Boko Haram invades DSS Office, kidnappers attack police

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PDP senators plot takeover of Senate President’s seat

BY HENRY UMORU

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TRONG indications emerged yesterday that senators elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, were plotting to take over the position of the Senate President in the event that embattled Senator Bukola Saraki is forced to vacate the seat.

Sunday Vanguard gathered that, as part of the moves to carry out their plans, PDP senators were holding meetings with some All Progressives Congress, APC, senators sympathetic to Saraki.

The Senate President is facing trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, following a 13-count charge brought against him by the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, bordering on false declaration of assets in 2003.

The APC, which initially had 60 senators, now has 59, following the death of Senator Ahmed Zannah.

PDP has 49 senators. To elect a Senate President, a simple majority is required – whereas to impeach same, a two third majority vote is required.

The Senate resumes on Tuesday.

With 108 senators, a simple majority vote of 55

will decide who would become the new Senate President.

The calculation is that if APC uses the CCT or other means to remove Saraki, the PDP would reach out to the Senate President’s core supporters in APC who sense that they, too, like Saraki, may become endangered. They will then try to get the number to make the balance and go ahead with either Senator David Mark or the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, as the replacement.

One of the PDP senators told Sunday Vanguard , yesterday, that the APC should count itself lucky that PDP did not field one of its own for the position on June 9, 2015, when the Senate was inaugurated, adding, “We are already strategising ahead in case Senate President Bukola Saraki is removed, we are going to support a pro-Saraki Senator for the seat and with that PDP will be in charge of the Senate.”

At inauguration, the 33 senators-elect committed to Senator Ahmed Lawan, the party ’s official candidate, were

THOUGHT FOR TODAY THANK GOD FOR OTHER’S ACHIEVEMENT

By Richard Eromonsele

The normal thing in our clime is to thank God for what He has done for us.No one ever thinks of thanking Him for what He has done for other people.For example,when you see your neighbour who has just bought a new car, how do you feel? Do you join him in thanking God or you envy him?How do you relate with a colleague who has just given birth while you are still waiting on the Lord for the blessing of the fruit of the womb?What is your attitude towards your friend who has just been promoted?Thank God for His numerous blessings upon other people.Appreciate good things.Rejoice with those rejoicing.Celebrate God for other's achievement.When you celebrate God for other's achievement, He will make you to be celebrated too.

still waiting to meet with P r e s i d e n t Muhammadu Buhari at the International Conference Centre, ICC, about two kilometres away from the National A s s e m b l y, when i n a u g u r a t i o n commenced.

Having formed the quorum, Saraki was elected President of the 8th Senate with votes by 57 of 108 senators, while 51 senators, including Lawan, were absent.

Saraki was the only nominee for the position. Ekweremadu of the P D P, interestingly, emerged Deputy Senate President, defeat- ing Senator Ali Ndume of the APC with 54 votes against Ndume’s 20 votes. Both Saraki and Ekweremadu were immediately sworn-in by the Clerk of the Senate, Alhaji Salisu

From left; Chief Whip, House of Representatives, Hon. Alhassan Doguwa; a former Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; Nigerian Permanent Representatives to the UN, Prof. Joy Ogwu; Director General, National Agency for the Control of AIDS, Prof. John Idoko; President Muhammadu Buhari; Executive Director UNFPA, Pro. Babatunde Osotimehin and the Executive Director, UNAIDS, Mr. Michel Sidibe, during a side meeting on the HIV/AIDS at the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly at the UN Headquarters, New York. Photo by Abayomi Adeshida

Maikasuwa.

The APC leadership has consistently expressed its displeasure at the emergence of Saraki.

Senator Pe t e r Nwaboshi, PDP, Delta

North, yesterday vowed that the his party would produce the next Senate President if Senator Bukola Saraki was removed – while at the same time expressing optimism for Saraki’s

continued tenure as Senate

President.

Although he insisted that “there is no such plan to remove Senate President Saraki, but I bet you that if there is anything of such, the PDP will produce the next Senate President; we will get it”.

GUNFIRE IN ANAMBRA, KOGI Boko Haram invades DSS office, kidnappers attack police Continues on page 5 group, were killed in Kogi.

Both incidents happened on Friday night.

Seven suspects arrested in connection with the Anambra shootout were paraded by the police, yesterday.

The incident occurred at Obosi in Idemili South Local Government Area where the police and kidnappers exchanged gunfire.

While parading the arrested suspects, yesterday, Anambra State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ali Okechukwu, said an L-300 Mitsubishi bus, one rifle, 15 rounds of ammunition, 85 rounds of live cartridges and 750 AK-47 ammunition were recovered.

Okechukwu said the suspects were linked to the kidnapping of an expatriate, who worked for Pastor Chris Oyakhilome of the Christ Embassy Church in Kano, and came to Anambra State to pick their ransom.

The police, the PRO said, had trailed the gang for a long time, adding that, when the suspects noticed that the police were on their trail, they fired from their L300 bus at Obosi and the police had to return fire.

He identified one of the dead suspects as Okechukwu Ilu while the

identities of the two others were unknown.

The Kogi incident, which allegedly claimed the lives of a Mobile Policeman and three attackers, was said to have been launched around 10 pm, on Friday, when the gunmen, believed to be members of Boko Haram, stormed the headquarters of the Department of State Services (DSS) in Lokoja, the state capital.

Seven persons were injured.

On arrival, the heavily armed invaders attacked security agents around with IEDs and AK47 rifles, among other dangerous weapons, in order to gain access into the headquarters.

A DSS top official immediately put a distress call to nearby police and army units which deployed truck loads of officers and men and arrived about 40 minutes later but could not gain access to the area as the attackers had deflated the tyres of a truck used in blocking the road at the Zone 8 Junction leading to the DSS office.

Sunday Vanguard learnt that the police and army teams engaged the attackers for three hours before the suspected Boko Haram insurgents were subdued after which some of the suspects fled into the bush while three lay dead. A police officer was also killed.

Kogi State Police Public

Relations Officer, Williams Aya, who confirmed the incident, said, “It was criminal elements that invaded the DSS office around 9:45 pm on Friday, but prompt response of the police led to the death of three of the attackers but, at the end, the command lost a policeman.”

Aya said the command was investigating the attack, noting that he could not confirm whether the attackers gained access to the DSS office. “We are still investigating and cannot say much until we are able to lay our hands on the suspects. We are working with other security agents in the state to ensure that we get to the root cause of he attack”, he said.

WHO removes Nigeria from polioleading the commitment and efforts endemic list partnership effort to eradicate polio, that got Nigeria off the

BY FUNMI AJUMOBI reporting from UN headquarters, New York

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he World Health Organization ( W H O ) announced, yesterday, that polio is no longer endemic in Nigeria. This is the first time Nigeria has interrupted the transmission of wild poliovirus, bringing the country and the African region closer to being certified polio-free. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), the public-private

called this a ‘historic achievement’ in global health.

According to this report, announced at a meeting of GPEI in New York, Nigeria has not reported a case of wild poliovirus since 24 July 2014, and all laboratory data confirmed 12 months had passed without any new cases despite the fact that, in 2012, Nigeria accounted for more than half of all polio cases worldwide.

Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General, WHO, said the outstanding

endemic list must continue, to keep Africa polio-free and asked that all must now support the efforts in Pakistan and Afghanistan so they soon join the polio-free world.

Dr Ado Muhammad, Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Nigeria, said Nigerians were proud because, with local innovation and national persistence, polio had been beaten and affirmed that vigilance and efforts will continue in order to keep Nigeria polio-free.

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BOKO HARAM: Pardon for colonels, majors, others stalled their uniforms, and serBy Kingsley Omonobi, Abuja

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GAINST the back drop of the pardon granted 3, 032 soldiers by the Chief of the Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai, following the recommendations of the review panel set up by the Army High Command, Sunday Vanguard has learnt that colonels, majors and several other commissioned officers, sentenced alongside the soldiers, were left out because only the Army Council, headed by President Muhammadu Buhari, can pardon them.

Besides, several other soldiers were said to have been left out because they

were involved in criminal cases categorized by the authorities as stealing, selling of information to Boko Haram, which resulted in the death of their colleagues through ambushes, fraudulent practices, and professional misconduct.

These disclosures were made by military sources following Sunday Vanguard’s investigations into why over 2, 000 officers and soldiers, whose cases were also considered, failed to benefit from the Major General Adeniyi Oyebade review panel.

It was further learnt that many of those who were denied pardon included soldiers who abandoned

vice rifles unprofessionally, to the extent that when Boko Haram insurgents carried out surprise attacks on military bases, these weapons easily became handy for their use.

“There is a group of soldiers that also absconded even before fighting started in some instances.

These situation caused confusion for some commanders. Investigations later showed that such soldiers or officers simply came into the military because they were job seekers who didn’t appreciate what it meant to join the army. They were not ready to sacrifice and defend the territorial integrity of their nation”, a senior officer said.

Alleged moves to hijack independence service averted

By Sam Eyoboka

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FTER initial dis agreement over the choice of guest speaker and the topic of sermon, perceived to be attempts by government to hijack the yearly spiritual exercise, the traditional pre-independence inter-denominational service at the National Christian Centre, Abuja,

will now hold as scheduled.

Sunday Vanguard can reveal that after heated argument over perceived imposition of a guest speaker and topic of sermon, government delegation to the joint planning committee, headed by the Permanent Secretary, Political Affairs in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mrs. Ibukun

Odusote, accepted Christian Association of Nigeria’s standing policy to appoint speaker for the service.

In an interview with our correspondent, CAN General Secretary and member of the planning committee, Rev. Musa Asake, denied knowledge of any dispute over the choice of speaker, stating that it’s customary for the umbrella body of

*L-R: Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State, greeting the Independent National Electoral Commission counsel, Onyechi Ikpeazu, at the conclusion of the state’s Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abakaliki, yesterday.With them are Deputy Governor Kelechi Igwe; and the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Francis Nwifuru . christianity in the country to appoint the speaker of the day.

Feelers reaching Sunday Vanguard indicated that tempers rose when the Federal Government delegation came up with a decision that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had already chosen a guest preacher for the event and had also gone ahead to choose a theme for the preacher.

This angered some members of the Christian community who, perceiving an attempt by government to hijack a standard practice, immediately protested, saying government position was not the way to go about it “because CAN is not a parastatal of government.”

INSURGENCY: Why Buhari missed UN session — Presidency

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ONTRARY to the impression that the Nigerian delegation to the 70th Session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly missed a meeting on help for displaced persons, the Presidency, yesterday, said President Muhammadu Buhari and his administration remain fully committed to the rehabilitation and well-

being of all persons who have been displaced or adversely affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.

“Indeed, the war against terrorism improved security across Nigeria and additional measures to give succour to internally displaced persons have been central to discussions President Buhari has had with other world leaders

since his arrival in New York on Thursday night,” the statement said.

“The meeting at which Nigeria was reportedly absent was not one the official events of the United Nations for which President Muhammadu Buhari and his modest delegation are in New York.

“While the meeting referred to in media reports

BAYELSA: Sylva on APC governorship primary

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HE Timipre Sylva Campaign for the Bayelsa State 2015 gubernatorial election has described as completely untrue, reports that the result of the All Progressives Congress (APC)

governorship primary, held last Tuesday, had been canceled or rescheduled.

In a statement, the campaign maintained that the primary, which was won by Chief Timipre Sylva, was conducted in accordance with

Ayade charges Cross River people on service to humanity

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OVERNOR Ben Ayade has urged the people of Cross River State to take service to the needy as there is nothing more rewarding before God. The governor, who gave the charge when he received the Cross River Indigenes Health Mission from United Kingdom to the state, led by Mrs. Imelda Duke, on a courtesy call in his office in Calabar, averred that selfless service for the poor and vulnerable is what the privileged ones owe the society.

While thanking the team for aligning their mission with the philosophy of his administration, which makes the poor and the needed its primary focus, Ayade

said:“Youroutreachistimelyand I cannot reward you enough, wordsofmankindcannotreward you. I appreciate what you are doing and God will bless you again and again.’’

the party’s rules and guidelines set by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and, as such, the party has no basis to cancel its outcome.

The statement, signed on behalf of the campaign by Mr. Doifie Buokoribo, said: “We want to state categorically that since the primary election was conducted according to the rules and duly won by Sylva, he remains the candidate of the APC in Bayelsa State and any statement to the contrary is mere rumour”.

Ijaw mourn Mama Awolowo

By Tony Nwankwo

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HE Ijaw Monitoring Group has described the death of the Matriarch of the Awolowo Family, Chief (Mrs) HID Awolowo as irreparable loss to Nigeria. In a statement

by Comrade Joseph Evah, the Ijaw said, Mama Awolowo Motherhood extends beyond the Yoruba nation. “The history of the advancement of

education in Niger Delta is not complete without the name of Chief Obafemi Awolowo and wife. Today Awolowo Free education without borders has produced over 10,000 professionals from all works of life from our region. The entire Niger Delta appreciates Mama Awolowo as the Symbol of Good Motherhood”.

is commendable, it was not the only one or the most important of such meetings in New York that are paying attention to the problem of insecurity, migration and violent extremism in the Lake Chad area and the rest of the world.

“Nigeria was represented earlier today at an important side event devoted to the North-East called by the UN Population Fund, UNFPA on “Building Stability and Resilience in Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin Countries.”

“President Buhari fully conscious of his responsibility to Nigeria and will accept nothing short of the best for Nigerians in the meetings taking place in and around the United Nations”.

National security: Navy sues for synergy in armed forces

By Simon Adewale

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HE new Flag O f f i c e r Commanding (FOC), Naval Logistics Command, Oghara, Delta State, Rear Admiral Emmanuel Gomiriwu Ofik, has sued for improved synergy among the armed forces of the country with a view to stamping out insurgency and criminality in the country.

Ofik, who made the call when he received the mantle of leadership of the command from the former FOC, Rear Admiral Obiekwe Patrick Ozojiofor, said, “My movement to the command was one of the several fall outs from the appointment by President

Three dead as boat capsizes in Ikorodu

By Bose Adelaja

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HREE persons were feared dead while three others were hospitalized, yesterday, in Bayeku area of Ikorodu in a boat mishap involving 21 passengers.

The dead were said to be three females between the ages of 24 and 26 while three survivors were hospitalized at two different private hospitals within the area.

Delta Speaker speaks on unity

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EPUTY Speaker, Delta House of Assembly, Rt Hon. Friday Ossai Osanebi, has said the good plans the governor, Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, has for the Ndokwa people can only come to pass if the people are united as one.

Osanebi is the highest political office holder from Ndokwa. He led a team of political office holders from Ndokwa nation to kick start a consultation and familiarization tour of traditional and community leaders in the area .

Addressing the Ukwuani Traditional Rulers Council

Muhammadu Buhari, of Vice Amiral Ibok Ete Ekwe as the new Chief of the Naval Staff.” The President is apparently determined to stamp out insurgency, criminality and corruption in the country. I therefore enjoin the armed forces to work hand-in-hand as one of the ways to keep this country together as one united and peaceful country.”

Those who joined the outgoing FOC to welcome Ofik include a former Delta State Commissioner for Transport, Ben Ibakpa; the Chief Medical Director of Delta State University Teaching Hospital, Oghara, Dr. Leslie Akporaye, and officers and men of the command.

and the people at the Palace of His Royal Highness, Comr. Evang.

R. C Osanwuta, Ezhie 1 of E z i o n u m Kingdom,Osanebi said they have all resolved to work together with a view to making sure that developmental projects are sited in the area.

His Royal Majesty, Isaac Obi, the Oduasa 1 of Utagba-Ogbe Kingdom, responded that he’s confident of the leadership of governor Okowa and Rt. Hon. Osanebi, because they have been working and doing well before now.

The news of the mishap filtered into a prayer session organized in front of the Baale of Bayeku’s palace and this led to an abrupt end of the session as residents trooped enmasse to the river bank.

The incident occurred barely five minutes after the boat left Oke-Ira jetty for Bayeku after its propeller got stuck under the water leading to the mishap which occurred at about 12.40pm.

There were conflicting accounts on the cause of the incident as some people attributed it to over speeding while others claimed it was as a result of fishing nets which hooked the engine propeller.

Eye witnesses’ account said prompt arrival of local divers and sympathizers prevented more deaths.

When Sunday Vanguard arrived the scene, some survivors had been taken to hospital while others were seen thanking God for saving them.

However, three of them, who pleaded anonymity, claimed the boat was not in good condition at the time of the incident.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015, PAGE 7

The management of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, yesterday, paid a condolence visit to the family of Chief (Mrs) HID Awolowo in Ikene. From left: Prof Bamitale Omole, Vice Chancellor, Ambassador Tokunboh AwolowoDosumu, Mrs Tola Oyediran and her husband Prof. A B O Oyediran during the visit.

From left: General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Hon. Yakubu Dati; Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong and AVM Lazarus Mshelia of Minna Airforce Base, at Lamingo Golf Tournament Course, Jos to mark Lalong's 100 days in office.

Soyinka celebrates HID Awolowo’s ‘ memorable existence’ •Pat Utomi, Onagoruwa, Omole, Bishop Fape pay tributes

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

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arely a week after the demise of Chief (Mrs.) HID Awolowo, Ikenne, her home town, continues to wear gloomy look.

Dignitaries, who trooped to the home of the Awolowos, have, however, decreased as fewer sympathisers were recorded seven days after.

HID passed on penultimate Saturday, 67 days to her 100th birthday and shortly after she presided over a family meeting.

Among the early callers at the Awolowo home, yesterday, were Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka; Vice-Chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo, Ile-Ife, Professor Bamitale Omole; and a former presidential aspirant, Professor Pat Utomi.

Soyinka visited the Awolowos around 8:50am.

The Nobel Laureate, who was received by two of the deceased’s

surviving children, Reverend (Mrs) Omotola Oyediran and Dr. Olatokunbo AwolowoDosunmu, wrote in the condolence register that mama lived an enviable life.

“An enviable life! A memorable existence,” he wrote.

Omole, also writing in the register, noted that the passage of Mama Awolowo was an end to glorious years of a woman she described as a “great national leader.”

Utomi, in his tribute, said the deceased sacrificed her life for the service of others.

Also, a former Attorney General and Minister of Justice under the military regime of General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, Dr. Olukoya Onagoruwa, eulogised mama as a great woman.

Onagoruwa, in his condolence message, said, “It was Papa Awolowo himself who stated that he owed his

success of life to three things: God, a spartan and disciplined life and my wife. There is no doubt mama was a great woman.”

A former Minister of Police Affairs,Alhaji Abdul-Jelili Adesiyan, likened mama to Khadijat, one of the wives of Prophet Muhammed.

Bishop of Remo Diocese

(Anglican Communion), the Right Reverend Olusina Fape, said HID lived a fulfilled and rewarding life.

Fape, who led priests in the diocese to the Awolowos home, maintained that God granted mama’s request of not witnessing any tribulations or trials before her death, noting that HID’s position in the diocese would be difficult to fill, considering her

generosity and wise counsel.

In their condolence message, signed by the Secretary, the Yooba Omo Oodua Forum described mama as “a centenarian staunch Christian, matriarch and co-founder of the prestigious Awolowo dynasty”.

A former Executive Director, Publication of African Newspapers of Nigeria, Mr Folu Olamiti, said HID mentored him.

Olamiji, who currently works with the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), wrote, in his tribute, “You came, saw and conquered. You mentored me to what I am today. I will eternally be grateful for the love and care you showered on me.

Mama sun re o.

Definitely, you are now in the bossom of our Lord.

May your soul rest in peace.”

Osinbajo tasks politicians on selfless service

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ice President Yemi Osinbajo hasurged Nigerian

politicians to be selfless in their service to the nation.

He gave this advice at a reception in honour of the

National Legal Adviser of the All Progressives Congress, APC,at the Oceanview Restaurant of Eko Hotels, Lagos, yesterday. Banire was last Monday decorated

SAUDI TRAGEDY Appeal Court loses two justices BY IKECHUKWU NNOCHIRI

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he Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice M a h m u d Mohammed, yesterday, disclosed that two Court of Appeal Justices were among those who died during the stampede that killed over 700 persons at Mina, Saudi Arabia on Thursday.

In a statement, yesterday, the CJN, gave the names of the deceased Abdulkadir Jega, the Presiding Judge of the Abuja Division of the appellate court, and Justice Musa Hassan Alkali of the Ilorin Division .

Justice Mohammed, in a condolence message to the bereaved families, the Court of Appeal, the judiciary and the Federal Republic of Nigeria, said it was with a deep sense of shock but with gratitude to Allah that he learnt of the death of the two justices.

He said their death was not only a huge loss to the judiciary but also to the

country, stressing that the deceased had contributed immensely to the development of the jurisprudence in Nigeria.

The statement, signed by the CJN media aide, Mr. Ahuraka Isah, further read: “The CJN, Justice Mohammed on behalf of the entire Judiciary in the country prayed the Almighty Allah to grant the soul of departed Justices eternal rest and their families the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

“Justice Mohammed expressed his personal condolences to the immediate family and relations as well as friends and associates of the highly respected jurists who will be greatly missed by the entire judiciary.“His Lordship urges members of the deceased families to be comforted by the knowledge that the departed jurists served their country with commitment, dedication and honesty.“The CJN prays that Almighty Allah will receive their soul and grant them aljanah”.

along with others as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN. While describing Banire as a selfless politician, an embodiment of good qualities, VP Osinbajo said “he was a serious minded student, consummate intellectual, a politician and a great scholar who deserves this great honour”.

In his own remarks at the occasion, Banire expressed his appreciation to the who dignitarie s

attended the event for their goodwill messages. “ This will surely spur me to do more in my profession, my country and humanity,” he stated.”

Fajembola speaks on interior design

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nterior designer, Gail Fajembola, has announced the launch,today, of her new showroom,Cynosure, in Victoria Island,Lagos, with the main focus of providing a vast array of one-of-a-kind pieces, along with world class interior design services,to homes,offices and hotels.

“It has always been my dream to have a showroom that speaks for itslf one that seamlessly combines unique designs with exquisite bespoke furniture. The amazing synergy within

our fabulous team has brought together all facets of my vision, and embodies our collective passion for innovative design”, Fajembola said.

Unveiled as the official licenced dealer of Christopher Guy,the international furniture brand, Cynosure is also home to other renowned brands,including French design,Emmanuel Ungaro Home and Eichholtz from the Netherlands. Fajembola said Cynosure will focus on meeting the requirement and specification of its clients.

Edo deputy governor loses mum BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

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HE deputy governor of Edo State, Dr Pius Odubu, on Wednesday, lost his mother, Madam Imuegbeyi Odubu.

According to a statement signed by Chief Press Secretary to the deputy governor, Kelly Odaro, Madam Odubu died at the age of 80. The funeral rites, according to the statement, would be announced soon.

PAGE 8—SUNDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015

rexmarinus@hotmail.com

FULANI HERDSMEN?

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do not know, even now, how to exactly react to last week’s abduction of Mr. Olu Falae, former Presidential Candidate of the AD in 1999, and even before that, former Secretary to the Federal Government of Nigeria, and his reported rescue by the Nigerian Police. Two important details in that narrative stand out as both contradictory and disturbing: one is the fact, not yet contradicted, that he was kidnapped by armed “Fulani Herdsmen,” and the second is that he was rescued by the police, after four days of forced march from his farm in Ilado, Akure to Owo, all in Ondo State, in which he “trekked” with the herdsmen.

This story feels disturbing for two reasons: first, it continues to demonstrate the profound incompetence of the Nigerian Police and Security Services, and all the agencies charged with Nigeria’s Internal or Homeland security. It highlights the continued vulnerability of Nigerians for whom personal security remains uncertain and contingent on extremely outmoded operative procedures by a disorganized,

badly staffed, and badly equipped and oriented National Police Service.

The news reporters were unable in fact to establish clearly in their reports, “how” Falae was retrieved from his abductors. I should say of the Vanguard report that, it was tantalizing and empty. “How Falae Was Freed,” went the rider, but nothing much else was given, only bits of how Mr. Falae was “escorted back home by security operatives” and that the escort party was apparently led by the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, and that the escort party rode into Akure in two marked Police SUVs. The detail of the kinds of vehicles that escorted Falae home from his abductors seems irrelevant compared to the circumstances around his rescue, which were not reported. The fact that the Inspector General of Police escorted Falae home is irrelevant, unless he himself directly mounted the rescue effort; a fact which is unfortunately obscured by the report, and whose import should have given another dimension to the Falae kidnap story.

With an over bureaucratized

Alternatives to Avoid

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his week, we are addressing some of the options available to couples waiting on the Lord for children with special focus on those options Christians must shun as we refer to men and women of God who have spoken on this topic.

As recorded in the Holy Bible, Abraham and Sarah waited on the Lord until they lost hope. Physically, they had become so old that they knew that it was impossible to have children. Then Sarah made a suggestion as recorded in Genesis 16 vs 2,” And Sarai said unto Abram ( note the names they bore at this time), ‘ Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee , go in unto my maid (Hagai); it may be that I may obtain children by her’. And Abram harkened unto the voice of Sarai”.

This was the beginning of problems in that home.

Though we would say in this modern age, it is unlikely that any woman would offer her husband Sarai’s suggestion.

That piece of advice was the beginning of problems for Sarai herself.

It was the beginning of an emotional and physical distance between the couple.

If that is considered a bad advice, the other part of the piece of advice was worse.

Justifying her suggestion, she said, “That I may obtain children by her”. Of course, this isn’t physically possible.

Hagai’s children belonged to her and Abram and were not in any way Sarai’s.

Why are we making reference to this? We are doing so, so that men who are under any form of pressure from inquisitive relations would refuse to be drawn into a generational conflict that may start from the home as a result of ungodly advice.

Perhaps by the time Sarai gave this advice, she had lost faith in the promise of God recorded in Genesis 1 (28): “ And God blessed them and God said unto them, ‘ Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth and subdue it ; and have dominion over the fish of the sea , and over the fowl of the air, and over every thing that moveth upon the earth’”.

The road to a joyful home - Faith, in my view, is the most crucial. Whatever we may be trusting God for, our faith is crucial, but it must go with prayer, fasting and worship of the Lord.

God has also used human beings to introduce IVF as a method of procreating.

police, it seems fairly clear that what persists in the mindset of those who currently provide governance to police affairs in Nigeria is mere symbolism rather than strategic and operational dexterity. Police operational reports ought normally to be public record in a civil society, and Nigerians have not been given the benefit of the truth about Falae’s kidnap and rescue. Again, let me be upfront here and say that I write all these without the benefit of the details of that operation. But it would seem to me that what should be of greater import or significance to Nigerians would be an unraveling of the fact of who these armed Fulani Cattle herds are? What motivated their kidnapping of Mr. Falae? Were they paid Ransom? How much Ransom did they collect before releasing the septuagenarian former Public servant? Are there any arrests made? Is the case still open, and if it is, what efforts and strategies are currently in place, and underway to arrest these so-called Fulani Cattle men who now dabble into the business of kidnapping, and for what reason? In fact, are these really Fulani Cattle herds? Or are we dealing with something far more serious, and far more lethal in its implication?

How is it that an entire police command could not isolate, and determine the path followed by “ordinary” cattle herdsmen who had kidnapped a man like Falae who is by no means difficult to identify? Mr. Falae says he was made to trek along these men, and one must therefore presume that the walk took Adoption, if done legally, is another way of making a joyful home.

Pastor J.T. Kalejaiye, in a sermon titled, “ God of Possibility”, delivered at Harken Unto Me O Lord ( HUMOL), Magodo, spoke extensively on the God of possibility.

He said: “ Probability and impossibility ” are words that do not exist in the dictionary of the Almighty God. Do you agree? If you don’t, take a look at Luke 1 (37): “ For, with God, nothing shall be impossible”. If we believe and hold on to these words, then we are sure of a miracle.

Options to avoid Nowadays, it is not uncommon to see couples experiencing delays in having children. This is not traceable to physical issues alone but also to spiritual attacks usually from fellow human beings.

Consequently, some people, out of desperation, have resorted to ungodly options.

Such options include buying of babies from socalled baby factories. This is not only illegal, it is ungodly.

Pastor (Mrs.) Folu Adeboye, while addressing women in one of the programmes of the Redeemed Christian Church of God ( RCCG), warned that it is not right to purchase babies and then go on the altar of God to give testimony.

It is equally not acceptable to collude with medical personnel to steal another person’s baby and claim it as yours.

Another option, which men tend to take, is to yield

the kidnapers first through Akure, and all the way to Owo, and that in four days, there were no trained police trackers; no track-dogs; no helicopters, no information gathering protocols that should have led to an earlier rescue.

That it took police four days to recover Mr. Falae is an

One day, the key political and business elite, especially in the South, may wake up and discover only too late, that the “Maiguards” at their gates selling cigarettes and listening to the BBC, are much more than they bargained for indictment on the Ondo police Command, and the Department of State Services.

That no apparent arrests have so far been made is also quite profoundly disturbing because it does seem to me that those who took Olu Falae were no ordinary Fulani Cattle herdsmen.

From the description of the invasion of his Ilado Farms, what took place was a very sophisticated military operation: fast, detailed, and professional. The twenty men, masquerading as Fulani Herdsmen, were clearly professionally trained. And so, if they are professionally to pressure from relations and go on to have children from women they are not married to.

Initially, this may give the man some relief, but what about the burden of betrayal and the consequence of it?

How sure is the man that the child is his? Some women are known to have trapped men with pregnancies that, in most cases, the men are not responsible for.

As usual, I will share an experience of a Christian couple that were married without children for some

When God wipes out delays, the one who was known without children will be called mother of twins.

So shall it be in Jesus name.

Remember, God never fails

time.

Both were very active in the Church but, unknown to the wife, the man went into a relationship with a lady who also claimed to be a worker in another Church. Are you surprised? Wait until you read the full story.

Anyway, they (the man and the other lady) had three children. One day, the news was broken to madam who

trained, who are these men?

What was their intention?

Certainly, it ought to be clear to any discerning observer that pastoral Fulani do not go about with the kind of sophisticated weaponry that has been described in the invasion of Falae’s farm, where his own workers and security people were very easily overpowered.

It seems almost clear to me that Boko Haram/ Islamic State has entered into the Yoruba heartland, and circulating vigorously southwards. Because we are almost always not visually trained, Nigerians have very limited scope for describing people.

They lump types together, so that anybody who looks approximately Fulani is immediately called, “Fulani Herdsmen.” I do not think that anybody saw these socalled “Fulani” with herds of cattle. They may as well be Arabs; they may be, as I suspect, guerrilla groups that may have quietly infiltrated Nigeria right under the noses of Nigeria’s National Police and State Security Services.

We have generally allowed the kind of open border crossings for these Fulani pastoralists, Nigerian security men have hardly paid attention to the ways by which they could be the means for smuggling trained soldiers and ISIS guerillas intent on doing harm to Nigeria’s corporate interests.

I am drawn to this conclusion by the pattern of unfolding events: various reports of “Fulani cattlemen” killing people

and fighting with sophisticated arms in various parts of the South and Middle belt of Nigeria is now so rife that it demands more serious scrutiny. No arrests are ever made.

It seems that these “Fulani herdsmen” live in the shadows, and mingle very easily with the elements. The latest abduction of Falae and the sophistication of the operation convinces me that we are not in fact dealing with ordinary Fulani pastoralists, we are dealing with highly trained soldiers and guerillas masking as herdsmen. We may be faced with a danger greater than our current imagination: we may have already among us sleeping cells of well-armed, welltrained, and subversives forces; masked insurgents waiting to be activated – operating currently as herdsmen. Their target: conquest.

As Olu Falae just discovered, perhaps one day, the key political and business elite, especially in the South, may wake up and discover only too late, that the “Maiguards” at their gates selling cigarettes and listening to the BBC, are much more than they bargained for. Why? Because there is hardly a sense of the complexity and urgency of the situation. These are no Fulani Cattle herdsmen. These are guerillas; and they are the auguries that may make the rain that will drench us all, if we do not arrest this phenomenon immediately.

The Nigerian security services are either too broken or too incompetent to act. And as I see it, Olu Falae’s kidnap is a test shot.

insisted on meeting the lady and the three children.

They met but the lady was, to say the least, unfriendly.

This meeting was the beginning of emotional distance between the wife and the husband. He stopped eating at home and having anything to do with the wife.

Things got so bad that the man threatened to sell their residence in a Government Reservation Area in Lagos.

Madam went to court but later withdrew the case.

With the gap getting wider by the day, the couple were hardly on speaking terms. The man also stopped sleeping at home.

Unknown to the wife, her husband had been diagnosed with cancer.

The man’s relations and the other woman united against madam. They began to move him from one hospital to the other; eventually, he died.

Of course by the time he died, he had sold the house.

For fear of losing the money to his wife, he kept it in the bank accounts of the relations. The other woman also had no access to the money.

The beneficiaries were the relations.

The situation will soon change - Pastor Kalejaiye, in the sermon I mentioned earlier, made reference to the awesome power of God. His words, “ Those who are intimate with God cannot be intimidated by man”.

We should always bear in mind that it is only God that gives children. Psalm 127 vs 3 states:” Lo, children are a heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of womb is his reward”.

Pastor Kalejaiye added:” Those who carry God’s grace can never be disgraced”.

We are not in a position to pass judgment but, in all our actions, we should remember that God is the only impartial judge.

There are several women coping with brazen betrayal of marriage vows.

Are you going through this? Keep your faith high.

Hold on to God and refuse to be distracted. Your miracle is on the way.

Don’t give up, remember that only God can change situations.

Make sure that, as a woman, you don’t take steps that could create a distance between you and your husband.

Always do things to make him happy. Don’t ever assume it is only you that is bothered by the delay. Men are disturbed too.

Whereas, women are quick to express feelings, men have the capacity to absorb.

Unspeakable joy on the way- As you hold on to God and take the right physical steps, God will surely turn the situation around.

I end this edition with this prayer point by Pastor Samson Ajetunmobi: “ Father, give me the speed to redeem all my years of delay.

“Give me supernatural speed to wipe out all my years of delay”.

When God wipes out delays, the one who was known without children will be called mother of twins.

So shall it be in Jesus name. Remember, God never fails.

SUNDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015, Page 9 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

DIASPORA MATTERS

On Obituary, and the Nigeria Blues (1)

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he last three weeks have proved critical times in my life. It was a period of mixed feelings as I went through the process of making a reality the top most wish of every responsible child in this world. And by extension, the dream of every parent.

The prayer of every man or woman is to give his or her parents deserving and colouful send off when the final curtain is drawn for them.

It was indeed a great honour for me and my siblings to bury our departed father three Saturdays ago.

There was no doubt that we were lucky to have been been fathered by this great and loving man - Chief John Alabi. A perfect gentleman who was incomparable to any other father. A great educationist who imparted so much in the lives of many people he came across in his career as a teacher. He was a worthy example of a patriotic citizen, who served his country not for personal gains or riches but with a mission to leave behind a good name for future generations.

How heart warming it was to read the tributes of illustrious people who had at one time or the other interacted with our father.

They were all in praise of him as an easy going, down to earth and very loving individual who was ever open in his dealings. I am proud to say that the riches of this world did not appeal to him in any form.

Infact in his private chats with us, the biological children, he marvelled at the selfish nature of some human beings who accumulate so much wealth while their neighbours struggle to feed.

In his simplicity, we realised we had enormous responsibilities on our hands to cater for the diverse crowd that would witness the burial ceremony of this great man. We knew he was a man with a large heart, who dined with the masses and also felt so relaxed in the company of kings and the royals. We also realised that by his works and love for fellow human beings, his funeral would not be an ordinary event in the calendar.

To make life easier for me, a few days to the ceremonies, I "took flight" from all the daily news of terrorism, migrants, economic recessions, corruption and many others. I effectively "tuned" myself out to concentrate on the only important thing that mattered. Sometimes, and if not most times, the news of war, famine, failures, murders etc far and near can bring depression to a "light headed" fellow.

Writing an obituary for one's father, I realised, was indeed a very tasking job.

After many attempts I man-

aged to write one in which I condemned death for snatching the "young man" from us a few days to his eighty fifth birthday in April. To be honest, until his final breath I never in any form entertained the thought that my father "could die." Do not get me wrongly, as I am fully aware that every man is appointed to die. But when you have a mentally active father with an intellectually sound mind the thoughts of death would be the last on your mind.

The planning for the funeral ceremonies started very early with logistics on how to get myself on ground in Nigeria. This part happen to be the most strenuous of all the preparations. You will understand my plight if you are

As I moved closer to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos my excitement knew no bounds.

Many times I prayed that my high expectation about "change" would not be dashed

a "seasonal" visitor to Nigeria in the last one and a half decades.

My last visit was in 2012 when I spent over four months trying to understand my country of birth.

It was indeed an "eye opener" visit for me as I was able to observe first hand why the country would only be the "giant" of Africa on paper and not in reality.

In the run up to the recent visit I was "effectively" warned by friends and relations that much has changed during the three years. Despite my protestations that I am "on top" of events in Nigeria, the advice and suggestions that were offered were legendary.

To convince them that I am at home anytime in Nigeria, being a born and bred "Naija boy" I related some of my escapades during the 2012 visit. I told some of them how refreshing it was to jump on "okada" (commercial motorcycle) to take me anywhere I needed to visit. Getting to Ikeja, particularly, through the Alausa secretariat axis on a cool nice day was always a trip I enjoyed. I loved commandeering a

tricycle, popularly known as "Keke Marwa" to take me around Ikeja. The freedom, coupled with the hot breezy air blowing on all sides and with heavy "Fuji" music blaring from the speakers as controlled by the DJ/Driver was something from the dream land.

I could not hide my disappointment when I was informed that these means of transport had since been given "restraining order" from operating in designated areas in most states of the federation. I was schooled by a friend, who disclosed that these "kekes" were banned in Lagos because it was alleged they could be used for terrorism.

One area that I got the most advice and suggestions in preparation for this visit was security. In Nigeria, unlike what is obtained in civilised countries, security is a personal responsibility of citizens. Here, the government and the security agencies only support the citizens when they feel like.

As much as I tried to wave all the security alarms off, my friends advised it would not be a bad idea to get the "services" of a "friendly uniformed policeman" who can scare the bad people off. "You must be joking," I said.

No, they were not. They reminded me of the Nigerian/American musician Jidenna who claimed he had to attend his father's funeral ceremonies in Nigeria with "loads of machine guns and AK47s". I laughed at the reminder of the "ridiculous sensationalism" by Jidenna. Some Nigerians!

When the issue of ammunition did not "wash" with me, my friends reminded me that kidnapping is no longer the "misfortune" of white men in Nigeria. As if I did not know, they told me that "ordinary" Nigerians are now kidnapped anywhere, even in remote villages in broad daylight and heavy ransoms demanded for their release.

These were not "scare tactics," but genuine concern for my safety.

Travelling back home is something I always look forward to whenever the opportunity arose. However, on this occasion, apart from the funeral ceremonies, i was eager to have a feel of the country under a new administration. I was excited to feel and see the publicised change that the Buhari administration has been credited with. I was told that the new government's intention to sanitise the polity is not in doubt, but the scepticism of ordinary Nigerians might have negative effect on this noble drive.

As I moved closer to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos my excitement knew no bounds. Many times I prayed that my high expectation about "change" would not be dashed.

To be continued.

SOS to Gov Okowa on UmutuIsumpe-Nsukwa junction road Dear Sir,

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he people of Ulog we Isumpe, Utagba Uno in Ndokwa West Local Government Area want to use this medium to commend our action governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa and his deputy, Barrister Kingsley Otuaro, for the tangible progress they have recorded within the few months of being at the saddle of governance.

We believe in the success of Okowa’s SMART agenda of wealth creation which Deltans have started benefitting from already irrespective of party affiliation, connection or status.

However, we want to draw the attention of the state government to the deplorable state of the roads in Utagba Uno communities and total darkness we have been suffering for more than six months. Since the communities were connected to the national grid we have not enjoyed up to two hours of electricity in a month but were made to pay exorbitant bills despite being left in the lurch of darkness.

With the administration settling down to provide dividends of democracy to Deltans , we are calling on the Okowa-led government to urgently address the issue of bad roads from

Umutu Junction in Ukwuani Local Government through NdemiliIsumpe to Nsukwa Junction and the one from Ekuku Agbor to Umutu.

The people of the area are predominantly farmers and presently suffering untold hardship trying to transport their produce out of those communities to sell at the nearby markets.

We shall be grateful if our requests are given the desired attention as the construction of the aforementioned roads will mark a milestone in the effort of the state government to bring development to its people.

This will also help to

open up the area for business with nearby states in line with Okowa's development agenda.

Added to that, addressing the problem of persistent power outage in the area will help light up the communities, thereby reducing the unwholesome activities of criminals who hide under the cover of darkness to perpetuate ungodly trade.

We pledge to support the cause of the state government in their effort to lead Deltans out of poverty.

Oji Ifechukwudeni Lucky, UlogweIsumpe, Delta State.

NCC, kindly save me from Airtel’s rip-off Dear Sir,

I

am a distressed Air tel’s subscriber and urgently need Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) intervention.

My telephone number is 08023145556. For some time now, the service provider (Airtel) has consistently removed N10 everyday from my top up for a service I didn’t subscribe to. Every morning, a message to my phone informs me of the deduction.

