Our plot that sent Jonathan back home - Coomasie, ACF Chairman

C M Y K

PAGE 2, SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 31, 2015

C M Y K

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 31, 2015, PAGE 3

C M Y K

PAGE 4, SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 31, 2015

C M Y K

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 31, 2015 — PAGE 5

We’ve not banned Jonathan, ministers from travelling out — President Buhari

By Levinus Nwabughiogu

P

resident Muham madu Buhari says officials of past administrations including ministers and those who served under the Jonathan regime are entitled to their full rights and privileges under the constitution and must not be subjected to any undue harassment and intimidation at the airports or at other points of entry and exit.

“We have not banned anyone from travelling,” Buhari was quoted as saying yesterday in a statement by the Head of the president’s media team, Garba Shehu.

“Responding to some cases of ‘V.I.P stoppages’ at the airports as reported to him, yesterday, Buhari directed all agencies under the government to run their affairs in full compliance with extant rules, regulations and the constitution of

the country ”, the statement said.

“Unless otherwise directed by the courts, no law-abiding citizens should be barred from travelling abroad. We must treat fellow citizens with courtesy and respect. Officials at the borders and other points of entry and exit should conduct their affairs in strict compliance with due process. No one has my permission to bar anyone from travelling abroad.”

•Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode (right), presenting an Eyo plaque to the President of Republic of Namibia, Dr. Hage Geingob (left), during the Namibian President’s courtesy call on the governor in his office at Lagos House, Ikeja, yesterday.

Over 743,000 children fled homes to escape violence in Nigeria — UNICEF

By Funmi Olasupo

T

he United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says over 743,000 under-18 children have fled their homes to escape violence perpetrated by Boko Haram in the North-East.

The Chief Child Protection UNICEF Nigeria, Rachel Harvey, who spoke in Abuja during an occasion to commemorate this year ’s Children’s Day celebrations, lamented that many Nigerian children were still living under the shadow of one form of violence or the other.

She said, “Most alarming is the level of violence in the North-East, of which children are bearing the brunt. Over 743,000 under18s have fled their homes to escape the violence.”

According to her, this year ’s Children’s day focuses on an important and timely theme for Nigeria: Violence Against Children: Addressing the Challenges.

Harvey said, “Many children in Nigeria live under the shadow of violence not just in their communities, but also in their homes and in their schools, places that should provide safety from harm.

“Children have lost their lives, witnessed horrific acts of violence, been forcibly recruited to fight and been subjected to sexual violence,” she said.

The immediate past Minster of Women Affairs and Social Development,

Hajia Zainab Maina, who also spoke there, said the fact remained that Nigerian children are still at risk of the ugliest form of vio-

lence, crisis, rape, trafficking, torture, sale of babies.

The Minister said the choice of this year ’s theme was informed by the Nige-

rian environment characterised by insecurity.

“The choice of our theme was informed by our Nigerian environment that is

currently being characterised with insecurity as well as violence against women and children”, she added.

Maina said it was a cal-

culated attempt by the Ministry to create more awareness, sensitize stakeholders on the ills of violence, sexual abuse and exploitation of children.

26 worshippers dead, 28 injured in Maiduguri mosque attack •Another blast claims 15 lives

By Ndahi Marama, Maiduguri

A

suicide bomber, yesterday, sneaked into a mosque along Ali Kotoko Road, near Monday Market in Maiduguri, Borno State capital, leaving 26 dead and 28 critically injured, security sources assisting in the evacuation of victims said.

The incident took place at about 3:45pm when Muslim faithful gathered to perform their afternoon prayer.

Unconfirmed sources, however, revealed that apart from the mosque explosion, another blast rocked some area of the Monday Market with fewer casualty figure.

The incidents came barely 12 hours after Boko Haram gunmen were repelled by the military in Maiduguri, which also claimed many lives.

The mosque explosion, according to Modu Fugu of Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), occurred when the prayer session was about to commence with over five

dozens of people in attendance.

“We were terrified by the loud explosion that rocked the mosque near bicycle sellers market and other shops when the prayer session was cut and worshippers fled to safety. But many were killed and scores injured”, Fugu stated.

Borno State Police

Command confirmed the mosque blast, but said it was yet to get the casualty figure.

The Red Cross and volunteers were reportedly involved in the rescue operation.

In another incident, yesterday, 15 residents were reportedly dead when suspected members of Boko Haram, in a convoy of vehicles and motorcycles laden with Improvised

Explosive Devices (IEDs), rocket grenades and antiaircraft guns attacked Malari village in Borno State. 19 others in Bulunkutu Saleke, Gomari and Ajilari areas of the state were said to have been wounded.

The killings, according to Ibrahim Yakubu of Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF),

were caused by the insurgents’ sporadic gunshots, explosions and shelling on the four villages that commenced from 12.35 - 2.45 a.m.

Confirming the incident in Maiduguri, a source at Borno Police Command said many residents of Gomari, Bulunkutu Saleke and Ajilari were killed during the attacks.

Anglican Bishop Fearon asks Mr President to probe CAN, TAN, super-rich Nigerians

By Bilesanmi Olalekan

B

ISHOP of the Kaduna Diocese of Anglican Diocese, Most Revd Josiah Idowu Fearon, has charged President Muhammadu Buhari to go after super-rich Nigerians who, during the Jonathan administration, were accused of receiving money for political campaigns. Fearon mentioned Transformational Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), in particular, and

some public and private office holders, saying Buhari should use the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to investigate them even as he advised the president to sanitize the armed forces, get them well equipped, and flush out Boko Haram insurgents within his first six months in office. The bishop said Buhari cannot afford to fail Nigerians as the situation he has inherited is so bad that he should not expect any period of honeymoon. He spoke in Kaduna during

Education: UNILAG SUG urges FG to sustain funding policy

By Anthony Alade

T

HE leadership of the students of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to keep his pact with Nigerian youths.

They urged Buhari to adhere to the 26% budgetary funding policy for education as postulated by UNESCO while urging his administration to ensure

the continuation of the N1.3 trillion Needs Assessment funding to public universities in the country.

UNILAG Students’ Union (ULSU) spoke through its president, Martins Abiodun.

“This is the only way, universities, in particular can become stable and maximally contribute positively to the economic development of the nation”, it added

the diocese’s 20th synod.

He advised the president to be careful on the composition of his cabinet, adding that he should guard against powerful individuals who would shield him from what is going on in the country, and those in politics to enrich themselves at the expense of the nation.

“We want to give the President some ideas for his consideration and action. It is obvious, the stakes are high; Nigerians have a high expectation.

You cannot afford to fail by disappointing,”the bishop said. “The situation you are inheriting is so bad that you should not expect any period of honey moon: security is not there, power supply is at its lowest level, queues at our filling stations, hardly ever disappear in spite of the payment of subsidy to those importing fuel, we hear that in some states and some Federal Government departments, salaries have not been paid for months”.

Overhaul EFCC for efficiency, TMG tells new regime

By Caleb Ayansina

T

RANSITION Monitoring Group (TMG), yesterday, called for a radical overhaul of the anticorruption agencies, saying Nigerians had lost confidence in them to prosecute the fight against graft.

Specifically, the Chairman of TMG, Com. Ibrahim Zikirullahi, said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) currently had little or no significance in the

society; therefore, its leadership must be changed.

Zikirullahi, who stated this while briefing newsmen on the expectations of Nigerians on the Buhari administration, in Abuja, said the EFCC, currently, is a mere political structure.

He added that the commission needs competent people to champion the cause of anti-corruption, maintaining that any system that encourages graft is heading for destruction.

PAGE 6— SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 31, 2015

G7 summit: Cameron urges Buhari to come with Nigeria’s ‘wish list’

R. Lucky Uwuigbe,

T

•L-r: Mrs Ibiye Ekong,Executive, Director,Skye Bank Plc, with Mr Timothy Oguntayo, Group Managing Director/CEO, Skye Bank Plc and Mrs Olufunke Fowler-Amba, Executive Director, Vivian Fowler Memorial College for Girls, at the Skye Bank Plc Business Seminar, held at NECA House, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, yesterday.

G

U N M E N suspected to be kidnappers for ransom have abducted an Onitsha-based businessman simply identified as Abu Okafor.

Although a police source confirmed, yesterday, that the victim had been rescued by men of Anambra State Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, within 24 hours of the abduction, the incident occurred at about 8.00 p.m. along Enugu Road, GRA, Onitsha when the fourman kidnap syndicate struck as he came out from a drinking parlour to ease himself.

According to the source, the victim was the owner of a filling station at ‘33’ area of Onitsha suburb..

It was gathered that the gunmen might have trailed him to the bar, abducted him and speed off.

Meanwhile, the vehicle that was used to take him away was said to have been seen at a compound in ’33’ and a joint team of police and soldiers stormed the compound, recovered the vehicle and arrested

a technical specialist with a telecommunications service provider in Nigeria, who completed a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) programme online at Walden University, has described the programme as an agent of social change.

“Right from when I was about 11 years old, I told myself I had to be a doctor. I want to use that doctorate to make a change, and that is what I’ve gotten today. That was the driving force,” he explained.

Already armed with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and another master’s degree in information technology, he sought to advance his skills and enhance his

By Luka Binniyat

F

RIENDS and political associates of former Vice President Namadi Sambo and his wife, Amina, defied the heavy rain that fell on Friday in Kaduna and

trooped to the Kaduna International Airport to receive him at the end of his tenure in Abuja.

The crowd, made up mostly of chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Kaduna State, was led by the former governor

seven suspects without the victim at the first attempt. But on a second rescue operation carried out by SARS, the victim was reportedly rescued, even as there was not clue as to whether his relations paid ransom.

The Police Area Commander for Onitsha, Ezekiel Philip, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP, who confirmed the

incident, on phone yesterday, told newsmen to contact the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, in charge of Central Police Station, CPS, Onitsha, Mr. Isa Abubakar, for details.

When contacted, Isa also told newsmen that the victim had been rescued, adding that the suspects had been transferred to SARS headquarters, Awkuzu.

of Kaduna State, Alh. Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, the PDP’s state Chairman, Chief Abubakar Gaiya Haruna and the Speaker of Kaduna State House of Assembly, Honourable Shehu Tahir.

The former vice president arrived the airport at exactly 6:30pm in a presidential plane.

The convoy of over 200 vehicles drove with Sambo and his wife through Kaduna town to his house at Camp Road where a reception was organized to welcome them.

Speakers at the reception commended the former vice president for his meritorious service to the nation and wished him well in his future endeavours.

Responding, Sambo thanked all for the show of love and solidarity demonstrated for him.

Protest as trigger-happy-policeman kills Kwara NURTW leader

By Demola Akinyemi, Ilorin

T

HERE was pandemonium, yesterday afternoon, in Ajase-Ipo, in Irepodun local government area of Kwara State, when police officers at a road block allegedly shot dead a leader of National Union of Road T r a n s p o r t Workers(NURTW), Mr Akeem Laduba, after a disagreement.

Akeem,Chairman of NURTW for Kabba/ Omuaran/Igbaja axis, who was said to have bled profusely from gun shot wound, reportedly died before he could be taken to hospital where his members rushed him to save his life.

C o n s e q u e n t l y, t h e enraged members of the

NURTW stormed Ilorin/ Ajasse Ipo highway to protest the killing.

The protesters disrupted vehicular movement for several hours.

The highway is a busy route for travellers going to Abuja, Kogi, Ekiti and Osun, among other parts of the country.

The protesters forced motorists to use leaves in solidarity with their cause.

Sunday Vanguard gathered from an eyewitness that there was a disagreement between the patrol team and a commercial motorcyclist popularly called “Okada rider” while the NURTW man stopped to intervene.

But the police officers were enraged by what they called the “effrontery” of the deceased transport worker.

The NURTW leader and the police officers reportedly engaged in hot argument resulting in a free-for-all.

It was in the process that one of the policemen fired a shot which allegedly killed the man.

Kwara State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Okasanmi Ajayi, confirmed the development.

Okasanmi said the police officer did not intentionally kill the transport union leader, adding that it was the patrol team that took the deceased to hospital.

“We have arrested the police who reportedly fired the gun shot. He is in our custody and we have commenced full investigation of the matter, “the police spokesman added.

contributions to his organisation with a doctoral study that would optimise opportunities in both business and information technology. Walden’s DBA programme was specifically designed for experienced business professionals who want to translate their industry expertise into leadership positions as consultants or executives within their organisations.

Said Uwuigbe: “I chose Walden University because it was well-equipped to help me achieve my longterm goal of getting to the peak of my career. I needed to enrol in an institution where I could undertake a doctoral study that would create a bridge between the worlds of business and information technology.

Ondo to inaugurate new Assembly tomorrow

Kaduna people defy rain to welcome NDO State new Sambo home O House of Assembly is to be inaugurated to-

Police nab 7 suspected kidnappers, rescue abducted Onitsha bizman

By Nwabueze Okonkwo

‘Walden’s doctorate programme is agent of social change’

D

By Levinus Nwabughiogu HE British Prime Minister, David Cameron, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to come to the “G 7” industrialized nations meeting with a “ wish list” on June 7-9 in Berlin, Germany.

Delivering this message to the President at a meeting on Friday shortly after the inauguration, British Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Philip Hammond, said his Prime Minister had requested for a list of what Nigeria wanted to help succeed against the challenges facing the country.

“We are waiting for your own list,” said the minister on behalf of Cameron.

He also raised the issue of “free trade” between the EU and Africa, a proposal he said enjoyed the support of several countries on the continent and in support of which he sought to enlist the backing of President Buhari.

BRIEFS

morrow.

According to a statement by the state Commissioner for Information, Hon. Kayode Akinmade, the outgoing House will hold a valedic-

tory session beginning from 10.00 am.

Governor Olusegun Mimiko will proclaim the new Assembly by noon even as the Assembly is expected to commence business immediately with the election of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker.

Alumni lament Ekiti varsity strikes Gbenga Ariyibi, Ado Ekiti

U

NIVERSITY

of

Ado Ekiti Alumni Association has expressed worry over incessant crises in the ivory tower, saying they are becoming embarrassing, just as it called for a new governing council for the institution.

According to a press statement, the National President of the association,Dr

Matthew Adedeji Ayeni, noted that the institution was facing challenges which led to frequent industrial actions by workers, lecturers inclusive. The association explained that due to the strikes, students enrollment in the university dropped sharply,as “parents and guardians are particularly unhappy about the unnecessary prolonged years of student ship of their children resulting from the effects of strikes.”

Ex-militant leaders condemn attacks on Kuku

N

IGER Delta exmilitant leaders

under Phase 2 of the Am-

nesty Programme have faulted allegations of favouritism and funds mismanagement levelled against the Chairman of the programme, Mr. Kingsley Kuku, in the media by a group.

Bayelsa State Chairman, Phase 2 of the Amnesty Programme, Mr. Stephen L. Ebisinte, with other ex-militant leaders,

warned mischief-makers to stop orchestrated attacks on Kuku.

Ebisinte told journalists that the Amnesty Programme was on course and that some disarmed youths of the Niger Delta struggle were still in foreign countries undergoing training programmes, stressing that it was disappointing that some ex-militant leaders had decided to take into politically motivated propaganda against one of their own.

Agogo congratulates Okowa

A

former Principal of Delta State School of Midwifery, AmukpeSapele, Evangelist Roseline Ufuoma Agogo, has congratulated Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State on his assumption of office.

In a congratulatory message, Agogo described Okowa as a God-fearing administrator imbued with wisdom to effect pos-

itive change in Delta politics.

She was certain that the government of Okowa will bring democratic dividend to the people of the state but advised that Deltans should be patient enough due to the falling oil price in global market which has resulted in large scale indebtedness which the incoming administration will inherit.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 31, 2015 — PAGE 7

Anambra State governor, Chief Willie Obiano (2nd left), cutting the tape to commission Bank of Industry office in Awka, Anambra State while the Managing Director/CEO, Mr Rasheed Olaoluwa (2nd right), Executive Director, Small and Medium Enterprises, Mr Waheed Olagunju (left) and Chief of Staff to the governor, Professor Joe Asike (right ) watch.

Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Udom Emmanuel, and wife, Martha, after being sworn-in by the state acting Chief Judge, Justice Stephen Okon, at the renamed Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo.

Imoke gets hero’s welcome from kinsmen

I

MMEDIATE past governor of Cross River State, Senator Liyel

Host communities, workers protest against NPDC

By Jimitota Onoyume

H

OST communities to Oil Mining Lease, OML, 30 are opposed to the Nigeria Petroleum Development Company, NPDC, operating the oil bloc.

President General of Afiesere community, Ughelli North, Mr Emmanuel Shikaleke, who spoke to Sunday Vanguard after some workers protested around the Ughelli Pumping Station, OPS, of the firm, called on government to re-award the bloc to Shoreline Resources limited, SNRL, that had

“ related very well with the communities”.

Shikaleke said it had been endless protest over one issue or the other with NPDC since it started operating the bloc, adding that the firm had shown that it

was facing financial challenges so would not be able to handle the project.

Chairman of one of workers union, Mr Joseph Ayevwere, said some of the workers were being owed about three months salaries.

How to sustain Niger Delta Peace — Kuku Soni Daniel, Regional Editor, North

I

MMEDIATE past Special Adviser on Niger Delta Affairs, Mr. Kingsley Kuku, has said that the relative peace in the Niger Delta can only

be sustained through a deliberate and genuine effort by the Federal Government to implement major components of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).

Kuku, who spoke in a valedictory speech in Abuja, said that the

Ambode, at inaugural meeting with perm secs: Civil service will drive change, continuity

L

AGOS State Gover nor Akiwunmi Ambode, yesterday, held his inaugural meeting with the Body of Permanent Secretaries in the state Public Service, reiterating that the civil service will drive the change and the continuity he intends to put in place in the next four years.

The governor, who spoke at the Lagos House, Alausa, said he would strengthen the civil service and continue with reforms through which he will carry out his policies.

He urged the Permanent Secretaries to see themselves as front runners of his administration, adding that he would take advantage of his experience as a retired public servant.

He said new offices would be created just as current ones would be streamlined in order to ensure that cost of governance is reduced while

While calling for upward review of their salaries, he said they were forced to embark on the recent protest at the UPS to draw the company’s attention to the need to clear the outstanding salaries.

ensuring greater efficiency.

“Part of my speech at my inauguration ceremony yesterday dwelt on the creation of a Ministry of Wealth Creation which would ensure that not only do we create wealth but ensure that when investments from foreign sources drops, a pro-active situation is in place

to take care of them”, the governor said.

The governor stressed that he would saddle the Body of Permanent Secretary with the task of taking a look at the draft which the Fashola administration could not conclude work on and which he has gone through but streamlined according to his vision.

Presidential Amnesty Programme, under his watch, has been able to implement the crucial phase of disarming, demolishing and reintegrating (DDR) the exmilitants who signed up to the Amnesty Programme in 2009.

The presidential aide pointed out that while the DDR had been a success, the major task of developing the Niger Delta, which was the key demand of the agitators, was yet to be given serious attention by government.

Kuku explained that the success of the PAP had made it possible for oil production to resume in the Niger Delta while investors had begun to return to the area for business.

Imoke, was, yesterday, given a hero’s welcome at his Itigidi, Abi Local Government Area, country home after eight years of service as governor.

Led in a procession-like walk from his residence to Community Secondary School, Itigidi, venue of the reception and recognition, by enthusiastic and ecstatic elders, market women, age groups, youths, as well as cultural troupes bedecked in traditional regalia, chants of “Ete Aman Afor ”, meaning, our father has come back home, rent the air.

Welcoming guests and visitors alike, about about five hundred meters away from Imoke’s home were colourful banners with inscriptions such as ‘Ete Aman Afor ’, ‘Welcome home our illustrious son’ by Efa Age Grade, ‘Welcome back

Police issue warrant of arrest for Rep over alleged forgery of PDP primary sheet

By Henry Umoru

T

HE police have invit ed a two- term member of the House of Representatives, Honourable Patrick Asadu, over alleged forgery of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, primary election result sheet.

According to the warrant of arrest issued by the police in Enugu, Asadu,

After inauguration euphoria, prepare for hard work, Osun APC tells Nigerians virtually liquidated”.

By Yinka Ajayi

N

IGERIANS must not allow the euphoria of change turn into disillusion by going to sleep after the glorious victory they won against the forces of darkness that had made change difficult until recently.

They must be prepared for hard work, perseverance and diligence if the

victory they have celebrated in Buhari’s inauguration on May 29, 2015 is to be sustained.”

This view was expressed by the APC in Osun State, in a statement in which the party congratulated Nigerians for their collective victory over the 16 years of PDP “misrule that has left Nigeria broken and

It urged Nigerians to be ready every inch of the way to work with the Muhammadu Buhariled APC government to progressively extricate Nigeria from the social, economic and political mess the PDP has left Nigeria.

“The work is not for Buhari and the APC alone,” the Osun APC, in the statement signed

home after a spell of meritorious service to your state and country’.

Lauding Imoke for what they described as his outstanding and unparalleled achievements and service to the people of Cross River State, President of Itigidi Community General Assembly, Elder Edward Elemi Ikpete, said: “We have observed with great delight the extent of development executed in the state by your administration. We also thank you for your achievements and magnanimity to mankind as well as your immense contribution to the growth of society and welfare of humanity.”

Responding, the former governor thanked the people for the honour done him. He said the recognition meant more to him than anything else.

by the Director of Publicity, Research and Stragegy, Barrister Kunle Oyatomi, said, arguing: “It will take the combined effort and the collective will of the people to effect the desired change Nigerians need to exit poverty, misery and a dysfunctional system, crippled by corruption, impunity and clueless leadership that the PDP

who represents Nsukka/ Igboeze South Federal Constituency in the House, was alleged to have forged the PDP result sheet for the primary conducted by the party to elect its candidate in December 2014.

The warrant of arrest would enable the lawmaker appear and convince a judge of the Federal High Court that he was the rightful winner of the PDP primary.

The action of the police was in response to the allegation levelled against Asadu by Dr. Ikechukwu Ugwuegede that he forged the House of Representatives primary election result and altered same.

According to documents made available to journalists in Abuja yesterday, two different primary election result sheets bearing the same serial number, but returning different persons as the winner were showed.

PAGE 8 — SUND AY Vanguard, MA Y 31 , 2015 SUNDA MAY

bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk 08056180152, SMS only

The sugar daddy who out-lived his wife I

have this thing about funerals that leaves me apprehensive of attending any - if I could help it that is. So when the shocking news of the death of Anja, the second wife of Jide, a close mate, hit me, I failed to show up at any of the funeral rites. He was in his late 50s when they met.

She was almost half his age and, at first, he thought she was only interested in him because of his money. And why not? She was a very pretty girl with an infectious spirit - finding a bloke her age shouldn’t be a problem.

Jide was scarcely the catch of the century, but when she got pregnant and insisted on keeping her pregnancy, Jide was confused. It was when we met a few months after Anja’s death that Jide filled me in on their short but eventful life together.

“I explained my history to Anja immediately she got pregnant and wanted to have the baby,” he told me.

“I was twice married with six grown-up children and had no intention of leaving my wife. Instead of demanding to have an abortion, she said she was happy with how things were. She was in love with me and the age difference didn’t matter. But what about her parents, I asked her? What would they think when they found out their girl was pregnant for someone 25 years older? It was a relief when she told me days later her parents were all for us getting ‘married’ the native way. I guessed they were relieved I wasn’t going to turn my back on her. To be frank, I thought I’d left years of battling with babies behind me but the idea of having a child with Anja was exciting, magical even.

“But I was apprehensive too. Would I be a-goodenough dad for a new baby?

