre-empt. I have certain ideas, certain theories about theatre and language ill our situation, which I’d like to tryout before I begin to pontificate.

I think, for instance, that one of the problems with modern Nigerian theatre is the language - the English language. You are likely to produce theatre for the West ratter than theatre for Nigeria, if you didn’t stop to think about the language problem. Now you might say: “Well, isn’t. that the same with the novel; isn’t it the same with poetry?” No, I don’t think it is. Art is a convention. There are various forms, various convention1l, which are applied. ‘probably you could say that no convention. There are various form, various conventions, But once you choose the convention I think you are bound by the rules of that convention. Now, the theatre, being a very direct, almost participatory form, does require a different convention from the novel. You go to watch a play, you see actual people moving, and talking on the stage. If you are reading a novel, you don’t see anybody. You are using your imagination. So what I’m saying is that it’s a different convention.

In a novel, once you accept that the whole thing is makebelieve; once you accept that you are reading printed words on a page, and you come across characters, and so on, this is all a kind of pre-arranged convention, and you accept it. And so if you read about Okonkwo, a traditional Igbo character in the English language, you know that this is a convention anyway; there is a kind of filter ~ somebody ’s telling you what happened. Even if you are reading the words of Okonkwo, you know that it was written by somebody else- by the ‘author, or narrator, whatever you call him - there is an agent between you and Okonkwo, telling you the story. And however you work this out for yourself, if the novel is successful, you do accept the convention,

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SUNDAY VANGUARD, MARCH 24, 2013—PAGE 13

The Prof Chinua Achebe Tributes

A major objective of becoming a writer was to challenge stereotypes, myths, and the image of ourselves and our continent, and to recast them through stories – prose, poetry, essays, and books for our children. That was my overall goal.

When a number of us decided to pick up the pen and make writing a career there was no African literature as we know it today. There were of course our great oral tradition – the epics of the Malinke, the Bamana, and the Fulani – the narratives of Olaudah Equaino, works by D.A. Fagunwa and Muhammadu Bello, and novels by Pita Nwana, Amos Tutuola, and Cyprian Ekwensi.

Across the African continent, literary Aficionados could savor the works of Egyptian, Nubian, and Carthaginian antiquity, Amharic and Tigrigna writings from Ethiopia and Eritrea; and the magnificent poetry and creation myths of Somalia. There was more – the breathtakingly beautiful Swahili poetry of East and Central Africa, and the chronicles, legends, and fables of the Ashanti, Dogon, Hutu, Kalanga, Mandingo, Ndebele, Ovambo, Shona, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Tutsi, Venda, Wolof, Nhosa, and Zulu.

Olive Schreiner’s nineteenthcentury classic story of an African Farm and works by Samuel Mqhayi and Thomas Mofolo, Alan Paton, Camara Laye, Mongo Beti, Peter Abrahams, and Ferdinand Oyono, all preceded our time.

Still, the numbers were not sufficient.

And so I had no idea when I was writing Things Fall Apart whether it would even be accepted or published. All of this was new there was nothing by which I could gauge how it was going to be received.

Writing has always been a serious business for me. I felt it was a moral obligation. A major concern of the time was the absence of the African voice. Being part of that dialogue meant not only sitting at the table but effectively telling the African story from an African perspective – in full earshot of the world.

The preparation of this life of writing, I have mentioned, came from English-system-style schools and university. I read Shakespeare, Dickens, and all the books that were read in the English public schools. They were novels and poems about English culture, and some things I didn’t know anything about. When I saw a good sentence, saw a good phrase from the Western canon, of course I was influenced by it. But the story itself – there weren’t any models. Those that were set in Africa were not particularly inspiring. If they were not saying something that was antagonistic toward us, they weren’t concerned about us.

When people talk about African culture they often mean an assortment of ancient customs and traditions. The reasons for this view are quite clear. When the first EuC M Y K

I didn’t know ‘Things Fall Apart’ would be published – Achebe

ropeans came to Africa they knew very little of the history and complexity of the people and the continent. Some of that group persuaded themselves that Africa had no culture, no religion, and no history. It was a convenient conclusion, because it opened the door for all sorts of rationalizations for the exploitation that followed. Africa was bound, sooner or later, to respond to this denigration by resisting and displaying her own accomplishments. To do this effectively her spokesmen – the writers, intellectuals, and some politicians, including Azikiwe, Senghor, Nkrumah, Nyerere, Lumumba, and Mandela – engaged Africa’s past, stepping back into what can be referred to as the “era of purity”, before the coming of Europe. We put into the books and poems what was uncovered there, and this became known as African culture.

This was a very special kind of inspiration. Some of us decided to tackle the big subjects of the day – imperialism, slavery, independence, gender, racism, etc. And some did not. One could write about roses or the air or about love for all I cared; that was fine too. As for me, however, I chose the former.

Engaging such heavy subjects while at the same time trying to help create a unique and authentic African literary tradition would mean that some of us would decide to use the colonizer’s tools,

his language, altered sufficiently to bear the weight of an African creative aesthetic, infused with elements of the African literary tradition. I borrowed proverbs from our culture and history, colloquialisms and African expressive language from the ancient griots, the

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hings Fall Apart is one of the most successful books on the surface of earth and it was China Achebe’s most successful work.

In this extract from his latest book, ‘THERE WAS A COUNTRY, the late writer stated that when he was writing the book he did not know whether it would be published or not.

Ogede aptly refers to as “the politics of representation”.

This is another way of stating the fact of what I consider to be my mission in life. My kind of story telling has to add its voice to this universal story telling before we can say, “Now we’ve heard it all.”

I worry when somebody from one particular tradition stands up and says, “The novel is dead, the story is dead.” I find this to be unfair, to put it mildly. You told your own story, and now you’re announcing the novel is dead. Well, I haven’t told mine yet.

There are some who believe that the writer has no role in politics or the social upheavals of his or her day. Some of my friends say, “No, it is too rough there. A writer has no business being where it is so rough. The writer should be on the sidelines with his notepad and pen, where he can observe with objectivity.”I believe that the African writer who steps aside can only write footnotes or a glossary when the event is over. He or she will become like the contemporary intellectual of futility in many other places, asking questions like. “Who am I? What is the meaning of my existence? Does this place belong to me or to someone else? Does my life belong to me or to some other person?”These are questions that no one can answer.

I have described earlier the practice of Mbari, the Igbo concept of “art as celebration.” Different aspects of Igbo life are integrated in this art form. Even those who are not trained artists are brought in to participate in these artistic festivals, in which the whole life of the world is depicted. Ordinary people must be brought in; a conscious effort must be made to bring the life of the village or town into this art. The Igbo culture says no condition is permanent. There is constant change in the world. Foreign visitors who had not been encountered up to that time are brought in as well, to illustrate the dynamic nature of life. The point I’m trying to make is that there is a need to bring life back into art by bringing art into life, so that the two can hold a conversation.

We established the Society of Nigerian Authors (SONA) in the

The reasons for this view are quite clear. When the first Europeans came to Africa they knew very little of the history and complexity of the people and the continent

worldviews, perspectives, and customs from my Igbo tradition and cosmology, and the sensibilities of everyday people.

It was important to us that a body of work be developed of the highest possible quality that would oppose the negative discourse in some of the novels we encountered.

By “writing back”to the West we were attempting to reshape the dialogue between the colonized and the colonizer. Our efforts, we hoped, would broaden the world’s understanding, appreciation, and conceptualization of what literature meant when including the African voice and perspective. We were clearly engaged in what Ode

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mid-1960s as an attempt to put our writers in a firm and dynamic frame. It was sort of a trade union.

We thought it would keep our members safe and protect other artists as well. We hoped that our existence would create an environment in Nigeria where freedom of creative expression was not only possible but protected. We sought ultimately through our art to create for Nigeria an environment of good order and civilization – a daunting task that needed to be tackled in a country engulfed in crisis.

It is important to state that words have the power to hurt, even to denigrate and oppress others. Before I

am accused of prescribing a way in which a writer should write, let me say that I do think that decency and civilization would insist that the writer take sides with the powerless. Clearly there is no moral obligation to write in any particular way. But there is a moral obligation, I think, not to ally oneself with power against the powerless.

An artist, in my definition of the word, would not ,be someone who takes sides with the emperor against his powerless subjects. If one didn’t realize the world was complex, vast, and diverse, one would write as if the world were one little country, and this would make us poor, and we would have impoverished the novel and our stories.

The reality of today, different as it is from the reality of my society one hundred years ago, is and can be important if we have the energy and the inclination to challenge it, to go out and engage with its peculiarities, with the things that we do not understand. The real danger is the tendency to retreat into the obvious, the tendency to be frightened by the richness of the world and to clutch what we always have understood. The writer is often faced with two choices – turn away from the reality of life’s intimidating complexity or conquer its mystery by battling with it. The writer who chooses the former soon runs out of energy and produces elegantly tired fiction.

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ne thing that I find a lit tle worrying, though, is the suggestion that perhaps what was done in the 1960s, when African literature suddenly came into its own, was not as revolutionary as we make it out to be.

That African literature without a concerted effort on the part of the writers of that era would still have found its voice. You find the same kind of cynicism among young African Americans who occasionally dismiss the contributions of the civil rights activists of that same period. Many of these same critics clearly did not know (or maybe do not want to be told) what Africa was like in the 1940s, back when there was no significant literature at all.

There are people who do not realize that it was a different world than the world of today, one which is far more open. This openness and the opportunities that abound for a young intellectual setting out to carve a writing career for him or herself are in fact partly a result of the work of that literature, the struggles of that era. So even though nobody is asking the new writer or intellectual to repeat the stories, the literary agenda or struggles of yesteryear, it is very important for them to be aware of what our literature achieved, what it has done for us, so that we can move forward.

As I write this I am aware that there are people, many friends of mine, who feel that there are too many cultures around. In fact, I heard someone say that they think some of these cultures should be put down, that there are just too many. We did not make the world, so there is no reason we should be quarreling with the number of cultures there are. If any group decides on its own that its culture is not worth talking about, it can stop talking about it. But I don’t think

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The Prof Chinua Achebe Tributes Straight from the Oracle: Achebe in Conversation...

Continued from Page 12 and you stop asking questions. Now, I think, if I were to put Okonkwo on the stage, and if I were to put English words into his mouth, it would be a different problem altogether. The convention would no longer hold. Because each time Okonkwo talks, he would be violating something quite fundamental. He would be talking about experiences and life and history in a language which has nothing to do with that life or experience or history. And each time he opens his mouth, the audience is reminded that there is a convention - a translator, a medium - between him and the audience. And I think this is almost an insuperable problem, and this is why I began to think that if you are going to work in the theatre, at least, part of the action, part of the dialogue, of this theatre must be in the language of the characters. Because you see a character is there on the stage, alive, and even

though he’s only an actor, pretending to be Okonkwo, he’s there. He’s visible to you; he’s flesh and blood. And if he were to speak in a language that Okonkwo did not understand, there’s a major problem there: a problem of artistic credibility. So when I work, I’d like to experiment with the Igbo language as well as English, where it is appropriate. There are vast areas There are vast areas. If one is writing a modern Nigerian play in which modern people like you and me are at work, it would be better for me to do it in English, because we talk in English, it’s not the only language we speak, but we use it quite extensively. But going back to Okonkwo, to Ezeulu, it seems to be inappropriate.

This interview was conducted on June 27, 1976, in Chinua Achebe’s country home at Storrs, Connecticut -.two days before his departure to Nigeria. Because Achebe was very busy at that, time, this interview had to be discontinued. The second part was continued in Nigeria in 1978, and published in New Culture, 19(1979), and in Nsukkascope; 7) 1979).

I didn’t know ‘Things Fall Apart’ would be published – Achebe Continued from Page 13 anybody can suggest to another person, Please drop your culture; let’s use mine. That’s the height of arrogance and the boast of imperialism. I think cultures know how to fight their battles; cultures know how to struggle. It is up to the owners of any particular culture to ensure it survives, or if they don’t want it to survive, they should act accordingly, but I am not going to recommend that.

My position, therefore, is that we must hear all the stories. That would be the first thing. And by hearing all the stories we will find points of contact and communication, and the world story, the Great Story, will have a chance to develop. That’s the only precaution I would suggest – that we not rush into announcing the arrival of this international, this great world story, based simply on our knowledge of one or a few traditions. For instance, in America there is really very little knowledge of the literature of the rest of the world. Of the literature of Latin America, yes. But that’s not all that different in inspiration from that of America, or of Europe. One must go further. You don’t even have to go too far in terms of geography – you can start with the Native Americans and listen to their poetry.

Most writers who are beginners, if they are honest with themselves, will admit that they are praying for a readership as they begin to write. But it should be the quality of the craft, not the audience, that should be the greatest motivating factor. For me, at least, I can declare that when I wrote Things Fall Apart I couldn’t have told anyone the day before it was accepted for publication that anybody was going to read it. There was no guarantee; nobody ever said to me, ‘Go and write this, we will publish it, and we will read it;’ it was just there. But my brother-in-law, who was not a particularly voracious reader, told me that he read the novel through the night and it gave him a terrible headache the next morning.

And I took that as an encouraging endorsement!

The triumph of the written word is often attained when the writer achieves union and trust with the reader, who then becomes ready to be drawn deep into unfamiliar territory, walking in borrowed literary shoes so to speak, toward a deeper understanding of self or society, or of foreign peoples, cultures, and situations.

CHINUA ACHEBE 1930 - 2013 - by Obu Udeozo Chinua Achebe, I repeated to the man who informed me. Let me sit down first!

There are issues we cannot handle as human beings - standing on our feet. The news of Achebe’s transition hit me with such reality defying savagery. I needed to gather my bones and senses - into one bowl of recovery.

Even Mohammed Ali, had the genius to banter over the knockout punch that occasionally happens in boxing. And that famous Greek Philosopher Heraclitus who spoke about “ you can never step into the same river twice”. Like all people across the world since yesterday’s breaking news over Chinua Achebe; it is now time to stand up - again; to a world that has finally changed and closured over a cultural frontier forever!

What does life after Achebe mean? And who is he - to play on the Judicial plank? The easier ones come quickly that he is the author of Things Fall Apart; a novel he admitted recently as being more famous than himself - worldwide. And that he nearly 30 other works across almost every genre of literature. But like James Joyce, belongs to the few coterie of writers who every book they published became masterpieces or canons in their faculty and trade.

Achebe share a happy celebrity with his fellow country man and colleague over this rating across the world on foreign shores. Readers respond to the question of who is the greatest Nigerian writer - easily with this answer: Wole Soyinka. And what novel did he write? With Things Fall Apart! All parties win in this kind of Divine slot. And the eminent actors themselves relish their abiding endowment.

However, this short tribute needs to highlight a not so common statistic. Things Fall Apart has actually been translated into more than 61 Languages worldwide; this came from the authority of Professor Emmanuel Obiechina in 2006; and has sold much more than the stunted 10 million copies supplied my Heinemann which also led to the tearing into two of their cheque to Ayi Kwei Amah - in some years past. Achebe himself changed his publishers to Penguin international in his latest book - There Was A Country which has been officially declared as having sold more than 40 million copies worldwide. The politics of production, and compensation is grave and enters the canonization process in the very end of all endeavours. As a biological man Chinua Achebe is among the greatest novelists of all times. He had a standing ovation on entering The American Congress; a rare applause accorded few mortals in that nation’s history ….

PART 2 to be continued

‘What Achebe should tell Zik, Awo, Ojukwu, Balewa, others’

By Emeka Ibe “The guru is gone. Papa Achebe is gone. Sir, safe journey. Have you seen Ojukwu?

Please tell him that his brothers and sisters are experiencing another pogrom in Kano State. What of Awo? If you have come across him, tell him that Nigeria is preparing for another war.

What of the great ZIK of Africa? Please let him know that those things that made him to cross the Atlantic Ocean 50 times seeking for peace is looming again.

Have you seen Yar ’Adua?

Let him know too; that amnesty, that evil seed is causing wahala in Nigeria, that even some monstrous elements have started asking for it. Tell him that it has even been extended to convicted criminals who looted the nation dry.

What of Tafawa Balewa?

Don’t fail to let him know that his own scions are now carrying weapons against Nigeria.

Obviously you may not see Abacha, but if you see any one who will see him, tell him that 18 years after his reign, Mustapha is still in Kirikiri, kept by those who have skeletons

in their cupboard.

What of MKO? Please, Sir, remember to tell him that another June 12 is looming.

Dear Achebe, who else have you seen since that night you joined your ancestors? Please don’t discuss Nigerian problem with them but just tell them that truly There was a Country, only that Things have Fallen Apart and Nigeria is No Longer at Ease Once again, remind them that the Arrow of God is now pointing at all of us, especially all of them who kept us in this mess.

Adieu. The great writer ”

SUNDAY

Vanguard , MARCH 24, 2013, PAGE 15

OYERINDE’S MURDER:

Our story,

by Police

*Why exclusive interviews with suspects can not be published

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e are unable to publish the interviews with the suspects in the murder of Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde, aide to Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, as earlier publicised because of some legal implications which have since been brought to our attention. And because of the need for balanced, fair and objective reporting, we present extracts from the presentation of the Police to the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions held on 13 February. The presentation was made by Chris Ezike, a deputy commissioner of police, Federal Anti-Robbery Squad, Force CID, Abuja.

ALLEGATION:- The allegation borders on a petition received from Civil Society Organization, Edo State against the Nigeria Police on alleged complicity and improper investigation into the murder of Comrade Oyerinde Olaitan, an aide to Edo State Governor and referred to the Committee on Public Petitions for further hearing.

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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ALLEGATION:(i) That the Nigeria Police arrested Rev. David Ugolor- a bossom friend of Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde - on the 27th of July, 2012 on a “singular and unconfirmed statement of a suspect who confessed that it was one David that masterminded the assassination”. (ii) That three days later, precisely on the 1st of August, 2012, the State Security Services paraded another set of suspects who gave a graphic description of how they killed Comrade Oyerinde saying it was armed robbery that went awry. (iii) That on the 1st of September, 2012, the Police charged all the nine suspects with them before a Magistrate Court in Oredo Benin City and they were remanded in Oko Prison awaiting the advice of the DPP Edo State on the way forward. (iv) That the advice dated 29th October, 2012 cleared two of the accused persons and recommended others for prosecution based on the report of the Police and SSS. (v) That the DPP’s report revealed that some of the suspects whom the Police claimed killed Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde on the 4th of May, 2012 have actually been in their custody since 24th of April, 2012 with the gun purported to have been used to murder him. (vi) That the Nigeria Police Force also arraigned the suspects handed

•IGP Abubakar...Stands by the sanctity of the work done by his officers

Nigeria Police wishes to emphatically state that these allegations are unfounded, false, misleading, diversionary and do not represent the true facts of Police Investigation into the Conspiracy, armed robbery and murder of Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde

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to them by the SSS before the same Oredo Magistrate Court but with a new twist to their confession. That the Police announced to the world in less than 48 hours after the suspects were handed over to them that two suspects have recanted their statements. (vii) That Civil Society Organizations in the state are dissatisfied with the show of shame by the Nigeria Police and the contradictions it has fed the public on the findings of the two security agencies in the country. That they believe that there are elements pulling weight to cover the real

killers of Comrade Oyerinde and finally asked who are the real killers of Oyerinde?

OPENING STATEMENTS:- The Nigeria Police wishes to emphatically state that these allegations are unfounded, false, misleading, diversionary and do not represent the true facts of Police Investigation into the Conspiracy, armed robbery and murder of Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde which occurred on the 4th of May 2012, investigated by the Police and charged to court.

DOCUMENTS PRESENTED:The following documents have been presented to this Committee and shall form substantially the basis of the account of our roles in this matter. (i) POLICE INVESTIGATION REPORT:- Re-case of Conspiracy, Armed robbery and Murder dated 1st August, 2012. (ii) POLICE INVESTIGATION REPORT:- Re-Case of Seven Suspects Transferred by the Department of State Services Abuja Accused of Involvement in the murder of Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde, Principal Private Secretary (PPS) to the Edo State Governor, Governor Adams Aliyu Oshiomohle dated 17th September, 2012.

(iii) Appendix three (3) – Being a collection of Documents / correspondences Marked Numbers 1-16 and will be referred to from time to time in the course of presentation. (iv) We shall also place reliance on our Casefiles which contain statements of both complainants; witnesses and suspects in this matter but which on the advice of our legal team may not be made available at this time.

CASE OF CONSPIRACY, ARMED ROBBERY AND MURDER OF COMRADE OLAITAN OYERINDE:Detectives arrived Benin City on 4th May 2012 at about 11pm, same day Deceased was murdered.

The team was led by Deputy Inspector-General of Police ‘D’, included special Anti Robbery Operatives led by DC FSARS and Forensic Experts led by CP Forensics from Lagos.

The team visited the scene on 5th May, 2012 with the CP Edo Command, and his team together with the DPO Ugbor Division who has jurisdiction.

Thereafter an analysis session was held with all investigative stakeholders and the following preliminary actions were

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Vanguard , MARCH 24, 2013

OYERINDE MURDER: OUR STORY, POLICE Continued from page 15 undertaken.

PRELIMINARY ACTION:Collection of forensic information, prints, photographs, exhibits from the scene and classification of same.

Establishment of three dedicated telephone lines to stimulate public cooperation through volunteering of information.

Taking statements from eye witnesses to the incident which included Mrs. Funke Oyerinde ‘f’, Oletubo Adeyinka ‘m’, Alhadi Ali Metu ‘m’, Mrs Aishat Ali Alhadi Metu ‘f’.

Announcement of a reward of #10million as promised by His Excellency the Edo State Governor for any credible information towards having a break through.

Identification and profiling of items stolen from the scene- namely four Black Berry telephone handsets, one Nokia telephone handset, two Galaxy taps, one I-PAD, one laptop, one wedding ring, some cash in local and foreign currency.

Deliberate raid of black spots and identified criminal hideouts.

AREAS OF FOCUS:(i) POLITICAL ASSASSINATION ANGLE:his angle became necessary because apart from the Governorship election being near, media reports fuelled speculation in this direction.

Furthermore, the Comrade Governor’s convoy was involved in a fatal accident on 28th April, 2012 and accusations and counteraccusations were already visible in the media as to the motive being political. This necessitated a close look at the two incidents to attempt to identify if they have a nexus.

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(iii) ARMED ROBBERY AS MOTIVE:- The Deceased went out on a social outing on the 3rd of May, 2012 at night with one Rev. David Ugolor, Miss Blessing Ada Ogbonna said to be the girl friend of the Deceased and Ada’s sister. The two girls were lodged at a Hotel in Benin that night. The CCTV footage of the entry and exit of the Deceased was obtained and reviewed. The Deceased left the hotel and dropped Rev. David Ugolor at his house before returning to his residence.

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(ii) LANDLORD/TENANT DISPUTE:- The Deceased Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde had a problem with his landlord Architect Hope M. Akpo Eju. The relationship degenerated to a point that both parties were in court. In fact the landlord wrote letters to the Deceased, the Secretary to the State Government and the Chief of Staff to the Governor which depicted bitterness and at one point cut-off electricity supply to the Deceased’s residence. Both families shared no love and even after Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde was murdered, the landlord never went to the family to enquire about what happened until Federal Operatives arrived.

•Late Oyerinde..the saga continues

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whether this expected take over was midwifed in cordiality or acrimony.

KANO MISSION · Through Forensic information the stolen telephone hardware of Mrs. Funke Oyerinde was traced to be in use with Nos 08036555537 and 08098982939. ·Further Forensic information revealed that one Abubakar Lawal aged 26 years resident at Regia Lemo Line Daremi Fagge Kano was the one usg the telephone. · Federal Operatives arrived Kano on 9th of June, 2012, raided the house of Abubakar Lawal only to be told that he was arrested by Rejiyer/ Remo Police Station on the 31st of May, 2012 and handed over to Director, State Security Services Kano. · Police Investigators requested for lawal Abubakar from the Department of State Services, Benin City but no response (See Document No 5 in Appendix

(v)NIGERIAN LABOUR CONGRESS ANGLE:- In the course of investigative interviews, it was revealed that late Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde was to resume at the NLC Headquarters as Ag Secretary General following the removal of Comrade Odah shortly before his death. This was confirmed by Rev. David Ugolor in writing.

Investigation also needed to know

ADAMAWA MISSION:§ Through Forensic information the stolen telephone hardware of late Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde that used telephone No. 07037448616 was found to be in use. § Further information revealed that telephone numbers 07053914404 and 08039712838 were using the hardware. While telephone No. 07053914404 belonged to one Mohammed Baba Yelwa of Wuro Hausa Girei II in Adamawa State, telephone No. 08039712838 belonged to Abubakar Raji of Girei. § Detectives arrived Yola on 22nd

The Deceased Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde had a problem with his landlord Architect Hope M. Akpo Eju. The relationship degenerated to a point that both parties were in court. In fact the landlord wrote letters to the Deceased, the Secretary to the State Government and the Chief of Staff to the Governor which depicted bitterness

Was he trailed by hoodlums who apparently saw them at the hotel?

Or did armed robbers strike at his residence by happenstance?

June 2012 and through diligent and committed surveillance arrested Mohammed Baba Yelwa and through him also arrested Abubakar Raji in whose possession the Deceased’s telephone handset- a Black Barry Bold 5 was recovered. § Mohammed Baba Yelwa and Abubakar Raji named one Idris Abdulhamid of Girei as a vendor of fairly used telephone handsets who sold the deceased phone to him. § Idris Abdulhamid, 24years of age who lived with his parents at No. 28 lwehen street Benin City until 2006 when they relocated to Girei was immediately arrested.

His arrest led to the recovery of several other stolen telephone handsets and the arrest of other suspects in Girei. § Idris Abdulhamid named one Hassan Babete Aliyu, the Secretary of Eyean Cattle Market, Benin City as his Uncle who supplied him fairly used telephone handsets regularly.

BENIN-CITY OPERATION Hassan Babete Aliyu ‘m’ aged 41 years was arrested on the 26th of June, 2012. He admitted being a receiver of stolen property especially telephone handsets. He named Garba Usman Maisamari, Umaru Adamu alias Umaru Highest and Bashiru Yusuf as his major suppliers. He particularly named Garba Usman Maisamari as the person who sold the Deceased’s recovered telephone handset to him The interrogation of Hassan Babete Aliyu disclosed the presence of two suspects in Police custody who have extensive knowledge of Garba Usman Maisamari Consequently the duo of Danjuma Musa and Muritala Usman who have been in Edo Police Command custody for unlawful possession of catridges since 24th May 2012 were taken over by FSARS operatives on 27th June 2012 (See Document No. 6 in Appendix 3) The duo confessed to armed robbery escapades. Danjuma Musa mentioned Lagos-Benin Express Way, mission road and 2nd Ugbor road GRA Benin City as some of their armed robbery locations. In furtherance of this confession, the duo took Detectives to No. 65, 2nd Ugbor road, GRA Benin City as a location they robbed which turned out to be Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde’s house.

They also confessed that “the job” was brought by Garba Usman Maisamari and executed by four of them namely Danjuma Musa, Muritala Usman, Auta Umaru Ali and Moses Asamah Okoro. That Garba Usman Maisamari bought all the items stolen from late Oyerinde’s house.

The duo also mentioned one Umaru Adamu alias Duna as the supplier of one of the locally made pistols used for the operation which is usually custodied by Danjuma Musa while the remaining two locally made pistols were brought by Muritala Usman. Muritala Usman also named one Wilfred Iserhieirhiu as his source of catridges.

Arising from the above confessions, Garba Usman Maisamari was arrested from his house on 28th June,

Continues on page 17

SUNDAY

Vanguard , MARCH 24, 2013,

David Ugolor denied the allegations against him and posited that he was being framed by Garba Usman Maisamari but Maisamari insisted that his identification was not ambiguous.

Danjuma Musa, Moses Asamah Okoro and Muritala Usman confirmed that Auta Umaru Ali wore a face cap on the night of the operation and identified the cap recovered from the crime scene as the cap worn by Auta Umaru Ali. Auta Umaru Ali also identified the cap as his.

OYERINDE MURDER: OUR STORY, POLICE Continued from page 16 2012 while Auta Umaru Ali and Umaru Adamu alias Duna were arrested in the early hours of 4th July, 2012. They all admitted the offence.

Wilfred Iserhieirhiu was arrested on the 5th of July, 2012.

During search at Garba Usman Maisamari’s house at No. 11 Ezeoba street, off Sakpoba road, Benin City the following items were recovered.

23 used SIM cards of different networks. He confessed that these are SIM cards he had over a period of time continuously removed from stolen/robbed telephone handsets.

A gold weighing scale A Black Berry telephone handset belonging to one High Chief (Dr) Vincent Ifada of No. 11 Oremeji street, Itire Lagos. The High Chief in his statement revealed that the telephone handset was stolen at Benin Airport along with about #200,000 (Two hundred thousand naira cash) while waiting to receive Mr. President who was on official assignment on 30th June, 2012.

Six assorted wrist watches.

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•Gov. Adams Oshiomhole: Furious!

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ARREST OF MOSES ASAMAH OKORO ALIAS MOSES AUCHI Moses Asamah Okoro alias Moses Auchi was arrested on the 11th of July, 2012 at No. 20 Wisdom street, off Lucky way Benin City while hiding in the house of his girl friend Rukayat Hassan. The interrogation of this suspect yielded amazing results:Suspect confessed to the armed robbery and murder of Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde which he admittedly carried out with Danjuma Musa, Muritala Usman and Auta Umaru Ali, Suspect named Garba Usman Maisamari as the mastermind of the operation as according to him Maisamari had told them that an unnamed man brought the job and promised to pay #20million on completion of the assignment.

He also confessed that himself, Danjuma Musa, Abubakar Mohammed and one Muritala surname unknown had on the 21st of May, 2012 at about 8pm killed one Alhaji Ismaila Aliyu at No. 21 Second Ihiogbe street, off Wire road Benin City and stole two of his telephone handsets as they could not find money with him He further confessed to Detectives that he was part of the armed robbery gang that raided Agenebode Police Station sometime in 2010, killed a woman Police Constable and removed over 15 AK 47 rifles. According to him some of his gang members have been arrested and charged while others are still at large.