The one for Friday,

September 18, 2015 read: “Last Value Added Service Charge was N10:00.

Main Acct.

Bal. N1604.63.”

All complaints to the Airtel customer service have fallen on deaf ears.

Each promise to rectify the problem has failed while the network keeps ripping me off. I will appreciate NCC’s help to stop the rip-off and possibly a refund of my illegally deducted top up.

Thanks.

Wale Akinola, Ijegun – Ikotun, Lagos.

PAGE 10—SUNDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015 appointed his Ministers, he had selected his advisers”, I said. “It shows how naïve you are; Ministers are mere errand boys, the important decisions are made by the kitchen cabinet and your people are not there.”

Despite the strength of the logic, my mind still refused to accept it. A week after that sobering and deeply

So you want to be minister?

Read this and despair “The Ministers are there to make a lot of noise; for the politicians to make a lot of noise…People from different constituencies want to see their people directly in government, and see what they can get out of it.”President Muhammadu Buhari.

“I had rather be right than President.”

Henry Clay, 1777-1852, letter to Senator Preston of South Carolina, 1839. hen I first read that statement,

by Clay, in a course on American Government in my second year as an undergraduate in 1965, my first reaction was “this guy must be crazy, who would not want to be American President at any price?” But, I was young then, and courses in Philosophy, and especially Ethics, had not been

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undertaken to sharpen my intellect and morals. Now, I know that position, power and wealth are not the only things for which people must strive at all costs.

Above all, a man must aim for self-respect; he must stand for something or fall for anything. After reading that statement from President Buhari, nothing should induce any selfrespecting Nigerian, male or female, to accept a ministerial appointment – if it is offered. But, I am jumping the gun. Let me go back a few weeks.

Shortly after Buhari appointed several people in August, a sage, and one of my mentors and heroes taunted me by asking “Dele, what do you think of Buhari’s choice of cabinet which excludes the South West?”

“But, Buhari has not

Fear is the sum total of all hatred "Hate, it has caused a lot of problems in the world, but has not solved one yet."— Maya Angelou

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ope Francis is on a six day visit to America and his visit is very poignant and timely. Pope Francis is a frugal man and a friend of the poor. This is very much in the tradition of another icon of the Catholic Church, whose name he has borrowed,St Francis of Assisi.

He has been consistent in what has marked his papacy so far: he has acted tirelessly to deal with sexual abuses in the church and has helped ensure these acts are registered as crimes, he talked frankly about climate change and the responsibility of the world leaders. He helped brokered the US and Cuba diplomatic ties, chooses humility above luxury possessions, and he is known to leave the Vatican at night to help the homeless, he encouraged cooperation between Christians and Muslims and he said that Christians and Muslims should work together to achieve love.

In America,President Barak Obama has been the butt of the derision for many of the republican presidential aspirants and the Republican Party members, casting aspersions that Obama is not American and that he is a

Muslim. In spite of this, Obama came forward with his birth certificate and it appeared that he can trace his family on both sides. It is evident that no matter what he does, he can never do anything right to satisfy his detractors. And why should he? The reason is simply because he is black and that does not sit well with those who are conditioned prejudiced and racists.

This also comes at a time when young African Americans are facing police brutality,wrongful arrest and mass incarceration. On top of this, there is the antiimmigrants sentimentality brewing especially if you do not fit the brief as the quintessential white Americans. Funny that, because the real North Americans are Native Americans. They too, have been discriminated against, in fact they have to prove that they are Native Americans!

Discrimination and prejudice is poisonous as it pits people against people and those that suffer are the ordinary people who have no power but definitely will be caught in the hatred and the melee.

So in the wake of such division and hatred that is gripping America, Pope Francis has come to spread his brand of papacy.

So it is in this storm, that the

Henceforth any Minister in this administration should not be offended if he is called a noisemaker or vulture – after all, his boss had tagged him/her with that disgraceful appellation before taking office disturbing conversation, Chief Ogunlewe, former Minister of works under Obasanjo also announced that “Buhari has formed his Holy Father flies in and he too, has declared he is a son of immigrants! Imagine the faces on these haters that the Holy Father have decided to take the sides of the foreigners.

This is the mark of this Pope that sets him aside from his predecessors. He did away with the pope mobile and he is more accessible to the people. Love is a wonderful thing. This pope is a man of the people and one that does not mind stepping on the toes of the rich and the oppressors.

He says it as it is and refuses to be give in to the pomp and ceremony. In fact, he will be passing on lunching with the lawmakers after he has addressed the congress and instead, he will dine with homeless people in Washington.

I am writing at a time in Nigeria,when there is more that should unite us than divide us. There are some of us that are hell-bent on espousing hatred and they cannot see anything else. So here is one from my archives in Generation X, October 21, 2012 -this was before the great man passed on: "I have not bought my copy of the book so I cannot make any comment on its contents. What, I however, find disconcerting is: some people's attitude to the fact, that Chinua Achebe had the gall to have an opinion and write it in a book!

If people disagree, by all means say so. What I do find disturbing is, we always go off the boil and go as far insulting his character, his literary integrity and his tribe in one quick swoop.

This is not an isolated case, it seems that is the given that one tribe is pit against another tribe in this fashion.

I don't know about you, but it is very disrespectful, discourteous, it shows bad upbringing and dismissive in the the way they react to people who may have a

cabinet”. He was the Minister who announced to Nigerians in 2007 that Obasanjo’s government had rehabilitated 500 Nigerian roads. Asked to name them he refused. That falsehood was exposed by the fact that the road leading to Ogunlewe’s home town, Ijede, on the Ikorodu-Epe expressway was not touched at all – while he was busy with 500 phantom roads rehabilitated. But, despite that, Ogunlewe made the point that Ministers are visitors to the seat of power; most decisions are made by “Advisers” for Ministers to execute.

Still, I clung stubbornly to the belief that, under Buhari’s change programme, Ministers would be appointed and valued for their intellect, competence, character, work rates and integrity. The statement above, credited to Buhari, changed all my perceptions about the role Ministers will play in this government. Even before their appointment, they have been visited with the sort of contempt which the office of Minister in any government does not deserve.

They have been told that they will be regarded as people who “are there to make noise” and who are “in government and see what they can get out of it”. Taken together, those views of Ministers characterized them as noisy parasites. Can any self-respecting individual, not desperate for a job, accept an appointment different view from theirs.

This is not the first book written about the war and no mean the last; some good, some not so good and a few written by non - Nigerians!

At least this is written from a first person account and a Nigerian too. Chinua Achebe put it so well when he said: "Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the

Nigeria and Nigerians needs to show more empathy and compassionate to cleanse some of the ills that plague the country and the people. This is everyone's responsibility and it is a shared responsibility hunter". That is exactly what he did and he was pilloried for that!

Therefore,by condemning a view because they disagree with it, they will ultimately close doors to the growth of a cohesive society and it seems they want to create a place where only Yes people can exist?

Without giving my age away,I have heard horrifying and personal stories of the war, each gruesome than the next.

Though I was very young during the civil war, I remembered vividly the bombardments in Lagos. I have dear friends who lost their parents and their siblings. My father, a

based on that view of his/ her role in government?

Henceforth any Minister in this administration should not be offended if he is called a noisemaker or vulture– after all, his boss had tagged him/her with that disgraceful appellation before taking office.

Let me end this article by recalling a personal example. In the mid1980s, as a very successful Marketing Manager with North Brewery, I was offered a job with another brewery in the south, without applying for it. My take home pay increased by 200% and as a young man eagerly accepted the offer.

Within nine months the new brewery’s sales had increased by over 300%.

Of all the top managers, I was the darling of the Chairman, who during our quarterly meetings routinely insulted other managers; sometimes the maledictions passed to their parents (“ your father ”, “ your family ” etc). But, because the man paid so well, none of the managers wanted to leave.

One day, after one of my colleagues had his parents and grand-parents thoroughly abused, I asked the fellow why he did not quit. His answer was “Dele where would I find another job paying so well?” It then became clear to me. In this

company we were trading insults rained on our parents for money. I would have none of it. I promised to walk out the day it happened to me. I would rather eat sand than accept that.

It happened soon enough.

We went for budget presentation for the coming year. I presented the marketing budget including advertising expenditure.

The advertising agency we used was 100% owned by the Chairman and the expenditure was prepared in collaboration with its Managing Director, Cornelius Tay, (later of CTay Agency).

The Chairman took one look at the advert proposal and flared up in his usual manner. I got up, excused myself, went to the parking lot, drove out, got to the office and resigned my appointment. They waited for me and discovered that I was not returning to the meeting. When the brewery MD came to the office and asked me to report to the Chairman’s office, next day, I told him “No, I no longer work for him; he cannot because of money insult my parents”. Later, in life, I added myself to the list. My attitude about wealth is summed up this way. “The true measure of your wealth is how much you will be worth when you have lost all your money”. No job is worth one’s self-respect.

NONE.

journalist, covered the war and he saw and wrote about the causalities of the civil war on both sides. The war is what we have not talked about; it has prevented us from moving forward. We have consigned it to folklore and use it to whip up hatred and division and we now feed this hatred to those who were not present to see what it did to the nation and its people.

For those who experienced it, they have the memory seared in their souls. They cannot forget, nor have they even forgiven each other for the tragedy either. This is one of the reasons they fight, argue and create mayhem but always stop at the threat of another civil war is the trauma that still exist in the fibre of the nation. If anything, Chinua Achebe has rightly or wrongly made people talk of the civil war and yet the wounds remains still raw. Let us be open and be honest to have an open discussion and look for a way forward.

Sadly, these Nigerians always revert to form when someone cast a whim of tribal, political or religious aspersions or a mere mention of what they find offensive to their sensitivities. These people are quick to throw the proverbial baby with the bathwater. This does not make room for growth, in fact, it's the height of intolerance and regression.

When people fail to reason, their fear is then nurtured into hate and then it is difficult to reason with unreasonable people.

There needs to be an open dialogue to solve this selfhatred, as no one will make breakthrough until we address what plagues some people to behave in such manner and help

everyone move forward.

There is a lot of manipulation by the powerful and the wealthy to pit ordinary people against one another, this stops the ordinary Nigerian from seeing what is actually going on: high youth unemployment, grinding poverty, substandard education and lack of opportunities for working age adults, inadequate and expensive health facilities, bribery and corruption, poor transport and deteriorating and archaic institutional facilities.

How can people not understand that growth only occurs when one can think rationally for oneself? Too many Nigerians are taken in by hatred and intolerance and they turn on people, they do not agree with and will stick by those who are wrong simply because of their affinity with them. A bit of decorum is needed please, so we do not lose the essence of the event.

The War happened and a lot of people suffered and died.

The rule of engagement differs in time of war than in time of peace. Remember that.

We need a degree of intelligence to process the faulty logic of refusing other people's viewpoint and only entertaining those that agree with our own viewpoint. What is needed is for people to show a level of humility and to admit that sometimes they are not always right. And in order to grow, they have to entertain other people's view without necessarily taken everything as gospel.

Nigeria and Nigerians needs to show more empathy and compassionate to cleanse some of the ills that plague the country and the people.

This is everyone's responsibility and it is a shared responsibility.

In the spirit of love and friendship, can I wish you all a peaceful Eid Murbarak!

SUNDAY VANGUARD, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015, PAGE 11

Corrupt Judges: Does our Chief Justice really need help?

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AST Monday, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) admonished senior lawyers in the country to stop making “unguarded” utterances about corruption in the judiciary without identifying the corrupt judges. Somehow, the CJN sounded as though he himself does not know his judges that are corrupt. I just hope I misunderstood his Lordship. While waiting for more comments that could illuminate the subject, I reached out to two small pamphlets in my personal library dealing with statements on corruption in the Nigerian judiciary.

After reading over some of the statements, I opted to make today ’s article a simple literature review of the pamphlets so as to remind us all of some relevant stories most of which are credited to judges themselves.

In 1993, Justice Bassey Ikpeme of the Abuja high Court ruled in favour of the unregistered Association for

Better Nigeria (ABN) that the famous June 12 Presidential election should not hold. The Judge breached the relevant law of the time that court proceedings were not “to

Now that the CJN wants senior lawyers to name corrupt judges so that they can be dealt with by the National Judicial Council, we, ordinary citizens are yet to appreciate how the NJC deals with cases affect the date, time or the holding of the election or the performance by the electoral commission of any of its functions.” It remains instructive that the ruling took place at midnight on the eve of the election. Three days later, the then Chief Judge of Abuja, Justice Dahiru Saleh issued a bench warrant for PhD,Depar tment of Philosophy, University of Lagos 08116759758 opuruiche2000@yahoo.com

Facts, fancies and fallacies (2) T

here is increased momentum in the war against Boko Haram, as the military struggles to meet the presidential directive that the sect must be crushed

by December, the very group that Buhari, before he became President, wanted his predecessor to treat with kid-gloves. In the last one month, the Nigerian army and air force have made steady progress in degrading the fighting capabilities of the "death cult." Several towns and villages in the North East previously controlled by the murderous terrorists have been recaptured, giving rise to expectations that soon Boko Haram would be defeated. Now, some of the strategies adopted by the President in fighting the insurgents, including relocation of the operational headquarters of the army from Abuja to Maiduguri, are encouraging.

However, it must be pointed out that before the March 28 presidential elections, the Nigerian army had inflicted serious damage on Boko Haram to the extent that people voted in Borno, Adamawa, Gombe and Bauchi states in a relatively violence-free atmosphere. Therefore, on the Boko Haram issue, the Buhari government is actually consolidating the military successes already achieved by the military under former President

the arrest of the then Chairman of the Electoral Commission, Professor Humphrey Nwosu for noncompliance with the ruling of Justice Ikpeme. Saleh discountenanced the decision of a superior Justice Oguntade then of the Court of Appeal that: “ where a court makes an order in contravention of a statutory provision which forbids it from making such order, the order so made is null and void and no appeal need be filed against the order.”

Five years later, when the judiciary had opportunity to determine election petitions in respect of the local government elections

Goodluck Jonathan.

Overall, in assessing the achievements of President Buhari in areas such as power, oil and gas, Boko Haram terrorism and the war against corruption, it is important to keep in mind that government is like a relay race in which the performance of the athlete who takes over the baton is crucially dependent on the performance of the teammate that handed it over to her.

Of course, the quality of the individual athlete matters a lot. But no matter how good or talented an athlete might be, she cannot achieve much if her teammate left too much gap for her to cover. Similarly, the modest progress noticeable in different aspects of our national life since May 29, 2015 could not have happened de novo from scratch, independently of the serviceable institutional frameworks, policies and programmes put in place by Jonathan. As I argued previously in this column, Goodluck Jonathan made several mistakes while in office.

However, his government formulated and implemented some good policies the benefits of which are manifesting now but are being unfairly attributed to Buhari by buharimaniacs.

Perhaps, for President Buhari, Lai Mohammed, Junaid Mohammed and

of 1998, government was forced to disband the election tribunals because as the then Chief of General Staff, General Oladipo Diya told the nation, “petitions, allegations of bribe taking and even confessional statements by some members of the election tribunals threatened to undermine other chieftains of APC, relentless excoriation of Jonathan and his lieutenants is part of the change agenda of the ruling party. But meaningful change cannot be realised that way because telling the people continuously how bad the previous government was will not provide employment, stabilize electricity, repair the economy, and provide adequate security nationwide, among others.

On the contrary, what Nigerians want from the APC federal government is good governance anchored on strategic planning and efficient utilisation of available scarce resources to improve their well-being.

In my opinion, the obsessive negative attitude of the new ruling cabal to Jonathan is clearly indicative of hubris, mean spiritedness, lack of progressive ideas, and poor preparation for the difficult task of governance.

President Buhari provoked unnecessary controversy by the lopsided appointments into key positions in his government.

Specifically, out of the thirty one appointments he has made thus far, about eightyfive percent went to the North, and none to the South-East, the region whose indigenes, despite their temperamental deficiencies, have done more than their compatriots from other zones to actualise the idea of "One Nigeria" through solid contributions in the development of different towns and villages nationwide. No other ethnic group matches the demographic spread of Ndigbo across the country, which implies that any arrangement, policy or action by the federal government that

the credibility of the judicial process.” Justice Kayode Esho a retired Justice of the Supreme Court was probably more apt when he opined that “the election tribunals were turning judges into billionaires.” His learned brother, Justice Chukwudifu Oputa at a point stated on national television that there are dishonest lawyers “ who after charging their normal fees, charge extra for the judge. If so, which judges are involved? The initial belief that corruption in the judiciary was limited to the lower courts was dispelled

by Justice Samson Uwaifo of the Supreme Court who at his valedictory session, in 2005, revealed that corruption “had gradually crawled to the high courts and would appear to have had a foothold among a noticeable number of judicial officers there.” This seems to explain why the work of the Kayode Esho panel, reviewed by another committee headed by Justice Bolarinwa Babalakin, also a former justice of the Supreme Court, saw to the sack of as many as 28 serving judicial officers.

No one could have felt a greater pain than our current President Muhammadu Buhari when Wikileaks revealed that the court victory secured by his opponent concerning the 2007 election was purchased.

The only stories that came thereafter had to do with numerous ex-parte orders

restraining INEC from recognizing some candidates nominated for elections by their political parties in 2011. With more election cases to contend with than the election itself, the then chairman of the commission, Prof Attahiru Jega had to formally draw the CJN’s attention to what he called an “emerging trend in the political process where ex-parte orders are granted at the top of a hat by judges”. No wonder, a report titled: “Department of State’s Country report on Human Rights practices for 2011", which was submitted to US Congress by the then Secretary of State, Mrs. Hillary Clinton, said that “Nigerian judges frequently failed to appear for trials, often because they were pursuing other sources of income. This appears to explain why the Court of Appeal in 2012, went to sleep for months till a few hours before the deadline for handling the Adamawa governorship election petition. Then, on the last day, the court arrived in Yola, sat, wrote and delivered a judgment in a manner akin to how decisions affecting some local communities are made and pronounced by their Igwes in the famous African magic series.

It was thus an interesting valedictory speech one year later, when, a retiring Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Stanley Shenko Alagoa, admitted that some judges collect bribe from politicians and

traditional rulers to pervert the course of justice. Alagoa disclosed that politicians often resort to intimidation and harassment in their uncanny bid “to influence judges to depart from their sacred oath of office and the path of honour and rectitude.” His learned colleague Justice Olufunmilayo Adekeye made perhaps the same case which seems to colour the roles of judges in the matter as passive.

Interestingly, with all the allegations about politicians attempting to induce judges, we are yet to hear of any judge who ordered the arrest of anyone seeking to offer him bribe, which is itself an offence.

Now that the CJN wants senior lawyers to name corrupt judges so that they can be dealt with by the National Judicial Council, we, ordinary citizens are yet to appreciate how the NJC deals with cases. For instance, who exactly did that body deal with over the squabbles at the very top associated with the Sokoto governorship election petition? A clear answer to this type of question can do two things. First, it can make people have more confidence in the judiciary.

Second and more importantly, it can establish that the judiciary, like every human organization has its bad eggs who are not necessarily more than the large number of men and women of proven integrity that should deservedly be honoured all the time.

marginalises Ndigbo or treats them as second class citizens is a negation of justice and the principle of national unity prescribed by the 1999 constitution. I am Igbo: but if members of another ethnic group other

not a new phenomenon: as military head of state and chairman, Petroleum (Special) Trust Fund (PTF), he manifested the same tendency. As if to confirm accusations of ingrained ethnic bias against him, Buhari, while responding to a question in the United States some weeks ago, made it clear that he would treat different parts of the country based on the quantum of votes he received from them during the last presidential elections. Thus, since the North voted overwhelmingly for him, the region must be compensated accordingly, while the South-East that voted for Jonathan should not expect much from him.

Buhari pointedly justified his exclusion of the SouthEast in his appointments in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Hausa Service on Tuesday, September 9, by reiterating that the appointments were a reward for those loyal to him and to the various parties under whose platform he contested presidential elections. It follows that as far as President Buhari was concerned, issues of national integration, fairness to all parts of Nigeria, and inclusiveness were irrelevant. Not surprisingly, die-hard Buharimaniacs maintain that it is the President's prerogative to choose whomsoever he pleases to work with, and that the appointments were based strictly on merit and competence. They also argue that hundreds of appointments are still pending, such that the imbalances Nigerians are complaining about would be corrected by the time most of these positions were filled.

The arguments by President Buhari and his supporters are invalid. First, apart from contravening the constitution which stipulates the federal character principle for appointments to promote national unity and national integration, the idea of treating people from different parts of the country based on voting pattern is dangerous. It exacerbates the problem of ethnic rivalry and fear of domination that could deepen the already fractured foundation of our n a t i o n h o o d .

Marginalisation of the South-East and the SouthSouth portrays President Buhari as a narrow-minded, vindictive ethnic jingoist incapable of envisioning the entire country as his constituency in line with the spirit and letter of the constitution. Aside from that, a President whose circle of loyalists is restricted to his particular section of the country, who sees appointments as an avenue to reward his own dedicated loyalists, seems to lack the kind of expansive nationalistic vision and mentality needed right now for positive transformation of the entire country.

Moreover, by stressing loyalty at the expense of fairness to every part of Nigeria, is Buhari saying that both are mutually exclusive, that Mike Ahamba, Chris Ngige, Ogbonnaya Onu and other prominent members of the APC from the South-East are not loyal enough to be considered for any of the positions he had filled, or that no high-ranking military officer form the zone is good enough to serve as one of his service chiefs?

What Nigerians want from the APC federal government is good governance anchored on strategic planning and efficient utilisation of available scarce resources to improve their wellbeing than the Igbo have contributed as much as Ndigbo had in developing Nigeria, the validity of my argument still stands. The main point I wish to stress is that there is no good reason for President Buhari to marginalise any geopolitical zone even if he has made only six strategic appointments thus far, let alone thirty-one, because in each zone there are competent Nigerians that can function effectively in any position.

Expectedly, the President and his alleluia chorus boys and girls have tried to justify the unreasonable lopsided appointments.

Before examining their arguments, it must be pointed out that preferential treatment of the North by President Buhari is

To be continued

PAGE 12 —SUNDAY VANGUARD, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015

Prologue

TOWARDS SUSSTTAINABLE CY IN NIGERIA: DEMOCRAAC

The Role of Political Parties

BY IFEANYI OKOWA

T

here is perhaps no topic more compelling and relevant than the one for today’s discourse, especially in the light of our current democratic experience. It is exigent that I begin my presentation with definitions of some terms as used in the topic under discussion.

Although many definitions of democracy abound in theory and practice, the one universally accepted is that advanced by Abraham Lincoln, which says that democracy is the government of the people, by the people, and for the people. The abiding principle of a democratic government is majority rule, one in which supreme power is held by the people under a free and fair electoral system. In a real democracy, the people possess the constitutionally guaranteed right to choose who rules over them at any given point in time.

In apparent recognition of this universal concept of democracy, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended (1999) in Section 14, (2a) proclaimed that “Sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria from whom government through this Constitution derives all its powers and authority.”

Sub-sections 2b and 2c respectively state that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government and the participation of the people in their government shall be ensured.

To achieve sustainable democracy, we must understand that there is more to democracy than elections and voting. The fact that a nation chooses her leaders through the ballot box does not necessarily translate to democracy. There are certain tenets upon which any democracy can be nurtured and sustained. These are sovereignty of the people, C M Y K

Democracy is advanced when elected political leaders fulfil the promises they made to their constituents during electioneering campaigns

majority rule and minority rights, the rule of law and good governance, respect for civil and political rights, mass literacy, economic prosperity, social development, free press, and an independent judiciary.

Sustainable democracy is attainable when the conditions listed above are prevalent in the society.

So what is a political party?

The commonest definition of a political party is the one by Wikipedia, the free online dictionary, which defines a political party as “an organisation of people which seeks to achieve goals common to its members through the acquisition and exercise of political power.”

If we agree that politics is the struggle for, acquisition of, control and use of state power then political parties are the vehicles for attaining that goal. In democracies worldwide, political parties are elected by the electorate to form a government.

Except where the Constitution makes provision for independent candidates, politicians stand for election as representatives of different political parties.

Political Parties and Sustainable Democracy There is no gainsaying the fact that there is a very good relationship between sustaining democracy and the existence of political parties. The party system actually helps for the sustenance of democracy.

Over the years, various societies in Europe, America and even the Far East have tended to gravitate towards a two-party system to largely aggregate the multiinterests of people.

Even when there are minor parties at the national level, there seems to be a drift towards a two-party system globally. The reason is simple. It simplifies the choice for the electorate and allows the people to decide which group of people should rule over them at a given point in time while the party that is not favoured at that point becomes the opposition.

Hence, party in government and opposition have generally come to be accepted as major ingredients in the growth and sustenance of democracy.

Democracy is deepened and sustainable when there is good governance and this must be the central goal of the party in power. Good governance is imperative for social and economic progress. There are four key indicators of good governance in any society viz; Rule of law - Democracy is short-changed by decisionmaking that is democratic only in name. The Constitution and actual written laws must be obeyed and upheld, while due process must be followed.

Things should be done in an orderly, predictable manner, and for sustainability of democracy, political parties, particularly the ruling party must have respect for democratic governance and democratic institutions.

Good governance requires the development and

•Gov Okowa strengthening of independent state institutions like the security agencies, a functional legislature (allowed to express itself), and a viable and independent judiciary.

Every effort must be made to ensure that these institutions function properly and optimally with or without the human actor.

Human beings come and go but institutions remain.

When these institutions are firmly established and devoid of political control and manipulation, they guarantee the regularity of human conduct and people can predict how the system will respond in a given situation.

Democracy is undermined when actions or inactions of state institutions appear tainted with partisanship or hypocrisy. I am fully in support of the current anticorruption war of the federal government; it is about time we deal with the monster of corruption in our society and sanitise the polity with sound anti-corruption policies and action. But our institutions must be democratic and civil in their actions, and the rule of law must be a guiding principle.

Due process must be followed and an integrity test must be performed within the institutions, and their application of the law among the citizenry, ensuring there is no bias in order to retain public confidence.

The party in government

must be seen to drive the process with sincerity of purpose to ensure buy-in by all. I suggest therefore that in the fight against corruption, the norm will be for the anti-graft agency to first conclude its investigations, indict persons involved, then arrest them and immediately proceed with prosecution in a court of competent jurisdiction. With this in place, the integrity of the process and outcomes will be better.

Fulfilment of Campaign Promises – Democracy is advanced when elected political leaders fulfil the promises they made to their constituents during electioneering campaigns.

There is nothing worse than unfulfilled promises in a democratic system. When leaders act as if promises they made during campaigns do not matter, it erodes the trust and confidence of the people in the system. The resultant effect is conflict, apathy, inequality, manipulation and corruption, all of which pose serious threats to sustainable democracy.

Political leaders at all levels must realise that promises are meant to be kept; the promises that we make during electioneering campaigns matter and we are under obligation to keep them. That is the only way Continued on page 13

SUNDAY VANGUARD, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015 — PAGE 13

member of a political party.

Therefore, as much as possible you respect the rules and regulations of that party. However, those rules and regulations must not conflict with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. There are clear limitations to party supremacy; it cannot override the Constitution of the country. On the whole, party supremacy is subordinate to the supremacy of the Nigerian Constitution. I am, therefore, glad that peace is returning to both chambers of the National Assembly in the larger interest of Nigeria and Nigerians.

The Role of Political PPar ar ties arties continued from page 12

to maintain the trust and confidence that is necessary between the people and their leaders for sustainable democracy.

Leadership by Example – Leaders must commit to lead by example, deepening the democratic process through an altruistic lifestyle and moral rectitude. To quote George C Marshall “democracy is the most demanding of all forms of government in terms of the energy, imagination, and public spirit required of the individual.” Therefore, it is incumbent on elected officials to be good role models in transparency, humility, accountability and servant-leadership.

Viable political parties – Finally, another contributory factor to good governance and, by implication, sustainable democracy is viable political parties.

Sustainable democracy is dependent on the existence of well-functioning and well-funded political parties.

Political parties are crucial factors in bringing together diverse interests, recruiting and sponsoring candidates and developing competing policy proposals that provide people with a choice. There is, therefore, no substitute for open competition between political parties in a democracy.

Strengthening Political Parties/Party System In many parts of Africa, many parties unlike their counterparts in Europe, are more like artificial parties, used as vehicles to advance the personal ambition of their leaders to win elections, sponsor their preferred candidates or control state power. They fail to provide an institutionalized framework from which the society can hold elected persons and governments to account.

Rather than be known and largely assessed and judged by their ideological stand/ manifestoes, many political parties are more distinctive in ethnic, religious and regional terms. For democracy to thrive and be sustained therefore in Nigeria and Africa, whole political parties need be grown to become healthy and functional institutions.

While consolidating our democracy and running through the seventeenth year of this 4th republic, there is need to observe that campaigns and political advocacies have not largely C M Y K

been based on ideological identities, and worse still memberships appear to be more based on convenience, personality cliques, ethnicity, regional identities, and electoral possibilities at the moment in question.

This is a major setback to the sustenance of democratic growth, as the stability of political parties may not be guaranteed, be it the party in government or the opposition party. The gale of defections in the last few years among political actors clearly shows that our politics is still largely driven by self, and not ideology. If not checked, this has the capacity to weaken our party systems and impact negatively on sustaining our democratic growth.

Sustainable democracy needs strong and sustainable political parties with the capacity to represent citizens and provide policy choices that demonstrate their ability to govern for the public good.

There is need, therefore, to strengthen political parties so that they do not constitute a weak link in the democratic process. As we strive to support the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in partnership with other multinational bodies to truly gain independence to conduct credible elections, we must begin to pay attention in our developmental process to the strengthening of party systems and political parties.

To a great extent, political parties, in theory, ought to advance political pluralism, enhance citizen participation in the political process, broaden the representation of different political opinions and ideologies in the governance process, ensure the peaceful and democratic transfer of political power at both National, State and Local government levels, enhance the accountability of governments, and give the necessary legitimacy to both the government of the day and the political system as a whole. They ordinarily should provide a platform for interest aggregation and political stability in societies.

In strengthening our political party systems, the following criteria are crucial, and should be used to guide the process: •Ensuring a representative parliament •Making elections accessible and meaningful •Facilitating stable and efficient government •Holding the government and representatives accountable •Promoting legislative opposition and oversight

•Gov Okowa

•Making the electoral process sustainable •Strengthening internal governance systems in the parties, and ensuring internal democracy.

There is no doubt that a strong and viable political party platform will enhance the sustainability of our democracy and the strengthening of our parties will be a plus to our growing democracy.

The Role of the Opposition in Sustaining Democracy Every society needs a viable and strong opposition for sustainable democracy. The opposition

There is no doubt that a strong and viable political party platform will enhance the sustainability of our democracy and the strengthening of our parties will be a plus to our growing democracy

must be alive, strong, focussed and ready to play its role. It must consistently and responsibly expose the weaknesses of the ruling party and challenge it to deliver on its promises. In the process, it is their duty to articulate, aggregate and advance its ideology as superior to that of the ruling government, that the people’s interest are better served with them. That way the opposition is able to keep the government on its toes and motivate them to deliver on good governance.

Party Supremacy and Sustainable Democracy Let me touch briefly on the issue of party supremacy in the aftermath of the recent rumpus in the ruling party over the filling of political offices in the National Assembly. The greatest sustenance of democracy in any country is the Constitution. Every other law, whether of a party, tribe or association, must respect the Constitution of the country, which in legal parlance is regarded as the grand norm.

When the issue of the party being supreme in the governance of a system is canvassed, it is never intended that the constitution of the party is superior to the Constitution of the country. It only means that since the Constitution has not yet made provision for independent candidates, you cannot be an elected representative of anybody or community unless you are a

Conclusion As I conclude this address I wish to affirm that democracy remains the best political system for people to get the best out of their government because of the possibilities that exist in an atmosphere of freedom and the rule of legitimate law.

In our chequered history as a nation, we have had the longest stretch of democratic rule beginning from 1999. And with the successful transition from the ruling party to the opposition, Nigeria today can be said to be a healthy democracy. What happened is a highly welcome development.

We need to acknowledge it as such and celebrate it.

This is what we need to sustain.

Sustainable democracy requires the existence of these non-negotiables–the upholding of the rule of law, respect for fundamental human rights, an independent and credible electoral process, access by the citizenry to basic necessities of life (food, shelter, education, health, and transportation), transparency in government, a robust and independent judiciary, and a free and independent press. It also requires that strict measures be taken to rid the polity of vested financial and commercial interests.

Finally, political parties must plan for the present and future needs of the people for democracy to be sustainable. For this to happen, civic leaders and elected representatives must embrace the principle of deferred gratification and long-term planning that has the welfare of the people at its core. Together if we take immediate action, we have the power to build a people-oriented and sustainable democracy.

Being excerpts from a Public Lecture to mark Brig-Gen. Samuel Ogbemudia’s 83rd birthday at Bishop Kelly Pastoral Centre, Benin City on Saturday September 19, 2015.

PAGE 14 — SUNDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015

OGBEMUDIA’S CIVIL WAR MEMOIRS AT 83

Gowon ordered us to spare battle-weary Biafran soldiers! ar tt er equipped ffor or leader ship  Sa Sayys milit militar aryy ruler rulerss be bett tter leadership tr ations with Obasanjo, YYar’Adua, ar’Adua, Jonathan’  ‘My frus frustr trations

Elder statesman and two-time former governor of old Bendel State, Dr Samuel Ogbemudia, celebrated his 83rd birthday penultimate Thursday in Benin-City. The birthday celebration climaxed with a lecture entitled: Towards Sustainable Democracy in Nigeria: What is a Political Party?, delivered by the governor of Delta State, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa. The elder statesman spoke with Sunday Vanguard ahead of the celebration during which he narrated his experiences during the civil war. He shared his perspectives on the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, why former President Goodluck Jonathan failed, his search for Governor Adams Oshiomhole’s successor, relationship with women and other issues. Excerpts:

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM, BENIN-CITY

W

hat will you say life has taught you at 83?

There are a thousand and one things in terms of lessons that I have gained from life, but the most important one is my gratitude to God who has given me the opportunity to live to 83. The secondary one is that I have had the privilege of studying human beings and my conclusion is that all humans are different and that, in dealing with them, you must first learn what they are, how they are, their backgrounds and what they stand for, after which you will be able to provide a solution. The third is politics. Nigeria is a long way from perfection and I believe that, with time, the people will learn with more children getting education. But I pray that there should be no revolution.

Can we know a little about your upbringing?

My upbringing was not very enterprising but I can only say that my father died when I was 17 and left me with my mother.

At that point I was in the primary school and my mother worked hard to make sure that I completed my secondary education and with the help of the army I became what I am today. Today I am very happy that the army helped me to become what I am.

How did you enlist in the army?

I enlisted in the army on the 16th of April 1953. At that time, I was under 22 and, till I retired, the 31st of July 1975, I knew nothing than the military.

Military experience They are many and varied. I had the unique privilege in the army to spend almost five years educating myself, trained both in Nigeria and the United C M Y K

Kingdom; then in America and then fought a civil war. The climax of it was my appointment as administrator of the liberated areas of the Midwest; thereafter on the 13th of October 1967, I was appointed the governor of the Midwest and I retired on the 31th of July 1975 and I came back as a civilian governor in 1983.

I fought in two wars, one in the Congo and one in Nigeria. The one in the Congo was sponsored by the United Nations, the Nigerian government agreed to send some troops for peace keeping in the Democratic Republic of Congo and I was one of the officers sent there. I commanded a company and, in that company, I had to do a lot of assignments and, by the grace of God, they were very successful.

than civilians

were destroyed?

Yes and no. Yes, because the leaders of the country were determined to keep the country together and any part of it that wanted to break out will be forced back and kept. No, because it was a waste of human resources; perhaps some other method of coming to an agreement would have been reached, but I think the limited time available did not offer that opportunity.

How? What I thought went wrong is that the communication between the leaders was not good enough.

Today, they have better communication.

But it seems we have brave and better soldiers when you were in the service than now.

What is the problem with our military today?

I don’t know what you mean

Do you think the civil war was justified looking at the number of lives and properties that

Serving outside Nigeria offered tremendous challenge of keeping your country’s name in the good books of the people out there

•Ogbemudia...Nigeria is a long way from perfection by better soldiers. Serving outside Nigeria offered tremendous challenge of keeping your country’s name in the good books of the people out there. At home, not much value is placed on the activities of a soldier. They see him as a mercenary; even those of us who retired in 1975 are still being referred to as soldiers because nobody believes I am not a soldier and the soldiers will not accept me as one of them; so I

am nowhere.

Many civilians believe soldiers love beautiful women a lot. In your own case, what kind of women did you mingle with as a soldier?

When the Satan went to see the two persons in the Garden of Eden, did he go to the man? It shows that the devil himself likes women (laughter). For me and my family, I know that by Benin custom, we are always looking

for children who will replace us when we are no longer alive; so we have to look at the opposite sex that will give you that.

Secondly, for soldiers, it is one way of forgetting the hullabaloos of the gun in the field, the problems of war, and the tiredness arising from long distance walking. So the opposite sex gives comfort to the soldier but that is not to say that

Continues on page 15

SUNDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015, PAGE 15

‘Military rulers better equipped for leadership than civilians’ Continued from page 14 they are rapists, never. Everything is done voluntarily.

Some of our soldiers, who went to Liberia on a peace keeping mission, came back with foreign women even when they were married here already. Don’t you think that is indiscipline?

If what you said is the truth, I can say yes it is indiscipline but, on the other hand, bringing the woman hasn’t caused any damage because you now have an in-law in a foreign country (laughter). And when there is war next time, he will be affected such that he wouldn’t like his in-law to be killed; that is the advantage. To everything, there is a season and the soldiers know that, as long as they don’t disobey orders, as long as they use their spare time well for themselves and the organization they serve, things will be alright.

You have always spoken well about the Igbo. How did you feel killing them as a Nigerian soldier during the Biafran war?

I think you are trying to dig into an archive that will take you many years but I will tell you the surface. When the war was on, I gave an instruction that nobody should be killed on the grounds that he was not a Midwesterner.

Therefore, all the Igbo who felt threatened came into a particular compound to seek refuge and, before you knew it, we had over 3,000 people. There was no place to sleep but the soldiers guarding them had to spread them to the opposite house; eventually they were evacuated to their homes. So, from my own point of view, the war was fought to bring the Igbo back to Nigeria, not to destroy because, if that was what they wanted to do, they could have used extraordinary TNT bombs to level the whole place, but the order was that every soldier in the field must adhere to the Geneva Convention and they did.

A soldier who killed a Post Master in Ogwashi-Uku was tried here in Benin and was executed at the King’s Square.

His excuse was that the man was an Igbo man and we said ‘and so what?’.

Looking at the events that led to the civil war, do you think the issue of discrimination in the system has been resolved?

Well, discrimination in what aspect? But if you look at what happened during the war, the time preceding the war itself and after, we must pay tributes to Nigerian leaders for maintaining a high standard because Gowon (Head of State) said before we left for the battle field that we must follow the Geneva Convention to the letter.

Secondly, on no account must you shoot at someone who ran to surrender and any soldier who did that was punished; I know that some of them who did it here in Benin got 20 years imprisonment for violating that instruction. So, the Igbo were Nigerians and there were no grounds to hate them but those who were in the battlefield who were over enthusiastic and exited by the gun they were holding, they paid dearly for it.

We are blessed as a nation with a lot of heroes even in the military but it seems Nigeria abandoned these heroes. What

should produce a more sophisticated and better programme and the voters will buy into and then they are back in government, otherwise they are gone forever.

What is the Ogbemudia doctrine all about?

Survival.

So how is Edo going to survive after Oshiomhole in 2016?

That will depend on the party in power. If the party in power continues to perform well, then the viability of the opposition will reduce. But if they don’t they will be helping the opposition to come back. My vision today is that a good man, who understands sacrifice, just like incumbent Governor Oshiomhole, should be the ruler or occupant of Osadebe Avenue and I am praying for it every day.

do you think?

No doubt in my mind that the officers of my days were high grade officers. They have my respect and, if there is any reason or anybody who wants to honour them, I will join him. We had soldiers . like W.W. Bassey who was West African number one officer and later became Nigeria’s number one, Aguiyi Ironsi number two; Adebayo, Kulu Mohammed, Bama Larry, all those were extraordinary officers, but the coups did what they did to get rid of them; seven of them, but the reason up till today I don’t know because they were not supposed to die. We have lost great men whether soldiers or not. Military officers and men with distinguished character, we have lost them and Nigeria owes them gratitude thank you at any time, whether now or in the future.

You military officers always believe you will do better in governance than civilians. Why do you have such feeling?

Because the military officer is better trained than his civilian counterpart. What an army officer will do in geography in his first year in the military school is what they do at the degree level in the university. I asked a geography lecturer some questions on map reading, he didn’t know; he said that was not his field. That same year three or four others said the same thing but the young army officer does that in his first year, the first three months. So the army officers and soldiers are better trained than civilians. I have

What an army officer will do in geography in his first year in the military school is what they do at the degree level in the university always said that a good sergeant in the army stands a better chance than a director because very many directors do not control more than 10 persons whereas a sergeant can control up to 200 and lead them into the battle and return.