Would I be too old? I found myself thinking about my future a lot. It seemed so precious all of a sudden.

Anja wouldn’t obviously stop at one, what happened if I died when her kids were too young: ‘You never know what life holds’, Anja had replied when I voiced my

fears. That was brave of her, I thought. I was 25 years closer to the grave than her.

She’d be a young widow.

Thank goodness money was no-object. I’d made provision for all my children and bought the house Anja and I lived in Anja’s name. If she was willing to take the risk of her being a young widow, who was I not to grasp at happiness?

“When she had our son, it was as if I was a dad for the first time. `Shows there’s life in the old dog yet’, I joked to friends, thrilled. I felt as proud as a new dad when I held him in my arms.

She had another boy three years later but shortly after his birth, she started suffering from stomach pain. We were due to travel to Britain and since she studied there, she was still on their national health services. It was there the doctor diagnosed a severe case of gallstones. She had an operation for the stones to be removed.

Unfortunately, it was discovered the stones had caused a serious infection, and as a result, they couldn’t remove her gall bladder. She was in hospital for days and we were given a new date some six months later when she could be operated on.

“We both came back home but I went with her when her operation was due. My business had

always been in good hands and I could travel as often as I wanted. Thank goodness the operation was a success and back home, she was even able to resume the running of her shops.

But the pains returned. I suggested we went back to the hospital but she said we should give it time - say a week or so - before travelling yet again. A few days later, I left her in bed, still asleep to sign some urgent letters in the office but when I came back, the maid told me she hadn’t come downstairs for her breakfast. It was already lunch time.

Thinking she was in pain, I rushed to the bedroom to find Anja lying face-up in bed, her eyes closed. But you could see this was no sleep - she was too still and looked peaceful. I shook her, but she was already cold. I burst into tears and called my PA - she is the best troubleshooter I know. She was the one who arranged for an ambulance and as her body was taken away, friends and family came round to sympathise. But I spent the day feeling blank, in total disbelief. I was supposed to go first, I complained to no one in particular. How can my young bride die at just over 30 when I was pushing 60?

“A few days later, the postmortem revealed she’d died from a blood clot from her leg which had travelled

to her lung. After all the operations and pains she’d gone through, she’d now been defeated by a hidden killer no one even gave a thought to. They called it deep-vein thrombosis - a freak accident that eventually claimed her life.

“Her funeral was a nightmare. Anja had given me so much, rejuvenated my life. To lose her seemed the most cruel twist of fate.

What would happen to the kids? My first wife, bless her, was a blessing. Apart from handling the funeral with Anja’s parents, she offered to raise the kids in the family home. But Anja’s parents refused. She was their first child. My wife had already raised all her children and it wouldn’t be fair to lumber her with toddlers when her child-bearing days were behind her. In the end, the kids went to stay with their maternal grandparents. I had to tell our first son together, who was four, that his mum had gone to heaven. He probably didn’t understand what it meant as he looked at her mother’s corpse during her lying in state and wanted to know why she was sleeping in a ‘box’. We didn’t allow him to watch her interment.

“I’m still trying to come to terms with life without Anja. The house is so quiet and empty and I’m thinking of moving back to the family house”.

Nothing can change my love for you

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"

The rains cannot quench the fire of my love for you, the floods of Noah cannot destroy the endless root of my love for you and neither the stress of life nor distance can pause or stop the extreme feelings of love I have for you . Baby, I love you and nothing can ever change it.

Akachukwu Ferdinand

Why There’s An Increase In The Ranks Of Forgetful Females!

HAVE you often walked into rooms and fail to remember why you were there? “We forget to turn off the iron or the cooker. We tell people we’ll call them straight back and don’t. We go to supermarkets checkouts, only to find we’ve left our purses at home.

We can’t remember where we parked the car at the shopping centre. So, what the heck is going on?”

Asked Clara, a middleaged PA to the MD of a bank. “I’m at the computer.

My fingers hover, waiting to type out details I’d done for years. But I can’t remember some passwords - let alone the whole details.”

Welcome to the ranks of those who are female and forgetful. The numbers of female scatterbrains are growing daily - and the members are getting younger. Dr. Lisa Lottor, in California, believes shortterm memory loss is now so widespread among women that it’s become an epidemic.

According to her: “In fact, it’s a silent epidemic because women don’t really know where to turn.”

She first became aware there was something amiss with the female mind when women brought up the subject at her lectures. “I kept getting questions on memory loss. Many older women said their doctors put them on HRT, but it didn’t help.

“And, it wasn’t only older women who were concerned. It went across the board. I started to see younger and younger women at lectures. I’m now convinced that forgetfulness is much more of an issue for women than it is for men. Although it can affect both sexes, women are more likely to notice memory loss in the first place as they pay more attention to their bodies.

And, they’re much more likely to be bothered by it.

They’re at the mercy of their fluctuating hormone levels. They tend to be more mentally overloaded than

their parents – earning a living, organising the home and children, being at every body ’s beck and call without a moment to themselves and still under pressure to look good and be nice.”

Other factors that can make the female brains ‘fog up’, according to her, include lifestyle, what they’re eating, typhoid and blood sugar problems, and even toxins in the environment. That is why young women, going between diets and fast foods, can be as scatty as older ones hitting the menopause.

“There’s not just an answer like a magic bullet or a magic pill.” Dr. Lottor, says, although she always begins consultations by checking nutrition. She adds: “Woman are always dieting, cutting out one food group or another and this can take a terrible toll on brain function. What we all need is a balanced diet containing good proteins, fats and carbohydrates.”

She also criticises the amount of sugar many of us take in coffee and smoothies, just for starters.

“People are now consuming tremendous amount of sugar.” Such a high intake can, she says, deplete the supply of vitamins in the body and cause free radicals to damage the brain.

Lifestyle is next on the agenda. Are we getting enough sleep and taking enough exercise, for example? Do we smoke or drink too much? Are we taking medication? These factors could all affect our memories.

Then, there’s stress.

According to Dr. Lottor: “I know it sounds selfish but, with all the demands on modern women, we need to take some time for ourselves everyday to keep sight of what’s important in life. We need to do something that really relaxes us - whether that be taking a long bath, going for a walk or doing some sort of meditation, whatever will empty our brains for a while. Take time to smell the flowers. It could really work wonders for your memory.”

akachukwuferdinandc@yahoo.com 08063819314

HEART OF LOVE

Every heart sings a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back. Those who wish to sing always find a song. At the touch of a lover, everyone becomes a poet.

Chris Onunaku 0 8 0 3 2 9 8 8 8 2 6 / 08184844015.23C0E917

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 31, 2015, PAGE 9

No degree of violence will bring a lost wife back!

I

T’S often been said no rival could snatch an unwilling lover from their partner.

But when it happens, and your partner walks, to what extent should you go to get revenge?

A few weeks ago, I reluctantly made my way to a birthday party. I just wasn’t in the mood to socialize but the celebrant is a very close friend. It was a good party and I was glad I came. Hours into the party, who should saunter in but Chris? We were a bit surprised to see him. He runs an impressive business centre and was married to Foluke, a nurse. 12 years of marriage and two kids later, Foluke left him to move in with Goddy, Chris’ relation and a man of stupendous means who used to intervene whenever the couple had marital problems.

After Foluke moved in with him, Goddy was alleged to have snorted he wasn’t related to Chris, that he merely played the role of a big brother because Chris was always looking up to him. But why snatch the poor guy ’s wife? Chris was beside himself with

F

AT is a necessary component of the human organism.

It serves as a source of energy; you need it to maintain proper body heat when the surrounding atmosphere takes a dip in temperature; it serves as a carrier of Vitamin A, D, E and K and it is also a source of energy.

It is the excess of fat that is dangerous. With too much of fat there obtains the situation where there is not enough skin area for the body to regain its optimum temperature when there has been some vigorous activity.

The fatter the person the quicker it takes for the body ’s temperature to rise and the longer it takes it to cool off.

While the lean individual can race up a flight of stairs with very little effort, the same activity at the same pace will almost kill a fat person.

A fat person pants too quickly in the body’s attempt to maintain the correct body heat.

The action of the lungs is tied to that of the heart. When you have to breathe faster, the heart C M Y K

rage and jealousy and had embarrassed them the couple of times he ran into them at parties.

He’d been hoping for a reconciliation with his wife but that seemed impossible now she’s latched onto Goddy.

Poor Chris had no chance. His rival, an auto magnate was a multi millionaire with exotic cars. He’d even bought Foluke a flashy one - Chris could never compete with him.

Goddy is a serial monogamist - one wife at a time in his palatial home and Foluke was now clearly the flavour of the moment.

Then Chris virtually lost his marbles. He’d tried to talk to his wife with Goddy telling him not to ever ring the house again on top of which Foluke had changed her mobile and he didn’t have her new number. The next thing, he found himself in Goddy ’s well fortified home. According to the story, he then hung around the house until some visitors were let-in and he quickly sneaked in before the gates were locked. He then hid somewhere until

naturally beats faster. Too fast a heart rate, and the heart itself is denied of enough oxygenated blood for its own upkeep.

The picture is clearer now as to why the fatter the person, the worse a state his heart will be in.

Now, you think you need to cut down on the amount of fat you’re carrying around. Good.

But the problem must be approached with caution. You must have a weight loss programme that your body can tolerate. Too great a pace and the attendant exhaustion might discourage you from trying anymore.

The sensible thing to do is to modify the diet and introduce the kind of regimen that the body can take and not leave you feeling totally wiped out, as it were.

As far as diet goes, I favour a breakfast of fruit and a lunch and dinner that has a lot of vegetables.

Fruit being predigested, leaves very little residue in the system.

When you eat fruit, you save enough energy, that way your body has enough power of its own to start dealing with all the toxins that have come

everywhere was quiet before he started slashing the tyres of Goddy’s expensive cars.

Still seething with anger, he broke into the house.

The night guards were settled at the gate, half asleep.

He then proceeded to damage Goddy ’s expensive plasma television and DVD player and hi-fi, cutting up his expensive clothes for good measure. The commotion woke Goddy who jumped

naked from his bed to investigate. As soon as Chris saw him, he went for him with the knife in his hand, “ you sleep with my wife, you die!” He howled like a man possessed. Both men started slugging it out but Chris was more powerful.

He dealt his rival, a few slashes with the knife.

Goddy quickly yelled at Foluke to get the guards as he clutched his upper arm, trying to stop the flow of blood. He was

then able to free himself and he made a dash for the door. He was in great fear for his life. He ran bare foot towards the gates where the guards were now rushing to apprehend Chris. Then he was handed over to the police after he’d been beaten almost to a state of coma. Goddy was rushed to the hospital where his several wounds were stitched up.

At the police station, Chris pleaded he wasn’t

Solution to excess body fat

The triangle posture about on account of an improper eating pattern.

The practice of deep breathing will enable you cut down on a runaway appetite.

When the appetite is unbridled, you can almost eat or feast to death. Come to think of it the human being is about the only animal on earth that does not wait to be hungry before eating. Little wonder, we seem to be the only creatures with a weight

problem. Animals fare much better as regards food. They only seem to have problems when we domesticate them, turn them into pets. That way we spoil them and soon they become affected with all kinds of conditions.

We should heed Hippocrates advice that our food should be our medicine.

So, you have resolved to deal with your excess fat. In that case, here are

an armed robber, as was alleged by Goddy ’s guards; that the man had stolen his wife and he had no means of competing with a rich man. He claimed he didn’t intend to cause Goddy serious injury all he wanted to do was scare him. But his blind rage could very easily have led to awful consequences if Goddy had died.

Having become frustrated by his estranged wife, he was unable to come to terms with her netting a much richer man for herself.

But. Chris’ friends rose to his rescue. If things weren’t handled well, he could actually be found guilty of armed robbery. He stayed in police custody whilst efforts were made to plead with Goddy to drop the charges against Chris. Goddy gladly complied after he came out of the hospital. He also threw Foluke out of his home, because he still feared for his life and no woman was worth losing your life over. So, in a way, Chris did succeed in breaking up the relationship. But Foluke never went back to him.

open and placed next to the left foot. Straighten the right hand and bring it down so that your bicep touches lightly your right ear.

Stay in the posture for some 15 seconds and repeat on the other side.

Benefits: The triangle posture firms the thighs.

It reduces fat on the sides and upper arms The Single Leg Raise: Technique: Lying flat on your belly, place the hands by your side. With your chin on the floor, raise up the left leg to an angle of about 90 degrees from the floor.

Hold the posture for about 10 - 15 seconds.

Change legs and repeat.

Benefits: This posture tones up the muscle of the legs. It firms the buttocks by reducing excess fat.

some exercises that will really help you achieve your goals of a sleek and efficient machinery of a body.

The Triangle: Technique: StandYoga Classes ing with feet about 3 feet apart, bend the STARTED left knee to the same Physical Therapy Centre level with your hip.

Keep the right leg @ 32 Adetokumbo Ademola, Victoria Island Lagos. straight with the foot placed horizontally to 9.00am — 10.00am the left foot which is on Saturdays facing leftward.

Leave the left hand

PAGE 10—SUNDAY Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015

ECHOES FROM THE PAST PROPHECIES FOR FUTURE –1 “Wandering between two worlds, one dead. The other powerless (?) to be born.”

Matthew Arnold, 18221888.

A

rnold did not put a question mark in the statement above. I introduced it because it seems appropriate for our current situation in Nigeria. As President Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, give way to the All Progressives Congress, APC, the most honest Nigerians must admit that we are about to transit from the “devils” we know to the “angels” we don’t know because they have never been tested with the greatest power in the land – the federal might. We are setting sail with a crude compass. We knew what we did not want – continuity such as we collectively experienced in the last three weeks. No power supply and no fuel, after five years of what was billed as Transformation Agenda.

But, it is still too early to know whether or not the change we voted for will occur. Promises and good intentions are never enough to bring about

progress.

Permit me therefore, while waiting for the Buhari administration to take shape, to start this series of articles which seek to take us back in history to some of the ways our leaders have misled us and failed to heed warnings given in good faith.

These past recollections are already included in a book to be published later this year.

The book will contain about 350 articles out of over 3000 I had written for VANGUARD in almost twenty eight years.

The rest will be dumped on my website unless there is an offer by any party to acquire them.

Since this is the season of transition from one government to another, at Federal and State levels, permit me to start from the past. In January 2009, long before the husband died, in an article titled, OPEN LETTER TO MRS TURAI YAR’ADUA, I wrote as follows: Now, Madam, I believe you love Nigeria; at least I have no reason to doubt it. I also believe you love your husband. And there is a great deal lovable about the gentleman.

Finally, I strongly believe

No waiting, no stopping, and keep moving “ Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.”

Marcus Aurelius ere we are, at the edge of the precipice, an opportunity so rare but, long awaited. This moment cannot be wasted and cast aside; we have an opportunity, a golden one, too precious to lose. This very moment, I hope we can look back with pride and tell our generations to come that, we all played our part.

John F. Kennedy said: Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”

This is our opportunity and responsibility to do our part so that every Nigerian, home and abroad can live up to their potentials. In our living memory the chance to change the fortunes of our people and clean up the mess of so many years of corruption, excessive waste and abuse of power. With a new administration and a

H

highly anticipated clean broom, we may have certain unrealistic expectations thinking that with one quick swoop that GMB would suddenly make everything all right.

Well, that is not going to happen. No one person can change a system that has taken decades to disintegrate. Those that want the dividend without the struggle are living on a totally different world; they are deluded and unwilling to contribute to nation building. As Nigerians, we have to hold GMB to account and ensure that the promises made are fulfilled in the life of his administration.

It is going to be tough and bumpy but we will see changes if , everyone play their part. We can no longer play the victim, we can no longer play the religious, tribal and zonal excuses either, and the country is not for one and not the other. We either do this together or we will regret the failure together. The

you love your kids and Nigerian kids – born and unborn because I have been told you are a devoted mother. Yet something endangers all three; Nigeria, Umoru Yar ’Adua and our kids.

That thing is – YOUR HUSBAND. Let me

Madam, I know you love your husband and that you would rather have a live ex-President to cuddle for more years than a fading memory of something six feet under.

In fact nobody else is perfect for the job.

Therefore, in the name of all that is good, let me ask that you to please perform the most difficult task of your life fully in the knowledge that you have done the best for Nigeria, for the president and for posterity.

When the president returns from this trip, from Saudi or wherever that may be, get him on a presidential aircraft.

Then, ask the pilot to fly to K atsina. Take our

As President Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, give way to the All Progressives Congress, APC, the most honest Nigerians must admit that we are about to transit from the “devils” we know to the “angels” we don’t know because they have never been tested with the greatest power in the land – the federal might quickly explain. The explanation came later.

In December of the same year, the following was published on these pages: That leads to the question of who can tell the President the truth and perhaps make him face up to the inevitable, namely, that he has developed diminishing physical capacity to preside.

The second is YOU.

president home and help him to draft a resignation letter. You can come for the luggage later.

Thereafter you can proceed to nurse him to old age. …Please, Madam, when Ogapatapata returns, take him home to Katsina and let the vultures fight over the spoils he will leave behind.

Madam Turai Yar ’Adua ignored all the warnings.

time for self-hatred is over so, it is about time that we get on with the programme.

Nigerians are moving forward with or without them. The choice is really up to the individual and the institutions.

Buhari has made the transition from being Head of State in 1983 to now a democratically elected

a national service for young people especially from 18 to 25 to provide apprenticeship and an opportunity to deliver employable young people for emerging industry and opportunities. Our young people should get a stake in the future of Nigeria and be prepared to play their part. Our older people

No one person can change a system that has taken decades to disintegrate.

Those that want the dividend without the struggle are living on a totally different world leader in 2015. He will be judged on how he performs his duty and responsibility and this time he will be accountable to the people of Nigeria. I wish him courage, wisdom and humility and most importantly, I wish Nigerians the will and the grace to work together to make Nigeria proud. We need to make our country better economically, strong foreign policy, secure and safe environment, better standard of living, and a diversified economy, upgraded technologically and ally to neighboring countries. We need to have

should be given a better life rather one of destitution, poverty and over dependence.

Prof. Osinbajo in a speech to the press said that;”110 million out of Nigeria's population of 170 million were living in extreme poverty, and majority of the wealth is in the hands of few. It is oxymoronic that in a country that produces oil that millions of Nigerians queued up for hours at a time for miserly and highly inflated oil due to fuel shortage. It has been very disgraceful and it practically paralyzed the nation and the amount of

Unfortunately, she would not be the last to turn deaf ears to advice (prophecy?). In May, 2010, just after Jonathan replaced Yar ’Adua as President, another letter was sent to the new wife of the President, Mrs Patience Jonathan. That too was published on these pages. But, nobody took notice of the warnings. Please read.

OPEN LETTER TO MRS JONATHAN DELE SOBOWALE “Men make history, but not just as they please”.

Karl Marx, 1818-1883.

(VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, p. 93).

“2011 [elections]: Count me out – Acting President” [Jonathan].

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE, February 15, 2010, p. 1).

There are at least three reasons Jonathan should not be on the ballot in 2011; and if he forces himself on it disaster will follow. One reason, and one reason only, dictates this letter to Mrs Jonathan. She can ignore it if she likes. But, at least half a dozen people (Mustapha, Ekwueme, Obasanjo, El-Rufai, Ribadu, Soludo etc ) who were warned …and who ignored the warning are now licking their wounds – including her predecessor in office. I don’t want her to join them in “ weeping and gnashing of teeth”. The choice however is hers.

So before the Halleluya Chorus gets busy, let me say my piece and hold my peace. Mrs Jonathan

money lost in work and business must have run into millions if not billions of naira. We can do better.

Nigeria has been an ailing giant, hemorrhaging of its natural wealth and resources, the greediness of our law makers has been incredulous and subsequently our society changed the way that we place value on people and things. Admittedly, the law makers were not the only ones responsible for the demise of our economy, moral values and general standard of living but they played a major part in the nation’s regression. They were responsible of living way beyond their means, they abused their powers and positions and which led to the wholesale corruption of resources and institutions. I mean, in the last administration, corruption was downgraded and down played to mere stealing and they were rewarded by more stealing with no consequences. In the hallowed corridors of power, bad behaviours and loutish attitude became a fine art and the past six years we have seen those who are not fit to lead or manage left in charge of our economy and they took Nigeria for all its worth.

Our country became lawless and lost our integrity. We have lost compassion for common sense and decadency and we have become twisted

should not dissuade her husband from going home in 2011 and she should help him to resist all the self-seekers who will attempt to convince him to the contrar y.

Instead he should emulate Murtala Mohammed, except avoiding getting assassinated, and leave an enduring legacy which will last for ages in the fourteen months allotted to him.

The Jonathans have left Aso Rock. I wish them well. But, there is still another message for Mrs Jonathan which she can only ignore at her own peril. None of the socalled “Men of God” milling around them in Aso Rock had told them the truth. They better hear it now. Or more disaster will follow. Mrs Jonathan runs the risk of becoming the first wife of a former President to be charged to court. Mark my words.

FFF: FUNNY FEMI FANI-KAYODE “A clown is a man sitting on a throne of ice; wondering when it will all melt away.” Red Skelton, c1971. (VBQ p 29).

His father was the Deputy to the Premier of Western Nigeria - Chief S.L.A. Akintola. Together Chief Remi Fani-Kayode and Akintola joined forces with Northerners and Easterners to send Awolowo to jail and to carve the Mid-West out of Western Region. Today Awolowo is immortalised.

How many people now remember Remi FaniKayode? The son has just joined history’s losers. Is political failure hereditary? and embittered. We created an environment for thugs and hoodlums to thrive.

There have been long queues at petrol stations this month because of a fuel shortage with majority of its people living in abject poverty, two thirds of young people are not in education, employment or training, the state of our institutions; health, social and education are in ruins, the roads ,transportation are abyss and for power, it has been a disgrace for majority of the population.

Where there is inequality, poverty, lack of education and youth unemployment, we know there would be a Molotov cocktail for crime fest, chaos and disorders.

My dream for the new administration is that they are transparent, open to receiving criticisms and they will be many! That the administration are manage the economy better , have capable cabinet, fair, firm and dignified, Professional , innovative, sophisticated, enigmatic, forward thinking and forward looking, young people friendly, invest more in women and young girls, invest in health, education and Infrastructure All Nigerians, let us embrace the new beginnings and not resist the change, after all, change is inevitable and this one in particular, should be better than the last.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 31, 2015, PAGE 11

Jonathan’s last-minute appointments

N

ow that President G o o d l u c k Jonathan’s administration has formally ended, it is time for us to show interest in how to handle the reckless injury-time appointments he made. Although a renowned legal luminary Prof Itse Sagay has already used the appropriate words to describe the appointments as ‘morally improper and politically immature’, the posture of some analysts that the appointments be dissolved would be simplistic if not more juvenile. This is because a look at the modus operandi of Jonathan’s government does not in any way suggest that his last minute appointments were worse than those made much earlier. The exact point in time when appointments were made is therefore virtually irrelevant. Indeed, for the better part of his tenure, Jonathan operated as if a ‘Caretaker-Gestapo’ was in place to act on his behalf.

On his last day in office, his officials clapped when he naively said any conceived probe should go beyond his tenure. It was like a thief telling a court that many of

his friends were also thieves. Knowing that his predecessors deserved to be probed why didn’t he do it?

Indeed, why didn’t he do anything- Chibok, Power,

What the Buhari administration requires now is a team of management experts to systematically review the structure of government bodies with a view to building lasting institutions Fuel etc?

Even the appointment of Chief Executives for federal bodies which others did routinely was herculean to the Jonathans. At a point, there were about 13 bodies whose heads acted for years without confirmation.