He also startled interrogators when he confessed that Umaru Adamu alias Duna enlisted his services and that of Danjuma Musa to kill one Alhaji Badamasi Saleh, Leader of the Hausa Community in Edo State and his Deputy Saidu Dahiru for a fee of #20,000 (Twenty thousand naira only). According to him he had already paid them #2500 (two thousand, five hundred naira only) to purchase bullets for the operation before their arrest.

Garba Usman Maisamari admitted that he was hired to execute the job for a fee of #20million. He named one David whom he described as “not too tall, dark in complexion, get body small and wears native dress called old School always” as the man who gave him the job.

He confirmed that Auta Umaru Ali wore a face cap on the night of the operation on 4th May 2012 and wears face cap always.

MATTERS ARISING FROM MOSES ASAMAH OKORO’S CONFESSION. All the suspects were re-interrogated on the basis of new disclosures.

Garba Usman Maisamari admitted that he was hired to execute the job for a fee of #20million. He named one David whom he described as “not too tall, dark in complexion, get body small and wears native dress called old School always” as the man who gave him the job. That he had already paid him #200,000 (Two hundred thousand naira) as advance at Bob

PAGE 17

Izua Park area.

Moses Asamah Okoro, Danjuma Musa, Muritala Usman and Auta Umaru were re-interrogated and they confirmed that at a meeting with Garba Usman Maisamari in a beer parlour around Owina junction, Benin City he Maisamari told them that if the job was successful and the man is killed, they will be given #20million.

The trio of Danjuma Musa, Muritala Usman and Auta Umaru Ali stated that Moses Asamah Okoro insisted that he wants to meet the person to ensure that the money must be paid and Garba Usman Maisamari called the man on phone and he spoke with Moses Asamah Okoro.

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he Beer Parlour at Owina Junction was visited called “Somebody Parliament”. The owner one James Amadin identified Auta Umaru Ali as a customer who usually comes to patronize him with some Hausa boys.

Consequently, Rev. David Ugolor of No 123 First East Circular Road, Benin City whose features fitted Garba Usman Maisamari description and who has been previously questioned in the course of investigation was arrested on 27th July, 2012.

He was put up for identification parade on the same date and he was positively identified by Garba Usman Maisamari. (See Document 8 in Appendix 3) Again Abubakar Mohammed aged 33 years implicated in the murder of Alhaji Ismaila Aliyu and who fled to Bagudo in Kebbi State was traced to Kebbi State by Detectives and arrested. He confessed to the crime.

It is instructive to note that all the confessions made by Moses Asamah Okoro were verified and found to be true.

It is also important to state that Rev.

OTHER DISCLOSURES BY THE SUSPECTS Danjuma Musa, Muritala Usman, Auta Umaru Ali and Moses Asamah Okoro confessed that all the items stolen from late Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde’s house were sold to Garba Usman Maisamari who paid them an advance payment of #152,000 (One hundred and fifty two thousand naira only). Usman Maisamari admitted.

Garba Usman Maisamari admitted that he bought two laptop computers, two galaxy telephone handsets, four Black Barry telephone handsets from Danjuma Musa, Muritala Usman, Auta Umaru Ali and Moses Asamah Okoro on the 4th of May, 2012.

Garba Usman Maisamari also admitted that he sold the Black Berry telephone handsets to Hassan Babete Aliyu and the Galaxy phone and laptops to Bashiru Yusuf.

He disclosed that the said Bashiru Yusuf has been arrested by the SSS Benin City and was in custody. The Police requested for access to the suspect from Department of State Services but no response (See Document No 7 in Appendix 3) FURTHER INVESTIGATIVE ACTIONS · In the course of investigation, a pictorial identification of the suspects was conducted and Mrs. Funke Oyerinde identified Muritala Usman, Auta Umaru Ali and Moses Asamah Okoro as the armed robbers who killed her husband. ·That the identification parade conducted on 27th July, 2012 in which Rev. David Ugolor was identified by Garba Usman Maisamari was conducted by an independent Department not involved in the investigation. (See Document 8 in Appendix 3). ·That the four suspects who took part in the armed robbery namely Danjuma Musa, Muritala Usman, Auta UMaru and Moses Asamah Okoro were taken to the scene and each person reconstructed the part he played. This was captured in a video tape. · That in the course of investigation, one locally made cut to size single barrel gun with one catridge identified by the suspects to have been used in the armed robbery operation at No. 65 2nd Ugbor road GRA, Benin City was traced to Esigie Police Station and retrieved.

CONCLUDING PART NEXT WEEK

PAGE 18—SUNDAY

Vanguard ,

MARCH 24, 2013

Rewarding corrupt conduct sends the wrong signal —Ezekwesili Insists there is ‘squandering of riches’ Espouses path to growth for coming generations Since the controversy stirred by her mentoring speech delivered to the graduating students of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN, late last year, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili spoke extensively last Wednesday during Channels’ TV magazine programme, Sunrise Daily. Here are excerpts from that televised interview

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ow would you assess government’s fight against corruption so far?

I would want to firstly condole with the families that have lost people in the recent carnage in Kano and I pray and hope that government would provide a more secure environment. I do also note that most of those affected are Igbos and I want to plead with the Federal Government to grant them special protection as most of these killings in some places affect them and their businesses. The spirit of communality should be encouraged and it can only be encouraged when people feel free to live and work and do business in any part of the country *Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili ... We need political commitment to fight graft without the fear of being killed. The elders of this land should come to the table and have a conversation on this able is within that law and the spirit issue of insecurity. Government and intendment of the law and the Whenever bad behaviour is rewarded should step up. practice are being done in the breach.

Now to the issue of public sector coror tolerated, just as in the laws of deruption; at many levels, there are sigThere are people who argue that we mand and supply where you make profnificant challenges that are emerging need institutions while some go for and any effort by government, by virstrong-willed personalities? it, there is the tendency for people to do tue of research regarding the fight They are not mutually exclusive. it more. So the cost of corruption must against corruption, stands on a tripod.

An effective anti-corruption strategy The first leg is that the leadership at would require the political commitbe very high the very top should be able to signal ment of the strongest and the highest to the citizens that there is a necessioffice in the land. And so, normally, ty for a moral revolution such that the the president, prime minister or head climate of corruption would be seen of government, as the case may be, Preventive tripod as being too costly to allow to pervade, profit, there is the tendency for peomust be the leader on the issue of tackClearly, when you look at what has such that the choices before people ple to do it more. So the cost of corling corruption. would leave every one in no doubt ruption must be very high. With all happened in the telecoms sector where Political will is fundamental because these, you should be able to identify deregulation reduced the issues of about government’s commitment. you need to make some of the very corruption in that sector, that’s a plus.

The second is the prevention leg, where we fall. difficult choices that are difficult.

When you look at institutions like the which relates to structural changes But you need the institution. But, Which part of these are we not get- EFCC and the ICPC, these are instiand institutions and systems that sadly, people have this wrong idea of tutions built with a view to preventing would engender transparency and ting right? thinking that you can just legislate into the prevalence of corruption in the In terms of the first tripod, which is which would lead to better and inexistence an institution. But institusociety; NEITI is another institution formed process of decision-making – about leadership and its intolerant tions are process-driven; so it takes budget process, procurement process stance, I think there is a long way to which signals a strong commitment to time. The artificiality of having an that is transparent. The structural go. If you feel the pulse of the soci- preventive engagements and fight cor- institution that does not produce the and policy changes that allow dereg- ety, there is a sense that the whole the- ruption. needed result of its mandate is not ulation to thrive should be put in atre of public governance is having Now, the question is, are they func- going to work. Institutions exist in credibility crisis. The fact is that once place. some countries, yet they haven’t made The third and final leg is the deter- you have served in government, then tioning at the level they should? any dent on corruption. We need all Of course no.

There is not even an rence part of it – the laws and their you are expected to be corrupted and of these working together and the key optimal level of effectiveness in the enforcement that enables you to sanc- that demonstrates how serious a crithing is not just about the leadership tion corrupt practices in a conclusive sis we have in our hands in terms of a way these institutions function.

Look at NEITI, if properly imple- but the society too can assess the cost manner that sends the signal that bad value construct regarding our attitude mented, we wouldn’t have the type of of corruption and says to itself that to corruption. We have a long way to behaviour would not be tolerated. distrust that we have in the petroleum enough is enough.

Whenever bad behaviour is rewarded go in terms of a leadership that sigor tolerated, just as in the laws of de- nals an unbridled intolerance for cor- industry. Everything about making that sector transparent and accountContinues on page 19 mand and supply where you make ruption.

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C M Y K

SUNDAY

`People believe grand corruption is not properly tackled’

Vanguard ,

MARCH 24, 2013, PAGE 19

Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili

Continued from page 18 Corruption perverts everything about society and it is very costly because it means you are not operating at a level of allocational efficiency of your resources.

How is it that those in government always see things differently from the way the citizenry sees things. You have been in government before, how does this happen?

This whole issue of disconnect between the way government and the people see facts differently is a matter of the tone they set within government at any point in time.

When we were in government, one of the things we said was that we had to own Nigeria’s corruption problem.

You can not solve a problem you have not taken ownership of and we saw that corruption was going to stand in the way of many of the things that we had planned to do. We didn’t succeed in tackling all the problems, but you can not solve a problem that you have not owned.

If you define a problem as something C M Y K

* Ezekwesili ... Why was $45 billion in foreign reserve not increased? that is used against you because people don’t like you, then you are not going to be able to solve the problem. That is something that is a unique characteristic of whoever sets the tone.

The President said recently that government was doing so much against corruption and that, in fact, Nigeria was one of the very first signatories to the inter-governmental group against money-laundering in West Africa and that he also signed a legislation into law. Government is saying here that it is doing something.

In terms of putting in place rules or systems or institutions, you cannot say Nigeria has not tried, but in the implementation of the mandate, what do we see? That is the issue.

Governance has to do with results – output and outcomes. These are the important issues. More have to be seen to have

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But people say our colonial history plays a role. Do you agree?

I was one of the youngest cofounders of Transparency International in the very early 1990s and I was aghast when colleagues from the countries of the North would say Africa suffers from endemic corruption, simply because Africans accept gifts and, therefore, we were prone to crossing the border and this made me so sad and I would fight that slothful generalization and I would say to them that everything about African history tells us that the community was so punitive on bad behaviour. There were times when families were made outcasts just because a member of the family stole a goat. This was effective and it served as a very important deterrent and it didn’t matter that, even in those days, if leaders tried to pervert the rule and say they forgave, the citizens would never forgive. So, there was a trend of punishing corruption and it was in the society at that time. The pre-colonial African society did not struggle with the issue of corruption.

With independence, there had to be a marriage of the Anglo-saxone public sector (the Western public sector) which Africa inherited but which, unfortunately, did not make room for an effort to bring them into convergence with pre-colonial values for dealing with bad behaviour; so there was a disconnect. There was almost alienation and the people did not own it.

There is disconnect in the relationship between the governance system and the people. That is what we are struggling to understand within the construct of history.

Now, we should ask, how do we redefine the fundamental values that must underpin the choices we make?

vades the entire system of governance and, so, governance, which includes the three arms, have their challenges. Though the current CJN is doing her bit in the fight against corruption in terms of the justice system and judicial process, it is very slow, very slow; so I don’t know of how many conclusive corruption sanctions we’ve seen in the media in the last five years.

What vibes do you get when you read what is happening in the media?

You can tell clearly and I haven’t read of any high level cases being conclusively sanctioned. There is grand corruption and there is petty corruption.

People believe that grand corruption

Singapore started the race with us and the country is at almost $50,000 income per capita while Nigeria is just about $1,500

been done. It is about respecting those systems and the kind of political will and signals given to these institutions are going to be key in the assessment of these institutions. At a meeting of TI, I was told

by TI’s chairman that Nigeria was in the FADF list of countries as a non-cooperative regime and I did know that we had been on that list and we had to work our way out of it and part of the efforts was carried out by Nuhu Ribadu’s EFCC. It is a global framework and we need to be seen to be doing more because the cost of corruption is very high.

Okay, are we doing enough really?

Compare what is happening now to what happened during your years in government in the area of that last tripod.

The judicial system for sanctioning corruption, indeed, the entire justice system has its own challenge. We talk about systemic corruption in TI when corruption per-

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is not tackled the way petty corruption is. We can do everything about the first and the second tripod but if people do not get the sense that, with predictability, there would be serious sanctions against bad behavior, you would not achieve the desired objective of fighting corruption.

For the cases that were conclusive, were the sanctions costly enough?

Well, there are many people who would never agree that the punishments were adequate.

In fact, some people in the study of the economics of corruption tried to build some analytics around what is optimal sanction for corruption but what I know is that the cost ought to be greater than the benefit. The greatest cost that society has, even where government fails, the citizens can have their own cost of corruption by decid-

ing the character of the leadership they have because legitimacy resides with the citizens.

This is a fight that government needs to lead. Corruption is a cancer and when you have cancer you don’t go taking Panadol.

You have to do the very painful things.

When you talked about the $67billion, those in government challenged you, and they insisted that there was some pun intended?

(Laughs) All things are pure. I didn’t intend any pawn.

I was speaking to a generation of Nigerians that were graduating from the university – but I would ask that people should read that speech. It was a painful speech to write.

I traced the path that, in more than fifty-something years of independence, our lives have revolved round a commodity called oil. I told them the history of how we have had five oil booms that we have enjoyed to date and I said the story is that the nations that we started the development race with have completely left us behind because we have not translated those oil revenues into an improved economy and good quality life for the people.

Singapore started the race with us and the country is at almost $50,000 income per capita while Nigeria is just about $1,500.

I was merely advising the students to look beyond the traps of oil well. Oil economy has been mismanaged. That they needed to make technology and manufacturing as their own philosophy of development.

The issue of the reserve was just a part of that broader story that was administration neutral. If administrations were to take on me, then all the administrations should take on me, including the government in which I served. It was a speech, for life-changing mentoring.

Here is the issue: In the speech I talked about the reserve that was handed over and I said this reserve has been squandered; that it was $45billion and the excess crude was $22billion.

Now, that statement is factual, just goggle the officials of state and see what they said of the reserves and the excess crude over the years, as being what was handed over to them when they took over. The foreign reserve is a composite figure, the foreign exchange that a country has and it is held by the CBN and it is the sum total of everything.

I said the reserve was $45billion and the excess crude account $22billion. These are inclusive and so there was no basis for the kind of abusive language from government.

I wasn’t taking on government.

If the foreign reserve was $45billion at the time we were leaving government some six years ago and, since we left, oil prices have doubled – mind you our government grew it from $5billion to the $45billion we are talking about.

So the question is, why was it not increased or doubled?

PAGE 20 — SUNDAY VANGUARD,MARCH 24, 2013

Email: woman.vista@yahoo.co.uk

(07036819426)

Re: Children living in prison – Abandoned Nigerians?

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HE major aim of the write-ups on this page is to get our read ers to take a closer look at one aspect or the other of life in this country, so that together, we can hopefully draw the attention of the relevant persons, especially our rulers, to doing things that can bring about the desired changes.

One cannot really blame those readers who wrote in to say that it has never occurred to them that there could be children living in prisons alongside their mothers. Unless you know of such a situation, this is not something that would normally come into our thoughts. Even if you’re concerned about abandoned babies, orphans and motherless babies, you still wouldn’t think of children who are incarcerated with their mothers in jails. Yet there must be hundreds of them around the country.

The authorities should remember that these children are not criminals and they should not be made to suffer for whatever crime their mothers have committed. They should be rescued from their predicament and placed in well-established government homes for babies/toddlers in no relation comes forward to take charge; pending when their mother would be released.

“Madam, are there children in prisons? I’m not saying that the claim is wrong, but this is something that one cannot even begin to imagine. There are child beggars, yes, but children imprisoned along with their mothers?

The mind boggles at what the poor children must be exposed to in our over-congested and dirty prisons. God help us. ” - Joel, Lagos.

“Helen, the government should as a matter of urgency, address the sad issue of the children in prisons. This has crossed my mind briefly in the past when my society went to minister inside a prison, but I never really dwelt on it afterwards. Can you imagine the filth those little ones must be living in?

What about nutritious foods for growing children? What about education?

Healthcare? Sleeping accommodation? Do we really want Nigerian children, whatever their social level, brought up in such dismal surroundings? Thanks. - Olayinka, Ibadan.”

“I agree with the person in your write-up who noted that when a person in imprisoned for a crime, relatives usually don’t want to be associated with such a person anymore, let alone want to take care of the prisoner ’s baby/child. May I add that this happens when the prisoner is poor. With rich prisoners, relatives fall over one another to visit and render whatever help they could, with financial reward at the back of their minds, of course.

If there’s a baby, you can be sure that several relatives would offer to look after it, until the mother is released.

Sadly most of those children in prison with their mothers are from poor families. If a husband has no job, you

View-Point

Helen Ovbiagele Woman Editor

Most of those children in prison with their mothers are from poor families. If a husband has no job, you wouldn’t expect him to take home his baby when the mother is in jail. The government should step in, and in a responsible way wouldn’t expect him to take home his baby when the mother is in jail. The government should step in, and in a responsible way.

First of all, vigorous efforts should be made to find the woman’s close relatives. With her help a suitable woman who would play foster mother should be appointed. If no-one’s willing to help, then the baby should be sent to a motherless babies home with the full knowledge and consent of the mother. There, they should be monitored by the social welfare department. These babies should have visiting rights to their mothers. That means, mother and child should meet on a regular basis throughout the mother’s term in prison.

- Mrs Samuel, Port Harcourt.”

“The prison authorities must have a welfare department which meets the needs of pregnant women/nursing mothers/very young children. Their main duty for these ones, should be to ensure adequate care and attention for the little children. There should be easy access to good healthcare, clean outfits, nutritious foods, and leisure. At a certain age, say, one year for a baby, a relation approved by the prisoner, should be asked to come take the baby away to look after at home, so that it can get used to life within a family. Within the prison, there should be a leisure room where young children can be

taught drawing and painting, and simple figures and the alphabet.

They should not be left to hang on to their mother’s dress all the time.

Neither should the latter use the baby as an excuse for not doing her prison duties. - Celia, Kaduna. ” “Madam, the majority of those children in prison belong to women awaiting trial. In the cities, most of them were arrested for street trading/hawking, or, for breaking the environmental sanitation rule of restricted movement. Why on earth should such women be taken to prison to await trial, let alone be put in prison along with the babies on their backs? By this act, you’re doing a great harm and damage to both mother and child.

Imagine a mother going to hawk in order to be able to keep body and soul together, and not returning home at the end of the day!

What about other children in her care at home? She disobeyed the rule, but it isn’t a criminal act which is endangering lives, so, why the desire to lock her up and charge her to court? Sometimes you wonder if those who rule are human beings with feelings, or, wicked souls from outer space. I know a family that broke up when the woman was detained in prison for months on end because she spread

her wares in an unauthorized area.

She had no money to get herself off the hook, and neither did the unemployed husband who was dependent on her. He took off after a few weeks of her absence when he couldn’t cope with the financial demands of their children. These ones then took to the streets. The extended family had to step in to rescue those children, and also get the release of their mother.

Arrests on non-criminal offences clog up the already over-crowded prisons.

Law enforcement agencies should issue caution, instead of arresting those women traders. To seize their wares is criminal – theft, if you ask me. - Pastor T.K., Surulere.”

“Madam Helen, among those babies shut up with their mothers in prison, could be great professional people and leaders of the country written into their destiny from God. In their present circumstances, there’s no way they can realize that destiny. Government should step in to get them out of there, and into as normal home and surroundings as possible., and given the opportunity to enjoy children’s rights. Prison is not the right place for babies. Foster homes should be found for them; pending the release of their mothers.

If there’s no one to take them in, they can be sent to Motherless Babies Home. - Mercy, Jos.” We thank all those who wrote in.

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SUNDAY VANGUARD, MARCH 24, 2013, PAGE 21

Email: woman.vista@yahoo.co.uk

(07036819426)

RI TA OM OV BU DE ... fue llin g so cia l transformation through music, care

BY JOSEPHINE IGBINOVIA If young people are economically empowered and reoriented to think productively, then Nigeria can be sure to overcome corruption and wastefulness. This is the conviction of Rita Omovbude, the Founder/Project Leader of Street Project, a social enterprise in the heart of transforming the lives of young people. A 2002 graduate of Creative Arts from the University of Lagos, she is currently doing a Masters Degree in Mass Communication at the Pan African University. Rita who is fulfilling her dream of practicing advertising is presently a Senior Copywriter at Yellow Brick Road, an advertising agency in Lagos. Before now, she’s worked with several notable advertising agencies as a Copywriter also. Enjoy our encounter!

W

HAT’S the idea behind Street Project?

Street Project was conceived in 2005.

It was however established in 2008. It’s a social enterprise focused on youth development and empowerment.

What exactly inspired establishing it?

My youth service was a major source of inspiration. Some other youth corps members and I were interested in music and wanted to create a different kind of community development unit called One House. That was in 2002. We used music as a tool for social transformation, with open performances around Lagos e.g., under the bridge at Ojuelegba, schools, etc., singing songs on social development that we composed. These songs were centred on ethnic crisis, unity, ending violence, etc. The whole essence as young people was to use our gifts for something innovative that would help humanity. After youth service I still wanted to influence the people around me, as I believe that one doesn’t just come into this life and go away without living a legacy behind.

At some point, I began what was called ‘Street Praise’, continuing with the whole idea of using music to achieve social transformation. In 2008, Street Project was formed, focusing on youth development and empowerment. We started with an initiative called ‘Smile for December’.

The organisation is in two directions. One phase is to focus on youths who are vulnerable because of poverty and the second direction is to focus on youths who are talented and gifted but have not got the opportunity to express themselves. Like it is popularly said, an idle mind is the devil’s workshop. We know the youths constitute a larger percentage of our population, and most of them are actually not employed or meaningfully engaged. We need to encourage these people, and one way is by giving them an avenue to develop their talents. That’s what Street Project is all about.

What do you do with these young people after identifying their talents?

We mentor them. That particular project is

Rita Omovbude.....We are real, true and are passionate about what we do

Youths constitute a larger percentage of our population, and most of them are actually not employed or meaningfully engaged. We need to encourage these people, and one way is by giving them an avenue to develop their talents called Project Raw. The first edition of Project Raw took place in 2010 and the second was in 2011. What we do is go out to the streets with our camcorders, approach youths who are probably playing football or just idle, and then we ask them about their talents; whether they could sing, dance or make people laugh. In 2011, we got close to a hundred people on the street to showcase their talents on our cameras. What we usually do is we shortlist them, train them for two days, and then run a competition where the first three are rewarded with

cash prizes and one year mentorship by the likes of Dayo Oliyide, Ige, Kofi the comedian, Onos, to mention but a few. I’m proud to say that quite a number of them who have gone through Street Project are in school presently and using their gifts as a source of revenue. We have MC Jossy who schools in the east presently and is earning money from laughs.

How experienced was this person when you found him?

He wasn’t experienced at all. We have a number of them like that, using their different gifts. Even those who didn’t win at our competitions are meaningfully engaging themselves presently because what Street Project did was to spark the fire on the inside of them so they do not stay idle. However I must say that we are still operating on a small scale. Considering our goals, I believe we can operate on a larger scale and transform more lives if we have the kind of support that we require.

Talking about supports, how have you been getting funds for your activities?

It’s been what they call ‘drops of water making a mighty ocean’. It all started with my funds, funds from friends and family, and then a T-shirt business that we started.

The profit from the T-shirt business was used for our earliest projects. Everything is still done on a very small scale. The good thing however was that last year in July, I was able to strike a partnership with a good friend of mine- Tony Blankson. We’re actually open to more partnerships.

One questions the integrity of some NGOs and groups. What can one say of your project?

The project has been in existence for five years, and throughout these years, we’ve used our internal resources to achieve the things we’ve achieved. In 2008 we began a project called ‘The Haven’ under our ‘Smile for December’ project, and this took us to the Heart of Gold Children Hospice to distribute valuable items and also show love to the children. In 2009 we were at the Arrows of God Orphanage in Ajah. There, we taught the over 200 children and teenagers in the home how to paint, draw, sing, dance, etc. We actually put together an intensive training programme for them. In 2010 we were at the Precious Pearls Orphanage where we gave away fantastic packages and had a good time with the children. For a period of six months, we trained selected kids in the home on how to play the piano.

In 2011 we were at the Citadel of Grace Orphanage where we sponsored the education of some kids with the funds we were able to gather; besides making them have a good time. In 2012, we identified with So Said Charity Home, providing them with clean borehole water. We’ve decided to continue our partnership with So Said Charity Home because of the valuable work the home is doing for society- catering for mentally challenged citizens. We didn’t do these with financial resources of corporate organizations. Another aspect of what we do- the Talent Hunt Competition, has also been consistent and productive. We are real, true and are passionate about what we do. So, you can imagine how much we can do if we were able to generate funds externally to add to our internal funds.

C M Y K

PAGE 22 — SUNDAY VANGUARD , MARCH 24, 2013

This size makes life a misery!

Dear Rebecca am a 27-year old man who works as a cobbler. I Would be glad if you can help solve my problem.

I have very small and tiny penis just like that three or five year old child. My sex life has completely ground to a halt.

My last experience of sex was a disaster. I could hardly penetrate and the whole exercise was a mess.

Please help me.

Worried, Lagos

I

REPL Y REPLY

A

N expert says that in spite of claims in some adverts that the male organ could be made bigger, he would advise that you don’t tamper with that part of your body.

If you are fertile, whatever the size of organ, you will have kids.

Again, with a partner who shares mutual fond-

ness with you, the size should not stop sexual pleasure . The important thing is knowing what to do with what God has endowed you with, so you could have a pleasurable sex life. Without adequate knowledge of how your body works, and sex, making love will always be an unpleasant mess, even if you have the largest organ in the world.

The first step is having a willing partner you are fond of and with whom you have discussed the use of contraceptives.

Then discover how to arouse and please your partner through physical touch ,kissing, etc . Some ladies find this more satisfying than the actual sex act. Which no matter how you look at it or feel about it, is a naturally messy affair.

There are some good books in the shops about body development and sex which would help you understand things and be able to handle sex

well.

That said, your whole life should not be about the size of your organ, sex and performance in bed. Some people choose not to have sex for life, and they live a very happy and fulfilling life.

Eating a balanced diet of protein, carbohydrate , vegetables, and embracing regular exercises will help you to develop good health which will help you remain in a good frame of mind. Sex is not the main reason God created human beings. We are here to honor, obey and respect Him, help our fellow human beings, and help make the world a better place.

Overwhelmed by problems!

Dear Rebecca

I

am a 22 year old boy and factory worker. Please find

Educational status bothers me Dear Rebecca

I

am a 23-year old or phan. My problems are numerous but the most disturbing one is my low standard of education. I stopped school in primary six. All my friends are above me.

When we sit and chat and the discussion centres on education, I go very quiet and sometimes, I won’t be able to sleep at night.

If my parents were alive, I would have read further than that. I came to Lagos hoping somebody will be able to help me after telling them my story, yet no hope. But I know that with God, all things are possible. I know the importance of education and I also know that with education, I will be able to aspire to great heights. I sometimes teach myself at home but this is not enough. Please help me.

Bern Lagos REPL Y REPLY

I

do sympathize with you and I am glad you know the importance of education in self and national development. It is a pity that formal education in our country is fast becoming a luxury for the masses.

Ideally, access to education is the right of every Nigerian child, and tuition at all levels from primary school to university is supposed to be free.

However, due to the hard economic conditions, some states in the country now collect tuition fees along side other dues, and where education is free, parents have to supply desks and chairs for their children. This is in addition to P.T.A dues, and the purchase of books and uniform.

Scholarships from the government, or companies or individuals are hard to come by.

However, as a 23 year old, you can help yourself get more education. Pick up any type of job e.g factory, domestic work, car wash, etc, so that you can earn money, and save up to pay for lessons at the various Centers for Continuing Education set up all over the country by state and local governments. Classes are usually held in the evening and fees are very low.

You don’t fold your arms and wait for your education to drop into your life.

You have to struggle to make life better for yourself. Many of the ‘’big’’

men we have today, did menial jobs to get educated or set up their business.

Besides, there are thousands of young people in the country with both parents alive, and who find themselves in your situation. Those of them who are serious about developing themselves, pick up honest jobs, and with the help of God, who is aware of their situation and efforts, they save up for further studies. Whatever the stage at which you stopped schooling, there are classes at these centres to suit your need. Pick up a job, work honestly well and save up. If you are doing domestic work, let your employer know of your ambition for studying at Further Education centers, so that he/she can cooperate. Don’t beg.

Begging demeans, and doesn’t glorify God, if you are not handicapped, and you can work.

Good luck.

solutions to the following problems bothering my life.

1 I have a very big organ and it scare girls from having sex with me.

Even when I go to a hotel and offer tp pay twice the amount, girls still refused to have sex with me and when I do, I always fall sick.

2 I find it difficult to talk to a girls.

3 I observed that I have bad luck where others go and succeed, as if I I go there, things turn out badly.

4 My father died eight years ago, and as an only son, my mother is urging me seriously to get married . I am confused.

Chike, Port Harcourt REPL Y REPLY

I

bet you are . This is because you are being pulled in different directions. You feel a failure and unlucky in your job and your relationship with women.

You are being urged to take a wife. You don’t know which way to turn.

I suggest you sit down, take a good look at your life, and decide what you really want out of life.

What sort of job or career do you want?

Make concrete plans that would make you achieve it.

This may mean continuing with the job at the factory until you save enough money to study or train for it.

At what age do you think you would be ready, both emotionally and financially, to take a wife ?

Tell your mother so that she would not keep insisting that you get married.

Marriage is serious business.

You need to plan carefully for it and go into it with a mature mind. God will provide your mother with grandchildren through you at His own time.