Are saying people like IBB, Obasanjo were better equipped as leaders than Jonathan, the immediate past President?

IBB is an extraordinary soldier, he led the Reece squadron and he was always at the forefront of the battle with his ferret, he did it for me and many others. Obasanjo initially was an engineer but he later converted to an infantry officer and he did well because of his training. Jonathan didn’t have one tenth of the training Obasanjo had but he is educated.

Education in the army is not all; there are many more things that make a leader than education.

•Ogbemudia...People have different motives when they enter office

How do you assess our democracy so far?

Democracy says the minority will always have their say and the majority their way but the practice in Nigeria is the reverse.

Maybe one day we will change.

You achieved a lot both as military and civilian governor in the old Midwest. Looking at what you achieved and what the current governors are doing, how do you compare them?

People always have different motives when they enter office. I was appointed amid protest and other things. People wanted to take my position or be the governor of the Midwest but Gowon, in his wisdom decided that I should be there. So my view was that I should leave behind sufficient evidence for historians to appreciate, so that the verdict of history will be in my favour and those opposed to my appointment felt ashamed that I achieved more than they would have done. In four years, I had N700 million for development and today we have a lot of things to show for it. For example, the Palm House cost N610,000. That amount can’t do the foundation today. The High Court, everything cost N5 million including the lift, 6 floors. So we were trying to leave sufficient evidence behind to justify my tenure and not to disappoint those who had confidence to appoint me as governor. That was my objective, I don’t know what the objectives of governors of today are because they don’t tell you. If their objective is development, then it is necessary to compare the money they have and what they showed for it. In Edo State we have had development and many people are happy about it.

From 1999, your party, the PDP, ruled the state and the people were not satisfied but since Governor Oshiomhole came, people have started seeing the difference. Why was

it so?

It means mismanagement of victory, the PDP won but we mismanaged it.

But you were among those that formed the PDP and you are a member of the BoT? Yes, I was not in any executive position to direct affairs. The Board of Trustees is an advisory body, it is not supposed to give instruction or overrule the National Executive Council decision.

So, was there any time you tried to tell your PDP leaders to do things right and they did not take your advice?

You make comments and the secretary records it and the next time you meet again they read out the minutes of the last meeting and that is the last we will see of it. In such situation, what do you do?

Can you tell us your encounters with former President Obasanjo, Yar’Adua and Jonathan?

I am a PDP man and, by the grace of God, a member of the Board of Trustees. At that level, I saw quite a lot that was going on but, I didn’t have the ability to influence things as they were happening. So I can only blame myself that I remained in the party, I didn’t resign. I was thinking that tomorrow will be a better day but it never came.

Do you have any regret for not resigning?

I don’t have any regret for becoming a PDP member, but my only regret is that I was associated with some people in the party.

What is your advice to members of the party?

In Edo State, they are not in charge; at the federal level, they are not in charge. They are now in opposition. The job of the opposition is to organize and behave as a viable alternative to the government in power; that is what they should be doing and, next time there is election, they

Are you not worried that up till now we are yet to have ministers in place?

No, when President Buhari was elected based on his track record, on his personal ability and the promises he made at the electioneering campaign, those who hurried into their own governance lost the election. It will be wrong if anybody starts following the example; so the man wants to quietly start to organize himself and face the public with a greater determination and execute his programmes and not to rush into things.. Because the same people will say ‘ why was he in a rush?’

So, I think everything he is doing is really calculated to lead him to the promise land and we are all with him.

But if he performs as most Nigerians expects, do you think PDP stands a chance in 2019?

His performance will decide the future of PDP; if he performs well, PDP will remain on holiday.

What’s your message for Nigerians as you are celebrating your 83rd birthday?

I first want to show gratitude to the Almighty God for keeping me alive. Second, if government must succeed, all hands must be on deck and should remain so till victory is achieved. So we ask all Nigerians to forget party leaning and face with determination the governance of Nigeria by giving all their support to the Federal Government and the governor of Edo. The Edo Mass Movement which you lead has been searching for Oshiomhole’s successor. How has it been?

EMM is a product of necessity, and what was it that was necessary? Good governance entails a lot of things we can’t describe in one sentence. So EMM has come to be, it is in the local government, at the ward level and at the senatorial level and we will continue to be there to assist in ushering in good governance and supporting whoever is there to ensure that the people of Edo benefit from good governance. Our search is ongoing and we are doing well because the people know that I will not put my hand in anything that is not likely to succeed.

EMM will succeed and it is already succeeding. We said we will help to support any organization that produces a man that can govern us well and if you can’t find one, we will produce one ourselves and, get a party that will present the man to the populace.

What kind of man are we expecting?

A good man, a man who will deliver the goods like Oshiomhole.

C M Y K

PAGE 16 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015

SUNDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015, PAGE 17

I’m divorcing my husband soon — Ella Martins

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ENINESE singer, actress and virtual artist became very popular in Nigeria when a story broke that she and Nollywood superstar, Genevieve Nnaji, were love partners as lesbians. The story made such a great fuss even Potpourri couldn’t ignore it and sought after the Beninese to get an interview which we got. The Chocolat Baby crooner is back in the news again, not about any homosexuality saga but as a distress wife about to call it quits with her husband of many years.

In a private chat with Potpourri days ago, the singer opened up on a lot of things. First, she said she is tired of her marriage and wanted out. Want out? We never even knew she was married or not. “ I have been married a long time but most people don’t see me as a married woman because I have been living apart from my husband for years now. My husband is German and we are legally married. We married when I was 14 years old. By the time I was 21 I was already tired with the marriage and I guess so was my husband. Both of us have been living separately for years now” she revealed Her story has a note of depression about it, but marrying at age 14, is hardly something anyone would want to be all cheery about, if you ask me, and I asked her why she had to marry so early in life. There, another big revelation came to light about the beauty and sexy singer who has dated powerful men in the continent.

“I ran away from my parents so early and got myself hooked to my husband. I must tell my parents are Yoruba. My dad’s name is Olayinka Martins while my mum’s name is Fagbemi Oulematou. But I grew up in Abidjan, Cote de Ivoire and France” she said

Empress Njamah

bags award for charity works

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•Ella Martins

ONG gone are the days the media feasted on ebony beauty Nollywood actress, Empress Njamah because of her many activities that were dubbed controversial. Now the Chief Executive of House of Empress, an Abuja boutique, has turned a new leaf and there seems hardly anything untoward that could be heard of her.

Just days ago, I was poking her jokingly that all we used to know about the fiery Empress has gone with the wind. Then, she had asked me rhetorically if she had truly changed and I replied her, the old Empress is dead.

“Omo, that’s the best, I swear” she replied sarcastically. “Helps stay away from people like you who love to write. Now, it’s my charity works that bring me out if not …”, she said jokingly, trailing off.

Her charity works indeed have been the centre of her focus in recent times. With her House of Empress Foundation which caters for the needy, the orphans and the displaced people.

Uncharacteristically, if there is something to be heard of her, it is only when she does something humanitarian through her Foundation.

Moreso, it seems her efforts haven’t gone unnoticed as she was honoured for her charity

Mos omantic da Mostt rromantic dayy of m myy lif lifee — Joke Jigan

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ER name is Joke Jigan but many call her Bisola Beyonce because of her blockbuster film that shot her into limelight. Joke is pretty, with just about everything in the right proportions. She’s easy on the eyes and has a look that she may fall asleep on your laps any moment. Some have described her eyes as unnatural, with some even claiming they could put a bet that she has contact lenses in them.

But she is as natural as they come. Also of big buzz is the robust, provocative twin towers on her chest, that seem to be asking some questions perennially. In her recent chat with Potpourri, the fair-skinned actress shared with us what she would consider the most romantic experience of her life.

“That should be my last year birthday. When I got a puppy from my man and a huge cake.

I was so surprised because he had called me a night before, that he was traveling, that he wouldn’t be around for my birthday. But I woke up to a knock at my door and it was raining and I saw him really soaked with the cake and the puppy was in a basket. I was freaking shocked and I screamed and later that night after my party we went for a dinner somewhere, it was just the two of us and I woke up the next morning to the aroma of the best Singapore noodles ever” she gushed Joke Jigan is a popular Yoruba actress that is making wave in the industry. She has produced almost a score of her own movies, including Bisola Beyonce, Oyinkansola, Idoti, Ikoko, Ihoho Mi, Olote, Kogbodomo and others.

‘

•Empress Njamah works with an award at the Falconet Beauty Pageant Nigeria penultimate Saturday.

Veteran athlete Mary Onyali, Rita Edochie and former Falcon coach were aslo honoured

•Joke Jigan

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

PAGE 18, SUNDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015

Johnnie Walker launches “Joy Will Take You Further” campaign, unveils Don Jazzy

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s a way of encouraging millions of Nigerians across the country to celebrate success at every phase of life, Johnnie Walker, the foremost premium Scotch whisky in the world from the stables of Diageo Brands, has unveiled its largest ever global marketing campaign tagged “Joy Will Take You Further”.

Activated in more than 50 countries simultaneously, Johnnie Walker’s “Joy Will Take You Further” campaign will reach over 350 million consumers around the world within the first weeks of launch, urging everyone to recognize and celebrate personal progress they achieve on their walk to success.

Based on new insights into how success is viewed by consumers today, the campaign brings to life the concept that joy can be a catalyst to the progress they seek, and aims to generate a positive culture shift by promoting and encouraging the idea that finding joy in the journey is part of the recipe for success.

Guests at the event shared their

personal perspectives on the impact of a joyful walk on, noting that the true way to success is not just hard work and determination but also taking time to enjoy the simple moments of the journey.

Other activities at the event included the unveiling of top music artiste, producer and CEO of Mavins Records, Michael Collins Ajereh aka Don Jazzy as the Joy Ambassador for the Campaign.

Explaining the rationale behind the choice of Joy Ambassador, Head of Marketing, Diageo Brands, Adenike Adebola, said, “Don Jazzy has experienced different phases of success in his career up till now. He is a true achiever, a game changer and a model to emulate. He is passionate about what he does and it is that passion we celebrate. We believe he will be instrumental in propagating the message of and inspiring the rest of Nigeria with our core message that Joy Will Take You Further”.

I am not dating anyone in the indus tr industr tryy, Chidinma cries out

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By KEHINDE AJOSE

eautiful and petite singer, Chidinma Ekile, better known as Ms Kedike, is no doubt an artiste whose charm and stunning gorgeousness makes a lot of male celebrities crush on her.

In times past, Ruggedman,Wizkid and Lynxx have confessed that they have a crush on the singer. Any news about Chidinma’s love life generates interest. In a recent interview, the award winning diva debunked the rumor that she was dating someone in the industry “There are rumors about artistes every day. In my own case, I don’t understand it and I don’t know why people don’t want to stop. I am not dating anyone in the industry I am saying it officially now. No artiste, no producer, no music video director, no one. I am not engaged. I saw that recently and I just kept laughing. I am still very much single” she reveals

Dance with PPeeter er:: Lagos contestants most impressive, say judges

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Saheed Osupa thrills fans as Warike Hotel berths in Lagos

By ANOZIE EGOLE

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uji supertar Saheed Osupa, gave a good account of himself last week at Lekki, Lagos, when he gave his numerous fans a treat of a lifetime with a breathtaking stage performance of one of hit tracks at the grand opening of Warike Hotel & Suites.

The Olufimo 1, took his numerous fans all through most of his tracks and came to a successful end of the performance with his hit track, Endorsement which kept them yearning for more.

Speaking at the event, the CEO of Warike Hotel & Suites, Alhaji Tolani Bakare, said that he decided to go into hospitality business to give fun-seekers a treat of a lifetime as regards comfort and true enjoyment. “I chose to go into hotel business because I feel there is need to give people living in this part of Lagos and other places the satisfaction they deserve when it comes to hospitality.

“Before venturing into this hotel business, I have always been a contractor and a property agent. So I saw that residents of this area have been longing for a conducive place to relax and enjoy themselves and that was why I ventured into it. I would not say that I achieved this overnight, it took me a lot of savings and hardwork. It was a gradual process and I am grateful to God for today,” he said.

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ith the Dance with Peter auditions concluded in five cities, Lagos, Abuja, Benin, Port Harcourt and Accra, Ghana, the three judges of the show, Peter Okoye, Don Flexx and Kaffy, have described the Lagos contestants as the most impressive.

Speaking on the quality of contestants in the auditions, Kaffy, stated: “So far for me, the quality of contestants has been impressive. They have shown they can surely be groomed to be of the high standard we are looking for as we progress in the show,” she said.

“Lagos surprisingly impressed me the most. This is because, from my experience as a judge on many dance platforms, Lagos has always had all bark no bite, as commercial dancing has robbed the dancers of the zeal to work hard at improving their techniques and skill acquisition. But this time, I feel they were more enlightened and as such have produced most of our finest for the show,”

Kaffy observed.

Her view was shared by another judge, Peter of PSquare who is the organizer of the competition. He noted: “It’s been impressive so far and I get motivated by the contestants even as a judge.

Lagos for me was the most impressive. The participants gave it their all and I can really see that they are hungry to move to the next level.”

Professional choreographer and dance instructor, Don Flexx, also said Lagos contestants impressed him the most. “Lagos was by far the most impressive. I feel maybe because the city is the centre of entertainment, a lot of opportunities to polish their skills are provided there, making it possible for them to upgrade and update their skills when it comes to consistency”.

SUNDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015, PAGE 19 Onikoyi68@gmail.com

2Face’s babies mamas stay away from birthday concert

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HAT surprised many was that 2Face’s babies’ mothers, Sunmbo Ajaba (Adeoye) and Pero Adeniyi, were conspicuously absent from the public event. Though Sunmbo is now married to Pastor Adeoye, Pero is unmarried.

Many were expecting that the mothers of his children would be on hand to celebrate with him, but they were a no-show.

On the other hand, this also afforded 2Face’s legal wife, Annie Macaulay the opportunity to bask in the spotlight as the Queen in his life; and indeed all eyes were on her.

Pero has three kids for the singer, while Sunmbo has two for him.

Meanwhile, two of 2face’s lovely children, Nino and Zion, got many ladies wet with tears in the eyes when a video of their tribute to their father was played at the Fortified concert. They wished their father a happy birthday, and prayed for better and bigger things in his life.

Titbit from 2Face’s Fortyfied tribute concert Stories by TOFARATI IGE On Sunday, September 20, an All-Star Tribute was staged in 2Face’s honour at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, and we were there to bring you all the details.

Many of the artistes that performed at the event were teamed in pairs, and they re-enacted many of 2Face’s classic songs on stage. They include Dammy Krane and RockSteady, Cobhams Asuquo and Timi Dakolo. Other performers were Wizkid, Patoranking, Banky W, D’banj,

How Annie told me of her love for 2Face — Basket Mouth P

OPULAR comedian, Basketmouth is one man who says a lot of funny things. Heck, he makes a living doing just that.

Anyway, the rib-cracker wasn’t being funny when he recounted how actress, Annie Idibia (nee Macaulay) told him she was in love with popstar, 2face Idibia. While hosting ‘Fortyfied’ the all-star tribute concert in honour of 2face’s at 40, Basket Mouth revealed that he used to be close friends with Annie, and that he was the first person she told about her love for 2face.

According to him, “I remember I was going out with Annie in a car one day when she first told me that she loves 2face, and that what do I think about it. That was a very long time ago…Annie, do you remember that day?” In response, Annie blushed uncontrollably, and ducked her head under the table.

C M Y K

among others.

Comedian, Bovi, also teamed up with Sound Sultan and MI. It was a very hilarious session as they had the audience in stitches; it also revealed the certified comic talents in Sound Sultan and MI. Guests at the event included the DG of NAFDAC, Dr. Paul Orhii, Sen. Florence Ita-Giwa (Mama Bakassi), Gbenga Adeyinka, Yaw, Essence, Toolz, Reekado Banks, Korede Bello, Dija, among others.

Check out other interesting tidbits from the well-attended event.

Julius Agwu makes first public appearance after surgery at Surulere Glo Laffta Fest

Don Jazzy ignores D’Banj on stage D

’banj as a singer and Don Jazzy the producer used to be the perfect team as the honchos of Mo’hits Records. But like a bolt from the blue, their hitherto smooth relationship collapsed in 2012 like a pack of badly arranged cards.

Ever since, fans and colleagues in the music industry have been begging the duo to come back together and rework their magic.

However, what could have been the perfect opportunity for the two heavyweights to address the issue came to pass on Sunday, September 20,at the Eko Hotel-venue of 2face Idibia’s Fortyfied Concert.

D’banj mounted the stage to perform some of his hit songs to the delight of the audience, and halfway through, he said he was going to perform a song, ‘Feeling Good’ produced by Don Jazzy and featuring 2face that was leaked online before it could be properly released.

He beckoned on Don Jazzy to join him on stage to perform the song, but Jazzy remained glued to his seat with new Mavin signees, Reekado Banks, Korede Bello, and Dija.

Even when 2face begged the duo to produce one more hit together, Don Jazzy remained resolute. In 2face’s words, ‘Don Jazzy and D’banj, abeg make una do one more song, just one…. I take God beg una.’

D’banj instantly responded with the words, “Sure! It’s going to happen,” while Don Jazzy still remained on his seat without even a smile.

This led many of the guests in attendance to insinuate that D’banj was more eager for a come-back than Don Jazzy is.

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HE Globacom’s comedy show, Glo Laffta Fest which has been making a tour of cities across the nation berthed in the urbane city of Surulere, Lagos with over 4,000 Glo subscribers in attendance last Sunday at the Eagle Club, venue of the show. As much as the fun was exhilarating and thrilling the most unforgettable moment of the night was the appearance of ace comedian Julius Agwu who was making his first appearance after brain surgery.

Julius Agwu, who just recovered from a brain surgery, gave a graphic account of his close shave with death while cracking up the audience with jokes. He said this was his first performance since he did the surgery. He thanked God for giving him a second chance and Globacom for being the first company to believe in him and gave him a job after the surgery.

Popular comedian and Glo ambassador, Basket Mouth, who anchored the show, kept the guests roaring with laughter as he reeled out one ribcracking joke after another. He called up the performers one after the other in a manner that left the audience wondering who would be next on stage.

The other comedians including Osama, D Don, Julius Agwu, I go Dye, Gordons, and Odogwu were also at their humorous best as they held the audience spell bound with hilarious jokes.

There also were side attractions such as a dancing competition that enlivened the show. Male and female guests were called up on stage in a dance competition intuitively arranged by Rekaardo Banks when he performed his hit tracks ‘Catpult’, ‘Corner ’, ‘Sugar Baby’ and ‘Tomorrow’.

PAGE 20— SUNDAY, Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015

NUJ honours ten distinguished journalists

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L-R: Mr. Femi Adesina, SA Media to President Muhammadu Buhari; Mr. Ray Ekpu, Chairman of the occasion; Mr. Habib Haruna, CPS,Lagos State; Mr. Waheed Odusile, National President, NUJ; and Mr. Wahab Oba, CPS, Kwara State.

pecial adviser on media to President Muhammadu Buhari, Femi Adesina, Secretary to Lagos State government, Tunji Bello, National President, NUJ, Waheed Odusile, Chief Press Secretary to the Lagos State governor, Habib Haruna, Managing Director, Sun Newspapers, Eric Osagie; MD, New Telegraph, Funke Egbemode; Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy, Fola Adeyemi, GM, Radio Lagos/Eko FM, Funke Moore, GM, Lagos Television, Deji Balogun, and GM Lagos Traffic Radio, Yinka Adagun were all honoured at a reception organised by Nigeria Union of Journalists [NUJ] Lagos state Council, at Combo Hall, Lagos Television, Ikeja, Lagos. Photos by Bunmi Azeez

Bolanle A de Ade dettola dazzles @ 50

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rs Bolanle Adetola wife of Oluwaseyi Adetola, Head of Administration, First Registrars recently marked 50 th birthday. The occasion which took place at Gowon Estate, Egbeda, Lagos was attended by high networth individuals from all walks of lives.

The celebrant, Mrs Modupe Senanyan Adetola with her husband, Mr Oluwaseyi Adetola.

L-R: Mr. Femi Adesina, SA, Media to the President, receiving his award from Mr. Ray Ekpu, Chairman of the occasion and Mr. Deji Elumoye, Chairman, NUJ, Lagos State Council.

Mr. Yinka Adagun, GM, Lagos Traffic Radio (middle), recieving his award from Mr. Habib Haruna, CPS to Lagos State Governor [left] and Mrs. Dupe Adagun.

Mr. Deji Balogun, GM Lagos TV (middle), Mr. Lateef Raji, (r] and Mrs. Funke Balogun (l) .

Mr. Waheed Odusile, National President,NUJ, (l) receiving his award from Mrs. Funke Moore, GM, Radio Lagos and Eko-FM (r).

The celebrant & her husband, Mr & Mrs Oluwaseyi Adetola with some of the staff of First Registrars & Investor Services

The celebrant, Mrs Modupe Senanyan Adetola with her husband and childrenAdeife, Olasubomi, & Oyinade

At the Catholic Har Harvvest Bazaar Mumsfave, an online shop that caters for the needs of mothers and their children recently unveiled their services at the Youth and Children Harvest Bazaar of the Catholic Church of Assumption, Falomo, Ikoyi, Lagos. Dignitaries like designer, Lanre Da Silver Ajayi and many others graced the occasion.

Mrs. Jessica Onyike (3rd right), Mr Obinna Ifeanyi (2nd right), brand manager, Mumsfave and others C M Y K

The brand manager, Mr Obinna Ifeanyi (r) and a staff of Mumsfave

One of the mothers at the event

SUNDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015, PAGE 21

A real man wants a woman who is emotionally mature

Both the “red flags” and the greatest positive indicators have to do with the same thing in men’s minds.

Do you know what it is? It’s a woman’s emotions, the way a woman feels, reacts to, and communicates her own feelings and emotions is the greatest “Make or Break” place in a man’s mind.

If a man feels attracted to a woman, enjoys being with her, and they’re spending a lot of amazing time together eventually there’s going to be a situation that comes up where

you and a man will see something differently and misunderstand each other.

There might also be a time where a man does something that hurts your feelings, or shows that he isn’t thinking about you and your feelings.

How will you respond to this?

And how will you share your feelings? Will you share with him in a way that will inspire and encourage him to open up to the fact that he might have done something wrong? Or will you share in a way that he’ll receive as blame or criticism?

a serious relationship.08107022669, 0 8 1 3 3 1 5 5 9 0 2 •Luke, 55, 6.2ft tall, from Edo state, self employed , needs a matured lady, who is 5.8ft tall, Networking/Sponsorship beautiful, aged 30-40, for a •Light, 21, from a broken serious relationship. home and out of school, needs 08130154350,08156468910 or well meaning Nigerians to whatsapp sponsor his graphic and •Uche,43, 6ft tall, a graduate artistic designs, to enable him from Anambra state, but resides take care of his sisters and in Lagos, needs a graduate mum. 08066076802 and employed or business lady, •Chioma, 30, and resides in for marriage, aged 30-40, who Lagos, needs financial is also from Anambra state. assistance. 08120520025 07058924474 •Beauty, 26, a student, needs •Charles, 25, a graduate and a sponsor her education. resides in PH, needs an 08181466971,08065062260 employed lady, aged 30 and •Ben, 29 and from Imo state, above. 08035503484 needs a sponsor for his music • Adeyemi, 50, from Osun career.08086145898 Searching Male state, a widower, needs a •Princewill, whose house got • A man, tall, gentle widow or divorcee woman for burnt, needs well meaning employed and also in to marriage. 07063407104 Nigerian help him financially, business, needs a matured, • Francis, 23, an under to enable him get an kind, graduate, needs a busty, sexy accommodation. Account independent, responsible and and beautiful lady, aged 18-23, name Eyefia Princewill, financially stable lady, for in Abia state. 08097189319 Account number 3094086952 arelationship.

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BY ONOZURE DANIA

A

single, successful, attractive man who has lots of options has seen a lot of different things from women in his life. He’s seen how women flirt he’s seen his share of how things can go wrong with women in relationships.

He’s seen women throw themselves at him He’s seen

how women bring beauty and wisdom into his life in a way he couldn’t have seen on his own and he’s also seen women act incredibly needy and unsettled, to where they lose it completely on an emotional level and fall apart right in front of him.

The question is knowing what you know about how some other women can be,

• Blessing,

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08069282014 •Tejiri, 23, from Delta state, needs a God fearing, rich and caring man, aged 27-33, who is from Okpe or Urhobo, for marriage.08039493697, 07013346577

DISCLAIMER!

what do you think are the biggest warning signs a man has learned to look for in a woman?

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PAGE 22, SUNDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015

Tackling spam SMS menace:

Truemessenger example

By Emeka Aginam

L

ike spam emails, dealing with the spate of unsolicited short message service (SMS), also known as ‘text message’ through the mobile phones and other mobile devices can be worrisome to both phone users, regulatory authorities and service providers.

Although the Nigerian telecommunications regulatory agency, the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has tasked mobile operators in the country to install software that could filter and block unsubscribed messages, the trend is growing in geographic progression.

Before now, the Commission had issued directives to all operators, with the goal of minimising as much as possible the issue of unsolicited text messages.

Some of these unsolicited text messages, according to findings come in different forms such as unexpected false bank alerts, panic warning of impending deadly diseases such as; Ebola Virus, false alarm on an armed robbery attacks to particular areas and messages that the subscriber have won millions of Naira in a s a l e s promotion or competition that he never entered for, among others.

Though a few of

these text messages are desirable, nevertheless, majority of them are of nuisance value.

However available statistics show that, spam messages account for 15 per cent of all SMS messages sent globally, representing 1.2 trillion spam messages each year.

The implication of this is that vast majority of mobile subscribers, most of who fall within the category of smart phone users, are now at the mercies of marketing outfits and even fraudsters who reach out to their targets via the SMS. This development has continued to worry both the subscribers and the regulatory agencies. Every second for instance, m o b i l e subscribers i n Nigeria are

bombarded with text messages that are of little or no interest to them from their network provider.

Thus spam SMS has become a matter of serious concern to subscribers looking for possible solution to get a way with it.

But with the latest app from Truecaller, a leading search technology company, there are positive signals that telecoms subscriber will have a relief .

In what seems like a response to these yearnings, recently launched Truemessenger, a r

evolutionary app which aims to take care of spam and make the SMS experience smarter and more social.

One major unique features of the Truemessenger app is its ability to enable mobile phone users to establish SMS spam

rules, a function that was only available on the email and filters spam out of inbox or totally block it thereby keeping the inbox clean. It also has the ability to pull information from social networks and automatically assigns photos, nicknames and other contact information to incoming text messages.

Interested mobile users can now download the Truemessenger on their Android, the only platform where it can run at the moment, from the Google App store for free.

According to the owners , Truemessenger is complementary to the Truecaller and Truedialer apps. But while the Truedialer is available for free on Android and Windows Phone, the Truecaller can be downloaded for free on popular p l a t f o r m s including Android, iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, Tizen and Nokia

Truemessenger makes the SMS experience smarter and more social.

feature phones.

Speaking about the new App and its unique functions, Alan Mamedi, CEO& Co -founder of Truecaller explained that the introduction was necessitated by the urgent need to tackle the menace which spam messages have become to mobile network subscribers not just in Nigeria but all over the world.

Mamedi said, “We are at a crossroads of sorts, in terms of spam messages we receive on our mobile phones, and despite the evolution of services in other areas, little has been done to curb the number of spam messages we receive on a daily basis. Truemessenger aims to attacks this problem head- on by using a combined power of our global community with information from your own personal networks so you’ll never again have to worry about anonymous numbers.”

One of the unique features of the Truemessenger App is its ability to filter and block spam SMS by tapping into a vibrant community of more than 150 million members who help protect one another from annoying intrusions.

Explaining how the App functions, Mamedi said that Truemessenger organizes the inbox, puts a name to a number, and seamlessly blocks and filters spam SMS messages. It automatically checks incoming messages against the user ’s contact list for pre-existing contact information and adds the name of the sender instead of showing the phone number. Thus mobile phone users now have the option of avoiding messages from unwanted numbers and contacts.

Samsung raises bar in home experience with Activ dualwash W

HILE technology evolves, Samsung has continued to excite consumers with something new particularly at the upper end of its ‘washing machine line-up’.

This development has earned Samsung a reputation in the Nigerian market for its wide range of top quality home appliances and hand-held devices, including, smartphones and Ultra High Definition televisions.

This year, the company has again raised the bar in home experience with the introduction of more traditional and professionallyinspired Activ dualwash, with smart built-in sink, water jet, magic filter and dispenser, with a warranty of 10 years.

Understanding consumer constraints in washing, the Activ dualwash cares for not only the clothes, but also the homemaker.

The product, a first of its kind with a built-in sink is designed to elevate the everyday home experience for consumers, making laundry at home easier and even providing health benefits.

The Activ dualwash is a result of years of research to improve the

time and energy spent doing laundry.

Unique attraction The Activ dualwash is uniquely and innovatively designed with a built-in sink with water jet and a gentle scrubbing surface. This allin-one solution saves time, reduces effort and avoids mess by enabling consumers to presoak, scrub and auto wash the entire wash process in the washing machine, instead of having to spread the process over multiple locations, giving users more time to do other important things.

Benefits The Activ dualwash system comes with a dedicated sink that provides a convenient space to soak and/or hand-wash delicate items and comfortably pre-treat heavily stained areas of clothes before starting a normal wash cycle. The water jet, which starts and stops at the push of a button, provides access to water, thus allowing for easy soaking and scrubbing. Once that is done, the laundry and water can easily be poured into the machine by simply lifting the sink. This drops

the items into the tub below for a spotless wash that completes the effortless, all-in-one washing process.

Magic dispenser The magic dispenser eliminates residual detergent on fabric, leaving users with clean and fresh clothes. It achieves this by creating a powerful water vortex that dissolves detergent and disperses it c o m p l e t e l y, thoroughly and evenly before the wash cycle starts.

Washing has never been better!

Magic filter The Magic Filter is a long and wide filter, located at the tub’s water level. It takes care of the details that make clothes look fresh and clean.

It keeps unwelcome specks off whites and darks by gathering lint, fluff and particles, so you

can look good without having to inspect and tidy the little things. It does all this while protecting your drain from getting clogged.

Wobble technology The product utilises Samsung’s revolutionary Wobble technology, which helps to protect delicate fabrics from friction damage without compromising the washing performance. State-of-theart wobble pulsators generate a dynamic, multidirectional washing flow that prevents tangles, twists and knots w h i l e thoroughly cleaning your clothes with increased washing power that requires less w a t e r consumption.

Ironing has been made easy for users as the fabric comes out with less tangling.

Rear control panel Located at the back of the machine, the Rear Control Panel provides better visibility and ease of use while also being protected from water splashes during hand and pre-washing. The panel’s dual cluster design clearly separates the control buttons so that they are much simpler to learn and use.

With the Smart Check automatic error-monitoring system, there is absolutely no need to refer to paper manuals any more as it can detect and diagnose problems, using a smartphone app.

Design The Samsung Activ dualwash is uniquely designed, with a naturally rounded and elegant curves, an LED display, a strong and durable tempered glass door and a smart functionality with remote monitoring system.

Bottom-line The Samsung Activ dualwash washing machine is synonymous with innovation and sleek design, making it the first and the best digital washing technology available without compromising on style.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015, PAGE 23

Some men can’t draw the line between flirting and being led on!

A

lot of men have had nothing but nasty things to say about girls who flirt.

Yet, flirting has absolutely nothing to do with dragging a man by the scruff of the neck, so to speak, and leading him into the bedroom. Flirting is the little flattery things said to us by other people that make us feel good enough to be happy that we are female and are still desirable. The same can also apply to men. If it goes beyond that, it has an unhealthy ring to it, and it is called ‘leading on’.

Take the case of Wole for instance. He had been on very good terms with a couple for years. He’d known the husband since their university days in the North and the wife took to him like duck to water. He was so used to the household that most of the time when work took his friend away from home he was always with the wife and three children.

Florence, the friend’s wife told me that when Wole started flirting with her, she didn’t think too much of it.

“I mean. he was like the brother I never had.

Then I noticed that whenever I wasn’t supposed to be looking, he would give me very intense looks. Several times. I caught him looking at me and I would stare right back at him but he never looked away. It got to a point when I started feeling uncomfortable around him. Surely, he would be the last person to make a pass at me?

“Then he started making comments like... `I could have an affair with you easily if you weren’t my best friend’s wife... That friend of mine must be barmy to be always on the road with a pretty thing like you alone in the house?

Did anyone ever tell you that you were a very attractive woman? .. .’

“At first, I was amused by it all but when he stopped laughing whenever he made comments, I knew he was serious. Dead serious. He could no longer hide the lust in his eyes. Then came the day things came to a head. I came out of the

left his wallet in the house. Did I want to come in and look for it with him? The oldest line in the book and I declined. By the time he came back, I was already in a taxi heading home.

bedroom in my nightie not expecting a visitor and he’d just been let in by the house-help. ‘Oti o!’ he exclaimed in Yoruba, ‘don’t tell me you’re not wearing anything under that dress!’

Well. it was obvious I wasn’t, but I hurried back into the room to change.

He wanted to eat and I didn’t have anything in the house that he could eat. He said he would go out to get some fast food for both of us. Did I want to come? Well, what harm could come out of that?

Forward bend posture

A

lady I know once said to me, ''I want to do yoga, but how soon do I start to see results?'' I simply looked her in the eyes and shot back, “about half the time that it has taken you to acquire your excess baggage.”

Tr o u b l e w i t h m o s t people when they take up some fitness regime to correct what they have allowed to go wrong with their bodies, is the expectation of a miracle - instant results. But, fat bodies like fast food will bring problems in their wake. Apart from the seriousness that accompany crash exercises, there is also the problem of anxiety to be dealt with. I think the best attitude with which to get into a fitness routine is resolving to make it’ a way of life.’

Dr. George Sheehan advises, “become a life long athlete.” What is meant is constancy and diligence in practice.

This done, everyC M Y K

thing will come your way, namely, shamefulness, fitness, strength of body and mind, in short, all the good things that a healthy body has to offer.

A certain amount of curiosity and a selfhelp mentality are also very necessary qualities to inculcate into the personality make-

The Leg Pull

up.

Read up on good eating and other healthy living habits and seek to make them a part of your life. It is not good to do all the wrong things, then one day look at yourself in the mirror and say: I don’t like what I see, I want a bit off here, a bit off there, oh, my God, a bit off everywhere, really?

He was a family friend after all, so I went with him.

“I was a bit embarrassed when he started running his hand up my thigh any time he shifted the gear. When I told him to stop it, he told me not to be silly. Was this one of the goodies his friend was enjoying? At this stage, I was thoroughly annoyed and irritated by his coarse behaviour and I asked him to take me home. In his conceit, he drove straight to his flat with this stupid excuse that he

The fact that you are reading this means you want a change for yourself. A change for a healthier, more responsive body.

Having made the decision, resolve to have the tenacity of purpose. It will be your greatest asset in your bid to improve on your b o d y. Wi t h i t , y o u r ‘dream’ body will become your ‘ real’ body.

The following are some yoga exercises to help you reduce

“I didn’t tell my husband what happened and I guess Wole respected me for it. He hasn’t been so frequent since then and I don’t pamper him any more like I used to on the few occasions he called. An affair is alright if you feel like it, but being expected to roll in the hay with your best friends is, to me, an insult! I refused to be treated like a prostitute in my own house!”

“I think I must be very weak and too trusting.

At first I meant things to be on a flirtatious basis.

But the more gifts a man buys me, the more I feel guilty about taking things from him. Most times I tried to prevent a showdown, but my men could apparently spot a weak woman a mile off. Inevitably, I always end up in a quiet room with them. A motel most times. A few times, it is the back of the car and during the usual struggle I think, why not get it over with him?

After this once, you won’t have to pay back anything. And I would do just that. And believe me, they often never bother me again!”

That is one woman who could put a screw on things if she has to. But Stella’s case is different.

In the space of ten years, she has known several men, and the fact that she’s married doesn’t cramp her style. All it takes for a man to have her are a few gifts, some nice words and the right opportunity. Why did she do it? She told me:

I looked at her aghast!

I felt like holding her by the shoulders and shaking some sense into her. What are silly gifts from a man who wouldn’t lose any sleep if you refused to sleep with him?” Like I said, flirting is one thing but going out to ask for trouble means you deserve every man that walks all over you!

weight, firm thighs and the buttocks. A must for ladies with the problem of cellulite.

The Leg Pull, jausirasana in sanskait, is done this w a y. ‘ S i t w i t h l e g s stretched out before.

Now place the sole of the left foot against the upper inside of the right thigh. Raise both arms overhead. Lean backward as far as possible and coming forward grab hold of whatever part of the right leg you can with both hands. Be careful not to over strain.

'Bend your elbows and pull the trunk slowly downward and at the same time turn the right shoulder downward and the left shoulder upward.

Breath slowly and deeply.

'After a comfortable while, release hold and gently straighten up.

Perform similar movements with the left leg.

Go over from right to left legs three times in all.'

Apart, from the ‘selfmassaging’ effect of this posture to deal with cellulite and ten-

sion, fatigue are also relieved throughout the legs.

The Locust, the next exercise effectively deals with excess weight, firms, streamlines and develops the buttocks, hips, thighs and legs.

To perfor m the Lo cus, lie face down with the chin on the floor and place the fists on the floor beside the thighs. Breathe in deeply, regaining the breadth, push legs as high as you can. Remain a while like this, then bring down both legs and exhale.

Take a short rest and repeat. If it is too difficult raising both legs in one go, take the described position, but raise one leg for a while, lower it, and then repeat with the other leg.

Yoga Classes STARTED Physical Therapy Centre @

32

Adetokumbo

Ademola, Victoria Island Lagos.

9.00am — 10.00am on Saturdays

P AGE 24 — SUND AY Vanguard , SEPTEMBER 27 , 2015 SUNDA

bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk 08056180152, SMS only

'University turned my daughter into an alcoholic!' “

T

he hope of every mother is for her eldest child to leave the nest to start university - she also dreads the day it happens,” says Mudia, 51, an executive director of a stock broking firm”.

So came the day when I hugged my 20-year-old Matilda goodbye in front of her new female hostel digs. We both put a brave face on, afterall, these exciting new beginnings would mark the next chapter in my daughter’s life - it was my duty as a mother to let go the apron strings.

“Back home, my husband and I were consoled by the fact that Matilda’s mass communication course would launch her into a rewarding career.

Unfortunately, what I couldn’t have anticipated was that my daughter ’s arrival at university would precipitate her downward spiral into a dangerous world of alcohol dependency, leaving her vulnerable to sexual predators. Whilst stories of students drinking to excess are nothing new, Matilda’s tale will horrify any mother of daughters.

And never more so than at the beginning of an academic year when drink - fuelled Freshers’ weeks across campuses/ seduce new cohort of wide-eyed students with a seemingly endless supply of alcohol.

“Before her final year at university was over, my poor innocent daughter had developed the beginnings of such a serious drink problem that she sometimes missed lectures. It was during her third year that she finally dropped out of university altogether.

‘It sickens me to admit that I must have had at

least 40 one-nightstands,’ she admitted to the specialist trying to wean her off alcohol, ‘and they ’re the ones I can remember - all because I was too drunk to care. Too drunk to bother with contraception, I realised I was very lucky not to get pregnant, or contract a sexually transmitted infection. And having repeatedly put myself in vulnerable positions, I am also aware I’m lucky to be alive.’

“My daughter said her problems began when, as a shy student, she took advantage of the free booze laid on at parties to lubricate those awkward early social interactions. When just over two months into her university career she called home in tears that she was broke, I was horrified. She had about six weeks of term to go but had already blown the entire maintenance money we put into her account. It emerged that all of it had gone into entertaining her friends - a reciprocrative gesture for the good times they

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"

Happy birthday my jewel

My embodiment of beauty,you have indeed occupied a sizeable percentage of my life for good,

gave her!

“I asked her to come home that weekend and with her father, we took control of her finances, transferring just the amount we agreed she would need every week.

Unknown to us, she continued with the good times. She was also ‘lucky ’ to have friends who invited her out to crazy parties where cheap and expensive booze were freely available. According to Matilda, she regularly had blackouts, where she would barely remember arriving at a party, let alone leaving it. She confessed she once went out to an all-night party asking men to take her home. Fortunately, one man, a total stranger, realised the state she was in and brought her to her hostel! Thanks to the wonderful counsellor we took her to, she was able to get off booze long enough for when she could finally control it.

“According to Matilda’s counsellor: ‘It’s not easy for young people to work out how to deal with alcohol.

They ’re

bombarded with alcohol advertising, which tells them drinking is a normal thing to do, and it’s often available at all these ‘show-stopping’ parties female undergraduates are ‘recruited’ to. Young people tend to overestimate how much their peers drink, which can cause a feeling that ‘everyone is doing it.’ It’s been alleged that many 18 to 24-year-olds think it is socially unacceptable NOT to drink alcohol and one in five young adults say peer pressure influences them to drink more than they might wish.”