Perhaps, it was a strategy to make them more malleable. One of our colleagues at the NTA acted for more than 2 years before government remembered to replace him. If he was not competent, why was the organization left in seemingly wrong hands for so long? If he was not incompetent why then was he removed? Apart from the PhD,Depar tment of Philosophy, University of Lagos 08116759758 opuruiche2000@yahoo.com

Negation of the negation (2)

A

s I was saying, many t o p - l e v e l administrators, managers, technicians and civil servants were either persecuted or dismissed from their positions because they were Igbo. The grotesque federal character provision or quota system enshrined in the 1999 constitution is a testament to Igbophobia, indicating the depth of anti-Igbo sentiment and the extent certain elements of the Northern-dominated ruling elite at the federal level can go to entrench tribalism in the country.

Of course, nothing in this world is perfect or without blemish. The positive attributes of. Ndigbo highlighted earlier were sullied by what Prof. Achebe described as "the dangers of hubris, overweening pride and thoughtlessness, which invite envy and hatred or, even worse, that can obsess the mind with material success and dispose it to all kinds of crude showiness."

Unfortunately, even after devastating losses from the pogroms and the civil war, Ndigbo generally have yet to learn useful lessons from the negative repercussions of "noisy exhibitionism and disregard for humility and quietness." It follows that although resentment against the Igbo by compatriots from other ethnic groups is largely uncalled for and completely irrational, a significant percentage of Ndigbo,

baby of the administrationthe Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) which got 5 successive and substantive Chief Executives every

especially the nouveaux riches living outside Igboland, manifested (and still manifest) some character flaws that made them the target of envy and pogroms by Nigerians from other ethnic groups.

The civil war was the catastrophic culmination of Igbophobia and anti-Igbo mentality championed by Northern elements, supported by a sprinkling of the Yoruba and indigenes of southern minorities. It is also quite possible that certain elements in the Northern establishment saw Gen. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu's wellsupported declaration of Biafra as a wonderful opportunity to cut the uppity Igbo down to size. Or else how could one explain the perplexing fact that the North, which was at the forefront of secession before the Biafran war (remember the araba riots of May 1966), changed completely and began clamouring for "One Nigeria"? Perhaps, several key Northern leaders realised that it is only in the context of a united Nigeria that Alhaji AhmaduBello's vision of an Islamised and subjugated country dominated by the Hausa-Fulani might be actualised.

Doubtlessly, the war really devastated Igboland, and Ndigbo lost their position asprimus inter pares in the Nigerian system. Despite Gen. Yakubu Gowon's shibboleths of "No victor, No

year-that is 5 in 5 years, inexplicable appointments was the order of the day everywhere else. At the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation, a publicly acclaimed outstanding Director General, Otunba Segun Runsewe was suddenly replaced. To confuse the public, a government statement which announced the removal deliberately described the position wrongly as Executive Director (ED) while his replacement later came into office appropriately as Director General (DG). Why was a DG appointed to replace an ED? Anyway, it is now clear vanquished" and "Reconciliation, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation,"emasculation and marginalisation of the Igbo economically and politically reached unprecedented levels from 1970 onwards. After Gowon was overthrown in July 29, 1975, successive military regimes, dominated by Northern military officers, consolidated his practice of treating Ndigbo as secondclass citizens and Igboland as aconquered territory. For a vast majority of Igbo people, Northern domination of the federal government had not been favourable to Igboland and, as a result, there was nogood reason to continue that domination by voting for Buhari. The situation of Ndigbo improved somewhat when former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, appointed a fewIgbo into key positions in his cabinet and sited some projects in the South East.

But Jonathan's administration was more beneficial to Igboland than previous administrations.

For example, Jonathan made decisions that have significant symbolic value for the Igbo in their quest for national integration: he appointed Lt. Gen.Azubuike Ihejirika Chief of Army Staff and Ogbonnaya Onovo Inspector General of Police, the first time Ndigbo would occupy topmost positions in the army and the policesince 1970. In addition, several projects were implemented in the South East during his tenure, including the upgrade of Enugu airport to an international airport, commencement of the second Niger Bridge, independent power projects etc.

that effective tourism management is more than being adorned in Nigeria’s green and white colours Thus, reacting by sacking all new appointees as some people suggest would amount to throwing away the baby with the bath water. What the Buhari administration requires now is a team of management experts to systematically review the structure of government bodies with a view to building lasting institutions. Unsuitable persons, irrespective of when they were appointed ought to be identified and removed. Considering the mischief inherent in some of Jonathan’s last minute appointments, it should surprise no one that many of them would not cross the bar just as we acknowledge that a few can easily stand the test of time. For instance, the newly appointed boss of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Mrs. Uju HassanBaba is a solid technocrat that is likely to add value to her new organization.

She is a tested hand who had served previously as Director-General, Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Anambra State and Director, Legal Services, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment. She remains in the hearts of many as a pragmatic lady who provided succour for people in legal tangles during her tenure as the boss

of the nation’s Legal Aid Council-a body that is yet to meet the high ethical and professional standards she had set. Having headed the panel that reviewed the pioneer status scheme of the NIPC, Mrs. Baba is eminently opportuned to translate the lofty dreams she had earlier articulated for government to take the commission to greater heights Perhaps a better example of an apt appointment is that of the ‘Solomon of the Police’- DIG Arase who is now the Inspector General of Police (IGP). Arase’s array of academic degrees, his charisma, key appointments and acclaimed excellent intelligence services in the Police over the years are unassailable attributes. As if to confirm that he has always been the ‘police thinker ’ Solomon Arase has within one month projected a new and sustainable direction for the force, not just by dismantling the notorious police check points that those before him tried in vain to do, but by evolving an alternative because as he said on national television 4 days ago ‘nature abhors vacuum’ Now, the police will have no excuse for public exploitation any more as Arase has affirmed that he would provide them with work tools and welfare President Buhari should look out for more of such outstanding Nigerians that God has blessed this nation with and discard the old idea of running the nation

with second best teams that are selected only on the basis of prescriptive criteria like sex, religion, state of origin etc. The new posture should aim at enhancing productivity, efficiency and effectiveness in policy making and project execution. The President should therefore bring to bear on governance, the attributes of audacity and civility. In this regard, government should have the courage to remove from office public office-holders who are found wanting; provided, they and the public are told the rationale for the action. In other words, government should penalize only known official misdemeanours.

In addition, never again should people be discourteously removed from office for undisclosed political reasons. Only 3 weeks ago, an elder statesman and former military governor of the old Western Region, Major General Adeyinka Adebayo was forced to angrily react to the uncomplimentary manner he was removed from office as ProChancellor and Chairman of Council of the University of Ibadan (UI). The 87year-old war veteran and father of former Ekiti State Governor, Niyi Adebayo was unceremoniously removed from an office he was reportedly pleaded with to accept with less than two years into his four- year tenure. Buhari must go beyond all of these, which belonged to the days of inertia in leadership.

Now, what exactly has Muhammadu Buhari, before the last presidential election, done for Igboland that would warrant Ndigbo to vote for him? Very little, in my humble opinion, because he never really utilised the opportunities he had to establish a rapport between himself and the Igbo. As military head of state, the Igbo were grossly underrepresented in the Supreme Military Council, top military hierarchy and

condescending, as if Igboland is an inconsequential part of Nigeria. Now as President, Buhari would be making a terrible mistake if he continues that way byneglecting Igboland.

Sentiments and Igbophobia aside, no ethnic group has contributed to the development of Nigeria than the Igbo. For instance, in any thriving town or city outside Igbo heartland, after the indigenes are the Igbo, working hard and contributing immensely to the economic and social development of the town.

Thus, in a very important sense yet to be fully appreciated by other Nigerians, Igbo people are really the true Nigerians.

More than any other ethnic group, Ndigbo consider wherever they reside as "home", notwithstanding the ugly experiences after the Biafran war when they lost their houses and businesses outside Igboland, emblematised in the abandoned property struggles of late Chief Sam Mbakwe. Consequently, if President Buhari is serious about positive transformation of Nigeria, he cannot afford to neglect the South East: he must seek out and work with the best minds in Igboland, and reverse past injustices against its people.

From the foregoing, it is clear that the overwhelming support Ndigbo gave to former President Jonathan in the March 28 presidential election stems from enlightened self-interest and their chequered experiences in the context of post-civil war Nigeria. Majority of Ndigbo were convinced that, given the past records of the two major presidential candidates in

relation to their attitudes towards Igboland, Jonathan was the better option, and they voted for him with both their heads and their hearts.

Now, some self-seeking Ndigbo have already started fawning and genuflecting before Alhaji Buhari in the pretext of working for Igbo people. I hope the President can distinguish between genuine Igbo leaders and the charlatans - and ignore the latter. The Igbo do not want anybody to beg the President on their behalf; they are not interested in crumbs that fell from the master's table. What they demand is respect and a level-playing field in a true federation where responsibilities and rewards are shared according to merit, hard work and performance, not based on federal character or quota system, as is the case presently. Accordingly, an Igbo need not be President or whatever before Igboland could get its fair share of important federal projects and other benefits for belonging to the federation.

Keep in mind that when the Igbo were pushed to the wall in the 1960s, they and their compatriots in the defunct Eastern region decided to create their own country in pursuit of selfdetermination, peace, and economic progress. Sadly, the centrifugal forces responsible for that fateful decision are still present, indicating that the ruling elite is pachydermatous to the lessons of history.

Sometimes, I wonder what Biafra would be like now, forty-eight years after its creation, if Gen. Yakubu Gowon and his cohorts had allowed it to be. I am sure Igboland would have been much better than it is today.

Concluded.

It is clear that the overwhelming support Ndigbo gave to former President Jonathan in the March 28 presidential election stems from enlightened self-interest and their chequered experiences in the context of postcivil war Nigeria in his cabinet. When Buhari was in charge of Petroleum (Special) Trust Fund, less than ten percent of its projects were located in the South East, the lowest for the six geopolitical zones.

Therefore, although the outgoing President did not fulfil all the promises he made to Ndigbo during the 2011 presidential campaigns, majority of the people felt that, based on past performance with respect to Igboland, it was better to vote for Jonathan than for Buhari. To be candid, Buhari's attitude to Ndigbo has been somewhat arrogant and

PAGE 12—SUNDAY VANGUARD,MAY 31, 2015

IT IS TIME, MR. PRESIDENT

W

ith the inauguration of P r e s i d e n t Muhamadu Buhari as the president of Nigeria on Friday, Nigerians expect the promise of the transformative initiative on which his party, the APC, ran to be fully put to force. That time is now. At the Eagle square, the president said all the right things, and gave a heartwarming speech. He also set the tone of this government in the simple unostentatious ceremony that dispensed with many flowery rigmaroles, and went straight to the heart of the matter.

Two things right now are on President Buhari’s side: he has vast experience behind him, and because he is no newbie, he can dispense with all the clutters of bureaucratichideand-speak. Secondly he has a massive groundswell of local and international goodwillwhich he himself acknowledged, because quite frankly, the world is looking for a bit of good news from Nigeria. The pictures of Nigerians among the horde of migrants to Europe, the new “boat people” fleeing from poverty, insecurity, and unemployment does need to stop. Europe itself is overwhelmed, and these migrants, Nigerians among them, are now a scourge on the threshold of Europe, a

continent that is increasingly facing its own powerful economic and social challenges. Because Africa is the world’s new frontier, and Nigeria is its greatest country, a stable, prosperous, and secure Nigeria would relieve Europe of the pressure of the African migration in large part; Nigeria would provide some stability in the continent, and assume its place in the emerging global order.

Certainly, the problems of poverty and human movement will require a more radical reformation of the global system, and challenge the ethos of cannibal capitalism, but it would also require the emergence of Africa as a more serious player in the world, of which Nigeria provides an important possibility, to redefine the international system and its predatory globalization.

President Buhari must take Nigeria seriously; far more seriously than he has ever done. He must have a vision of Nigeria drawn from, not merely its place as aformer colony of Great Britain, but as a new, vital, and powerful force among the top nations of the world. As Africa’s powerhouse, Nigeria should play second fiddle to none, and should re-vision itself, in terms of its engagement with other powers, as “the giant of

Africa” – an awakened Africa intent on taking its place once again in the world. This is Nigeria’s chance to fulfil the dream of the fathers of Nigeria’s anti-colonial nationalist movement, who fought based on their vison of an African century and an African renaissance in the 20th century; a renaissance that was truncated in Nigeria by powerful forces, of which Buhari today, from his experience as a former head of Nigeria’s government with access to all government’s security information, ought to know. An important part of Buhari’s mission of regeneration must be the overhaul and constitution of a powerful Foreign Policy, with a new, highly trained, Foreign Service. I say this because Nigeria’s Foreign Service is in tatters.

Foreign Service Staff are poorly trained, and Nigeria’s diplomatic engagement is quite often sophomoric. This president must as a matter of urgency retool Nigeria’s Foreign Service infrastructure. A program of strategic recruitment and retraining of a new generation of Foreign Service officers must commence based on the 1957 model that saw the emergence of superb diplomats like Leslie Harriman, Edwin Ogbu, George Dove-Edwin, Ignatius

DIASPORA MATTERS

Where there is a change, there is hope

I

n the midst of the celebrations of the inauguration of the President and Commander in Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, let us all pause and reflect for a moment. The happiness and joy expressed by majority of Nigerians on the smooth handover of power on Friday, May 29 - the Democracy Day - from Dr. Goodluck Jonathan to Mr Muhammad Buhari is unquantifiable.

Nigerians popped champagne, danced, sang and raised their voices in support of the new man in charge of the affairs of the country.

Many, all over the world were glued to their television sets, watching the historic event of this decade happen in the capital city of Abuja. This was the day Nigerians, all over the world were proud to identify themselves with the country.

Proudly, and maybe for once in many years, Nigerians in Diaspora from London to Toronto, Houston to Tunis could walk down their streets with their heads raised high.

Nigeria was the focus of the international media. Not even the reelection of Sepp Blatter as the FIFA president amidst

the corruption charges could "outstage" the inauguration news. Understandably, the inauguration of any president in the world is newsworthy, but the case of Nigeria is unique.

The 2015 General Elections that culminated in the inauguration ceremony was a source of concern for the international community.

Some predicted the elections would mark the end of the largest black populated country in the world.

The inauguration of Buhari has indeed brought new hope to the nation. Nigerians yearned for change and Buhari came in as the agent to effect it. Nigerians needed a hero, so they reached for Buhari, after his record fourth shot at the Presidency. The stage was set for him to come back and finish the job he was pushed away from thirty odd years ago. The same Nigerians that rejected him three times in the past, suddenly realised he was the only hope of the common man.

Nigerians are over the moon right now, as they believe it is a new beginning for the country. They care less how articulate or not the plans

and programmes of the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC) are, but they know it's a new day.

The hope generated is understandable as for the first time in the history of the 4th Republic, there is actual transfer of political power from the 'domineering' party to another. For sixteen years, the People's Democratic Party (PDP) ruled the country and made no secret of the fact that it would not let go of it under normal circumstances. While the "largest party in Africa" had produced three presidents in its existence, the current APC ha to undergo transformation and reconfiguration to take over power.

Ever since the results of the elections were announced in March, the mood of the nation has changed. There seem a unity of purpose of a scale that has never been experienced before. Nigerians are now able to sleep better and can afford to dip hands into their life savings because they are sure of a better tomorrow.

Ever wondered why there was not much fuss about the fuel scarcity? Hope for a better tomorrow.

Olisemeka, and so on. A nation’s foreign commission, of course, is only as powerful as the nation itself, but any visitor to any of Nigeria’s foreign missions abroad will note a particular kind of dreariness, which equally essays the kind of reception Nigeria gets abroad.

Adynamic foreign policy is also backed with solid domestic policy. Nigeria must, as a matter of urgency, under President Buhari reassert its sovereign capacity.

The decline of Nigeria’s domestic space is obvious in the quality of its citizenry: a poor, ill-educated, insecure people, model and reproduce

The decline of Nigeria’s domestic space is obvious in the quality of its citizenry: a poor, illeducated, insecure people, model and reproduce poverty poverty – particularly the most dangerous of all poverty – the poverty of the imagination. In many instances, poverty is not the absence of excess, it is the condition of powerful and unmatchable desire arising from a psychological lack. If the social environment is empty and without purpose, poverty arises. Poverty is the product of arbitrariness, and poverty breeds corruption.

Corruption is the product of systemic failure. If the institutions are well established, there will be The only time this had happened in the country was immediately after the June 12, 1993 elections when Nigerians threw away the garb of ethnicity and embraced HOPE by voting for the Presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) Alhaji MKO Abiola.

Jonathan not only lost momentum in his drive for a better Nigeria, he also lost the goodwill of the Nigerian masses But it was short lived as the 'Evil Genius' Ibrahim Babangida shut the door of hope in their faces, thereby turning hope to despair for them.

It was nostalgic when Buhari was declared the winner of the 2015 elections.

Although his sound bite for the election was not Hope, he chose one that Nigerians could relate to - Change.

Nigerians needed not much conviction to realise that if there is change, there is definitely hope for a better tomorrow.

But we need to thread softly.

The mood in the nation today is similar to what we had four years ago when Nigerians voted massively for Jonathan to send this same Buhari back to political trench. In 2011 when Jonathan was sworn in

minimal corruption of the system. There will be a reduction in waste. There will be effective check and there will be active institutional sanction. It is therefore imperative for this president to embark on the following to recalibrate Nigeria: he must, as the first order of his business with the National Assembly send a Public Service Reform bill to reshape the structure of public governance and of the executive branch.

The constitutional requirement that ministerial appointment must draw from the 36 states is a constitutional trap. Nigeria does not need 36 ministers to run its affairs. Nigeria does not need ministers of state in a presidential system, and in a civil service with Permanent Secretaries. It is duplication of the sort that makes it a laughing stock internationally. It is a waste of government resources to carter to that number of the ministerial retinue.

The president must reduce his ministerial staff to 13. If he wishes, he can make it an appointment of two people from each of what is now the six zones or regions of the federation. There should be a ministry of Education and Culture, because national culture is the product of a national education program: who are our poets, playwrights, novelists, painters, sculptors, musicians, photographers – Nigeria’s National library, Museums, Galleries, its publishing infrastructure – etc are part of a cultural matrix that is or ought to be linked bypublic education. There should be a Ministry of Information and Research; Ministry of Home Affairs & Natural Resources; Ministry of Mines & Energy (under which should come the Petroleum Ministry),

Ministry of the Economy & the Treasury, the Foreign Ministry; Ministry of Labor and Establishment; Ministry of Works & Transport; Ministry of Agriculture; Ministry of Health & Human Services (under which should come Youth and Sports), Ministry of Trade,Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Technology & Industry, and the Attorney-General’s office.

There should be no minister for Abuja, which at this stage must be governed by an elected Mayor. There must be a very urgent program to retrain and re-orient public service personnel on new skills and new ways of doing things in the 21st century. It is time to strategically recruit and position a new generation of Civil servants from among our best and brightest, and buffer them from the kind of want that leads to corruption.

This president must commence the process of the total overhaul of the Nigerian police system to accord to a new, civil, skilled, and wellmotivated national police service. Nigeria’s ministry of Defence must be linked to a national Research and Production arm. The president must dust up some of what the Biafrans did, and model RAP after the Biafran agencies under four coordinating interministerial groups: Education, Defence, Home Affairs, and Industry/ Technology. This president needs to engage bold thinkers; he must create a pathway for Nigeria’s dormant intellectual class who currently are busy doing nothing in the universities, and fuse them to the task of nationbuilding. He must rebuild the universities. It is time, for nation-building, and it is long past time to be on your marks, Mr. President.i

as president, the goodwill he enjoyed was unprecedented in the history of the country.

Majority of citizens were happy to identify with him, as they convinced the skeptical among them that Jonathan was the man divinely sent to save Nigeria. On his part, Jonathan assured Nigerians that his plans for a better Nigeria could only materialise under a full term and not one he inherited from the late Alhaji Umar YarAdua.

Jonathan was too simple, young and fresh to be doubted. The common men on the street could identify with his story of a hard working boy who came from a poverty stricken background. He reminded Nigerians that a boy whose parents could not afford to buy school shoes for has same opportunities like any other Nigerian kid. It was easy for us to fall in love with this man from Otuoke.

At his inauguration, Jonathan promised us a better tomorrow where we would be proud to call ourselves Nigerians. Just like Buhari did on Friday, Jonathan reiterated his love for Nigeria and said he had good plans to make the nation great again.

Although he did not do the nationalist "fist salute" at the inauguration, Nigerians understood him and silently implored him not to say too much.

Nigerians were in love with Jonathan like they had never been with any leader before.

Although there were pockets of reservations on his ability to transform, these were quickly dismissed by the mention of his first name "Goodluck". Many critics

shouted at the top of their voices that Jonathan's shoulders were too frail to carry the responsibilities of the country, but Nigerians cared less.

However, it was not long before Nigerians became weary of Jonathan and his team. They knew Jonathan was still the same good man they fell in love with, but surrounded by "strange looking" men and women who could not differentiate between personal and state funds. His will to change the fortunes of the country for better suddenly lost momentum.

Jonathan not only lost momentum in his drive for a better Nigeria, he also lost the goodwill of the Nigerian masses. His 'downfall' was engineered and orchestrated by the people he had chosen to run his government.

Unfortunately Jonathan had no political will to caution these lieutenants who were bleeding the country dry. To him, stealing is not corruption.

Today, we are celebrating Buhari. But it is instructive to advise the new President that he must not take for granted, just like Jonathan, the goodwill he is enjoying right now. As he has been sworn in, Buhari must hit the ground running and start the implementation of his manifestoes.

Many Nigerians do agree with the President that they should not expect him to perform miracles. They do realise how bad the Nigerian situation is, and for anything to come out, it would take a little time. But they want to see commitment on the part of the president and his men.

SUND AY SUNDA

Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015, PAGE 13

FOREIGN DIGNITARIES AT THE INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI

President Buhari (3rd l) with US State Secretary John Kerry (4th r) and the American delegation.

Chairperson, African Union Commission, Nkosazana C Dlamini-Zuma (c).

South African President Jacob Zuma

Namibian President Hage Geingob

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud

Swaziland King Mswati III

Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo

Chadian President Idriss Deby (l) and his Nigerien counterpart, Mhamadou Issoufou

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

RECEPTION FOR FORMER PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JON ATHAN IN YEN AGO A JONA YENA GOA

Goodluck Jonathan acknowleges cheers from the crowd.

Seriake Dickson, Bayelsa State governor; Jonathan; and wife, Patience

A cross section of guests

PAGE 14—SUNDAY Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015

PDP lost power because we took things for granted – Haliru Mohammed, acting BoT Chair *’We are ready to perform opposition role to APC’ *Says party will bounce back in 2019

D

R. Haliru Bello Mohammed, from Kebbi State, just

became the acting Chairman of the Board of Trustees, BoT, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the office vacated by Chief Tony Anenih.

Mohammed was National Vice Chairman, North West of the PDP, comprising Kaduna, Katsina, Kano, Kebbi, Sokoto, Jigawa and Zamfara states; a Commissioner for the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC); and Minister of Communications In March 2008, he was elected the Deputy National Chairman and, in January 2011, he emerged the Acting National Chairman of the PDP when Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo stepped down. He was later made the Chairman of a 20member Board of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) and thereafter the Minister of Defence.

He was appointed the Chairman, North Central Zonal Reconciliation Committee of the PDP set up by the immediate past National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mauzu. One major assignment Mohammed undertook for the PDP before the March 28 presidential election was as Chairman of Presidential Declaration Committee with nine sub-committees.