You need to plan carefully for it and go into it with a mature mind. God will provide your mother with grandchildren through you

Ask God to take control of your life, and direct you into His purpose for creating you. He didn’t put you here on earth to get confused about your life. Talk to him seriously and with strong faith. Even if you still have a father, God should still be in control of your life and destiny, because as your Creator, He is your real and permanent parent. Just like He is to every human being, who accepts Him seriously and live life His way.

Being pre-occupied with the size of your organ, and going to have sex with prostitutes is not from God, so, stop that at once. Keep your body safe from sex-related diseases, and resume sex when you are married.

We get confused about life when we are not living it God’s way.

Make friends with girls around you, starting with polite greetings, and chat about work, and other general issues. If you are clean, polite and responsible, girls would like to be ordinary friends with you. These are not your girl friends, just casual friends. Interacting with them will enable you understand girls more, and give the confidence to approach them for a romantic relationship in future.

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

SUNDAY Vanguard , MARCH 24, 2013, PAGE 23

If she pays the bill, she’s the ‘husband’!

W

HEN a woman makes so much money, does it go to her head? Not really. Her problem is to use her wealth and experience to get the comfort she thinks she deserves for all the hard work that’s paid off for her. Liz

is almost 40 and a player in the energy sector.

She’s rich beyond her means - and extremely realistic about relationships. Her current lover is five years younger than she is. “It is a turbulent relationship,” she admitted recently, ‘and I bear the full weight of both our responsibilities as I’m largely responsible for his financial needs. Arthur is a ‘“businessman’ whose income is peanuts compared to mine.

“But our little arrangement suits me to the ground. I wouldn’t dream of going out with men of my age or older - they’re all so stuffy and unexciting and I’m willing to ‘“pay’ for the excitement in this relationship. I see it as part of my independence - just one among the several luxuries I’m able to buy for myself. In other words, in opting for a fairly unconventional relationship, I feel I’m exercising a cer-

tain prerogative - just as other women with their cold cash buy jewellery and designer clothes. ‘“Most of today ’s younger men are not in the moody adolescent category, nor are they penniless or without careers of their own. Some have houses, some may have had relationships with women of their age or younger, or even have been married briefly with children. Tell me, are they that different from men ten years older?

‘These days, a lot of women are no longer looking simply for men to ‘contain’ them. The father figure has given way to the brother-sister relationship.

Most women who are in relationships with younger men will tell you that these are the only ones who don’t appear threatened by their success.

There’s no doubt that a man approaching his middle years and questioning his own success can feel left behind as well as threatened by a partner whose career is rocketing upwards. ‘“No man of my age would tolerate the hours I work. I often work a 1012 hour day. I come in tired. I expect him to

habv either instructed the cook to get something ready for me to eat, or put a meal in the microwave himself. Once in a while, I take him to a restaurant for a meal. He’s quite happy – at least for now – to be a house-husband.

Most of the men I ineract with professionally have wives who still put the meal on the table for them and do the wasing up in th absence of a domestic help. What I have now with my loer is about all that I can manage.

‘If need be, a younger man will follow you into the kitchen and help you serve the meal. He’ll wash up quickly when you’re not looking. He is

adept at noticing every expression crossing your face. He looks for your reactions - these are important to him as he’s aware of the more ephemeral nature of the relationship. In its extreme form, a younger man’s constant concern about your feelings, moods and reactions can become wearing, but there’s never the complaint one hears from so many women: “He doesn’t seem to notice I’m around. I might as well be part of the furniture”. The younger lover is liable to react with the jealousy and peevishness of a child at times, but he reacts! A younger

man puts a sparkle into your life. The· sense that he is ‘all future’ and further away from death and old age may have something to do with it. His zest for life makes you feel more alive.

‘The older man may talk about the ‘menopausal woman: but his mid-life crisis is likely to be more lasting and difficult to treat than the occasional hot flush (and many women today have virtually eradicated menopausal symptoms with diet, vitamins and improved status - not to mention hormone replacement therapy). A man going through this very real crisis is less likely to seek help or to take up new interests ...

He’s more likely to be hit with a ‘crisis of meaning. ‘ ‘Both men and women still have difficulty accepting the older woman/younger man relationship. This difficulty is expressed in the question I’m often asked: “But don’t you feel older with a younger man?” On the contrary, I reply, it’s the older men who make you more aware of every grey hair because they’re so msecure abut their own ageing, and will project those fears onto you.

‘Like other relation-

ships, some younger lovers could be a real pain.

A friend of mine whose man was eight years younger is an artiste.

With these new collectors looking for bargains, she was always giving dinner parties to introduce him to important people in the art world as well as arranging a one-man exhibition of his paintings. He’d also persuaded her to purchase some of his paintings and lend him some money to buy more materials.

‘The demands got higher and higher - he wanted money to travel abroad, he wanted her to ‘organise’ journalists she knew to guarantee him reviews. When she told him there was a limit to what she could do, he grew sullen, hostile and generally bad tempered.

His behaviour finally became so graceless that she dumped all his paintings, materials and belongings outside the gate of her house, an told the security not to let him in.

Of course this is an extreme example of younger man as a demanding child, and most women tire of playing the all-giving, all-loving mother after a very short time ... ‘

GSM: 08052201867

Exercise: Food for healthy living ciently.

In terms of the sick, such as in the case of someone who is hypertensive, it is known that exercise taken in therapeutic doses is capable of reversing the condition.

If exercise taken in sensible measures can restore health, then it goes to show that we need it all the time.

We need to have a certain amount of physical fitness to keep ailments at bay.

Even when sleep has not been as long as we would have it, sometimes we can still instill some exuberance, some vitality into the body by tapping our energy reserves through some simple stretching and flexing exercises.

If you can wake up every morning and invoke the discipline to work out the body for as little as 15 to 20 minutes, that, coupled with good nutrition must guarantee you great vitality.

We all have different lev-

els of vigour but the truth is, we can gradually train the body to give more, to do more.

,

I

happened to be dis cussing health with a friend. I mentioned that everyone needed some form of exercise; even the sick. At this my firend shot back that he only needed his food and water to stay healthy. He also didn’t see how an ailing individual could exercise.

True, next to air, we must have food and water for life.

But it is also true that when the body loses tone on account of insufficient physical activity air, food and water never seem tobe enough. If this trend of lack of muscle tone is allowed to go on, very soon, a lack of zest and drive, and of energy, becomes one’s lot.

When we move the body in physical activities, we take in more oxygen by breathing deeper and fuller to balance the outflow of energy. The increased heart rate brought on by exercise also makes the heart itself stronger, allowing it to pump blood more effi-

Life is for living with enthusiasm, with vitality, with zest, with drive.

If you lack these, it’s time to go shopping!

We start from here.

The shoulders stand Technique: Lying on your back, draw up your knees.

If exercise taken in sensible measures can restore health, then it goes to show that we need it all the time * The Soulderstand

,

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

Place both hands at the back with thumps to the hipz. Now, with a bit of momentum, hoist the legs up and point the toes skyward.

For a beginner a halfminute in this posture will do until over the longrun you can stay for upwards of five minutes.

Benefits: The shoulder stand allows the right stimulation for under - or over functioning of the endocrine glands. For instance, under active thyroid can be improved to help stave off excess fat.

Vrkasana Standing straight up, help your right foot to your inner left thigh. Clasping your palm, find a focal point and fix the attention there away from your body.

The idea is to keep the entire body very still.

Benefits: This particular posture helps to calm the nerves and soothes the mind.

There’s usually a lot of hopping around trying to stay on one foot but very soon it can be mastered.

The “A” head stand For those not capable of doing the full head stand, the abbreviated version

called the “A” head stand will suffice.

Technique: Stand with feet very wide apart. Now slowly and carefully lower your trunk with your hands planted firmly down on the floor. Now bring your head to rest on the floor and then gently remove both hands from the floor and grasp your ankles.

Duration: You may stay in this position from 20 seconds to a minute or more as you improve.

Benefits: The posture directs blood to the head especially nourishing the brain and the pituitary gland, the master gland, because it has a say in how the other glands should function.

The triangle pose Stand with feet wide apart then turning the trunk to the left bend the left knee to waist level. The right foot should be diagonal to your waist. The knee must be locked. Then spread out the hands on both sides of your body.

Benefits: The triangle pose is one great toner of flab about the thighs. It instills great strength in the legs as a whole.

P AGE 24 —SUNDAY Vanguard , MARCH 24 , 2013

bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk

08056180152,

SMS only

Did your first time shape your love life for ever?!

M

OST sexolo gists believe that your first sexual experience shapes your love life for ever - if it is good, you’ re expected to have fatrly good sex for most of your . sexually active years.

But if it’s bad .... So how was it for you? Here some readers share their experience ...

Halima, 45, a bank’s executive director: My friends and I were about to enter university when we all decided to do the deed before we went in so we wouldn’t look like squares. At that time, parents tended to be a heavy presence in our lives. I was living with mine but studied with Kaka, a neighbour who was resitting his admission exams. I’d go to his parent’s flat to study with him in the afternoons.

We’d been seeing each other for a few months when we attempted to “seal’ our relationship. It was my first time but he said he’d had a few conquests.

‘The problem was his mother who had a supermarket on the ground floor of their house. She seemed to have a sixth sense, so whenever the action started between Kaka and me, she’d knock on the door of his room and ask us whether we: are all right. I’d leap to my feet, riddled with guilt and embarrassment. The “old witch”: as we used to call her finally gave us enough peace to consunmlate our relationship one afternoon. That evening, my mother came to the room I shared with my sisters and wanted to know if I was still a virgin! Of course I told her I was! ‘ But the experience

with Kaka sharpened my views on sex because our relationship was a loving one. It gave me greater expectations of intimacy, and a desire to be valued and cherished by subsequent partners ...’

Ngozi, 52 a beautician: ‘My first time was with my benefactor, so to speak. I was 18, fresh out of secondary school and he was 41 - or so he said.

We met at his friend’s office where I worked as a receptionist. He was broad, macho and bald.

He swept me off my feet with gifts - cash and kind. He also took me to exotic places for meals. I was in awe of him and sex was clearly on the cards. He seemed the ideal candidate for me to lose my virginity to. Unfortunately, the setting was not all that glamorous. He took me to a motel where food and drinks were brought to the room but I was so curious about sex with him that I didn’t care.

“With our clothes off and passion sizzling, 1 soon discovered he was far from the stud I took him to be and needed a fair amount of help from me to finish what we started. But once he got on with it, it was a beautiful experience and our relationship went on for three years. He sent me abroad to do a course 1 was passionate about and set me up in business before we both moved to other lovers. The ones I had after him were an improvement on what we had but 1 still think of him with warmth and tenderness because my first sexual experience with

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"

Find someone...

Who'll be willing to know God deeply with you...

Who'll be willing to grow old with you...

him taught me tolerance in the face of a man’s sexual ‘agility. _.

Tricia, 31, legal practitioner. ‘I lost my virginity to one of my dad’s fi’iends. He was a top civil servant and he worked in the same ministry as dad.

He’d just returned from abroad and his family were yet to join him. As a matter of fact, he was still in the guest house the ministry put him in pending the time suitable quarters were found for him.

1 was 17 and he was more than twice my age. “‘I eventually started visiting him at his guest house and I was enthralled by his sophisticated life-style. He had some erotic magazines in his room, an array of drinks, good music and good food. I was infantuated with him and thought nothing of sleeping with him and judging from later experiences, he was a kind and generous lover who knew how to give pleasure. Of course I was heartbroken when his fanlily returned and our

clandestine affair had to end. But since it was a secret affair, there was no need to hide my head in shame... ‘ Kenneth, 45, divorced technician: ‘There were no fireworks or anything when 1 had my first experience. If any tIling, it was a bit of a shambles. I’d just celebrated my 21st birthday and as a treat, my girlfriend who was in the same university with me, agreed to sleep with me. She was tall, elegant and came fi’om an upper middle-class family. We’d been on a few dates before and had kissed and explored each other’s bodies. But on tIus occasion, we were on holidays and, since her place was more private, ended up in her room.

She confessed she was a virgin and I confessed I was too.

“After a while, I took courage in both hands and led her to bed. Then followed about ten minutes of inept fumbling and breathless instruc-

Who'll never get tired of kissing you everyday...

Who'll hug you when you're jealous...

Who'll understanding keep silent when you're mad...Who'll squeeze your hand when you're not in the mood...

Who'll plan and imagine the future with you in it...

And when you find that someone, HOLD ON and JUST NEVER LET GO! Chris Onunaku, dekris4real@gmail.com 08032988826

My Queen

I love you now more than I ever have, you've made me to understand that the sweetness of love is not in the beginning of a relationship but in its continuity, its ending, but true love has no end, that's why I love you more with each adding days. Bear it in mind,

tions from her - ‘No, not there either!’ and me yelling’ Are you Ok?’ until it was all over and to this day, 1 can’t recall what really happened.

Has it affected my sexual experience? Well, to this day 1 tend to avoid tall, elegant women ... “‘.

Want to get pregnant?

So what’s stopping you?

Here is a compilation of what the medics believe might work against you when tryingt in vain to get pregnant.

Age: The younger you are, the easier it is to get pregnant. After 35, your chances get slimmer, and it increases the risk of your baby having a genetic disorder.

Periods: Regular periods? The best time to conceive is days between 13 to 16 than 31, see your doctor to check your hoimone levels. Painful periods can be a sign of endometriosis, which affects fertility. Taking painkillers can lower your chances too. Exces-

sive bleeding might indicate that you have fibroids which can make it hard for an egg to be implanted in the womb.

Weight: If you’re obese, planning a baby is the perfect incentive to lose a few pounds. Too much body fat affects hormones and infertility. Getting regular exercise will boost your immune system and improve circulation as well.

Booze and fags: Drinking over five units of alcohol a week greatly decreases your chances of getting pregnant . Cigarettes contain at least 3,0 chemicals that decrease fertility.

Additives: Avoid artificial sweeteners in most diet drinks and sugarfree foods, and try not to use air fresheners or perfumes that contain artificial musk. They can affect your homones. On the other hand, a daily multivitamin and mineral supplement may help boost your fertility.

Him: Swap your man for a younger man! Men over 35 are less likely to get their partners pregnant in a year than they were at 25. A healthy weight and diet are important for him too.

Steam rooms can decrease sperm count, as tight synthetic pants and smoking. Drinking too much can also cause impotence and sterility.

Worry: Most of all, don’t get stressed about not getting pregnant! It will cripple your libido, interfere with your menstrual cycle and deprive your body of vitally needed nutrients. If you’ve done all the right things and still haven’t conceived in 18 months, visit your doctor for tests.

my love for you will never end.

Omorville Umoru.

Omorville@gmail.com, 08062486549

Thinking about you

My Love, I enjoy thinking about you. If I should have one naira in every second that I think about you, before the end of a day I will become a millionare. Every second I have a new sweet thought of you, romantic thought that i wish never to end. i love it baby, I love you. I will dream of you tonight again, sweetdreams my love.

Kelechi Ndubisi, kconeofafrica@gmail.com 08032900530.

SUNDAY Vanguard,

MARCH 24, 2013 —PAGE

25

ILLEGAL MIGRATION TO DEATH We held on to cylinder for 2 days as fellow passengers went down with ill-fated MV Soni — Survivor Stories by Mma Una, Calabar

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ith the name MV Soni boldly in scribed on its dark body, the ill-fated boat, strung together with wood, set sail for Gabon, at about 9 p.m. on March 15, after it had docked at the Oron quay for over a month to take passengers and complete other travel logistics.

During this period, the crew of five Nigerians, said to be Igbo, fraternized and made friends with passengers, the crew of other boats and staff of the dockyard. The Gabon journey was supposed to last three days, but, after five hours, some forty nautical miles off the Calabar waterways, near Malabo in Equatorial Guinea, the engine of the giant wooden boat stopped functioning right on the high seas. That was around 3 a.m. Nigerian time.

The head crew, whose name one of the survivors, Kieve Sani, gave as Daniel, an Igbo, though panicky, managed to “keep his voice calm and asked everyone who could pray to pray to his God: some of us prayed to Jesus while others prayed to Allah, but nothing happened”. Sani

*Hafsat...escaped drowning

*Sani...his master perished

spoke on his hospital bed at Bakor Medical Centre, Calabar.

According to the survivor, “As the cacophony of praying voices became strident and the crew made desperate efforts to restart the engine, nothing happened, rather water started swirling into the boat which frightened us and everyone knew that something was going to happen and we started scrambling out of the boat with some clutching unto anything that could keep them afloat while some plunged straight into water with nothing to hold onto. “Those who could not

come out simply went down with the sinking boat”. He and the teenage lady, Hafsat, who was rescued along with him, were saved when they took hold of a 12- foot cylinder along with two others, his master and another lady, but, as the day went by, his master and the lady became too weak and unable to cling unto the cylinder and drowned.

“My master and another lady held on to the cylinder with us but, as time went on, my master could not continue and told us he was going; later, another lady went down, too. Only two of us were left and we continued

to hold on to the cylinder for nearly two days before the Addax Oil people came”.

Sani, a Togolese, receiving treatment for trauma and body pains at Bakor Medical Centre, 127 Murtala Highway, Calabar, said the boat had 128 passengers with five crew members on board.

“I was in Nigeria for one month and assisted the crew who became my friends in recording the names of the passengers in French and answering phone calls for them when somebody called from Gabon; so I know the number that started the trip that Friday night.”

The survivor said the boat started the journey in Oron, Akwa Ibom State, saying outside the five crew members who were Nigerians, the boat had only three passengers from Nigeria, a man and two ladies who were taking textile materials for sale in Gabon while the bulk of the other passengers were from Togo, Ghana, Niger, illegal immigrants being trafficked to Gabon.

The Togolese said he was being taken to Gabon by a ‘master ” who asked for 500 cfa from him and he had paid 300 cfa after selling his car and would pay the balance

after working in Gabon.

Hafsat, the dark complexioned teenager, who was rescued along with Sani, could barely communicate in English and could only give her country of origin as Niger.

Mr Olayemi Abass, the Coordinator of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, for the South South zone, said in Calabar that 27 people had been rescued and those rescued were saved by the personnel of Addax Oil which has an operational base in the area . “Some were taken to Oron and two brought to Calabar and those in Calabar are receiving treatment at Bakor Medical Centre Calabar” Mr Vincent Aqua, the Director General of the Cross River State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, said nine corpses, comprising significantly of women and children, were deposited by NIMASA at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital on Sunday “and from the items recovered, which include women wrappers, slippers, SIM cards and wallets, it was apparent that the bodies were not Nigerians”.

He said rescue operations were continuing.

Trafficked girl cries: ‘I was fatally injured by my boss’ sibling’

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thirteen-year-old girl, Precious Udu, who was taken from Obudu in northern Cross River State to Calabar to work as a house maid, has allegedly been bathed with hot water severely burning her neck, shoulder and chest even as she was not allowed to attend school by her mistress.

Precious said sometime in 2012, one Amaman approached her mother and appealed that her sister residing in Calabar needed somebody to stay with her and that she should allow Precious to be taken to Calabar to serve as housemaid

to the sister. “When my mother accepted, Sister Amaman then said I had to stay with an acquaintance for her to study my character and, if she approved of my behaviour, I would then be taken to Calabar and I stayed with her for about three months before my intending mistress came and took me to Calabar”. The victim said when they got to Calabar, she asked her mistress to seek for admission for her in a public secondary school but the mistress refused insisting that her son whom Precious was brought to take care of

was still small, so Precious should continue to take him to school and bring him back to home. “I was attending Girls Secondary School Obudu and I was in JSS 1 even when I was with her acquaintance, she allowed me to go to school but my mistress said because of Junior, her son, I could not attend school.”

The distraught girl said whenever her mistress’ husband returned to PortHarcourt where he works, she would be subjected to maltreatment by the mistress

and her younger brother, who but asked me to eat eba that had gone bad with maggots in it but I refused to eat and stayed hungry that day”.

She said nothing was done about the wound and she continued doing her chores until Thursday March 14.“When I went to fetch water from the borehole that some neighbours saw me and screamed and one of them took me to the General Hospital”.

At the General Hospital, a nurse, who identified herself as Alice, and a social worker called Barrister James Ibor, a

child rights activist, intervened .”We have written to the Cross River State Commissioner of Police to arrest the mistress and the brother to face the law because what they have done amounts to felony”, Ibor said.

He said what they did by taking the girl from her mother in Obudu to Calabar to serve as house maid is human trafficking.

Precious, the activist said, was living in an orphanage pending when she could be taken back to her parents after her wound had healed.

PAGE 26—SUNDAY Vanguard, MARCH 24, 2013

FG fact-finding team storms S/East erosion sites

By Adeola Adenuga

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he Special Committee set up by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to ensure speedy completion of work on the 15 soil erosion and flood control projects in the South-East states has concluded the first phase of its assignment; with inspection visit to eight ecological projects in Imo and Anambra States.

The presidential team, headed by the Director-General of Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Engr. Emeka Ezeh, has other members drawn from the Federal Ministries of Environment, Works, Water Resources, Lands and Urban Development, with Mr. Jude Mekwunye, Director Soil Erosion and Flood Control of the Ecological Fund Office, as the Secretary.

The committee’s tasks include inspection of on-going erosion control project sites in the zone, funded by Ecological Fund Office, assessing extent of work done and the capacity of the contractor to deliver on the job. It is also to examine the scope of contract execution in each site, assess the impact and advice on what is needed to mitigate the effects of erosion menace at the sites; as well as assess all oth-

South-East... erosion everywhere er critical ecological situations in the region and make recommendations to the Federal Executive Council.

The team carried out indepth inspection of all the project sites, asking questions and demanding for documents to ascertain the managerial and financial capabilities of contractors, the professional qualification and competence of consultants, ascertaining the adequacy of project engineering designs and whether or not the respective designs conform to standard engineering practice.

The projects include Nanka/Oko landslide project, the

58-yr-old farmer declared missing

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he Omomen family of Sobe in Edo State has raised the alarm over their missing member, Mr Abie Omomen, 58, who, they claimed, travelled from BeninCity to Kwoi in Kaduna State on February 20, 2011 but has since not been found.

A family spokesman, Osaretin Omomen, said his uncle boarded a vehicle from Benin City to visit a brother at GSS Ankung, Kwoi, Kaduna State, but has not been seen since then. He added that all efforts to trace

Nkisi Water Works erosion control project in Onisha, the Sakamori/Nwangene Flood Control/Dredging Project also in Onisha, the Okpolo/Ire Ojoto erosion control project in Okpolo Local Government Area and Alor Town Flood control and road improvement project in Idemili Local Government Area all of Anambra State and the Nekede, Saint Kzito Secondary School in Muchina and the UmuozaUgri erosion control projects in Imo state.

Meanwhile Ezeh has emphasized the need for consultants to engage in intensive study of ecological problems in or-

him proved abortive.

According to him, Abie, a farmer, had one eye at the time he was seen last. He was 5ft tall and light skin in complexion.

He appealed to members of the public who may come across someone with similar description to report to Kwoi Divisional Police Station, Kwoi, Kaduna State, Edo State Police Command, Benin-City, Edo State, the nearest police station or call him, Osaretin, on telephone number 07064815143.

A police report dated December 21 , 2012, signed by the Divisional Police Officer of Kwoi Police Division, Kaduna State, where the case of the missing person was reported, pleaded with the public to help look for the missing person.

der to come up with knowledge-based engineering design that will stand the test of time. He gave this advice after his committee was told that reclamation work at the Nanka erosion control project site contributed to further aggravation at the Oko axis of the area. He said such problem would have been avoided if a holistic study of the problem had been carried out.

The chairman also hinted that his committee will advise the Federal Government on the need to design a performance bond and insert a clause in project contract agreement that will commit the

contractors/consultants to bear the full cost of expenses incurred while indemnifying the Federal Government from all liabilities in event of project failure.

At the Nkisi Water Works, Ezeh expressed dismay that the water project on which the Federal Government has given out contracts on two occasions and released substantial money was abandoned and the facilities allowed to deteriorate, promising that the FG will bring to book those who have short changed the people of the state from enjoying potable water. The chairman also described as unhelpful a situation where consultants make designs primarily to satisfy money made available, rather than solving a given problem. He was also not happy that the contractor, rather than exporting materials, is importing earth materials from site to sand fill the gully being reclaimed; saying the practice portends grave danger to the structures on ground.

In the meantime, the need to complete the Sakamori soil erosion control project in Onisha has received a boost from Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State who, while accompanying he presidential team to the site, gave a two-week matching order to owners of structures obstructing drains and channels in the are to remove them; failure which they will be demolished. The governor, who said his directive did not exempt churches, business houses and private buildings, assured that there was no going back on the move to restore sanity to Onisha.

Prophetess drags randy husband, or orccee or divvor urtt ffor o cour or r, tto or, sto a past

By Adeola Adenuga

has pleaded with an Agege itilayo Oluokun, a prophetess, olve her 22-year-old mar Grade ‘A’ Customary Court to diss lives at 8, Aina Aladi Street, riage. The 51-year-old woman, who her husband, a pastor, was randy.

Agbado, Lagos, told the court that my husband in the last three years. ”Four women had four children for . I know some of the girlfriends beHe also has numerous girlfriends rch applicant narrated. ”I was in chu cause they live on my street”, the g min clai n, dre chil e thre came with sometime in 2009 when a woman ”It her. that my husband neglected they belonged to my husband and the founder of the church, and also am was a thing of shame because,I an one of the pastors. ”I gave the wom a prophetess while my husband is urb dist to rch chu the to e not to com N20,000 and begged her. I told her court I took him to in 2011, he was ary tom cus r othe the ”In me again. he won’t impregnate any woman asked to write an undertaking that nated two women after. That was again. ”To my surprise, he impreg him. ”I had him arrested sometime when I knew I had to call it quits with me and, from the police station, he last year because he wanted to stab of my house”. was asked to move his things out

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SUNDAY Vanguard, MARCH 24, 2013, PAGE 27

‘At 40, every man should go for prostate test’

By Yommy Dauda Prostate enlargement is on the prowl, taking its toll on the health of the menfolk. The Prostate Research Institute in the United States of America, in a report, said that among every six men, two are likely to suffer from the disease which, if not diagnosed early and effectively treated, can degenerate to prostate cancer. Research has also confirmed that in Africa, the rate of prostate enlargement and cancer is relatively high.

Apparently worried by the dangers of the ailment, orthodox medical practitioners have been battling to proffer solutions but have not been able to achieve maximum result.

But the Managing Director of Qumas Herbs Limited, a trado-medical expert, Dr Olasunkanmi Azeez, says that herbal medicine

has a quick remedy for the disease.

In this interview, Azeez, who is the chairman of Herbal Therapy Society of Nigeria, Lagos State Chapter (HTSN), stresses that application of special herbal therapy against prostate enlargement and prostate cancer can provide cure for the ailments.

Prostate enlargement, a killer disease HIS ailment is common among the male folk and very dangerous to their health because of its complications and effects. It affects the male organ known as prostate gland which produces semen, the milky-colored fluid that nourishes and transports sperm during ejaculation.

Prostate gland is located beneath the bladder and surrounds the urethra, that is the tube that drains urine from the bladder. Whenever

T

*Dr. Qumas it becomes enlarged, the prostate would begin to wield pressure on the urethra and make urination difficult. This is common among men in their 40s and above when they witness prostate growth. This is when prostate gland enlargement occurs mostly because of the rapid growth of the central portion. The

m a j o r implication here is that as the tissues in the area enlarge, they compress the urethra and partly block free flow of urine. Men who have difficulty in urinating most likely have prostate enlargement problem.

Suffice it to say that prostate enlargement is a disease of elderly men. It causes severe pain, anxiety, discomfort and loss of consciousness. It has posed a global challenge to medical experts.

A prostate case not detected early enough can degenerate to prostate cancer. Reports have confirmed that men in their 40s and 50s are dying of prostate problems. Men in this age bracket are expected to go for tests, particularly prostate scan, to confirm their status and go for early intervention if it is confirmed that they are having prostate enlargement challenge.

Causes Diverse causes account for prostate enlargement.

In most cases, doctors find it difficult to diagnose the causes. But it cannot be unconnected with ageing and changes in the ratio of male hormone-testosterone level that stimulate prostate growth. It has been medically established that one of the major causes is hormonal imbalance, especially among men who use drugs to enhance their sexual performance, thereby activating the level of their testosterone hormones beyond the normal level. Commonly, it is sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) such as syphilis, gonorrhea, staph among others that degenerate to prostate enlargement if they become chronic due to failure to treat them on time. At birth, the prostate is about the size of a pea and during childhood, it grows a bit and at age of 25 or thereabout, it develops fully. One major danger associated with prostate enlargement is that, a man may wake up in the morning and might not be able to urinate due to enlargement of the prostate gland which puts pressure on the urethra,

making it difficult for urine flow.

Symptoms There are different symptoms of prostate enlargement. The sufferer is unable to maintain flow of urine till the end – that is stopping and starting while urinating.

Another symptom is dribbling at the end of urination. Other symptoms include frequent pressure to urinate, increased frequency of urination at nights, urgent need to urinate, inability to empty the bladder, bloodstained urine, weak urine and urinary tract infection.

When symptoms are noticed, it is advisable to avoid condiments and alcoholic beverages. This helps to lessen bladder irritation which may promote infection. It is also important to avoid cold conditions or allow urine to accumulate before passing it.

Diagnostic methods These include PSA test (Prostate Specific Antigen Test) and DRE test (Digital Rectal Examination). This is a simple clinical procedure for detecting prostate enlargement through the use of finger digits.

Prostate cancer Prostate enlargement worsens when the sufferer can no longer empty the bladder and must start us-

ing a catheter to draw urine. But the danger of this is that bladder infection is most likely. Prostate enlargement can lead to death, especially if it is left untreated and becomes chronic. At this level, it can degenerate to prostate cancer. Cancer can spread faster in the body system than other infections or viruses. When it gets to this stage, death can occur easily. But no matter the magnitude of the ailment, herbal medicine has quick remedy for it. Recurrence can only occur if the individual is re-infected by the virus responsible.