Patricia, 29, said she was certain it was her arrival at the university yeas ago, to study English literature, that sparked her steep decline into alcohol dependence. “Nothing prepared me for the student alcohol culture” she said. ‘’Aged 18, I’d barely drunk before and, suddenly, I was seeing boozed-up girls getting half-naked at parties and boys urinating into shoes at their afternoon ‘bashes’. Everyone was

that is why my love for you is an inward thing that will always inhabit immutably in the very depth of my being till time immemorial. It therefore gladdens and enlivens my heart as you celebrate your birthday in this month of September. May our good Lord who is never outdone in generosity grant you a deep sense of fulfillment, robust healthy long life, requisite wisdom, glorious testimonies, inward peace and satisfying expectations. Happy birthday NKIRU FAVOUR OHAGWU, my jewel of inestimable value.

Akachukwu Ferdinand, akachukwuferdinandc@yahoo.com 08063819314

IT'S ALL ABOUT GOD

Sometimes you are unsatisfied with your life, while many people in this world are dreaming of living your life. A child on a farm sees a plane fly overhead and dreams of flying. But, a pilot on the plane sees the farmhouse and dreams of returning home. That's

drinking. If you didn’t join in, you get left behind.

I wasn’t drinking to escape problems - I didn’t have any - it was just about trying to fit in.

“Keen to be the ‘life and soul’, I was soon drinking a lot at night, five days a week. As my tolerance grew, I would down a bottle of wine just on my own. After four years at university, my drinking had reached unprecedented heights.

I used to black out a lot, and ended up stranded at parties in the middle of nowhere, with no money to get home. I’d wake up from one-night stands, not knowing where I was or who with.

Within months, I’d put on a lot of weight because of the alcohol.

“Miraculously, my grades didn’t slip. After graduation, I enrolled on a drama course. By then I was so used to drinking, I thought it was ‘cool’ to turn up at 9 am classes still drunk. It was almost a badge of honour! It was when I began experiencing stomach cramps, panic attacks and depression a year after graduating that I knew I needed help. Thank goodness, my boyfriend then was a bit older and was glad to support me as I battled with alcohol addiction. It is unfortunate that there are no really ageappropriate support for alcoholics in the country.

Drinking is not always black and white. It is not always about being an alcoholic or not. Young women and their parents who are worried about them need professional support. I plan to help people that are now in the position I was in my drinking years. I was lucky to have a strong,

supportive boyfriend and I hope one day soon, to replicate that for other ‘victims’ who are not so fortunate.”

The Police Is Your Friend! (Humour) The sergeant answered the phone in the police station. The voice at the other end was slow and slurred. “I wanna report a theft, offsher. I’ve been robbed. Shum dirty crook has shtolen things from my car.”

“What kind of things?” asked the sergeant. “My shteering wheel, brakes, dashboard, accellerator ... the bloody lot’s gone,” The sergeant humoured him for a moment and said he would investigate.

“Bloody drunks,” he said when he hung up. Five minutes later, the phone rang again. “Cancel that report, it’s alright. Yers can stop looking,” said the same voice. “My mistake.

I got inter the back seat!”

Pot Callina: The Kettle Black? (Humour) Fred had been celebrating for most of the night before he staggered to the bar and loudly proclaimed: “Drinks for everybody, and have one for yourself, barman.” There was a rush to the bar and after everybody was served, the barman said to Fred, “That’ll be N6,700". “But I haven’t any money ”, ‘said Fred quietly.

With that the barman grabbed him by the shirt front, punched him several times and threw him out on the street. A few minutes later, Fred returned through the swinging doors, staggered up to the bar and loudly proclaimed: “Drinks for everybody, except you barman, you get blooming nasty when you drink!”

life!! Enjoy yours. If wealth is the secret to happiness, then the rich should be dancing on the streets. But only poor kids do that. If power ensures security, then officials should walk unguarded. But those who live simply, sleep soundly. If beauty and fame bring ideal relationships, then celebrities should have the best marriages. But those who live simply, walk humbly and love genuinely! All good will come back to you!!!

Man asks, “Where was God when Myles Munroe, wife and his associates were killed in a crash? He answers, "The same place I sat when John the Baptist my servant was beheaded. When Stephen my servant was stoned to death. When Paul my servant was murdered in Rome. The same place I sat when my only Son was brutally crucified, wounded, bruised and killed. I have not moved from my position."

I am the same. It is not the means of exit from earth that matters but the destination. Live simply. It's all about God!!"

Chris Onunaku dekris4real@gmail.com 08032988826/08184844015.

SUNDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015,PAGE 25

ANTI-CORRUPTION WAR

The legal framework Nigeria needs from Sagay — Muiz Banire, SAN *Uncovers the eggheads in Tinubu’s govt *He vows: I will never be a judge •Dr. Muiz Banire

BY WALE AKINOLA Dr. Muiz Banire is a man of many parts: An academician, an advocate in law, an administrator, a politician. Banire served as Commissioner under former Governors Bola Tinubu and Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, and is currently the National Legal Adviser of the ruling APC. The latest feather to his cap is the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) title. Meanwhile, in this interview, Banire says he is not a professional politician but a professional in politics. Excerpts: everal years after getting to the peak of your academic career, you finally made it to the top of your professional career with the SAN award? How do you feel?

To a certain extent, one feels fulfilled.

I thank God for that privilege. It is not because of hard work that some things in life come our way, but because of divine intervention. So I am grateful to God for the attainment.

I guess this translates to bigger fees for clients wishing to patronise you?

I don’t know. I have not done any billing for a client yet. Maybe when I want to do that, it will occur to me. There is one aspect that is more important than money. This aspect is one that enables me to use the attainment to pursue the cause of justice. This is because a society where there is lack of justice and fairness cannot know peace.

Corruption is a big issue in the society and this cuts across all strata. How do you think we can collectively tackle the menace?

It must be a general resolution on the part of all of us that we want to banish corruption, otherwise we are heading nowhere. One of the areas of reckoning is obedience to the rule of law by all individuals and institutions regardless of the position that you occupy. If all of us do this, to a certain extent, we will be able to tame this vice. Corruption is not peculiar to any sector. It is everywhere. We need general reorientation with a view to pointing out the follies inherent in corruption. This is because once you are ignorant of something, it becomes a vicious cycle. If you come to me for a service and I have cause to deny you of that service because you did not comply with certain corrupt practices, and it happens like that everywhere, then we are doomed. There must be a new orientation pointing out the negative impact of corruption on the society vis-a-vis each profession. Pertaining to my own profession, for instance, I know that if there is corruption in the judiciary, I am in trouble. It means that no matter the quality of the submissions I make in court, I will not get justice. The same thing will happen to litigants. If at the end of the day people lose confidence in the justice system, the resort will be to self preservation, and that will lead to anarchy in

S

C M Y K

the society. And once there is anarchy in the society, there will be no development.

We have a renewed war on corruption going on in the country. Are we doing the right things to succeed?

Nothing much has been done now. It is the structures that are still being put in place. When the structures have been put in place, that is when the war itself will start. For instance, I am waiting for the report of the Prof. Sagay committee on the way forward in tackling corruption. Fighting corruption is not all about picking up people and taking them to court. It goes beyond that. The Sagay committee must look at the structure, the legal framework. That is the starting point. In fact, I wrote a paper on it about seven years ago, that we need to look at the legal framework because there are so many of them that are conflicting, some are unintelligible, some are obsolete. Then how many structures do we have fighting corruption all over the place? EFCC, ICPC, Code of Conduct Bureau, Nigeria Police … even SSS, DMI are all fighting corruption. I believe this thing must be structured. We need a format. We may even need protocol so that somebody does not suddenly wake up and say this is the way he wants to do his own (fight corruption). The Sagay committee needs to give us the legal framework; look at all legislations targeted at fighting corruption in Nigeria, analyse them, I think there is a need for realignment, let them do the realignment and give us proper calibration of the direction to go in terms of the law itself.

Even the procedural law, we need to look at it. This is because if the substantive law is okay, but the procedural law is weak, you will still run into systemic crisis. That is why there are undue delays in anti-corruption cases … four years, five years. The general impression is that no high profile anti-corruption case in Nigeria ever ends. That borders on the weakness of our procedural laws. So, there is the need for the Sagay committee to evaluate the legal framework properly. Once they get that right, the next thing is to look at the structure with a view to ascertaining which institution does what. The submission I made in the paper I wrote some seven years ago was that all the things we need to fight corruption are already in the EFCC Act. All the things the ICPC, the police do are just to follow up. So there is the need to clearly define the responsibilities of each of these agencies to see if they are still relevant.

So much attention is like being paid to the issue of anti-corruption by the Buhari administration that it would appear that other things are not important, the economy for instance.

Should it be so?

There is the risk. But then, the effect of the negative impact of corruption is

so devastating that without addressing it, no economic revival will succeed.

So you must balance the two aspects of our national life. Any economic policy without addressing corruption will ultimately fail. That is why the fight against corruption must go alongside our efforts to rejuvenate the economy.

Nigerians subscribed to the ‘change’ mantra on the grounds that it will translate into improved life for them. But three months after the administration, led by your party, came into office, things appear to be in slow motion.

As a top member of the APC, are you not concerned?

The problem is that, by our nature, we are impatient. We are always in haste.

To me, there are some areas we need to look at first and foremost in determining whether there is impact or not. For instance, the president said he does not want to make a mistake, he wants to do things meticulously. Everybody has been talking about cabinet. To a certain extent, I believe that is not particularly essential to the development of a nation. This is because there are people in the public service doing the job presently. The issue is that when the ministers are appointed, they essentially will deal with policies. And once the policies are in place, it is for the public service to implement. So, all these things, according to the president, he needs to look at the depth of what he met, so that he knows how to proceed. This tells me how politicians make electioneering promises without knowing the reality when they get into office. That appears to be the obstacle to the prompt realisation of the promises made by the president. But all the same, if we are able to set the right agenda by the end of the year, the people will smile by the beginning of next year. We need to give the president enough time to plan so that the

Any economic policy without addressing corruption will ultimately fail. That is why the fight against corruption must go alongside our efforts to rejuvenate the economy

expected dividends can come in the quantum that we desire.

Another thing staring us in the face is the unpaid salaries in the states. How do we get out of it?

Unfortunately, I am a layman. I have never been a governor.

But you have been in government.

When I was in government we were paying salaries. But it is like there is a disconnect somewhere and we must address it. I cannot imagine somebody working for 30 days and going home without pay. How does he feed the family and meet other family responsibilities? That in itself is a source of corruption … because he must find an alternative way to survive. So, I think the federal government and the states, in conjunction with the National Economic Council, must find a sustainable solution to the unpaid salaries issue.

We have been made to understand that some of the policies of the Buhari administration will be implemented from the loot recovered from those who stole from the treasury. But its like we still have a long way to go in the loot recovery. How much hope do you have?

Beyond loot recovery, I have said the government has started well by setting up the Sagay committee. That is the foundation. Without it, you can’t do anything. What we are doing at the moment is not fighting corruption. Fighting corruption is a lot more encompassing. You may even need to go to the schools to inculcate the basic values. I have been agitating, ‘return moral education to schools!’ I probably would have been something else but for the religious education I had while in school. If you have the fear of God, the tendency to be corrupt will be limited. So, we must go beyond the issue of loot recovery into all aspects of what corruption is doing to us and what even constitutes corruption. Do you know that if you mess up somebody in terms of time-keeping, that is corruption?

So, we need to address corruption holistically.

So we may need to bring back the War Against Indiscipline (WAI) that we had under President Buhari as military Head of State.

It may not be in that form. But we need complete orientation against corruption. I envisage the MAMSER type of orientation, as spearheaded by Prof.

Gana, that, ‘If you are a sweeper, sweep well’. That is the type of orientation that must come back. There must be dignity in whatever we do.

Kidnapping is getting worse. Within one week, we have had at least two high profile kidnappings, the latest victim being Chief Olu Falae. How do we stem criminality?

I heard the IG recently talking about community policing. That is the way out. Policing is not all about carrying guns around. Security is better carried out through intelligence. You must spend more on intelligence, people must be incorporated. We see the (American) FBI, CIA acting like magicians when they resolve puzzles. It is because they have agents everywhere who gather intelligence. If I am in charge of any security agency, I will have my people in every sector assembling intelligence capable of bursting crime. And once you have intelligence, you are on top of the situation. Even among kidnappers, you must have your agent – undercover agent. We need to improve the capacity of intelligence officers.

There are certain things that government does that many people, especially the opposition, take as being against them … even if it is clear that government is sincere. In putting in place the sort of orientation against corruption you spoke about, what guarantee do we have that the opposition will not read meaning into it and say it is targeted at them?

Nigeria is unfortunately one of the •Continues on page 27

PAGE 26— SUNDAY VANGUARD, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015

LONG WALK INTO THE FOREST

‘Abductors carried tired Falae on their back’

Sympathisers welcoming Falae back home DAYO JOHNSON, AKURE

T

HE 96-hour horrifying experience of the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation SGF, Chief Oluyemisi Falae , in kidnappers den, would remain with him for a long time to come.

In an emotion-laden voice, he recounted how he was hounded like a criminal right in the middle of his breakfast and made to trek in the forest for 10 hours, slept on bare floor for four days and the excruciating pains he suffered during his captivity.

Falae was narrating his ordeal in kidnappers den to Governor Olusegun Mimiko who visited him after he was rescued at about 4:14pm on Thursday.

He returned home to a tumultuous crowd who besieged his house located along Oba-Ile. On hand were Inspector General of Police Solomon Arase and top police chiefs in the state led by the Police Commissioner Mike Ogbodu who went with over 400 policemen to bring him back home after his captors released him.

Arase had landed in Akure, the Ondo State capital, in a police chopper marked 5N- ANS on Thursday on the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari that the elder statesC M Y K

From left: Mrs Rachel Falae, husband and Gov. Mimiko after Falae's return man be rescued alive from his abductors.

The family of the politician, the presidential candidate of the Alliance for Democracy (AD)/ All Peoples Party (APP) in the 1999 general elections, had reportedly perfected his release on Wednesday before the arrival of the IGP in the state.

Eight gun welding herds men had allegedly invaded his farm, located at Ilado village in Akure North Council area of Ondo State on the day he clocked 77 , attacked and injured many of his over 200 workers and abducted their prime target at about 10:30am.

Falae was said to be taking his breakfast in his office located inside the farm when the kidnappers swooped on him and took him away. His abductors didn’t come in any vehicle

Immediately the leader in mask saw him in the office, he reportedly ordered him to follow them and, while Falae questioned their identity, he was dealt a machete blow on his right hand leaving him to bleed profusely

The dress worn by the elder statesman during the four days incarceration

and didn’t escape with him in any vehicle either. He was made to trek with them into the forest.

Only one of the kidnappers who, it was gathered, presumably knew him in person, wore mask while others were bare faced and armed with AK 47 rifles, cutlasses and cudgels .

Immediately the leader in mask saw him in the office, he reportedly ordered him to follow them and, while Falae questioned their identity, he was dealt a machete blow on his right hand leaving him to bleed profusely.

Falae, rescued on Thursday in Owo area of the state where he was dumped by his abductors, told Mimiko that he slept on bare floor in the forest for four days. “ They made me to trek for several hours inside the forest on that Monday all through the night. Those that accompanied me were six in number,” the elder statesman said. . “ After trekking for that long, we came out at Owo/ Ifon expressway. We trekked throughout the night.

Continues on page 27

SUNDAY VANGUARD, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015, PAGE 27

`Abductors carried tired Falae on their back’ Continued from page 26 “ To avoid security who may be searching for me, they changed locations four times daily. “ I was offered food but I chose not to eat their food but only took bread and Coca-cola for the number of days I was in their captivity. ” Sunday Vanguard was told by a family member that they were informed by Falae that during the llong walk inside the forest, whenever he was tired, the six abductors took time to carry him on their back for him to regain his strength and then continue the journey.

He said that his kidnappers avoided the main road until they got to Owo. It was learnt that the kidnappers reportedly hid their weapons at strategic places inside the forest and, while the six abductors accompanied the politician during the journey, two others, in a hideout, were making contact and negotiating with the family on the ransom to be paid.

The politician was said to have been having issues with herds men who had been invading his farmland with their cows to graze and destroy.

*Falae with IGP Arase

*Falae narrating his ordeal to Mimiko

To avoid security who may be searching for me, they changed locations four times daily. “ I was offered food but I chose not to eat their food but only took bread and Coca-cola for the number of days I was in their captivity His abduction by the herds men was seen as a retaliation for the arrest of two of them detained after the last encounter over the invasion of the same farm last month.

Sunday Vanguard gathered that the herds men dropped Falae at Joyland

Hotel, Owo where security operatives picked him and brought him to Akure.

It was gathered that the family and the security operatives had to appeal to the owner of the hotel to allow the politician make use of one the rooms in the hotel to change his dress.

*Falae savouring the air of freedom

The eggheads in TTinubu’s inubu’s go vt, bbyy Muiz Banire, SAN govt, •Continued from page 25 countries where we do not distinguish electioneering period from when government has taken office. In other climes, once elections are over, everybody rallies round the government while government treats everybody the same way regardless of political affiliation. That is the oath of government swore to. In putting in place national rebirth, government needs everybody’s cooperation for it to succeed irrespective of party affiliation.

The PDP led federal government did not get similar cooperation from the APC They did not ask for it. If they did, certainly we would have obliged them.

In some instances, we even did. On Boko Haram, we suggested the way out.

I read a book authored by the prime minister of Dubai, ‘Flashes of Thought’.

Throughout, the underpinning thing you see in the book is ‘faith’. He says in the book that every single policy of government is motivated by the happiness of his people. Happiness of the people should be our basic preoccupation, particularly after electioneering campaign. Rebirth is important, fundamental. The 109 senators, the 269 House of Reps members, all the Houses of Assembly, put together, cannot effect the change that we envisage if the generality of the people do not buy into it, regardless of party affiliation.

What motivated you into reading law, and how was it at the beginning?

C M Y K

There is something people don’t know about me. I am not a professional politician.

I am a professional in politics. I am in politics simply to ensure good governance. You can’t fight outside the ring.

You have to be inside to make the required impact.

When I was in primary school, I used to prefix my name in my notebooks with chief justice. I think it was Fatai Williams that was the CJN. At that time, I did not know my destination. After leaving secondary school, I wanted to read law but I got admission to read economics at Louisiana State University, US. My uncle immediately paid the fees.

But I had a brother here then who was paying part of my school fees. I went to

him and told me about the development.

The status quo then was that as you exit secondary school, you do JAMB. I had done JAMB and, when the result came out, I got admission to read law at UNILORIN. My brother convinced me to read law. This was how I started my legal career.

Who is your role model?

Prof. Jelili Omotola. I learnt so many things from him. I was very close to him. He was my teacher, he was my HoD, he was my Dean, he was my VC. Infact when he was VC, some of us were his special assistants regardless of whether we were lecturers at the UNILAG Faculty of Law. He impacted greatly on us. UNILAG worked under him.

I thought Ashiwaju Tinubu will be your role model?

There is something people don’t know about me. I am not a professional politician. I am a professional in politics. I am in politics simply to ensure good governance. You can’t fight outside the ring. You have to be inside to make the required impact. That brought me into politics, but people misconstrue my posturings. I have never been out to contest election all my life. Even common political office now, I have said I am not interested. The reason we have problems in politics today is that we have huge deficit of good people in politics.

So, how was it it serving in Lagos State government, especially under Ashiwaju Bola Tinubu?

We struggled towards proving good governance. I will give our efforts a comfortable pass mark. Many eggheads

were in the Tinubu administration – VP Osinbajo, Cardoso, Teju Phillips, Dele Alake, Aregbe. These were authorities in the various fields. As Commissioner for Special Duties, I cleared the courts of exhibit congestion.

We have a new regime in which senior lawyers can be appointed into Supreme Court. If you are approached, will you consider the offer?

I am not cut out to be a judge for several reasons. One of it is that the welfare of judges, to me, is not sufficient, its not tempting, not inviting.

Is this possibly responsible for the alleged corruption in the judiciary?

It is not impossible. You must run away from temptation. Let me give you a scenario. If I were to be appointed a minister today, maybe the highest pay I would get is N25 million per annum. That cannot solve my problem.

Any other thing will come from stealing or bribery. So, if you are not ready to steal or ask for bribe, restrict yourself to a place where you can make good money legitimately. We have to pay our judges well; we need to possibly adopt the Singapore regime or the one in place in Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia, their police are paid huge allowances such that they didn’t have to spend their salaries. So, why would the Saudi police be tempted to take bribe?

If you have not been a lawyer, what would you have been?

I would have possibly been a civil engineer because it is lucrative, ever sought after. I like things that will make me comfortable.

PAGE 28 — SUNDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015

My ancestor stopped Fulani fighters’ invasion of Yorubaland— Attah of Ayede •Says Gov Fayose is misunderstood

BY BASHIR ADEFAKA Oba Abdul-Mumini Adebayo Orisagbemi, Arojojoye Abolokefa IV, the Attah of Ayede-Ekiti, had his turn with Sunday Vanguard’s Royalty when he went into history about the Ilorin warriors and how his ancestor and Ibadan Army “General” Esubiyi, who later became the first Attah of Ayede-Ekiti, was the one that led the “military” expedition that stopped the Ilorin warriors from encroaching into Yorubaland through Ekiti in the early 19th century. Attah Orisagbemi, who spoke about how his community can contribute to the diversification of the Nigerian economy if its huge deposit of mineral resources could be tapped into, also spoke glowingly about Governor Ayodele Fayose.

Ayede-Ekiti is significant in the history of Yorubal a n d .

What is the story and why is ‘Attah’ known to be title of Igala king also yours?

Ayede is a community founded

by Attah Esubiyi, who, in in his time, was a warrior. He and his warriors had moved from Iye to settle here and, when they got here, Esubiyi said, “Aye wa de wayi” (meaning life has now come to settle). He was an Iye man but trained in Ibadan as a warrior and rose to become the “General” (chief) of Ibadan Army. And he led the Ibadan Army to many military expedition, that is wars, before he was released to come and settle down here in order to stop the Fulani warriors of Ilorin from encroaching Ekitiland and by extension Ibadanland.

Then the Attah title, Esubiyi was at Igalaland on a military expedition against the Attah of Igala and his army. Esubiyi was a never-defeated warrior just like the Attah of Igala and so, after he and Attah of Igala fought a draw without a victor or the vanquished emerging, both war chiefs became friends.

Esubiyi, who had become a king because of his overpowering war strength, settled in Igala for a while and returned to Ayede. And, on getting back to Ayede, he told his people that he loved the courage and style of fighting a war displayed by the Attah of Igala and that he would love to borrow his royal title. He mentioned it to Attah of Igala and he agreed. That was how we came about Attah as the obaship title in Ayede Kingdom the in Ekiti land. Being another tribe’s borrowed title, we needed to distinguish between the two similar titles and so we call our own Attah Oluodo of Ayede-Ekiti whereas his own is called Attah of Igala.

You mentioned Iye from where C M Y K

Esubiyi actually came from.

What about that?

We call it Iye Mero Ekiti. It is now in Ikole Local Government according to official geographical distribution. There are four quarters that came with Esubiyi from Iye to form Ayede community. Iye had been under attack by Ilorin warriors leading to them living in different locations in the bush. Don’t forget that Esubiyi, the Ibadan Army General, hailed from Iye. On his way to this place, he passed through Iye, which people, having been attacked, were now living in different locations in the bush, and took all of them and their belongings and they followed him to this place.

The four quarters are the Isaoye Quarters, Ilaro Quarters, Ejigbo Quarters and Odo’ye Quarters.

These were the main people. There were however other people who later came from other communities to join Esubiyi after he had formed Ayede community and they were from about 142 communities but they came here mainly for protection and it was my forefather, “General” Esubiyi who protected them from the onslaught of the Ilorin warriors and, by this, I mean from the Alli-led warriors of Ilorin.

By this, the Ilorin people saw Esubiyi as an obstacle and wanted to get rid of him at all costs but that was impossible because, much as they tried to dislodge him from Ayede, they met a brick wall. Esubiyi was not just a warrior, he was a never-conquered war chief.

We used to hear how Ibadan warriors defeated the Fulani warriors, who had already taken over Ilorin, thereby preventing them from coming down to Yorubaland. Was it the same Ibadan Army you are referring to as having been led by people like Esubiyi, your forefather?

He did not only lead the Army, he was also an Ibadan General.

Wherever he conquered, he hoisted Ibadan flag.

So, Ayede was actually the battle ground from where the Fulani warriors of Ilorin were defeated and pushed back to where they belonged?

Yes. But we have never heard it this way?

People have twisted history most of the times to favour themselves.

But everybody knows the truth that Attah Esubiyi stopped the Ilorin warriors from getting into Ekitiland because, after about 72 years of founding Ayede, one Attah, Oba Ajayi Erinnla, my great grandfather and son of Esubiyi, who became oba after him, now sent some people back to Iye to prevent the Eruku people from encroaching on our land, which had earlier been attacked. He was then protecting both Ayede and Iye

such that Iye still exists. It is a town now because those sent back there by Attah Erinnla, my great grandfather, settled down there.

Does that mean that your reigns extends from this place to Iye in Ikole-Ekiti?

My reign even extends beyond Iye. This palace was built by 17 towns and villages who were serv-

It was my forefather, “General” Esubiyi who protected them from the onslaught of the Ilorin warriors and, by this, I mean from the Alli-led warriors of Ilorin

ing Ayede: Omuo, Itapaji, Ijelu, Ipao, Oke Afo, Irele up to Eruku and Ogbeh in Kogi State, they were all serving Ayede and they were under the reign of my grand father, Oba Gabriel Orisagbemi.

So, all the generations of your lineage were kings?

Of course my great great grandfather was a king, Attah Esubiyi; my great grandfather was a king, Oba Ajayi Erinnla; my grandfather was a king, Oba Gabriel Orisagbemi; my uncle who was friend to many great people, including Alhaji Kola Animasaun, Attah Joseph Orisagbemi, was a king and I am now a king as well.

Before you ascended the throne, what were you doing?

I was a politician and a successful businessman. I am auto-mobile engineer but I was a strong politician and, as a businessman, I engaged in car business and I was a contractor.

As a Muslim, how have you been able to cope with running the traditional institution of obaship?

God actually knows who is worshipping Him. I can tell anybody that I am a Muslim to the core and I don’t believe in anything other than the Qur’an. Any other thing?

I may be listening to you, it ends there. I don’t stop other religions’ believers from carrying out their activities. But I will not take anything before any oracle for any reason. There are people who do it for the oba. Go and do it. That is what my forefathers had been doing. I may not be able to stop it because people have the right to their individual religious practices just like I have the right to practice Islam.

What is the economy of Ayede like?

Ayede is very rich in mineral resources except that we have not got the investors to tap them.

Ayede has one of the largest ethanol in West Africa. Equally we have rocks that can be used for cement and granite. We also have large expanse of arable land for farming. We are therefore calling on investors to come in and tap from these resources and now that we have a Federal Government that is very keen about developing solid minerals and agriculture, we expect that something good will happen to Ayede.

What is the relationship like between the palace and the state government?

The government is there, the kingdom is here, we are under the government by the law although somebody would say the government is under us (the kings) by tradition (laughs). We have a good relationship with the state government, especially under the current governor, Ayodele Fayose. Fortunately, his mother is from this palace. So, Fayose is half Ayede, half Afao. He is like a cousin to me and so there is no way we would not be very close.

Then you are qualified to tell us about the personality of the governor that is seen generally as controversial.

Well, I can tell you that looking at Governor Fayose from a dis-

tance will not give you his true picture. But getting closer to him, you would find out that he is a Godfearing person. And he is fair in his judgements. In politics, there is a lot of tricks and mischiefs.

Fayose is a very good person, very kind and he is very, very articulate. He knows what he is doing and I always love such people who know what they are doing. The governor is not an academician, who will go all about theory for 100 years without result. But the boy wants to practicalise his own thing and get problems solved.

What is your take on giving official responsibility to traditional rulers to ensure community security, which has already been done in Kaduna State by Governor El-Rufai?

If they give official powers to traditional rulers, I can tell you that it will go a long way in curbing kidnapping, terrorism and crime generally in our various communities.

There is no smoke without fire.

There is no way for instance a stranger can come here and kidnap somebody. There must be somebody that knows about the criminal operation within the community. This is a matter of common sense.

If they can constitutionally or politically allow some level of powers for traditional rulers in this regard, it will help the country. It is then that you can form an effective community policing because, the people know who are criminals within their community; only they don’t have sufficient evidence to hand them over to the police. And they don’t have the power to stop the police from allowing their bail. People believe that when you hand criminals over to the police, the police release them without prosecution and they come back and continue their nuisance in town.

But in a situation where there is community police, if you hand over criminals to them knowing that they are going to further hand them over for prosecution, the police will not have the power of releasing that person because they know that another set of people will put up their own report as well. And that will reduce crime rate as hundreds of people walking the streets because they have no jobs will be engaged with that.

What is it with the Yoruba

SUNDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015, PAGE 29

2016: The fear of economic recession!

BY DELE SOBOWALE “Economy could slip into recession, CBN warns.”

News report, September 23, 2015.

BEING ECONOMICAL WITH THE TRUTH The report went on to state: “The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria on Tuesday warned that the country’s economy could slip into recession next year if proactive steps were not taken by the Federal Government to revive key sectors” .. Ordinarily, people reading that statement, and believing it, would be excused for thinking that the CBN and Governor Godwin Emefiele don’t already know some truths which render their statement more political and self-serving than economic. Unfortunately, the CBN and the Monetary Policy Committee already know that a recession in 2016 is inevitable.

The call for “proactive steps”, meaning vital fiscal policy, betrays their failure to level with Nigerians and the international community – the latter has a vital interest in our economy and its confidence in Nigeria is crucial to our recovery from impending recession.

The CBN knows better than anybody else that, as China goes, so goes much of the global economies. A most recent survey showed that Chinese factory output had fallen to its lowest level in six and a half years. Big economies on the skid cannot be C M Y K

turned around in a hurry.

The same CBN is aware that exports of crude are expected to fall to 56.66 million barrels in November. That is 1.89 million per day instead of the 2.04 million planned. December shipments are not expected to be significantly higher.

What sort of “proactive steps” can be taken between now and December to avert a total year decline from last year? Economics is not magic. Even if it is, where is the magician now?

THE ECONOMIC FACTS CONFRONTING US The CBN and keen watchers of the economy are aware that the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, announced that our Gross Domestic Product, GDP, grew by 2.35 per cent in the second quarter of this year – which ended in June. It was the second quarter in a row that the economy will record less than budgeted performance. Incidentally, 2.35 per cent growth, when the population continues to grow at close to 2.85 per cent, means that the average Nigerian is getting poorer.

Furthermore, the NBS projects that year-end GDP growth will be about 2.63 per cent. That is still less than half of the budgeted growth. Additionally, the third quarter is over and there was no economic stimulus to accelerate the rate of GDP growth from the abysmal 2.35 per cent recorded in the second quarter. As we enter the fourth quarter, the focus of the Buhari administration has been to fight corruption and

What sort of “proactive steps” can be taken between now and December to avert a total year decline from last year?

Economics is not magic. Even if it is, where is the magician now?

Boko Haram. Economic policy makers are not required for those.

There has been a distinct absence of focus on the economy as we can see in the fact that neither a Chief Economic Adviser, CEA, nor a Minister of Finance, has been appointed. By contrast, one of the first major appointments made by former President Obasanjo in 1999 was the CEA. Like it or not, a strong economy is the bedrock of the nation. Neither corruption nor Boko Haram can be successfully fought if the economy is in shambles.

Vice-President Professor Osin-

bajo, SAN, apparently, has been saddled with the economic policy portfolio at the moment. Professor, yes; Senior Advocate of Nigeria, certainly, but he is not an economist. Nobody knows better than the CBN Governor that only experienced economists can develop the “proactive steps” required to stave off a recession next. At any rate, there can be no “proactive steps” hereafter because, with the fourth quarter upon us and the first quarter of 2016 on its heels, nothing done now can prevent the GDP from growing at less than 3.00 per cent in the last quarter of 2015.

THE GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE Nigeria, being heavily dependent on trends in the global economy and especially export of crude oil, cannot escape the downturn worldwide. Apart from the United States (US), which grows steadily at about 2.6 per cent per annum, driven by near zero interest rates by the Federal Reserve Bank, the rest of the world presents a scenario in which governments all over are grappling with economic reversals. China, the world’s second largest economy, has experienced GDP growth slowing to as low as 5 per cent from the previous double digit of a decade ago.

Japan, the third biggest economy, has now adjusted to the fact of recession. Russia, tucked between Asia and Europe, has also slowed down. Brazil slid into recession last quarter and South Africa’s economy is stalled. Altogether, the BRICS (Brazil, Rus-

sia, India, China and South Africa) countries, which had powered the global economic surge in the last 15 years, are either slowing down or failing despite active government intervention in their economies.

At the moment, there is no discernible Federal Government plan to avert the threatened economic decline.

PROSPECTS FOR 2016 Nothing hurts an economy and the people of any country more than self-delusion of its top officials. In that news report, the following was stated in the final paragraph: “On the exclusion of Nigeria from the JPMorgan Index, the Governor said the Central Bank would continue to play its role of engendering growth and impacting the lives of the people”.Emefiele must be dwelling in his own self-constructed paradise. The economy grew at 6.54 per cent in the second quarter of 2014; the growth dropped to 2.35 per cent this year. The final year projection for 2015 is expected to be 2.63 per cent compared to 6.22 per cent last year. Last year, we were strongly listed on the JPMorgan index, enabling Nigeria to obtain loans/credit at favourable rates.

Now, we are out of it; and the country will pay more to borrow.

The Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy imposed on banks by the Buhari administration is already having its predictable effect. Liquidity is low in the

Continues on page 33

PAGE 30— SUNDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015

How economic recession may affect you, by Prof. Ekpo *A historical perspective months; inflation was moderate; unemployment was not at alarming rate like now, yet most Nigerians still lacked basic amenities.

Can you give us the statistical analysis of the growth rate under civilian administrations from 1999?

Civilian rule (democracy) came in 1999 and government intensified efforts to build a market economy from 1999 to 2007.

The economy had positive growth rate of about 4.5 percent, which was higher than the population growth rate. There were attempts to better manage the economy; for example, the Fiscal Responsibility Act and Public Procurement Act were passed, among other legislations in a bid to put in place roles rather than discretion. For instance, we had the Medium Term Expenditure Framework, which was an attempt to ensure sanity in the fiscal side, to curb fiscal rascality (excessive spending).

BY UDEME CLEMENT Akpan Ekpo, a professor of economics, is Director General, West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM). He speaks on the warning by the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, that Nigeria’s economy may go into a recession in 2016.

T

he CBN Governor hinted, last week, that Nigeria’s economy may go into recession in 2016. What is your take on this?

The economy is not yet in a recession but in slow down. The economy is under severe stress now. But if there is no growth in two consecutive quarters, it means the economy can enter into a recessionary phase. The CBN is saying that with the slow down in growth, coupled with the declining oil revenue, if the economy is not diversified, then a recession can set in by 2016. For now, the economy needs robust fiscal policy to support the monetary and exchange rate policies of the CBN. What is the difference between an economy going into recession or depression?

A depression is a prolonged recession and no two of them are alike. A depression is a prolonged recession period, meaning an economy will experience no growth in output, there will be decline in productivity, no investment, high inflation rate, high unemployment ratio, increased poverty and general misery among the bulk of the population.

What are the signs if an economy is going into recession?

Though our economy is not in recession now, the misery index has been rising. To me, progress in all sectors has been very marginal, unemployment is at the level of national crisis, the real sector is in comatose. In fact, in my opinion, the real sector is “dead”. Looking at the social sector, our healthcare system is in disarray. Many Nigerians now go to India, Dubai, America and other countries for treatment. The public school system at all levels is not qualitative enough and mushroom private schools are springing up everywhere. At 55years of independence, the economy is still at a cross road, because we have not made significant progress.

In 1960, the leaders promised to give Nigerians better education, healthcare, potable water, housing and other basic needs of life, and those things were available then, but they promised to do better.

Few years after, everything collapsed.

55years after, government is still saying it will provide constant electricity and those basic needs. So, the basic things of life have eluded almost 85percent of Nigerians.

Actually, what I call human capital indicators, another social indices, have eluded us despite the growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Infact, in certain areas, the economy is deterioratC M Y K

•Prof. Akpan Ekpo ... 2007/2008 global crisis affected Nigeria ing; for example, the quality of education like I said, has declined such that, many parents now send their wards to study in Ghana. In the 60s/70s, University College Hospital, Ibadan was rated among top 20 in the world, but today Nigeria is experiencing medical tourism.

Can you tell us precisely if our economy has experienced recession before?

Yes, every market economy goes through a business cycle. A dependent capitalist economy like Nigeria, cannot escape recession or depression, because it is a recurring decimal in economies. If nothing else, Nigeria’s economy would experience recession as a client based on dependent and periphery nature of its system. The economy experienced recession in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. The global economic crisis of 2007/2008 affected Nigeria. If any known market economy would have escaped recession, it would be US economy, but, despite prudent management of the US economy, it experienced periodic recessions and the last global economic recession was triggered by the collapse of the sub-mortgage sector.

Can you give us statistical overview of growth rate in major sectors of the economy in the last 55years?

After independence, from 1962 to 1968, the economy grew positively by almost 8 percent; from 1970 to about 1977, the same growth rate was recorded. After that came a slight decline up to 1984, of about 3.2 percent. From 1984 to 1985, there was no growth, or there was negative growth, as the economy experienced a lot of problems. All attempts to stabilise the economy were unsuccessful. In 1986, we adopted Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) with a view to enhancing growth, to reverse negative growth and to put the economy on path of sustainable growth with minimal inflation.

Though our economy is not in recession now, the misery index has been rising. To me, progress in all sectors has been very marginal, unemployment is at the level of national crisis, the real sector is in comatose. In my opinion, the real sector is dead.

But SAP made the situation worse.

How? Everything was deregulated at the same time. For instance, the financial market that was not well developed was deregulated.

Everything was based on Marginal Cost Pricing for the market forces of demand and supply to determine everything, but the market was not even there. All that period of growth and nongrowth, there was still no development, as a lot of people were not enjoying high standard of living.

When we abandoned SAP in 1992/1993, we tried Guided Deregulation of the economy from 1993 to 1998. The economy was doing well then because all the macroeconomic fundamentals moved in the right direction. We had positive growth, exchange rate was stable, about N80 – N82; foreign reserve could finance imports for more than six

Was there an inflationary situation in the economy during that period?

Inflation was double digits but within acceptable threshold and the economy was stable, as the macroeconomic fundamentals moved in the right direction.

Macro stability in whose interest? Was such stability in the interest of the elites, the middle class or the poor in the society?

Well, there was stability in the economy, yet Nigerians lacked the basic amenities of life. Only 20 percent of Nigerians enjoyed the country’s resources, because poverty incidence continued to rise. However, for the first time in many years, there was evidence to plan the economy by giving a strategic push as enunciated by the National Economic Empowerment Development Strategy (NEEDS) document.

So, there were attempts to implement what NEEDS called for.

For instance, we had banking consolidation, but through out that period, infrastructure remained a big problem, epileptic power supply. The economy was still generatordriven, even up till now.

So, the 5.5 percent growth, which continues till 2015, makes one to wonder what drives the growth, with over 24 percent unemployment. There was growth but no development. It was a jobless growth, as all major social indices were negative.

Nigeria continues to be a monoculture economy, depending heavily on crude oil export, which is unhealthy for the system. We depend on an exiguous source of revenue to finance development. We have no control over the price and the output of oil. How can you plan an economy on the source of revenue you have no control over? So, the structure of the economy becomes not only export dependent but on a resource that is nonrenewable. For progress to be made, we must change the structure of the economy and move away from oil to agriculture, chemicals, pharmaceutical in-

dustry, develop our iron/steel industry and revamp the machine tools industry.

What practical approach do you advise the new government to adopt in order to revamp the whole system?

We have to be honest. President Muhammadu Buhari cannot change what has been going wrong in the economy for over 55 years in just four years, because it will take a magician to do that.

Buhari can have a good start by changing the structure of the economy to a path of sustainable growth. First, he must be honest with Nigerians to agree that things are bad. Second, he should have an economic blue print that supports a developmental-state approach to changing the structure of the economy. Whatever he is doing, he must focus on creation of jobs, qualitative human capital, provision of infrastructure like constant power supply, to ensure that at least 85 percent Nigerians enjoy the resources.

In doing that, he needs resources. So, he must ensure that the refineries are working to conserve foreign reserve, which can be used to finance some projects.

He has to show practically that the economy is no longer dependent on oil. He should demystify the oil sector by encouraging modern agriculture, housing / construction, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs); entrepreneurs should have access to credit for expansion. Ideas and innovation must be converted into goods and services. He should ensure aggressive monetary policy, by forcing down the lending rate, build strong institutions for processes to work. For instance, only a developmentalstate philosophy can fight against the global system of finance capital, which relies heavily on speculation.

We cannot fight it with the neo-liberal economic framework that we have in place now, because it will make our economy unstable.

At 55years of independence, are we operating the federal structure the way we ought to?