In this interview, the acting BoT Chair of the PDP bares his mind on the presidential election, the PDP before and after the election, why former President Goodluck Jonathan refused the position of the BoT Chair and his expectations from President Muhammadu Buhari, among other issues.

BY HENRY UMORU PDP lost the March 28 presidential election. How has it been as an elder of the party?

In the first place, I don’t believe we lost the election, we conceded the election because election is not lost until it is challenged in a court of law; that is what Buhari did the first three times he contested against PDP candidates.

At the time of the election, we foresaw that the mood in the country was such that if the result was declared otherwise, the country will be plunged into chaos and there will be protest and possibly loss of lives and property; that is C M Y K

why President Jonathan decided to concede. So I see it not that we lost the election but that we conceded defeat because if Jonathan hadn’t conceded, we would still be in court trying to determine the real winner and there would have been a lot of evidence to be presented.

However, I am glad President Jonathan decided to concede so that we can have the peace that we have now in the country.

Did your party actually prepare to win the election?

PDP prepared very well for the election. It was clear we went round the country campaigning

despite the hostility in some northern states where our convoys were attacked. We persisted, we went to all the states including those considered dangerous because of the activities of Boko Haram and we mobilized our supporters. There were a lot of negative campaigns coming from the opposition especially with regard to religion, terrorism which was active in the North - East of the country and these were the issues that worked against PDP especially in the North - East and North – West.

God has designed that, after 16 years, PDP will now taste opposition and give opportunity for the other party to also show what they can do for the people of this country. We don’t regret the president conceding because President Buhari has been contesting for a very long time and maybe he has now seen some ideas which he would like to put into practice in the governance of Nigeria. In a way, it is good to give him the opportunity, let the people of Nigeria see what he has to offer and PDP will stay as a viable opposition so that when he falters, we will be there to offer alternative opposition to the people. I believe that come 2019, it will be a clash of ideas. Let us see what Buhari and APC will unfold and compare with what PDP had shown in its performance and the people will choose.

Soon after the PDP lost, there was this blame game between the presidential campaign organisation and the PDP leadership. Was it really healthy for the party?

It is true that a lot of mistakes were made; the leadership and followership of the PDP made

mistakes. We took certain things for granted, but this is not the time for finger pointing. This is not the time for blame apportioning; this is the time that we should look in retrospect, come together and examine what happened and see how we can put our party together so that we can prepare for 2019.

When they are busy putting their government together and showing Nigerians what to do, we will be busy rebuilding our party; we know how we did it in 1998; we know the right people to contact in every state who put the party together.

We are going back to those people. That is why I always say we take this party back to the people.

We will go back to the roots and, once we do that, we will identify

God has designed that, after 16 years, PDP will now taste opposition and give opportunity for the other party to also show what they can do for the people of this country

the founding fathers that have been sidelined and bring them back on board as many of them that are alive and available. We will build a formidable structure as we did in 1998 and it will be ready to offer an alternative government for Nigerians in 2019.

In specific terms, what did your party take for granted?

We took it for granted that the people of the country had accepted PDP as attested to in a number of states that accepted PDP, not only as ruling party at the federal level, but also as state governments. We took it for granted that our legislators will come back, but, unfortunately, the leadership of the party did not handle the primaries well. We took it for granted that whether we removed and replaced or not, whoever got the PDP ticket will win the elections and it turned out that it was not so. Nigerians have become more enlightened, they are voting more on the quality of the candidate than on blind loyalty to the party and we did not handle the primaries very well and that is a mistake that we have learnt from our actions and we will correct it come 2019.

We took for granted that the elections will be fought on issues and ideology and not on religion and tribal bases. That did not happen especially in the North where preachers in the mosques were demonising PDP, condemning PDP to hell and threatening our voters that voting for any PDP candidate was like buying your ticket to hell. All these things happened, but we didn’t envisage that politics will come down to that level; so we took it for granted that it will be based on policies and ideologies. We have learnt from this experience and, as you can see, PDP is full of people with ideas, great intelligence and we will sit back and re- adjust and we will bounce back in 2019.

Looking at the APC line up, all of them with a few exception were trained by PDP in politics, so where they learnt, the residue is still there and we will stir it up and come back with a bang.

I want you to comment on the resignation of the Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mua’zu. Was it just Muazu or the entire leadership of the party that ought to have resigned ?

It is unfortunate that immediately after the election, some people lost their cool and started pointing fingers and shouting at one another. But it is not unexpected in a situation where nobody expected what happened to happen. People will feel frustrated and will be looking for scapegoats. The situation degenerated to what led to some of our supporters, out of their for the party and the love for the continuity of the PDP government, to blame and, naturally, uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.

So Mua’zu and his NWC were natural targets for this scapegoating, but I don’t think the blame for our candidate to win this election lies in one direction. We are all to blame including those of us who are elders who saw what was happening and kept quiet; but, this is not the time to accuse each other, this is the time to come together and see what went wrong and correct it.

How prepared is PDP to

Continues on page 15

SUND AY SUNDA

Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015, PAGE 15

‘PDP ready to play opposition role’ Continued from page 14 play the role of the opposition?

What is the role of the opposition? The role of the opposition is to offer an alternative to policy and to try to bring the government back on track when it tries to derail. So essentially, the role of opposition is to advice the government and offer alternative where government feels to be clueless on any issue. We already have people of experience, people of high level of integrity and knowledge and we have done governance for 16 years. We are very well placed to play the opposition role of telling the government this is not how to do it and this is what you should be doing; if they listen, of course they will succeed, but if they don’t listen, then the people of Nigeria will see what is happening and when it is time for the next election, they will decide.

PDP appear to be lucky to have somebody like you around, because they only look for you when there is problem. First, you were to look into the implementation of Dr. Alex Ekwueme’s Committee report; you were also the Chairman, North Central Reconciliation Committee. You acted as the Chairman. Can I say the party is lucky to have you?

I am lucky to have the party.

There are people who are even better than me in the party. When we started, it was a party where you had the likes of Adamu Ciroma, Alex Ekwueme, Tony Anenih, Bode George, Ken Nnamani, Shauibu Oyedokun, Jerry Gana, Ebenezer Babatope and a lot of them. So you cannot say we lack people of high calibre, people who are materials to be president of this country and people with wisdom. We have all that in PDP. So it is just a coincidence if one person happens to hold a particular office and I believe anyone of us, given the opportunity, if we flock together to give our support, we will be able to deliver the party. Like I said, we are all guilty, we were complacent; that is why what happened has happened and now that we have learnt our lessons, I don’t think it will repeat itself.

You have just been made the acting Chairman of BoT, Before you came in, the immediate past Chairman, Chief Chief Tony Anenih, said in his letter of resignation that he did that for the immediate past President Goodluck Jonathan to take over. How did it really happen that you came in instead of him. What are you bringing on board as BoT Chairman?

When we lost the election, we had a president who now have more time on his hands, a lot of people including Chief Anenih believed that we could use the president to lead the Board of Trustees. As it happened, after former President Obasanjo finished his term, he was made Chairman, Board of Trustees, so we could use his influence, experience and his wisdom because there is this plot nationally and internationally to move our party forward.

The same thing could have applied to immediate past President Jonathan and the offer C M Y K

was made as you have seen in Tony Anenih’s letter, but the immediate past president made it clear that he doesn’t want to be the Chairman, Board of Trustees; he wants to be one of the leaders of the party who will stay on the sideline and assist the party to rebuild itself. What he said was that if the party rebuilds itself and becomes the party in government again, then if he is called to take up any position, then he will be ready to take it. But for now, he wants to rest and give opportunities for other leaders to work in the party.

We respected his opinion. That is why we thought that one of us in the Board of Trustees should be entrusted to temporally lead until such a time that we are organised and we are ready to go into election to elect a substantive Chairman of the Board of Trustees.

As to what my party expects; it expects me to galvanize all members of the party, bring them together, stop the bickering that is happening and start the process of re organising the party from the grass roots to the national level.

In doing that, of course, we are working with the National Working Committee and, as you know, the Board of Trustees is advisory. The executive authority lies with the National Working Committee and the National Executive Committee, but because the residue of all the founding fathers is in the BoT, the role of BoT becomes very important at this point in time, so that the collective wisdom of the BoT will be put together and forwarded as advice to the National Working Committee and the National Executive Committee.

We believe that the implementation of our collective ideas will bring PDP back to what it was meant to be by the founding fathers because we still have residue of the founding fathers in the BoT, and we know on what premise this party was built and we know the people who built it are still available in the various states of the federation. So if we take this party back to the grass roots, we hand it back to the people, it will resuscitate, revive and roar back into power in 2019.

In taking the party back to the grass roots, how do you avoid what happened in the past when Chief Anenih and his team in trouble shooting efforts were misunderstood by the former Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, that the former was usurping the functions of the latter?

Like I said, the BoT does not have executive powers. If we have brilliant ideas, we should discuss them with the executive arm of the party, that is, the National Working Committee and the National Executive Committee. If the linkage is broken, then you have a situation where there is a breach in communication and then the implementation becomes fractional and therefore unsuccessful. This time around, whatever ideas we have in the BoT, we will implement together with the National Working Committee.

If we are setting up a committee, it will be a committee of the party not a committee of BoT. If we are going round, it will be the party going round, not BoT or NWC or National Executive Committee. So the party will work as a unit not in groups of BoT, NWC, NEC. I have no doubt that we will succeed.

* Mohammed ... we have experienced people to rebuild PDP Muhammadu Buhari has been sworn in as the President of Nigeria. Before now, there were calls for the North to produce the President and some leaders of the North operated under the ACF to have it. Now we have it. As a Nigerian and not just as a northerner, is he taking us there against the backdrop of the issue of change?

Change was there before he came in. The principle under which PDP operates is that Nigeria should be seen as a united nation, but because of the present circumstances, we believe it will need time to blend as one people.

And only when we can blend as one people is when every section of Nigeria will be given a sense of belonging and one of the innovative ways PDP has set out to build this sense of belonging is by making sure that whenever we set up a government, every part of this country, region, state, religious, tribal factors are put together so that the federal character of Nigeria is reflected in the government.

That is why we introduced zoning and rotation of power so that everybody feels he has something in the government. The six zones will feel that they have a chance and opportunity at one time or the other to produce whatever position, whether it is the president, the vice president, Senate president, the speaker, chairman of the party, chairman BoT. That is one way we feel will further unify this country until we arrive at a time when Nigerian does not look at you as to where you come from, what religion you belong to, but what you can offer.

Meanwhile, before we reach that, we have to create a sense of belonging that will eventually lead us to that position that a Nigerian is a Nigerian wherever he comes from.

That is what PDP has set out to achieve and I believe if all Nigerian parties accept that principle, it will not be long when we will reach the point where Nigerians will be seen as Nigerians regardless of where you live or come from.

Expectations are very high from Nigerians. The issues

of power, petrol, unemployment, among others, are there. A new government is now in charge and I know you are not in the position to set agenda for it.

But if you are to do that, what would you say and think the Buhari-led government should do if it must take us there?

I can’t think of what this government can do because I haven’t seen their performance. I was old enough to remember Buhari’s performance as a military head of state, but as to advising this government, I believe they have made promises to the people. The only advice I can give is that they should keep their promises to the people. The people expect power to operate normally, they expect security to be restored and enhanced, they expect all aspects of Nigerian life to operate smoothly whether it is education, health, transportation.

PDP has tried very hard and we have tried to publicise all that we have achieved in the last four years of former President Jonathan and in the 16 years that we have

We took for granted that the elections will be fought on issues and ideology and not on religion and tribal bases. That did not happen especially in the North where preachers in the mosques were demonising PDP

operated. For 25 years, the railway wasn’t working; I was fortunate to be the Chairman of railway when President Yar’dua directed that instead of going into standard gauge immediately we should first of all restore the narrow gauge so that people will start using that while we are working on developing the standard gauge and we thank God that the trains are now moving.

We planned to have railway in every state capital, the Ajaokuta/ Warri to extend to Lokoja, the River Niger Marine transport.

The integrated master plan has been worked out and have developed gradually from Obasanjo’s time to Goodluck’s time. All these we expect this government to continue, otherwise the transport sector will be stagnant. In the power sector, so many turbines have been ordered by the PDP government, they have been put in place, but the required infrastructure to fire them is what is lacking and that is the next phase and we expect this government to carry on with the next phase so that all these turbines will be fired and, once they are fired, there will be enough power all over the country.

The power sector is such that you can’t do it over night, but we have set the trend, we have awarded contracts for many hydro electricity projects and the distribution is also another factor.

Contracts have been given out for distribution system to cover all zones of this country. Towards the end of his administration, former President Jonathan and his vice, Sambo were opening various stations to make it possible for these distribution stations to send electricity to all parts of the country.

If the coming government continues with this process, they will set up transmission, which is already awarded in many parts, and distribution, which the DISCOs were set up to do, but you know they are still at the take off point, so the government should help them take off properly and they can do it in the four years they have and hopefully, in 2019, we will come in and continue from where we stopped.

PAGE 16—SUND AY 16—SUNDA

Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015

BY YINKA AJAYI

T

he move to extradite Prince Buruji Kashama, senatorelect for Ogun East and a top member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to the United States (US) for trial on drug charges climaxed, penultimate Saturday, when men of the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) stormed his residence. The arrival of the NDLEA men at the Lekki, Lagos residence of the politician marked the beginning of a drama that ordinarily should have been reserved for the Nollywood. There were scores of heavily armed NDLEA men to arrest an unarmed civilian. Gates to Kashamu’s residence were brought down by the drug law enforcement operatives to gain entry.

This was followed by the breaking of doors in search of their prey. But the senator-elect was nowhere to be found.

Kashamu had every reason to make himself unavailable to the armed visitors. The siege was simply illegal. There was a validly court order procured by the senator-elect restraining the NDLEA from extraditing him to the US. Sensing danger following threats by some powerful individuals in the country to have him sent to the US to face drug charges – charges on which two British courts had acquitted him some 20 years ago – on the grounds of political differences, Kashamu had gone to a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos to procure an order to stop the NDLEA and other security agencies in the country from acting in like manner. To the best of my knowledge, that court order was not discharged before the C M Y K

Kashamu,

NDLEA and the rule of law

penultimate Saturday siege to his house obviously to extradite him.

It would seem the forces against the senator-elect got so desperate they would do anything, even if extra-judicially, to get him out of the way. And the action of the NDLEA was a lesson in impunity under an administration that professes the rule of law as one of its pillars.

Later that Saturday, the NDLEA issued a statement to say the siege on Kashamu’s residence was continuing but it would head to the court on Monday to get an order authorising it to extradite Kashamu. I share the sentiment of lawyers ,who argued that the import of the NDLEA statement was that it did not have a court warrant to effect the senator-elect’s arrest. The agency was just going to court that Monday to procure a warrant of arrest that would have been carried out two days earlier.

Like a lawyer said, the NDLEA action amounted to working from the answer to the question rather than the other way round. Besides the court order stopping the arrest of Kashamu for extradition, the lack of a warrant of arrest before the NDLEA operatives embarked on the siege was another illegality. Meanwhile, contrary to

the promise by the agency to go to court that Monday to plead the cause of the senator-elect’s extradition to the US, it never did. Rather it was the counsel to Kashamu who went to court to reinforce the earlier order stopping his client’s extradition on the one hand and ending the siege to the residence on the other. The court granted the two prayers. Specifically, the judge described the siege to the politician’s residence as subjudice, stressing that it did not follow due process. But a shocker was to come to those of us who believe in the rule of law.

NDLEA, an agency that is a creation of the law, said it would not obey the court order. It said its operatives would not vacate Kashamu’s residence. Said the NDLEA through its spokesperson: “The NDLEA does not believe that any court will issue an order preventing a government agency from performing its statutory responsibilities in a lawful manner. The agency has, therefore, refused to be distracted and will continue to maintain presence at the (Kashamu) residence. It is advisable that Kashamu respects the law by

But a shocker was to come to those of us who believe in the rule of law. NDLEA, an agency that is a creation of the law, said it would not obey the court order

submitting himself to the due process of the law.”

Although the NDLEA operatives later left the residence, what is clear is that some people are after Kashamu; and it does not matter the means that is employed to get him, so long as it justifies the end.

That penultimate Saturday, amid the siege to the residence, the senator – elect had hinted that Chief Olabode George, a top chieftain of the PDP, using his wife, a high ranking official of the NDLEA, was behind his travails. Even if he did not explicitly say it, my understanding of the Kashamu statement was that he had some political misunderstanding with Olabode George. Before then, Kashamu’s lawyer had said information was leaked to him by a source close to the then attorney general of the federation, Mr Adoke, of a plot to abduct his client and send him to the US. The lawyer alleged that those behind the plot were working in collaboration with former President Olusegun Obasanjo who has not hidden his quest to have the senator-elect extradited to the US. All said, what happened in the case of the NDLEA siege and the agency’s defiance of a court order is bad for the system, especially under an outgoing regime that claimed to have respect for the rule of law, and in a democracy. Under no circumstances should it have happened. It should not happen again. No government agency is above the law. The Buhari regime must ensure that.

SUNDAY Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015, PAGE 17

bb pin:2BD74DOB

Most times, our kisses on set are real — Chrisabel Egbenya

B

EAUTIFUL and sexy Edo-State born Nollywood actress, Christabel Egbenya has done so many films since she came into the movie industry. She has talent and she has brought it on in many of her films but like every actor, there are some roles that still haunt or define their careers. For Christabel, her role in Room 202, where she got rather too cosy with Frank Artus hasn’t left the tongues of some people who believed the actress really turned on the fire. “ When they brought the script, I read it and they told me the people I would sleep so hard for me, handouts I could not with in the movie. I just had to afford, I begged from hand to mouth get into the character and I just to eat! Sometimes, I considered going started acting it out” she told Potpourri in a recent chat. back to my dad but ego and pride In the film, she and Frank wouldn’t let me. Then, all my jeans were had to do many kissing scenes Alaba bend-down-select. If the jeans was which they did with passion longer than me I would cut it to my size to and so much conviction that it make it look rugged! If I asked friends for was almost real. a favour, before they “It’s real. The kisses are real. helped they would ask In ‘Kingdom of Pleasure’, me to do something for ‘Kingship’, Frank Artus and I them in return, like kissed and touched very well cleaning their rooms, because he’s my friend. We or helping with were always on set together course work” she and we talk once in a while, so added. we had to make it real” she She then went confesses. on to advise “In that film, Frank Artus her fans never came back from America to give up in and he was asked to marry their struggle his late father ’s wife, to make it in Ngozi Ezeonu who was life. For much older, as tradition sometime demanded. He refused because he wanted me. now, Tonto So, he used to come to has been town to visit me and we engaging in make love. In the a soft kind movie, ‘King’s of Throne’, I also did motivational a raunchy role talks on with Frank social Artus where it media, looked as if we showing •Christabel had real sex, people Egbenya like he was there really inside me and I might be was enjoying it. Most another side to people believed it was real, the controversial but the people who were in figure we all hate to there know that we didn’t do love. anything”, she added.

I used to beg for money to eat — Tonto Dikeh T

HERE are many sides to everybody. For Tonto Dikeh, it seems the side that is well known is the wild one. Controversial as many may think this singer and actress is, she does have her subtle side and she laid it on the line for everyone to see in an Instagram post on Wednesday by telling whoever cares to listen her story of humble beginning.

“Growing up life was not easy, not after I lost my mom at the age of three. Though I thank my step mom for keeping up with my rudeness and stubbornness.

Sometimes, I felt like killing myself but God saw me through that

•Tonto Dikeh

Colette Orji

I

swept off her feet

f the word reaching Potpourri is as right as the rain, which is anyways, Nollywood stunning beauty, Colette Orji has been swept off her feet by some yet-to-be identified dude. Colette let the cat out of the bag herself when she gleefully posted a status on her BB that she is married. “I had my traditional marriage today” she posted last Sunday.

When I asked her if it was one of her jokes, she replied me “ Yes, I am married” but she did not follow it up with any more information.

On Wednesday, with further probing she consented with another BB message to me “ I am just arriving Lagos and I am packing into my husband’s house” she offered, giving no hint as to who the lucky dude is.

Colette Orji has a career that is in shipshape. If she’s not turning on the skills on locations across the country she is traversing major cities of the world, •Colette Orji having fun to shake off stress. Potpourri wishes her ‘Happy Marriage Life’.

stage in my life and sometimes I sit and ask God why me? At the age of twenty, I said to myself `I wouldn’t ask my dad for money- I wanted to be independent. I tried traveling to UK but I got refused at Nigerian Embassy, not because my documents were not complete but because I didn’t have the connection to pass through” she stated “University life was

Love Idoko’s ‘Activating

Success’ debuts on AIT

W

•Love Idoko

ITH impeccable track records in event, publishing, and motivational speaking, Love Idoko, daughter of the former Chief Judge of Benue State has added another feather to her cap. Her TV show, Activating Success will make a grand debut on Africa Independent Television (AIT) on Saturday, June 6th.

Activating Success provides an inspirational and motivational moment that features successful public figures from all facets of life who share their success secrets generously and some highlighted the many mistakes they made before becoming the inspirational figure people see them to be now.

The programme also features inspirational talk,music, quotes and segments where guests will sing their favourite inspirational songs and share their success stories.

Notable personalities that have had interviews with the host are motivational speaker and senior pastor of the Wisdom Centre, Dr Mike Murdock, Dr Godswill Akpabio, Nollywood actor Femi Jacobs, Award winning musician Innocent Idibia, Nollywood actor and politician Desmond Elliot, Big brother Africa all stars winner Uti Nwachukwu, Ghanaian actress Jackie Appiah and a host of others.

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, MAY 31, 2015 Onikoyi68@gmail.com

A

lot of actors who started acting the same time you did have delved into movie productions, but we are yet to see you do that. Is it deliberate?

I am not much of a producer though everybody wants me to produce my own movie. I have that pressure on me. As funny as it sounds, I really do not enjoy production. I love directing somebody else’s movie, but I wouldn’t want to produce a movie right now. I am not interested in producing any movie that I will be in. I just want to be an actress. I am waiting for good scripts .

Have you directed any movie?

I have directed a soap opera.

Funke Akindele acted in it alongside Larry Goldsweat.

What has been happening to your Reality TV show? `Omotota, The real me Season 2’ has been ready for a while. Funny enough, I have been stalling on signing it. I just feel like the time isn’t right. It’s very intrusive. I’m a private person, though a lot of people won’t believe it. I work when I need to work and go home when I need to get back into my home. The Season One was very interesting though it was hard on me. I have teenage children now so I have to be very careful. I have to think about them first and see how it affects them because I don’t want my kids to get carried away by all of that. It might come back because there is a lot of pressure on me, but I just want it to be at my own time and when I am comfortable.

Your daughter is now a brand ambassador, is it your way of launching her into the entertainment world?

Not really. It just happened.

She is just a natural fit. They wanted a mother-daughter campaign anyway and so the whole challenge was, - will she be up to it? She was interviewed and they actually fell in love with her more than me. She almost took my job.

Luckily for me, it had to be a mother-daughter campaign.

How would you react if she decides to be an entertainer?

Absolutely, she can come into the industry. What our generation is doing by God’s grace is to make sure that we work hard to leave infrastructure for them. I don’t want my daughter to meet the industry the way I met it.

Luckily, we have been able to take some steps, we are working very hard. As you know, I am building my film village. The whole idea is for them to have some sort of organization. The industry has been disorganized for a very

long time. Right now, it’s okay for her to come into the industry, but she will be monitored. I can only do what I can, in my own way to stabilize the industry.