Management of prostate enlargement Though orthodox doctors have discovered conventional medicine to tackle the ailment, reports have confirmed that herbal treatment is more effective.

Qumas herbs have the potentials to diminish the growth of prostate cancer to the cells while dissolving different levels of prostate enlargement. Due to its anti-cancer activities, herbal medicine can inhib-

it the spread of the cancer cells in other vital tissues and organs of the body.

The medicine also has the potentiality to enhance better night sleep, stop frequency of urination, relieve pains, enhance healthy urinary function and also improve libido.

28—SUNDAY, Vanguard, MARCH 24, 2013

Abuja agog ffor or Go ada’s son, the lat e Oba Oy ek an’s daught er Govv. W Wada’s late Oyek ekan’s daughter

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hen the son of Governor Wada Idris of Kogi t a t , Hussein, took for wife former Miss Nurah Oyekan, daughter of the late Oba of Lagos, it was a marriage made and signed in Kogi State but sealed and delivered in Abuja. The reception that took place at the International Conference Centre, Abuja drew political heavy weights from within and outside Kogi State. Dignitaries at the occasion include the First Lady Dame Patience Jonathan; Vice President’s wife, Hajiya Aminat Sambo; Mrs Titi Abubakar; Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State; Wada’s deputy, Chief Yomi Awoniyi; National Chairman of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu; business mogul, Chief Isa Kutepa; and former Chief judge of Kogi State, Justice Umaru Eri. Photos by Abayomi Adesida

... And the theyy con convverged for Otuoke in Lagos

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Dame Patience Jonathan with Governor Wada and his wife.

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resident Goodluck Jonathan was in Lagos penultimate Saturday for no other reason than the fund-raising for St Stephen’s Anglican Deanery and Youth Development Centre, Otuoke, Bayelsa State. The ceremony, which had the President as the Special Guest of Honour and Chairman of Visa-fone as the Chief Launcher, took place at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island. Governors Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State and Peter Obi of Anambra were among the dignitaries who graced the occasion.

The groom, Hussein Wada (2nd left), with his friends at the wedding reception Jonathan flanked by Ovia (l) and Chief Arthur Eze

Dame Patience Jonathan being welcomed to the occasion by Mrs. Wada while Hajiya Aminat Sambo (l) and Hajiya Titi Abubakar watches

F

Former Senate President, Senator Ibrahim Mantu (r); former Kogi State governor, Alhaji Abubakar Audu (l), with other guests at the wedding reception

L-R:Gov Obi, Gov Akpabio & Jonathan

Henr omaiy a sent of Henryy Oduk Odukomaiy omaiya offf in grand style

ormer Managing Director of Champion Newspapers, Prince Henry Odukomaiya, is a man who walks in honour Last weekend was one of such days of honour when the Publication Committee of Archbishop Vining Memorial Church Cathedral. Ikeja, organised a send-off cremony in his honour as its Chairman of Publications. Photos by Diran Oshe

L- R: Prince & Mrs Henry Odukomaiya, being presented a gift by Prof.

Wale Omole C M Y K

L-R: Prince & Mrs Henry Odukomaiya and Prof. Wale Omole, Chairman of the ceremony

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MARCH 24, 2013 —29

UBTH’s CMD giv es daught er in w edloc k gives daughter wedloc edlock

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he Chief Medical Director, CMD, of University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Dr. Mike Ibadin, was a happy man when he gave the hand of his beautiful daughter, Izilin Marvis, in marriage to dashing Osereme Okaiwele.

The couple took their matrimonial oaths at Covenant Life Baptist Church, Benin City, Edo State before a long list of guests drawn from different walks of life. Photos by Barnabas Uzosike.

The couple, Mr. and Mrs. Okaiwele

R-L: Mrs. Clara Ibadin, bride’s mum, Dr. Mike Ibadin, bride’s dad, the couple and Mrs. Osereme Okaiwele, groom’s mum

Dr. Jackson Obaseki and wife

Justice Joseph Olubor (rtd) and wife

Prof. Graig Akenzua and his wife

Vanguar d /CBAA C anguard /CBAAC marks women’s Day

Glo unveils new ‘Strap Line’ amid fanfare

Vanguard /CBAAC collaborate Exhibition targed, 'African Women in Development' to mark the International Women's Day Photos: Lamidi Bamidele

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elecom operator, Globacom, unveiled a new strap line tagged “Unlimited” in Lagos.

According to the Group Chief Operating Officer, Mohamed Jameel, the new pay-off line marks a natural progression in the growth of the Glo brand identity and represents the unparalleled commitment of the company to its subscribers.

The launch was followed by light refreshment and entertainment. And adding to the glamour were the Glo Ambassadors who came resplendent in different dashing looks

Globacom's Head of Advertising, Tunde Kaitell (second from right), Glo ambassador, Desmond Elliot (left), Mr Fidelis Ajibogun, Assistant Director, National Lottery Regulatory Commission and Glo ambassador, Lagbaja Mrs Funmilayo Olusegun, wife of Ogun State Deputy Governor and Prof Tunde Babawale, DG CBAAC

Glo ambassadors (L-R), Desmond Elliot, Funke Akindele, Odunlade Adekola, Uche Jombo-Rodriguez, Rita Dominic and Sammy Okposo C M Y K

Performers on stage

From right: Mrs Idera Oshinubi Martins; Mrs Janet Mba Afolabi and Mrs Funmi Ladele

PAGE 30—SUNDAY

Vanguard , MARCH 23, 2013, 2012

Exclusive 2015 ELECTIONS ENDANGERED (1)

The comprehensive registration that may engender comprehensive rigging Proposed manual registration of voters creates fertile ground for systematic flaws INEC’s permanent voter's card set to encourage fraud Commissioners at war with Jega, accuse him of dictatorship, sectional agenda INEC chairman: Federal Character is the issue Six months! That is how long it has taken Sunday Vanguard to carry out its investigations (which are still on-going) into activities at the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, specifically the Office of the Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega. Though two years away, the 2015 elections may be in danger of being rigged systematically in view of the processes and procedures set up by the commission. More importantly, INEC’s proposed permanent voter’s card may be in jeopardy of being compromised even before it is ready for use. Worse still, the seemingly messianic disposition of Jega, his choice of administrative procedure some of which place very sensitive and important responsibilities in the hands of persons not known to the laws setting up INEC, and stitched together by an allegation of sectionalism, is foisting on the commission a paradigm that may make the 2015 elections another fool’s errand.

The findings seem frightening.

BY JIDE AJANI

LEPROUSY ON THREE FINGERS C M Y K

Intricately inter-linked, the endangerment of the 2015 general elections stems from three principal procedures, like three leprous fingers.

The three procedures are simple and straight forward enough.

First is the new found romance of Jega’s INEC with manual registration of voters. Surprised? Don’t be. There is an internal circular to that effect.

The second and very dangerous yet

,

O

NLY Professor Attahiru Jega knows the interest he has chosen to pursue.

It could be any or a combination of two of the following: Peoples Democratic Party, PDP – the ruling party!

There is the embattled, emerging opposition All Progressive Congress, APC. There is Jega’s personal agenda which he expects to leave behind a progressive legacy.

And then there is the allegation of sectional (northern) agenda.

There are sufficient grounds to conclude that the present modus operandi of Nigeria’s Election Management Body, EMB, may be primed for another failure of planning as was the case with the failed April 2, 2011 election.

However, this time, the collateral damage that would attend the outcome would be very devastating.

Unlike in the past, where disputes and disputations over outcomes of elections were largely based on partisan leanings, there are strong indications that the fire next time may be about ethnic domination or sectional conflicts, conflicts Nigerian politicians exploit with criminal dexterity.

ed.

Some of the National Commissioners and Resident Electoral Commissioners, RECs, are not particularly comfortable with the processes and procedures that were used for the award of the contract.

Very senior INEC officers said the procedures did not, in the slightest form, enjoy the necessary collegiate arrangement that decisions of the commission were expected to enjoy.

There are sufficient grounds to conclude that the present modus operandi of Nigeria’s Election Management Body, EMB, may be primed for another failure of planning as was the case with the failed April 2, 2011 election

innocuous leg is the type of permanent voter card that INEC has decided to use.

Investigations by Sunday Vanguard have revealed that the much talked about permanent card that INEC is proposing for the 2015 general elections does not have the necessary feature of specificity that would reduce the potentials for rigging.

The contract has already been award-

,

The third leg of this emerging threat to the 2015 elections is the recruitment of staff for INEC. Some senior officials of the EMB, vested with the responsibility of planning and implementation, are already enmeshed in a dispute with the Chairman of the electoral body.

The affected staff, who had taken their promotion examination since May 2012

and had been expecting their promotion letters having passed the test, are angry that the commission has not only withheld the result but has also gone ahead to use extraneous criteria to promote selected staff from some states in the country.

The action has given rise to the fear that some staff are systematically being positioned to give a section of the country undue advantage in the 2015 presidential election.

“The structure of the place (INEC) remains skewed, biased and worrisome as we approach 2015. Promotion has been swayed more by regional control of the place to the extent that the criteria are not certain. Recently, at a meeting, a suggestion was put forward for what was termed ‘special promotion’ without giving details of what constitutes special promotion and if there is any promotion in the civil service called by such name. It all turned out to be more people from a section of the country who would be promoted”, a source told Sunday Vanguard.

But the Commission’s Chairman dismissed all the allegations as baseless and a figment of the imagination of those bent on discrediting INEC and its objective management policies. Jega, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Kayode Idowu, stated that, contrary to the allegation of favouritism levelled against him, he did his best to ensure that those who passed the examination were promoted based on available vacancies and taking into cognisance the Federal Character principle.

However, these three leprous fingers would infect the entire hand of 2015 elections.

How? JEGA: LIMITS OF ACTIVISM IN ADMINISTRATION

Continues on page 31

SUNDAY

When sometime in the third quarter of 2010, Jega was appointed National Chairman of INEC, his choice heralded a swash of hope in the land. Coming with an activist’s credential, especially his roles in the very focused days of the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities, ASUU, specifically his firm resolve against injustice, Jega’s appointment was one of the dots of wax that burnished the image of President Goodluck Jonathan, signposting the new President as a man with good sense and a determination to bequeath a legacy of electoral credibility to the nation.

Jega, with messianic candour, set about his work, promising to deliver everything Nigerians had never witnessed in terms of a free and fair election.

Therefore, everything the new chair of Nigeria’s EMB asked for, he got.

Particularly in the area of Direct Data Capture, DDC, machines and election materials, no expenses were spared.

Jega’s understanding was that he could micro-manage the electoral process such that there would be zero tolerance for corruption and tardiness.

However, what he failed to realize was that in Nigeria’s system of public service, especially when in charge of a very sensitive institution like INEC, micro-manag-

als were not in the country. Again, when he woke up on Saturday, April 2, in its very early hours – after only having managed just a few hours of sleep – Jega knew there was enough trouble ahead. Whether it was his intention to postpone the election early enough or whether he was prevailed upon, only the INEC boss would be in a position to answer the question truthfully.

What was to turn out truthfully, however, was that President Jonathan and indeed Nigerians were embarrassed – some embarrassed on behalf of Jega.

Barely nine days after the postponement of that election, a group, Electoral Integrity Group, petitioned the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, alleging that there may have been bickering over returns from contracts regarding voting materials – “there were brickerings on “percentage of funding” which some of them thought was “high” but subsequently paid, though reluctantly. This we believe impacted negatively on the execution of these jobs thus leading to late arrival of materials”

It is being proved globally that with technology, incidents of fraud can be checked and reduced maximally. The DDC system brought daylight into that fraud of voter register.

,

INEC registration exercise ing a process that has 119, 973 polling units scattered across the country both in terms of logistics and direct control would be nothing more than a gratuitous nightmare.

For instance, the six firms that got the contracts were: VI Solutions; SanFrano, a German/Polish firm; Graphic Inline (Gi); Tip3, a Spanish company; Aero-vote; and Kalamazoo. Between these six firms, N13billion was committed to the printing of election materials. But it went beyond just the money released to the firms. The concerns were the screening process before the contracts were awarded the contracts?

Who were they fronting for or who were those fronting for them? How did the bidding process go?

Sunday Vanguard discovered then, as is the case now, that from within the commission, some of the commissioners were said to be “unhappy with the process of the contract award and, therefore, became indifferent to whatever mess”, that was becoming clear, would occur. The mess did occur.

Therefore, on Friday, April 1, 2011, when Jega told Nigerians that INEC was ready for the election, which was just 24hours away, he knew that all the voting materiC M Y K

MARCH 24, 2013,

PAGE 31

The comprehensive registration that may engender comprehensive rigging

,

Continued from page 30

Vanguard ,

for the April 2, 2011 election. With the award of contract for the type of permanent voter card that would be used for the 2015 elections, the spectre of electoral irregularity on account of the usage of the card is magnified.

MANUAL COMPILATION OF VOTER REGISTER At a time when it appeared that Nigeria was already moving away from a regime of manual compilation of voter register, information available to Sunday Vanguard suggests that INEC is about to engage a throw back to 1958, a time when the first compilation of a national voter register was carried out.

In a memo recently sent out by INEC’s Human Resources Department titled, APPROVED JOB DESCRIPTION OF REGISTRATION AREA OFFICERS (RAOs), which Sunday 2Vanguard sighted, the schedule of activities of the ROAs were well enumerated.

The Schedule of Duties, as enunciated by the memo, states: “1) To visit voters and prospective voters in their homes with a view to: “a) MANUALLY REGISTERING THOSE WHO REACH THE AGE OF 18, SIX MONTHS BEFORE ANY GENERAL ELECTION (REGISTRATION VOTERS)

“b) Taking note of voters who died with a view to delisting their names from the voters roll “c) To process transfer of voters from one state to another “d) To identify and verify voters who lost their cards with a view to processing replacement “e) TO COMPILE COMPREHENSIVE VOTERS LIST WITH A VIEW TO CAPTURING THEIR BIOMETRIC DATA AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME, AT LEAST TWICE A YEAR….”

This memo was sent out last month to REGISTRATION AREA OFFICERS, RAOs. It was learnt that when some national commissioners and RECs saw the memo, they were shocked.

“It was something unexpected”, a very senior official of the commission said.

“In fact”, the source continued, “you would not believe that the national chairman did not run this memo by the appropriate officers of the commission”.

The ‘appropriate officers of the commission’ are represented by National Commissioners and, to a larger extent, RECs. It was learnt that “just as Professor Jega constituted a kitchen cabinet, and sub-cabinet which usurped most of the functions

of National Commissioners and some heads of departments in the commission”, leading to the shambolic April 2, 2011 episode, “the situation on ground today is not different. That is why a memo like that, directing RAOs to “MANUALLY REGISTER” and “COMPILE COMPREHENSIVE VOTERS LIST”, would be issued without the input of relevant officers of the commission.”

According to Sunday Vanguard findings, there are grave implications for an engagement that seeks to “MANUALLY REGISTER” and “COMPILE COMPREHENSIVE VOTERS LIST”.

IMPLICATIONS There are many implications for the proposed use of manual compilation of names for the register.

During the 2011 general elections, there were reports – and INEC acknowledged this - that the present register, even with the use of biometrics data, has not been able to eliminate the issue of under-aged registration of voters. Biometrics has not produced a very clean register. It is being proved globally that with technology, incidents of fraud can be checked and reduced maximally. The DDC system brought daylight into that fraud of voter register. What has been achieved so far with biometric registration in 2010/2011, minimal as they were, are on their way to the gallows with the new arrangement!

One of the benefits of the biometric registration was the emergence of Lagos State as the state with the largest number of registered voters. It also shattered old myths about voting figures.

But with the memo issued last month to ROAs, they would be expected to “MANUALLY REGISTER” and “COMPILE COMPREHENSIVE VOTERS LIST”.

Some commissioners and senior officers of INEC were shocked when they saw the memo as issued by the Human Resources Department on the orders of Jega.

The memo pointed out that the biometrics would be captured at an appropriate time. What this suggests is another round of exercise when biometrics would be captured.

How does the commission intend to do this? How much personnel would be required for these two rounds of compilation?

It would not take divination to see through it that the “visit (to) voters and prospective voters in their homes” for the purpose of “MANUALLY REGISTERING THOSE WHO REACH THE AGE OF 18, SIX MONTH BEFORE ANY GENERAL ELECTION” as well as “TO COMPILE COMPREHENSIVE VOTERS LIST WITH A VIEW TO CAPTURE THEIR BIOMETRIC DATA AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME, AT LEAST TWICE A YEAR” constitute a recipe for electoral fraud.

The recruitment exercise that INEC is looking to see through, as well as the alleged skewed promotion exercise that has just been concluded, all suggest a pattern.

NEXT WEEK *THE TYPE OF PERMANENT VOTER CARD JEGA HAS GONE FOR *ITS SUSCEPTIBILITY TO ABUSE FOR MASSIVE RIGGING *THE NEXUS BETWEEN THE SKEWED RECRUITMENT AND PROMOTION, AS WELL AS THE MANUAL COMPREHENSIVE COMPILATION OF REGISTER *AND THE DEFENCE OF INEC

PAGE 32, SUNDAY

Vanguard, MARCH 24, 2013

...CRIME AND NATIONAL SECURITY

KANO BOMBING— Victims of the Kano suicide bombing and some of the affected

By AbdulSalam Muhammad, Kano hmad Abubakar Warawa, 58, a victim of the Monday blast in the Sabongari area of Kano, hawked caps within the premises of the park daily. “This is my second home; we are used to the people here and we have everything to be grateful to Allah for, for the patronage we are getting here”, he said before narating how he survived the attack.

“A s usual, I was around on that fateful day. It was at the peak of the business that I heard a blast and the next thing was that I was surrounded by fire. I noticed that life in hell is a difficult one. Hardly could you see anyone to the rescue. I saw people who were practically in trouble, but there was no helping hand.”

Warawa, who was badly burnt, however, was full of praises to Allah for his life. “What I saw strengthened my faith in God, and my experience points to the fact that humans have an appointed time to die and you only die when your time is up”.

The cap vendor had his bowel ripped open by the blast. “You can see that I have undergone a procedure and the bowel has been neatly sealed“, he said.

“I did not believe I will live, but here I am on my sick bed with severe burns on my legs and the upper region, and my bowel ripped opened, all in the name of going out for a legitimate business to keep life going”.

He explained that doctors had assured him that all will be well. “But my prayer is that we have paid a huge sacrifice to bring an end to this carnage that seems to indicate no end in sight”.

Pointing at other survivors on admission at the Murtala Muhammed Hospital, Warawa stated: “Look at the victims of this blast, the impression you get is that you have people you can conveniently refer to as brothers A

C M Y K

My encounter with Kano suicide bomber - Eye Witness

•’I have not decided where i’m going’, he told me •There was no helping hand in hell— Victim but were lumped together by fate to pay a huge sacrifice”.

Another survivor receiving treatment in the hospital, Magawata Goje, 45, told Sunday Vanguard he didn’t know how he survived. “I was inside the Lagos bound luxury bus when the blast occurred. I was seated at the rear, and it is only Allah that understands how I survived”.

Goje explained: “I heard people saying I was dead because I was covered with blood and I could see a lot of people in comatose position and I had to raise my hand to draw the

attention of the rescuers before they attended to me”.

Yet another survivor, Emmanuel Bassey, a 40-year-old tout, narrated his encounter with the suicide bomber before he struck.

Bassey, who claimed to be attached to Ezewanta Group of Motors, stated that “the guy came in a blue Golf car.

He was dark in complexion and appeared to be in his mid 30s. He was calm during my brief interaction with him and did not look harmful.

“I asked him where he was going, and he replied, ‘I have not decided’.

Then, some of my colleagues, (touts),

in the garage were rushing towards him. Suddenly he sped off, applied the brakes close to a loaded vehicle and, within a twinkle of an eye, I had a loud bang that sent me sprawling on the ground”, Bassey explained.

He revealed that four of his colleagues running after him, believing he was a prospective passenger, and to ascertain which part of the country he was going died on the spot due to the impact of the blast.

“I saw hell and thought I was going to die before some good Samaritans brought me to the hospital for medical attention”, the survivor, who suffered second degree burns, said.

Bassey lost his skin and his stomach was ripped open by the blast but had undergone some procedure and appeared to be in a stable condition.

Bassey displayed a deep hole close to his stomach and said, “I was simply not lucky on the day of carnage but, all the same, I give glory to God that I am alive but hope government will do their best to bring the perpetrators to book”.

Horror as suspect is stabbed to death during arrest

Police caught unawares They are trying to cover alleged assailant – Family

SIMON EBEGBULEM, BENIN CITY here was pandemonium, on Wednesday, in Evbotubu community, Benin City, when a 73year-old man, Williams Uwadia, allegedly stabbed 27-year-old Gabriel Aijbosiri to death due to a dispute over a piece of land. Sunday Vanguard learnt that trouble started when Uwadia and his supporters had a heated argument with the deceased which prompted the suspect to proceed to Evbotubu Police Station to report the incident. Consequent upon the report, the DPO assigned a team led by an inspector to follow Uwadia to the community and effect the arrest of those causing crisis. The inspector and two other

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officers arrived the community but, unknown to the police and the parties involved in the dispute, Uwadia allegedly had a knife on him and was ready to use it. The suspect allegedly brought out the knife, rushed to Gabriel whom the police at this point had arrested and stabbed him in the stomach.

There was confusion as people ran helter-skelter.

The police inspector reportedly collected the knife from Uwadia and arrested him while Gabriel, who was now in a pool of blood, was rushed to hospital.

But before the doctor could do any thing to help Gabriel, he gave up the ghost. The death sparked violence in the community but the police was quick to bring back peace. The deceased ‘s body was taken to the mortuary while the suspect was taken to the police station.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MARCH 24, 2013, PAGE 33

Writing the Advertising Brief:

How and Why T

good advertising brief is simply enormous and cannot be narrated simply. To start, let us appreciate the importance of THE BRIEF from the standpoint of the fact that advertising is all about telling a brand’s story. Simple! Now, this story could be towards persuasion, enlightenment, reward, developing or consolidating friendship

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HIS piece is in keeping with our commitment to helping compliance to the standard professional practice of brands management and advertising, by bringing to notice, those basic and functional elements more commonly undermined in the face of present day quick-fix approach and system compromise due to impatience and inadequate training. We must also quickly add here, that more and more, professional training and proper and induction are lacking in the advertising industr y.

Consequently, quality of service delivery is dropping with time. It has become alarming.

On the one side of the divide in this case, are the practitioners on the client’s side, and on the other are the professionals on the agency side. We must also state here that practitioners on both sides are equally tasked on the provision of world standard professional service delivery.

It is to that extent of expectation and responsibility that we have always made the case forappropriate human resource consideration through an unbiased selection process, when there is the need to engage people for brands management and advertising functions. It also applies in the process of engaging advertising agency for a brand.

The consequence of compromising this process of human resource engagement is simply too costly to be undermined. But because the consequence of mediocrity in brands management and advertising build up rather slowly, most systems wish it away. But unfortunately, it tells on the brand, its competitiveness, market performance and the value of its equity in the long run. May we also state here, that in most cases, the benefits of professional brand management are not measured in sales figures?

Suffice, therefore, that a brand may still be enjoying good level of consumer engagement and shelf off-take but losing out on consumer perception in so many ways. The danger in a case like this is that owners of such brand will assume all is well since the sales figures remain good, not knowing that potential competitors are waiting to take advantage of the negative market perception of that brand to attack. It is that simple.

One of those critical points in the process of developing effective brand communication commonly undermined today is writing the advertising brief. The importance of a

properly gathered and arranged, set in a plot for a good and impactful brand story.

That sets the tone for appreciating the importance of an advertising brief.

The advertising brief helps in determining the scope and extent of strategic and creative work, creates and shapes the plot, guides the creative

A brand’s communication or advertising campaign is only as good, effective and impactful as the brief that originated the entire process. That explains why professionally managed brands pay utmost attention to advertising brief development

(relationship), forming an opinion or simply planting an idea - in someone’s mind.

Again, that is why advertising is about the human mind.

Decision taken on account of an advert message is resultant and in fact consequent upon the impact the given advert message had on the mind of the target recipient of the advert message. If we closely follow with another fact that there is no good story without pieces of information and a plot, we can then begin to appreciate the importance of background information,

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process and helps in profiling the target audience. In addition, the brief helps in revealing the brand’s competitors, guides the agency towards properly investigating the possible threat areas including the competing brands, investigate own-brand for proper and appropriate protection from harm, and channels the use of scarce resources.

In effect, therefore, a brand’s communication or advertising campaign is only as good, effective and impactful as the

brief that originated the entire process. That explains why professionally managed brands pay utmost attention to advertising brief development. I still find the Procter & Gamble outstanding (if they still do so now). Way back when I worked in the team that introduced Vicks Lemon Plus and EuroPampers brand into this market, P&G system required that all those chosen to work on their brands from the Agency side go through a period of orientation within their system. The aim was to adequately intimate the agency with the global practice standard and method of handling the P&G brand.

Their system is so thorough the intellectual and mental ability of all those put forward by the agency were rated during this process. At the end of the interaction process participants are scored on the bases of alertness, appreciation and internalization of the P&G process. It is when they are satisfied at this point that on the job interaction begins.

Then, it is assumed that everybody on the brand know what to do for the brand.

Not to mention the advertising brief from then on; a brief from P&G clearly spells out the given brand’s personality, value-essence, its target market, a history of its market performance up till the time of briefing, its challenges, strength and

weaknesses in the face of market expectation versus competition, the marketing objective in volume and value terms, the immediate and long term projection for the brand, in terms of market performance, perception/ image and market position.

Of course, and that is what makes it all the more interesting, the brief from this team is extensively supported by current figures. The figures they supply are open to independent verification. In fact the agency is expected to consider information contained in the brief as hypothetical until verified through independent market study. It was quite engaging and exciting because by the tradition of the practice environment then (which is the tradition with my team now), the next step after reading a client’s brief, is conducting a research.

Agencies’ research helps in either confirming or substituting client’s information or claim based on empirical studies. Such extra work on the agency ’s part helps the strategic planning and creative process which in turn ensures a effective endproduct in form of advertising campaign.

A good advertising brief assures all of the above.

The challenge, however, is that a good brief can only come from a properly trained person/professionally matured personality. Writing a good advertising brief requires intelligence, commitment, dedication, professionalism, attention to details, knowledge and hard work. All of these are considered too problematic by over 75% of brand managers on the client’s side in today ’s environment – not to mention “corporate affairs managers” and “corporate communications” managers of today (mostly journalists and PR people by training).

Improper job description and personnel engagement, therefore, have added to the confusion. By and large, we must put the importance of writing an advertising brief in its true perspective. There cannot be a good and effective advertising or campaign with potentials to optimize returns on advertising spends without a good brief. So, it is important that clients engage professional brand managers in their system and these persons are constantly trained and retrained for optimal efficiency – starting with ability to write a good advertising brief. …as captured above!

PAGE 34—SUNDAY VANGUARD, MARCH 24, 2013

African airlines on a cliffhanger - Experts

BY KENNETH EHIGIATOR

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hat kept everyone in the hall of Addis Sheraton Hotel, venue of the 22nd African Aviation MRO Suppliers and Stakeholders Conference, numbed was the revelation by the Managing Partner of Ernst and Young in Ethiopia, Dr. Zemedeneh Negatu, that 95% of African airlines was distressed, revealing further that of the $59 billion to be spent globally on MRO this year, Africa’s share of the market was only 4% because of inadequate MRO centres on the continent. Aside from Ethiopian Airlines, South African Airways, Kenya Airways, Egypt Air and Air Maroc, no other African airlines has an MRO centre, though maintenance takes a greater chunk of their revenue.

Dr John Tambi, Transport Infrastructure Expert and Coordinator for the Presidential Infrastructure Champion Initiative of NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency, in his welcome remarks, was almost in tears when he noted that, in 2009, 78% of all intercontinental flights into and out of Africa were operated by non-African airlines. He said the situation had not improved markedly as non-African airlines still carry more

than 65% of traffic into and out of the continent.

Tambi said the aviation sector could contribute a sizeable amount to African Gross Domestic Product, GDP, and create over six million direct and indirect jobs for the teeming unemployed youths in Africa, if properly harnessed. He, however, said: “Aviation growth in Africa will depend on several factors, key among them, which is often overlooked, is the necessary infrastructure, development of African MROs and coherent cooperation with foreign partners and suppliers for aviation spares and components.

“Current African aircraft maintenance and repair sector is valued at approximately

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HIS year ’s Mainte nance, Repair and Overhaul, MRO, conference ended in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with tales of woes trailing developments in the aviation sector. The parley, which drew experts from all parts of the globe, was unanimous that the aviation sector on the continent was ebbing at a very fast pace, despite the huge potentials that abound for the industry to prosper. Perhaps the only positive thing that came out of the discussions was the fact that Africa remained the next destination in aviation development, with Europe, the Americas, Asia and Oceania already exhausted. Current forecast has it that, between 2012 and 2031, Africa would receive 900 aircraft deliveries from Boeing; 957 from Airbus and 550 from Bombadier. And because Africa remains the next destination of aviation exploits, all segments of airlines’ business were very well represented, including the four major aircraft manufacturers in the world, namely U.S. Boeing Corporation, Europe’s Airbus, Canadian Bombadier and Brazil’s Embraer. Similarly, aircraft engine makers, such as Pratt and Whittney and General Electric, were also present, while MRO centres from different continents of the world had their voices heard. Airlines and aircraft lessors also attended in their large numbers.

form Ethiopian Airlines to one of the biggest in Africa, lamented that the combined capacity of Africa’s biggest airlines, namely Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways and South African Airways, was just a third of Emirates Airlines.

He blamed the development on the refusal of African carriers to merge and form a strong competitive force against their foreign counterparts who, according to him, dominate close to 70% of Africa’s commercial airlines’ business.