It is imperative for us to ask ourselves this question, because we need competitive federalism, where states can compete among themselves and also collaborate.

The states must be given economic independence. Creation of states should not arise, because the more states are created, the more problems. Many states are not economically viable but were created to reduce ethnic tension. States must be able to generate their own revenue without depending on federal allocation.

Now the IGR for states is less than 14 percent. Only two states like Lagos and Kano can survive without allocation from the federal.

They can survive for a short time, not for too long.

Also, women empowerment through education of the girlchild should be part of Buhari’s administration. If you develop a woman, you develop a nation, and violence against women must be given serious attention.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015, PAGE 31

We had no hand in anti-Buhari broadcast – Jauro, NIMASA DG *Speaks on the agency’s controversial contract to secure nation’s maritime assets *‘Why the N50bn Cabotage Fund is stalled’

BY UDEME CLEMENT

The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr. Baba Haruna Jauro, was the guest of Vanguard editors when he paid a visit to the corporate headquarters of the media house penultimate week. Jauro spoke, during the session, on issues bordering on maritime in the country as well as the implementation of the Cabotage Act among others.

Excerpts:

I

think the first point you should clear is the seeming controversy surrounding your appointment?

The directive of Mr President was clear that the former DG had been relieved of his post and that he should hand over to the most senior officer. That was the instruction; whatever happened after that I do not know, but the information came that Mr. Calistus Obi, the ED Maritime Labour, was to be handed over the office.

So, if the instruction was to hand over to the most senior, then we had to clarify who was the most senior because I am the most senior and investigation went on. From our date of resumption and our file numbers, it was clear that I reported first; so I happen to be the most senior and, because of that, that directive was reversed.

You are most senior by hours, so they say?

I am senior by a day. Even if it was five minutes, if your file number is ahead and you came the same day,you are the most senior. So a day is a long period.

Now that you have taken over as DG, what is the degree to which NIMASA was involved in the developments that happened before the general elections. Is it true that the agency funded anti-Buhari broadcast that ran on some television stations? That is number one. Is it correct to say that NIMASA was, at a point in time very recently, not able to meet its commitments because the agency had been run aground and, number three, I will like to know the collaboration between NIMASA and some former militants from the Niger Delta area?

Political developments that happened before the elections, yes, there were rumours that NIMASA sponsored some adverts but it is not so because we do not have approval for such as an agency. We cannot, as a government agency that should be non-political, be involved in political campaigns. NIMASA did not sponsor any campaign against anyone because we are not a political entity. On the C M Y K

in the same position for 10 years and above. Meanwhile, some workers just came in and were given higher positions; so the staff already there are saying ‘those of us here before can also do it’ and that is why the staff started agitating, So when we came in, what we did was to go to our supervising ministry to say our staff morale needs to be boosted and that the best way to do it is to place the staff properly, that is, those that have not been promoted in the last 10 years. So we have a committee that is addressing that issue. But we have nothing like downgrading the staff. What we are doing is to ensure that our staff are placed in their areas of competence so that their morale can be boosted and they will be happy working.

Our waterways are now more secure than they were years back.

Throughout last year, we had no case of piracy in the Lagos area. Even the Escravos area, we are entering there to make sure that everything is alright

What happened to the new staff that were given positions ahead of the old staff?

They are there. But if your years of experience in service is not up to where you are, maybe the committee will recommend and we take the issue from there.

agency being run aground, that also is not true. The agency has been carrying out its duties; there has never been a situation where it failed to perform any of its functions.

On the issue of collaboration with militants, you know that even the mention of militant is not a good thing. So, as a responsible agency, there is no way we can collaborate with militants for anything.

But there is this company providing services for maritime security in collaboration with the Nigerian Navy. The company allegedly belongs to ex-militant leader Government Tompolo.

What is the story?

The story about Global West Specialist Vessels Limited, GWSVL, is that we have a public private partnership, PPP, arrangement. There was due process on the engagement of Global West as a private partner to boost revenue generation of NIMASA. What brought about that was because NIMASA needs platforms, vessels, to be able to go on the waters to visit ships (calling at the nation’s ports), board them and perform our functions, and we didn’t have such platforms.

Number two, such work cannot be done in the office. The manpower to do that, the capacity was not there and we are working in an environment where, unless you use force, people do not pay the levies they are supposed to pay; that is why the issue of the PPP came up. But there was due process, the documentation was done properly, it was taken to the Federal Executive Council, FEC, it was approved before the contract was given to them and they have been keeping to their side of the bargain. If you look into records, you will find that we have had increases in revenue.

Chief Tompolo is just an individual; Global West is an entity and, when government was coming into the agreement, all

That has not been done yet?

No, it has not been done yet.

• Mr. Baba Haruna Jauro documents relating to the company were verified.

At a stage, it was reported that the management was not able to pay salaries for close to six months?

That is not true. I think what happened was that we had months that we were supposed to pay some allowances to our staff and the month came, and we could not; and it was as a result of having to convert the funds, not that the funds were not there. And the gap was just about three weeks, the issue of six months is incorrect. Another reason for the out cry was that some staff had arranged with banks, they had taken loans so that when the allowances come, the loans will be paid but if the money did not come at the time it was supposed to come, the interest on the loans will increase; that is why the staff were agitated.

How secure are the nation’s waterways now because NIMASA is supposed to secure the ports. Most of the ports are not busy because of security issue which makes importers to refuse to bring in their goods through Calabar, Port Harcourt and Warri. The crude oil theft that is affecting the economy,

how do you intend to tackle the problem? There is also the issue of down grading some category of the NIMASA staff. How true is the downgrading story and what is responsible for it?

On security on our waterways, our waterways are now more secure than they were years back.

Throughout last year, we had no case of piracy in the Lagos area.

Even the Escravos area, we are entering there to make sure that everything is alright. The real problem we have now is around Brass and Qua Ibe; and we are collaborating with the Nigerian Navy to make sure that the waterways are safe.

On crude theft, there are two aspects to it. You have the loss and the real theft. Even then, the theft has reduced drastically. The navy, Civil Defensee, we have been working with them to end the theft. We are trying also to procure surveillance equipment to monitor the airspace and under the water.

On the downgrading of staff, no worker has been downgraded so far. An effective, well motivated and trained workforce is a requirement for every outfit that wants to be effective. The NIMASA staff have been seriously demoralized simply because some of them have been

But you have been moving some staff round Yes. Reshufflement is a normal administration function of every establishment. We are just trying to take people to their core areas of operation and you will find that we work based on federal character provisions because each and every zone is represented. We put people where they can function better.

You said that oil theft has reduced. If so, why is it that we still hear of arrest and we put a figure to the theft? If it is reducing, by what percentage and how soon can we get to the zero point?

I do not have a figure to quote now but I can provide that maybe in due course ,but the issue of arrest, we have arrested many people who we handed over to the police. The issue of prosecution is a function of a different agency; ours is to monitor and I think we are doing our best.

You said you got into the PPP deal in order to increase your revenue profile. How much were you generating before the deal and how much are you generating now?

We are presently doing our calculation to show the difference between where we were and where we are now because of the PPP. I do not want to talk about figures but they could have been out by now but because we had a function that took us out of office. As soon as •Continues on page 32

PAGE 32—SUNDAY VANGUARD, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015

‘Why the N50bn Cabotage Fund is stalled’ •Continued from page 31

we are through, we will get it across to the media. It will show how we have grown from where we were to where we are.

We have a deadline from the Presidency for ministries and agencies to comply with the Treasury Single Account, TSA. Has NIMASA complied?

NIMASA has complied. We have opened an account with the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN; we have given our banks the mandate to accept the platform.

There were allegations of contract racketeering, nepotism and mismanagement in NIMASA. How true are these allegations?

When we came in, we put in place committees to look at various aspects of our operations for the purpose of transparency and accountability. On projects, we have an in-house committee that went round to see what was on ground. We have another committee to look at the files of the projects. We also told our supervising ministry to bring experts to look at the projects.

The experts are already on field.

We do not believe there was racketeering. We did not report that. I will not like to talk much on the contracts that were awarded since there is a committee in place, let the committee do its work and come out with a position, then we will look at it and form an opinion.

For now, we do not want to say there was racketeering.

This is the era of change. What changes are you bringing to NIMASA because some people still think its business as usual in the agency?

I do not want to believe that in NIMASA it is business as usual because, if you say that, it means we are not changing with others; and that is not true. Change is what is constant and, unless one is changing, then there is no progress. We have a core mandate to regulate the maritime industry and promote indigenous capacity. We see ourselves achieving change where it affects the economy. So far, we have been involved in training seafarers; we have been involved in building institutions that will, in turn, build manpower; we are involved in bringing a shipyard or dockyard so that we can have ships built and repaired here. We are trying to see how we can implement the Cabotage Act. We are trying to see how we can create the wealth that the nation needs, create employment; we are really in need of seafarers because I am told the average age of a seafarer is 58 and, by the time they reach 60 to 65, they are out of business. So we are trying to see how to bring it down to between 30 and 35. We are going to be part of the change the country needs so that our economy can grow.

What is the shape of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund, CVFF, that NIMASA introduced? Second, I know that you are involved in the maritime education project and I know that University of Lagos is one of the institutions in it. You are giving grants to institutions to develop the maritime institute.

What is happening to the project?

C M Y K

The CVFF is a fund under which applications are processed and sent to the Federal Ministry of Transport. Due diligence is done on the applications before funds are disbursed. NIMASA has done its part; we have processed some applications and passed them to the ministry. We used to have Ship Building and Ship Acquisition Fund that was disbanded because it was not properly utilized. Government is wary of a repeat of the past and, therefore, trying to guard against such misuse. They were on it and could not finish before the change era came. A minister is

disbursement, but I know the money in the fund is in the region of N50 billion and we have lending institutions keeping part of the fund; we also have some collecting banks involved. When you add all of them I think it is in the region of N50 billion.

The story is that the NLNG levies collected by NIMASA did not get to government coffers and, in actual fact, the agency is part of the reason government introduced the STA policy because some agencies were not accountable to anybody.

Those are stories and people

Does that mean, using the Free of Information Act, I can now access your budget in the last two to three years? I can ask my correspondent to apply for a copy of the NIMASA budget?

Of course, you can see it, but you know it is a classified document. If you come to our office, we can show you but we cannot give you to take away.

• Mr. Baba Haruna Jauro not in place yet but by the time a new minister comes in, the ministry is going to revisit those applications. They will be processed and those to benefit will know themselves.

On the maritime project, we are involved in establishing maritime institutions in about six universities. The reason it has slowed down is what one of the committees going round will find out. Ordinarily they should not have slowed down; as far as I am concerned, work should be going on.

All those contractors who brought certificates and requested for increases have been processed. So if anyone’s project is slowed down, we would not want to pre-empt, but by the time the committee we have constituted goes round and they come back with the result, we will know why.

Still on the CVFF, how much is in it, and how much has been disbursed?

I do not have the record of are entitled to their opinions but,

I do not want to believe that in NIMASA it is business as usual because, if you say that, it means we are not changing with others; and that is not true.

Change is what is constant and, unless one is changing, then there is no progress

as an agency, we do not have that report, we have been remitting our contribution to government and the records are there.

How do you remit the money?

We pay directly into government coffers; sometimes government asks us to fund projects which we do and we have records to show that.

Do we expect that NIMASA will now come under government budgetary processes because what we are told was that you are off government budgetary processes and that you are free to do as you like?

That is not true. We have an Act that established NIMASA and we are guided by the Act. We are not outside government order, government gives us instructions and we follow. It is not true to say we do not follow government order and, when government comes, in its own wisdom, to say NIMASA should come under its budgetary process, we do not have any problem with that. We are all agencies of government.

Is it true that some of your directors were invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC? It is true. In fact, I was the first person to be interviewed by the EFCC as the Executive Director in charge of Finance and Administration ….

You were in charge of finance and administration?

Yes. When I came in, in August 2012, I had a limit I could approve, N1 million, and subject to a limit of N5 million per month: Staff allowances, BTA, transfer allowances. Then a time came that as ED F&A, I could not approve N10,000.

Why? Because it was the policy.

So, why were you invited by the EFCC? When the EFCC came, I told them all they wanted to know, and they left. What they wanted was for me to tell them what I knew and what was on ground and I told them some of the things I am just telling you.

Another thing I want to say is that at a time, the mandate for the control of our resources was watered down. I travelled and when I came back, all the other EDs were made signatories to the account of NIMASA which should not be in normal circumstances. When I raised the issue, I was told that there was need for us to trust one another and work together. I said but I could not go and sign releasing of ships, I could not go and sign anything on cabotage, now they were signing money. I said I hoped they will do it well and that is why some payments that were made I did not see them, other signatories effected them. The budgets were prepared, heads of unit would sign and they do not come to me, they only come to me when it is for signing for payment which other people could do. I told the EFCC all these things.

If cabotage has been on for over twelve years, N50 billion is a far cry from what we should have, and we are also aware that the applicants to that fund have gone through all that they needed to go through, but, up till the last administration, nobody was given anything. Now, why is there a short fall and one of the primary lending institutions complained that, no money had been remitted into that fund in the last four years. Why? And besides the maritime fund, the marine pollution fund, are there other funds? What is the situation of the funds?

N50 billion is not a far cry in twelve years because we have a percentage that we charge on every contract, two percent; that is what comes into the CVFF. The area we missed has to do with the big oil companies and we are still pursuing to see how they can pay because they are arguing that rigs are not vessels while we are saying that rigs are part of it.

Apart from that, all that should be charged has been charged; so let us not say it is a far cry. The issue of shortfall also does not arise. The PLIs that are saying that they did not receive funds, we gave them money earlier so that we could use their platforms to give the money out and we are waiting for government to give us the approved list so that the funds could be disbursed. Meanwhile, it did not mean funds were not coming in because we have collecting banks and the collecting banks are collecting the money. The PLIs, their own is that we give them the funds and they disburse.

But the contractors pay to you and you are supposed to remit to the PLIs. How does the money get to you and how does it get to the PLIs? We give the bank details to those who are to make payments and they have been paying in. The PLIs come in when we are set to disburse because they are the lending institutions, and they are supposed to bring in 35 percent, NIMASA brings in 50 percent and the applicant brings in 15 percent. It is when this is concluded that the banks will pay. As I said earlier, collecting banks are different from the PLIs. So the fact that the PLIs are not getting money now does not mean that cabotage levies are not being collected.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015, PAGE 33

environment and we have not yet scratched the surface. I am so excited”, he said.

Meanwhile, the company in Nigeria continues to grow with amazing sales quantum. “Nigeria is on the top 5 of Forever Living in the world. The company is doing great even with changes in the management. We want to go from 20,000cc sales per month to 50,000cc, and I believe that with the new management being set up, we are going to achieve that”, the President, Forever International said.

The two visiting executives urged Nigerians to embrace the Forever business that is being offered, adding that nobody could stop them from making the money that was in abundance in the business.

Speaking earlier, Forever Nigeria, Country Sales Manager, Mr. Olusegun Israel-Adegboye, said the company is doing new things and committed to doing its part in reducing the high level of unemployment in the country by encouraging young people and unpaid employees to come forward and benefit from the opportunity that Forever provides. “Forever provides the opportunity to have a sustainable stream of income which can last a lifetime. There are many people who have been empowered financially while improving their health through Forever. The Forever networking business model is simply based on getting a small bonus when you introduce our products to others and encourage them to buy our products. The more people buy products from you, even though a third party, the more bonuses you get. We have now upped our game

by making it easier for our Business Owners with very busy lifestyles, like housewives, to run their Forever business with great profit”, he said.

Also at the event, Blessing Odion, from Port Harcourt, smiled home with a brand new car, her third, she revealed. According to Blessing, “I have been in Forever Living Products business for seven years. I am deeply honoured to be picking my third car from the company in my seven years of Forever business.

“I came from a banking background and had prayed God to give me a genuine business that could be exciting and fulfilling. Of course, I had my dry moments in the business, but once the dust settled, I started living my dream.

There is no better business than this.

The first car I received from Forever Nigeria, was just after my three months in the business. The second came after five years and now this third one. I am so excited and so grateful”.

Blessing said, the major obstacle she encountered doing he business was the initial rejection fear “Of course, I knew that the fear of rejection was not peculiar to Forever business. This fear is always palpable whenever new business venture is being undertaken.

However, in Forever, once you overcome the initial challenges, particularly, the rejections, you start to soar. So, one needs to be extremely committed and steadfast to reap the fruits of the business”, she said.

It is no doubt that Nigerians are enjoying the many true benefits of Forever Living Products, and they are able to help support many individuals and families throughout the country. As they marked their 15th Anniversary in Nigeria earlier this year with great pomp and celebration, testimonies abound of improved health and financial empowerment from all corners of the country. It is encouraging to see that they are part of Nigeria, and for the progress of Nigeria.

when they do not have electricity for weeks. The stakeholders have rejected any increase in tariff for now. That decision was made at the stakeholders meeting held in Abeokuta recently, he said.”

However, IBEDC said that the company wants to increase tariff based on technical, commercial

and collection losses. Other reasons include increase in the price of gas, dilapidated equipment and infrastructure inherited from Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), introduction of pre-paid meters and investment on infrastructure by the company.

FOREVER: The transformation in Nigeria is unprecedented — Gregg Maughan, President, FLP Intl.

BY TONY NWANKWO

F

orever Nigeria is scored high in the books of Forever Living Products International Inc. It is expected to strengthen its performance taking advantage of the Forever brand that is accepted around the world. Considering the untapped market in the country, Nigeria has the potential to lead the world in Forever marketing and distribution.

Speaking at the prestigious Yard 158, Ikeja, President, Forever Living Products International Inc., Mr. Gregg Maughan, while participating at the fun-filled event, said Forever Business Owners who market Forever products must believe in themselves, utilise the opportunities provided by Forever to improve their health and livelihood. Also speaking at the event, Forever Director of Operations, Africa, Mr. Jackson Adagala, asked those involved in the business to avoid stereotype and embrace innovation. “You can transform the way you do your business. Forever is already a brand name accepted around the world, therefore, to succeed you need to create your own personal brand within the Forever brand. You must think beyond yourself and think about the society. That way your business will become distinct and you will prosper beyond your own imagination”, he said.

Speaking to newsmen at the event, Gregg Maughan, said the multilevel marketing company has changed the lives of many who come into the business. That, he said, must explain the reason hundreds of young people and professionals are

President, Forever Living Products International, Mr. Gregg Maughan (3rd right) with Forever Director of Operations, Africa, Mr. Jackson Adagala, (2nd right) dancing to the traditional welcoming parade of the Alajota dance troupe at the event. joining the Forever business on a company to change their lifestyles. daily basis. “When you market our People feel better, the atmosphere is aloe-vera based drinks, nutritional soothing. The people are in this supplements, personal care business to change lives, everyone products, you can never go wrong, of them. You need to set goals, because aside benefiting from the conquer rejections, earn additional healthy habits that is specially income and enhance your own packaged to educate you, you make health”, he said. so much money you would never According to Gregg, “I was here have thought possible in your life”, from the very beginning when just a Gregg Maughan said, adding, few people were around to do the “Coming once again to Nigeria, and business. If it were not a formal being part of this event, I feel meeting, it wouldn’t be this large exceptionally amazed. I’m still and now to come back and see this trying to listen to what is happening number of people achieving great because of the noise, but the success, calls for celebration. excitement is incredible”.

Thousands of thousands of He continued: “The atmosphere Nigerians have had their lives is fantastic because it is unique and changed for the better. This is truly genuine. You look at the faces of the exciting to me but when I look at people and you see excitement that the population of Nigeria is out of this world. Forever, truly is compared to how many people are changing the lives of the people. involved in Forever business here, I Nigerians are taking advantage of get even more excited. There is no the opportunity offered by this doubt that this is a virgin

Residents warn IBEDC on electricity tariff

BY UDEME CLEMENT

T

he residents of Ogijo, Mowe and Ota communities have expressed displeasure about the move by Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) to increase electricity tariff despite erratic supply of power

in the area.

The spokesman of the communities, Mr. Femi Afolabi, also Managing Director, FECUND Communications Limited, made this known in a chat with Sunday Vanguard, saying that the communities tried to assist IBEDC improve power

supply by buying transformers, poles and conductors, yet nothing has been done to ensure constant supply of power in the area. “The communities are facing the challenge of epileptic power supply, yet the distribution company keeps slamming them with high bills every month, even

2016: The looming economic recession!

•Continued from page 29 banking sector and interest rates are escalating – portending lower investments. Foreign investors are divesting from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and crude oil prices are likely to remain low for the whole of 2016.

Meanwhile, there is no discernible fiscal policy which should drive the “proactive steps” which the CBN is advocating. Everything, mostly government inertia in responding to external and domestic threats, is combining to ensure we start 2016 in a recession.

THE BUHARI JINX? When President Muhammadu Buhari took over power in December 1983 as military Head of State, the price of crude oil was plummeting so fast; from its record highs under President Shehu Shagari, the nation started defaulting on repayment of its external loans. There was scarcity of most “essential commodities”, then called ESSENCOs. Rationing of foreign exchange, through the later discredited Form M policy, was introduced; counter trade was also established to circumvent OPEC quotas and

export more crude oil. The government equally stubbornly refused to devalue the currency which most economists knew was over-valued.

Nothing attempted prevented the economy from negative growth. By the middle 1985, it was clear that the nation’s economic policy makers had run out of ideas.

Perhaps, it was pure coincidence that the focus of the administration in 1983-85 was war against corruption and indiscipline – both of which were pursued with vigour. But, as the recession in the 1980s got worse, the two wars lost appeal to the more pressing problems of jobs and personal income.

The Babangida administration, which succeeded Buhari’s, abandoned the Form M policy and introduced the Structural Adjustment Programme, SAP. It was a total overhaul of the economic policy which introduced reliance on free markets to determine exchange and interest rates, as well as prices.

Unfortunately, even SAP was eventually subverted by IBB’s political ambition and his ambivalence when it came to taking tough decisions to make SAP work.

Nigeria’s journey to recovery took

•Godwin Emefiele longer than expected.

In 2015, thirty-two years after his first coming, Buhari is, once again, confronted with an economy whose mainstay, crude oil, had fallen on hard times, debts are mounting and becoming increasingly difficult to pay; the global economy is in recession and he has no economic management team in place.

He will be well-advised to learn from his own history as Head of State. Fighting corruption is vital; but, that alone will not sustain the goodwill of voters. Providing food, jobs, health, education, transport are also imperatives which must be addressed quickly. Otherwise he will

soon be listening to Nigerians saying as in 1985: “Na discipline we go chop?”

A word is enough.

SUPPOSING “PROACTIVE STEPS” ARE TAKEN NOW Since the CBN has taken the position that “proactive steps” will avert recession, perhaps, it is best to examine that proposal which is fallacious. Any measure designed to prevent an economy from going into recession needs time to show results.

Nothing known to economics suggests that any step taken today will reverse the downward trend before the first quarter of 2016. There might not even be any significant improvement until the third quarter of 2016 – if that will happen at all.

And most of such steps call for huge investments of funds – which Nigeria does not have at the moment.

However, the real bad news is: nobody in this government is thinking of any step, proactive or otherwise, to avert the recession. And the reason is simple. There is nobody in charge of economic policy. Not a single one of the appointees made to date can take charge.

THE ADVICE BUHARI NEEDS

“There is no good arguing with the inevitable.” James Russell Lowell, 1819-1891.

With recession all but inevitable, the advice Buhari needs is not the one given by the CBN. That is like asking government to start building protective walls after the tsunami had started barreling down to the sea shore. It is too late for that.

The advice Buhari needs should address how to manage the recession to minimize the damage to the economy and the hardship which Nigerians will suffer.

In that regard, the President needs to know that his three predecessors, Obasanjo, Yar’Adua and Jonathan, appointed economic policy managers who could manage relative surplus or affluence. He faces a seachange. His group of economic advisers must be people who can manage a lean purse. OkonjoIweala surrounded herself with Dangote, Otedola, etc — people not known for managing “empty” treasuries. The next Minister of Finance must be accompanied by people who can achieve a lot more with very little. Otherwise no “proactive steps” will work.

PAGE 34 —

SUNDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015

08116759757

BY CHIOMA OBINNA

It’s dif difff icult to ascer ascertt ain the success of IVF in Nigeria, gynaecologist insists

U

nless there is divine intervention, 47 years old Rafiu Abdulkareem may not be around to watch his four little children grow. This is because cardiologists at the Lagos State Cardiac and Renal Centre have concluded that Rafiu needs urgent transplant of his diseased kidneys.

Painfully, Rafiu, from Kwara State, cannot afford N8, 268,000 demanded by the medical facility for the life-saving procedure.

Rafiu is said to have enjoyed good health until March this year when he started having coughing in the middle of the night.

According to a medical report signed on behalf of the Medical Director, Lagos Renal Unit, by Dr. Bomi Omowo, Rafiu was diagnosed of advanced chronic kidney disease, CKD, secondary to undiagnosed hypertensive nephrosclerosis and being managed as a case of end stage renal disease. Rafiu is presently on thrice a week haemodialysis and has completed five sessions of salvage haemodialysis.

In another report signed

by Dr. Ngozi Aikpokpo, the doctors recommended kidney transplant as the best option for him to ensure better quality of life.

According to Aikpokpo, for a kidney transplant, he requires a donor who must be a first degree relative or his spouse including a total of N8, 268,000.

Analysing the cost of the patient’s complete care, she said: “Dialysis for the first three months, N9000, 000, Erythropoietin N268, 800 for three months; pretransplant screening, N600, 000, trans-plantation, N5, 000, 000 and post –

BY FESTUS AHON

•Rafiu Abdulkareem...down with kidney failure

Please, don’t let me die!, Rafiu, father of four cries

transplantation drugs for a year, N1, 500,000.”

Unfortunately, Rafiu and his wife, a teacher, cannot afford the required amount.

Narrating her ordeal when she visited Vanguard Corporate Head office in Lagos, Rafiu’s wife, Sofiat, who was in tears said: “We have resorted to begging from one room to another. It is this bad.”

According to her, they never knew Rafiu had hypertension until that night when he was rushed to the Isolo General Hospital due to the strange cough.

“My husband had the best health. He never fell sick. He was hale and hearty until the 9th of March, 2015 when we rushed him to Isolo General Hospital. There, it was discovered that he is hypertensive. His blood pressure was seriously high.

It was also there they detected that he has a problem that has affected the two kidneys.”

Sofiat said since that time, her

husband has known no peace as his swollen body and the consistent vomiting continued to make him restless.

“Most times, he cannot even sleep on the bed.

He sleeps on bare floor,”she stated.

“In the last six months, Rafiu has been undergoing treatment at the Gbagada General and the doctors are saying there is no solution apart from God’s intervention or kidney transplant.”

Unfortunately, dialysis has been a huge financial strain on the Abdulkareems. “Every week, we spend over N100, 000 on dialysis alone. Each section costs N37, 500. This morning, there was no money. I ran from one room to another begging for help.

As I am speaking to you, we have not completed the money and this is why I decided to come to Nigerians.

His condition is deteriorating. We have sold

all our assets; this is September, I’m not sure if my children will even go back to school,” the wife said.

Sofiat pleaded with wellmeaning Nigerians to save her husband’s life: “The Gbagada General Hospital will be starting transplant before the end of the year and we have been told that it will cost over N8 million. I do not know where to get this money. That is why I am pleading with well-meaning Nigerians to save his life. I am calling on Governor Akinwumi Ambode of Lagos State to please come to my rescue. We have four kids who are in school.”

If you are touched by Abdulkareem Rafiu’s plight please send your donations to Account number: 0691835541, Kareem Rafiu, Acces Bank, or Diamond Bank account: 0005616843, Kareem Rafiu. You can also call 08137682623 or 07019260145.

10-year-old defies mother to win N1m promo

BY PRISCA SAM-DURU

T

o 10-year-old Emmanuella Chire, who resides in Jos, Plateau State, it was like a normal game, but with the hope of getting something out of it, she ended up changing the fortune of her family through peak ‘Reach for Millions’ promo.

Peak ‘Reach for Millions’ promo is part of 60th anniversary celebration of the Peak brand in Nigeria.

When Emmanuella saw the advert on television, her attention was focused on every tin of Peak Milk purchased by her mum.

Soon it became a habit as she kept sending codes on C M Y K

the tins as directed in the advert.

She went ahead to inform her mother, an immigration

officer, about the promo, but the mum never took her serious because she does not believe in promos.

Mrs. Chire and daughter, Emmanuella, after being presented with Emmanuella’s 1million cheque

In defiance of her mother, Emmanuella, a JSS 1 student, kept sending the codes until she got a response. Mrs Chire said: “The little girl ran to me with a “message she got through a text. ‘You have just won 1 million Naira in the Peak 60th anniversary ‘Reach for Millions’ promo. Keep your pack to claim your prize…’.

I started thinking, how do I tell my girl this thing is real in spite of my discouragement and all that? So my daughter was right all the while, Peak Milk promo is real”.

Mrs. Chire and her daughter were full of joy at the cheque presentation ceremony

A consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, Dr Abayomi Ajayi, says it is difficult to determine the success rate of In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) in the country due to lack of monitoring agencies. Speaking in Asaba during the Physicians’ Roundtable, held under the theme, ‘Personalised IVF: New Techniques to Improve Success Rate’, Ajayi decried the lack of monitoring agencies and dearth of statistical records to ascertain the success rate of breakthroughs in reproductive health across the country.

He said; “We can’t talk about success rate in Nigeria because there are no monitoring agencies. You can talk about success rate in your own clinic, that is what you know about your clinic. For us, our success rate is equal to what you find in advanced parts of the world.

While saying that the success rate can only determined at the individual clinics where IVF services are rendered, Ajayi, whoistheManagingDirectorofNordica Fertility Centre, debunked the claim in some quarters that IVF services were beyond the reach of citizens at the lower rung of the economic ladder.

WhenpeoplesaythatIVFisexpensive, I know that it is not cheap but I don’t know if it is expensive. People sometimes have the idea that IVF is up to N5 million and something ridiculous; it is not, at least I know in my own clinic.

“What I say most of the time is that if you can buy a fairly used car, you can get IVF. So you have to find out how much it is in the clinic you are going to and know how to access it. It is not cheap but it is not as expensive as people think”.

Onuesoke warns APC to mind utterances

S

pecial Project Director, Office of Delta State Governor, Asaba, Chief Sunny Onuesoke, has warned members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state to mind their utterances over the governorship election dispute at the tribunal.

Giving the warning in Abuja while speaking to journalists, Onuesoke told an aide to the Delta APC governorship candidate, Chief Emerhor O’tega, Mr. Fred Oghenesive, he had been making statements on an issue he knows nothing about.

Advising him to refrain from making unguarded statements on a matter that is subjudice, Onuesoke noted that apportioning blame or indicting the defendants and Delta State officials amounted to jumping the gun and engaging in media trial. Onuesoke, also the Delta State acting spokesman for the PDP, restated his implicit confidence in the integrity of the tribunal to deliver a fair verdict and not yield to innuendoes, manipulations, propaganda and insinuations. He added that if there is a party that has lost faith in the judiciary, it is the APC.

SUNDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015, PAGE 35 08116759757

DRAMA INSIDE TAXI

Suspect attacks police, escapes on way to court

BY KENNEDY MBELE n Ikeja Magistrate Court A sitting in Ogba, Agege in the Ikeja Magisterial District has remanded Sunday Akpan (23) in prison custody for allegedly escaping police custody with hand cuffs, property of the Nigeria Police Force.

According to the prosecution, the suspect, standing trial in a case of alleged assault, escaped from police custody on Sept 11, 2015 while being taken to court for arraignment.

The prosecution told the court that the suspect, in hand-cuffs, and accompanied by a female

Investigating Police Officer (IPO), pushed the latter out from a taxi inside traffic along Akilo Road, Ogba, Lagos and took to his heels.

It alleged that efforts by the IPO to catch him proved abortive until September 12, when the suspect’s elder brother, Emmanuel Nathaniel Akpan, came to the police station and demanded that the police produce his brother whom they arrested for assault on September 7.

The source added that, after serious interrogation by the police, the elder brother confessed that the suspect escaped from police custody

and was at home. He was then compelled to lead the police to their house in Alapere area of Lagos where both of them were arrested. The prosecution asked the court not to grant bail to the two suspects, stressing that they would disappear, particularly as they had not produced the police hand cuffs.

The court ordered that the main suspect be remanded in prison custody while his elder brother that allegedly aided and abetted him be granted bail in the sum of N50,000 with two sureties in like sum.

Both matters were adjourned for ruling on bail for the remanded suspect and mention for the second suspect.

Majemite lauds Okowa on job creation

BY EPHRAIM OSEJI

D

elta Peoples Demo cratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Chief Fred Majemite, has given credit to Governor Senator Ifeanyi Okowa in the area of job creation.

Speaking to journalists in Ughelli, Delta State, Majemite said that inspite of the lean resources available to the governor, he had performed creditably in his 100 days in office, having employed 6,000 youths under his job and wealth creation programme, christened “Okowaplus”.

“He has started well by initiating the employment of 6,000 youths under his youth job creation scheme programme. If he maintains his promise of employing 6,000 youths every six months under the scheme, that means Okowa means well for the youths of the state in terms of job creation and empower-

•Gov Okowa

ment,” Majemite disclosed.

He pointed out that despite the lean resources available to the state, Okowa was still able to accommodate the political class on appointments.

He said, although the political appointments might have not gone round, party faithful should be patient with Okowa as he may do more when he finally settles down and has enough resources to manage the affairs of the state.

“ However, the point must be emphasized, that we are all members of a big family of the PDP, no one is less”, Majemite explained.

The PDP chieftain also gave kudos to Okowa in the area of revamping technical education and infrastructural development.““On assumption of office, he kick started the revamping of three technical colleges in Agbor, Ofagbe and Sapele. The three schools are presently undergoing extensive infrastructural overhauling. Beside, two General Hospitals in Patani and Abavo are being rebuilt, while the reconstruction of Sapele Main Market is nearing completion with extensive repair works also ongoing at Okpanam road in Asaba and other major roads in the state,” he observed.

He said at the pace Okowa is going, if given more time, he would perform to the glory of God and ensure the prosperity he promised Deltans.

Go or Bok am victims, tr oops in Borno Govv. Umahi’s rice ffor Bokoo Har Haram troops

E

bonyi State government has promised to provide Abakaliki Rice for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and soldiers fighting Boko Haram insurgents in Borno State.

Governor David Umahi made the promise when he visited the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Abayomi Olonishakin, at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja.

Umahi, who was full of praises for the Nigerian troops for their gallant efforts towards ending the insurgency in the North- East,

assured the CDS that the people of Ebonyi would give necessary support to the army at all times.

He said, “I want to appreciate you and your wonderful team. I want to once again thank you. In the next 10 days, we will bring some quantities of rice to assist your boys and also to the governor of Borno State, to assist the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). “You have recorded tremendous success in dealing with this sect (Boko Haram) and I want to tell you that the people of

Ebonyi State are very happy about that. Since the insurgence started, we have lost no fewer than three personnel and the same thing has happened to other sections of the country”.

The governor assured the defence chief that Ebonyians would continue to pray for the army to overcome the insurgents.

He recalled that the military played key roles in resolving past crises in Ezillo as well as those between Ebonyi State and its neigbours.

Twin brothers break into landlord’s apartment

BY KENNEDY MBELE 19-year-old twin brothers, Akomolafe Taiwo and Akomolafe Kehinde, have been arraigned before an Ikeja Magistrate Court, sitting in Ogba, Lagos, for allegedly breaking and entering into their land-lord’s apartment.

The suspects also allegedly conspired to willfully damage an entrance iron door property of the landlord, Kamaru Hassan, valued at N15,000.00.

The prosecutor, Corporal Unah Michael, told the court that the suspects and their parents were living in the same building at 12 Daddy Oniyide Street, in Orile Agege area of the state when the twins broke

the entrance metal door of their land lord who had travelled out of the country.

He further told the court that the land lord had sold the property to a new owner and had issued the twins parents quit notice but had not handed over the property to the new owner before the duo damaged the door and moved into the apartment on September 12, with the intention of settling there, rather than continue sharing apartment with their parents. The suspects pleaded not guilty to the three-count charge and were granted bail in the sum of N30,000 with two sureties.

The matter was adjourned for mention.

Trouble in hospital as man attacks lover

BY KENNEDY MBELE A 32-year-old man, Ajibade Mohammed, has appeared before an Ikeja Magistrate sitting in Ogba, Agege, Lagos to explain why he allegedly assaulted his lover, one Ikechi Ohale (22), by beating her while also damaging a weight scale, valued at N30,000, belonging Ifako-Ijaiye General Hospital.

The incident allegedly took place on September 15 when the alleged victim’s two- year-old son was receiving medical treatment.

The charge against the defendant read: “That you Ajibade Mohammed on September 15, 2015 at about 13.45hrs at Ifako Ijaiye General Hospital in the Ikeja Magisterial District did assault one Ikechi Ohale by beating her with your fist which caused her a swollen face; an offence punishable under Section 171 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, Nigeria, 2011.

“Again, that you, Ajibade Mohammed on the same date, time and date in the same magisterial district did maliciously damage a complete weight scale valued at N30,000.00, property of Ifako Ijaiye General Hospital, Lagos State and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section

337 of Criminal Law of Lagos, Nigeria 2011”.

Narrating the incident that led to the arrest of the suspect, the prosecution told the court that investigation revealed that the suspect beat up his victim (mother of their two-year-old son) in the hospital where the little boy was receiving treatment.

The source explained that the victim had called the defendant to the hospital to see their ailing child when the former pounced on her over an undisclosed issue.

It added that the suspect damaged the hospital’s weight scale in the process.

It further revealed that although the duo are parents of the ailing child, they were not living together and that, after the incident, the child and his injured mother were admitted as patients in the said hospital.

It contested an oral bail application made by the defendant’s counsel, arguing that such an aggressive / violent person should not be released on bail but kept in prison custody to prevent him from causing further harm.

The suspect pleaded not guilty to the two-count charge and was granted bail in the sum of N50,000.

The matter was adjourned to October 7.

Diya tasks leaders to rule with God’s fear A former Chief of the General Staff (CGS), Lt. Gen. Oladipo Diya (retd), has asked Nigerian leaders to rule with the fear of God. According to him, that is the only way the change promised by the APC-led administration can be impacted on the people.

Diya spoke to journalists at the 2015 remembrance service for the deceased members of the United African Methodist Evangelical Church, AbuleIjesha, Yaba, Lagos and the

bazaar thanksgiving service of the church.

Earlier in his sermon at the occasion, the supervising bishop of the church, Rt. Revd. Zacchaeus Abalade Sanyaolu (JP), asked the people to seek divine knowledge for success in their endeavours.

The Lady Chairperson at the occasion, Chief (Mrs) Anuoluwapo Ogbara, stressed the need to donate handsomely to church projects to earn great rewards from God.

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SUNDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015 08116759757

SERIAL FRAUDSTER

Estate agent dupes 120 Lagosians •Faces 229-count charge

BY KENNEDY MBELE An estate agent, Alhaji Lukuman Adewole, has been arraigned before an Ikeja Magistrate sitting in Ogba, Agege, Lagos on 229-count charge for allegedly obtaining money by false pretence from his victims numbering over 120 people.

The incident allegedly occurred between June 16 and September 1, 2015 at 1, Alfa Nla Street, behind Ahmadiya Central Mosque, Lagos.

The charge against the defendant, presented in a 91page document, summarily alleged that the defendant obtained money put at N15m

from about 120 people by false pretence. It also alleged that the defendant collected money from various people promising each a self-contained apartment, a representation he allegedly knew to be false.

The prosecution said the defendant stole the money, being the property of each of his victim, contrary to Section 278 and punishable under Section 285 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, Nigeria, 2011.

He explained that the suspect obtained the money, ranging from N50,000 to N710,000, from the over 120 people on the basis that he will provide

accommodation for them, but never fulfilled his promise.

It alleged that the suspect obtained N300,000 from one Sadiq Adamu but did not provide accommodation to the latter as agreed. Others allegedly defrauded included Sanusi Shaibu N490,000, Ahmed Ahmed N420,000, Kenneth Agodi N710,000, Ngozi Ezeogu N70,000, Patricia Ihuzu N150,000, and Pastor Godwin Madu N100,000.

The suspect pleaded not guilty to the charge and was granted bail in the sum of N1m with two sureties.

The matter was adjourned to November 30.

Elegushi laments:

Govt discriminating against traditional religion practitioners

stipulates that nobody be discriminated against on the grounds of religious beliefs, we say that the association be accorded this right of a day in a year. I believe that while the other religions promote and enhance the economy of other parts of the world, our religion will only enhance our economy and promote what is ours. Hence, we clamor that our traditional religion be accorded the same financial, physical, moral and spiritual backing as it’s being done to the other two religions.

BY ANINO AGANBI

H

igh Chief Olusegun Elegushi, President of the Association of African Traditional Religion Practitioners, Nigeria and Overseas (AATREN) and the Opemoluwa of Elegushi royal family, recently, had the awards of the “National Grand Patron” and “the Legend of Culture” conferred on him by the National Yoruba Council of Youths. Elegushi, in this interview, speaks on the awards and other issues.