Somebody asked me: `What will happen to daughters of individuals who have been abused in the entertainment industry?’ All I can say is that it’s either you stay away or you stick to what you believe in. You have a right to say no! I will not do that. Don’t be intimidated by anybody, believe in yourself and stay away from anything that you are not proud of and hang in there.

You have a young girl who is eighteen and probably dating, that means if she gets married early, you are going to be a young grandmother.

Have you ever thought about it?

I don’t care much about it. It’s not something I think about. It’s not my cup of tea. I know people want me to think about that because I got married early.

What I always say to people is all fingers are not equal. The fact that I got married early

doesn’t mean my daughter must get married early. My mother didn’t get married early. It doesn’t have to be hereditary. If I like the guy and we feel like she is mature enough to handle it and the person is responsible, then why not? We can endorse it. I don’t regret anything. Everything is a blessing to me. I won’t stop her, but it just has to be the right person. I married the right person.

Are there other talents you have that we are yet to see?

I don’t think I have a lot of talents. Some people actually say sometimes I can be a comedian, but my comedy is not a very creative one. My comedy is actually like the kind of comedy you don’t expect. I don’t know how to explain it,but it’s just like that. I used to dance. I don’t know how I became suddenly stiff, that is the result of feeling like a big girl. I just stopped dancing. I used to be known in school for dancing. I also write, I am a very good writer. I write all my songs and I write for other people whose names I don’t want to mention.

Talking about music,when are we going to see your next body

I don’t have very close friends in the industry — Omotola

By KEHINDE AJOSE

Nollywood screen diva, Omotola Jalade Ekeinde, is one actress who has continued to up her game. The entertainer who recently raised her voice to fight poverty alongside the likes of Waje and Yemi Alade for the ‘One campaign’ reveals why she is yet to produce her own movie, if she would allow her daughter venture into entertainment, and how she has stayed off scandals, among other issues.

I’m a private person, though a lot of people won’t believe it.

I work when I need to work and go home when I need to get back into my home

of works?

My second album is actually not out but a lot of people think it is.

It’s not out but you can get it on Konga. It’s going to be out very soon by God’s grace. I have been saying that since 2010.

What is the title?

Me, myself and I Is your son going to produce any of your songs?

He has actually produced a few of them. We haven’t released any.

How was it like working with him?

That boy is very strict. It just felt weird because I am a control freak so sometimes when he is getting too hard on me I tell him: “No! I am the mummy here”.We just work it out somehow. I guess that is why the songs are noton yetpage done.

Continues 19

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

SUNDAY Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015, PAGE 19 Onikoyi68@gmail.com

No man can handle me apar om m apartt fr from myy husband — Omotola Continues from page 18

W

hy did you decide to be part of One Campaign?

I am fortunate to be a young woman living her dreams, a trailblazer of my generation. I also recognize that many women and girls are not so fortunate, women and girls are disproportionately affected by the injustice of poverty and inequality. When we invest in women and girls,we increase and accelerate their chances of overcoming extreme poverty.

That is why I have joined the One Campaign: Poverty is Sexist Campaign. I call on the public to help join hands to sign the petition.

Recently you were misunderstood about the trek comments you made on social media that people are trekking their lives away. Was that what you actually meant?

Really, I am not against any kind of sport. It is okay if you want to do anything. My point is, it’s either you do it for nothing and say “I am having fun” or you do it for something reasonable.

Don’t just do it for something that pisses people off. People ask if it is my business. It is my business because we are glorifying these people that are hurting us. If for example, I say I am trekking to celebrate a Boko Haram member,everyone will pounce on me. Why should I celebrate that?

Recently, people were angry because Time Magazine said the Boko Haram leader is one of the most influential people, but they forgot that they are talking about influence and not that he is being celebrated. I was shocked that people didn’t understand what I was trying to say. What I meant was that, at this point in time when we are going through so much and we are trying to let these people know we are suffering, putting all our energies into making them feel like kings is not cool. The truth of the matter is that you are probably trekking because you don’t have fuel anyway.

What are your thoughts on friendship?

Most of my friends are friends I have had forever. I am a very loyal person. I try to keep a very small group of friends. It is not that I don’t make new friends, but I call them acquaintances.

When you say friends, they are people I have known for a long time, since I was a child.

Do you have friends in the

hero in a movie.

Whose advice has been instrumental to where you are today?

The only advice I really take is the advice from the Bible. It sounds very weird but that’s the truth. It’s the only thing I go by. If it is not in the bible, I won’t do it. I also take my own advice. My mum has also influenced me a lot.

movie industry?

Everybody is my colleague. I don’t have very close friends in the industry.

Why? We don’t live around each other to start with, I live very far away from so many people.

Secondly,I am not too much of a party person. We probably won’t see often. I am also not very good at visiting people so we probably won’t have that kind of bond.

How would you define success?

You can’t define success in one sentence. A lot of people have tried to do that. Success is relative. What is success to you might not be success to me.

But I think generally, it’s a state of peace of mind. A state of acceptance and a state of joy.

Joy is different from happiness you know.

Talking about where you live, do you have plans to move to Lekki?

Not really, I like where I live.

I love the way I live.

How have you been able to stay off scandals?

I am lucky that I am well trained by God, period! I don’t try,I am who I am. Some things that are scandalous just don’t impress me or I am not impressed by them. Having said that, I try not to do something that will seem like I’m leading someone on. I just try to put my brain to use. There are so many things you can avert.

How do you live?

I come out, I do my work. I go back into my wonderful mansion and rest.

Do you still do the cooking in the house?

I do. I actually cooked before coming here.

Do you act as a diva at home?

I try to be, but they knock me back into shape.

When you aren’t busy, how do you get away?

Get away? I wish I could.

There is always work to be done. Like they say, if you enjoy what you do, you will never work. For me, I think that is where my stubbornness comes from. I don’t do anything I don’t want to do. I don’t do what I don’t enjoy or what I feel I won’t like. I am passionate about whatever I do. Whether it’s taking care of my kids, my husband, my home or working with Knorr or with One Campaign.

You look beautiful after four kids, what do you do to maintain your looks?

People’s mouth keeps me in shape. I use everything as motivation. More realistically,I will say prayer. It sounds very weird, but that is the truth.

Everybody knows I don’t diet, I can’t diet to save my life. I love food. I am a foodie. I don’t eat all the time, but whenever I eat, I don’t joke with it. It has to be prayers because that is the only thing I do really.

People sometimes mistake your being confident for being arrogant, how do you deal with that?

I can’t deal with it. I can’t help people’s mistakes.

•Omotola

I think a lot of people don’t know that I am emotional. I am very strong and a lot of people think that nothing gets to me but I’m very emotional

What is that one thing nobody knows about you?

I think a lot of people don’t know that I am emotional. I am very strong and a lot of people think that nothing gets to me but I’m very emotional. I actually cry a lot. I cry for silly things. I might be watching a movie and just burst into tears.

Do you watch your movies?

I hardly do, I don’t want to say I never do because obviously I have seen some of them. But I won’t intentionally watch my movie.

Do you still have a role you are looking forward to interpret?

Maybe the role of a super

Do you think if you hadn’t gotten married early you would have been married now?

I don’t think so, because I don’t think there is any man that can handle me apart from my husband. Not because I am a bad person, it is because I am a very strong personality. I can understand why a lot of female artistes find it very difficult to find the right person. When you achieve some kind of success, you become really confused as to who really loves you for who you are. It’s not really easy, it is very hard finding those people who really love you. If you are not a very grounded person, you can also contribute in some kind of way to your own problems and so I might have contributed to my own problems.

Is it your decision to remain married?

I am blessed, it’s a decision.

It is a very intentional decision, but it’s not at the expense of anything. It’s because it’s natural. I am happy.

What is your most expensive fashion item?

I don’t know and I don’t really care. I lost some expensive jewelries and my friends were freaking out. I don’t value those things, what I value is different.

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

PAGE 20, SUNDAY Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015 Onikoyi68@gmail.com

OFFICIAL NAIJA TOP TEN:

Patoranking snatches top spot from Mavins ... As Davido finally exits chart

P

atoranking celebrated his 25th birthday on Monday in high spirits as his smash hit “Daniella Whine” assumes this week’s number one position at the expense of “Looku Looku” by the Mavins which falls to the second spot after three weeks at number one. The song, which features a captivating soca-inspired video has been on the chart for just two weeks and has already amassed several hundred thousand views on YouTube.

In the week’s other big news, following six weeks on the chart, including three weeks at number one, Davido’s smash hit “The Sound” featuring Uhuru and DJ Buckz finally falls off the MTV Base Official Naija Top Ten chart this week. The song, which was at number four last week, surprisingly drops off the chart this week and it is replaced by P-Square’s “Collabo” featuring Don Jazzy, which made a surprise re-entry at number nine after falling off the chart last week.

This week’s episode features superstar rapper and producer Phyno who performed a verse from his hit track “Oringo”. The popular indigenous language lyricist sees his single “Oringo” remain at number three on the chart for the second week running on a chart which is largely unchanged from last week’s countdown.

•Patoranking

Charley Boy goes all weird again in new photo shoot

I want a standar not everyday typd show, know — Skales e we C

By KEHINDE AJOSE

ome Sunday, May 31 2015, (today) the Federal Palace Hotel,Victoria Island, Lagos, will be agog as Skales will be having his album launch concert in conjunction with Motbensonz Solutions. Following his success over the past years, Skales, who recently released his debut album titled Man of the Year, will team up with his friends and fellow entertainers to hold the biggest concert of the year.

Topping the list of artistes billed to perform at the concert are Davido, Timaya, Phyno, MC Galaxy, Victoria Kimani, Reekado Banks, Oritsefemi, Korede Bello, Aramide, GGB Dance Crew, CDQ and Attitude. Others include DJ Neptune, DJ Kaywise, DJ Nana, DJ Spicey, Ayo Jay, Fefe,Milli, Kenny Wonder and TJan. “Rehearsals have already begun.

This is the first time I am having a concert, and an album, so I want to beg my fans to please get the album and come out and support me on today.

People are going to be in for a shock, I’m rehearsing with dancers and with a live band because I want a standard show, not the same one we experience every day. I can not wait, I am nervous, but I know with God and my fans on my side, all will be well.”

C M Y K

V

eteran entertainer, Charly Boy Oputa certainly knows how to raise smoke without fire, at least he hasn’t hurt anyone with his way of life, regardless of anyone’s perception. He took to the Instagram again on Monday to release some photo shoots with his partner.

As they say, pictures speak louder than words.

Man Pikin gives his fans Love Portion

By KEHINDE AJOSE

T

•Skales

he hot and wave making Hip-Hop crooner Echezona Chukwudi Louis Egbosimba popularly known as Man Pikin has dropped a new single called Love Portion. ManPikin who hit the music scene with a raving hit tracks earlier in the year with Miracle time has said Love Portion featuring Solid star which was unveiled to the public recently is currently enjoying massive airplays.

The fast-rising artiste has also concluded the video shoot of the song and is optimistic that the new single will take the music scene by storm. Cull-Briz, the manager of Pave Music Records after the video shot said that Love portion is a hit everyone must have because of quality hands like Clarence Peters who handled the video production.

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

SUND AY SUNDA

C M Y K

Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015, PAGE 21

PAGE 22—SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015

Prologue

OH MUHAMMADU BUHARI!

Now, the challenge of change

BY JIDE AJANI CULTIVATED chaos! That is what Nigeria is today.

And that is what Muhammadu Buhari, President and Commander-in-Chief, has inherited. What would definitely compound Buhari’s problem are the number of things he cannot change. As at the time he was being sworn-in, last Friday, all he had were, 1461days to run his first term – one of the four years is a leap year. He cannot change that. The Nigerian Constitution says every state is entitled to one minister; Buhari cannot change that even though changing it would reduce the waste associated with the cost of governance.

Except the constitution can be amended within the first one month or as quickly as possible, some states may drag him to court for putting them at a disadvantage on account of not having their own ministerial slot. Though a few lawyers are arguing to the contrary, Buhari would not need the distraction that would bring.

There are many more things he can change.

Firstly, he can slash his ministers pay.

Buhari can also disinfect himself of some political contaminants.

The President can take decisions and stick to them in so far as he is convinced that it would guarantee the utmost good for the largest number of people without going outside the law to do those things.

The perception is that Nigeria has gone to the dogs because blind sentiment, cronyism, nepotism, greed and a culture of indolence in high places, have been packaged as a staple for the immediate past President who refused to see beyond his nose.

For Mr. President, an attempt at equitable distribution of political power would be a first step towards enthroning a regime of economic prosperity and political stability. That was where his predecessor failed. And that was why he did not realize that his style of administration had become an incubating contraption for disgruntlement and angst. Disgruntlement! Angst! These states of mind do not bode well for any system – be it the corporate world or the murkier platform of political governance. Jonathan created a situation whereby a few individuals became lords of the manor, poking fun at millions of Nigerians and further exacerbating a sense of loss.

Up until 16th century Britain and after, there were fierce, bloody battles over economic and political control, the seeds of which were sown centuries earlier. Because of the circumscription of the political space which was largely in the grip of the monarchy and political elites, consequently manifesting in the type of monopolistic economy of that era, nothing other than a stifling political atmosphere and an asphyxiating economic environment were created.

In their celebrated book, WHY NATIONS FAIL, The C M Y K

origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty, Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson reveal how, by 1621, there were 700 monopolies granted to a few business and political elites of that era.

Indeed, the English historian, Christopher Hill, reportedly put the choking and destructive dangers of a monopolistic economy: “A man lived in a house built with monopoly bricks, with windows… monopoly glass; heated by monopoly coal (In Ireland, monopoly timber); burning in a grate of monopoly iron …. He washed himself in a monopoly soap, his clothes in monopoly starch. He dressed in monopoly lace, monopoly linen, monopoly leather, monopoly gold thread…. His clothes were held up by monopoly belts, monopoly buttons, monopoly pins. They were dyed with monopoly dyes. He ate monopoly butter, monopoly currants, monopoly red herrings, monopoly salmon, and monopoly lobsters. His food was seasoned with monopoly salt, monopoly pepper, monopoly vinegar…. He wrote with monopoly pens, on monopoly writing paper; read (through monopoly spectacles, by the light of monopoly candles) monopoly printed books”.

Acemoglu and Robinson then concluded that “these monopolies, and many more, gave individuals or groups the sole right to control the production of many goods. They impeded the type of allocation of talent, which is so crucial to economic prosperity”.

It is gratifying to hear Buhari in his inaugural address declare: “I am for everyone and I belong to no one”. Either on the godfather front or on the ethnic or religious front, Buhari’s statement can be likened to John F. Kennedy’s “think not what your country can do for you, but think of what you can do for your country”.

Therefore, we are today offering Buhari a strategy of hope, as contained in a Washington Post Bestseller, POWER PLAY (Win or lose – how history’s great political leaders play the game, written by Dick Morris, Fox News Channel Political Analyst.

The book is a compelling read for President Buhari not because he must do as it says, but because he can learn to avoid the slipshod which ruined not a few men of power.

Examining 20 leaders as “early as Abraham Lincoln and as recent as Junichiro Koizumi, George Bush and Tony Blair”, Morris examines “how Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) and Winston Churchill succeeded and Lyndon Johnson failed in mobilizing their nations at a time of crisis.”

Noting that “politics is the pursuit of power and history is the story of that pursuit”, Morris insists that “there is nothing new in politics; there are only ingenious reinventions of the wheel”.

Therefore, Buhari would need a heavy dose of introspection in dealing with the multi-faceted challenges on the way to enthroning a regime of change.

In the power sector, energy sector, transport sector, health sector, education sector, security, water and other areas too numerous to mention, President Buhari has his work cut out for him. In doing

In the final analysis, there is a world of difference between the desire to accomplish and the capacity to deliver. That was where Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe 'Omorele' Jonathan missed the point – the great mismatch between his desire to perform and his ability to deliver. .

It is now left for Buhari to deliver – without excuses, might we add

SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015, PAGE 23

Past, present and future “Even God cannot change the past”, Agathon, 447-401 BC.

By DELE SHOBOWALE

RECOLLECTING THE PAST – 1984 T0 1985.

T

Nor should [he] listen to those who say, ‘The voice of the people is the voice of God’, for the turbulence of the mob is always close to insanity.... Nigerians have not elected Buhari for him to pamper us like spoilt kids; we have chosen him to lead the way to social justice and material prosperity. That should be his goal.

C M Y K

HE Chinese were only half right when they said that “nobody steps into the same river twice.” Nigeria which seems bent on disproving every universally accepted social theory has already experienced quite a few people stepping into the river twice – although a changed one. Obasanjo was a military Head of State and returned as a civilian president. Muhammadu Buhari was once a military leader, who returned on Friday as a civilian president.

We should not forget the immediate past Federal Minister for Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who came in 2003 to 2005 as Minister, left, and returned again from 2011 to 2015.

So, President Buhari is the third high profile individual in recent times to step into Nigeria’s turbulent river twice.

In the next four years, there might come occasions when he will feel like the late Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini, 1883-1945, who proclaimed that “Governing Italians is not impossible; it is merely useless.”

We pray it will never come to that.

But, if anybody can help Buhari avert disaster, apart from Almighty Allah, then that person is Muhammadu Buhari.

STAY AWAY FROM THE RECYCLE DUST BIN “The rate of change in our time is so swift that an individual of ordinary length of life will be called on to face novel situations which have no parallel in the past. The fixed person, for the fixed duties, who in the past, was such a God-send, will in the future, be a public danger.”

Alfred North Whitehead, 1861-1947. ow, we speak truth to power. The APC campaign was based on CHANGE. Yet only one significant change is necessary – people. That means the people you appoint to help you with your cardinal pro-

N

grammes. Both Obasanjo and Okonjo-Iweala illustrate the point of this essay. Depending on the perceived performance during the first tour of office, Nigerians, and, indeed, the global community create expectations which might be very difficult to satisfy. One plausible reason might lie in the fact that the country has changed since their first outing and they were not aware of it. They invariably rely on the people they were familiar with to help them solve new and/or different problems. Okonjo-Iweala as the Coordinating Minister for the Economy, CME, packed the Economic Management Team with the same people (Dangote, Otedola, GMD of leading banks etc) or clones of those she worked with u n d e r

Obasanjo.

Obasanjo’s first term as civilian president was a classic case of “Recycle Bin” approach to management of public affairs. Without listing all the participants let me name a few. Mallam Adamu Ciroma, T.Y. Danjuma, Bola Ige were among those “tested” hands who were invited on board.

But, the nation went nowhere.

It was not until the second term when fresh ideas came in that the nation had a sense of purpose.

Granted, it is ever tempting to want to go with those personally known; but they

might not be the best for the job. Bola Ige was an absolute failure as Minister of Power and paved the way for the calamities which followed in that sector.

CHANGE FOR WHAT? FROM WHAT? TO WHAT? “Most schemes of political improvement are very laughable things.”

Dr Samuel Johnson, 17091784 (October 26, 1769). he All Progressive Congress, APC, which you now lead, campaigned on the mantra of change. Quite noticeable, however, is the lack of specificity as to the content of the change programme. It is quite possible that not all the members of the APC, and certainly not the voters, have agreed on what they want changed and what direction the change process should follow. That is obvious from the numerous suggestions made by those who have indicated their preferences for the improvements they want to see made in governance. Some want corruption tackled first; others favour power; yet a segment want the focus to be placed on security and job creation. Left to the Nigerian Governors Forum, NGF, bailing out the states should be the top priority.

Each of these, as well as others not mentioned, deserves attention. But, any attempt to address all of them simultaneously will lead to paralysis of governance; it would amount to attempting to do too many things at once. So, the toughest decision for you will be one of selection of the three or four top priorities of your administration. That decision will answer the questions asked above.

Irrespective of your choices of intervention, bear in mind that even a change from bad to good or good to better still faces resistance from certain segments of society – those benefiting from the existing arrangement.

As Bernard Malamud had reminded us in THE FIXER, “In a sick country, every step to health is an insult to those who live on the sickness.” Nigeria, it is generally agreed is a sick country. But, there is no unanimity of v i e w s about the

T

Continues on page 24

PAGE 24—SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015

'Even God cannot change the past' Continued from 23 nature of the diseases; and no consensus on how to go about curing them.

GHOSTS FROM THE PAST “The man [Buhari] that is coming on board has a lot of experience in terms of governance.” Former President Obasanjo, PUNCH, May 25, 2015, p 8. he two of you have something in common.

Yo u w e r e b o t h m i l i t a r y heads of state who were later elected as civilian presidents. Add to that is the fact that you were both selected by political parties formed largely by others.

Like Obasanjo in 1999, you now have to take control of the APC and lead the party as well as the country. It w i l l n o t b e e a s y. U n d e r such circumstances it is easy to resort to measures taken in the past – political and economic. Permit me to leave matters social untouched for now. Instead, let me cast your mind back to the economic policies of your government in 1984-5.

Fate must really want to test your mettle because in 1984 you inherited an economy that was on its knees on account of plummeting crude oil prices and the profligacy of the Shagari administration.

Once again, in 2015, you are stepping up to receive from President Jonathan an economy back on its knees for mostly the same reasons. Nobody can fault you for thinking that your Fellow Nigerians never learn from history – even their own history.

Be that as it may, your economic policy in 1984-5 rested on three main pillars – severe austerity, countertrade and allocation of foreign currency (through the regime of Form M). Given space constraints, permit me to focus on foreign exchange allocation and the administration of Form M. Among others, Chief Ernest Shonekan, GCFR, a former Head of Government hims e l f, M r. O h i w e r i , C h i e f Olusegun Osunkeye and Chief Arthur Eze, representing, UAC of Nigeria, Nigerian Brewery Limited, Nestle and CFAO, among others will be my witnesses.

The administration of Form M, shorthand for foreign exchange allocation in 1984/85, unknown to you was riddled with corruption. Although you were not known to have benefited

T

C M Y K

•From left, Obasanjo, Yar 'Adua, Jonathan.... Men of the past

materially from the frauds perpetrated, they undermined your positive economic policies – which are too numerous to discuss now. Form M administration and the problems associated with it resulted in “ We a l t h w i t h o u t w o r k ” (Ghandi, 1869-1948) on a grand scale and denied industry of the life-blood needed to survive the downturn.

Fortunately, the allocations to various organizations were published in the Daily Times and are fully recorded in the archives, they would reveal that UAC, which at the time was the largest conglomerate in the country, Nigeria n B r e w e r y, t h e l a r g e s t brewery, Nestle the largest food manufacturer and C FA O a l l r e c e i v e d l e s s than half the foreign exchange allocation given to small businesses – some without office addresses – who turned around and to legitimate businesses at great profits to them. I was in North Brewery, Kano, at the time and I know how we made up part of the shortfall in our foreign exchange requirements. All these were major employers of labor at the time.

One Minister went from being the owner of a Peugeot 504 to jet owner in the s h o r t p e r i o d - “ We a l t h without work”.

To the obvious question: why were these nefarious activities not reported by the media? The answer is: Decree 4 which made it a crime to embarrass a government official even if the report was true. No journalist or newspaper could report the scam when telling the truth had been criminalized.

What is the point of all these? Simple! Times have

changed and the media is stronger and not so easily intimidated. For Buhari to save himself from saboteurs within his government, and maintain his reputation for integrity, he must pay attention to media reports about malfeasance by those he appoints to office. Unless he can ensure that the officers of 2015-2019 are better disciplined than those of 1984/ 5, his best intentions will only pave the highway to another hell for Nigerians.