“The way to go for African airlines is to merge and

new innovations, and building of institutional capacity.

The position of the Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, African Union, Dr. Elham Mahmoud Ahmed Ibrahim, was not radically different from that of Tambi, as she noted that lack of cooperation among African airlines had been a major debilitating factor against growth of aviation on the continent. She, however, said the AU was working tirelessly to ensure African governments gave prime attention to development of aviation infrastructure. According to her, that remains the only way the continent can fully optimise its potentials in the aviation sector and take full advantage of predicted inflow

Current African aircraft maintenance and repair sector is valued at approximately $1.2 billion and according to experts, this figure is expected to increase by 40% in the next decade based on global tendencies

$1.2 billion and according to experts, this figure is expected to increase by 40% in the next decade based on global tendencies. Although Africa is becoming increasingly attractive to investors, several factors still stand in the way of major developments. The market is still restricted by lack of poor infrastructure Furthermore, such problems as airspace restrictions, obsolescent fleet, brain drain, bureaucratic interference, high operating costs, stiff prices and lack of cooperation experience prevent Africa from realising its full aviation expansion potentials.”

On the way forward, Tambi proposed expansion in infrastructure, improvement in investment climate by African governments, harnessing of

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of foreign investments into the aviation sector, especially in MROs.

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emedeneh Negatu, Man aging Partner, Ernst and Young, Ethiopia, noted that by 2050, African would contribute 12% of global GDP, which currently stands at 4%, saying this could only be possible, if all the necessary infrastructure was put in place, especially in the aviation sector, which he considered as economic driver and engine of growth. Negatu situated his prediction on the fact that investor in all corners of the world were struggling to play on the continent. He, however, lamented that the aviation sector that should drive the investment flow was currently not doing well.

Negatu, who helped to trans-

sustain and flourish without the presence of strong providers of aviation related services within the continent.” Speaking further, he said, “Ethiopian success in the aviation industry and its backing inhouse service providers is a very good case study for Africa. One of such in-house provider is Ethiopian MRO, which is as old as the airline.

International aviation consultant, Mr. Nick Fadugba, whose platform organises the MRO conference annually, said the bane of most African airlines was lack of a sound business plan to survive the strong competition offered by African airlines.

Fadugba, who had been in the forefront of campaign for integration of airlines on the continent, said for African airlines to survive and prosper, they must get into alliances, with a view to fusing into strong and mega carriers. He also flayed government’s interference with developments in the aviation sector and warned strongly against government intrusions. “The policy of the Ethiopian government not to interfere with how Ethiopian Airlines is run is the way to go. All other governments in Africa should do same, if their airlines must be strong.”

The way to go for African airlines is to merge and become a strong force.

The airlines as they are currently cannot compete because they are weak

become a strong force. The airlines as they are currently cannot compete because they are weak. If two of America’s biggest airlines, American Airlines and U.S. Airways could merge, why are African airlines not merging?”, Negatu said. He implored airline operators on the continent to play down on ownership and be ready to merge and collaborate to fuse into mega carriers.

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e also frowned on inad equate MRO centres in Africa, arguing that a situation where airlines take their planes overseas for maintenance and pay in hard currencies not only raised their cost of operation but also limited their ability to run safe and profitable operations. For instance, African airlines without an MRO centre spend as much as $1.5 million on C Check on every aircraft within a period of 18 months in Europe and America. At present, there is no doubt that Ethiopian Airlines remains the only African carrier operating profitably and competing with non-African carriers on routes it is operating. Two other flagships of the continent, Kenya Airways and South African Airways are not doing as well as Ethiopian at the moment.

This, perhaps, informed the reason Ethiopian Transport Minister, Ato Deriba Kuma, urged other carriers on the continent to follow the airline’s example.

He said: “With an ever increasing middle class, and fast growing economy, we are truly seeing the African Renaissance with immense economic growth. And one of the drivers of economic development and growth is mobility and air connectivity. However, air services for passengers and cargo in Africa cannot

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RO centres’ repre sentatives and aircraft lessors, who came in from all corners of the world, highlighted the frustrations they go through dealing with African airlines who patronised them for aircraft leasing and maintenance, accusing them of violating MRO and lease agreements, which often lead to seizure of their planes after repair due to their failure to pay. At the end of the brainstorming sessions, it was agreed that for African airlines to grow and prosper and for the continent to be prepared for the surge of foreign investments into the aviation sector, there must be massive infrastructure development of the aviation sector; absence of government interference in and intrusion into aviation matters; need for airline mergers and alliances; establishment of more MRO centres in Africa; need for strong corporate governance in African airlines and capacity building by way of training and retraining of personnel through establishment of more aviation academies.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MARCH 24, 2013, PAGE 35

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EFORE the discovery of oil in Nigeria, her manufacturing industry was flourishing. Cocoa, rubber, and agriculture were the mainstay of the nation’s economy.

However, the sectors went into comatose following the discovery of oil. Since then, Nigeria’s economy has been anchored on oil.

The dangers the sole dependence portends informed President Goodluck Jonathan’s commitment to diversifying the economy. The prospects of his efforts have given hope that sooner or later, the non-oil sector will take the centrestage.

It is against this background that the Nigerian Export-Import Bank, NEXIM, established by Act 38 of 1991 as an export credit agency to promote diversification of the Nigerian economy and deepen the external sector through the provision of credit facilities in both local and foreign currencies, risk bearing facilities, business development and financial advisory services and trade and market information services, initiated a blueprint, spanning 2010 to 2015, to propel the non-oil sector of the economy. The bank’s key areas of concentration are manufacturing, agriculture, solid minerals and services.

The goal is to become the leading export development bank in Africa.

The objectives of developing the non-oil sectors are to have a clear market focus and build a world-class institution which imbibes best-in class corporate governance and risk management practices; be a relevant player in the export market and significantly influence government trade policies; build a profitable institution with a robust balance sheet size with a highly skilled and motivated workforce.

The bank has budgeted about N42 billion for the manufacturing sector ’s financing requirement, or six percent of the manufacturing sector ’s financing needs, while accounting for at least 3.71 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2015.

NEXIM’s managing director, Roberts Orya, said the bank has issued $32.3 million worth of guarantees to support the

NEXIM’s goodies for the manufacturing sector manufacturing, transport and tourism sub-sectors.a disclosed that NEXIM Bank dentified manufacturing, agriculture, solid minerals and services, as four sectors of the economy to play in, hence its MASS agenda.

The MASS agenda is a corporate transformation project launched in April 2010 to revamp the bank and ensure it becomes the leading African export development bank.

Orya said the bank’s plan is to ensure that whatever product to be exported henceforth has value addition, and not just raw materials, as was the case in the past.

With the MASS project, the bank hopes to increase the efficiency and profitability of manufacturing establishments through the funding and acquisition of new technology. With project financing from NEXIM Bank, RIGGS Ventures Plc recently expanded its operations with production capacity increasing from nine million to 69 million polypropylene sacks per annum, consisting of cement, industrial and agro sacks.

This expansion has created over 300 direct jobs and thousands of indirect

Central Bank of Nigeria. NEXIM’s strategic plan for the CBN’s trade d e v e l o p m e n t includes enhancing

Roberts Orya jobs.

The company has its major customers in Nigeria, Republic of Benin, Cameroon and Niger Republic and other ECOWAS countries.

Orya said initiatives like RIGGS are very strategic to achieving the bank’s mandate to deepen the manufacturing sector and create more jobs for the youths and thereby contribute to boosting non-oil exports.

He expressed NEXIM’s commitment to handling bourgeoning manufacturing concerns such as RIGGS Ventures to become supranational entities in the ECOWAS and Central African subregions by ensuring that their products are made exportable to these markets.

NEXIM Bank operates in a synergy with the

29 in Customs net over smuggling BYUDEME CLEMENT

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HE Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has arrested 29 smugglers for bringing contra-band items into the country through the border region. While 25 are awaiting trail, the Command prosecuted two suspects who were sentenced to two years imprisonment.

The Command recorded seizures of 6,200 cartons of prohibited frozen poultry products at Arankoko axis, near Ajegunle, Idiroko while two suspects, in custody pending investigations, were also arrested along with the contra-band goods. The products, concealed in two 609 Mercedez buses, were intercepted by officers.

Conducting newsmen round the scene in Idiroko where the frozen

items were destroyed by burning, the Customs Area Controller ( CAC) of the Command, Comptroller Prince Ade Dosumu, explained that the arrests became necessary to serve as a deterrent to smugglers within the region.

“Smuggling is a clear case of economic sabotage and a deliberate attempt to kill local industries and must not be taken lightly.

Aside from the 6200 cartons of chicken and turkeys, in the past one week, the Command recorded seizures of 872 cartons of the same prohibited products. This brings to a total of 7072 cartons of frozen items with the Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N35,3million.

The two 609 Mercedez buses and four other means of conveyance with the DPV of N7.6million have been seized and constructively warehoused”.

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BY GLADSTONE IGNIS NWAMU

to short and long-term credit, provide 6% (about N42bn) of the manufacturing sector ’s financing requirement by 2015, account for 3.71% of

The objectives of developing the non-oil sectors are to have a clear market focus and build a world-class institution

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intervention stood at N12bn.

Recently, Orya presented a strategic framework to his Turkish counterpart aimed at deepening the collaboration between the two EXIM Banks. The visit to Turkey was borne out of the need to explore additional off-shore sources of financing to cater to the bank’s rising profile of investors in the MASS sectors of Nigerian economy. The trip involved officials of AFREXIM Bank from Cairo, Egypt, led by the executive vice president finance, administration and banking services, Mr Denys Denya. Also on the trip was Chief Sunny Odogwu of the Odogwu Group of Companies.

It is expected that the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria, business moguls, corporate bodies and investors generally will tap into NEXIM’s manufacturing innovations by becoming relevant stakeholders.

That is the only way to realise the Jonathan administration’s transformation agenda and the dream for a new Nigeria. * Nwamu is a public affairs analyst based in Asaba, Delta State

the implementation of ECOWAS trade support facility, becoming the national guarantor for the ECOWAS interstate road transit scheme, facilitating the realization of NEXPOTRADE goals of establishing export houses in all ECOWAS countries, and improving the strategic alliances with multilateral agencies, DFIs and export credit agencies.

In the manufacturing sector from 2010 to 2015, NEXIM Bank has maintained an increased efficiency and profitability of manufacturing establishments through the funding of acquisition of new technology, increased access of manufacturers

the sector’s GDP by 2015 and create about 70,479 jobs through project financing activities.

NEXIM to this end identified four subsectors in the manufacturing initiative. They are food and beverages, wood and wood products, domestic and industrial products (plastic and rubber), and steel and processed alloy.

The peculiar features of this subsector are that they are dominated by multi-nationals, depend on imported machinery; and the abundance of local raw materials. It is estimated that in 2008, the potential of this sector ’s gross domestic product was 4. 19% with a projected growth rate of 7. 14%. Its financing requirement as at 2011 was N522bn while NEXIM’s proposed

BY ESTHER ONYEGBULA

Greater intra-regional trade critical to Africa’s devt

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ITH the aim of contributing to the economic development and transformation of Nigeria and the wider region, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria has for the first time sponsored the “Nigeria Economist Summit 2013 – Enabling and Implementing Change.

The two-day annual event, held in Lagos, was attended by more than 500 participants including high-level government officials and corporates.

The summit provided a platform for participants to share their views on a variety of subjects, including economic outlook and challenges in Nigeria, China’s role in the region, and actions needed to further facilitate and support Nigeria’s growth. was The keyno te delivered by His Excellency, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Goodluck Jonathan.

Other speakers included

L-R: Assistant Manager, TV Demand Planning, LG Electronics West Africa Operations, Mr. Sung Oh; winner of a 32-inch LG Battery LED TV, Miss Nancy Ijeoma Onuke; Assistant Manager, Media Demand Planning, LG Electronics West Africa operations, Mr. Young Hwan Cho at the presentation ceremony of the LG ‘Predict and Win’ online competition in Lagos

Ngozi Okonjo-lweala, Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Nigeria, Diezani Alison Madueke, The Honourable Minister of Petroleum, Olusegun Aganga, The Honourable Minister of Trade and Investment, Federal Republic of Nigeria and Zhong Jianhua, Special Representative of the Chinese Government for African Affairs.

Speaking at the summit, Diana Layfield, Africa CEO for Standard Chartered Bank, reinforced the scale of the African growth story but said that the continent’s economic integration had lagged.

“Africa is the world’s second fastest growth region after emerging Asia, with sub-Saharan African GDP increasing by four times over a 10 year period.

However, we all know that as a region, Africa trades less with itself than just about anywhere else, at least in terms of formal trade. Intraregional trade used to represent around 11% of total trade”.

PAGE 36 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, MARCH 24, 2013

Forget centenary, build ‘Goodluck’ City On January 1, 1914, the British merged the Northern and Southern Protectorates of Nigeria.

Why should we celebrate it? To start with, the amalgamation- another word for merger was not voluntary, that is, it was not the wish of the people. In fact, they were not consulted at all; rather, they were forcibly brought together to satisfy a selfish British economic inter-

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N the last one month, I have been far more excited about being a citizen of Nigeria than before.

Thanks to President Goodluck Jonathan who is set to organize the building of one model city in the country. According to the President, the new city will be better than Abuja and it will not experience power outages. It is this announcement that has lifted my spirit high. A few months before now, I was greatly depressed by a publicized Centenary celebration plan – an arrangement by government to celebrate 100 years of Nigeria’s existence. Incidentally, the model city is to be known as ‘Centenary city’-a title which substantially mellows down my excitement. Since the word ‘Centenary ’ depresses me while ‘Model city ’ excites me, this article therefore gives me a golden opportunity to appeal to our President to forget the Centenary celebration but build the new city and give it a better name.

and administer it. Stingy Britain however did not wish to spend its tax payers’ money to develop the colony, so she evolved what was known as the “colonial self- sufficiency policy” by which every colony was made to develop itself. Southern Nigeria at the time was relatively rich and the British colonial governor, Lord Lugard decided to merge it with the North

Before October 1, 1960, Nigeria was not a nation but a colony.

In other words, the planned centenary celebration can only mark colonization and not nationhood

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est. The story was that Britain like other European countries came to Africa in search of mineral resources. What became Nigeria was one of the places she annexed.

In order to stop others from having access to the mineral resources of the territory she had to effectively occupy the place

so as to have enough revenue to run both protectorates as one.

100 years later, Nigeria is yet to overcome the evils of amalgamation.

The merger of the people into one country without their consent explains why integration has been for us, an illusion. Hence, Obafemi

PhD, Department of Philosophy, University of Lagos,

The trouble with Nigerians (1) was published in 1983, it is imperative for us to analyse afresh how things stand presently, especially in the current administration of President Goodluck Jonathan. For starters, it can be justifiably argued that in several areas President Jonathan’s government is manifesting the kind of leadership failures that Achebe discussed in The Trouble with Nigeria.

For example, I and several other concerned Nigerians

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N his thought-pro voking riposte on Nigeria entitled The Trouble with Nigeria, Prof. Chinua Achebe explained that the principal reason for the horrible state of affairs in the country has nothing to do with geography or climate or the kind of food Nigerians eat. Rather, he says, the trouble with Nigeria is the recurrent blizzard of mediocre and corrupt leadership.

Now, the title of our discourse today is almost identical to that of Prof.

Achebe’s little book except that, unlike the latter, it unambiguously suggests that there is something definitely wrong with Nigerians.

Also, our title draws attention to the fact that the trouble with Nigeria is connected to both the leadership and the followership. Obviously, Achebe was essentially correct in his diagnosis of the fundamental problem of Nigeria. What may not be quite obvious is that there are peculiar character traits in the generality of Nigerian people which not only encourage mediocre leadership but actually breed and reproduce it.

Given that Nigeria has drifted further backwards since Achebe’s little book

his over-bloated cabinet.

As a result of this, the leadership of the National Assembly, state governors, presiding officers of state legislatures, and others down the line are following his footsteps by wasting available scarce resources in appointments of doubtful value vis-a-vis effective delivery of quality service to the people.

One of the most important qualities a good leader must possess, aside from

Mr. President seems indifferent to bourgeoning indiscipline from his subordinates and to the financial haemorrhage and inefficiency caused by his over-bloated cabinet.

have been calling for the eradication of indiscipline and drastic reduction in the astronomical cost of running the owambe democracy we are operating presently. But Mr. President seems indifferent to bourgeoning indiscipline from his subordinates and to the financial haemorrhage and inefficiency caused by

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above-average intelligence and healthy disdain for power and wealth, is the capacity to make wise judgment especially with respect to decisions that might have adverse consequences on peoples’ perception of the direction the leadership is moving. In this connection, a lot of Nigerians are becoming increas-

Awolowo was apt rather than being unpatriotic when he described Nigeria not as a nation but as a ‘mere geographical expression’. The forced amalgamation, particularly its lopsided demarcation accounts for our unending crave for state creation. The concept similarly explains why we run a peculiar federation whose components are not allowed to develop according to their varying capacities. Our intense acrimony over revenue allocation can also not be distanced from the same false start. It is also the fore-runner of the federal character principle that some people in authority use till date to oil the negative wheels of ethnicity and tribalism.

Most importantly, the amalgamation put the people of Nigeria into a strange family where there is mutual distrust and suspicion. Instead of statesmen, we have only local heroes of Afenifere, Ndigbo Arewa etc. A President from the South must pick a Vice President from the North and vice versa. If one of them is a Muslim, the other must be a Christian. For the same primordial consideration, Nigeria is still run till date on the basis of state of origin rather than state of residence.

For longer than makes sense, we are unable to have an accurate census because the figures are usually manipulated by each group to undo the other. The same fate has befallen the efforts to

have a viable voters’ register and a functional national identity card system However, those who feel that dwelling too much on the centrifugal factors in our federation is a wasteful exercise have a point. It is indeed time to put those dark spots behind us and move ahead by taking advantage of the resilience of our people to create a great nation. At the same time, it is harmful to remind us of negatives by celebrating the root of our dilemma.

Thus, the forthcoming centenary celebration is superfluous. Those in favour of it need to know that before October 1, 1960, Nigeria was not a nation but a colony. In other words, the planned centenary celebration can only mark colonization and not nationhood.

It is also likely to validate the anomaly of old in which African history was seen as European activities in the continent rather than the achievements of the Sokoto Caliphate or powerful empires in places like Oyo and Benin as well as great men like King Jaja of Opobo. We must in earnest remove from our history fallacies such as that Mungo Park discovered River Niger when it was the local inhabitants that showed him the river!

What we should celebrate is the day of our freedom and not how we were conquered. Thus, we should reverse the

trend of the last 3 years of ‘low-key’ celebrations on October 1- our real day of celebration. It is also wise to occasionally celebrate the end of the civil war which re-established Nigeria as one entity. It will dissuade posterity from future fratricidal wars. More importantly, we should continually celebrate good governance. As a result, President Jonathan should ensure that the proposed model city is a reality. It can be called ‘Goodluck city’- a name which reminds us of our development and not conquest. All state governors should do same by building one new ultra modern city in every state. The city, as envisaged, should neither be a bore-hole town nor experience power failure.

Being a public/private project, the people will claim its ownership with pride. It should have everything in a modern city. It should be better than Abuja where people pay for parking their vehicles anywhere, although there are no official parking lots. In the new cities, there should be no multiple taxation; such as ground rent, tenement rate, development levies, refuse disposal fees etc on one property as we have now in some cities . If so, the new cities will be a source of joy and inspiration to all Nigerians. To celebrate them daily will for all times be more beneficial than marking forced amalgamation.

ingly convinced that President Jonathan is basically unpatriotic and egoistic, because he appears to put narrow selfish Machiavellian considerations above long term interests of Nigeria when taking important decisions. For example, the President worked actively for jettisoning of the zoning arrangement of his political party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which would have meant the emergence of a northerner as the party’s flagbearer in the 2011 presidential elections.

The zoning arrangement, despite its weaknesses, was a pragmatic way of ensuring that the presidency rotates between the north and the south at least every eight years. However, by sabotaging it he portrays himself as a leader who rejects agreement when it does not suit him.

More tellingly, the President, like a typical Nigerian politician desperate for elective office, must have made some promises to prominent northern elements he successfully recruited to back his action.

And the concessions based on egoistic political calculus would compel him to make choices that are detrimental to the collective interests of Nigerians. It is very unlikely that President Jonathan would have worked against zoning if at that time the system favoured his ethnic group.

Another case of misjudgment against President Jonathan was when he attempted to change the name of my illustrious alma mater from the University of La-

gos to Moshood Abiola University, without even consulting immediate stakeholders of the institution – staff, students and the alumni association. Shortly after he announced the decision and the students’ protests that followed as a result, I demonstrated that the name-change, probably motivated by a futile desire to please the Yoruba establishment, was a horrible act of bad faith.

Clearly, Mr. President grossly underestimated the significance of the designation, ‘University of Lagos,’ not only for staff and students of the university but for a broad spectrum of the Nigerian public as well.

Right now it appears that common sense and reasonableness have prevailed: according to Chairman of the newly reconstituted Council of the University, Prof. Jerry Gana, the President has corrected his mistake; University of Lagos remains University of Lagos – never mind the ill-advised statement of an official of the Federal Ministry of Education that the ministry has not received any directive to that effect.

An important lesson for Jonathan from that unfortunate event is that it is wrong to take people for granted or place politics above established academic tradition in arriving at decisions that would adversely affect the image and brand of a well-established educational institution.

President Jonathan has been accused of bias in favour of his geo-political zone with respect to a

number of key appointments. Veteran columnist, Dele Sobowale, reports that under Jonathan’s watch, among several other important positions, the new chairman of PDP’s Board of Trustees and the Chief of Staff in Aso Rock are both from Edo State; also his two most powerful Senior Special Advisers are from Edo and Bayelsa states. In Nigeria, arguments about ethnic distribution of official portfolios tend to be more emotional than rational, because issues of merit and track record are sacrificed on the stinking altar of “ethnic balancing” and “federal character.”

In 1970 the United States’ government started implementing something akin to the federal character system called “affirmative action” to take care of historically disadvantaged groups like black Americans and women who were for decades (even centuries) denied certain fundamental rights by extant laws. The policy was successful largely because the officials in charge tried hard to sustain merit within the system. In our own case, the federal character provision in the constitution has been terribly bastardised and misused by little-minded military dictators, cash-and-carry politicians and ethnic irredentists to dismantle structures created for meritocracy in favour of mediocrity.

To be concluded.

SUNDAY

Vanguard, MARCH 24, 2013, PAGE 37

PAGE 38—SUNDAY Vanguard, MARCH 24, 2013

News: world outrage over Presidential pardon for Alarms and

"Remember... one good TERM deserves another!"

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

Boko Haram: Between amnesty and dialogue Dear Sir,

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HE call by the Sultan of Sokoto and National leader of the Muslim faith, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, to grant total amnesty to the dreaded Boko Haram members was rather outrageous and unfortunate. In what has become a public show of genuflection, prominent Nigerians from the north have since echoed the sentiments of the sultan to grant amnesty to a terrorist sect. The insurgents have almost collapsed the economy of North-East, leaving more than 4,000 people dead and thousands injured.

The Sultan has emboldened others in the drum beat of amnesty that has eclipsed public discourse in the weeks that ensued, and surely for a long time to come. One would have expected to hear a better argument than the reframe that suggests; if the Niger Delta militants were pardoned to bring about peace and security in the country, why would same not be extended to Boko Haram? I will revert to this shortly.

My first thought on President Jonathan’s disapproval of the sultan’s amnesty call was commendation. I reasoned he struck the right note for once but on a closer look at his remark, I was crestfallen. President Jonathan said: “For you to declare amnesty, you have to be communicating with people.

You cannot declare amnesty for people that are communicating under a veil…”

This can be rephrased to insinuate, as soon as they identify themselves and declare their intention, the government will consider granting them amnesty.

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And with the pardon gate flung open by him for Alamieyeseigha and others, this might prove to be a tricky one for the president, particularly as there are cheap political points to pick up from the north ahead of the 2015 general elections.

The amnesty that was granted to the Niger Delta militants should not in any way translate or equate to same for the Islamist fundamentalist. The agitations of the militants then, to some extent, was germane save for the violence.

They were been ripped off by multinationals leaving them and their environment marginalized and underdeveloped even though their zone produced the oil that provides for

the entire country. They agitated for resource control. They wanted their lives to be touched by the oil that was been explored daily from their neighbourhood. We all agreed, at some point in the their struggle, that the Niger Delta region has been neglected for too long. Regardless of the sympathy their plight elicited, their resort to armed banditry was condemned in strong terms.

Juxtapose with the Boko Haram uprising and its attempt to forcefully impose a religious ideology on a secular Nigerian society. The terror, senseless and wanton destruction of lives and property they have unleashed on Nigerians in a gutsy bid to oppose

not only Western education, but western culture and modernisation is despicable. Their acts of terror have gone from the horrendous to the tragic as reflected in the ghastly suicide attack on five luxury buses in Kano that left about 25 people dead and over 50 others injured. These attacks are based on a warped and shallow religious ideology; the islamisation of Nigeria.

Amnesty should not be a leeway for the Nigerian government to wriggle itself out of security challenges.

The government will be sending a wrong signal to the teeming population of unemployed youths Theophilus Ilevbare theophilus@ilevbare.com

Paying lip-service to anti-graft fight Dear Sir,

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R. Doyin Okupe, should stop insulting our sensibilities by equating the state pardon granted to the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and the late Ikemba Odumegwu Ojukwu with that of Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.

I am angered by his statement that despite the actions of Ojukwu that led to the loss of thousands of lives and property, he was granted a state pardon. The blame for the Nigerian Civil War, should not be heaped on Ojukwu alone. He should stop denigrating the dead all in the name of politics!

The government by such action is

making us the laughing stock of the world as a country that treats its endemic corruption with kid gloves.

This action by the government at the centre will embolden those still in power to continue with the looting spree of our national coffers, with the knowledge that even if they are brought to trial and convicted for looting, they will be granted state pardon, rehabilitated and free to stand for elective post or be given political appointment and thus have another golden opportunity to have a bite at our proverbial national cake and the vicious circle of looting will continue!

This is a country where our ruling class and dishonest civil servants do

not feel ashamed to flaunt their illgotten wealth that is far above their legitimate earnings, as they have all become sacred cows and untouchables like in “Animal Farm”!

No wonder the looting spree of our common patrimony continues unabated at the local, state and federal levels to the detriment of our country and its citizenry, all because we do not hang treasury looters or cut their hands, as the-powers-that-be hypocritically cut the hands of the poor in sharia states for stealing not government money, but mere goat!

What an irony!

Ifeka Okonkwo, writes in from Awka.

SUNDAY

Vanguard, MARCH 24, 2013, PAGE 39

Okosun. The fact is that most people are usually attracted to music by the beauty, the rhythm, the melody, ignoring the lyrics and the message.

In the days of old, for instance, when the neighbourhood musician played at events and sang a song like, “sa ma jo lo paddy mi, alufa to ni ka ma wo church mo, e ba mi beere pe se ile baba e ni, ile adura lo je fun wa” ,the audience and fans usually applauded it and danced away such a corrective song.

How Ebenezer Obey and I avoided clashing at parties — King Sunny Ade

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•‘I twice missed Grammy Award’ •Says overzealous musicians nearly led him to breaking PMAN succession rule

By OLA AJAYI, Ibadan Rivalry between you and Ebenezer Obey hen it was widely rumoured that Chief Ebenezer Obey and I had a misunderstanding, it was not so. The so- called rivalry only existed in public imagination. We were best of friends, even till now. We used to visit each other then and even dined together. There was a day I visited Obey and a woman living in the neighbourhood saw me. She came to the door and started knocking the door. But we did not open the door.

Later, we went to the unions in the entertainment industry and organized a reconciliatory meeting. But the actual fact is that we were not fighting. We did this to douse tension and to prevent our fans from fighting one another. For 30 years, Obey and I arranged it so that we never honoured invitation to the same event. Whenever I was invited, I would call Obey and tell him and anytime he was invited too, he would tell me. Up till now, our relationship is cordial. Recently, when he was marking his 50 years anniversary on stage, I was there with my team to play for him and he has done the same for me.

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Grammy Award If Nigerians want me to win this prestigious award, I will win it. It is possible. But, the Bible says “a prophet is without honour in his own country”. I was nominated twice for the award but when God says it is not yet time. When I sang ‘Iwaju loloko n wa mi lo, mo ti mo( I now know where the driver is taking me to)’, I did not focus it on a particular enemy. You know, it is what happens in our everyday life. It is for everyone to assist Nigerian musicians.

I will continue to work hard. If I don’t get it, I won’t leave music. That is why I am trying to train my children. If I don’t get it, my children will get it. Nigerian musicians will get it.

Above all, I thank God for what he has done for me. Recently, University of Ibadan, through its Institute of African Studies, honoured me in a grand style to appreciate my contributions to

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r. Sunday Adeniyi Adegeye, aka King Sunny Ade, music icon, was born on September 22, 1946. He formed his own band, Green Spot, in 1966 after a brief stay with Moses Olaiya, aka Baba Sala. His band was later known as African Beats and then Golden Mercury of Africa. In appreciation of his exemplary contributions to music, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, crowned him King of Juju Music about 35 years ago. His works have taken him round the world where he performed before kings, governors and presidents including the former President of United States of America, Bill Clinton. He was a two-time nominee for the American prestigeous Grammy (Music) Award.

the music industry.

Use of palm tree as logo, is it a charm?

There was a time I complained to my mummy about my pirated work. She now asked if I knew palm tree. She said ,’As a palm tree spreads its leaves, anyone who needs broom would come and get it. Those who want palm oil would get the fruits and so many other things. So, you are a palm tree which God made to benefit mankind. Be grateful to God that you are a palm tree which others surround to live’.

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ome genres of the Nigerian music are going obscene and people feel concerned because they have the tendency to corrupt our youths.What do you think?