Let us talk about the Isese Day. Should there be a specific day set aside for it?

In Nigeria, if we can have a specific day set aside for the Christian and Muslim celebrations, then the Association of African Traditional Religion of Nigeria and Overseas has earmarked August 20 as the day we have our yearly celebration and we believe government should make it a day of national celebration. If we are proud of our heritage, then let us stand tall in celebrating our cultures as they are our pride and joy.

In developed countries, they set aside days for cultural celebration and they make it a national. In March 2015, members of the Association of Africa Traditional Religion Practitioners, Nigeria and Overseas re-presented our yearnings to the past Lagos State governor that August 20, the Isese Day, be made a work free day for African Traditional Religion Practitioners. For years, there has been clamour that August 20 be declared a public holiday. Letters have been written to the federal and state governments on this. We demanded that we be accorded the same recognition as the other two main religions in the country to no avail. We feel we are being discriminated against.

Are the rights of traditional religion practitioners protected in Nigeria?

Our constitutional rights are

•High Chief Olusegun Elegushi being violated by officers of the state who ought to protect us.

When it is time to celebrate other religious festivals, several millions of Naira is budgeted while similar amount is spent sending practitioners of those religions on pilgrimage. If truly African tradition religion is among the three recognized religions in Nigeria, and if truly the Constitution recognizes it and

Tell us about the AATREN The Association of African Traditional Religion Nigeria and Overseas is the umbrella of all traditional groups in Nigeria. It was formerly known as Ancient Descendants Association. This association was formed to promote the spirit of friendship, mutual trust and cooperation among traditional religious groups and associations. It was done with the aim of protecting African traditional religion generally, thereby checking, controlling and enforcing reasonable discipline on all form of irresponsible behaviours by members and nonmembers of the association.

Delta lawmaker debunks statement over dismissal of opponent’s petition

M

EMBER, Delta State House of Assembly, representing Ughelli North Constituency 11, Ughelli North local government area of Delta State, Hon. Eric Oharisi, has debunked the statement credited to him that election petition tribunal has dismissed his opponent’s case.

Oharisi said he never attended any public function where he granted any interview to any journalist or made statements relating to his case at the tribunal, knowing that the case is in court.

Speaking through his Special Assistant on Political Matters, Hon. Jim Omokoro, he said there was no time he said his opponent’s petition had been

dismissed.

Omokoro, who said the statement was the writer’s presumption and imagination, pointed out that no lawmaker whose case is ongoing at the tribunal will dabble into the proceedings, describing the statement as one being sponsored to destroy the personality of his boss.

Count us out of N5m tribunal bribery scam – Lawmakers

BY FESTUS AHON WO members of the Delta State House of Assembly, T Honourables Efe Ofobruku and Godwin Abigor, both of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, have dissociated themselves from a report that members of the House were contributing N5 million each for the Speaker to bribe the tribunals hearing election petition against them.

The duo described the report as wicked, malicious and an attempt to bring the House into disrepute.

Ofobruku, representing Uvwie

and Abigor, Warri South 1, condemned the report, adding that it was the figment of the imagination of mischief makers.

The lawmakers stated that the allegation was troubling as it was said that the extent that the Speaker had directed all the 28 members to contribute the said amount to bribe the tribunals even when about six members of the House have no case.

Insisting that they were not aware of any such contribution, they said it was important to clear their names and that of their party from the said report.

Members fault APC exco in Sapele o fewer than 2,000 members of the All N Progressives Congress (APC) in

Sapele Local Government Area, Delta State have alleged that the Cyril Ogodo executive as an imposition. They described the composition as a family affair and against the party’s constitution and devoid of democratic principle.

The members, led by Sapele LGA APC spokesman, Mr. Elvis Ayomanor, while advising the national executive body to distance itself from the Ogodo exco, noted that it was constituted without the approval of the bulk of the party membership and did not

receive the endorsement of its national leader, Chief Ede Dafinone.

Ayomanor, flanked by other party executives said that the growing membership of APC in Sapele was against the leadership of Ogodo.

Ayomanor, who was the party’s chairmanship candidate during the last local government elections in Sapele, stated that members had complained to Dafinone on the matter who, according to him, has promised to restructure APC in the area with a view to checking the imbalance in the APC leadership composition.

Methodist Church Choral Service

T

he second edition of the Choral Evening Service, powered by the Lagos State Chapter of the Council of Knights, Methodist Church Nigeria, will take place on Thursday at the Methodist Church of the Trinity, Tinubu

Square, Lagos.

The objectives include the revamping of evergreen songs. The event is expected to be presided over by the Prelate, Methodist Church Nigeria, Dr. Samuel Chukwuemeka Kanu Uche.

Ondo disburses N2bn to SMEs Mimiko noted that another operators N220m will soon be distributed to DAYO JOHNSON, AKURE ABOUT N2billlion has been disbursed by the Ondo State government to beneficiaries under its Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF) .The first leg was disbursed in January when N534.43million was given out under the scheme.

Another N400million loans was disbursed last week by Governor Olusegun Mimiko to beneficiaries.

Speaking at the ceremony in Akure, which attracted traders and artisans across the state, the governor said the gesture was geared towards re- energizing their businesses.

micro enterprises across Ondo.

He told the beneficiaries that the SME requires certificate of occupancy either as a group or individual enterprises.

“Again, unlike the first phase, the micro enterprise, this requires an intermediary micro finance institutions,” he said. “ With the disbursement today, under the Ondo State government/ CBN MSMEDF, we would have disbursed over N1billion.

“If you will recall under the small micro enterprises market women to date, we have disbursed N408.5 million, under the special artisan revolving loan, we have till date disbursed N424.5 million”.

Book presentation

A

Principal Lecturer, Federal College of Education (Technical) (FCE), Akoka, Yaba, Lagos, Ezeoguine Juliana Akunnaya, will present two books, ‘Home Economics Education’ and ‘Enterpreneurship For Self Reliance’, on Saturday, at the Multi-Purpose Hall of the FCE. The event, powered by Santo Christo Ltd, will be chaired by Chief Gerry Ofor, the Ukpaka, Umuchu, while the Chief Launcher is the CEO, Pheg Bathrooms Ltd, Mr. Hilary Nwawulu.

The Co-Launchers are Pharmacist

Earnest Udensi, CEO, Standard Generics Ltd; Cyril Oghaego of the C Divine Answer; the Association of the Nigerian Licensed Customs Agent, Prince Michael Taiwo Oyeniyi and Augustine Ezenduka of the Austen Pabio and You fame among others.

The book reviewers are the Associate ProfessorofHomeEconomicsandHOD Home Economics, Michael Okpara, University of Agriculture, Umudike, Dr. Patricia Etuna and Professor Emmanuel Chibundu, a World Bank consultant in micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME).

SUNDAY

Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015, PAGE 37

POST-JUNE12 CRISIS ERA

I regret not leading ‘Concerned

Professionals’ into politics – Pat Utomi •Narrates the change movement that produced APC •‘My serial presidential bids’

Alleged ministerial nominee of President Muhammadu Buhari, Prof. Pat Utomi, is a renown economist and public affairs commentator. Utomi served as Special Adviser in the Second Republic government of President Shehu Shagari. He recently marked his 30th wedding anniversary in Lagos. In this interview at the low-key event, Utomi speaks on some national issues and how the change movement, brought about by the All Progressives Congress APC, came into being.

BY OLASUNKANMI AKONI

M

INISTERIAL nomination I am reading it as you have read it in the papers.

My position is that your citizenship has its obligations and duties.

Through the years, I have been a very passionate voice for change in the country. And it is purely based on principles, patriotic sense of where the country should be heading to. Over the years, I have also had some invitation ro serve in public lives. I served in government some long time ago. I was very young at that time. I am good. I could pick up something quickly and store them. And one of the decisions I made from that brief excursion into public life was that I should never allow myself to be in public life if I don’t have a sense that there will be enough of a critical mass to make the kind of difference that I believe in. Because of that, on a number of occasions, when I have been either invited or whatever, I have been very careful and honest with those who invited me to say that‘ I am not in a rush to go into government’.

And that I can go into government only when I have certain sense for the nature of that government and my role in it and the clarity of the goal that government would be pursuing. This has earned me pressure of different kinds from friends who C M Y K

think I am not acting normal to those who appreciate the principle that I have adopted in the business of considering public life.

Today, I am satisfied that Nigerians, as a people, have the sense that the time for change has come. That is the most gratifying part for me. Many think that I represent that whole thing and think that I should work in that kind of environment.

But, honestly, it doesn’t make any difference to me inside or outside; I will support anything that will move the country forward in the direction of change. I take same attitude to the business of positioning government. It doesn’t make any difference to me if I am serving outside or within, I will do what i have to do or need to do.

I am satisfied that Nigerians, as a people, have the sense that the time for change has come. That is the most gratifying part for me. Many think that I represent that whole thing and think that I should work in that kind of environment

•Prof. Pat Utomi

100 days in office I watched all the 100 days business; promises made and not made. It is irrelevant now whether promises were made or not. The important things are that there is enough to say that we have moved

significantly from where we were before now. Anyone who has not observed that is being insincere. Some people are not feeling comfortable with power supply because it is too available. Now, when you call the DISCOs, they respond. And the question

from many now is, ‘is this Nigeria?’ Improving power supply is enough for any administration to focus on, because entrepreneurship will bloom. To have made the kind of leap in supply is an achievement.

Continues on page 38

PAGE 38 — SUNDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015

‘The change movement that produced APC’ Continued from page 37 But we can go further than that, looking at the increasing sense of impunity in this country. At a time, many believed nothing could be done to correct the impunity. But after this administration decided to right the wrong, we could all see the debate it generated. And that showed that something was wrong in the country. I remember in 2000 when I visited my home town, a commissioner accosted me and said people were complaining about my stand against corruption.

And he said that there were speculations that I would be made the finance minister.

He added that they (some politicians) said that I would block the leakages in government. The story was included in my autobiography. Then I was seen as the enemy but, today, everyone is talking about corruption. In the last three months, one can see that the new governor in Lagos does not go around blowing siren. You can also see that Nigerians are beginning to questions governors who bought jets.

This is good. The most important thing is to let one’s mind be in motion; the rest will follow.

I know for a fact that one of the passionate programmes that we discussed is the programme that will allow an ordinary man to have one meal a day. I can say that there is an ongoing effort to achieve that. I have seen the team assembled. We all are witnesses to the dramatic changes in the NNPC. The refineries are coming back.

No one needs to be apologetic about whether promises were made or not.

There is a movement in a direction. Enough has been done that we can begin to build on.

Declaration of assets by government officials Personally, I have always favoured declaration of assets. I do not think I am adding anything new to the argument. If one has money, he should not be ashamed of it. It is as if people are afraid there may be accusation on why are they rich. The issue of declaration is not if you have money but how one made such money. If you ask me, I will show you how I earned every naira I own today. I should be ashamed that I have money? As an

•Utomi...We formed anti-military regime group individual, I have not been referred to as that rich man but no one has called me a poor man. This is because I am one of the biggest developers of entrepreneurs in this country. Considering the number of the entrepreneurs I have helped, I should be a billionaire in dollars. I would have created companies that should be making billions of dollars today with people. And that was why I wrote a book titled, “Business Angel as a Missionary.” I wrote that book because Senator Ben Murray-Bruce came into my house in Ikoyi few days after moving in. And he said that I had done one thing for myself for a change. He said I could name all the people I had made multimillionaires and `you still

The issue of declaration is not if you have money but how one made such money. If you ask me, I will show you how I earned every naira I own today

live modestly; why do you hate money’. I replied that I didn’t hate money. And he replied that considering the number of people I have made, I should be so wealthy. But what I told him was that he should tell me where all the wealthiest men in this country have visited that I haven’t done so and that “I am happy the way I am”.

He later urged me to write a book on the companies that I have helped to build.

So, considering my size and what I have done, I should not be embarrassed with what I have done. I think what people are scared of is the asset of the president, believing that if they have more than that, they could be labelled as corrupt officials. Everyone should declare his assets. They should be able to show us where they made wealth.

But if they cannot show it to the public, then such persons are thieves. They should come out boldly.

Though it is a personal thing; some may come out, others may not because they don’t want people to know their worth or for security reasons. If that is their fear (security), one needs to respect it. And one can access the information using the Freedom of Information Act. One can choose to respect their will not to be exposed if there is a clear statement of how their money was made. But if there is no clear statement, then the journalist can use the tool at his disposal to pursue their explanation.

Boko Haram I am not a security expert.

I cannot say we are winning the war or not. All I can say is that I see purpose and I hope that the purpose delivers the desired outcome.

You were absent in politics for some time.

Why? I didn’t dump politics. I have been around. There are different kinds of politicians. There are some who live off politics and there are others who do not. I don’t live off politics.

I earn an income working very hard at few things that I have been giving grace and talent from God to work at. Politics will always be an aspect where I take time out to sacrifice myself to advance the common good where there is a match between my talent and of other players that can help make that contribution.

In the early days, I actually thought there was a division of labour of sort.

And that I should probably focus my energy in the realm of social enterprise and activism. I was speaking at an event organised by New Generation Foundation where Chief Phillip Asiodu was the Chairman. They asked me to be the Keynote Speaker and, that evening, he made a comment before we started. I remember that when I came back after my Ph.D in 1982, a group of us, Dr. Femi Aribisala, Henry Idowu, Olisa Agbakoba, Jimmy Peters, among others,

were fresh Ph.D holders from the best universities around the world and we had come back to the country. And we used to get together at the NIIA, Kofo Abayomi, Victoria Island.

Then, we established a journal called Spectrum.

We will go to people like Chief Philip Asiodu and interview them and then write on the challenges confronting the nation. Of the group of about 20something talented minds, only three of us still live in Nigeria. One after the other, others left. Some went to Oxford University, others to University of Pennsylvania, New York. A young lady was referring to the state of education in the early 60s when she said the quality of education in the country was at par with the best countries in the world.

And I said it was hard to gain admission into the University of Ibadan at that time than Harvard. The young lady became so agitated that, considering the standard of education at that time, why were the beneficiaries of that education made mess of the country? And I responded that if she could check, she would discover that most of the beneficiaries of that quality education have never provided leadership in Nigeria. And the reason was that a good percent of them left the shores of this country in frustration in the 80s. And that was why I wrote a piece, ‘The generation that left town.”

Due to that unfortunate evolution, my view of my role increased to playing that type of social enterprise role; civil societies. We need civil societies to serve as check and balances on government. I focused on playing that role.

‘Concerned Professionals’ And, in 1993, after the June 12 election was annulled, I reactivated that role, writing a piece published in one of the famous newspapers, saying “we must say never again.”

That piece led to the establishment of ‘Concerned Professionals.’

It was arguably one of the stout movements of resistant against military regime. As a result of that write up, we played a very important role in bringing military regime to an end in the country.

Continues on page 39 C M Y K

SUNDAY

Continued from page 38 When military rule ended, there was a debate among us as to which direction to go. There was this argument as to whether we should go into politics and try to effect the change we had been preaching or we should go back to our role as professionals.

One of those that moved passionately that we transform into a political party was the late Waziri Muhammed who, unfortunately, died in the Bellview plane crash. I believed that we had achieved the aim of chasing the Army out of office and politicians should come in and manage the country.

Unfortunately, too, we misjudged the situation. We didn’t realize that the real politicians were not too sure that the military was ready to go. So many of them stayed back to watch.

And after the military left, contractors who worked with the military became the new politicians. And some soldiers who removed their uniforms moved into the political space and seized it. And Nigeria went into serious trouble and this happened at a time when the price of fuel skyrocketed.

Under Sani Abacha’s regime, the price of world oil reduced to about $10 per barrel. After the country came back into civil rule, the price began to appreciate. These fellows captured the political space and converted public treasure into private use.

They used the money they made to erect barriers around themselves in the political space and they were basically a group of people who saw the political arena as an arena of selfenrichment and aggrandisement. And those who could oppose them were unable to gain access because these politicians had erected barriers everywhere. For most of that season, President Muhammadu Buhari was electable.

But we got to a point last year when Nigerians decided that enough was enough. And the momentum started. I used to make a statement prior to that election that opposition parties rarely win election because the incumbent doesn’t lose.

And the country got to a point when it became obvious that the candidate who had contested elections and could not win became the ideal candidate.

And that was how we get to C M Y K

Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015, PAGE 39

our strategy.

But the PDP deliberately chose to prevent the election from taking place in 2007. There was no election in that year. After the election, I said I was not going to run until we could create a two party arrangement. I concentrated my energy from 2007 to 2011 into trying to build a virile opposition.

And Chief Anthony Enahoro became the rallying point for a progressive opposition. I remember that he called me one Saturday and I went to see him in his house in Ikeja. And we discussed about the movement called the Social Democratic Mega Movement, SDMM. It was expected to bring together all progressives in the opposition in the country. I said to him that was the only thing I was committed to at

•Utomi...Colleagues wanted us to transform into political party

‘My serial presidential bids’ where we are.

In 2002, it had become clear that we made a mistake. When Waziri and some of our colleagues decided to go into politics, myself and others decided to maintain our status quo.

I remember one evening, standing in front of my office at Idowu Taylor Street, VI with a former governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke, and three others, Duke said he was going back to organize his state. If we all had done what Duke did, maybe Nigeria wouldn’t be the same today. But we pulled back and these other characters moved in. And, by 2003, it was clear to me that we needed to do something. We began to debate on how to go about our decision to move into politics with those who probably had the political wing of the ‘Concerned Professionals’. And we called it the Restoration Group. And discussion then suggested that the least we could do was to set agenda for the election. As it was at that time, there were no issues discussed. Politics in

the country was about merchants of fortunes.

It was decided in the group that I should run for office. The clear goal of my vying for office in 2007 was to set an agenda; we believed there should be a discussion of where we wanted to be in the nearest future as a country. The second goal was that because the country was so fractured in 2007, we were quite sure that no one will win a proper election. In 2007, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar had probably taken the North-East, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate had taken the North-West, maybe we will take the youth and the intellectual votes as the Alliance for Democracy, AD, will probably take over the South-West.

As it was clear that no one could win the election out rightly, we believed that, in that state of flux, politicians will have to get together to discuss how to resolve the fracture and we would go into a coalition that will then produce the scenario in which it will bring us into the arrangement. That was

In 2011, as the election came by, I was so broke to think of election.

Due to that, I had no plans to vie for election until the system changed and our party came together to develop resources and members contributed funds that time and not public office.

Broke I tried to design a shadow cabinet but I discovered that the issue of internal envy could be a problem within the opposition. Then, in 2011, as the election came by, I was so broke to think of election. Due to that, I had no plans to vie for election until the system changed and our party came together to develop resources and members contributed funds. After that, we discussed on who could provide the kind of leadership that we needed.

As the elections approached, we began to see different movements.

Suddenly there was a new movement called the National Democratic Initiative, NDI. This party was led by northern politicians including

President Muhammadu Buhari, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Chief Olu Falae and I was invited to become a co-convener. And the argument presented to us was that northerners may see us as being incorporated into the SDMM which was a southern movement. But if we had this one and we all came together, everything will fall in line with what we aimed to achieve.

One day I returned from a foreign trip and Chief Olu Falae called me. He said it was appropriate that as the face of the party, I should be the Chairman. While I was out of the country, they had elected me the Chairman of the party. I accepted. And that was why I became the Chairman of the SDMM. Wale Okuniyi, the CPC governorship candidate in Ogun State, said the best strategy was to allow the respective parties in the NDI to produce their presidential candidates.

Then all the candidates will come together and one of them will be chosen to vie for the election. And we will all support that person. He said that SDMM had decided that I be the party’s presidential candidate in 2011 and my reply was that I didn’t have money. He said I should not worry.

And at one of the meetings of the NDI held before the polls, we had President Buhari, Mr. Fola Adeola, Nuhu Ribadu, Shekarau, Tony Momoh, Oyegun in attendance. But at the last minute, the thing flopped.

And I decided that there was no need contesting if we could not get a viable opposition.

After that election, I went to see the former Lagos State governor (Tinubu) who was with us in the NDI process because we had meetings at the Lagos House and the governor’s lodge in Ikeja. I met with him and I said that if we were going to get a formidable opposition, he needed to lead. He laughed but several months later he called me to say we should discuss the issue with President Buhari. I told him that I was exhausted because I knew how many times I had gone to Kaduna and other places. I was not interested in leading but willing to follow. And I asked him to go and if he achieves it, I will follow him.

He later called me to say Buhari accepted the offer and that was how we are where we are today.

PAGE 40— SUNDAY,

C M Y K

Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015

SUNDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015, PAGE 41

Incompetent private school owners, teachers lowering educational standard

—Mrs. Franca Nkwoji, educationist

BY LUCKY OJI Mrs. Franca Nkwoji, is the Founder/Chief Executive Officer of Frandach Consulting Limited, a professional and reliable school consulting firm.

In this interview with Sunday Vanguard, she speaks on the nation’s educational system, child’s upbringing and other issues.

Excerpts H ow did you get into the school consulti n g business? Was it your specialty or you just stumbled into it?

I did not stumble into what I am doing right now. On the contrary, I believe I was created to impart knowledge and I am very proud to call myself a teacher at any given opportunity. I am an educationist to the core; I have a Bachelor and a Master’s degree in Education, I have worked in various schools for some good number of years as a school counsellor and rose to the position of a Vice Principal and then Acting Head of school in some notable schools in Lagos State that are using the English National Curriculum (ENC), commonly referred to as the British system in Nigeria. The quest to contribute to the growth of our educational system was what inspired me to register Frandach Consulting Limited, so that I can contribute to the development of many schools as possible.

I am looking forward to the day the government will recognize what we are doing and want to us partner to take the educational sector to the next level.

What are some of the programmes that you are holding to achieve your goals and what do participants stand to gain?

We hold some major events or workshop each year for all school staff to educate 21st Century school Influencers with the intention of boosting their overall management performance and achieve UBE goals for learners. We bring to bear the fact that counselling in schools is not given the desired attention. Every school staff is an influencer in the life of the learner, therefore they must know how to handle these learners and assist them in achieving their goals which is the primary reason they are in school. Again, due to the widely held speculation that girls are more attracted to their fathers than their mothers, we started organising C M Y K

•Mrs. Franca Nkwoji...If you educate a woman then the entire nation is educated Dads and Daughters Evening programme since 2006 to improve on the relationship between fathers and their daughters because we discovered that daddies are rarely aware of the needs of the teenage girls. This will most likely enhance the decision of the girl when in serious situation, rather than taking a clue from the society. The essence of this programme is also to help the deteriorating relationship between the daddy and the girl child going through a turbulent time in her life who thinks that nobody cares about her. Then, we will also be holding an Anti-bullying Week Campaign in Lagos, before the runs out, consid-

Government should put a law in place to guide issuance of licenses to private individuals that want to start a schools and all the requirements should be met before the licenses can be given out

ering the fact that a lot of people think bullying is part of growing up. Many school children are being affected by it in one way or the other and because this does not make headline news in this country, it is really not considered a problem. From our previous campaigns, I make bold to say that it is a social menace that the government should be interested in tackling, especially in the public schools where it is more rampant. We will also hold Careers Day with schools in Lagos by November 27th. This programme is to help children with the choice of career for their future. It is especially designed to help school counsellors or designated school staff know what and how to help

students choose their careers The problem(s) with our educational system an d possible solution(s) The problems with our educational system are numerous. The increasing rate of private schools springing up from every corner of the streets by incompetent proprietors/proprietresses who see opening of school as last resort to escpaing the clutches of poverty have contributed to the downward trend in our educational system. Poor funding of the educational sector by the government is also a major problem that we need to address and lack of proper educational regulatory body to checkmate proliferation of private schools by unqualied owners in the sector.

The government should put a law in place to guide issuance of licenses to private individuals that want to start a schools and all the requirements should be met before the licenses can be given out.

Our government should give priority to the educational sector by putting vibrant and qualified people that have actively contributed to the development of the sector.

How do we address the problem of the girl-child education in Nigeria There is a popular saying that if you educate a woman then the entire nation is educated. This is very true because the woman can multitask in every situation. A woman that is educated wants to get a job and help out in the family and also contribute her expertise to her country. A woman that is ‘truly’ educated wants to serve against all odds. The saying that “what a man can do a woman can do better” may not have been coined by a woman. An educated woman can juggle the home front and her career at the same time without her having too much pressure. I once read of a scientific research that says the women uses the two sides of her brain i.e the right and the left hemisphere, which is why when they are faced with a tough situation they think faster and come up with a possible solution.

The role of women in child’s upbringing The role of women in a child’s upbringing is very important to the entire growth of the child. i.e spiritually, morally, intellectually, socially and emotionally. Apart from the woman carrying the child in her womb for nine (9) months, she believes that the responsibility of bringing up the child in an acceptable way falls on her shoulder. Our society blames a badly turned

PAGE 42— SUNDAY

Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015

*The slain men: Hon. Ternege Sarwuan, Abraham Thomas and Timothy Anadeyegh

MURDER AT MIDNIGHT!

If his name is Ibrahim, kill him —Heartbroken widow relives husband’s gruesome death

BY VICTORIA OJEME

T

HREE men were killed by a gang of robbers who stormed Gbagalape village in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

It was learnt that the robbers, numbering over 60, arrived the village shouting ‘Mopol Area’ and shooting sporadically for about six hours.

One of the victims, Mrs Mimidoo Apeh, said the robbers were armed with guns, cutlasses and knives. They gained entrance through Nyanya.

Mimidoo, who narrated her experience, said, “It was around 12:09 a.m. when we started hearing gun shots coming in our direction and, in less then two minutes, my door was kicked open by six armed men asking my husband to bring money. My husband told them he didn’t have money. One of them asked him if he wanted to die, he said `no’. I saw them pointing gun to the head of my five-year-old son. So I quickly ran to bring out the money my husband gave me to buy foodstuffs. When I handed over the money to one of them, he said, “Is it this N12,000 that you slept with and locked the door?’ They left a message with my husband that he should be ready to bury his brother the next morning.

“Little did we know that they had killed my brother-in-law, Timothy. There were so many of them that you could hear C M Y K

foot steps outside like soldiers on parade”.

Madam Theresa Thomas, another victim who lost her husband during the raid, narrated her story: “We heard gunshots outside and, in minutes, our door was kicked open. One of the robbers asked my husband if he was Mr. Thomas and he said yes.

I heard a voice from outside, “kill him”, and the one inside pulled the trigger and shot my husband twice”. The man died.

Mrs Esther Sarwuan is also a victim. She works at Nyanya General Hospital. Esther is one of the women whose husbands were killed that night. She told her story: “My husband came back to the house at about 11:30 pm on Thursday, August 27 and slept off immediately.

“Around 12:30 am on Friday, August 28, I started hearing gunshots but I thought the shots were not anything to worry about. But shortly thereafter, I could hear the shooting getting closer and, unable to sleep, I woke my husband around 2am. The moment he heard the gunshots, his eyes cleared.

“My husband went outside as other neighbours also came out, but before they knew it, the robbers came in large number and all the men ran back to their rooms.

“About three of them came into our room and asked who was Hon Ternenge Sarwuan and my husband answered from the bedroom. They walked into the bedroom,

asked him to lie down. I joined him lying down. Thereafter, my husband asked me to bring the money he kept with me and give to them. I sprang up. But out of shock and confusion, I forgot where I kept the money. One of the robbers asked me if he could assist to look for the money and I said yes. We both searched for the money and finally found it. They took the money.

“After giving them the money, I went back to where my husband was lying down. Little did I know that my seven year-old son had woken up and was staring at the robbers; so one of them was about to shoot my son. I turned immediately and dragged my son down and used my body as a

And before I knew it, I heard a voice from outside, `If his name is Ibrahim, kill him.’

That was how my husband was shot dead in my presence’

cover for him and the bullet hit the wall.

“As they were stepping out, one of the robbers turned back and shot my husband”.

Another woman, Mrs. Dorcas Abraham, also lost her husband during the raid. She narrated: “The robbers kicked our door open, came in and started beating my husband without asking him for money or anything. And before I knew it, I heard a voice from outside, `If his name is Ibrahim, kill him.’ That was how my husband was shot dead in my presence”.

Amadu Yaro is the Chairman of the vigilante group in Gbagalape village. He said: “We were at a wake keep when some young men ran to inform us about the gunshots. They said the gunmen they saw were more than a unit of the police and the military put together.

“As the gunshots got closer and closer, we ran in different directions. That was how some of us escaped death that night because we learnt that ten people were penciled down to be killed by the robbers.

“If not for the army and the police intervention, the worst could have happened that day. The robbers numbered over 60.

“I remember, in 2008, some robbers also came to this community in such large number.

I was shot in that incident and I believe they were the same people that came back”.

The APC Chairman in the

FCT, Hon Abbas Baba, paid a condolence visit to one of the victims. He condemned the killing of his member, Sarwuan.

According to him, government will do everything possible to bring the killers to book.

“This is a new government, it is a government that fights for justice. APC is solidly behind this family. I want to state categorically that with this party, the children of Sarwuan are not orphans. APC will stand and fight for them”.

When asked if he suspected the killing was political, Baba said, “The death of Hon Sarwuan looks suspicious. According to the wife, when the gunmen came, they were asking for the honourable because he was actually the target”.

Timothy Anadeyegh, the chief of the Tiv community living in Gbagalape, narrated his experience. He said: “At about 1a.m, we were at a wake keep when we stared hearing gunshots close by and those who were able to see them said that the armed robbers were over 60. Even the policemen and soldiers that came could not do much given the large number of the robbers and the sophisticated weapons they were carrying”.

Anadeyegh denied any political link to the killings.

FCT Police Command Public Relations Officer, ASP Anjuguri Manzah, told Sunday Vanguard 14 suspects had been arrested in connection with the incident.

SUNDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015, PAGE 43

Bank managerial career prepared me for life as a bishop’s wife — Reverend Carol Ighele

By Anino Aganbi

W

ife of renowned clergyman, Bishop Charles Ighele, General Superintendent of Happy Family Chapel, Reverend (Mrs) Carol Ighele is a living example of the Biblical virtuous woman.

She has been through it all with her husband in the ministry and yet, greatly adores the unique role of being a mother, wife, counsellor and an inspiration to other women.

Her background as a managerial staff in the banking industry has also been a huge plus in her ability to work with people.

She had an encounter with Feminista.

How did you meet your husband, what was the attraction?

Well, I met him in my father ’s compound. Back then, I was working in the bank and there were no computers.

We used to close quite late. We were doing manual banking which was very stressful. We had little or no social time to ourselves as we even worked on Saturdays.

I made it part of my prayer requests that my husband should be sent to my father ’s house and God answered that prayer.

I was attracted to him because of his genuine love for Christ. Back in the days, we had a lot of young men who drank, partied and did lots of irrelevant things that youths do.

When

Reverend Carol Ighele

we started interacting, we got to a common ground and decided we had a lot of things in common.

How do you help him keep the ministry going?

As a banker, I rose to a managerial position until I joined my husband in the ministry full time in 1998.

Before then, I was quite active. We started the first television programme on ‘‘Marriage and Family ” in West and North Africa in 1995. Even while I was in the banking industry, I featured in these programmes together with my husband.

Through this medium, millions of people got to know about us and admired us.

I preach the gospel and also help in the area of offering financial advice; having studied Accounting outside Nigeria and with my

experience in the bank.

Right now, I am the head of training of the entire ministry.

I was the head of the banks training school in charge of the whole of the South-South in Benin, so, I brought that experience into the ministry.

Another major way is in prayers. It is my duty to uphold my husband in prayers and the entire church, so, I stand as a prayer covering. ...and what have been the challenges of being a Bishop’s wife?

I worked in the corporate world. The challenges they had in the industry were not

Whatever you are doing, in your speech and dressing, you have to portray the godly woman because you do not know who is watching.

You are a source of succor to many, so you have to be conscious at all times

different from what I see on a day to day basis. God probably passed me through that road to be able to function in the church. As a Bishop’s wife, there are many expectations from people; you have to be their mother and a role model. Whatever you are doing, in your speech and dressing, you have to portray the Godly woman because you do not know who is watching. You are a source of succor to many, so you have to be conscious at all times.

People come to you for advice, so, you have to create the time and also have a listening ear.

What have been the high and low points in your marriage?

God has really blessed us.

It has been very good in terms of our love for each other.

Right now, he understands me perfectly and so do I. The Bible is our constitution. Even if he does something I don’t like, instead of reacting as a natural woman, I go to the Bible for references. The Bible has really helped us in the area of understanding. At some point, we had financial challenges as a young couple growing up, trying to manage our funds with upcoming children and extended families. It is like a road that many people pass through.

What’s the role God assigned for women in the church? In today’s context, are they performing that role?

God started by creating the man and he gave him a helper which is the woman, so, the duty of the woman in the home is to help the man. The role of the woman is defined; she is always there to help.

Apart from the woman playing the role of a helper, she can also play the role of a leader. In the church, Jesus came; the Holy Spirit came and was released on the male and female. The woman can preach the gospel, teach and advice. She can play the role a man can play if she has the presence of the Holy Spirit in the area of her gifting, talent, and calling.

Performing her role in the church would depend on her calling, so, you cannot have a blanket answer.

But is it that in some churches, women seem to play second fiddle?

If the leadership of the church believes a woman should handle that role, then she will. It also depends on her gifting as a woman. Just as it is in some homes were the wives are relegated to being just the care giver, so also it is in the church. A woman can be very talented, but if her husband does not give her the support, she might be relegated. Also, if the leadership of the church decides to make her second fiddle, then she becomes one.

The incidence of broken homes seem to be on the rise despite the high attendance of women in churches, are you worried about that and is there a way

C M Y K

out?

I believe it is lesser in the church than outside the church. Outside the church, people have

Rev. Ighele different reasons for getting married, so, when it doesn’t happen; they just go their ways especially now that the tradition is no longer there.

They are not in the villages where the elders will call them. I observed that we need to understand more. Marriage is the only institution that you have been given a certificate before you can graduate. It is an institution you never graduate from. You get the certificate and then learn on the job. If you are ready to follow the manual of God along with your partner, then you will be able to sail through. We have a group known as “Marriage Promise Keepers”. There, we teach people from different churches about marriage.

Brahma Kumaris celebrates World peace day in Lagos

By Anino Aganbi

T

he Int’l world peace day was recently celebrated

by Brahma Kumaris, an NGO affiliated to the United Nations. As a body, the organization strongly believes in serving humanity for world peace. The ability to control the body and the mind can be done by using yoga. Majority of people in Nigeria today believe that Yoga is just for exercising the body but according to Mrs. Denise Lawrence, it is a spiritual exercise which should be done regularly to keep mental balance. “It is not a religion. We have members from different religious background among our group. I believe that when we are able to control our minds, then conflicts will reduce. We cannot say it will end drastically because there are lots of people who stand to benefit monetarily from wars and conflict.

When we have inner peace, then we have better control of our environment.

PAGE 44—SUND AY 44—SUNDA

Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015

How irate youths held Oshiomhole hostage in Yenagoa

T

O Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, the incident of Tuesday, September 22, in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, is one he will not forget in a hurry. It is one incident that should not even happen to him and his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, in this dispensation given the party’s ‘Change’ mantra.

The governor ’s popularity dates back to his days as President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC. Oshiomhole is used to being cheered even outside his state.

Some years ago when Oshiomhole was invited to deliver the inaugural lecture at the Niger Delta University, NDU, Bayelsa State when Chief Timpre Sylva was governor, he was given a rousing welcome by students.

The reception was such that Oshiomhole had to disembark from his helicopter to give the students a token before leaving.

But, on Tuesday, at the APC governorship primary election, the Edo governor was not prepared for the hostile reception he was to receive.

Oshiomhole arrived Yenagoa on the eve of the primary his committee, sent by the national leadership of the APC, was to superintend, met with all the aspirants and issued guidelines for the primary. A Permanent Voter ’s Card, PVC or international passport was to be used to verify and authenticate delegates, he said.

But by the time Oshiomhole arrived

BY JENNIFER BEN-OKEREKE

T

he Court of Appeal, sitting in Owerri, Imo State capital, dismissed two separate but related appeals filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia State against the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the April general elections, Dr. Alex Otti, and his party.

The appeals originated from a decision of the Abia State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Umuahia, to take all the preliminary objections, filed by the litigants, along with the judgment of the substantive petition.

But dissatisfied with the tribunal’s decision, the party headed for the Court of Appeal, urging it to set aside the decision of the tribunal and compel it to deliver ruling on the pending motions.

In one of the motions, the ruling-PDP urged the tribunal to strike out Otti’s petition on the grounds that it was not duly signed and that the necessary fees were not paid in compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010, as amended.

The Court of Appeal, in a unanimous decision of the five-member panel of justices, struck out three out of the four issues raised by the PDP for lack of merit before dismissing the two appeals.

In dismissing the appeals, the appellate court said that they were premature and predicated on the complaint against a ruling which the lower tribunal had not yet delivered.

The court further stated that there was no infringement of the appellant’s right to fair hearing as the motions were rightly heard by the tribunal before ruling was adjourned to come within the 180 days stipulated by the Constitution.

C M Y K

the venue, around 12 noon, on the day of the primary, things had gone awry, as other members of the committee had been overwhelmed by intimidation allegedly orchestrated by some members of the state executive of the party who insisted that the APC membership identity card sufficed for accreditation.

The aspirants for the APC ticket ahead of the December governorship election in Bayelsa State were not spared the harassment either.

Miscreants jeered and threw jibes at them.

Oshiomhole quickly moved to control the situation and called for a meeting with the aspirants. The meeting gave the aspirants the opportunity to air their observations and complaints. Apart from Sylva and a few others who wanted the exercise to continue, majority of the aspirants made case for the cancellation of the exercise.

After the meeting, Oshiomhole, with members of the primary election committee, was still trying to take a position, when, suddenly, the gates to the venue were let ajar by security operatives and hundreds of irate youths invaded the arena disrupting proceedings.

The youths sang, “Sylva has come ooo, we go gree ooo, whether you like it or not”.In the ensuing melee, most of the aspirants flee for fear of being mobbed.

Oshiomhole, who had not made any public utterance since he arrived the

•Oshiomhole (m) arriving the venue of the botched APC primary venue, was startled.

What happened next unnerved the Edo governor. The state Secretary of the APC climbed the podium and declared that Oshiomhole had compromised the exercise.

Next to speak were the state Chairman of the party, Mr. Tiwei Orunimighe, and Sylva who asked the youths to retreat for the exercise to commence.

Some 40 minutes later, when the accreditation was delayed, the youths again invaded the arena, this time, hauling insults at Oshiomhole, insisting that he must conduct the election.

Oshiomhole kept quiet.

It was Sylva again and the state party Chairman who assured the youths, saying the election will hold.

Oshiomhole’s joker About 20 minutes after the second invasion, the Edo governor, who had figured out an escaped plan, having called for security reinforcement from the JTF, stood up and walked to the

accreditation area, about 200 meters from the arena. All this while, he shrugged off entreaties by journalists to make a comment. Oshiomhole pointed that the table be set for accreditation. By now, the JTF reinforcement had arrived.

Oshiomhole said he needed to go and eat and was whisked out through the emergency back gate by over 20 heavily armed soldiers.

No sooner had the Edo governor left than the state APC Chairman ordered for accreditation at about 5:30pm. After the accreditation, done haphazardly, was over, voting started around 6:45 under floodlights at the Samson Siasia Sports Complex.

According to the result of the primary released by one Nelson Alakpa, 807 delegates out of 1510, participated with Sylva scoring 726 to emerge winner.

Warman Ogoriba scored 10 votes, Francis Ebinte 6, Christopher Enai 5, Timi Alaibe 4, Charity Vedelago 4, Diekivie Ikiogha 1, Imoro Kubor 1, Austin Ogionwo 1, Ebitimi Amgbare 1, while 8 votes were voided.

ABIA GOV. ELECTION PETITION

Cour Courtt of Appeal judgment dims PDP’s hope

•Dr. Alex Otti Addressing journalists at the end of the judgment, which lasted for about one hour, counsel to Otti and APGA, Mr Nwala Oracle, said that what the Court of Appeal did was ‘’giving effect to and affirming the sanctity of paragraph 12 (5) of the 1st Schedule to the Electoral Act.” Oracle further said that the Court of Appeal could not have gone any other way than to confirm that the trial tribunal has powers to take all preliminary motions along with the substantive petition.

“As a matter of fact, paragraph 12 (5) is intended to reflect the sui generis nature of election matters”, the counsel said.

“The spirit and intendment of that paragraph is to suppress the mischief of delaying the Election Petition proceeding by ensuring that preliminary objections, whether on jurisdiction or not, raised in the

course of the proceedings, did not derail the determination of the merit of a case by undue and unwarranted delays occasioned by preliminary objections’.

Oracle further insisted that ‘’as a matter of fact, the tribunal is under a duty to comply with the provisions of paragraph 12(5), when objections are raised against the hearing of a petition.”

The Appeal Court, relying on the case of Aregbesola v Omisore, in its judgment, emphasized: “When paragraph 53(5) was in being, paragraph 12(5) came in on the 29th October, 2010 like a Trojan Horse.