Instead of the undisguised hostility he had for the media in the 1980s, he must now embrace them because they will constitute his army of whistle blowers helping to keep corruption in check within his government. He would be making a monumental mistake to think that all his officials share his view about honesty. To use the language of the 1980s, there is no alternative to Buhari getting closer to the media – they are (at least most) not his enemies.

They want the best for their country; just as he does.

LEADERSHIP STYLE FOR A TROUBLED DEMOCRACY Nor should [he] listen to those who say, ‘The voice of the people is the voice of God’, for the turbulence of the mob is always close to insanity, Alcuin, 735804 (slightly modified).

It is probably presumptuous to try telling a 72year old leader how to set about his duties. One is conscious of the saying that, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” That may be so. But, it is also true that for effective leaders learning is a life long experience. At any rate, the experience Obasanjo re-

ferred to was in a different setting. Military dictatorships and democracies are miles apart. For Buhari this is a new experience. He runs the risk of bending over backwards too much as to become Nigeria’s Dwight Eisenhower, 18901969, the American General and Commander of the Allied Forces during World War II, who later became a lackluster President. America could survive a poor president in the 1950s to early 1960s because strong institutions were already firmly established. Nigeria in 2015 cannot now afford a weak President. We just went through eight years of indecisive leadership; and the horrors we now experience cannot continue for long before we join the ranks of failed states.

Although he was elected into office by the people, Buhari still needs to retain some amount of the toughness which generals must have to win wars. The professional politicians in APC will want him to pander to the wishes “of the people” – whoever they are. He should resist.

Instead, like Mandela, he should take the attitude that, “There are times when a leader must move ahead of the flock, go off in a new direction, confident that he is leading his people the right way.”(VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, p 124).

Elections are popularity contests; post-election leadership is not.

Nigerians have not elected Buhari for him to pamper us like spoilt kids; we have chosen him to lead the way to social justice and material prosperity.

That should be his goal.

Irrespective of your choices of intervention, bear in mind that even a change from bad to good or good to better still faces resistance from certain segments of society – those benefiting from the existing arrangement.

SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015, PAGE 25

BUHARI SPEAKS ON LAWLESSNESS

‘We will get you…even if you have immunity’ F

rom March 26, a Thursday, and some 48 hours before the 2015 presidential election, Sunday Vanguard, working in close collaboration with the Publicity Directorate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Campaign Organisation, and specifically the Director, Mallam Garba Shehu, we kept tab on the activities of the President and Commander-in-Chief (as President-elect). Yes, there have been one or two interviews with President Muhammadu Buhari, but when you compile the random thoughts of a President-in-waiting, it goes with the Biblical saying that “from the fullness of the heart, the mouth speaks”, and it presents a broader perspective because, unlike the structured strictures of an interview setting, these random thoughts were devoid of the sometimes stifling interview setting which makes an individual more guided and guarded in response.

From Buhari’s pre-election expectations, to the sound bites from his residence and his views immediately after the election, Sunday Vanguard has packaged the views of Nigeria’s fifth executive President for your reading pleasure .

BY LEVINUS NWABUGHIOGU

we will make sure that we get cooperation from the judiciary so that people who worked against the law are prosecuted, especially those who have lost their immunity, even those who think they have immunity because this is the best way to stabilize the system. People must not benefit from being lawless

C M Y K

My belief in the Nigerian Constitution According to the Nigerian Constitution, when you lose an election, you may go to court. I was there three times and ended up in the Supreme Court. Sometimes, people wonder why I tried so hard. I tried so hard because it is a system I believe in. I believe that multi- party democratic system is the best form of governance with a big caveat that election must be free and fair.

Really, this is why I am in it.

I was in APP. I joined partisan politics in April 2002 and, on that date, at my ward, I said that those who knew me, and myself, following my career and antecedents in the military, if I tell people that I will participate in partisan politics, people would not believe it and I will not also believe it. But I found myself in it and I never turned back.

Within one year, APP gave me the ticket. There were governors, senators and much older people than me, but all the same, I got the ticket. I lost; I was in court for 30 months.

In 2007, we tried to have a limited merger and became ANPP and again, I participated and was told I lost.

I went to court for 20 months

up to the Supreme Court and I felt that my party was not fair to me. While I was in court, the leadership of the party proceeded and took two marginal ministries in the late Yar ’Adua’s cabinet and an Adviser. For that disgraceful behavior by the party leadership, I left the party and we floated the CPC. Again, I attempted in 2011 and lost and, again, I was in court for about eight months and I contested now for the fourth time on APC’s platform having successfully gone through with the merger of the three legacy parties.

Why I love the Smart Card Reader I think that 2015 will go down in Nigeria’s political history as a glorious year. Nigerians have deliberately understood what multi-party democracy is. But we thank God for technology PVC and Card Reader. If not, this luck we had with technology and the insistence of constituencies to make sure they are used, in the two geopolitical zones where they were subverted, the people wanted to vote, but they were not allowed to vote.

They continued with what they used to do in their party offices or their sitting rooms, write the result, go to the radio house and television house and announce the result and say whoever does not want the result should go to court.

How many people can go to court when they are struggling to get the next day’s meal?

Where will they get the millions to give to those Senior Advocates of Nigeria? I was able to do it because of the goodwill of Nigeria which again demonstrated itself this year.

People agreed that I am not a very rich man, but I was lucky that Nigerians believed in me and they put their strength together, voted and made sure that their votes counted. I say thanks to the technology.

How I became a born-again democrat I will tell you what made me a multi-party democrat. In 1991, after coming out of detention, I was sitting at home and the Soviet Union collapsed. They were the world power fighting the western world. They had more sophisticated weapons, but something happened.

There was confusion and everybody went away. Today, there’re 18 countries in the former Soviet Union. That was when I believed that multiparty democratic system is a superior form of governance and that is why I joined democracy.

I am in politics to fight corruption, insecurity and unemployment Now the records are very clear. Anybody who wants to

study the political development of Nigeria cannot do without getting the Supreme Court’s judgments of those years, 2003, 2007 and 2011. If you could recall, in 2007, the Supreme Court was split into two. A panel of six justices was divided. One group, led by Justice Oguntade, a Christian, a Yoruba man, including Justice Aloma Mukthar, I think she’s a Muslin but a Yoruba woman and another justice from Delta State, said that election of 2007 was null and void because it was not conducted according to law.

But the former Chief Justice, Mustapha, a Fulani man from Jigawa and another justice from Taraba, also a Fulani man, said the election was not flawless but, all the same, PDP won and then the Chief Justice cancelled the votes with them; so it was four against three.

The point I want to make here is that the problem of Nigeria is not ethnic or religious. You know what it is.

Corruption is number three on my campaign list. The first one is security. In the NorthEast and the Niger Delta, people are kidnapped and ransom is demanded. This is unacceptable. The second one is unemployment. 60 percent of Nigerians are youths; most of them, whether they went to school or not, are unemployed

Continues on page 26

PAGE 26—SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015

‘W e will get yyou…e ou…e ou ha ‘We ou…evven if yyou havve immunity’ Continued from 25 and that is dangerous.

We have to get the issue of the economy right to make sure jobs are made available and we should try to kill corruption before corruption kills Nigeria.

Let us practice what we preach as well. Whoever wins as a governor too has a lot of work to do because corruption is fast becoming a culture.

My biggest message The biggest message is to try and persuade the people that it is not possible to change the state of affairs now. It took 16 years to get to that state of affairs. Nigeria earned more revenue during that period than what it earned from 1914 to 1999.

We used to have Nigeria Airways, Nigerian National Shipping Line, Nigeria Railway. Where are they now?

Where is the infrastructure that is commensurate with what we earned in-between, what is on ground? That is how efficiently the PDP managed Nigeria in the last 16 years.

We have inherited all the problems Now we have invariably inherited all the problems, especially in the North-East. I am sure that you have heard or seen the children recovered from Sambisa forest. Only the children and women are remaining while all the ablebodied have been gotten rid of somehow. Some have been taken to Adamawa State to be resettled. A generation has been denied education and health care. Infrastructure is gone.

You can imagine what is happening on the high seas where up to 400,000 barrels of crude oil is stolen everyday with cooperation from those who are supposed to protect it.

Meanwhile oil price has gone down and 90 percent of foreign exchange we rely on comes from that.

Nigerians must temper their expectations Nigerians must know that we have virtually arrived at the wrong time and that they have to temper their expectation with some justice towards the leadership. I think whatever has to be deployed, especially in the churches and mosques, this is the quickest way to communicate this to the ordinary people. The people must be reminded of all the things I said in all the states I visited..

Obama’s phone call gave me relief One of t h e C M Y K

reliefs I got was the telephone call I got from the President of the United States. I could feel the relief in his voice because Americans are people of conscience. Forget about religion, colour and development, they are people of conscience because they have reached a stage where they have stabilized their society and they are relatively secured materially, physically and in virtually every aspect of life.

They know we were in danger.

Everybody was saying Nigeria was going to the dogs in 2015, but even beyond our expectations, we have managed to sail through and we say thanks to technology for the PVC and the Card Reader because the whole exercise of writing the result, announcing them and asking losers to go to court does not make any difference. Those who defended the PVC and Card Reader made this change possible On defection: There will be justice in APC n a multi-party democratic system, fundamentally, it is the number that matters to the people. But to the party, what matters is the ability to manage the number so that the majority will have its way and there will be justice. No matter what remains of the PDP on May 29, there will be justice in APC. For those coming into the APC, I have no fear because we have structure. The fact that you were a party Chairman or minister before you joined the APC, we appreciate that you remain relevant in your immediate locality.

With majority of members of the National Assembly and Houses of Assembly in the states coming from our party, it means that it is with the agreement of their constituencies that the Federal Government has the power that

I

it has. If the Federal Government is insisting on accountability and being responsible, even if they go back to their constituencies, there is nothing they can do about the decision of the government. We are banking on that. I will give you an example of my state, Katsina. In 2011, the CPC won all the senatorial and 13 out of the 15 House of Representatives seats but lost the governorship. Who did the elections? Did people from space come for the elections?

That is the bad thing about lack of cohesion in a party.

Leadership at all levels must work in concert. Otherwise, what Katsina suffered, any state or the centre can suffer same.

Those who were chief executives from local governments and states will be encouraged to work together.

So, those that are coming in, I hope they will accept that they are coming to join those already on ground and cooperate with them. They can’t come and say that because they were once ministers under PDP, they will join APC and become ministers the following month or so. I don’t think that will be acceptable even by their constituencies.

Things must just change It is a difficult time for Nigerians as you all know. I have said that in the last 16 years, Nigeria has never realised the amount of revenue i t received. A barrel of crude oil rose to about 140 dollars and then crashed to about 50 dollars.

During the 16 years, we know some big organisations t h a t employed a lot of Nigerians and gave t h e m training like the Nigeria Airways, N i g e r i a National Shipping

Line. Even Nigeria Railway is managing to be on paper with some refurbished engines moving from Lagos to Ibadan and a few other places. If you go to their stations all over the country, you will realise that it is in a terrible shape. The important thing in a country with a huge population, with youths, more than 60 percent of them under the age of 30, who are unemployed, you need these institutions to give jobs and training to Nigerians. It is very disappointing that the PDP government virtually failed to use those resources to make sure that the economy continued to grow in a sustainable way. I think the worst thing is the lack of accountability and the terrible budgetary system.

Imagine that over 90 percent of the Nigerian budget is on recurrent. How can you sustain development in a developing country like Nigeria with only 10 percent of your income? Things just have to change. There must be more money available for infrastructure, for investment in getting the factories back, employment and getting goods and services for the population. I think the sins of PDP will be coming out for several years to come.

People must not benefit from being lawless I will like to work within the system because we believe in it. I have spoken about three governors and the battle they had with the law enforcement agents in their states. We discussed and I advised them to try and document these things so that they can be taken before the court, and we will make sure that we get cooperation from the judiciary so that people who worked against the law are prosecuted, especially those who have lost their immunity, even those who think they have immunity because this is the best way to stabilize the system. People must not benefit from being lawless.

You can’t be in a position by virtue of the Constitution, subvert the Constitution and continue to enjoy the privileges offered by the Constitution. I don’t think that will be acceptable by the APC. So, whether you are in the opposition or the government, you have to behave.I think that is the way we can make progress.

They can’t come and say that because they were once ministers under PDP, they will join APC and become ministers the following month or so. I don’t think that will be acceptable even by their constituencies.

SUNDAY

I

nspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Ehigiator Arase, in this interview, says policing Nigeria effectively is not about large numbers or building of a big technological operation laden with big machinery, but about tact, thinking out of the box and applying available, easy to acquire technology as well as training and motivating the manpower.

With security challenges and criminality facing the nation, what should the citizenry expect under your watch?

BY KINGSLEY OMONOBI

I

I have already directed that on no account should anybody be invited to any police station when you don’t have sufficient evidence; if you have the evidence and you confront the person within 48 hours, you should be able to make up your mind if the truth is being told or you should keep the person in custody.

C M Y K

have come in at a very defining moment in our national life and I know that the expectations are high.

I have been in the system for quite some time too, and I have been in very strategic positions in the force. The Nigeria Police houses the best you can have in the system, but I think that what we have not been able to do over the years is to build on the capacity of our officers. So, one of the areas I am very interested in is trying to desegregate our needs assessment and look at the areas where we should lay emphasis on, and give my officers training that would make them perform; be it administration operations, investigation or intelligence.

Whichever of those areas we want to look at, we should be able to develop the capacity of the officers to deliver on their mandate. The other area is our relationship and the public perception of the Nigeria Police. We have a negative public perception, whether rightly or wrongly. Perception is a subjective issue, but there are some certain things that members of the public expect a good policeman to do. They would not want a police officer to be corrupt; they would want him to be civil; they would want him to be polite; they would want him to treat Nigerians with respect. And if the tax payers feel their money is spent on you as of right, they will demand a lot of things from you. At the same time, we will be able to see how we can connect with the community.

There is no police force in the world that can perform without information from members of the community. So you must be able to win the confidence of the community for you to be able to get that information. I think it’s going to be a two way thing; we want to look at our society, all the strategic stakeholders, the non-state actors and say, ‘look, this is your police force, you cannot go and bring a police force from anywhere else in the world’.

If you look at policing in Europe, America or Britain, they have gone through this process of redefining, remodelling and it’s not a fixed thing. Members of the public should also learn to be very patient with the police. I will give you an example. Maybe a murder case occurs.

Nigerians are very anxious for the police to get it resolved and they don’t take into consideration the limitations

that police are working with.

When you talk about the depth of the average policeman, the professionalism, it is not enough for him to confront the issues he is dealing with especially since there is no technical platform to back it up.

If you go through central London in a period of maybe three to four hours, you are captured within the system, and in case anything happens, it’s just to zero in there. That is why the Metropolitan Police has 90 percent success rate in terms of homicide cases because you cannot do it and escape the eagle eye of their surveillance system.

Intelligence is key and I don’t want a situation where people are detained unnecessarily. I expect that my policemen are sufficiently trained to say if a case is reported to them they are able to gather evidential proof. In bank robberies for example, you can get records from the banks or corporate affairs; you assemble these things before you invite suspects. That way you limit the pre-trial detention period of suspects because if you invite somebody and keep him in custody and then start looking for evidence, the period you have kept him there is very long and the relations come and start asking for bail. Once they start asking for bail, the corruption circle is enabled because to grant that bail you start putting conditions here and there. In the final analysis, money changes hands. So those areas where I know are capable of exposing my officers to corruption, I want to remove them from the system. I have already directed that on no account should anybody be invited to any police station when you don’t have sufficient evidence; if you have the evidence and you confront the person within 48 hours, you should be able to make up your mind if the truth is being told or you should keep the person in custody.

What do you have to say on the belief that compared to Nigeria’s population, the number of policemen is small and equipment not enough?

You can never have sufficient policemen to police 170 million Nigerians. People always brag about the United Nations ratio.

Even that one you can only situate it against societies that already have a very good technical platform like the one i talked about in the USA and Britain. We don’t have the technical platform, so no matter what people try to do now, what

Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015, PAGE 27

Days of corrupt officers are over – IGP Arase •In the new era, technology – driven men will police Nigeria •How we are filling the vacuum created by the abolition of road blocks' you do is feasibility policing; your ability to do prediction policing where you position your men strategically so that you give that psychological reassurance that the society is b e i n g policed. For Abuja for example, instead of dotting t h e whoe l

streets with police officers, you can position strategically so that anywhere you go or by the time you are driving from Shehu Shagari Way to the other place, you see them at the junction; you go the other way, you see them at a junction; it does not presuppose that you have sufficient manpower and there is no police force in the world that would ever say they have sufficient manpower to police and that is why community partnership in policing is very, very important to win the

confidence of the community; when you do that, half of your job is done. Somebody sees a person who has packed for a long period in a lonely street or somewhere, he picks a phone and calls the nearest police officer. But here most of us don’t care, as far as it does not affect you.

During your maiden address to police officers, you

Continues on page 28

PAGE 28—SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015

Continued from 27 emphasized the use of technology. How do you intend to achieve this with the cash crunch facing the Federal Government?

I will give you an example. I set up the intelligence laboratory in the Nigeria Police.

The intelligence department had become moribund after about 30 years of the excision of the NSO to form what you now know as the State Security Service (SSS). Since then, we have not been able to emplace a department to drive policing through predictive concept and it took us about two years to redirect what intelligence is all about. My ability to train the officers to know that they can always ascertain the trends and patterns of crime, crime mappings in their various states and divisions and area commands has improved investigation a lot. For instance, as I sit down here, with the intelligence department that we set up some 2 years ago, we can give you statistics of kidnapping cases, the manpower wastages by operational loses; we can locate and tell you where those crimes are prevalent; what are the types of crimes that are prevalent in those areas. When we talk about technology, you think about warehousing a big building like this with heavy machines. It is not so, it is about thinking outside the box. We said we were going to set up intelligence lab, we got a server, we got computer systems, we trained the men, we gave them phones, put them on Skype. o all my information collectors in all the states of the federation, once they get information, they send it to me and it hits my intelligence lab.

The intelligence lab., the boys there who analyse start drawing the graphs, putting it in intelligible form so that if you are going to my office, you can see it being expressed both graphically and otherwise. So, when you talk about technology driving this thing, it is not about something too big, it’s about the mindset of the officers who are going to operate the system. If crime has become scientific and technological, then the response to it is for the officers who are supposed to respond to it to be mentally mobile. They should be in a situation where they should be able to think outside the box. The technology I am talking about is very simple. We migrated from intelligence laboratory, from finger printing, in a short while, into an automated system where we want to give you your character certificate. What does it cost us? A laptop, a camcorder, the biometric machine. I now said how many cases do they report in the force on a daily basis; on a weekly basis?; because when I came I said ‘you are not going to investigate land cases; commercial transactions; you are not going to investigate civil cases

S

C M Y K

•Vehicles for Police efficiency

In the new era, technology – driven men will police Nigeria – IGP Arase because those are the areas you carry people, you lock them up and another person is somewhere demolishing the person’s house especially in Lagos’. Reform is something people always react negatively to, the men there, some of them went haywire; they wrote some newspapers. I have asked them not to move anywhere to go and investigate cases. I said I am going to open a case tracking and analysis centre. I got the UNODC to fix the thing there.

So, for any case that is reported, I endorse it to them, to go into that case tracking and analysis data base centre. On weekly basis, as they complain I was not allowing them to do cases, I would roll out the statistics of the cases given to the SFU, the federal SARS, general investigation and ask them to give me the report on those cases because it is not enough for you to take a case, obtain statement from the complainant, obtain statement from the suspect, you release him on bail, you close the file and keep it somewhere. We insisted that all cases, whether you are going to categorise them as malicious, vexatious or something that can be prosecuted, must be carried out to their conclusion and technology is there in the Force CID, in the intelligence department. So when i talk about platform, it is not something that you conjure from the moon. The small technology that you need to perform effectively as a police officer is easy to access.

Road blocks are a recurring decimal as far as the Nigeria Police is concerned. How do you intend to deal with this?

I have dismantled them. I have set up a taskforce with 12

vehicles for the six geo-political zones that are co-terminus with the ones that have been supervised by the various DIGS and all I have asked them to do is a very simple task, ‘I pay your bills, I gave you the vehicle, I fuel it and you go there wherever you see those road blocks, remove them from the highway and just note where they are and hold the commissioner of police responsible’ because I have already directed I will hold the Area Commander responsible and I will hold the Divisional Police Officer responsible.

Secondly, they are supposed to go to the cells to inquire when people kept there were arrested, for what offence, how long have they been there, do they meet the prosecutors’ standard of keeping those people in our facilities. We don’t intend to harass any policeman on the highway but you just have to say that these things are point of corruption. And corruption is intolerable, but then we are not saying we are going to leave the public space vacant, we have the Federal Highway Patrol which all the state commissioners are supposed to oversee. So, in case of distress, the vacuum that may have been created by the removal of those road blocks, we have vehicles that have been given to all state commands, and I have also asked them to give me where those vehicles are located so that if there is any serious crime on any highway, I hold the commissioner who said he has deployed on those highway responsible. You cannot remove road blocks and say you are not going to police; it is our statutory responsibility to police

the public space.

On equipping the police, the economic downturn that is outside is something I cannot speak about. I can only articulate the needs of the police but I don’t have the resources directly. We have other departments that oversight the police, the Ministry of Police Affairs, the Senate Committee; the Police Service Commission is for recruitment and discipline. Operationally, it’s outside the way but the ones that impinge directly on the operational capacity of the police is the ministry because they are the ones who keep our money as oversight function.

On corruption, a policeman is corrupt because he is not sure of the future. If he thinks that his future is not guaranteed, the tendency to be corrupt is high and also don’t forget that corruption is pathological. Once you are corrupt, if I put you where they distribute stationery, you will still steal it. We have areas where we can touch the lives of our officers especially the rank and file, we have a cooperative society, we have mortgage institution; we have the microfinance bank to dispense welfare programmes.

In our works department, we have been able to attract the best brains we can get from the system; there are quantity surveyors, there are civil engineers. Now we have an investment department; why can’t we get finance from our mortgage institution and the cooperative society and do direct labour stuff? Now we are going to build some houses for our workforce. We are thinking about two-bedroom apartment somewhere where they would not have to pay N2.5-N3 million if it is direct labour. We also have a scholarship scheme for children of the rank and file. If you have bright children, we can give scholarship to not more than two of them in police secondary school or any other place you want them to go to; the Turkish International School has given us a slot too. There are small things you can use to motivate your workforce.

And corruption is intolerable, but then we are not saying we are going to leave the public space vacant, we have the Federal Highway Patrol which all the state commissioners are supposed to oversee.

So, in case of distress, the vacuum that may have been created by the removal of those road blocks,

SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015, PAGE 29

Our peace, unity agenda for President Buhari

don’t have peace, there will be no country.

So, this capital, the n e w administration needs to take advantage of it, to do more to promote this peace, because with the problem of Boko Haram, the problem of regional suspicion, t r i b a l suspicion, this is key to future development.

No matter which way you look at it, whether from the PDP point of view or from APC point of view or from the point of view of the collective

– Primate Okoh of Anglican Church

•Says Jonathan is a very religious leader

By Caleb Ayansina

T

he Primate, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), the Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh, is also the Chairman of the Christian Pilgrims Commission. In this interview, he speaks on the Jonathan administration and the expectations of Nigerians from the Buhari government. Excerpts:

So, there is need to take advantage of this political capital of peace and go forward to do more to achieve unity of our people, because right now there is tension; when you talk about ethnic issue; ethnicity, tribalism, there is tension.

C M Y K

Why was it necessary for your church to host a farewell service for former President Goodluck Jonathan?