It is a source of concern to us too. But, you see, it is not the problem of those singing it or those promoting it. I would lay the blame at the doorsteps of the people who patronize them. If they sing it and you embrace it, you are encouraging them to do more. But, if it is not accepted by the people, no one would tell them to stop singing it.

Mastery of music It is God who endowed me with the talent of music. I can’t say specifically that anybody trained me to sing or play

music. It is true I was once with some people, but I was able to achieve what I achieved through the help of God and dint of hardwork.

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s ex-president, Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria,PMAN I was protem chairman in 1982 and, after 18 years, I was elected the president. Within two years of my tenure, I forwarded a bill to the National Assembly on piracy. After spending one single tenure of two years that the constitution of PMAN allowed, they asked me to continue, but I insisted on resigning because that was what the constitution said at the time. I don’t have anything against PMAN. By the grace of God, I’m still on the advisory council.

There is no divided house. If it appears things are not going the right way, very soon, we will come together and calm all frayed nerves.

Musicians as mirrors of society Everybody knows journalists as mirrors of the society. This is so because of the tremendous job they are doing in cleaning the rot in society. But, it is not everybody that knows musicians as mirrors of the society. Even, those who know this fact would quickly remember the late Fela Anikulapo Kuti, the late Bob Marley or my late friend, Sunny

n those days, those who were in charge of churches and mosques had their own perception of some particular people and somehow discouraged them from coming to worship when, in actual fact, these places were meant for everybody to come and worship our Creator. In the process of allowing even the sinner to worship, you are converting him or her and performing a major role for God. That is the essence of this song and many others that focused on several aspects of our society were wrongly judged by the society.

In other words, to be a mirror to the society is not a one- way traffic thing.

Many musicians like the late Adeolu Akinsanya, the late Orlando Owoh sang about the excesses of women while others like the late Haruna Ishola and Yusuf Olatunji excelled and strove to preserve our cultural values through proverbial songs and at the same time preaching against the ills of the society.

Being a mirror to the society is a matter of style and personality. For instance, my good friend, Chief Ebenezer Obey, and I are gentle in nature. This has affected how the two of us have criticized the ills of the society. In my own case, I sang against rising cost of living, ‘Isu di wiwon, agbado ko se ra loja(yams are too expensive, corn beyond the reach of the poor)’. I also sang against bad policies of some of our governments, all these were even acknowledged by the former president of America, Bill Clinton, when he came to Nigeria and danced to my music. The danger in trying to mirror the society depends on how much wisdom one is endowed with and the political circumstances at that time. Like journalists, musicians too face a lot of danger and persecution. My late godfather in music, I. K Dairo, excelled in preaching love and words of God. That was why he was nicknamed Baba Aladura(Father of Prayer) Roles of journalists in your music career.

Without journalists writing good things about me, I would not have attained the heights I attained in my career. I am proud to say I grew up in my profession among many members of the League of Veteran Journalists. I won’t forget people like my brother, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, former Governor of Ogun State, and the other two musketeers, Mr. Felix Adenaike and the late Mr Peter Ajayi. They approved of the objective voting process through which I emerged as the King of Music today. I also appreciate the contributions of Dr. Yemi Farounbi, Mr. Clement Ige, Chief Tola Adeniyi, Chief Sola Oyegbemi, Mr. Olutade Makinde,Snr and Chief Lekan Alabi.

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Vanguard, MARCH 24, 2013

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MARCH 24, 2013 — PAGE 41

PHOTO NEWS ON VERDANT ZEAL LECTURE SERIES

L-R: Moderator/former Managing Director, Samsung West Africa, Mr. Idonreyen Enang; Chief host and Group MD, Verdant Zeal Ltd, Mr. Tunji Olugbodi; Guest Lecturer and Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi; Chairman of the event, Mr. Bola Akingbade; and Keynote Speaker, Mr. Udeme Ufot, during the Verdant Zeal Lecture Series, tagged “Beyond Branding: Building Lasting Values for Nigeria’s Growth" in Lagos. Photos: Biodun Ogunleye.

L-R: Chief Leo Aimiwu, Mr A Bolodeoku and Mrs Abiola Sobowale- Sanni during the Verdant Zeal Lecture Series.

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L-R: Mr Kayode Akinyemi,DG Bureau of Strategic Communication, Hon Tayo Ekundayo, Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation and Hon Funmini Afuye, Commissioner for Intergovernmental Relations all of Ekiti State at the Lecture Series

L-R: Mrs Bunmi Dipo Salami, Special Adviser to Ekiti State Governor on Development Relations, Mrs Sola Salako, CEO Purrles Consult Ltd and Chief (Mrs) Ronke Okusanya, Commissioner for Atrs and Culture, Ekiti State at the event.

PAGE 42—SUNDAY VANGUARD, MARCH 24, 2013

Militants threaten to blow up Lamnalco’s ocean vessels *As NUPENG, PENGASSAN warn on looming industrial crisis

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L-R Wife of the Europe Supretendent, Christ Healing Evangelical Church (CHEC) based in Chicago, Lady Evang Mabel Talabi, with her husband, Pastor Adegboyega Talabi, Public Relations guru and consultant, Bro Aramide Tola Noibi, the General Overseer, Pastor Samuel Babatunde Ogunfowokan and his wife, Pastor Olawunmi Ogunfowokan during the 2013 National Convention of the church at its Loburo State camp group.

O A S T A L Revolutionary Forces,CRF, a militant group, has called for the sack of Mr. Ian David Hugo, the Managing Director of Lamnalco Nigeria Limited and halt the planned casualisation of staff of Niger Delta extraction or it would blow up its ocean going vessels traversing the region without further notice.

In a statement by Generals Seiya Gbentua and Akpan Edidem, CRF, said Lamnalco’s stampede on staff to join NSCU following recent Lagos National Industrial Court judgment despite stay of

execution notice till Federal Appeal Court verdict revealed evil against people who risked their lives protecting the company from militants’ invasion for 21 years.

The CRF warned: “We hereby place the Chairman and Directors of Lamnalco Nigeria Limited on notice to distance self from the actions of the Managing Director, Mr. Ian David Hugo, by sacking him and hence halting the antiNiger Delta policies he is made by vested interests to pursue. Otherwise, the Board of Directors should be prepared to share the blame with the MD for the

coming serial attacks on its vessels from Lagos to Calabar for which we will give no further notice. We would see which is better between human policies and engagement of security forces for your/company protection, when the battle line is finally drawn”. “ Implementing articles of agitation before, during and after the Kaiama Declaration of the Niger Delta over the years, we kept being confronted with the pleadings/reprimands from our brotheremployees of Lamnalco Nigeria Limited not to pursue Lamnalco from our waterways. Encounters sometime led to the death of our brothers, namely Capt. James Nwosu and Tonprema (Able Seaman).

Dumping our brothers is unacceptable after sacrifices to make Lamnalco grow from humble beginnings to expanded fleet of vessels and contracts both in Nigeria and abroad”, CRF noted.

Give back to society, Minister urges alumni CALEB AYANSINA & ALICE FESTUS

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inister of Youth Development, Inuwa Abdul-kadir, has urged alumni associations in Nigeria to contribute positively to the development of the nation through their organisations.

Abdul-kadir gave the advice when he received the executive members of the Usman Dan Fodio University Alumni Association, Abuja Chapter, in his office in Abuja.

The minister said that alumni association was a veritable platform for all graduates to give back to their alma mater as a token of appreciation for the noble contribution of the universities to their career development and personal attainment in life.

The minister noted, “Every university is judged by the quality of its products and as such it is imperative for all graduates to identify with their alma mater in the interest of the ranking of the institution and its overall development.

“Alumni Association offers every graduate the opportunity to network with others who had passed through the institution and in so doing increase his/her capacity to take the benefits from such an association”.The leader of the delegation, Hajiha Rakiya Ayuba, had, earlier, informed the minister that they were delighted to identify with him on his appointment as an alumnus.

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SUNDAY

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Vanguard, MARCH 24, 2013

ONE YEAR AFTER

Bamanga Tukur and the burden of reconciliation in the PDP Bamanga Tukur....Reconcile yourselves in all ramifications

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HEN the present National Working Committee, NWC, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, came on board on March 24, 2012, exactly one year ago, the National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, didn’t need any soothsayer to tell him that the challenges were enormous and that the party also required true reconciliation as well as bring back into the fold of the PDP family aggrieved members following irreconcilable differences arising from party congresses, primaries and the emergence of the present leadership where many were coerced to step down especially for the positions of National Chairman and Secretary.

The politics, intrigues, manoeuvring, backstabbing and other things which took place on that day at the Eagle Square when the NWC was elected have now become history. To say the least, the leadership of the PDP has been grappling with how to contend with the problem of party discipline among members and, this being a major problem inherited by Tukur, is also a serious challenge for the present NWC. There is also the issue of supremacy of the party to any member and this applies to all elected officials from the President to the Councillor.

It has also become more challenging for the PDP since after the marriage of four opposition parties viz: All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN and All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP that gave birth to All Progressive Congress, APC; the PDP would need to put its house in order especially ahead of the 2015 general elections.

The National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, and his team have brought in new vigour to the media C M Y K

department of the party which has since moved from the traditional ways of writing statements and holding press briefings to using the social media to counter the opposition.

The Tukur- led NWC gives priority to the drive to reconcile, rebuild and reform the party with a bid to bringing back aggrieved members and those who dumped the PDP. It was against this backdrop that the National Chairman and his team penultimate week embarked on visits to the six geo- political zones of the country to create awareness and to meet with leaders, elders and other PDP stakeholders.

The first zone the leadership of the party visited was the South West. The Town Hall Meeting took place at Premier Hotel, Ibadan where Tukur told the large crowd of party men that the reconciliation visit was part of the moves to bring to the zones his three Rs: Reconciliation, Reformation and Rebuilding, just as he urged the stakeholders to reach out to aggrieved members.

He noted that PDP leadership was not comfortable with the present political dispensation where the South West gover nors come from opposition parties. He said the South West states had been PDP stronghold and that members must work hard to return to the status quo.

Tukur said, “Reconcile yourselves in all ramifications; you deserve hundred percent governorship; it requires working together, planning together. Politics is a game of number.You must go back to the drawing board and strategise because elections are coming. PDP has been winning here and will continue to win here. This should be the last time the South West governors will be non PDP.” At the event, a vote of

confidence was passed on the NWC. This followed a motion by a former Deputy National Chairman, Alhaji Shuaibu Oyedokun, and seconded by a former Speaker, Ogun State House of Assembly, Mrs Titi Oseni.

Speakers at the meeting including a former Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose; Minister of State, Defence, Erelu Olushola Obada; the PDP gubernatorial candidate in the last Ondo

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BY HENRY UMORU

Secretary and former governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; former Ekiti State governor, Engr.

Segun Oni, among others were absent at the meeting.

After the South West zone, the awareness, reconciliation, rebuilding and reforming train of Tukur moved to the South-East. The venue of the parley was the Convention Hall of Nike Lake Resorts Hotels, Enugu where same

We have come here today to appeal to you to forget your differences. Let PDP win elections through reconciliation and understanding. We must ensure equity and justice in all our actions. We must be our brothers’ keepers State election, Chief Olusola Oke; and a former governor of Ondo State,Dr. Olusegun Agagu; spoke on the need for inter nal democracy, party supremacy among others.

Fayose, who particularly called for transparent primaries where the most acceptable and popular candidates will emerge, however, urged the PDP national leadership to stop interfering in the choice of the party ’s candidates at every level, adding that the problem in Ekiti State PDP had to do with the gubernatorial election and not congress and Abuja must think straight. Some major players like former President Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Richard Akinjide; former Ogun State governor, Chief Gbenga Daniel; Chief Bode George; Chief Ebenezer Babatope; Minister of State, FCT, Olajumoke Akinjide; former Speaker, Dimeji Bankole; former Governor Alao Akala of Oyo State; immediate past PDP National

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issues came up.Party members from the zone told the PDP National Chairman that if there must be total reconciliation, the alleged marginalization of the zone must be addressed.

They demanded, among other things, the rotation of the Presidency among the six geo-political zones of the country; the creation of one additional state in the zone; the reconstruction of the E n u g u - Po r t - H a r c o u r t expressway and the provision of free education as well as jobs to the teeming unemployed youths.

Governors of Enugu State, Sullivan Chime; Ebonyi State, Martin Elechi; and Abia State, T h e o d o r e Orji, represented by his deputy, Chief Ananaba, members of the national and state assemblies, minister of power, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo; Professor Chinedu Nebo, among others, were present.

Notable politicians from the South-East including

the former Senate President,Senator Ken Nnamani; former Vice President Alex Ekwueme; Chief Chis Uba; Professor Chukwuma Soludo; Prince Arthur Eze; Senator Jim Nwobodo; Chinwonke Mbadinuju; Adolphus Wabara; Senator Anyim Pius Anyim; and Dr. Sam Egwu; were absent at the meeting.

The absence of these major key players at the parley suggested that all is not well and the leadership of the party must take a second look at the reconciliation move.

Speaking at the event, Tukur, who pledged that the party under his watch would not engage in any form of imposition of candidates in the election of candidates to fly its flag in future elections, however, insisted that gone were the days politicians hand-picked candidates for the party, stressing that the time has come for the PDP to be rebuilt in order to ensure equity and justice.

Identifying what he described as “sharing formula” as the major challenge facing the party, the National Chairman urged the stakeholders to embrace peace as well as imbibe the spirit of sacrifice as that was the only way the party could retain its status as a truly national party that respects the yearnings and aspirations of the people.

Tukur said, “We have come here today to appeal to you to forget your differences. Let PDP win elections through reconciliation and understanding. We must ensure equity and justice in all our actions. We must be our brothers’ keepers.

“We must allow people to choose who they want. Party will henceforth give tickets based on the wishes of the party owners who, of course, are the people. It is one man, one vote. By the time, you aggregate the votes, you see that our party will continue to win and win.”

Getting to the South South

Continues on page 46

SUNDAY

APC REGISTRATION IMBROGLIO

We are waiting for INEC to prove its neutrality — Obahiagbon 'Oshiomhole’s taxation policy is for re-distribution of wealth'

Vanguard, MARCH 24, 2013, PAGE 45

when Mr. President was seeking the nomination of his party to contest the presidential election two years ago, I called a world press conference titled, “Random Musings”, and one of the issues that caught my attention, inter alia, was my call on him at that time to honor the zoning agreement of the PDP.I predicted an acrimonious backlash in the polity if he disrespected the zoning policy of his political party. Where are we today? I am the first to say today that he has a constitutional right to contest for second term but if he entered into a pact to do one term which the Niger State governor claims to be documented, then it would be unpresiden-

SIMON EBEGBULEM, BENIN CITY

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arr. Patrick Obahiagbon (Igodomigodo) is the Chief of Staff to Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State and a strong believer in the ability of the newly formed All Progressive Congress (APC) to kick out the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the Presidency in 2015. In this interview, the former House of Representatives member scores the federal administration, led by the PDP, low in terms of delivering dividends of democracy. He also speaks on the tax regime in Edo State and the April 20 local government elections in the state.

From what we have seen Excerpts: about the politics of the PDP hat is your take on the today, it seems President formation of the All Goodluck Jonathan may put Progressive Congress himself forward for re-elec(APC)? How optimistic are tion. As one of those who you that it can bring the de- agitated for a South South sired change in the country? Presidency, do you think he The formation of the APC is deserve a return?

I have consistently held the a salubrious political intervention in the polity. That the view that poverty is poverty PDP behemoth has led the whether it resides in the ship of state into avoidable North, South, West or East and economic cataracts and polit- it is for that reason I thought, ical ox-bow lakes is a fact too during the last presidential glaring and indubitable to be election and still do think, that contested. Nigerians do cer- the Presidency of Nigeria is tainly need an alternative too serious a subject to be recredible political platform to duced to parapoistic (conspircheckmate the power mega- atorial) shenanigans. To anlomania of the PDP. The merg- swer the question if the er would work if its prime fa- Jonathan administration has cilitators vigorously resist the met the goodwill with temptation to be detained by which it rode to power must their presidential calculations lead to other epiphenomenal and allow the more sublime questions such as, what has sentiments of enthroning the improved today in the mateNigeria of our dreams to pro- rial conditions of the ragtag and bobtail since the presipel the process.

I am sanguine (hopeful) that dent’s emergence and how the APC can and would take has he deployed his powers over power from the PDP be- in aid of the utilitarian matrix? cause the material conditions It does appear to me that Nifor such a flushing out pro- geria is still a sleeping giant cess is propitiously rife. You standing on spaghetti legs will agree with me that the even today.

What is your take on the PDP is just now like an apple of Hesperides sitting atop a emergence of a PDP Goverperilous precipice and Nige- nors Forum and the attempt rians are ready to embrace the to whittle down the powers APC as a veritable battle axe of the Nigeria Governors for their freedom from the po- Forum?

I have followed the activities litical jobbery and carpet-bagging of the PDP. It is only now of the Nigeria Governors Foleft for the opposition to show rum with rapt attention since discipline, vision, altruism, its formation. Whilst some of patriotism and an historic its reactionary positions have commitment to revolutionary come under corrosive objurchange. The leading luminar- gating and rightly so, it has, ies in this effort to cleanse the on the whole, played a stabiNigerian Augean stables must lizing role and positioned itresist the temptation of sell- self as a positive agglutinating out and disappointing ing force at critical moments Nigerians at the end of the in our state of democratic infantilism. And it is for this readay.

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Patrick Obahiagbon

That the PDP behemoth has led the ship of state into avoidable economic cataracts and political ox-bow lakes is a fact too glaring and indubitable to be contested

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son, more than any other one, that it would be utterly sad if the FORUM allows itself to be mired, quarantined, decapitated and rendered pusillanimous (powerless) at the altars of (Aso) Villa politicking and presidential macabre dance. These are times they should be statesmen and not politicians. I wish them well but they should know that history is already recording their respective utterances and roles.

Do you think President Jonathan should do a second term in the light of the pact the governor of Niger State talked about that he signed on one- term tenure?

Let me remind you that

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tial not to honor this agreement. But I challenge and encourage the governor of Niger State to deposit this pact, if truly there is one, in the public domain to allow for more reasoned and critical contributions. This is more of the moment when presidential minders and gatekeepers have denied the existence of such a pact.

There has been this altercation between the Presidency and the National Assembly, the recent being the issue of budget which the president eventually signed into law. Do you think such misunderstandings is good for our democracy?

The yearly ritualistic alter-

cation between the Presidency and the National Assembly would continue to stay until the Presidency comes to terms with the fact that its budget proposals are mere proposals until the National Assembly gives legal teeth to it. Its damn unhealthy for the Presidency and executive suzerains across the states to continue to see and treat parliamentarians as meddlesome interlopers and political hallelujah boys.

Back in Edo State, there were complaints during the primaries for the local government elections. The leadership of the ACN was accused of imposing candidates. Are you sure your party is not going the PDP way?

Let me start by asseverating (asserting) that the decision that threw up ACN candidates for the local government elections by consensus was unanimous by the state caucus of the party and it was an ingenious democratic contrivance that had all the trappings of a rigorous political colloquy that involved aspirants and the leadership structure of the party agreeing to disagree and disagreeing to agree. I was present at all of the sessions and I can say authoritatively that Mr. Governor never imposed one candidate. If anything at all, Mr. Governor’s democratic credentials were exhibited throughout the process to the extent that he jettisoned his preferred candidates in some instances in obeisance to the clear and manifest will of the people, and came out of the exercise with eulogies and our party came out stronger and unified prepared to re-enact our eighteen over eighteen political feat.

But the tax regime is causing some discomfort in the state. Does it augur well for the Comrade Governor who is a man of the people?

The taxation policy of the state is an exercise of social engineering advertently designed to redress the social inequities, maladjustment and disequilibrium in our society.

Any society that does not take a little from its Plutocrats to enable it garner enough resources to meet the basic needs of its teeming masses is an unjust and oppressive society. From this point of view, therefore, our taxation policy wears a human face which carries a smile of social and economic justice, and the people are not complaining because they can see dividends of visionary governance in all facets of their lives.

The focus of the Comrade Governor in his second term is to consolidate on his previous achievements. Let me assure Edo people that Mr. Governor is daily conscious of the pro- Edo mandate he was garlanded with and the Leviathan concomitant responsibilities that come with same.

Vanguard, MARCH 24, 2013

BY JOHNBOSCO AGBAKWURU

Chief Chekwas Okorie founded All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, but was pushed out of the party.

In this interview, he speaks on the controversy over the planned registration of the All Progressive Congress (APC) as a result of the twist, All Peoples Congress, from the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, that another political association has applied to be registered under the same APC acronymn. He also comments on the state of affairs in APGA and his new party, the United Peoples Party, UPP. Excerpts:

T

HE All Progressive Congress, which is the merger name of four political parties that fused together to form a mega party, is enmeshed in controversy.

Is the controversy necessary?

Those who are promoting the APC (All Progressive Congress), the ones that have been claiming merger, they should bow their heads in shame because they hardly know the a,b,c,d of party registration. The road show or if you like, call it jamboree they have embarked on in their journey to party registration is amusing; it is like some comedy. You do not begin to have governors assembling to announce that they want to form a party and do so with fanfare, then they go to another location and assemble with fanfare and say the name of the party is this.

Meanwhile, while you are doing all that, you have not done the basic thing of writing an application to INEC saying this is our name and paying the administrative fee,

Blame APC registration stalemate on the promoters’ naivety, not INEC, says Okorie *’What I handed over was APGA carcass’ year ago, in March last year, I handed over the certificate of registration of APGA to INEC and I made a public statement that was widely published that the soul and spirit of APGA had gone with me to reincarnate in another formation and, as at that time, UPP was yet to be formed and registered; what I left for them was a

Chief Chekwas Okorie collecting the necessary forms which they will give you immediately upon paying the fees and then they will open a file in your name. When that is done, you can embark on this showmanship, but they rather began to celebrate when the basic things had not been done and, in law, like in any other thing, it is first come, first served. Some people now went and registered a name that has the same acronym and they are crying foul trying to blame either the PDP or INEC, that is simply doing its job, for their own political naivety and incompetence. Look at the people who say they are progressive, they are a bunch of reactionary elements. And this has proved it.

Is what we have today in APGA the vision you had some years ago when you labored to form it?

I don’t want to overflog the issue of APGA. When I left a

carcass; after some months, their problems escalated and I said that they were fighting over a decomposing carcass.

Going into the details will be over flogging it, because what I have said about APGA, I am the founder; I have divine authority over APGA just as God gave a father authority over his son. I didn’t just labour, I founded it, it was my conceptualization, I only invited people to assist in actualization, the concept was mine, every inch of the way this ceremony these people are making about logo, name, motto, I did all those things on my table; there was no committee that produced the name APGA, there was no committee that designed the flag that they are using now, there was no committee that brought the motto because the motto had featured in the formation: ‘Be your brother ’s keeper.’ The symbol, I brought it too; even though

the cock was there in NCNC, to have the cock on the acronym was my concept. So, whatever they do with it, the public is watching and that is my saving grace today; people have seen that I have been vindicated.

What is the position of your new party, UPP, ahead of the

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PAGE 46—SUNDAY

The soul and spirit of APGA had gone with me to reincarnate in another formation and, as at that time, UPP was yet to be formed and registered; what I left for them was a carcass

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2015 general elections?

To be begin with, UPP is the miracle of 2015.

UPP is a party that is a mass movement. In UPP, we do not believe in the merging of oppressors, people who have contributed immensely to our problems in this country. If you look at those wanting to merge, they have been in government since 1970, they

cannot deny responsibility for the comatose state of the Nigerian state; between what was supposed to be APC and PDP, they are two sides of the same coin; they are like the kettle and pot, none will call the other black. So, what we need in UPP is a coalition of progressive forces to overthrow the merger of reactionary forces. And we are going to begin the journey shortly; when we meet again, I will give you the roadmap to 2015.

You made mention of UPP taking people by surprise.

Will you present a presidential candidate in 2015?

We made that clear from our inaugural national executive committee meeting which was the first one after our registration when we immediately zoned the presidential slot for 2015 to the South East; so it is already established that we are contesting that election up to the presidential level.

Does UPP have offices in the 36 states of the federation and Abuja? What magic will you perform in the 2015 elections?

First of all, the condition for party registration is that you must have your executives in a minimum of 24 states, but we met the requirements in 32 states; so we are already there to be able to satisfy the requirements for registration under the present condition.

As for the strategy to win the presidency, if I disclose it now, I have laid all our plans bare.

Bamanga Tukur and the burden of reconciliation in the PDP zone, the PDP team was well received with the Port Hatcourt Airport filled to the brim, just as Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State; former Inspector General of Police, Mike Okiro; and Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba; received the team and were later joined at the Government House by Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State. The business of the day then moved to the Civic Centre, Moscow Road, Port Harcourt.

The meeting started well with members celebrating the visit, but the event got sour when two players from the zone spoke. The first was Uduaghan who harped on the need for the PDP to resolve all issues as well as ensure that

the party continues to maintain its dominance in the South South.

He said, ‘’If you tar all the roads, even if you aircondition the entire environment and the stomach of the people of members of the party are empty, they will not appreciate what you have done. So I want to join them to tell us to ensure that their stomachs are filled so that they will appreciate what we have done.”

Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State, immediately after Uduaghan’s speech, said, ‘’Well, my brother governor, Uduaghan, said you are hungry. So I will give the state Chairmen from the six states N1million per state for Mr. Biggs right now. All the state Chairmen should immediately after my remarks

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Continued from page 44

If you tar all the roads, even if you aircondition the entire environment and the stomach of the people of members of the party are empty, they will not appreciate what you have done

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come so that at least I can drop N1 million each for Mr. Biggs so that PDP can chart the course for empowerment.”

Soon after Akpabio’s remarks, Amaechi and Uduaghan stormed out of the

hall, leaving Akpabio and members of the NWC on the high table.

Various excuses must have been given by the gladiators on what took place that day, but why did it extend to the night stakeholders meeting where the host governor was absent unlike what happened in Bauchi, venue of North East, where the host governor, Isa Yuguda; visiting Governor Ibrahim Dankwanbo of Gombe; deputy governor of Adamawa;and acting governor of Taraba, Garba Umar; waited till the end of the stakeholders meeting in the zone.

The visits may have given Tukur and his men the opportunity to appreciate the problems in the zones and to know that the problems vary and would require different formula to

solve them. The PDP National Chairman must have known that going out of Wadata Plaza to the zones and having a touch with the people was the way forward.

He and his men may have gone to the zones to preach peace, to ‘ reconcile’ aggrieved members and that may have come and gone, but Tukur must not forget in a hurry the events and scenarios that reared their heads in the course of the visits; he must not forget the urgent need for the team to engage all the leaders in closed door meetings so that they can tell one another the truth if all the problems must end. The onus now lies on the party leadership to use the findings and gains of the visits to plan, strategise and forge ahead as the NWC enters its second year in office.

SUNDAY

Vanguard, MARCH 24, 2013, PAGE 47

PDP BoT and the quest for reconciliation

T

KAYODE

OJO

HE newly Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Anthony Anenih, has hit the ground running in the quest for genuine reconciliation of aggrieved members well ahead of the 2015 general elections. The consensus in the PDP is that the experienced warhorse has come in at the right time to assist in the process of redeeming the party by saving it, significantly, from itself.

As predicted before his emergence, Anenih is already acting in accordance with the books. He has unfolded his strategic roadmap aimed at bringing the party back from the brinks: it is genuine reconciliation, anchored on the platform of compromises-the give and take spirit. It is clear in the PDP that the “arrival” of Anenih has upped the ante in that direction.

The mind-set in the party is that Anenih is capable of deploying wise counsel and profound goodwill to achieve the objective of soothing frayed nerves and pacifying aggrieved members. Therefore, the general expectation is that, at the end of the current tour of states by the BoT team-led by him (Anenih), the reconciliation process should produce positive results.

Close watchers of the development in the party agree that someone like Anenih, who is largely friendly, cosmopolitan

and has an incredible capacity to reach out to strategic stakeholders in and outside the party, should, in concert with other equally disposed members of the BoT, drive the process of genuine reconciliation. This explains the centrality of the role the Anenih-led Board of Trustees (BoT) is playing to foster genuine reconciliation. The quest began on Monday, March 11, 2013 with a visit to Lagos.

The reconciliation visit is not restricted to party members only. Critical stakeholders and influential opinion leaders are being reached with a plea to deploy their influence and support for President Goodluck Jonathan’s government and the transformation agenda.

Anenih, according to feelers from the PDP, is desirous to use his personal goodwill and the respected platform of the BoT of the party to sway prominent Nigerians of immense benevolence to genuinely support Jonathan’s government to deliver on its electoral promises with a view to making his 2015 re-election a foregone conclusion.

On Friday, March 15, 2013, Anenih, alongside Senators Ken Nnamani, Ahmadu Alli and a host of others, headed for Akwa Ibom State in continuation of the Board’s shuttle diplomacy. The team has been adopting the “behind-closed-door” approach, where the BoT Chair and his team members would be able to talk directly and frankly to the problems, anger and anxieties of

It is the foundation and success of these quiet, frank meetings that the Bamanga Tukur-led National Working Committee will build on in the weeks and months ahead to consolidate his (Tukur ’s) three “Rs”, to wit: reconciliation, rebuilding and rebirth.

There is a glimmer of hope on the horizon for the party and its many aggrieved members who

Chief Anthony Anenih the aggrieved stakeholders and members of the party.

Those who are experts in conciliation within political parties argue that this is the most effective way of achieving genuine reconciliation. The party leaders would listen to the aggrieved persons and, in response, they (party leaders) would give necessary assurances that the aggrieved members can take to the bank. This is where the Anenih leadership would be salutary to the peace and reconciliation process: he is widely known in the PDP as a dependable leader who keeps his promises; and, he is believed to have the capacity to extract commitments from the aggrieved persons and make promises and concessions on behalf of the party and the president, which spirit and letter would be preserved, kept and/or adhered to.