“Paragraph 53(5) itself came into effect on 20th August, 2010. Paragraph 12(5) was undoubtedly enacted for a purpose. That purpose was to enable election petition tribunals to handle election petitions without undue reliance on technicalities.

“Although paragraph 53(5) was not repealed, the law is that the provisions of the later enactment amends the earlier so far as necessary to remove the inconsistency between them.”

It will be recalled that the same Court of Appeal, on September 3, 2015, dismissed a similar suit brought to it by counsel for Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, against Otti on the same basis that it lacked merit and was a mere academic exercise.

Otti is challenging the result of the election in five local government areas of Abia: Umuahia North, Isialangwa North, Ugwunagbo, Osisioma and Obingwa, where he alleged massive electoral fraud by PDP. He is urging the tribunal to nullify Okezie’s

election and to declare him the winner of the poll.

Meanwhile, proceedings at the trial tribunal had been adjourned to October 14, 2015 for the adoption of final written addresses of the parties.

News about the judgment, which filtered into Umuahia, the state capital, and the commercial city of Aba, as well as Ohafia, sparked off wild jubilation among the residents, especially members and teeming supporters of the party and its governorship candidate.

A cross-section of the people described the judgment of the Appeal Court as ‘’cheerful news and a positive development” for the state and its citizenry.

Speaking in a telephone interview, the deputy governorship candidate of APGA, Dr. Uche Eme-Uche, expressed gratitude to God for the judgment, saying: “We pray that justice will prevail at the end of the judicial process”.

Eme-Uche added: “We need God’s intervention for Abia to be liberated; so we shall not relent in our prayers.’’

She noted that the judgment of the Court of Appeal ‘’was in consonant with the provisions of the Electoral Act, so we expected the judgment in our favour.’’

The state chairman of APGA, Rev. Augustine Ehiemere, described the judgment as ‘’a path to the ultimate victory for the party and the suffering masses.”

Reacting to the outcome of the judgment in a telephone interview from his Aba residence, Ehiemere said, ‘’We thank God for the judgment,” adding: “The judiciary has, by the judgment acquitted itself as the

SUND AY SUNDA

Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015, PAGE 45

Buhari needs Nigerians’ help to fight corruption – Hon. Odeneye

BY BOSE ADELAJA

H

on. Odeneye Kehinde, popularly called ‘’Ok is Okay’’, represents Ijebu Central Federal Constituency comprising Ijebu Ode, Odogbolu and Ijebu North East, at the House of Representatives. He hails from Ogbogbo and graduated from Lagos State University. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, ICAN. In this interview, he speaks on pay cut for lawmakers among other issues. Excerpts; Can you tell us about your journey into politics Before 2011, I hated politics with passion but, one day, I realised I could continue to stay at the background criticising politicians for no cause and I made up my mind to identify our problems and proffer solutions.

In September 2010, we attended a social function in the village where I met some of our zonal leaders and the first thing that came to mind was to advise them on the need to choose the right candidates for the 2011 elections.

All I told them was ‘I hope you guys will choose those who can represent us well this time around,’ but to my astonishment, one of them said, ‘look, we have been discussing you all this while and we feel you have all it takes to represent us at the House of Representatives’’. My intention was to assist them in my own capacity to get the right candidate but I ended up being picked as the candidate and this beat my imagination. I told my wife what transpired thinking she will kick

Some people are of the opinion that some of those around Mr President also have their hands soiled. Do you agree?

You cannot judge a person as being corrupt without presenting the evidence but he has assured there won’t be sacred cows as the laws are not made for the opposition party alone but for all Nigerians.

He said we are going to fight corruption in totality, even among party members, let’s not forget that we have the judiciary to do the job.

against the idea but, to my consternation, she gave me her support.

Another interesting part of it is that, I could not boast of N100,000 in my bank account but, miraculously, I ended up spending millions of Naira for my campaign.

President Muhammadu Buhari apparently began his fight against corruption by advocating for a special court to try offenders. What is your take?

I want to congratulate Nigerians for having President Muhammadu Buhari who has something in mind that he was unable to complete before his regime was overthrown in 1985. God intentionally allowed him to be voted into power at a time Nigerians have lost hope of a better tomorrow. It is true that many people have tagged him ‘’Baba go slow’’ all in his bid to fight corruption.

The issue is that he came at a time Nigeria cannot boast of any meaningful development than oil and, gradually, the nation has grown from boom to doom. I wholeheartedly support his war against corruption and I know this will attract criticism because Nigerians are not used to this kind of war having been governed by one party for over 16 years. Many Nigerians have resigned to fate and this gave PDP members the opportunity to rule the way they liked.

We have been putting our trust in the cloud but God later blessed us with President Buhari. We must wage war against corruption and that is what Buhari is doing.

The special court is necessary to give room for accelerated hearing, the

•Hon. Odeneye Kehinde President wants incorruptible judges to this effect. If we don’t fight this war now, when are we going to do so ?

This is a country where an individual can boast of foreign currencies which can compete with the budget of a nation.

Mr President made some promises during his campaign. Do you see him fulfilling them by 2019?

I can assure you he is going to fulfil them but Nigerians should exercise patience with him because there are so many projects to work on. I am so glad to work with such a man who appreciates the problems on ground and takes time to study them. There are many companies who want to partner Nigeria in some programmes but they want to be assured of our readiness. They want to be convinced their investment will grow well before investing their resources. If those platforms are not provided, how will such partnership come into being? All what he is doing is to prepare the minds of Nigerians that he is in for a change. When everybody follows the rule of the law, Nigeria will be safe for all of us.

There is a proposal to cut lawmakers’ pay by 30 percent. What do you say?

President Buhari does not have the power to slash salaries. He cannot even slash his personal salary because there is the Revenue and Fiscal Mobilisation Commission to determine our salaries and remuneration. When reports said President Buhari was going to slash salaries, I was surprised. On the Revenue Commission can come up with recommendations that have to be tabled and discussed.

For those saying that members of the National Assembly earn so much here and there, I will seize this opportunity to educate them. When the head of the Revenue Commission spoke, he said the proposal was that no member of the National Assembly will earn more than N1,000,000. The truth of the matter is that even during my first tenure, I did not earn up to N1,000,000. All allowances including wardrobe allowance will be deducted from our salaries. Abuja is the most expensive place to be and this is where the senators are expected to live.

All agencies, parastatals and ministries have their own allowances. I wonder why people are not talking about the judiciary and the parastals but the lawmakers. May I state categorically that there is accommodation problem in Abuja and what this means is that the senators are left with the choice of lodging in hotels or renting apartments apart from the capital expenditure that is usually incurred by the lawmaker.

Have you forgotten that many of us pay medical bills for people in our various constituencies and organise empowerment programmes?

Adamawa playing catch-up game

BY LEKAN BILESANMI

U

ntil recently, Adamawa State was in the news for the wrong reasons: it is just emerging from the devastating effects of insurgency. Besides, the state seemed ungovernable with an unstable political leadership tussle that saw the impeachment of one governor.

Adamawa was not originally to be included among the states where state of emergency would be declared under the Jonathan government, but included because of a tussle that exposed a contrived plot to impose political control from the centre. With state of emergency and troops deplored in parts of Adamawa state it eventually became one of the major battle grounds between the army and Boko Haram.

The teeming numbers of people driven from their homes and forced to live in IDP camps across the state are a stark reminder of the devastation caused by insurgency.

But there are some obvious changes already. Governor Mohammed Umar Jibralla, who is fondly called ‘Bindow’, has been commended for continuing some of his predecessor’s projects and there seems to be a heightened pace in the new government’s efforts at improving social indices in Adamawa and improving on its infrastructure.

Street lighting projects, started by the previous government on some of the main streets of the state capital, are ongoing.

Political observers say there are already signs of change in governance.

•Gov. Mohammed-Umaru-Jibrilla The governor’s cabinet list appears to have been welcomed by a large segment of the people, a feat in itself, judging from previous experiences. Towards the end of his first three months in office, Jibralla sworne-in the cabinet of 21 commissioners, each member selected to represent all the local government councils in the state. The next day, the governor gave marching orders to the commissioners to join him to monitor projects he had earlier embarked upon and for them to see other projects due for take-off.

Traveling in mini-buses without the usual retinue of aides and expansive convoys, the governor spent several hours showing the commissioners the challenges trailing their jobs.

Contractors at project sites were taken unawares and found themselves answering questions from the governor’s delegation regarding the level of work done. The SSG, Dr. Umar Bindir, who introduced the commissioners to projects directly under their mandate, kept telling them they have to work as a team.

Joining the governor on the trip was the Speaker of the state House of Assembly who assured Jibralla that appropriation would be made when and as required by government to fast-track processes. Also on the bus trip was the deputy governor, Martins Babale, who, like the governor, previously served in the House and Senate respectively.

The team of commissioners is expected to deliver the government plans to improve on the state’s development. Bindir said with the team appointed by the governor, “Adamawa, henceforth, has no business being regarded as a backward state.”

The projects shown to the commissioners numbered 26 roads currently under construction in Yola, the state capital, and the roads linking the rural areas to the capital. Among the roads is the circular Yola road being

widened to four lanes. All the roads were started by Jibralla in his desire to reverse infrastructure deficit. Another concern for Bindow has been health.

Arrangements between government and a Dubai-based group are in place for the building of an ultra-modern specialist hospital on BOT basis whose ownership returns to the state after an agreed period. Similarly leading district hospitals have been contracted by the government to Chinese contractors for modernization.

Everything in Adamawa appears to be crying for attention. Among them are housing, educational institutions, youth unemployment and empowerment. A Public Private Partnership (PPP) scheme has commenced to build a 300, housing estate in Yola and a micro-credit scheme, which provides critical financing for small and medium scale entrepreneurs, initiated in the first months of the government. Two projects key to the governor is completing the large sports complex including a sports stadium which he believes would open more avenues for the development of the youth. Government’s efforts to combat social challenges, and it’s willingness to build a cohesive political space, will eventually determine the level of success it records in its four, year term. In Jibralla’s opinion, these projects are only a first step towards improving the living condition in Adamawa. With his programme, tagged, “Bindow for Social Change,” Jibralla believes the challenges the state faces will be overcome by his government.

PAGE 46— SUNDAY

Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015

Captives of Liberty

BY SOYOMBO OPEYEMI

S

ome might say the correlation is farfetched. But the power of ICT has obliterated national boundaries and shrunk our world. Our march of history is now conveyed in contemporary, real-life tempo by agencies of instant communication.

When Pope Francis gave his opinion on gay in July 2013, he spoke directly to Justice Anthony Kennedy and his fellow justices who formed the majority in the judgement that legalised gay marriage in the US. He also addressed directly such tendencies across the world, some of whom will rule on same-sex (related) suits in the future.

I fantasised the likes of Justice Anthony Kennedy argue thus: “Eh! We are a liberal democracy. This is a holy man who should be the embodiment of the Holy Book saying, practically, there is nothing wrong with being gay. So who are we ordinary mortals to judge, condemn and deny gays marital rights? Even if we were to be sentenced to eternal hell on the Judgement Day, we already possess a plea in mitigation!”

Here is how the Guardian (UK) reported the dangerous remarks of the pontiff on Monday, June 29, 2013. “Pope Francis says he will not judge priests for being gay.”

“Pope Francis reached out to gay people on Monday, saying he would not judge priests for their sexual orientation... ‘If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?’ Francis asked. His predecessor, Benedict XVI, signed a document in 2005 that said men with deep-rooted homosexual tendencies should not be priests. Francis was much more conciliatory...”

The comments of the pontiff, repeatedly broadcast across the world, are branded on my mind. “Is Pope Francis seeking worldly acceptance at the expense of the truth? If an armed robber is full of good works, who am I to judge him?” I knew instantly there would be repercussions, the scale of which I might have underestimated. I thought of taking him up publicly, as an individual, but I eventually did not.

I recall a similar sentiment by the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, had attracted my censure some years ago, where I called on him to take the most honourable path by repudiating his leadership of the Anglican Communion.

He had even expressed a more sacrilegious opinion in a letter he allegedly wrote before he became the leader

•Pope

•Obama

of the Anglican Church: “I concluded that an active sexual relationship between two people of the same sex might therefore reflect the love of God in a way comparable to marriage, if and only if it had about it the same character of absolute covenanted faithfulness.” This was blasphemy writ large!

According to Pope Francis, “When I meet a gay person, I have to distinguish between their being gay and being part of a lobby. If they accept the Lord and have goodwill, who am I to judge them? They shouldn’t be marginalized. The tendency [to homosexuality] is not the problem…they’re our brothers.”

No, Hoy Father. Gays are not our brothers. They are like armed robbers. They become our brothers only if they repent and forsake their evil ways. A gay person lives outside nature, outside the law of God. You cannot continue to be gay and please the Lord, the same way an armed robber cannot continue in his or her criminality and at the same time “accept the Lord and full of good will.”

By the way, we do not know the exact passage of the Bible or Scriptures that guided the opinion of the pontiff. The Bible is unambiguous on the place of gay, sodomy, lesbianism, etc.

Here is 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NKJV): “9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived.

Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor

love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”

The United States Supreme Court ruled on Friday, June 26, 2015 that same-sex couples could get married in the country. Justice Anthony Kennedy, who read the lead judgement in the consolidated suit, Obergefell v. Hodges, declared: “The Constitution promises liberty to all within its reach, a liberty that includes certain specific rights that allow persons, within a lawful realm, to define and express their identity. The petitioners in these cases seek to find that liberty by marrying someone of the same sex and having their marriages deemed lawful on the same terms and conditions as marriages between persons of the opposite sex.”

This ruling is obscene and debases our shared humanity. It is the very second in the row of notorious liberties in the US that places humanity below the level of animals. The first being the right to kill (the so-called freedom to possess firearms), since it is easier to purchase a gun than buy candies in a supermarket. And so our humanity is continually assailed by captives of liberty, as Americans gun themselves down daily for no just cause. Yes, in the

Gays are social deviants who ought to live on the fringes of society. At best, they are like those with mental affliction, who should be absorbed in the social homes and rehabilitation centres till their humanity is restored. homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” If the truth must be told and this is a matter of life and death - Pope Francis did not only mislead the Church but is guilty of distortion of the Word of God. You cannot love the world and simultaneously love God. According to 1 John 2:15-17 (NKJV), “15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the

name of liberty!

Gays are social deviants who ought to live on the fringes of society. At best, they are like those with mental affliction, who should be absorbed in the social homes and rehabilitation centres till their humanity is restored.

Gay is obscene and violates human dignity. Therefore, the infamous 5-4 majority decision of the US Supreme Court ought to be reviewed and set aside. All laws banning gay or same-sex behaviour should be upheld.

All lovers of humanity must unite to turn the heat on the US. We must not allow America to turn our world upside down.

And to the likes of Anthony Kennedy, who may wish to rely on an excuse of being misled on the Judgement Day, the Bible - the commandment, the word - is within your reach: “11 For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 14 But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.” (Deuteronomy 30:11-14 (NKJV)) * Soyombo, a public affairs commentator, sent this piece via densityshow@yahoo.com

SUNDAY VANGUARD, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015, PAGE 47 sam.eyoboka@gmail.com

08023145567 (sms only)

Pastor Adeboye’s vision for men, by Balogun, Pastor – in – Charge, RCCG Lagos Province 49 STORIES AKINOLA

BY

WALE

T

he phenomenal growth of the Redeemed Christian Church of God(RCCG) would seem to have provoked a new dispensation for men in the church under the auspices of the Redeemer’s Men Fellowship (RMF). Pastor – in – Charge of Lagos Province 49 of the RCCG, also known as Perfection(2) Province, Pastor Daniel A. Balogun, speaks on the new vision as unfolded by the General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye. Balogun speaks ahead of the RCCG Family Week scheduled to hold in November One big challenge with the RCCG men’s Fellowship is that pastors don’t identify with the group, and this hinders the actualization of the group’s mandate.

What are the authorities doing to address the challenge?

It is actually a big challenge.

I am a pastor, so I know what it

•Pastor Balogun

means to be one. At the level of pastor, we have a lot of commitments. Maybe the pastor is not a full – time minister, he may have other things in his schedule outside of the ministry. But the commitments are always there. And the pastors – in – charge have to attend to all the commitments. But sometimes

when the RMF has its programmes, that will be the time I will be engaged with other church programmes. It happened like that recently when the RMF had a meeting and I was engaged with another crucial church commitment. As the Provincial Chairman, I was supposed to be at the RMF meeting but had to excuse myself because the meeting fell on the second Sunday of the month when we usually have many activities. But in the area of the notion that pastors are not supposed to be part of the RMF, we are addressing that issue. It is a directive from the national headquarters that we must be part of the RMF. Going by what is happening in the new dispensation, our Regional Pastor, Pastor Obayemi, is the National Coordinator of the RMF. We had a meeting of the pastors in the Province recently where the issue of the RMF came up and, what we decided was that the men’s group had to be inaugurated in all our parishes and at the various levels. This is an assignment

How we are keying into the RMF mandate

– Pastor Adebiyi, Provincial Coordinator

P

astor Femi Adebiyi, Assistant Pastor, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of Lagos Province 49 of the RCCG, is also the Coordinator of the Redeemer’s Men Fellowship(RMF) in the Province. Adebiyi speaks on the RMF mandate.

Who is a member of the Redeemer’s Men Fellowship of the RCCG and what are the objectives?

Every married man in the RCCG is a member. But just recently, we were told that men in the age bracket of 70 years and below are entitled to the Fellowship membership as long as they are married. The primary objective is to create a rallying point for the spiritual growth of men in the church. Women have social clubs. Men have social clubs. But when you look at the church, women are more fused, they are more bonded, they relate better.

That is not so for men. So we have had what we called Blessed Men; we have had Fountain Heads; we have had Excellent Men as the Fellowships for men before. But what the General Overseer of the RCCG is saying now is to let us have a Fellowship of men under a new name, RMF, who are also members of those old Fellowships but now reprogrammed and refocused to achieve the purpose of spiritual growth and the spread of evangelism. Under the new arrangement, the emphasis is on pastors in the church coming strongly into the felloship. The reason the Blessed Women’s Fellowship thrives in the church is because the pastors

wives are their leaders. The setting is that in every Parish, every Zone, every Province, there is a women leader who works with the pastor–in-charge’s wife. Of course, the pastor- in-charge’s wife provides the direcdtion and drives the vision as provided by the church.

So the success of the women’s Fellowship derives from the fact that it has part leadership in the pastor’s wife. But what you had in the men’s Fellowship was that the pastors stood aloof. They didn’t associate and identify with the men’s Fellowship. But the thrust of the new dispensation is that all pastors who are married are expected to be active members.

So its like new blood is being injected into the Redeemer’s Men Fellowship. You said the group’s membership is restricted to married men 70 years and below. It thus means Elders are excluded.

There was this seeming, I don’t want to call it rivalry, misconception. When we had the Fountain Heads, some Elders who are men beleved they had no business with them. So we had this dichotomy. But the clear definition now is that if you are 70 and below, you are a member of the Redeemer’s Men Fellowship.

The message is that before you are an Elder, you are a man, married.

And, therefore, your allegiance, your commitment to the men’s group is also of necessity. So, we expect that the old rivalry, the old dichotomy, the old misconception is gone. Even if you look at the Blessed Women’s Fellowship,

•Pastor Adebiyi Elders who are women are active members. But it was not the case with men who believed ‘we are Elders, we are not Fountain Heads’.

I understand the reason Elders who are men don’t want to belong to the RMF is because of the financial commitment.

The commitment is doublepaying to the Elders Fellowship and the RMF. What are you doing to take the message to the various churches and convince the Elders that being part of the RMF is of necessity?

Under the new regime, we have the Chairman and executives of the RMF at the national level. There is a similar level of officials at the regional level. Under this new arrangement, the good fortune is that there is a structure; we have the Chairman and the Coordinator at the national level for the group who are pastors.

There is a similar structure at all levels – Regions, Provinces, Zones, Areas, Parishes. Apart from the Chairman and the Coordinator, there is a President and his executives at all levels. So, in Lagos Province 49, we have the Chairman and the Coordinator as well as the President and his exco.

from the national headquarters that we must take up. It is not a matter of being pastor alone; after all we are also men. So we have to create the time for the RMF. Even if we are pressed for time and cannot attend all the group’s functions, we must be interested in the affairs of the group.

So Province 49 is fully into the new dispensation in the RMF? Absolutely. What I am asking our pastors to do is to identify fully with the RMF. What advice do you have for men in the RCCG in Province 49 vis a vis their participation in the RMF activities?

I am aware that there are some of our men who are yet to identify with the RMF. This could be a question of mobilization. Therefore I am asking our pastors to regularly announce the activities of the RMF as frequently as possible and days when meetings are scheduled to hold. Our men

The Chairman is the Provincial Pastor, while I am the Coordinator. From among the men, there is a President and his executives. The people carry the message to the grassroots. In our Province, for instance, the President and his cabinet have been visiting the Zones and Areas under our jurisdiction, taking the message to them, and encouraging them to carry out the new vision. As we have the Provincial Board, so we have the Zonal Board,the Area Board, the Parish Board. The driver of the downscaling of the information is the leadership of the RMF at the various levels.

We understand the G.O. is actively involved in this new vision.To what extent is he involved?

The G.O. is the driver of the new vision. He is the chief driver, the chief visioner of the RMF. He inspired the change.

The current Chairman of the Board at the national level is a Regional Pastor.

The current Coordinator at the national level is also a pastor. At Province 49, the Chairman is the PP while I am the Coordinator. So, at every level, we have strong leadership.

So, how is Lagos Province 49 keying into the RMF vision?

As soon as the new vision unfolded, we told the Pastorsin-Charge of the Zones to identify men who will constritute the Provincial Board.

They did and we constituted the Board. We are among the early movers of the RMF vision in Lagos. Our Provincial Board has gone ahead to inaugurate seven out of the nine Zonal Boards and visited the Zones as well. I have assurances that the remaining two Zonal Boards will be inaugurated shortly.

have a lot to gain by being members of the RMF. For instance, something happened to one of our members recently.

Unfortunately he did not identify with fellow men in the church.

But we had to wade into the issue because his wife was deeply involved in church affairs. I know of some churches where you lose certain privileges if you don’t belong to certain groups.

But in the RCCF, we are liberal.

What incentives are in place to attract men to join RMF? That is one of the things the exco will look into. There are empowerment programmes that we are planning and we are believing God to take us to where we want to be. Our financially challenged members can take advantage of this. I know there used to be some kind of Cooperative Movement in place in the church some time ago that availed people credit facilities.

That was where Haggai (bank) started from. We can pull together ideas that can benefit our men in terms of empowerment.

Our plan ffor or the 20 15 201 Family Week, by Provincial Board President, Brother Bello The President of the Provincial Board of the RMF in Lagos Province 49 of the RCCG, Brother Kolawole Bello, speaks on the forth coming Family Week in the Province.

How are you carrying your members along so as to strengthen the group ?

Let me first of all thank God for the ability and the strength to carry out the mandate. I also want to thank the authorities of Lagos Province 49 who deemed it fit to put my exco and I in charge of the RMF in the Province.

With God, all things are possible. We shall not disappoint. To the glory of God, it has been so far so good. We have been up and doing.

I believe you are already putting the structures on ground to ensure that RMF fulfills its mandate in the Province.

The structures are already on ground. The Zonal Boards have virtually been inaugurated. The Area Boards are also in place. The Zonal and Area Boards are composed of competent people and I am bold to say they are cooperating with us – the Provincial Board – to carry out the RMF mandate. W e have visited the Zones to also encourage them that we are all stakeholders in the RMF project. We are in the process of celebrating the Family Week slated for November.

What are the programmes lined up for the Family Week ?

We are using the programme to launch the RMF in Province 49 and to signal that we are a force to reckon with in the propagation of the mission of the RCCG. Since it is the Family Week, we will invariably involve our wives and children. To launch out, we are having a fund raising dinner in October. We also intend to have a raffle draw which star prize is a landed property.

PAGE 48—SUNDAY VANGUARD, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015

Deeper Life crusade revives lives in Ajegunle, others

BY SAM EYOBOKA

F

OR some curious observers, Ajegunle, a densely populated area of Lagos, which is widely noted for its high level of crime and violence, among others, has received a divine touch.

AJ City, as it is popularly called because of its notorious nature, has always been held, in some quarters, as a city that would never change its spots, just like the leopard.

But last Tuesday, at the Lagos City-Wide Crusade, organized by the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) in conjunction with the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Ajegunle, unfortunately to its critics, took a departure from its old chip.

Shortly after the General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM), Pastor William Folorunsho Kumuyi, finished his ministration and left, many of the participants at the AJ City crusade besieged the altar, where the man of God was, and poured out their heart desires to the Lord, yearning for righteousness.

Euriel Momah, a civil servant with the Lagos State Government, who obliged a graphic picture of the event, pointed out that it was an unprecedented scene, as many of them did not want to go home, unlike other locations where participants would be in a hurry to leave the venue, depicting Ajegunle’s readiness for positive change.

He remarked that Ajegunle, which many a social commentator has always believed to be a never do well area, was in obvious hunger and expectations, showing an attitude of “I will not let thee go except thou bless me.”

Momah said: “They held on to prayers even after the crusade has closed for the night. They swooped on the altar in earnest prayers of faith.

It was a clear demonstration of their determination not to go back home with their burdens until their problems are solved.

God does not overlook such faith.”

Aside Ajegunle, other areas where the crusade had been held equally recorded significant impact – people discovering their God. Some of the participants, who relived their experiences, said it was worthwhile, both in salvation of souls and solution to physical needs.

In Ikorodu, information gathered revealed, over 4,682 people, including chiefs, surrendered their lives to Christ.

In Ikeja, over 2,000 converts were recorded, while in Alimosho, many people got themselves reconciled with God. Also, in Alimosho, a lot of miracles took place. Mary Edy’s four and half year-old daughter, Stella, who could not speak, was miraculously healed after Pastor Kumuyi’s prayer. Before then, Stella had been taken to several private and public hospitals, including LUTH. She was later slated for brain test, which would cost N50,000.

Mrs. Dele Joseph, who had incessant cough and pain on both right and left ribs for over a year, equally received her healing. Prior to her miracle, Dele had gone to Wuse District Hospital, Abuja, where an x-ray

L-r Gospel Musician Evangelist(Mrs) Bola Are, General Superintendent of Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM), Pastor William F. Kumuyi, and Evanglist Ojo Ade at the ongoing Lagos City-Wide Crusade organized by DCLM in conjunction with (CAN) and Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigerian (PFN) held at Ikeja Grammar School, Bolade Oshodi .

A cross section of worshippers

revealed that her left chest was blank. Therefore, she was recommended for CT scan, but she could not do it due to faulty machine.

Two weeks ago, another x-ray was carried out on her for TB and bronchopneumonia. Even though the TB test result was negative, Dele kept coughing and could not take deep breath, while the pains persisted. But on Wednesday, after the prayer, the pains in both ribs stopped and now she could take deep breath, which was not possible before.

Uchenna Diei, who had stroke that affected her right side of the body and speech, also related her story. She could not talk and walk. She had sought medical attention and prayers. After Pastor Kumuyi’s prayer, she could talk and walk unhindered.

Ayo Odunukan disclosed that she had an accident on May 9, 2015, which resulted in a

fracture on her left leg.

According to her, she was slated for operation in the hospital, but when she came for the crusade, she was miraculously healed and had to abandon crushes.

Now, she could walk unaided.

Mary Adeniyi Adebori, who was deaf and dumb for seven years, could now speak fairly, while Mr. Bolaji Oloye, who had prostate cancer since 2011 and visited several hospitals without solution, received his healing and now totally freed after the prayer. Fatimo Wahab, who claimed she was spiritually attacked, had her hands physically squeezed as if tied together for 15 years. But after the prayer, the yoke was broken and her hands got loosed.

An analyst, Jones Bagbe, noted that life in Lagos, prior to the crusade, had been full of challenges, even with so many churches and religious houses in the state. He also lamented that

the level of immorality, criminality, cultism and waywardness had been alarming, but the crusade had brought a lease of life.

According to him, when considering the fact that those who responded to the altar call were mostly in the youth categories, the crusade would definitely enhance positive sociomoral disposition in the state.

Bagbe said: “I was told that a location recorded over 4,000 converts. If this level of converts is repeated in all the 18 locations in Lagos where the crusade is holding, it will drastically reduce the level of criminality in the society.

“Not only in the criminal aspect of the society, but also in other areas. Something that baffles me when I see those who came out after the miracle prayer to give their testimony is the number of cases of strokerelated cases, and this is also quite alarming among men and women.

“Among them are those who have not been walking on their own for years and with so many other cases like a man from Isolo Crusade location who had travelled to India for an operation to remove a tumour without any success but at the crusade the tumour was taken away by the power in the name of Jesus Christ.

“The impact of this Crusade can never be overemphasized, looking at the participation and the joy that pervade the entire arena where the crusade was held. More so, many people were

not sure that the man of God, Pastor Kumuyi, would be or not to be in attendance but it was a great jubilation when the pastor appeared there.

“Then, there was this aspect of the CAN collaboration in the crusade. The experience at Ajegunle location of the crusade is another story. The CAN mass choir thrilled the whole congregation to a wonderful rendition. Even Pastor Kumuyi clapped for them after their rendition. It has been a wonderful time in all the locations visited so far,” he stressed.

The Chief Executive Officer of Nouvelle Communications , Mr. Steve Obidi, who admitted that his faith in the power of God’s word has been strengthened, noted that the crusade would help to solve some moral problems in Lagos.

Obidi added: “Little drops of water make a mighty ocean.

Certainly, the people that are transformed by the gospel message during this programme will begin to brighten the corners where they live and work and affecting other people positively. That is how enduring change happens.

“Seeing sinners – some of them hardened criminals and grossly immoral fellows – turn a new leaf in response to gospel message and gracious work of the Holy Spirit is both exciting and reassuring. And much of such has been witnessed in this crusade series.

“This is apart from the numerous direct divine interventions in the aspect of healing and deliverance being witnessed at the crusades. This kind of thing that positively touches lives brings joy to individuals, families and the city,” he further said.

Felix Orogun, another analyst, did not mince words when he said that the crusade, so far, had transformed lives, reconciled men to God and turned many away from sinful ways, thus bringing moral reawakening in the state.

While urging participating

churches to build on the gains of the crusade, Orogun stated: “There is a great revival going on in my life with a renewed hope and confidence in the God that is able to do all things as a result of this programme.

I have freedom from all oppression.

Res trict yyour our selves ttoo zonal matt er s-C AN ttells ells Zonal Co-or dinat or estrict ourselves matter ers-C s-CAN Co-ordinat dinator orss

By RICHARD UDOFIA HRISTIAN Association of C Nigeria (CAN), Lagos chapter, has reiterated that its

grass root leaders should restrict themselves to matters that affect their zones, rather than delve into matters meant only for the state chairman and executives to handle for the purpose of unified communication.

This was contained in a release issued by the state’s secretary, Elder (Dr.) Israel Akinadewo. He noted that this statement is coming as a reaction to the alleged reports on the press release by a zonal co-ordinator, as regards noise pollution and closure of some churches by the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA).

The secretary also implored the public (media), to note that the state head of CAN is known as the chairman while the zonal head is recognised as the coordinator.

Speaking further, Dr. Israel said that the association is committed towards giving unwavering support to the government and all its policies geared towards good governance. Even as it encourages its members to be law abiding, hence the need for LASEPA and other government agencies to always communicate actions that affect the Christian community to foremost Christian bodies.

“Our attention has been drawn into recent publications in the dailies as to the press release by

the Co-ordinator of Christian Association of Nigeria, Lagos Island chapter of Lagos State, on the noise pollution in Lagos State, and the closure of some churches by the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), which is not in the best interest of the body of Christ in this state.

“In view of this, we hereby inform all that matters affecting the church in Lagos State should be left to the State executives to address. Our grassroots leaders should try as much as possible to restrict themselves to matters that concern their territories and not to delve into State matters, having known that State will not take up matters at the zonal and national level, without reporting to the appropriate authorities.

“Meanwhile, all matters that affect our individual local governments should be referred to the State Executives for guidance through the Chairman and the Secretariat. This will also strengthen the body of Christ Jesus in speaking in one voice,” Dr. Israel stated.

In addition, he stated that; “According to Article 12 (4) of Constitution of Christian Association of Nigeria, the head of Local Government of CAN is addressed as Co-ordinator and not Chairman. Therefore, we humbly request that this be corrected by the Media. Only the State head is entitled to use Chairman, and our chairman as you all know is Apostle Alexander Bamgbola.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015, PAGE 49

I

N many churches today, pastors are preoccupied with the size of their congregation. Some take a census every church-service.

Others keep statistics of the number of people who answer their altar-calls. When pastors meet socially, how big their church is determines their social status and prestige; ensuring that many are prone to exaggerate their numbers. The bigger the church, the more highfalutin and celebrated the pastor.

However, the wisdom of God is contrarian, she shouts in the street; she lifts her voice in the public square: “No king is saved by the multitude of an army; a mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.”

(Psalm 33:16-17).

Let me apply this scripture more precisely to the context of megachurches. No man is saved by the size of a church, neither is the wicked delivered by the great charisma of a pastor. When we are preoccupied with size in churches, we are guilty of trusting in the multitude of our mighty men. (Hosea 10:13).

First become last “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain?

Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!’”

(Zechariah 4:6-7).

One of the great mountains before Zerubbabel was Solomon’s temple. Those charged with rebuilding it were concerned the new temple would not

BEWARE OF CELEBRITY PASTORS AND MEGA-CHURCHES have the splendor and majesty of the old. But God is not concerned with size and other physical attributes.

Through Haggai, he declares: “The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former.” (Haggai 2:9). Accordingly, Zechariah asks: “Who has despised the day of small things.”

(Zechariah 4:10).

Indeed, according to God’s kingdom dynamics, “every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low.” (Isaiah 40:4).

God says: “All the trees of the field will know that I, Yahweh, have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree flourish.” (Ezekiel 17:24).

This indicates in the day of the Lord, we are likely to discover that the big church is small in the sight of the Lord and the small church is big. Before Zerubbabel, even the great mountain of Solomon’s temple becomes a plain.

Preference for small things In the kingdom of God, good things come in small congregations. Jesus says: “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in their midst.” (Matthew 18:20). In

According to Jesus, many of the socalled churches today that are large and famous are actually spiritually dead. effect, we don’t need to be in the thousands and tens of thousands in order to feel the presence of God. But because Jesus says where two or three are gathered, and not where at least two or three are gathered, he is actually expressing a preference for small gatherings.

According to Jesus, the appropriate size of a church is not “mega” or “big,” but “little.” Thus, he reassures the small congregation: “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

(Luke 12:32). It is the “little flock” and not the big flock that the Father has decided to give the kingdom. Megachurch pastors are akin to the Israel of old: “Israel has forgotten his maker, and builds temples.” (Hosea 8:14).

As a matter of fact, the large size of a church is eloquent testimony of spiritual deficiency. Jesus says: “wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in through it.

Because narrow is the gate and constricted is the way which

leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13).

It is the stone the builders reject that becomes the headstone. (Psalm 118:22).

This prophecy is bad news for mega-church pastors because they are currently the accepted stones. Indeed, according to Jesus, “the first will become last and the last first.” (Mark 30:31). This means today’s “first-class” pastors will ultimately turn out to be “last-class.”

Few are chosen Because the gospel is naturally unattractive to the large flock, Jesus says: “Many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:14).

Therefore, numerical church-growth is an unrealistic index of success in ministry. When we are focused on the numbers game, we become ashamed of the words of Jesus, and readily sacrifice his doctrine on the altar of attracting a large following.

Indeed, God is contemptuous of size; he prefers the mini to the mega.

He says: “Woe to the multitude of many people who make a noise like the roar of the seas, and to the rushing of nations that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!

The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters; but God will rebuke them and they will flee far away, and be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.” (Isaiah 17:1214).

David got into trouble with God because of his preoccupation with numbers. When pride moved him to conduct a census in Israel in order to determine the size of his kingdom, God responded by decimating it with pestilence, killing 70,000 men. (II Samuel 24:1-15).

Jesus himself was not the product of a big church but of little Bethlehem Ephrathah. (Micah 5:2).

Fake pastors: churches

Speaking to his disciples, Jesus provides this simple kingdom dynamic as their mark of distinction: “If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the

Anglican bishops pray against insurgency, kidnapping

BY DAYO JOHNSON, Akure

O

VER 180 bishops, laity and Clergy of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) converged on Akure, the Ondo State capital from Monday to Thursday last week to seek the face of God over the challenges of insurgency and kidnapping in the country.

Primate of the church, Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh said the only way out of the current spate of terrorism is “to look up to Jesus in simple faith and obedience.”

Speaking at the Cathedral Church of Saint David, Diocese of Akure, the venue of meeting of the church standing committee titled; “Look and live”, Okoh expressed worries over “the poisonous serpent of insurgency and kidnapping ravaging the country”, lamenting that “these people kill, maim and destroy without the slightest qualms and most times in very crude and dastardly manner.

“In their wicked operations, children and women are not spared. They are kidnapped and subjected to forced labour and sex slavery. The most worrisome

aspect of this development is the kind of sponsorship they enjoy and their rate of recruitment of new members with ease.

“This world is truly bitten by the poisonous serpents, and like Israel in the desert, is sick and need divine intervention urgently. We must resist this wind of false doctrine, corruption, transgender and sexual

immorality in all its forms blowing around the world,” he stated.

The host bishop, Simeon Borokini said the meeting is of spiritual benefit to the diocese as a way forward for the propagation of the gospel.

The Archbishop of Ondo Province, Most Rev. Latunji Lasebikan said the problem with Nigeria “is not in the

resources we are endowed with but in their management”, noting that the managers of “our resources have done injustice to our destiny”.

Gov. Olusegun Mimiko, a special guest at the meeting, noted that the challenge of terrorism facing the country was not beyond the power of God, praying God to uphold the country and make it great.

Akinkugbe, Mbanefo bag Trinity House Honour Nigeria Awards

A

S part of activities to mark Nigeria’s 55th independence, Trinity House will hold its fifth annual Honour Nigeria Awards ceremony on Sunday at the church auditorium, Zion Centre, Trinity Avenue, through Water Corporation Road, off Ligali Ayorinde Street, Victoria Island, Lagos at 9.30 a.m.

The Honour Nigeria Awards ceremony is a day set aside to honour outstanding Nigerians/Africans of high integrity who have exemplified themselves in different areas of life. The aim of the awards which are in the areas of Leadership, Professionalism, Industry, Philanthropy, Female

Leadership and Role Model and the Africa Prize is to recognise those who have contributed to Nigeria’s national development and acknowledge them as role models for present and future generations.

Amongst the honourees for this year are Chief Olu A k i n k u g b e (Entrepreneurship); Chief Arthur Mbanefo (Professionalism); Chief (Mrs) Leila Fowler (Female Role Model); late Pastor Joshua Adah (Community Service).

A statement signed by Senior Pastor-in-Charge of Trinity House, Ituah Ighodalo said event is the church’s own way of contributing to the development of the Nigerian

dead

nation, stressing that Nigeria has as her citizens, some of the most outstanding people that the world has ever seen.

“We must begin to celebrate all these people and the good about Nigeria and as we begin to speak great things about this country; we must raise up bright and new role models. As we honour Nigeria and outstanding Nigerians, thanking God in spite of all that has happened, Nigeria will begin to be outstanding.

“Nigeria is still looked upon as the giant of Africa and one with the greatest potentials on the continent; in spite of everything, Nigeria is still a dominant force along the West Coast, has the largest economy in Africa and amongst the top 20 in the world,” he noted.

world hates you.” (John 15:19).

Therefore, the very fact that the world loves megapastors indicates there is something wrong with them. If something is very popular, it is not of God. The evil spiritual “ruler of this world” will not allow what is godly to be well-liked.

Therefore, Jesus says: “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.” (Luke 6:26).

Mega-pastors are in trouble with the Lord because all men love them.

The people of this world do not like the doctrine of Jesus.

Neither do mega-pastors otherwise they would be mini. If the general public like what a pastor preaches, it is a sure sign it is not of God. God and men hardly ever see eye to eye. Jesus says: “That which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.” (Luke 16:15).

This shows the true Church of Christ is inevitably anathema to the world. Jesus insists his kingdom is not of this world.

(John 18:36). Therefore, his Church cannot be worldly; neither will his disciples preach the world in order to attract a crowd.

According to Jesus, many of the so-called churches today that are large and famous are actually spiritually dead. He declares: “To the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘These things says he who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: ‘I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.’”

(Revelation 3:1).

Christ Embassy adopts 10,000 kids

BY AKPOKONA OMAFUAIRE WARRI — THE Christ Embassy Church on Friday said it had about 10,000 children under its care as a way of getting them off the streets.

Pastor Ciji Darah, the Warri zonal head of Christ Embassy made this known while briefing newsmen on the 2015 Reach Out Nigeria (RON) project of the church.

Darah, who was represented by Mr. Yemi Morakinyo also said that out of the 10,000 children, 57 were adopted in Warri, pointing out that the ministry would continue to impact on the lives of the people through the spread of the gospel of Christ and other positive avenues. ‘’We have 30 million copies of Rhapsody of Reality to be distributed this year and in Warri zone we are going to distribute 2.5 million copies within a period of three months,’’ he said.