The service was a package and our intention was to say ‘go into the future with God’. If you don’t leave God out of your journey, He will help you; that is the main issue about that service. ‘That election has failed you, you are likely to be disappointed in your friends and colleagues; perhaps in your political associates; you may even be disappointed in Nigerians. The whole thing is that, you are going forward into the future, whatever may be the circumstance, probably you have money or you don’t have money, whatever may be your situation, God will not fail if you stick to Him’. So, we were asking him (Jonathan) to go into this uncertain future with God, who is certain.

Were you led by the Holy Spirit or any information to prophesy into Jonathan’s life?

No! I didn’t have any information. When you are in a particular place, you get trapped; it was like that to me when I was in the Army. I never thought that one day I will use my hand to apply, to say I wanted to go on voluntary retirement. In the Army, we were used to end of the year promotion for those entitled to it; after that, there is what they called career review and posting. These three things were always there at the end of the year for people serving in the military.

That year, I was already thinking about these three issues when I got a letter. I was in office and they said Episcopal Synod met in Abuja, and they gave me a letter to Asaba to go and be a bishop. I had two days to reply, whether I will go or not.

That was a situation i did not plan for. That is kind of situation I saw in that man (Jonathan) that day, and I said, ‘God does not fail people. If you have enough faith to go forward into the future, you will not be disappointed. At the moment, definitely, leaving the office of

the president, people will be saying you failed election now ’. What is there to congratulate somebody who has failed election? But if you go by faith, you are likely, after about six months, one year, begin to realise that there is life outside the State House.

President Jonathan was surrounded by great men of God and now it has come to the level that everybody was sympathising with him. Will you say all their efforts were in vain?

Looking at it from a human point of view you can say that, but looking at it from a spiritual point of view, God sees the end from the beginning. He takes the whole thing as a linear scale, not a pocket of an issue.

His life has a programme, every one of us has a programme with God and we won’t spend one day longer or one day left.

So, that aspect of his destiny has been fulfilled, he has been in the State House. He has to move on to the next subject, that next subject is what I don’t know. I have seen that in my own life and I know it is so in your own life.

When you complete an assignment and God sees that there is no more need for you to be there, you move on in your own interest and in the interest of the larger community. It is not because you have lobbied very well or you have not lobbied very well, it just happened that the time is up.

People criticised men of God around Mr President for involving in politics. Did it occur to you that they were on the excessive side in their conduct in that regard?

From my own angle, the work of the Church is to provide a prophetic guidance. The work of leading a nation is a serious job; if you have a perception that this is the way this man ought to go, you have a duty to make it known to him. Whether he takes it or not is another matter. If you check the Bible, the prophets made their views known. But in most cases these views were not taken; in that

case, you have played the role of a watchman, you see what is happening and what is coming, and you say ‘this thing is likely to happen….. if you don’t do this……’

After you have left, they say ‘don’t mind that man, he is a mad man’. Or ‘he does not know what is doing’. That is not your problem; your problem is to release what has been revealed to you. And when you have done that, you go back to your base; you don’t force anybody to do what you have said, because the choice to disobey God is there for human beings.

The good thing is that there is a blessing if you obey and there is a consequence if you disobey. That is the Deuteronomy way of putting it.

How do you assess the relationship between the Jonathan - led administration and clerics?

Seriously speaking, Jonathan is somebody who loves the Bible. You can see that it is not an accident; his mother is always there in the church, even for morning devotion. He has the privilege of a very deeply committed mother on the issue of godliness.

So, how much he himself has taken that as a way of life can be seen in his early morning devotion no matter how hectic.

He really tried as president to follow it; it is not everybody with the schedule of government office who will deny himself food or drink and all that.

Then, in terms of Christian principle, he tried to look at people with regard. He has a very large heart for people who have offended him, people you can say he ought to take a pound of flesh from.

What area do you want the new administration to focus on?

First and foremost, there is what I consider a theological and political capital that there is peace after Jonathan conceded defeat after the election. It is a theological and political capital in the sense that where it does not exist, there will be no country. If you

smaller parties, peace is essential, and so, this capital must be properly understood, properly utilised, so that Nigeria can go forward.

It could be ignored, undervalued or properly valued, depending on the way they are looking at it. But the presence of that capital is not in doubt, and it is a major capital for further development of this country. This is the peace that had been brought in by the behaviour of President Jonathan.

Second is the issue of the unity of the country. No matter what you want to do for Nigeria, if there is no unity, they just look at you with suspicion, it will not go forward.

So, there is need to take advantage of this political capital of peace and go forward to do more to achieve unity of our people, because right now there is tension; when you talk about ethnic issue; ethnicity, tribalism, there is tension. Some people feel safe, while some feel insecure. What is programme for reassuring everyone that you belong? This is the main issue, after that, other issues like electricity, education, food, etc. can come.

All these are secondary.

Primarily, they should focus on peace and oneness.

What is your message to the new government on the call that religious bodies should pay tax?

The Church is a registered charity organisation. What is bringing the issue of taxation is the one-man ownership of some churches. Since the Church is a charity organisation, there is no need to pay tax. But if the Church has an establishment that generates income, such a Church should pay tax on its business entity to government.

There should be a way of regulating ownership of churches. The Jonathan administration has given the mandate to CAN and NSCIA. If any of these organisations has hotels, schools and other outfits like bakery, we have to pay tax.

PAGE 30—SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015

By Bilesanmi Olalekan

POWER SHIFT STORY

How we sent Jonathan back to Otuoke – Coomasie •'Against our advice, Obasanjo imposed Yar'Adua as president' •Raises questions on the sacking of IGP Abba Suleiman

Alhaji Ibrahim Ahmad Coomasie, a former Inspector General of Police, is also the Chairman of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF).

In this interview, he narrates the story of the return of power to the North and the role his group, among others, played in stopping President Goodluck Jonathan's re-election bid, thereby sending him from the Presidential Villa back to his Bayelsa village, Otuoke.

Coomasie faults the sacking of the immediate past IGP, Suleiman Abba. He also speaks on how former President Olusegun Obasanjo imposed a 'terminally ill'

By Bilesanmi Olalekan Umaru Yar'Adua as president against advice.

T

After the eight years of Obasanjo administration, he wanted to stop the presidency from returning to the North. And that is why he wanted another term that we all now know to be third term

C M Y K

he Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, objected to the manner the Federal Government sacked the immediate past Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba. Why? You have come, as usual, in your subjective manner of asking question. You said the man was sacked. If he was sacked, it portrayed negativity.

Having said that, our concern in ACF is that we want to know what he did to merit the sack.

Nobody has said anything about that and you are asking me why are we raising objection to his sack? I told a television station in Kaduna that it was abnormal. Why he alone and what has he done? If he has done anything wrong, we need to be told, the country has the right to know what he has done.

Nobody has said anything and why at this time? Did you are preparing for hand over to another administration? Did the out-going president take him into confidence before the sack?

Was due process followed? Was he asked to explain his conduct?

Or they just announced that he was sacked? Sack means removal for misconduct. Was. If he did something wrong, of course, he should be sacked. We are used to regime; when a government is changed, everybody goes with the out going-government, nobody raises eye-brow, but this person was picked and sacked. Why was he sacked? He is not due for retirement yet. Tell us what he has done to warrant being sacked.

Some adduced the sack to political reasons?

Are they right? Have they evidence to prove it? The simplest thing is for the government to tell us what Suleiman has done for him to be sacked or compulsory retired.

But in all previous actions of the Federal Government, it never explained why it sacked any of the I.Gs? They do. Things come out.

Circumstance dictates such. But in this, there was nothing outward to suggest that there was something wrong with this Inspector General of Police. This is a man the American government praised for his role in the

conduct of the general elections? And this is the man you just sacked without any reason.

So the ACF is against the sack?

No, we are not against the sack, we only want to know why he was removed.

What kind of person is Suleiman Abba, you knew him while you were in service?

Yes, I knew him as a young officer. When I left the police, he was ADC to the First Lady.

But I knew his progress till he became a lawyer. And I know he has been working very well.

But he has been removed.

Aliyu Attah, a former I.G, said frequent change of guard in the police leaves room for inefficiency?

Yes, he is right. It disrupts continuity in the police. I did six years on the job. From 1993 to 1999. I was with (Ernest) Shonekan, (General Sani) Abacha and(General Abubakar) Abdulsalam. It was IBB that appointed me I.G before he stepped aside.

You predicted last November that the presidency was returning to the North via the general elections of 2015. What did you see that we didn’t see at that time?

There was nothing I saw that you didn’t see. I only gave you the analysis of events in the region. I never made any prediction. I told you then of the agreement in 1998 that brought in(General Olusegun) Obasanjo to power. The agreement was that it would be eight years each between the South and the North. After the eight years of Obasanjo administration, he wanted to stop the presidency from returning to the North.

And that is why he wanted another term that we all now know to be third term.

•Coomasie

And all hands were on deck to checkmate him. And you knew what he did after his failed attempt to get a third term to get another northerner to succeed him. Some of us believe that he didn’t want a northerner to take over from him. That was why he did what he did. We mentioned names of possible people being touted at that time to succeed him in the interviews I granted at that time, I don’t need to start mentioning the names again. But eventually they got someone who was ill,

his illness was terminal, and he was pushed hard during the campaign, collapsed in Abuja, is it not so? And he was rushed to Germany. Even while in Germany, Obasanjo called him and was asking, ‘Umoru, are you dead?’ But he survived it.

He returned home, won the election. Two years into his tenure, nature took its course.

Going by the constitution, if for whatever reason the president is not able to perform his function or he is removed, his deputy would take over. There were no qualms about it.

Jonathan took over and he was sworn in immediately. He completed the first tenure which was supposed to be a northern tenure. And then later, he said he wanted to continue. Some of us said it and it was widely reported. I said he should be magnanimous to say 'okay, the first tenure is finished, another northerner, come and complete the second term'. But, he

Continues on page 31

SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015, PAGE 31

‘A gainst all advice, Obasanjo imposed ‘Against Yar’A dua as President’ ar’Adua

•Coomasie Continued from Page 30 didn’t. I, even said if he had, he could have been a hero. But he didn’t, he said he wanted second term and won. He completed the second term, making two terms. Then, suddenly, he said he wanted to run for another term. The constitution provided for four years of two terms. He was part of the first term.

But he was just part...

(Cuts in) Let us leave that to legal interpretation. Would he do ten years or would he, if he had won, terminate his tenure midway and give out the remaining two years to the North?. I also told you that the purpose of government is security and welfare of the people. I said since this outgoing administration took over government, there has been escalation of insurgency in the country especially in the NorthEast. Thousands of people have been killed and property destroyed. Schools destroyed.

Chibok students were kidnapped and, up till today, we are yet to see them. They have not been returned to their parents. And because of that, we (ACF) said this government has failed in providing security.

These two reasons (for insecurity and the agitation that power should return to the North) compelled us and we met, all northern NGOs, and resolved that this time around, we had to struggle to get the leadership back to the North, especially because our people were being killed just because the person in the saddle could not be able to do anything. This was what happened. So, it is not a prediction. It is just an analysis. And God, in His infinite mercy, listened to our prayers. Everybody wanted C M Y K

change, throughout the country. At least, where elections were conducted properly, everybody was voting the opposition party. That was what it is. The interesting thing about it all was that when Buhari was going about his campaign, the difference was obviously clear between him and the other candidate. People wanted change, saying 'enough is enough'. They wanted peace, development. Right now in Katsina, there is no power. I don’t put on my generator until the evening. And power is one source of sustaining small scale enterprises for individuals. With adequate and stable power, you could get loan from banks and start something and know that, in due course, you can repay the loan but when there is no power, how do you power the business to the point of making profit to repay the loan? But however small the business may be, once there is power, everything will take shape. Security and welfare, that is the purpose of government. This government has failed. I keep on repeating it. Funny enough, when the election was set to hold in February, they said no, they would reschedule it for security reasons, even when the security agencies said they were ready until the last minute when they all chorused they were not ready for security reasons. It was postponed. But the people, rather than get agitated, remained calm, cool and collected until the six weeks elapsed. The election was held, and, behold, there was improvement in the security situation in the North-East.

What does that tell you as a journalist? Why couldn’t they do it in six years and they did it in six weeks even when we had support from our neighbouring

countries?

You were a strong advocate of northern presidency, but there were some leaders even in the North here who castigated your action...

(Cuts in) Nobody vilified or antagonised me. At the presidential primary of the APC, they got Buhari as their candidate, and PDP had Jonathan as their candidate.

These are the two major parties.

I came out to say that ACF will support Buhari because we said leadership would return to the North and a party had brought out a candidate from the North who was Buhari. As far as we are concerned, he is well tested, because he was once head of state and he made impact at that time. One person from the other side of the divide went to publishe that I was on my own with the comment I made. He said the ACF never met to take the decision that culminated in the comments I made. But the Central Working Committee, CWC, and Board of Trustees, BoT, of the ACF, met later, to affirm, not only to confirm, what I said and even went further to say that the decision was taken since 2002. So, there was nobody that went against the ACF stand on the return of the presidency to the North.

What kind of person is the president elect, you were classmates at a time?

A: He was my classmate. We started together in 1953 before I went to continue in Zaria due to my father’s transfer. Before then, his brother was working with my father. We are more than classmates, we are family friends. I have known him ,both here and in service. He went to the army, I went to the police.

And we continued to work together. We have an association of the 1953 intakes which meets every Christmas and Easter here. Incidentally in 1983 Christmas, we met here as classmates and from there he became the head of state after the coup. So, since then, we have been together. Any time he comes to Katsina, he comes to this house and we chat. I know him as a serious person, somebody who is committed to whatever he is doing.

Somebody who is serious about the development of his country and people. He likes honesty and integrity, that I know very well. He is somebody who is not corrupt. He loathes corruption.

He is well disciplined. That is why the queue concept was introduced and it worked at the time he was head of state. You don’t throw things anyhow at that time. There was transparency in the expenditure of government. Security too was good at that time. Now, during the campaign he said he would look into the security issue and see what he could do. He said he would fight corruption and restore electricity which is worrying all of us. This is the man we all know and he is capable of doing it provided he selects the right team. He is the right man for the job. This man(Jonathan) has been six years in the saddle, yet we are yet to get all that I listed above

that Buhari said he would do. I think he should put the right persons in his cabinet. He has to be very careful. He is now the president of the Federal Republic, he should get good people where ever they may be in this country. There are credible people around.

Everyone cannot be thieves.

Was it not curious to you when it was alleged during the campaign that Buhari had no certificate?

I think it was just mischief, nothing more than that. It was stupid particularly for some nonentities to engage in such talk. Somebody that has been in this country, schooled, joined the army and rose to become major general, then became head of state. He was minister of petroleum and governor of one of the largest states then, he was then made the chair of PTF. He performed every where he was posted, and now because it was obvious that he may win, at 72, you are saying he had no certificate. He attended courses abroad where schools are more strict than ours, and they found him very suitable to run the courses, he passed creditably.

It was mere mischief. Every Nigerian has the right to contest for the presidency and indeed any elected position in the land.

There is this man (Ayo) Fayose, who even predicted his death, and the other one (Femi Fani) Kayode, what were they saying? Absolutely nothing.

Again, the Defence Headquarters too dabbled into the politics and were saying what is not. Why couldn’t they come and say it once and for all?

Were you surprised that apart from taken the centre, the APC also took Katsina State?

APC took Benue, Plateau, Oyo, Lagos, Kano, Bauchi, Jigawa, Kaduna, and other states, if it did in all these states, why will it not take Katsina? Is this not the home of the president- elect?

PDP has always dominated this state since 1999?

But that has come to an end.

This is change period.

One of the reasons APC won the elections was because of the shortcomings of the PDP, now PDP says its returning to power in 2019. What is your advice to the APC that is coming to power now and PDP that wants to retake it in 2019?

The coming to power of any party entirely rests with the electorate. And now we are all getting more civilised, we are talking on issues now, rather than personality. If a political party comes to power and fails to perform like the out- going one, the electorate has the right to change it. If the APC fails to deliver, I am sure you know what the electorate will do.

Did you vote and who did you vote for?

I voted. I have been advocating for a northern candidate, a northern candidate who is also my classmate. Of course I voted for the APC. How about the governorship election?

I voted for APC and Masari.

Is anything wrong in that?

These two reasons (for insecurity and the agitation that power should return to the North) compelled us and we met, all northern NGOs, and resolved that this time around, we had to struggle to get the leadership back to the North

PAGE 32—SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015

Buhari was reluctant to go into politics – Alhaji Babankowa, close associate *’If you err, he will arrest and jail you’

BY BILESANMI OLALEKAN

Alhaji Ahmed Ibrahim Babankowa is a retired police commissioner. His name might not be familiar, but his action can never be forgotten in the history of Nigeria . It was him, shortly after the 1966 coup, who discovered the bodies of the Prime Minister, Sir Tafawa Balewa and his Finance Minister, Chief Okotie Eboh, who had been taken by the coupists to the outskirts of Lagos, Sango-Ota, and shot dead. A retiree and elder statesman, Babankowa is a close associate of the President Muhammadu Buhari, for

I think in terms of campaign, this was the most bitter since 1999

C M Y K

the past 43 years. In this interview at his residence in Hadejia Road, Kano, he says the Buhari administration would not disappoint Nigerians.

B

EFORE he emerged as his party candidate, not many believed he would make it to the presidency, having failed three times before?

I was 100% sure he was going to win when he said he was going to contest the presidency for the fourth time. I knew if he could get the party’s nod, he would win. The reasons are simple. The mood in the country favoured change. So whoever that was brought by the opposition, once he was popular like Buhari, I

knew people will vote for such a person. By providence, he happened to be the popular choice, and so, it was no surprise that he won. As a Muslim, let me be a bit religious.

Islam teaches me not to give up on a thing especially if I strongly believe in that thing or issue. Just keep on praying, work hard towards the set goal, then you will surely succeed. As a Muslim, we don’t lose hope, provided you work hard and pray hard too. That is exactly what happened to Buhari.

This is history that was just made. I have not seen anybody in this country who contested the presidency four times like Buhari . He is the only one who contested and won. In all the three generations

that I have witnessed, there is none that has made this kind of history Buhari has made.

I have seen three generations now. I met the Sardauna (Sir Ahmadu Bello), Awolowo (Chief Obafemi), Azikiwe (Dr. Nnamdi), Tafawa Balewa, that is the first republic. We met them, worked with them before that time ended.

Then, coming to our generation, a different type of generation, synonymous with coups and counter coups. The 1966 took place during our generation. I was in service at that time. We took part in the activities which followed after the coup.

That was the time I came in contact with President Muhammadu Buhari.

What rank was he when your path crossed with his?

I met him when he was a major.

How did you meet him?

I met him through a friend, the late Alhaji Salianu, a retired commissioner of police.

They came from the same village, Daura.

And Salianu happened to be my squad mate. It was through him that I met Buhari. Thereafter we became very close. I will say we are not friends per se, we are more than that. We are actually more of confidants than friends. I understand him very well, I believe he too understands me, otherwise, we would not have been together all this while, for more than 40 years, without any rancour between us.

There is nothing that is hidden between the two of us. The only thing hidden, I guess, are those things that are yet to happen. There is absolutely nothing about Buhari that I don’t know, just as there is nothing about me, he cannot tell you off handedly.

Any memorable events between you and him in the more than 40 years of being together?

There are so many things that happened between us in the last 40 years. However, I know that Buhari is generally misunderstood by many people. Unless you come close to him, you really cannot say exactly who he is. He is a man who is extremely Continues on page 33

SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015, PAGE 33

‘Buhari dealt with erring family member’ Continued from Page 32

hardworking, committed to his job.

During the civil war, I was attached to the Army at Number One Sector, that is Enugu, not as a soldier. In those days, when you are attached to the Army, our duties, among other things, was to evacuate the wounded, particularly the old, young and women, at the war front. The army had no time to look after the wounded at that time, so the responsibility fell on us, the police. The police would look after the wounded, feed them, care for them.

So, I was there with Buhari at the Number One Sector. From the time he came to the war front, till the war ended, he never for one day returned home to see his family, neither did he made any call to them. That is how committed Buhari can be. That is the type of person he was then, now and tomorrow. That is one of the reasons I respect the man. The man does not smoke, drink, neither does he womanise. Even as a young man, he was not sociable, so, it was difficult for him to start having affairs. You cannot have a string of girlfriends if you are not sociable. He is a quiet individual. That is why I said he is not sociable. I was at his wedding. As a matter of fact, I took some of my friends from here (Hadejia Road, Kano) to Daura for the wedding.

He is not the type of person looking for wealth or the affluence of life. He has always lived spartan life.

Another thing most people do not know about him is the fact that, if he trusts you, no matter any contrary opinion, he sticks to you, until you prove him wrong. I think that is why most of his friends are still with him till date. Buhari will never condone wrong doing. Initially, I must say that Buhari was never interested in politics, but because of the deteriorating situation of the country, he was forced to get into it. I must say that I was one of those who dragged him into politics, and that was C M Y K

•Babankowa...forget islamisation of Nigeria under Buhari how he joined All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) at that time. He did not like what was going on, yet he didn’t want to be dragged into politics. The first day he took the defunct ANPP card in Daura, I was with him. That is why I said a lot do not know who this man is.

He does not want and can’t harm anybody.

But it was said he may Islamize Nigeria if he becomes President?

How? That is pure nonsensical. Buhari Islamize Nigeria? How? Which way is he going to achieve that? Is he a sheikh or a mallam? He has no such intention. If there is any allegation like that to be levelled against anybody, it should be directed at former President Ibrahim Babangida, not Buhari. It was Babangida that took Nigeria to Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC). He is not a fanatic. He is a Muslim but not a fanatic.

When last did you speak with him?

We still spoke last week. For example, I will be going to see him next week, that is why I said if you on insist of having this interview,

you could meet me in Abuja before you came here today. We are always together. When he became the presidential candidate of the ANPP, throughout the campaign period, we were always together.

What is his best food?

Buhari is somebody who will not miss his three square meals, however small the meals may be, just to put something in the stomach, he must eat something. He does not joke with that. Even if we are traveling, provision is always made for that in the car.

Do you know Alikama?

That is wheat. There is something we called Tuwo Alikama. He likes it very much, with different types of soup.

It could be okro, or any other soup.

How about drinks?

He does not drink anything outside Fanta, Coca Cola and water.

His love for Nigeria is something else. He is always looking for what he can give rather than what he can get and that is why he has nothing, compared to our so-called leaders.

He has only three

houses, two in Kaduna and one in Daura. The one in Daura is just a two-bedroom bungalow.

One of the two houses in Kaduna is for his visitors while he occupies one.

How about the one he is occupying in Abuja?

He does not have any house in Abuja.

How about the one in Asokoro?

That was a hired house. He rented it. It was a friend who rented it for him because he could not pay the rent. I must say this, so that it will not surprise Nigerians when it does happen. Buhari will arrest anybody, including his relations, if found on the wrong side of the law. Be it his brother, sister, Buhari will have him or her arrested and dealt with, according to the law. His family, of course know the kind of person he is.

Indeed, I have seen him do something similar to a member of his family.

It is something I witnessed.

Would you share that with us?

No, that wont be part of this interview. I won’’t tell you.

Buhari will arrest anybody, including his relations, if found on the wrong side of the law. Be it his brother, sister, Buhari will have him or her arrested and dealt with, according to the law

PAGE 34—SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015

Nigerians wanted a vision different from PDP's – Chibudom Nwuche

BY LEVINUS NWABUGHIOGU

M

any people were surprised when the news of his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC, filtered in just before the general elections. It was difficult to believe that someone who had been a founding member of the party since 1998 and eventually rose to become the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives could ditch the party. But Prince Chibudom Nwuche tells anyone who cares to listen that the PDP first ditched him. In this interview, he shares his experience as a PDP member. Excerpts:

W

HAT is your impression of the general elections?