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BY

Our people are eagerly waiting to make sure that we take them to the Promised Land and it is you that will make that happen; it is no other person

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are in need of pacification and accommodation.

Anenih had already indicated the trajectory the BoT would take in repositioning the party: what would appear paramount in this consideration is the spirit of give and take, which he spoke about on the night of Tuesday,

March 12, 2013 when he addressed the meeting of PDP Governors’ Forum in Abuja in company with Nnamani and another member of the BoT, Senator Jim Nwobodo.

In a speech delivered extempore at the meeting, he requested total loyalty to the party from the governors. His words: “…Our people are eagerly waiting to make sure that we take them to the Promised Land and it is you that will make that happen; it is no other person. But my special appeal is that we must develop the spirit of give and take; we must develop the spirit of forgiveness and we must remain loyal to the establishment, to the party at all levels. We must be ready to reconcile ourselves and avoid those things that tend to divide us. Once we are able to achieve this, we can solve the challenges; then, we will get there”.

The “reconciliation” duty tour has already taken the BoT team to Akwa Ibom and Kogi States, with such states as Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Niger and Oyo on schedule for immediate visitations. It is believed that Anenih and other prominent members of the BoT, who are all involved in the tour, would leverage on their personal acquaintances and goodwill to collapse the walls of enmity between and among party leaders and stakeholders in the states so as to rebuild confidence in the party and its leadership and foster harmony and cohesion ahead of the 2015 general elections. · Ojo, a freelance journalist, contributed this piece from Abuja.

The North, Atiku and 2015

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BY

OBARO OBRUEGBORO

In the times of victory, prophets are unnecessary distractions ………Trevor Roper

I

N 2010, the Northern Political Leaders Forum (NPLF) met and constituted a committee chaired by a former finance Minister, Adamu Ciroma. The committee had, in its terms of reference, the responsibility of selecting a single candidate out of the contestants then, as a way of charting a formidable political direction for the North. The contestants were General Ibrahim Babangida, former National Security Adviser, General Aliyu Gusau, former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and fomer Governor Bukola Saraki. The candidate so selected would contest against Goodluck Jonathan at the PDP primaries. Atiku emerged as the consensus candidate. They couldn‘t have been more correct because Atiku is a patriarch and his pedigree stands him out as a true democrat.

Despite this consensus

Alhaji Atiku Abubakar choice and the confidence exuded by his followers, the circumstances and the events that played out from Aso Rock and the king makers in PDP frustrated his well oiled political machine. The democratic structures he built with friends and colleagues in the business of politics were hijacked and confiscated leaving him prostrate with only his ardent followers.

At this juncture, it is germane to respect his resilience spirit to continue to participate in our fluid democratic presentations. His signature in the Nigerian project cannot be wished away because history and posterity will hold us accountable. He was the

Atiku‘s mandate is more marketable than some of the names featuring today. He stands out towering in our political landscape better than most of these fair weather politicians navigating our shores

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consensus choice then and still the consensus choice today and hopefully for 2015.The list of those wanting to be president in 2015 is growing by the day especially in the North which is getting restive with the idea of power rotation or zoning. Atiku is a political gladiator with decades of experience that dates back to the military era.

He has a political outreach well greased over the years with standing monuments in the Nigerian democratic. If the North wants to be taken

seriously they should invoke the consensus agreement reached in 2010 which settled for Atiku preparatory to the 2011 general elections. It should be assumed that the consensus understanding still subsists until the mandate is realised. The purpose for that consensus idea has not been realised and we all know how impossible it was to realise it because of the do-or-die politics that prevailed at that time. All the processes were compromised!

Atiku‘s mandate is more marketable than some of the names featuring today. He stands out towering in our political landscape better than most of these fair weather politicians navigating our shores . Leaving Atiku now for a new choice in our presently unpredictable polarised political terrain is a luxury that we should not contemplate because it is like taking a nap beside a tranquilised lion.

The eminent persons in the North should go to the drawing table immediately to map out strategies to garner support for Atiku as the consensus choice. This mandate should be presented to the South immediately as a way of

assuring the South that there is no hidden agenda in their quest for power rotation which is meant to foster unity and engender equity. This is the only way they can erase all the distrust and acrimony pervading our country today.

He should not be perceived as a northern choice but a Nigeria people’s choice.

The recent romance between Obasanjo and Atiku is a welcome development. If there is anyone that should wholeheartedly support Atiku, it should be his former boss, Baba Iyabo. And it is very timely for him to throw his weight behind his former deputy because it will send the right signals. This rapport with Baba Iyabo is a further testament that Atiku is still the preferred choice because nothing seems to have changed.

The Atiku Campaign Organisation should get to work immediately setting up structures and mobilising aggressively for the challenges ahead.

Obru- Egboro is President, Down 2 Earth Network (a non-governmental initiative) earthdownto126@yahoo.com (08023303339 )

PAGE 48 —SUNDAY VANGUARD, MARCH 24, 2013

Blood in the land

BY FEMI FANI-KAYODE VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF How to end the insecurity posed by insurgency

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ERMIT me to begin this contribution by quoting the insightful and powerful words of Hon. Dino Melaye who is undoubtedly one of the rising stars and stronger voices of the new and up and coming generation of political leaders in Nigeria.

On the 19th of March 2013, just

a day after the terrible bombings in Kano in which between 30 and 65 innocent Nigerians were killed (depending on whose report you choose to believe), Melaye wrote the following words on his facebook wall’’The Kano bombing is barbaric, callous and wicked. God save us in this country. The Federal Government and indeed President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has demonstrated incapacitation and ineptitude by their inability to contain this growing insecurity. According to our Constitution the fundamental objective of government is the provision of security and welfare for the people.

Unfortunately Jonathan has failed in both regards. Our president is overwhelmed. He should take the path of honour, take a bow and resign. There is too

much blood in the land. There is blood in our roads, air, police stations, army barracks, churches, mosques, clubs, car parks and homes. There is blood every where’’.

This is a courageous contribution from a young man who obviously has tremendous passion for our country and who is deeply troubled by all that is happening today. I only wish that there were more young men like Melaye in Nigeria. Can any serious-minded person disagree with his observations on this matter?

Is Nigeria not in a state of undeclared war today? Is this not a season of complete anomie in which human life no longer has any value and where life itself has little meaning? Do we actually have a government in this country today?

Are the murderers that killed the innocents in Kano on the 18th of March worthy of life let alone amnesty? Are they really human beings?

Can anybody, no matter how highly placed, respected or reverred still talk about amnesty for Boko Haram now? What do such people suggest that we tell the families of the 60 that were slaughtered on the 18th of March and the 4,000 that were killed before them? How do we wipe away their tears and ensure that they are given the justice that they so desperately seek? Do we tell them that it was just one of those things and that they should consisder the murder of their sons, daughters, wives, hus-

bands, parents, grandparents, siblings, distant relatives and friends as part of their sacrifice and contribution to national development and service? Do we tell them that those that murdered their loved ones have now been granted amnesty for their efforts and that they have been forgiven by the state

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VIEWPOINT

churches in Maiduguri,Borno State have been burnt down by Boko Haram. How does one explain this madness? How would the Muslims of northern Nigeria have reacted if virtually every single mosque that had been built in one of the southern states had been burnt down by Christian militants?

Can anybody...still talk about amnesty for Boko Haram now? What do such people suggest that we tell the families of the 60 that were slaughtered on the 18th of March and the 4,000 that were killed before them?

and reintegrated back into society? Is that justice? Is the very suggestion not utterly heartless and insensitive? No-one should ever sing the amnesty song again because too many innocent and defenceless people have been killed. In this matter justice must be done.

Yet the sad tale does not stop at the loss of life. There is more.

It is a sad testimony to our national malaise that in the very week that a refreshing and exceptionally compassionate and humble new Pope was elected to lead the 1.2 billion Catholics in the world today, we have been reliably informed by the Catholic Church in Nigeria, through Rev. Father Ituah,that no less than 50 of the 52 Catholic

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Why is it that Boko Haram and those in the Muslim community in northern Nigeria that secretly sympathise with them cannot learn a thing or two from the billions of Muslims in the world that live peacefully and happily side by side with other faiths including Christians, Jews and Hindus? Why can’t they learn from the Yoruba Muslims who are, generally speaking, exemplary and very liberal in their approach to adhherents of other faiths. What is it about the Islamist that he feels the need to kill and shed blood in the name of God? Indonesia has the largest number of Muslims on this planet with 200 million practising Muslims in it’s borders. Yet Indonesia is a secular state with a

sizeable and respected Christian minorty population which runs into millions. India has the second largest concentration of Muslims in the world with a Muslim population of over 150 million. The Muslims of India are a minority because the country is predominantly Hindu yet the religious rights of every Indian is guarded jealously and protected by the Constitution because India, just like Indonesia, Turkey, Egypt, Malaysia, Pakistan, Algeria, Syria, Lebanon, Senegal, Tunisia, the Palestinian West Bank and many other predominantly Muslim countries, is a secular state. Why can’t the Islamists of Boko Haram in northern Nigeria learn from these great countries and these great people who have proved to the world by their conductwhat a civilised, humane and decent religion islam really is?

Boko Haram insists on trying to give Islam a bad name and the challenge that they have thrown down to us is one that we must take up vigorously. Yet despite all the evil and ugliness that we see around us in Nigeria today we must not allow ourselves to lose sight of the light.

My solution to the Boko Haram scourge is simple and clear. The president, the Federal Government and the people of Nigeria must join hands together, rise up as one and seek them, their secret backers and their secret sponsors out. *Fani-Kayode was Minister of Aviation

Unveiling the Ondo smart card for good governance

BY DUROJAIYE ADINLEWA

VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF The gains of residency card aka Kaadi Igbe Ayo

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N Ondo State, the residents are about to enter a new era.

This is a dispensation of Smart Card Deployment for Multi-purpose Government Social Services Management. The introduction of the new access card will cut some of the red tape involved in obtaining health, education, agriculture and social services while delivering a more convenient, efficient and secure system for obtaining government services benefits. The smart card project, otherwise known as State Residency Card (Kaadi Igbe Ayo), affords the government the opportunity to have an idea of the number of people within its territory. It facilitates the categorization of the citizenry for governance processes and service delivery. It is a recipe for planning and development. Kaadi Igbe Ayo offers the administration of Dr. Olusegun Mimiko the platform to continue the good governance it initiated in the state during the first term. During the first term, Mimiko, a visionary leader, employed strategic planning to initiate superlative programmes.

His first term administration re-

C M Y K

corded many firsts. The Ondo government Abiye programme continues to receive applause within and outside the country. So effective in delivering safe motherhood by tackling infant and mother mortality, the programme

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VIEWPOINT

been ‘gate- crashing’ into the state from the neighbouring states to benefit from the programme as beneficiaries will now be attended to strictly on the basis of the presentation of the residency card. Another novel project of the

The smart card project will guarantee the provision of resources for them.

The law enforcement angle to the project is that it is sure to promote systematic development of database for security and surveillance purposes

attracts patronage from the neighbouring states. The icing on the cake of the Abiye programme is its recommendation by the World Bank to the African governments as solution to the frightening infant and mother mortality rates in the continent.

The Abiye programme has been resoundingly successful. But the coming on stream of the Kaadi Igbe Ayo project means the safe motherhood initiative can still achieve greater heights. The citizenry identification via the residency card project will give government a general idea of the funding and logistics required to deepen the Abiye programme.

Besides, the smart card project will eliminate those who have

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Mimiko administration is the Agricultural Villages established to ensure food security and tackle youth unemployment. Subsequent implementation of the programme now that the smart card project is in place will take into account the number of youths to plan for. Education has its pride of place under the state government. That is why the school environment is getting so much attention. Model and mega schools dot the state’s entire landscape.

Children are conveyed to school in shuttle buses free of charge.

Government must know what to expect in terms of enrolment into schools. Kaadi Igbe Ayo takes care of this and ensures provision for undergraduates at the tertiary

level in terms of scholarship and bursary awards. Social services like water, electricity, roads, health for other segments of the society outside those captured under the safe motherhood initiative are dear to the heart of Mr. Governor. The State Residency Card project allows government to know who the targets of the services are; provide a means to identify such targets at the service points; and audit the quantity and quality of the consumed services.

This tripod of know-identify-audit is dictated by principles of economics and resource management.

The Mimiko government has done so much to uplift the market men and women from squalor. The data from the Kaadi Igbe Ayo project will determine the adequacy or otherwise of the modern markets constructed by the state administration. Artisans including mechanics, who the government has been trying to locate from the townships to pave the way for urban renewal, also have their own benefit under the project. The smart card project will guarantee the provision of resources for them. The law enforcement angle to the project is that it is sure to promote systematic development of database for security and surveillance purposes.

Above all, the Ondo State Residency Card is a veritable tool to monitor relevant tax data for individuals and corporate entities.

One sore point about internally

generated revenue(IGR), over time, and this is not limited to Ondo State, is that majority of the residents don’t pay tax.

The joke is that about 80 percent of the state population evades tax, thereby limiting government resources to the funds from the Federation Account. But the truth of the matter is that a citizen who does not pay tax has lost his right to good governance, the type that the Mimiko administration has provided over the last four years.

Whereas only those within the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) bracket, constituting only 20 percent of the citizenry, are those that pay tax because the tax is deductable from their salaries at source, the reality is that government can have more resources for more welfare programmes if the tax paying citizenry increases to 50percent.

With the Kaadi Igbe Ayo project, it is envisaged that more people in the state will be captured for tax.

The smart card project of the Ondo government started in October 2009, months after Mimiko assumed office, as the world’s first Smart Card Deployment for Multi-purpose Government Social Services Management.

During the trial stages, more than 600,000 people were captured. Almost four years after, the project is completed and ready for full deployment throughout Ondo State. * Adinlewa is an Akure, Ondo State based social commentator

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MARCH 24, 2013, PAGE 49

TRIBUTES

Ihedioha and Nigeria’s Leadership Challenge

BY OKE EPIA TRIBUTE IN BRIEF A close look at the deputy speaker at 48

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HE challenge of leadership in Nigeria has thrown up the good, the bad and the ugly in a country beleaguered by a twisted past and besotted with virtually all the problems of a renascent democracy. It is however beneficial, at least for inspirational purposes, to identify and celebrate leaders who have made (and are making) significant positive impacts on the growth and development of the country.

Although some public analysts will posit that celebration of public office holders should be reserved till the expiration of their tenures, it has been proven that public recognition and appreciation of the efforts of leaders is a source of motivation that can spur increased dedication and commitment for the overall public good. Today, the spotlight is on Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Within the context of Nigeria’s leadership challenge, the roles played and contributions made by Ihedioha to the growth and development of Nigeria at different levels of service, especially in the legislature, offers a template for critical discourse and a ray of hope that the country can truly achieve its Godgiven potentials and take her rightful place in the world.

His trajectory in the affairs of Nigeria’s federal legislature tells a story of diligence, hard work, and commitment

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TRIBUTE

While assiduously establishing himself in the business of law-making, Ihedioha remained mindful of the place of his constituents in ensuring his continued political relevance

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to the building of the institution of the National Assembly as it is today. Hon. Ihedioha began his public service career in 1992 when he was appointed as Press Officer to Senate President of the time, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu. Within months, he received a promotion to become Chief Press Secretary to then Deputy President of the Senate, Albert Legogie. The military interregnum in the polity cut short his rise but not the dreams of the young ambitious man as he then was to serve the country.

Ihedioha’s path crossed with the legislature again in 2003 when, after a stint of service with some top executive functionaries including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, he got elected into the House of Representatives to represent Aboh Mbaise/Ngor Okpala federal constituency. He immediately displayed admirable political virtues of team spirit, loyalty and dependability when he rallied round the then leadership of the House and was subsequently rewarded with the responsibility of chairing the ‘Grade A’ Committee on Marine Transport. Two critical laws guiding the operations of

Emeka Ihedioha Nigeria’s marine sector today- the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Act, 2007 which is a key legislation that reformed the industry to allow for increased participation of Nigerians; and the Merchant Shipping Act, 2005- are abiding footprints of Ihedioha’s legislative leadership of the House Committee on Marine Transport. This is besides his pivotal role in the domestication of several International Maritime Organization (IMO) Conventions to ensure that they became part of Nigeria’s Municipal Laws.

While assiduously establishing himself in the business of law-making, Ihedioha remained mindful of the place of his constituents in ensuring his continued political relevance. Thus, he continually engaged them through regular consultations and feedback mechanisms while always exploring opportunities to improve their lives and living conditions by attracting federal government presence to the constituency and also providing job placements for hundreds of qualified unemployed Imo youths. With such ad-

mirable performance, the constituency had no hesitation in returning him to the House in 2007 for a second term in office.

And having built a vast national network of political contacts and found to be a reliable astute politician, members of the House beckoned on him to serve in the leadership position of Chief Whip after a brief stint as chair of the House Committee on Cooperation and Integration in Africa.

His non-discriminatory service orientation has been taken several notches higher since he became Deputy Speaker of the House after his return to the Green Chamber for a record third term.

And the Imo-born politician has continued to live up to the billing. He takes his responsibilities as Deputy Speaker with reverent dedication and commitment to the pan-Nigerian cause which his office and duties as a presiding officer of the House demands. For example, the way and manner he has piloted the constitution amendment process of the House (being Chairman of the Adhoc Committee on Constitution Review) has shown him as a man of vision and innovative leadership qualities. The conception of the Peoples Public Sessions- a grassrootsbased consultation for Nigerians of all shades and class to make inputs into the kind of constitution they want- and its implementation thus far has made Nigerians to impute massive confidence on the amendment process.

Ihedioha, Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON), is proudly one of the answers to the riddles of Nigeria’s leadership challenge. Happy birthday to the Deputy Speaker who turns 48 years today.

Epia is Media Adviser to the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives

Louis Odion at ‘full installed capacity’ at 40

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TRIB UTE TRIBUTE

BY PRECIOUS IGBONWELUNDU

Once given a space in 1992 as a freelancer, he literally took the Concord Group by storm with his prolific writings

TRIBUTE IN BRIEF Celebrating an accomplished journalist on his birthday

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happened to be present sometime ago when he walked into a gather ing of his media colleagues and the shouts of ‘Capacity!’, ‘Capacity!!’ rented the air. ‘What a queer sobriquet’, I said to myself. I could not help wondering what informed that. When I probed deeper, what came out was a rather funny story.

Once upon a time, a group of senior journalists left their Lagos base on a facility tour of another state. Each time the group ate together in the restaurant, it was observed that Louis Odion often took extra portion. To those who had raised eyebrows, he jovially defended that he really needed all the nourishments since ‘I function at full installed capacity’.

To that, everyone present in the dining hall burst into a delirious laughter. So, began the legend of ‘Capacity’ .

Indeed, no one was in doubt. Those who climbed the newsroom ladder with Louis would attest to his boundless energy for work. From the additional insight I gathered, I dare say that same nickname also speaks to an uncommon trajectory of destiny.

Born on March 25, 1973 in Ikare-Akoko, Ondo State , his story is perhaps a gripping illustration of the old saying that hard work pays and that talent ultimately finds a way. For a guy who had a meteoric rise from the bottom of the newsroom as reporter to the apex as editor and later the C M Y K

Louis Odion commanding height of the news-papering as Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief, how many would believe he actually started as a trainee secretary. He began his working career with Concord Press as a Confidential Secretary in 1992.

But seven years later, through sheer industry, self-education, focus and - some may add - mother luck, he had risen phenomenally to becoming the Deputy Editor of Sunday Concord once edited by journalism legend, Dele Giwa.

Once given a space in 1992 as a freelancer, he literally took the Concord Group by storm with his prolific writings.

Before then, he had distinguished himself as a fearless campus journalist at Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, where he had the privilege of being the editor-in-chief of Satellite Communication, the leading press club at the poly, even though his course of study was Secretarial Administration.

So outstanding was he in the campus journalism that a rival media organisation called SCREENTOWER could not but bestow on him its own ‘Best Writer of the Year Award – 1991’.

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By 1992, the management of Concord Press had set university degree as minimum entry qualification for journalists.

But recognising Louis’ exceptional abilities, the management bent its own rule to admit the then OND holder into its stable in 1993 as a reporter.

Realising that talent was not enough, Louis resolved to improve himself academically while working full-time and would add to his resume a Bachelor of Arts and a Master ’s Degree in International Law and Diplomacy in the years ahead.

Bustling with youthful energy, he combined full-time work with full-time study at UNILAG. He had an understanding editor in Mr. Tunji Bello who mentored him. In June 1999, barely a month after he graduated from UNILAG with 2.1, he was promoted Deputy Editor of Sunday Concord . He bagged the Master ’s Degree from the same UNILAG in 2005.

In 2000, he joined THISDAY and at various times was Deputy Editor of THISDAY on Saturday, THISDAY ON SUNDAY and finally the daily paper in 2001.

When THISDAY commenced simultaneous printing in Lagos and Abuja in April 2002, he was the pioneer Abuja Editor.

In November 2002, he left THISDAY for a start-up newspaper, The Sun, as the Editor of Sunday Sun, which Louis nurtured from the scratch,and, in March 2003, was adjudged the widest-selling newspaper in Nigeria by the time he resigned in 2008.

Louis is not only a resourceful features writer but also a respected columnist. His weekly column goes by the name – The Bottomline. Very engaging, he writes with the rigour of a thorough-bred professional, flower of a poet and the insight of an insider. No wonder he was adjudged the ‘Columnist of the Year’ by the prestigious Nigerian Media Merit Award (NMMA) in 2007. That same year, CityPeople Magazine named him ‘Media Person of the Year’.

To confirm his class in column-writing in the Nigerian media, he again won the coveted NMMA ‘Columnist of the Year’ in 2009.

Overall, his evocative writing style has continued to provide a rich trove for study and research in academic circles.

After Sun, Louis teamed up with like minds to float National LIFE Newspaper in July 2008 and was its Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief till July 2011 when he was invited by Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State to serve his native state as Commissioner for Information.

Oshiomhole, last month re-appointed him his Information Commissioner.

As ‘Capacity’, at 40, enters the age of wisdom, here is wishing him many more fruitful years in the service of this country and mankind at large.

* Igbonwelundu is a Lagos-based journalist.

PAGE 50—SUNDAY VANGUARD, MARCH 17, 2013 sameyoboka@yahoo.com

08023145567 (sms only)

Christians Mark Palm Sunday

By SAM EYOBOKA, OLAYINKA LATONA & IKENNA ASOMBA

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NE week to this year ’s Easter Sunday and still basking in the euphoria of the inauguration of a new Catholic Pontiff, Pope Francis, Catholics the world over and other orthodox denominations will today celebrate the Palm Sunday, the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem.

Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in all four canonical Gospels.

In many Christian churches, Palm Sunday is marked by the distribution of palm leaves (often tied into crosses) to the assembled worshippers.

According to a release by the Lagos Catholic Archdiocesan Director of Social Communications, Very Rev. Msgr.

Gabriel Osu, Palm Sunday is a procession in which the faithful carry branches of palm leaves as a re-enactment of the biblical story in which the crowd greeted Jesus by waving palm branches and covering his path with palm branches.

This triumphant entry of Jesus marked the beginning of his journey to the cross where he was eventually crucified.

Emblem of joy “The principal ceremonies of the day are the blessing of the palms, the procession, the Mass, and during it the reading of the Passion. Palm branches have been used by all nations as an emblem of joy and victory over enemies; in Christianity as a sign of victory over the flesh and the world,” Msgr. Osu explained.

In the Archdiocese of Lagos, Archbishop Alfred Adewale Martins is expected to lead the clergy and the faithful in a mass at the Holy Cross Cathedral, Lagos, followed by a procession round major streets in Lagos Island.

Similarly, The Apostolic Faith Church is expected to flag off a week long Easter retreat that would be residential in all its zonal headquarters around the country. In Lagos, the retreat will take place in Anthony Village, Ikorodu, Abesan, Oke-Aro and Igbesa.

According to a statement by the church’s head, Public Relations, the programme billed for March 28 to April 1, will feature Bible studies,

*Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos State recently celebrated the papal inauguration mass/ thanksgiving at Holy Cross Cathedral, Lagos. Picture shows Rev. Fr. Anthony Fadairo (in front) Msgnr Gabriel Osu, Msgnr Edmond Akpala and Msgnr Bernard Okodua in procession after the mass. sacred songs, symposium, film show, drama and prayer sessions.

On Sunday the annual Easter concert will hold at 5.00 p.m. at the Great Tabernacle in Anthony Village, Lagos.

There were indications that the surviving fashions of the Celestial Church of Christ, CCC, would join the rest of the Christian world to mark the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem with processions and general services.

While other Christians are celebrating Palm Sunday, the House of Prayer International (HPI) with headquarters in Umudim-Okporo, Orlu, Imo State, plays host to its 2013 festival of Passover and Unleavened Bread between March 24 and 31.

According to the General Chairman, HPI, Elder Steve Kanu, the annual festival runs for eight days beginning and ending with a holy convocation today and next Sunday.

He said the festival commemorates the freedom the Israelites had from the land of Egypt, adding “ we are celebrating this feast in accordance with a divine commandment in Exodus 12:17 that all mankind should celebrate it in perpetuity.”

Passover lamb According to him, the event entails the slaughtering and eating of the Passover lamb, Holy Communion, sermon, lectures, prayers, drama, singing, bible quiz, evangelism and debate amongst others.

In the accounts of the four canonical Gospels, Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem takes place about a week before his Resurrection.

The symbolism is captured in Zechariah 9:9 “The Coming of Zion’s King - See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of

a donkey”.

It was perceived that Jesus was declaring he was the King of Israel to the anger of the Sanhedrin.

According to the Gospels, Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem, and the celebrating people there lay down their cloaks in front of him, and also lay down small branches of

trees. The people sang part of Psalms 118: 25-26 “... Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord ....”

The symbolism of the donkey may refer to the Eastern tradition that it is an animal of peace, versus the horse, which is the animal of war. A king came riding upon a horse when he was bent on war and rode upon a donkey when he wanted to point out he was coming in peace. Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem would thus symbolize his entry as the Prince of Peace, not as a war-waging king.

Christians celebrate the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, the week before his death and resurrection. For many churches, Palm Sunday, often referred to as “Passion Sunday,” marks the beginning of Holy Week, which concludes on Easter Sunday.

The Bible reveals that when Jesus entered Jerusalem, the crowds greeted him by waving palm branches and covering his path with palm branches.

Immediately following this great time of celebration in the ministry of Jesus, he begins his journey to the cross.

The biblical account of Palm Sunday can be found in Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:111; Luke 19:28-44; and John 12:12-19.

A Palm Sunday with Pope Francis

By Msgr. Gabriel Osu

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ODAY, Sunday, March 24, marks the celebration of Palm Sunday, the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem.

It is a day of procession in which the faithful carry branches of palm leaves as a re-enactment of the biblical story in which the crowd greeted Jesus by waving palm branches and covering his path with palm branches. This triumphant entry of Jesus soon marked the beginning of his journey to the cross where he was eventually crucified.

“So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying, “Hosanna!

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” And Jesus found a young ass and sat upon it; as it is written, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on an ass’s colt (John 12:13-15)!”

Often referred to as Passion Sunday, today marks the beginning of Holy Week, which concludes on Easter

Sunday. Traditionally, the Palm Sunday falls on the sixth and last Sunday of Lent. The principal ceremonies of the day are the benediction of the palms, the procession, the Mass, and during it the singing of the Passion. Palm branches have been used by all nations as an emblem of joy and victory over enemies; in Christianity as a sign of victory over the flesh and the world according to Psalm 91:13.

On this day we proclaim Christ as a Victor who triumphed over the devil and all his cohorts. We carry palm branches as a tribute of waving joy, before Christ, victorious over death; also as a symbol of our wavering fickleness, betraying Christ unto His Death.

Great rejoicing But this year’s Palm Sunday is with a difference. This is because right from Vatican, the Church would be led in this great celebration of faith

by a new Pontiff. And as, there is great rejoicing among the Catholic faithful because God has deemed it fit to give the Church a new Pope.

Less than two weeks ago, there was palpable tension in the air as the faithful all over the world waited in palpable contemplation and prayer for a new Pontiff following the resignation of Benedict XVI. In remote and ancient settlements and canyons across Rome, Lourdes, Nigeria and Assisi, numerous candles lit up. From urban to austere monasteries, convents and seminaries tucked up amidst the hills and valleys of holy monuments in the various continents of the world that had withstood the test of time, millions of worshippers embarked on novenas for God to empower the 115 Cardinals with the Holy Spirit to make the right choice.

What kind of man would he be? Would he be an Italian, American or an African? Would he be an extremist or a nonconformist? Such questions Continued on Page 46

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MARCH 24, 2013, PAGE 51

Baptist Conference launches book

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JESUS IS THE MESSIAH (4)

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ESUS healed one leper. Just as his adversaries were trying to decide how to handle this, he then healed 10 lepers, all in one go. He hit the ball straight into the court of the Jewish religious establishment. Would they be honest enough to acknowledge to Israel that he is the long awaited Messiah?

However, the pastors and the bishops of Jesus’ day would not give in without a fight. They recognised Jesus as a threat to their position and authority. Rather than validate his calling, some of them decided to put him under arrest. They sent some officers to that effect. But when they got to him, they were mesmerised by his words.

Instead of arresting him, they virtually ended up joining his church. When queried for coming back empty-handed, they declared that: “No man ever spoke like this man!” (John 7:46).

It had never happened before in the history of man that a man who was born blind recovered his eyesight.

Upping the ante Jesus then performed another miracle that the Pharisees deemed impossible to all but the Messiah. They brought to him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute. The Pharisees could only cast a demon out by his name. But if the demon was mute and, therefore, could not tell them its name, they found it impossible to cast him out. Therefore, they put the casting out of a mute demon in the special messianic category.

However, Jesus healed the blind and mute demon-possessed man so completely he could not only talk, he could now see. As a result, the people were amazed and they asked the obvious logical question: “Could this be the son of David?” The “Son of David” is a euphemism for the Messiah.