Darah said the theme of this year programme was ‘’Dawning a new nation”, adding that the annual event which started in 2007 would also feature a football tournament, youth empowerment as well as medical services.

The pastor said the aim of the event was to further propagate the Word of God throughout the country and bring light to the nation.

PAGE 50— SUNDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015

By EBELE ORAKPO

The concluding part of the interview with Air Vice Marshal Femi Gbadebo (OFR), founder/CEO of BENOLA, in which he speaks on why families of disabled children need help.

Excerpts:

‘My son ttaught aught me a lot about pain, per se ver ance, endur ance’ perse sever verance, endurance’ I got out of Lagos Business School apart from financial management, is branding. We came up with the name and colours. Green is the colour of CP and my wife likes pink and that is where the pink comes from. My ultimate goal is to have a situation where when you say BENOLA, people will know you are talking about CP. We are doing something radically different to change the face of CP and CP management in this part of the world. We need advocacy, counseling for parents, capacity-building for caregivers and to be able to refer people because we are not managing or treating. We just make noise, people come and we must be able to send them to relevant places for management.

I

was an instructor pilot in the Air Force, teaching people how to fly. Later on, I went to Command and Staff College Jaji and then to Defence College as directing staff or moderator. So imparting knowledge, breaking things down in critical ways and analysing them, have been part of my life. I felt I could help people in capacity-building - teach

about leadership, management, human resource and so on, from the practical point of view. I tried to reach out to people. The audience would be very impressed and ask interesting questions but the organisers would not call me back. A friend of mine in October, invited me to this conference where I spoke on disability and I saw a response I had never seen before. I had gone online and found all kinds of aids and I brought out quite a few things about what can be done to make people less stressed in managing the disabled - things like hoist to lift a child from a chair to a bed and bath chair to help you bathe them properly etc. People asked whether I import these things and if I could provide them for families.

I was like ‘wow, you mean there is a hunger for this kind of information?’

Hunger for information: There are a lot of homes and schools for the disabled but that is not it. As God works in mysterious ways, within a month, I came in contact with a medical doctor friend who runs an NGO. Incidentally, people had been telling me to set up an NGO but I always associated NGOs with civil society organisations and felt I could not work for government for 35 years and then come back to fight government. It did not look right and from my point of view, we don’t need to fight government, we just need to help government come up with workable ideas and how they can be implemented.

I told him about my experiences with talking and he said I needed to be branded. ‘You cannot just be flying around as AVM, talking about this and that; you need to be branded, people need to know where you are coming from. Once they know, they can invite you to their programs as an expert and then your flying career

•Gbadebo

becomes an added advantage. They are not bringing you to talk on disability as a pilot.’ I didn’t want to set up a home or school because they have failed in changing the perception about disability.

You see, we have a mindset here that the way to handle disability is to set up a home or school for the children; whether we have the expertise or not is another matter. Even if the founder has expertise, the staff are not properly trained and then there is no regulatory authority to check whether they are doing the right thing or not.

Priority: Once you have 30 or so children in a bungalow, your priority becomes how to take care of them, keep the place running, pay your bills, pay the staff and so everywhere you go to speak, you are not really educating people about the problem or how to solve it, you are just presenting the problem in a way that attracts pity and then support for the home. This further adds to this image that all we need to do for these people is keep them alive, give them food. I want to change the way people look at disability; so I had to study to better understand CP. Three years ago, I could not look at you and tell you that

CP cannot be cured. Yes, it is written in books but before you say it, people are challenging you, ‘do not say that’, but we have to get over that.

Benola – A CP Initiative: Benola stands for me in the sense that I am coming from a father whose name was Benjamin and he taught me certain values; I have a son, Olaoluwa who has taught me a lot of things about pain, perseverance, endurance and God knows what. The two of them put together are actually me in a way and that is what Benola is. Then CP Initiative is just added for people to understand. But from the beginning, I had a vision of a brand. One of the best things

My ultimate goal is to have a situation where when you say Benola, people will know you are talking about CP

My son: We realised we needed to include families in our programs so in July, we had our first Family Forum. The issues with CP are stigma, fear and reality.

You see, my son is fully dependent which means he cannot do anything by himself; he wears a diaper at 19 now. He has a feeding tube through which he takes most of his medications. He can eat to some extent but he does not drink liquids.

He has a rod in his back to help straighten the spinal cord and they secured it in some crazy way so he is so delicate that we cannot afford to move him around.

Bringing experts together: We got together experts doctors, special education people and caregivers (about 34 from different parts of Nigeria) and did a workshop.

In the end, we came out with a communiqué.

We started bringing families together and we went on social media; that was where Prof Joanne Umolu, Founder/ Director of Open Doors for Special Learners, Jos, saw Family Forum. She sent me an email saying she has a teacher that will be a blessing to us. Eventually, the lady, Uche Madueke, popularly called Miss Courageous, came and she blew our mind.

She has a Diploma in Special Education from UNIJOS. She is such a warm loving person.

She became Benola Ambassador alongside Oluwabusola Akinsola, a Project officer at the Children Developmental Centre (CDC), Surulere. She holds a master’s degree in International Economics & Trade from the London

Metropolitan University.

They showcase what we are doing and are proud to be featured. As of June 2013, you couldn’t find the picture of a Nigerian child with CP in the media. We are changing that now.

Benola Roadmap for CP: We did a few more workshops and came up with a document which we called Benola Roadmap for Cerebral Palsy in Nigeria. It contains a good deal of information about CP, child rights, government’s position, etc. For instance, I now know that government has a provision for free medical care for every child under the age of five but how do you access it?

The machinery is not there.

There is a School of Occupational Therapy in Oshodi, they graduate people yet, the government is not employing them in hospitals, but a few of them are in private practice.

When the book came out, we wrote to almost all the governors and organisations but got no response except from former Gov. Fashola through his wife, who got a copy. He gave us a bus and promised to give us land to build a centre.

Incidentally, the Air Force heard about it and gave us land in Abuja so the design is for Abuja land. But because of the elections and change in government, we may have to start all over.

The centre will not be for treatment but a centre of excellence for capacity building with every necessary facility.

Corporate sponsors: I met a media consultant and we got talking. He said he has been following me and that I have done a great job but I was doing so many things wrong. I was not involving others and we needed corporate sponsorship. He said we cannot afford to pay the kind of people we need to take this to the next level, strategists. He introduced me to Dr. Omadeli Boyo, Medical Director at Pinecrest Specialist Hospitals, Lagos. I spoke with him and he was not interested so I asked him to visit our website.

The next morning, he sent me an sms, asking for us to meet. We sat down for over five hours and since then, there’s been no turning back. In fact, based on that, we decided to restructure the board. We have a management structure where we have a project planning and implementation team.

On October 3, 2015, there will be A Walk for CP comes up on October 3, 2015 at 7.00am while World CP Day comes up on October 7, 2015.

SUNDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015, Page

VIEWPOINT

By Niyi Anibaba

VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF

The strength of Lagos new cabinet

A

T the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, many Americans did not know how President John Kennedy would handle the challenge until they saw the composition of his war cabinet.

The names gave them hope that the US would emerge from the crisis with some measure of success and hope for a world without a global conflagration. And indeed Kennedy steered America and the world from a destructive Third World War which would have been fought with nuclear weapons.

That is the way I see the nominees for the cabinet of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode. They offer hope that Lagos State and its citizens are in for refreshing times when there would be a revolutionary trend in the delivery of democratic dividends and the provision of good things of life.

At a glance, the list is made up of one professor, three medical doctors, two engineers, six lawyers, a journalist and one teacher.

There is a healthy mix of technocrats, strategists and politicians on the list. The list is made up of fresh faces and a few returning Commissioners. The cabinet has five

VIEWPOINT

By Lucia Omonobi

VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF

The road to defeating terror

P

EOPLE depend on the mass media for information, education and entertainment. Other than these three functions, the mass media also provides three major functions: Surveillance, correlation and cultural transmission.

The mass media is equally the fourth estate of the realm after the executive, the judiciary and the legislature. The mass media has been known to play a big role in the development of the country in different ways but, despite these advantages, it also has its disadvantages. One of its disadvantages is that the mass media has become an avenue

VIEWPOINT

By Charles Uzoukwu

TRIBUTE IN BRIEF

All eyes on Umuahia Election Petition tribunal

I

N recent times, the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), including some state governors, have been taking up news spaces, raising false alarm, that officials of Department of State Security (DSS) have been meddling with electoral tribunals and harassing INEC officials. Their curious charges have mostly got to do with the on-going election petitions being heard in Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Abia States.

The PDP claims that the purported DSS actions are rampant in PDP – controlled states and are targeted at its candidates in the recent elections, the sole aim being to put them in disadvantage when verdicts are passed in cases before the election tribunals.

From the desperation the PDP is exhibiting, there is hardly any doubt that their intention is to influence the judgment of the tribunals by

Ambode and his Dream Team women. Ademola Abass is a professor of law. He has served on United Nations projects in Belgium and Ethiopia. Until his appointment, he was the Head of African Centre for Peace and Security Training, Institute for Security Training in Addis Ababa.

The other lawyers in the cabinet are Dr. Benson Oke Akintola, Dr. AbdulHakeem Abdul-Lateef, Mrs. Yetunde Onabule, Adeniji Kazeem and Prince Rotimi Ogunleye. Akintola and Kazeem are both political scientists and lawyers.

The name of the former Commissioner for Health, Dr. Olajide Idris, stands out amongst the medical doctors in the cabinet. He is best remembered for his role in the battle to suppress Ebola in 2014. Another doctor on the list is Dr. Samuel Babatunde Adejare, a former federal and state legislator. He is specialist in public health.

Dr. Femi Onanuga is a vastly experienced medical doctor with speciality in general medicine and community health. A former Permanent Secretary, Special Services in the Governor’s Office, he has been at various times the Medical Director of Randle General Hospital, Surulere, Mainland Hospital, Yaba, Ifako Ijaiye , Agege and consultant to the Lagos State Health Service Commission.

Lagosians bothered by the state of the roads in the state now have reasons to smile going by the profiles of the two engineers on the cabinet list. Engineer Ganiyu Abiodun Johnson is an accomplished civil and structural engineer with over 30years experience.

He was a Special Adviser on Works and Infrastructure in Lagos and during his time initiated projects like the Lekki-Ikoyi bridge, reconstruction of Lagos-Badagry Expressway Lot 1, infrastructural improvement of Yaba to Iddo and environs as well as the construction of jetties and terminals at Badore, Ipakodo-Ikorodu and Osborne.

Engr. Ade Akinsanya, specializes in transportation infrastructures particularly bridge design and construction, transportation planning and construction of various types of transportation facilities. He was, before this appointment, Supervising Bridge Engineer with California Department of Transportation.

Being a financial technocrat himself, Ambode has selected a crop of bright, young and finance professionals for his cabinet. Dr. Mustapha Abiodun Akinkunmi is a financial economist and technology strategist. Akinkunmi has held high profile positions as a Consultant, Financial Advisor and Business

Strategist with AT & T, Goldman Sachs, Phibro Energy, First Boston (Credit Suisse), World Bank and Central Bank of Nigeria.

Akinyemi Ashade is an Audit Partner with KPMG Professional Services(formerly Arthur Andersen) and is responsible for the audit of banking, insurance and assets management companies.

Babatunde Fuad Durosinmi-Etti is an investment banker turned finance and public policy consultant. His experience includes a banking career where he rose to the position of Deputy General Manager. He was Managing Director of Ibile Holdings Limited, the investment company of Lagos State and later Vice Chairman of the Association of African Financial Institutions, an affiliate of the African Development bank. He has been on the boards of Volkswagen of Nigeria, LASACO Insurance Plc and University Press Plc. Olufemi Adeboye Odubiyi is an information technology expert. He is presently the IT Director of Dangote Group. Before then he worked for Airtel holding many key positions such as Systems Support Manager, Head IT and Director, Billing and Value Added Services.

The new Lagos State cabinet also has the names of Dr. Dayo Mobereola and Wasiu Anifowoshe. Mobereola

The mass media and terrorism through which terrorism thrives.

Terrorism refers to the unconventional acts terrorists employ to change laws which cannot be changed through conventional means. One major terrorist outfit in Nigeria today is Boko Haram. It has been in existence since 2001 but its operations blossomed in 2009. It is popular for bombings, kidnapping of school children and massacres.

Despite these appalling acts of terrorism, the sect would be nothing without the aid of the mass media.

Armed robbery, rape or fire incidents are linked to terrorist attacks even when they are not. Terrorists benefit from these stories because their aim is to get free publicity in order to inflict fear into members of the public as well as government.

The question then becomes, should the media reduce the coverage of the activities of terrorists? The answer is yes, since the primary aim of terrorists is to get attention through media propaganda.

Another question follows, should the media reduce publicity to terrorist acts in favour of development stories?

It is no news that reporters need unfortunate happenings to write good stories. According to Bruce Hoffman, ‘’terrorism and the media are bound together in an inherently symbiotic relationship, each feeding off and exploiting the other for its own purposes”.

Without a medium for circulating terrorists’ messages, terror would be unheard, there would be little cause

for fear because the messages would be unknown and then, with time, terrorist acts would fade or burn out. But the media publicizes them and their acts, giving them an avenue to achieve their aim.

The media, on the other hand, benefits from the activities of terrorists in the sense that the activities give them a source of news.

News of terrorist attacks spread fast.

It grabs the attention of the public and the media takes advantage of this.

The new media (social media) has also become an effective tool the terrorists use to operate. In the 21st century, the bulk of the people use the internet, especially social media sites. Since the internet is available to anyone, it makes it easier for terrorists’ to publicize themselves.

PDP shouldn’t hamper election tribunals crying wolf where there is none. They think the antics would ensure favourable verdicts for their party.

But they are mistaken.

For those who are non-partisan and dispassionate about these things, the reason the DSS has appeared in the election petition scene is to investigate reports of electoral fraud. Take Abia State for an example. Before the election tribunal commenced sitting in Umuahia, it was widely reported that six INEC officials were arrested by the state Police Command having been caught red-handed with card readers, result sheets and electoral materials that were used in the elections. The apprehended INEC officials were allegedly in the process of destroying the election materials in order to forestall credible evidence at the state election tribunals when nemesis caught up with them.

At the point of the arrest, it was alleged that these INEC officials wanted to commit arson having allegedly been sponsored by PDP.

The party was accused of masterminding the despicable act of tampering with and destroying evidence. In response the PDP adopted a rather laconic approach on the matter. This came as a surprise to many, especially as INEC officials made it almost impossible for the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) governorship candidate, Dr. Alex Otti, to gain access to inspect electoral materials used during voting. This happened in spite of repeated warnings from the tribunal judges.

It became self – evident that the PDP in Abia was determined to destroy all evidence exposing their nefarious acts during the elections.

Again, the same INEC in Abia showed that it was compromised in other areas. For instance, it allowed government officials to carry away people’s PVCs prior to the polls. This was intended to be used for rigging purposes.

This created problems for citizens who were enthusiastic to carry out their civic responsibilities by voting

for candidates of their choice. Still INEC in Abia was just too determined. For instance, was it supposed to release PVCs without retrieving their TVCs? All these anomalies happened, yet people are crying wolf!

The INEC office in Obingwa LGA was set ablaze and incinerated. Also attempts were recently made to burn down the INEC office in Umuahia.

For any law-abiding and democratically conscious citizens, these are serious issues, which the DSS is constitutionally mandated to investigate.

It is also instructive to note that official reports were filed to the DSS that warranted their investigations, bearing in mind that the outgone INEC chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, admitted publicly that some of his staff in Abia State had behaved disgracefully during the last general elections.

Given the instances of INEC behavior in Abia State, it cannot be out of place to assume that both Akwa Ibom and Rivers States experienced

51

is a transport expert and holds a doctorate degree in transport Economics from the University of Wales. He is the Managing Director/ Chief Executive of Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) and was previously Special Adviser, Transportation. Wasiu Anifowoshe is an architect and town planner. He is the Chairman of the Lagos State chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners and has worked in the Lagos State Ministries of Works and Housing and Physical Planning and Urban Development.

Other professionals on the list are senior journalist, Steve Ayorinde, Fela Bank-Olemoh and sport analyst, Ayodeji Tinubu.

It is a team capable of installing the governance of compassion which Ambode spoke of in his inaugural address on May 29. The governor also spoke of the rule of ideas that will characterize his era. My take is that he has picked kindred spirits who have been identified as men of ideas in their respective endeavours.

Together I see them-Ambode and these illustrious personalitiesworking out an agenda to lift Lagos to the stratosphere of excellent performance the way John Kennedy’s war cabinet gave the US and the world victory over the war mongers during the Cuban missile blockade.

*Anibaba, a policy analyst, is resident in Surulere, Lagos For example, Ibrahim Shekau, leader of Boko Haram, makes use of the YouTube to send out videos and messages to government as well as his followers. Osama bin Laden also made use of the new media before his death.

As long as the media continues to allow itself to be used to publicise terrorists’ activities, terrorism will continue to thrive. But in order to put terrorism under control, government can censor media coverage of terror attacks. The reportage should be reduced to the barest minimum. Also, a conference should be held for journalists to educate them on the consequence of their search for captivating news stories no matter how negative, so that, on their part, they can help the society overcome fear before broadcasting or publishing on terror. *Omonobi is of University of Benin (UNIBEN) similar obstacles, which necessitated the relocation of the tribunals to Abuja.

It has been generally agreed that elections should be free, fair and credible. Where there has been doubt, the laws find it necessary to institute judicial processes for seeking redress.

It is this process that is currently ongoing across the country. It is aimed at consolidating the democratic process. It is a gross disservice to act in ways capable of disrupting the process as the PDP is currently doing by raising false alarm against the DSS and other agencies of government dutifully carrying out their lawful responsibilities. The PDP should understand that crying wolf would not and should never afford it undeserved tribunal victories.

The PDP ruled Nigeria at the federal level for the 16 years of the Fourth Republic. It also held political sway in many states of the federation during the period. It did not however mean that PDP was mandated by God to govern in perpetuity. Where it is incontrovertible that they lost in the elections, the victorious parties must be allowed to govern. *Uzoukwu lives in Abuja.

PAGE 52—SUNDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015

Nigerians commend Ego-Alowe’s scholarly work

By CHRIS ONUOHA PRESENTATION

I

t was commendation galore for a worthy course as notable Nigerians weekend poured encomiums on Dr. Jimanze Ego-Alowes for his scholarly work during the presentation of his new book titled Economists As Assassins’ in Lagos. The book deals with philosophical thoughts on the issues of development and how wrongheaded models.

Speaking at the event, famous Playwright and author, Odia Ofeimun, stated that the Nigerian economy has been destroyed by the government’s poorly thought out ideas and policies. He said that some inexplicable ideas formulated by government may have destroyed more lives than guns in the country.

While commending the author for the scholarly work, he lamented the way things are done in the country to the detriment of the common man with the politicians recycling issues.

His words: “What economists have done to our country has come to a point of corking a gun because most of what we value in our life has been destroyed by bad ideas. The point is that some ideas may

By JAPHET ALAKAM REVIEW

T

he greatest battle of life is that of self actualization. Life is all about competition, especially in this present corrupt age that is filled with many challenges, where people do all sorts of things to remain relevant.

But,one thing that is clear is that, despite all their efforts, many do not still actualize their dreams, hence the need for one to fashion out a way to live a better life.

It is in a bid to unravel the mysteries behind secrets of living a better life that, a respected man of God, senior pastor of The Stream of Grace Ministry, Lagos, Pastor Austin Okosun came up with a new book titled Living a Better Life.

In the 10 chapters, 146 page book published by Sapient Hadassah’s Touch Limited, Lagos, Pastor Austin Okosun in response to the Great Commission, after many years of speaking to his church members decided to go beyond the pulpit so as to reach out to many souls by presenting this book that makes bold and detailed recommendations on how one can enjoy a beautiful life. With

have destroyed life more fundamentally than guns do.

So it is important that we deal with them.”

According to him, politicians are not discussing the Nigerian society. “When people turn speeches and discussions into analyses, they are no longer in a position to save the country. When a political party in Nigeria says the other is clueless, it means Nigerians are clueless. If one is clueless, the other has to provide a clue. In Nigeria, no political party has provided a clue.”

“There are so many things we don’t discuss properly in Nigeria because partisanship has ended the need for Nigerians to know the truth.

What economists have done to our country has come to a point of corking a gun because most of what we value in our life has been destroyed by bad ideas

• Famous playwright, Odia Ofeimun(Left), chairman of the occasion, Otunba Tola Akogun Adeniyi (2nd R)and others during the unveiling of the book in Lagos.

Once you are marked to be on one side of a political party, you are required to lie against the other. If we go on with that, analysis will die. Those who are managing Nigeria’s economy have forgotten what it takes to plan for the future.’’

He said that ‘’Nigerian politicians can’t even define corruption and we want to fight it. It is possible to define what you want to fight or let’s quarrel over the definition.’’

A prominent newspaper columnist, Henry Boyo, who said that the book is in total consonant with the economic situation in the country today, described Jimanze as ‘’a very courageous and hard working

writer, who speaks the truth al all times. ‘He is very creative and materially different from others.’’

Boyo said he was seriously shaken after reading the book because of its audacity and authority. He said was pleased with the way the author put down the deeds of some influential nationalists, adding Dr. Jimanze is not an impostor or borrower of ideas Chairman of the event, Otunba Tola Adeniyi called Dr. Jimanze a great writer who needs to be celebrated because of his great ideas, originality of his thoughts in the book he described as philosophy of thinking.

He called for an to the ‘era of art for art sake’, where artists and artistes do not recoup their efforts in material gains.

Former Managing Director, The sun newspapers, Tony Onyima, described Dr. Jimanze as an easy going, quiet but dogged writer.

Having known the author as a profound public thinker and social critic, He also wonders how he always stayed aloof of the controversies he writes in his books.

Other speakers at the event shared the author’s aspirations noting that what Nigeria needs now are positive thinkers who will impact on the nation than recycling of issues.

Okosun’s missing link to a better living in print a firm understanding that life is far more than material acquisitions and personal aggrandizement, Pastor Okosun chapter by chapter succinctly attended to poignant questions about man’s imaginations and understanding of God’s word which are unavoidable desideratum for a glorious Christian life.

The author started in chapter 1, with recognising that it is only God that makes the difference hence the need for all to seek help from Him. Here, the author reveals that the first step towards actualizing one’s mission is sticking to God’s original manual. God created man and gave him all, but the only obstacle towards harnessing all is when man deviates from God, so if one will live and enjoy this life he must come back to God. The author in chapter 2 brings to the fore, the importance of creating a clear vision as many have ended up in misery because they refused to do that. Citing some biblical examples, he outlines its importance as there can never be any

achievement without vision.

Other topics addressed include, power of imagination.

He highlights that many powerful people, nations attained their height because of their power of imagination.

What you store in mind controls your life, so the earlier you guide your mind, the better.

God who created heaven and earth, could not have done that if he is lazy, so for one to enjoy a better living on earth, he must be ready to work and make use of his time. Another topic, is obedience to God’s instructions.

This the author x rayed in chapter 4, with biblical references. There is nothing

Pastor Okosun chapter by chapter succintly attended to poignant questions about man’s imaginations and understanding of God’s word which are unavoidable desideratum for a glorious Christian living

like partial obedience, God can never be bribed, so no matter what you do, once you deviate from God’s instruction, you have automatically opened yourself to satanic influence. Apart from obedience to God’s instruction, readers are here reminded that by strength, no man shall prevail. If one is to make it in life , he must rely on God. The importance of trusting in God, even in difficult situations makes a lot of difference, hence children of God are advised to do that. In all these, developing a good understanding of the word of God is the answer to a better living, as my people perish for lack of knowledge. The accuser of the brethren is still on the prowl, so the earlier believers ignore his activities and focus on the finished work of Christ on the cross the better. Finally, the need to honour God, thanking him at all times by putting on the garment of gratitude is a must for all. There is a need to be appreciative of God’s mercy and favour, for ingratitude is stronger than a traitors’ arm .

The book is a must for all as

it outlines not just one “avoidable” but several that have constituted a major negative road block to a better Christian life. On the other hand, he also showed an easy passage with which one can set sail to the type of life God has designed for him. His analysis and recommendations were concise and precise. I recommend it to all, especially those who wants to be in the mansion Christ has gone to prepare in heaven.

Living a Better Life, Pastor Austin Okosun; Sapient Hadassah’s Touch Limited, Lagos, Nigeria; 2015; PP. 146.

SUNDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015, PAGE 53

Family drama echoes reasons for divorce

By PRISCA SAM -DURU DRAMA

B

IZARRE cases of domestic violence are gradually replacing stories on every other aspect of human life, on the pages of dailies and magazines in Nigeria. In recent times, headlines such as; Man hacks wife to death for adultery, Man baths wife with acid, Man sets wife ablaze for...,Woman baths husband with hot water while asleep..., are prominent features and the stories seem unending as new cases keep cropping up.

At the point of some of the events represented by the mock headlines above, it becomes clear that the centre can no longer hold leaving the couples with no other option than to divorce.

With the rate at which Nigerian couples divorce, one may not be wrong to say that couples in the country are competing with European and American couples in this regard.

Worried by this ugly trend, one of Nollywood’s actresses Maimuna Abaji Yahaya who now finds fulfilment in keeping couples together through her project, Still Bonding, staged a drama with theme revolving around the family.

The fascinating play, featuring some of Nollywood’s finest acts; Ahmed Yususf, Gift Olayinka, Emeka Okoye, Amina Ndim and Asua Obi, exposes some of the major factors responsible for irreconcilable differences between couples which

By DAUD OLATUNJI DRAMA

L

agos has been declared winner of literacy competition held for primary schools pupils in the six states in South Western states of Nigeria.

The literacy competition which comprises about 1076 schools in region was facilitated by Lafarge Africa and in conjuction with Ovie Brume foundation.

The pupils who were tested on spelling of English words and Self assessment eventually saw Lagos winning the South West draw of the 2015 edition of the Ovie Brume foundation literacy competition.

According to the organisers, about 1076 schools had submitted essays from each geopolitical zone.

Lagos took the lead with a total of 50 points while Oyo state came second with 49 points.

The competition which is only open to primary school students from public schools is held every year across all States in Nigeria with finalist emerging to represent their geopolitical zones and in the

often lead to divorce. It above all, sends a stern warning to intending spouses to ensure they unveil each other before saying I do, as well as warning parents to desist from choosing life partners for their children.

In the Family drama, a poor widow played by Asua Obi encourages her daughter Mariam, acted by Amina Ndim, not to live the kind of poverty stricken life she has lived since she married her father and after his untimely death. She instructs Mariam to marry an old but rich man, Chief Okwuego played

by Emeka Okoye, instead of marrying her choice Abu (Ahmed Yusuf). Her brother, John (Gift Olayinka) kicks against the idea for the obvious reason. He warns their mother that forcing Mariam to marry against her choice would be calamitous.

All John’s pleas fall on their mother’s deaf ears as she is carried away by gifts from

The play exposes some of the major factors responsible for irreconsilable differences between couples

• A drama troupe performing on the streets of Lagos. the chief in addition to promises to build her a mansion and repackage her life.

Mama pressures her daughter more and more and promises Mariam who maintains at this juncture, that she is in love with Abu, that she will learn to love chief Okwuego since according to her, love is a gradual process.

She tells Mariam that she will learn to love the chief. Abu learns about Mariam’s mother’s plan to marry off his hearthrob and exhibits a character typical of hooligans. At this juncture, the audience feels nothing but pity for the young, naive and helpless girl who is torn between a rascal who is madly in love with her and a man old enough to be her father. It was surprising when at last, Chief Okwuego records a feat against the much younger Abu. But Alas, Okwuego displays

unimaginable character against his wife. He becomes brutish and treats her like a rag and piece of furniture as she isn’t allowed to go outside.

Mariam suffers both mental, psychological and physical torture. Sadly, Chief keeps reminding her that he bought her with a huge prize and warns that no member of her family should visit his house.

The violence climaxes into serious cuts and bruises on the poor girl.

As events unfold, Mariam discovers that spending a day more in Chief ’s house only means digging her own grave.

To the audience chagrin, after sympathising with her daughter because of the wounds Chief inflicted on her, Mariam’s mother cajoles her to go back to her husband and make her marriage work.

That didn’t go down well with the audience as so many women have met their untimely death in similar circumstances as the one told in the family drama. Most members of audience who commented on the drama afterwords, insisted that in as much as divorce is unacceptable, whenever someone’s life is at risk, separation becomes a good option.

Maimuna Yahaya on her part advised parents to desist from making choices for their children especially as regards to marriage. She also emphasised the importance of patience, understanding and communication to overcoming challenges in marriages, stressing that divorce which is not the best option, can be prevented if the right steps are taken before marriage takes place.

Lagos wins Lafarge Africa lit eracy cont est in South W est literacy contest West finals. This is the second edition of the competition, the first edition was won by Akwa Ibom State and winners from the grand finale takes home Laptops, phones, tablets and other prizes.

As part of the event literacy test are also held across the geopolitical zones to test the literacy levels of the school

pupils.

Executive Director, Ovie Brume foundation, Iwalola Akin-Jimoh who confessed that their visit to schools confirmed that significant numbers of students in these schools can not read and write, and the need to bridge the gap informed the competition.

“We formed a partnership with Lafarge because Lafarge has volunteers that have the capacity to go into the communities to

work and also spend time with the children. So, they invested in this initiative across various sites; Ashaka in Gombe State, Sagamu and Ewekoro in Ogun State and also in Victoria Island in Lagos. Volunteers take books to the schools, read with the kids, learn new words and make sure they know how to use those new words and they are also able to use it during

spelling bee competitions like what we have done today.

“We chose public schools because well over 80 per cent of students in Nigeria still attend public schools. So, it is important for us to invest as much resources as possible into public school education because that is where the bulk of the leaders we would have are going to come from”.

Etisalat announces open entry to prize for literature, flash fiction

By ETO EKANEM LITERATURE

E

TISAL AT has announced that entry has opened for its Prize for Literature Flash Fiction Category. The telecoms company said that those intending to participate in this competition can enter between September 21 and October 19, 2015.

The flash fiction category of the annual Etisalat Prize for Literature is designed to

celebrate unpublished writers across the African continent and challenge budding writers to create compelling stories.

The Prize is open to all unpublished writers of African citizenship but can be resident anywhere in the world. All entries must be submitted online via the Etisalat Nigeria website and should not exceed 300 words.

The judging panel for the Flash Fiction Category, to be chaired by Toni Kan, consists of personalities who have established relationship with the

African writing space spanning book clubs, poets, writers and critics. The selected judges - Toni Kan, Hawa Jande Golakai, Abubakar Adam Ibrahim and Monica Cheru - will bring

The Prize is open to all unpublished writers of African citzenship

their experience to bear on this year’s Etisalat Prize for Literature Flash Fiction Category.

The winning author will be rewarded with a cash prize of £1,000, a high-end device and the promotion of their published e-books, while two runners up will each receive £500 cash prize and a highend device. Tanzanian writer and poet, Neema Komba, won the 2014 edition of the Etisalat Prize for Literature Flash Fiction Category.

PAGE 54 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015

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S UNDAY Vanguard SUNDAY Vanguard,, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015 PAGE – 55

2022 FIFA W/Cup to begin in Nov T

HE world football governing body, FIFA have confirmed that the first Winter World Cup staging in Qatar in 2022 will kick off on Monday, November 21, and round off on Sunday, December 18 the same year.

This information was released by the FIFA’s executive committee, after reaching an agree-

ment to close the oncein-four years competition on Qatar’s national holiday.

In March, FIFA finally decided to switch the 2022 tournament from June-July to avoid Qatar’s summer heat.

A 28-day World Cup is four fewer than usual and is designed to cause less disruption to clubs and leagues that must

Messi out for 2 months B

ARCELONA have been dealt a blow after Lionel Messi suffered a knee injury during Saturday ’s clash with Las Palmas that wiill rule him out for up to two months.

The 28-year-old collided with goalkeeper Javi Varas inside the 18-yard box after just three minutes of the Camp Nou outfit’s 2-1 victory.

Messi attempted to con-

tinue but failed to shrug off the knock, with Barca coach Luis Enrique replacing him with Munir seven minutes later.

And having been sent to hospital for tests, the European champions confirmed the Argentina international will be out for seven to eight weeks with a tear in the internal collateral ligament of his left knee.

Lewandowski scores 100th Bundesliga goal OBERT Lewandow ing his record-breaking R ski reached a cen- five-goal haul in the 5-1 tury of Bundesliga goals thrashing of Wolfsburg to help Bayern Munich secure their best start to a league season by comfortably beating Mainz 3-0 at the Coface Arena.

In his 168th league appearance, the Poland international picked up where he left off follow-

shut down for several peak mid-season weeks.

The implication of this is that football league season must start earlier than August, which has been the kickoff period for most European league seasons, while FIFA has mandated clubs to release players for the tournament on or before November 14, 2022.

No international match dates — either qualifiers for continental championships or friendlies — have been set for October 2022. Instead, the two fixtures typically scheduled in October will be moved forward four months.

That creates a fourmatch program for international teams, scheduled between May 30 and June 14, 2022, at the end of the European season. In a minor switch, the September doubleheader of international matches will be pushed back two weeks to start on Sept. 20, 2022.

*LAUNCH: L-R: Marketing Director, Guinness Nigeria Plc., Gavin Pike; Ex, Super Eagles star, Mutiu Adepoju; Ex Super Falcons goalkeeper, Ann Chiejine and Legal Director Guinness Nigeria Plc., Rotimi Odusola at the launch event of Every Minute Made Of Black last weekend

Agara congratulates Buhari over Team Nigeria’s outing N

ASARAWA State Deputy Governor Hon. Silas Ali Agara has congratulated President MuhammaduBuhari on the successful outing of Team Nigeria in the just concluded 11th All African Games in Congo Brazaville.

Agara stated this in a press statement issued

in Lafia, the Nasarawa State Capital.

According to Nasarawa State number two citizen and sport administrator, Team Nigeria’s successes at the games which place it second behind Egypt is no doubt a reflection of the ‘CHANGE’ era brought about by the Buhari’s Administration.

AfroBasket Women

on Tuesday by netting a second-half double.

Thomas Muller had earlier missed a first-half penalty before Lewandowski broke the deadlock and reached his milestone with a 51st minute header. *Sanchez (m) is being congratulated by team mates.

Sanchez too much for City WHEN Alexis Sanchez is on, he is on, and there’s no doubt as to whether his switch was flipped in Arsenal’s 5-2 win over Leicester City at King Power Stadium on Saturday.

Alexis’ three goals were bookended by

Rooney

*CENTURION: Lewandowski C M Y K

He said the administration has achieved much in sports in just three months in office, a feat that had eluded the nation since the history of the games in addition to D’ Tigers’ exploit at the recent Afro Basket Ball Championship in Senegal where they emerged victorious for the first time in the 50 years history of the Championship.

Continues from B/P Louis van Gaal’s men headed into the fixture knowing victory would lift them to the summit following City’s 4-1 loss at Tottenham Hotspur.

That scenario doubtless added to the frustration of the home supporters as United failed to craft a meaningful opportunity for much of the opening half.

goals from Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud, as the Gunners buried the Foxes despite a pair of Jamie Vardy goals.

The Foxes used their great pace to set the tone at King Power Stadium, where the relentless running of Vardy allowed

Salami

Continues from B/P have been picked for the friendlies against DR Congo and Cameroon in Belgium will join up with the rest of the players in Port Harcourt after those matches.”

Last month, Salami was dropped from the Eagles squad on account of his international passport being held up in the Norwegian embassy.

Others invited to this camp include Ifeanyi

him a simple finish and Leicester an early lead.

But Walcott raced onto a through ball and passed a left-footed ball off the inside of the post and into the goal to have things level before the match was 20 minutes old.

Matthew (El Kanemi Warriors), Tunde Adetunji (Sunshine Stars), Usman Mohammed (FC Taraba), Godwin Obaje (Wikki) and Ezekiel Bassey, Kingsley Sokari, Idris Aloma (Enyimba) The CHAN Eagles training camp in Port Harcourt will now open on October 4.

Nigeria host Burkina Faso in Port Harcourt on October 18 with the return leg in Ouagadougou a week later.

Continues from B/P lead. And Elonu, who had a poor performance against Angola on Friday, counted a teamhigh 12 points in the first ten minutes of the contest.

By half-time Nigeria cruised to 61-28 lead, and Egypt seemed defeated for the remaining of the contest. Eventually five Nigerians scored 10 points or more. Elonu was the game-changer for Nigeria, especially because of her rampant entrance in the contest.

Nigeria bounced back from a close defeat to continental rivals Angola in style on Friday to improve their mark to 11. Everything worked out for Nigeria.

Man City

Continues from B/P scoreline, as City struggled with the injured duo of Joe Hart and Vincent Kompany on the bench.

With the win Spurs move up to fifth in the table with 12 points from seven games, while City remain top but could be usurped by their crosstown rivals Manchester United.

SUNDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015

Salami, 17 others for CHAN camp W

ARRI Wolves star Gbolahan Salami will head an 18-man squad to a training camp for home-based players in Port Harcourt ahead of a CHAN qualifier against Burkina Faso next month.

Coach Sunday Oliseh will stick with the players he

worked with prior to the AFCON qualifier in Tanzania last month.

“The home-based Eagles for the CHAN qualifier will be the same players who trained for the AFCON qualifier in Tanzania,” a top official informed yesterday.

“This means that the six players from the league who

*SEALED: Tottenham striker Harry Kane is overjoyed as he nets Spurs’ 3rd goal against Man City yesterday.

*Continues on P.55

AfroBasket Women Championship: Spurs crush

Nigeria stops Egypt N

*Rooney

Rooney scores as United go top AYNE Rooney ended W his Premier League goal drought as Manchester

United moved to the top of the table with a 3-0 win over Sunderland at Old Trafford yesterday.

The England captain’s first league strike for 1,000 minutes was sandwiched by efforts from Memphis Depay and Juan Mata as United leapfrogged Manchester City.

*Continues on P.55

*Helen Kehinde Ogunjimi lifts to shoot in the match against Egypt.

I G E R I A stopped Egypt’s unbeaten run with a comprehensive 97-68 victory in yesterday’s first action of AfroBasket Women 2015 Group B in Yaounde, Cameroon.

Adaora Elonu ignited D’Tigress with a game-best 20 points, while Egypt’s Menatalla Awad finished with a team-high 20 points.

Nigeria stepped on floor in a desperation mode, using a 9-0 run in the first three minutes to close the opening quarter with a comfortable 29-12

ACROSS 1. Governor of Sokoto State (8) 5. Assistant (4) 7. Praise (5) 8. Upright (4) 9. Lantern (4) 11. Tradition (6) 13. Lagos masquerade (3) 15. Exclamation (2) 16. Pig’s nose (5) 18. Agent (3) 20. Glitters (6) 24. Forward (5) 25. Nigerian state (6) 27. Boring tool (3) 29. Ghanaian fabric (5) 31. Perform (2) 32. Oshiomhole’s state (3) 34. U.S. currency (6) 36. Vow (4) 38. Musical quality (4) 39. Inclination (5) 40. Eager (4) 41. Damages (8)

DOWN 1. Sample (5) 2. Niger state town (4) 3. Observe (5) 4. Lecture (6) 5. Everyone (3) 6. Use (6) 10. Inquires (4) 12. Carpet (3) 14. Colour (6) 15. Resistance unit (3) 17. Coax (4) 19. Rollicked (6) 21. Hatchet (3) 22. Satisfied (4) 23. Nigerian state (3) 26. Cry of derision (3) 27 . African country (6) 28. Endure (4) 29. Child (3) 30. Spoke (6) 31. Adorn (5) 33. Baking chambers (5) 35. Asterisk (4) 37. Possessed (3)

T

OTTENHAM Hotspur beat Manchester City 41 at White Hart Lane on Saturday courtesy of a stunning comeback.

City lead through Kevin De Bruyne‘s strike but right on half time Eric Dier equalized in controversial fashion, then two goals in the next 15 minutes from Toby Alderweireld and Harry Kane turned the game on its head. Erik Lamela added more gloss to the *Continues on P.55

2022 FIFA W/Cup to begin in Nov — P.55

*Blatter

Results

*Continues on P.55

CROSS WORD PUZZLE

Man City 4-1

Tottenham Leicester City Liverpool Man Utd Southampton Stoke West Ham Newcastle

4 2 3 3 3 2 2 2

Man City Arsenal Aston Villa Sunderland Swansea Bournemouth Norwich Chelsea

1 5 2 0 1 1 2 2

NPL FC Ifeanyiubah v Sharks v FC Taraba v Enyimba v Bayelsa United v Lobi Stars v Rangers v Sunshine Stars v Kano Pillars v

Giwa FC Dolphins El-Kanemi Wikki Tourists Heartland 3SC Kwara United Abia War riors War ri Wolves

4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4

EPL Tottenham Liverpool

Cr ystal Palace Norwich City

1:30 pm 4:00 pm

FIXTURES

See solution on page 5

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pm pm pm pm pm pm pm pm pm

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