But the Pharisees refused to accept this irrefutable evidence. They came up with a new line of defence. They said: “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.” (Matthew 12:24).

Thereby, they blasphemed the Holy Spirit by wilfully calling him demonic.

The clincher It had never happened before in the history of man that a man who was born blind recovered his eyesight. Even today, with our so-called modern science and medicine, doctors have not been able to recover the sight of a man who was born blind. This makes it a miracle waiting for the Messiah. Therefore, when Jesus met a man who was blind from birth, he declared that the purpose of the man’s blindness was in order that the works of God may be revealed in him.

Jesus not only healed the man, he did so in a deliberately provocative manner that was pregnant with meaning. He spat on the ground, made clay with the saliva and used it to anoint

the blind man’s eyes. This was designed to show he is the creator of man. Moreover, the healing took place during the feast of tabernacles. During the feast, they draw water from the pool of Siloam and bring it to the temple. However, Jesus told the blind man to go and wash in the pool of Siloam, thereby desecrating the water.

Jesus also healed the blind man on the Sabbath. According to the tradition of the elders of the Jews, this is forbidden. The ruler of the synagogue admonished Jesus and his followers: “There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.” (Luke 13:14).

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or these reasons and more, the Jewish religious estab lishment took great exception to Jesus’ miracle. They maintained that by breaking the Sabbath, even if to heal a blind man, Jesus could not be of God. Therefore, they questioned the authenticity of the man’s healing. They insisted he could not have been blind in the first place. They even went as far as summon his parents in the bid to contradict his healing. They insisted a wilful sinner like Jesus could not possibly perform a messianic miracle. The healed man finally shut them up with a ringing declaration: “One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.” (John 9:25).

It was clear that the only thing that would have been acceptable to the healed man’s interrogators was if he declared it had all been one big mistake. If he said was not healed after all or that his blindness had returned inexplicably, he might have been left alone. But since he refused to deny what he had received of the Lord, they ended up by ex-communicating him from the synagogue.

In short, Jesus proved conclusively to biblical Israel that he is the Messiah. He proved it scripturally and even proved it according to the tradition of the elders. But his adversaries were determined not to believe him. They refused to admit the evidence. Jesus was not the kind of Messiah they wanted. They even went as far as persecute those he healed. Jesus says: “If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both me and my Father. But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘they hated me without a cause.’” (John 15:24-25).

Jesus is my Messiah I am that blind man that Jesus

healed. Like Moses, after 40 years in the wilderness of life, I met Jesus at the age of 41, and he opened my eyes.

Like Job, I had heard of Jesus by the hearing of the ears, but now my eyes see him. (Job 42:5).

But I do not just see Jesus. I see the kingdom of God. I see dead men walking along the streets. I see young men and women in churches, old and frail, dying of spiritual kwashiorkor.

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esus is my Sav iour. First he saved me from armed robbers.

Then he miraculously healed my bullet-ridden broken leg.

This makes me a veritable witness of Jesus Christ. His witness remains till today in my body, where it shows up again and again in routine x-rays. There is a bullet in my leg, but there is nothing wrong with my leg. Glory be to God. Like those Jesus healed in biblical days, the enemies of my ministry have tried to convince themselves my healing did not take place. One atheist on my blog said the Jesus who healed me is a zombie. Another fake pastor maintains my healing must have been the work of Satan. But we have been well-warned

by Jesus. He says: “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.

If they kept my word, they will keep yours also.” (John 15:20).

Word gardener Soon after my healing, the Lord visited me and led me through the early chapters of Genesis.

He told me he planted a garden, east of Eden. In it was every kind of precious and luscious fruit.

The garden was planted by the rivers of water.

And the trees brought forth their fruits seasonally.

Then the Lord suddenly turned the entire episode on me. He said to me: “Femi, I have planted this garden in your mind. I want you to tend the garden, to keep it and to dress it. Every plant that I have not planted must be uprooted.”

ITH a vision to become and remain a Bap tist organization noted for missions and capacity building, Lagos West Baptist Conference recently launched a book titled: Team Strategy: An Effective technique for church expansion, reports OLAYINKA LATONA. According to Lagos West Baptist Conference president, Rev. Julius Adeniji, the book is a compilation of various teachings during the church Workers'' Summit held in 2012 with the theme, 'Team strategy'.

His words: “After the summit, the need arose to compile all the presentations into a book for the benefit of a wider audience. The book therefore is an end-product of that plan.”

Reviewing the book, Mr. Banji Adisa, described it as an agent of change capable of transforming the church system in Nigeria with the goal of bringing the best out of it.

Mr. Adisa said the 14-chapter book focused on team spirit, adding that each chapter enumerated some challenges, how to effectively tackle such problems with team spirit and how ministers need to work hand in hand with their members.

Speaking on corruption and moral decadence in the nation, Rev. Adeniji blamed wrong socialisation in the society for the devekopment, stressing that there is too much emphasis on wealth and affluence in the society.

He said the only way out is to punish identified offenders for crimes committed to serve as deterrent to others, urging Nigerians to love one another and do away with tribalism and tolerate one another.

A Palm Sunday with Pope Francis Continued from Page 44 ran through the minds of many. But in all of these, God took charge.

Amidst all expectations, he gave to us a man after His own heart. He did not choose a priest with an unusual air, one we may consider as very popular or charismatic. Rather, he chose a 76-year old humble Jesuit Priest who took the bus to work as Cardinal of Buenos Aires and who loved to cook his own meal. Here is a highly placed clergy who refused to live in the church’s magnificent mansion, but rather, chose to sleep in a simple bed in a modest home heated by a tiny stove. That simple man, Cardinal Mario Jorge Bergeglio, made history as the first non-European pope of the modern era, the first from Latin America, the first Jesuit and the first to assume the name Francis.

Dose of what to expect In his first Mass celebrated in the Sistine Chapel, Pope Francis gave us a dose of what to expect in his ponti-ficate when he called on all to join hands and build the church. “We can work as much as we want, we can build many things, but if we do not confess Jesus Christ, nothing will avail. We will become a pitiful NGO, but not the Church, the Bride of Christ.

When one does not walk, one stalls. When one does not built on solid rocks, what happens? What happens is what happens to children on the beach when they make sandcastles: everything collapses, it is without con-sistency... “I would like for all of us, after these days of grace, that we find courage to walk in the presence of God …and to build the church with the blood of Christ,” the pope continued.

“Only this way will the church move forward.”

The task ahead him is one-rous. There is an anticipated wind of change. He needs our collective prayers and good will to succeed. He is human, like every one of us and so we should not expect perfection from him. However, as a choice of the divine at this period in time, we expect that the choices he would make in the weeks and years to come, would be in conformity with God’s divine plan for the Church, and for the salvation of the faithful.

With his historic inaugurat-ion on March 19, 2013, and as we journey into the Passion Week with renewed hope and confidence in the unwavering saving grace of God and His protection over the Church, Pope Francis, the humble friend of the poor, is set to lead the over 1.2 billion flock of God in the joyous resurrection of Christ from the dead and to a new era of consolidation in Christendom.

PAGE 52

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MARCH 24, 2013

I

Let it go

f you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, it’s yours forever. If it doesn’t, then it was never meant to be, see ya next week, cheers!

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SUNDAY VANGUARD, MARCH 24, 2013, PAGE 53

Unveiling Udondian’s FROM BOOK SHELF power of Textile From US, May Nwoye goes oily

BY MCPHILIPS NWACHUKWU

HEN Victoria Udondian’s solo exhibition tagged Open Studio event is opened to the public in April at 1b Olabode Street, Ajao Estate, Lagos, viewers will no doubt become captivated with the the artist’s commitment to the reclamation of the power of cloth as both an embodiment of beauty, symbol of power and repository of communal history.

For the University of Uyo trained artist, cloth, as a cultural paraphernalia, is an important repository of history and therefore explains the incorporation of some of the iconic and totemic symbols that adorn different cloth traditions seen across the continent.

It therefore becomes important for the user of African textile to understand that those who make Ghana’s Kente or Yoruba Aso ebi and such other traditional clothes like Akwa ocha or Akwete from the Eastern part of Nigeria are some of the most important cultural rites and communal ethos of the people.

Sad as it were, some, if not most of these important cultural relics have been lost to the present users and designers of African textile. While there have been a recorded increase in the patronage of local fabrics and textiles, little attention has equally been made

by Nigerian artists and fashion designers to deploying the medium of textile technology and art in the re-enactment of these communal history.

Disturbed by this trend, Udondian, who initially trained as a painter decided to direct her creative energy in the direction of textile art. The show according to her, promises to bring to the fore, what the artist describes as ‘’ cultural contamination’.

‘My work revolves around the theme of cultural contamination and the continuous interaction between contemporary traditions, which is especially visible in the weaving of textiles. I work with used fabrics, paper, plastic bags and other recycled materials which are cut, sewn, tied, glued and re purposed to create sculptures and installations which reference textile and clothing industries in Nigeria.’ She said.

Continuing , she added that ‘’ I also use and create garments, referencing the use of costume in Nigerian ceremonies and performances. Parts of my contents include using contemporary mass produced clothing which has dif-

Victoria Udondian

,

W

A

EXHIBITION

My work revolves around the theme of cultural contamination and the continuous interaction between contemporary traditions, which is especially visible in the weaving of textiles

,

ferent connotations and globalisation across diverse ages and areas.’’

The Open Studio event, Udondian further revealed, would also provide a platform for art connoisseurs and critics to engage her works. The works according to her, will be presented with subtexts that would aid viewers to having richer insight into the historical concepts of the creations.

Talking about her style she explains, ’’ In my work, the garments used and weaving as well as the sewing methods employed are imbued with strong ethical and social values; they become the means to investigate the context and environment, the history and cultures, present realities and traditional activities.’’

Being her first solo show in Nigeria, the internationally emerging artist, who has participated in various group shows including:We Face Forward, Arts From West Africa Today at the Whit worth Arts Gallery Manchester, SAS at the Bag Factory Studio, Johannesburg, South Africa, A Kilo of Hope at the Yusuf Grillo Gallery, Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, said that her present outing will equally present her new identity as an artist with her own distinct voice to the public.

WARD winning novelist and Uni versity of Benin Bursar, Dr. May Nwoye, has returned with a new novel, Oil Cemetery.

A press release from her US publishers, Strategic Book Publishing and Rights Co, LLC, says” community of the poor produces the oil but suffers from its environmental effects, while the rich profit from it”’.

Such is the case all over the world, but especially in the oil-producing NigerDelta region of Nigeria, creating what is literally an Oil Cemetery.

The novel, the publishers went on, shows how Nigerians cope with the environmental pollution that has accompanied the discovery of oil wealth in their communities, adding that Oil Cemetery is an extremely powerful book that shows the manipulations of the upper class and the obscene wealth enjoyed by the few, while Oil Cemetery ; May Ifeoma Nwoye ;Stratethe masses live in poverty gic Book Publishing and Rights Co, LLC, US and suffer from environmental degradation of their land.

Association of Nigerian Authors The book tells about Rita, a fragile (ANA). Author of several other novyoung girl whose father was a victim els, and collections of short stories, of the oil company, by a twist of fate is she said, “My inspiration for Oil Cemthe one who leads a subtle revolution etery came from the monumental that will shock the entire community. noise, the endless tears, and the in“This is a moving story of the poor, sensitive treatment of the inhabitants who have said NO to oppression as of oil producing areas in Nigeria, they seek solution to end suffering and where the land that produces the deaths brought by oil excavation,” the wealth of a nation suffers from abrelease added. ject poverty and deprivation in the Ifeoma, who studied in the US, was face of environmental degradation.” a former national vice president of the

Nigerian Copyright Law and Practice

N

igerian Copyright Law and Practice is perhaps the most authoritative book on Nigerian copyright regulation. The author, John Asein, a director at the National Copyright Institute, Nigerian Copyright Commission, burrows into his experience in policy formulation, administration, legislative reforms and the teaching of copyright to come out with this publication.

In 13 chapters, Asein takes an extensive tour of copyright regulations, and principles to set the path for Nigerian copyright jurisprudence.

Although, the full report of Nigerian cases which appeared as an appendix to the first edition is now being published separately as Nigerian

Copyright Cases, this edition offers critical and insightful analysis of these cases. It also contains a complete set of the extant copyright statutes, including the 1911 and 1970 Copyright Acts, as well as subsidiary legislations, many of which are not contained in the Laws of the Federation.

Asein’s research makes the book the most reliable compendium on Nigerian copyright law, an indispensable resource book for judges, lawyers, academics and researchers. Written in lucid style, this book will also appeal to authors, policy makers and the general reader who has need for copyright knowledge. The book is complemented by an online resource centre, offering updates, additional research and teaching materials.

MUSON holds Easter concert

T

One of the works byVictoria Udondian C M Y K

he Musical Society of Nigeria (MUSON) will hold its Easter concert today at the Agip Recital Hall, Lagos.

The concert titled, “Passion: The Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross” composed by Joseph Haydn is being organised to bring to the fore the memoirs of Jesus Christ and how he suffered and died in the hands of the people of the world.

In a statement signed by the Public Relation Officer of MUSON, Oguchi Egbunine, “the concert is a reflection of the Christian holy week and Easter celebration. Adding that, it is a sacred work which includes solos and choral forces”.

According to him, the concert will feature the internationally acclaimed MUSON Choir conducted by Emeka Nwokedi.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MARCH 23, 2013 --PAGE 54

Ferguson, Nani pay for champions league misconduct

M

ANCHESTER United manager Alex Ferguson has been fined 10,000 euros (8,500 pounds) and their Portuguese winger Nani suspended for one match

by UEFA following their Champions League exit to Real Madrid earlier this month.

Ferguson failed to speak to the media after the last 16 second leg in which Nani was given a controversial red card as United lost 2-1 at Old Trafford to go out of the competition 3-2 on aggregate.

In a statement issued on Friday, UEFA said: “Manchester United FC midfield player Nani has been suspended for one match by UEFA’s Control and Disciplinary Body, following the red card he received at the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg against Real Madrid CF at Old Trafford on 5 March.

“Manchester United head coach Sir Alex Ferguson has been fined 10,000 euros for non-fulfilment of the post-

Sudan gives Ghana coach concerns

G

hana coach Kwesi Appiah does not expect a stroll in the park performance against Sudan in Sunday ’s 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier.

The Desert Hawks are all locally-based dominated by players from giants Al Merreikh and Al Hilal.

Coach Mohammed ‘Mazda’ Abdallah’s side earned a famous 0-0 draw at the Baba

Boateng joins FIFA task force on racism A

•Alex Ferguson and Nani match media obligations at the same match.”

Nani was sent off in the 56th minute with United winning 10 and looking as if they were going to win the match.

G

“very, very positive ... and hopefully we will get rid of this illness, racism.”

Blatter meanwhile said he was thrilled that Boateng had accepted his proposal: “I am so happy that we have such a great personality in football.”

“It was like an earthquake when he walked away in the stadium,” Blatter told reporters.

While stressing that Boateng’s stand against racism during a friendly against Italian fourth division

Kevin-Prince Boateng and his AC Milan teammates

Yara Stadium in September 2010 when Appiah was a stopgap coach.

The Black Stars must win to ensure they are on track for third successive World Cup appearance.

Appiah is not getting carried away by his team’s home advantage as he expects a difficult task.

“They have a good team dominated by local players.

The players know themselves and are a difficult side to play against,” Appiah said.

“We will approach the game with all the attention it deserves to get the much desired result,” he added.

The Black Stars are three points adrift Group D

Italy’s safest hands praises Balotelli ianluigi Buffon has nothing but praise for Italy teammate Mario Balotelli’s performance in Thursday’s 2-2 friendly draw against Brazil.

The Azzurri fell two goals behind before the break, but a second-half strike from the 22year-old Balotelli helped them to a share of the spoils, and the goalkeeper was impressed with the his positive attitude

C Milan midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng — hailed for walking off the pitch to protest racist abuse from fans — on Friday agreed to take part in a new FIFA task force on racism.

“I want to be part of this task force. I would like to help,” the former Ghana international told reporters after meeting with FIFA president Sepp Blatter at the federation’s headquarters in Zurich.

The 26-year-old said that looking at the future he was

as well as his fine goal.

“Balotelli was superb. I would also have said that if he hadn’t scored the equalizer,” Buffon told reporters. “The way he sacrificed himself for the team and worked very hard was a great thing to see.

“For me, Balotelli has shown that he deserves the respect of his teammates with this performance. He showed that he has the attitude needed for the national team.”

club Pro Patria in January had been “really a strong sign,” Blatter insisted that players walking off the pitch “can’t be the solution” and that other measures were needed within the sport.

“The solution is that the whole family of football must go against” racism, he said.

The Swiss FIFA chief has called for sports sanctions, including docking teams for points or relegating them if their fans commit racist acts.

Boateng on Thursday likened racism to a virulent disease that blighted the game, during a United Nations anti-discrimination meeting in Geneva.

“The big problem with racism is that there is no vaccine for it. There are no antibiotics that you can simply take. It is like an extremely dangerous and contagious virus. It is emboldened by our indifference and inaction,” he told delegates.

The same day in Zurich, FIFA’s executive committee announced the creation of its new task force on racism, to be headed by Jeffrey Webb, the president of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF).

The task force, whose full makeup has yet to be announced, will hand over its proposals at the FIFA congress on Mauritius at the end of May.

Mourinho to face sanction for awards rants F

IFA has released a copy of Goran Pandev’s voting paper for the 2012 Coach of the Year award, which appears to disprove the Macedonia captain’s backing of Jose Mourinho’s claim of “irregularities” in the vote that saw Vicente Del Bosque win the prize.

Pandev had said his vote for Mourinho was mysteriously changed to favour another candidate, after Mourinho himself told Portuguese TV that a number of voters had told him their ballots had been tampered with.

FIFA said on Thursday the official vote submitted by the Macedonian FA did not tally with Pandev’s claims, and on Friday morning released a copy of the document published on the AS website which appears to back its case.

The official Macedonia vote is apparently signed by Pandev, who played under Mourinho at Inter Milan, and shows that he chose Spain coach Del Bosque, Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini and Borussia

Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp respectively.

FIFA is now also considering taking action over Mourinho’s comments. Guatemalan FA president Bryan Jimenez, a member of FIFA’s Committee for Fair Play and Social Responsibility, told Spanish radio station Onda Cero that measures could be taken to protect FIFA’s image.

“This person is talking about votes being changed,” Jimenez said. “That seems an

•Mourinho

irresponsible act to me. We will evaluate his words, and determine if Mourinho really did make these declarations, how he expressed them. We will see what action we can take to protect FIFA’s image.”

Mourinho sparked the controversy by telling Portuguese TV station RTP that he had stayed away from January’s awards ceremony in Zurich as he was upset at “irregularities” in the voting process.

SUNDAY Vanguard, MARCH 24, 2013 — 55

South-South is a sports beehive, says Ugbe

BY JOHNBOSCO AGBAKWURU

C

Warri 2013:

Nigerian of f icials rue Ghana, Cote’d Ivoire no show

BY BEN EFE

A

thletics Federation of Nigeria officials have registered their displeasure at the decision

by West African neighbors, Cote’d Ivoire and Ghana to shun the African Youth Athletics Championships, which begin on Mar 27 in Warri, Delta State.

The two front-line ECOWAS members are missing from the list of participating nations even as smaller countries like Somalia, Comoros Islands and Seychelles are sending at least two athletes to be part history at the maiden AYAC. Ghana, about eight hours road trip to Nigeria had cited non availability of funds to send their athletes, while Cote’d Ivoire did not advance any reason.

“It is quite a shame that these two important ECOWAS member countries are not here. They are the only ones missing in the ECOWAS bloc.

Togo, Benin, Senegal, Burkina Faso are all here.

“Because of this we might not be sending our athletes to the region two championships in Cote’d Ivoire later in the year,” said Athletics of of Nigeria president, Solomon Ogba.

Egypt and Uganda were among the first set of delegates to arrive, others are being expect-

ed on Monday. 33 countries confirmed their participation in the championships, which the Confederation of Africa Athletics is using to promote

the development of athletics from the grassroots in the the continent, this is with a view of catching up with the rest of the world.

C M Y K

River State, Daobu Harvest Harry commended the Governor Liyel Imoke for his giants stride in sports development and also accepting to host the National Sports Festival.

Harry said that in the next five years, Cross River will be in the front burner as well as a benchmark in the country in sports

Patrick Ugbe

What Keshi’s achievement has taught us — Kargbo *Says hiring of foreign coaches wasteful *Berates Govs’ over lavish reception for Eagles

BY ISAAC OLAMIKAN

F

Bukola Abogunloko former Nigeria junior international

Super Falcons stagnant on FIFA rankings N igeria’s national women’s team have stayed put on 32nd position in the latest FIFA rankings released on Friday March 22, 2013.

The Super Falcons also maintained their number one spot in Africa despite not playing any game this year. Cameroon, Ghana, South Africa and Equatorial Guinea complete the top five on the continent.

ROSS RIVER State Commissioner for Sports and Youths Development, Mr. Patrick Ugbe has described the South-South geo-political zone of the country as the fulcrum in which the nation’s sports revolves.

Ugbe who stated this in Calabar yesterday while declaring open a joint stakeholders meeting for coordinators and state directors in the SouthSouth zone as well as the national Sports Commission in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.

The Commissioner said the south south has remained the factory that produces both sportsmen and women for the nation and as such must be properly organized to

ensure that the status quo is maintained.

He said that sports cannot survive without emphasis on grassroots and that it is at the grassroots level that the young talents are discovered and developed.

Ugbe stressed the need for partnership between stakeholders in the sports sector and the ministry of education so as to properly groom the young talents to become the future hope of the country in sporting activities.

He also advised them on the imperative of conducting a peaceful election as well as strategize effectively with a view to taking the south-south zone higher at the national level Speaking at the occasion, Director of Sports in

USA still lead the way ahead of Germany and Japan, with Brazil, France and Sweden following closely behind in the world.

The only movement in the top ten sees England move up one place to tie with Canada in seventh thanks to their Cyprus Cup win.

Equatorial Guinea, which hosted and won the eighth African women’s championship, was

voted the best women’s team on the continent by the Confederation of African Football last December ahead six time champions Nigeria.

The Super Falcons finished fourth at the 2012 AWC, the team’s poorest record ever in the history of the competition.

The team has been without a coach since the sack of Kadiri Ikhana for their poor performance at the 2012 AWC.

OR winning the Afri ca Nations Cup, the Super Eagles were awash with cash and land gifts by the federal government and some state governments, a development that has not gone down well with some Nigerians.

One of such Nigerians is Barrister Sam Kargbo, an aide to the Kebbi State governor who said the money being lavished on the Eagles could have been put to better use to improve the game and make it less stressful for the fans.

He wondered how many of the governors jostling to reward the Eagles have spent half the sum they have doled out to the players and their officials on the clubs in their states which are battling to survive in the league.

“Look at the FCT (Federal Capital Territory), where can you call a sports ground here in the entire FCT? But the gentleman (FCT Minister) was spending money to congratulate the Super Eagles in the media immediately they won the AFCON. Who is he trying to impress?,” he queried.

On the recurring issue of hiring a foreign coach for the national team, Barrister Kargbo said beyond the belief that they are more exposed, he doesn’t see what foreign coaches have that indigenous coaches can’t offer too.

“Football is not too far away from the ordinary man now unlike how it used to be in the past. In the past, people just

watch football matches for the fun of it.

Now we watch matches and do informed analysis of what is happening on the field of play.

What Keshi’s achievement has taught us is that if we invest in our indigenous coaches giving them the right training, they’ll excel. Keshi has led two other African countries to previous Nations Cup so his wealth of experience in these previous outings played a huge role in his successful outing with the Nigerian team this time around.

He benefited from those previous exposures with Mali and Togo. If not he may not have been as competent as he was at this last tournament.

He understood the politics of the game, he understood what he needed to do to get the boys in top shape for the task.

Definitely, the answer is no to the idea of engaging foreign coaches

for our teams because it is wasteful and also denies our indigenous coaches the opportunity to learn and get the exposure they need to compete at the world stage,” he said. On the inclusion of local players in the Super Eagles squad, Barrister Kargbo stressed that the mix of local and foreign-based players Keshi chose and blended very well had the winning mentality which was more important than skill. “What actually happened was that Keshi chose the right people who had the right frame of mind for the tournament and he won with them. Each of the players had something to prove.

Even the oldest member of the team (Joseph Yobo), who most times was coming in for less than five minutes, had a role to play. Most of the players are young and energetic,” Kargbo affirmed.

Testy Times... Nigeria’s Brown Ideye (left) and Cote’ d Ivoire’s Gervinho contesting for ball possession at the 2013 Nations Cup. Nigeria beat the Ivoriens 2-1 in the semi-finals.

SUNDAY Vanguard, MARCH 24, 2013

2014 World Cup qualifier: Oduamadi rescues Eagles from Kenyan jail

By PATRICK OMORODION, Calabar

H

ARAMBEE Stars of Kenya were three minutes away from causing a major upset in African football, but Nnamdi Oduamadi spared the Super Eagles the embarrassment of losing the 2014 World Cup qualifying match at U.J Esuene Stadium in Calabar.

Nigerian fans who had expected another goal feast were put on the edge of their seats as the minutes ticked away

•Keshi

even as the Eagles missed the few chances they managed to create. But the entire nation had Oduamadi to thank for not missing the last minute opportunity that fell on his path. He zipped in a re-bound on the dot of 90 minutes to bring the game level. There was no celebration as the Eagles players and their coaches seem drained by the encounter.

Frustration had set in after the Eagles failed to find the back of net in the first 15 minutes of the game. This was the result of a resolute defending

by Kenya, they refused the Eagles space to make their ball possession count in the vital area. And during a counter attack move in the 36 th minute, Elderson Echijile was adjudged to have fouled Victor Wayama at the edge of the box. Francis Nyambura gave Nigerians nightmare when he curled home from the edge of the box, Vincent Enyeama had no answer.

At the break the Eagles took the fight to the Kenyans, but they had no clue to unlocking the Harambee defence. Nyam-

•SQUEEZE.... Nigeria’s Victor Moses struggling for ball possession in the World Cup qualifier against Harambee Stars of Kenya yesterday, the game ended 1-1. bura almost made it two for Kenya, after another run. But his shot rolled lazily off mark.

Obafemi Martins who had a subdued match almost got the equalizer, but his header was deflected over the bar and after this he was replaced by Ahmed Musa. Sunday Mba who was also unanimous in the midfield was replaced by Odumadi. Victor Moses made way for John Ogu and these changes brought more verve to the Eagles attack.

for his effort, while goal scorer, Odumadi was also rewarded with 5,000 dollars by Tom Tom. “It was not an easy game. We were confident that we were going to beat them, but this was not to be. We created a lot of chances but we couldn’t put them away,” said Omeruo.

In the other group B qualifier Malawi beat Namibia at home to bring their points haul to five. Nigeria remain on top of the group on goal difference.

AYC: Flying Eagles thrash DR Congo •Pick World Cup ticket

N

IGERIA’S Under-20 team eased into the semi-final of the African Youth Championship and also booked their place in the FIFA World Cup billed for Turkey with a 3-1 thrashing of Gabon in Oran, Algeria yesterday.

The Flying Eagles who are defending champions need to win and the players responded emphatically with Abdul-

CROSS WORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1. Nigeria’s neighbour (8) 4. Nigerian tribe (4) 6. Bird of prey (5) 7. Geometrical shape (8) 8. Shaft (4) 9. Tidy (4) 10. Turncoat (8) 11. One (4) 12. Within (2) 13. Boxes in training (5) 15. Tub (4) 18. Looked at (4) 21. Nigerian state (4) 23. Notion (4) 25. Sports field (5) 27. Above (2) 28. Image (4) 29. Lowers (8) 30. Emblem (4) 31. Hausa boy’s name (4) 32. Dared (8) 34. Barrier (5) 35. Friend (4) 36. Gently (8)

After the match, the Kenyans protested that the Botswana referee John Bondo added additional minutes after regulation time and this enabled the Eagles to equalize. The Harambee Stars players did not remember that during the match the referee had cautioned them for time wasting.

Kenneth Omeruo who emerged the man of the match stated that it was hard match. He got 5,000 dollars

DOWN 1.Bed (3) 2. Enugu soccer team (7) 3. Maiden name (3) 4. Planet (7) 5. Chosen by vote (7) 9. After this (4) 10. Knock (3) 14. Nigerian Grammy Laureate (3) 16. Hatchet (3) 17. Hello (2) 19. Still (3) 20. Mathematical constant (2) 21. Anambra city (7) 22. Cancel (7) 24. Extinct flightless bird (4) 25. Sowed (7) 26. Lettuce (3) 32. Animal doctor (3) 33. Twelve hours (3)

jeleel Ajagun and Aminu Umar scoring to put the team in tow for a second consecutive AYC title.

Ajagun opened scoring from the spot in the 32 minute after Edafe Egbedi was brought down in the box.

Six minutes later Aminu beat the offside trap to make it two for the Flying Eagles. The Congolese from then on struggled to cope with the Nigerian attackers The Flying Eagles were unrelenting in the second half.

With short passes the Flying Eagles confounded the Congolese and in the 47th minute Umar shook off Nekadio Luyindama before lobbing over advancing Congolese keeper for his second.

They got their consolation in 72nd minute, when Mukanisa Pembele hooked a left shot into the top left hand corner

TODAY’S MATCHES

SOLUTION on page 15

Ethiopia v Botswana Equatorial G. v Cape Verde Tanzania v Morocco Lesotho v Zambia Mozambique v Guinea Liberia v Uganda

of the net.

In the other game, Gabon beat Mali 2-0. But the Malians with two wins in the group topped the group on the head to head rule having beaten Nigeria and Congo DR in their previous outing.

The Flying Eagles will face Egypt in the semi-final, while Mali will meet Ghana in the other pairing on Tuesday.

•Ajagun

Results Congo Namibia Cameroon Ivory Coast Senegal

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Gabon Malawi Togo Gambia Angola

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