The elections were good for Nigeria and further consolidated the gains of stabilising our democracy and has set Nigeria firmly on the democratic trajectory. We can now count ourselves amongst the comity of stable democracies where power is procured only through elections and not by unconstitutional means. The APC and president elect, Muhammadu Buhari, won a resounding victory but our country was the biggest winner as we transited peacefully in spite of several predictions to the contrary. The elections recorded significant successes in spite of the rigging in some states where violence was deployed and voters murdered, intimidated and results written with the connivance of security agencies and INEC personnel.

I would recommend a full probe by the Federal Government of these atrocities with a view to arresting the perpetrators, their sponsors and any law enforcement personnel who may be complicit, and bringing them to justice. The stance of INEC in refusing to cancel elections in states that were marred by commercial scale violence, where, in some instances, many were murdered in election related violence only sends the wrong signal. It would have been more edifying for the system if INEC cancelled such elections and insisted on perpetrators being punished as deterrent to others,and to encourage integrity and faith in the electoral process. On the whole it was commendable for President Jonathan to have conceded early and spared the nation the anxiety of a long drawn out post-election process that could have easily led to a breakdown of law and order.

What reason(s) can you adduce for Jonathan’s failure at the polls despite a flamboyant campaign?

I would rather rephrase the question in terms of why the PDP failed as it was the party that principally lost the elections and its candidates are embedded in this loss including President Jonathan C M Y K

and several others. The reasons are many. The first is the failure of the party to listen to the wise counsel of leaders and generally those that meant well for both the party and the country. The advice include the need for the party to reexamine its leadership selection process to enable it produce the best minds instead of the practice where godfathers dictated those to be engaged, based on criteria like loyalty to themselves instead of to the party and the country.

Party tickets for election were awarded to godsons, cronies and sundry “friends”. The refusal to reward those that had worked for the party and encourage loyalty amongst members instead of patronizing people with little or no political value, selected on criteria only known to their selectors played a role in PDP’s defeat at the polls.

There was also general injustice and impunity in the party where no regard was paid to addressing the grievances of members.

Money became a factor in determining those the party favoured for tickets at primaries. In this atmosphere of impunity, actions were taken without consideration for members opinion and rigorous analysis, like the subletting of the party campaigns to NGOs and some ministers, without a clue or public acceptance, leaving party organs and ardent supporters redundant. Party leaders simply did not put in their best in the campaigns and generally allowed their followers to make up their minds based on prevalent sentiments. Most of these leaders were neglected after the 2011 campaigns whilst some ministers and aides of those in power became arrogant towards them and treated them like outsiders.

There were avoidable disputes like the one that rocked the governors forum and led to the split that eventually nailed the party’s coffin. The party ought to have provided better leadership and nipped the crisis in the bud but there was a feeling of invincibility and that the party and its leaders could practically do whatever they wanted and the members and the masses had no say in the governance process. You had the marginalization of key

stakeholders and leaders with substantial following amongst the populace and party members generally. A ready example was the sidelining of former President General Olusegun Obasanjo from the Ogun State chapter of the party and the award of the party structure to others with much less stake in the polity.

I strongly advised against this but was ignored. Many members left the party in spirit the day Obasanjo publicly tore his party card and many felt like also tearing their cards. There was the fallout of the party primaries that saw the shortchanging of many popular politicians by party officials. Many of these including governorship and senatorial candidates decamped to other parties and many eventually won the elections.

Those who remained behind were not placated and either stayed aloof during the elections or worked against the PDP. There were also no primaries for the presidential slot in spite of the protestations of many party members. I had advised on many of these issues to party organs and individuals but it wasn’t taken seriously; they preferred the counsel of those whose qualifications for such advice was at best suspect and

at worst dubious and did not mean well for the party.

Could those be the reasons why many founding members of the PDP including you have left the party in droves?

Many founding members left the party as a result of the impunity, injustice, arbitrariness, marginalization and disregard for those not directly in government. My story is fairly long but I will summarize it. I was a founding member of the PDP having joined the party at its formation in 1998. Prior to joining the party, I was very successful in the oil and gas business and only ran for elections because of the persuasion of my people. I ran election to the Federal House and served as Deputy Speaker between 1999 and 2003 whilst Salisu Buhari and Ghali Naaba were the Speakers in that period. Since leaving office, I have only sought to represent my people in elective offices as my strength is with the masses, with whom I have kept faith and have genuine interest in their welfare. However certain godfathers within the PDP have truncated my peoples desires for me to serve them

Continues on page 35

It wasn’t a victory only for President Buhari and the APC but for the generality of ordinary Nigerians who desired change from the status quo. They wanted a different vision for Nigeria than that offered by the PDP. Also periodic change and renewal are veritable hallmarks of an advancing democracy

SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015, PAGE 35

'No part of Nigeria should be ceded to hoodlums again'

Continued from 34

because they said I was too independent and they could not control me. These godfathers with their ill gotten resources and consequent influence ensured that I was blocked from serving the country in any meaningful capacity since 2003. These same characters also rigged me out of the senatorial primary of Rivers West inspite of my enormous popularity and the endorsement and protestations of the poor masses. I left the party in spirit much before the formal announcement because of the injustice meted to me and my supporters. Many of my supporters had all this while been urging that I leave the PDP and join forces with more progressive-minded people who would value my popularity and contributions.

I am not seeking for any appointments or benefits for my self but to be in a place where I can contribute genuinely to building a better country that will empower my people and the generality of Nigerians. I am still reasonably active in the oil and gas sector and legal practice and able to meet my modest needs. I also know that a more people oriented government will drive policies that will grow the economy and drag with it, many business concerns and my people.

Would you want to go back to the party?

I will align myself with the self evident agenda set by the generality of Nigerian masses who turned out to give him a resounding victory in the general elections.

No. I prayed and fasted for several days before taking the decision to leave after 16 years and I will not go back to join those kinds of characters. I consulted for several months with many of my colleagues and political soul mates, some of whom are senior members of APC and also many who later joined the APC before leaving the PDP. Imagine a party that I was requested to hold forth and serve as Deputy National Chairman in a period of crisis but could not even address the injustice meted to me in a mere senatorial primary.

The immediate past Chairman, Adamu Muazu, could hardly find time to look at my petition. Whilst I have delivered my unit, ward, local government area in every election, these characters who can not deliver their ward and have no following are promoted over those with substantial following. How do you expect such a party not to decline? With due modesty, in my short stint as Deputy National Chairman under Alhaji Bamanga Tukur,

an accomplished Nigerian patriot, we delivered the first free and fair primaries in Anambra State. Can you say the same thing for the current executive of PDP? Many of my political soul mates who left the PDP for APC are not looking for what to eat and by the grace of God able to meet their needs as they have professions and a second address. Many of us are in politics to serve our people and to help develop our country and not for personal gain.

How would you describe President Muhammadu Buhari’s victory?

It wasn’t a victory only for President Buhari and the APC but for the generality of ordinary Nigerians who desired change from the status quo. They wanted a different vision for Nigeria than that offered by the PDP. Also periodic change and renewal are veritable hallmarks of an advancing democracy.

What agenda would you set for him?

I will align myself with the self evident agenda set by the generality of Nigerian masses who turned out to give him a resounding victory in the general elections. Nigeria’s problems are visible even to the blind - these include the need to stamp out corruption and to punish those found guilty as deterrent to others.

With the savings from the fight against corruption to address the issues of poor infrastructure bedeviling the country, the provision of health care, jobs, and general welfare of our teeming population of mostly young

people. To address the issue of insecurity and ensure that no Nigerian will be made to suffer the indignity of being captured and put into forced slavery, raped and murdered by bands of criminals operating under religious cover. That no part of our nation is ever again ceded to such hoodlums. To lead by example as Nigerians are generally good followers of their leaders example. In leadership, there is nothing more compelling than the sacrifice and example of leaders to propel the people to greater effort and achievements. Leaders should not only pontificate to the masses but lead by personal example. There is urgent need to diversify the economy away from the current dependence on oil and the shameful import of refined petroleum products in a country blessed with huge crude oil deposits. New refineries should be built in partnership with the private sector or alternatively provide the enabling environment for them to construct new refineries. Initiate policies that will encourage entrepreneurship through long term, single digit interest loans, instead of the current policy where banks only lend for short term imports at double digit interest rates, and invest the balance in treasury bills with the CBN. This will empower thousands of businesses that will create jobs to employ our teeming army of unemployed youths and graduates. Currently, the CBN has effectively crowded out most of the private sector especially small businesses from the loan market.

The president-elect has said

that killers and arsonists in Rivers elections would not be forgiven. Do you support that?

I most definitely support the punishment of the perpetrators of electoral violence and their sponsors including law enforcement officers who connived or looked the other way,and allowed hoodlums to kill and maim innocent Nigerians.

Imagine a situation where on the eve of the elections there was shooting in many communities from dusk till dawn and voters were consequently afraid to venture out to vote, and hoodlums snatched the result sheets and wrote fictitious results. There were deaths, injuries across the state. Yet INEC had the audacity to declare such elections as free and fair. For instance in my my ward on account of my joining the APC, the party scored over 4,000 votes while the PDP scored about 150 votes, and the result was duly announced and signed by INEC and all the party agents and copies given to us. This result was later changed in favour of the PDP at the collation centre by INEC officials. It is imperative that the full weight of the law is brought to bear upon them as a deterrent and recompense for those who have been cold bloodedly murdered, maimed and intimidated. To allow these misdeeds and crimes to go unpunished will be a clear invitation to anarchy and a Hobbesian state of nature where the lives of men will be nasty, brutish and short and an absence or incapacity of a sovereign or central authority.

PAGE 36—SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015

DWINDLING REVENUE

FINDing alternative to oil

BY JIDE AJANI The Forum for Inclusive Nigerian Development (FIND), packaged a symposium with the theme, Diversifying State Economies and Creating Opportunities for All Nigerian Citizens, penultimate week.

But before now, FIND had been engaged in several processes with a view to assisting the Nigerian government and people explore fresh and progressive sources of funding for infrastructural development – all these, before the disturbing drop in the price of crude oil

Firstly, they made it very clear that the paradigm of Nigeria’s oil wealth was based on a fallacious foundation.

The conventional thinking in Nigeria dictates that the country “is sufficiently endowed with oil and poor economic outcomes can be resolved if oil resources are better managed.

This is a flawed paradigm. Oil revenue, however judiciously managed, is insufficient C M Y K

It is already a bitter/sweet moment for him.

Muhammadu Buhari, that is.

Sweet because it was only at the fourth attempt that he succeeded in winning the presidential election in Nigeria.

However, the bitterness of the taste in his mouth has to do with the poisoned moment that he is mounting the saddle.

For a country that was recently making as much as $125 per barrel of crude oil, the nation’s main export c o m m o d i t y, i t i s n o laughing matter that it is now selling a barrel of crude for between $50 to $60.

Yet, more than two years ago, some saw it coming.

The Consensus Building Institute, CBI, based in the United States of America, and the New Nigeria Fo u n d a t i o n , N N F, a Nigeria-based NGO, saw it coming.

Between Professor Femi Ajibola, lead staff at NNF, and Dr. David Fairman, CBI lead staff, they saw it coming while the leadership in Nigeria was fiddling away.

Bringing together some Nigerians of integrity, the NNF and CBI midwifed what is now the Forum for Inclusive Nigeria Development, FIND – it was formerly known as Forum on Oil and Gas

Revenue for Development, FOGARD. The objective was to chart a pathway through which Nigeria’s reliance on a

mono-product for financing development could be progressively shortcircuited.

They achieved that.

Firstly, they made it very clear that the paradigm of Nigeria’s oil wealth was based on a fallacious foundation.

The conventional thinking in Nigeria dictates that the country “is sufficiently endowed with oil and poor economic outcomes can be resolved if oil resources are

better managed. This is a flawed paradigm.

Oil revenue, however judiciously managed, is insufficient.

FIND’s message and mission is located in the inclusive nature of the various strategies of engagement, believing that once it is able to achieve the connection of ensuring that the people buy into the agenda for inclusive development, getting them to participate more actively would be easier.

And because Nigeria is a nation where forwardthinking is usually made to engage the reverse gear, it is mostly about all motion and no movement.

In 2012, for instance, records show that Nigeria shared N5.959 trillion between the federal, state and local governments.

Therefore, penultimate week, FIND decided to, as a matter of urgency, assist the in-coming public officers explore new possibilities.

In its report after the twoday event, FIND notes that the need to diversify the Nigerian economy and generate non-oil revenues for state and national development was reaffirmed.

The symposium was organized as part of FIND’s strategy for promoting

public discourse and generating ideas for states in order to achieve selfsustenance, economic growth and development.

This is against the background that a lot of states depend on the federal allocation for sustenance in spite of the dwindling federal allocations occasioned by the fall in the price of crude oil. The symposium attempted to address the issue with some recommendations for the

way forward.

The event held at the Orchid Hotels, Lekki on 19th May2015 with over 30 participants from various sectors including government, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), academia, N a t i o n a l Yo u t h S e r v i c e Corps (NYSC)and the media. The theme for the symposium was “Diversifying State Economies and Creating Opportunities for All Nigerian Citizens: What Have We Lear ned, And W h a t I s t h e B e s t Wa y Forward Now?” A fourman panel of discussants were invited to do justice to the issues and they included Prof. Akpan Ekpo, Director G e n e r a l , We s t Af r i c a n Institute for Financial and Economic Management, WEIFEM; Prof Ndubuisi Nwokoma, Head of the Department of Economics, University of Lagos; Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi, S e n a t o r, Ekiti North Senatorial District; and Mr. B a b a l o l a O l a b i s i , Tax Controller, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Lagos State. The event was moderated by Tu n j i Andrews, Managing Director/Chief Analyst at SBM Intel.

The symposium started with an assessment of the current status of internally generated revenues by states and the f e d e r a l government.

T h e consensus among the panellists was that almost all the states (except three) had problems w i t h generating funds beyond f e d e r a l allocations, while the f e d e r a l government totally depended on oil revenues.

Mr. Babalola asserted that most of the states are in trouble because they depend largely on monthly statutory allocations from the Federation Account and do not have sufficient funds to survive.

Senator Adetunmbi added that “a lot of the states are unable to cope with their salary obligations, with some states owing up to six

Continues on page 37

SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015, PAGE 37

FINDing alternative to oil Continued from 36 months’ salary. He added that if we take state IGR as a proxy for staff productivity, they are generating less thanN3,000 per staff; only Lagos generates up to N250,000 per worker; meanwhile minimum wage in Nigeria is N18,000 salary per month”.

Prof. Akpan Ekpo noted that “some states are negotiating with staff to reduce salaries by 40%”, while Prof. Ndubuisi Nwokoma stated that “the cost of governance was too high and many of the states are not economically viable”.

On the whole, the panellists agreed that the states are performing poorly in terms of internally generated revenue and Nigeria should no longer depend on oil for revenue generation since it is not sustainable, particularly as Nigeria has no control over oil pricing.

They emphasized the need for all states to look inwards for other sources of revenue and reduce their dependence on federal allocations.

The second segment of the symposium focused on challenges and opportunities for economic and internally generated revenue (IGR) development in Nigeria. The panellists highlighted various challenges including lack of state data to determine economic status of each state; over dependence on revenues from oil and federal allocations; high unemployment rates and poverty across states; poor infrastructure and lack of good governance and a c c o u n t a b i l i t y ; implementation of “ white elephant projects” that do not add value to the states in terms of employment generation; neglect of resources that could be harnessed from the informal sector; state control over LG resources; and high cost of governance amongst others.

Prof. Ekpo insisted that “states have to build a private sector or industry base before raising taxes; they need to provide basic public services to generate private revenue before they can tax; states have to provide services so people will be motivated to pay their taxes”.

One of the panellists, Mr. Babalola, believes that it is necessary to invest in the states internal revenue service and build their

capacity to collect taxes from the informal sector ’ “States need to invest more in their IRSs; so, then, they can identify the taxable people and activities, focus on areas of comparative advantage, they really have to bring informal sector on board, and build up tax authorities”.

Some of the opportunities identified included but were not limited to the great potentials of the agricultural sector to generate employment; vast untapped resources from informal sectors and motivation of citizens to pay taxes through incentives and provision of services.

Pa n e l l i s t s a n d o t h e r participants had the opportunity to make recommendations and

•Dr. David Fairman discuss the way forward in the last session of the symposium.

Senator Adetunmbi suggested that each state should generate accurate data on population, economic and development indices that will provide a clear picture of the current economic status of each state and the potential sources of revenues that could be explored. He believed that such data should be provided by the state bureau of statistics. In his own submission, Prof.

Ndubuisi said that “poverty could be addressed by growing economies, creating jobs, addressing population explosion, and getting technical people into the public workforce.”

Prof. Ekpo believed that there were limitations inherent in state dependence on taxes

opportunities that can be explored to create an industrial base and generate employment. Agriculture

•Professor Femi Ajibola because of the current high rate of unemployment. He reiterated the importance of harnessing the potentials in the Agricultural sector by “modernising agriculture and making it large scale”.

He believed that this would create employment for a lot of people. Mr.Babalola on his part said that “if people are not paying taxes, they have no moral justification to demand for services”.

Therefore, he suggested that all citizens should remit their taxes in order to generate income for states and then they can demand for good governance and a c c o u n t a b i l i t y.

Other participants also made recommendations which included identifying natural/ mineral resources and other

and entertainment industries were said to have great potentials that could be harnessed.

Other suggestions included replicating successful state models, such as the Lagos State example, in other states; while other participants recommended that tax evaders should be penalized as deterrent to o t h e r s . Pa n e l l i s t s a l s o suggested to FIND that it should identify and work with state governments that have capacity gaps and are willing to work with the Forum and also organise a meeting with the Governor ’s Forum to suggest ways of partnering with them on the issues discussed.

Therefore, he suggested that all citizens should remit their taxes in order to generate income for states and then they can demand for good governance and accountability.

Other participants also made recommendations which included identifying natural/mineral resources and other opportunities that can be explored to create an industrial base and generate employment

PAGE 38—SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015

I trust Buhari to remedy Jonathan’s mistakes – Ogbemudia

By Simon Ebegbulem

Two- time former governor of old Bendel State, Dr Samuel Ogbemudia, says the government of President Muhammadu Buhari will face several problems but expresses optimism that the new Nigerian leader has all it takes to move the nation forward. In this interview, Ogbemudia blames former President Goodluck Jonathan for his failure to secure second term, saying he allowed a cabal to hold himself hostage. He admonishes the PDP to which he belongs to restrategize, warning that the party may go collapse if members fail to put their house in order particularly with a determined APC now ruling at the federal level. He speaks on other issues including why Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State must pick his successor. Excerpts:

T

HE PDP lost the presidential election.

Thereafter there have been calls for the NWC and the BOT to be dissolved. Where do you stand?

First of all, we have to look at the set up of the party.

Today, the PDP is headed by a Board of Trustees which advises the National Working Committee or the executive.

So if in the process they lost an election, it is straight forward for the people in charge to take responsibility and, therefore, give way to a new executive that will rebuild the party. I understand that the former president set up a team to campaign for him and for the party; so the fault is not that of the executive or the NWC but the person who took the decision that an organisation outside the party structure should be in charge of the campaign should be held responsible, and not the National Chairman. The National Chairman is a straight forward man; a man of great intellect and who understands the issues at stake. My view is that the PDP should now set up a committee to find out what went wrong and how to rebuild the party because they are still the best organised party in the country; they need to work hard in order to win the next election if they have the appetite.

do without them; it is part and parcel of a sensible reorganisation. The party should sit down and find out what went wrong. They have to do that, and it is not a job of two days; they must sit down; talk to everybody that is worth talking to in order to ascertain and identify what went wrong, a lot of things went wrong.

What are the things that went wrong, being a leader from the South-South that supported President Jonathan?

It will be unfair on Jonathan if I say I am disappointed at his activities. PDP is made up of responsible people but these are people who do not welcome any type of challenge, any type of argument and any type of interference; once they took a decision, they didn’t want anyone else to find out what led to that decision; so nobody should challenge them.

Because of that, they held Jonathan hostage. I know there were some advisers, before they met Jonathan, they will first meet and say ‘this is what we are going to tell him, you bring it out, you will uphold it and all the rest of us will support it and majority will carry the vote’, so Jonathan will have no option but to go ahead and they succeeded in a number of cases.

Do you think there is still hope for the PDP to take over power in four years’ time as some of the leaders are saying?

First and foremost, you must look at the PDP when it first won presidential election; it went berserk and, as a result, mismanaged victory. And having mismanaged victory, the outcome is defeat, so if they want to win future elections against a determined party like the APC, they must work twice as hard as they have done in the past.

Nigerians believed that Jonathan lost because of the way he handled the issues of insecurity, the economy and corruption. How do you assess his activities in these areas?

Nigerian politics has not developed to the stage where people recognise economy, unemployment and the like as election issues. We are at the stage where we look at the individual, where he comes from, what he can do for us and then support or don’t support him. But a few intellectuals may have looked at the economy and say ‘it is good’, ‘it is not too good’, They might have complained of unemployment but they were like the lone voice in the wilderness. Majority of the people wanted a South-South President, so they went for him.

Some people are attributing the failure of the PDP to the hate campaigns it indulged in. Do you agree?

People will say things, but what individuals find on the ground may be different. No doubt there was a campaign of hatred, campaign of dislike, religious campaign, but all that put together may not have affected the PDP chances if they had put their house right but they didn’t. Quite a good number of the people that make up APC today were in PDP and each time a person left, they said ‘let him go, we can do without him’. Now they have found that they couldn’t C M Y K

So will you say Jonathan was weak in handling the issues?

No, it is the responsibility of the leader to have strong following. What makes a leader is the quality of the followership. There are many followers who will do things without being told if they know

what is in the interest of the party.

Advice to Buhari You will excuse me if I say anything in favour of Buhari because there is Espirit de corps between us. We want it written by historians many years to come that the coming of the general saved the nation from total collapse. To achieve that, all hands must be on deck, the hands of the old generals, the retired ones and those in office. But having said that, I know Buhari when he was commissioned into the Nigerian Army in the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. I also know that he served under a number of senior officers and, every year, they wrote confidential report in respect of each officer, including me.

The officer writing the report about other people also indicate what he looks like.

So every one of the superior officers concluded that Buhari was a competent hand. But that was many years ago. Can we say that the energy of 1966 is still very much present? It may not but what is absolutely available is the lesson learnt from those intervening years. I know that Buhari has been reading what the public wants, has made promises and his advisers are also talking to him. So he is taking notes and what he will come out it will be with a bombshell. I also

know that Buhari will not want to fail because the expectation is so high that he will not want people to say they are disappointed.

We talked about fuel scarcity and other things, those are minor things. The most important thing to do with human beings in Nigeria is security. If a man cannot sleep with his two eyes closed, then he is unsafe and, if he is unsafe, then he cannot do anything. When God created man, he decided that he needed some important things. First and foremost, food; second, mobility; and third, shelter; every other thing comes later.

Unemployment is something Buhari is going to inherit. The reason for the unemployment is straight forward. The Federal Government, in its wisdom, created over 60 universities, more than a hundred secondary schools, but no proportionate industry to absorb these people when they finish their training. That is where our problem comes from. When the British were here before 1960, they set up schools to train clerks and interpreters. Not much has changed in the curriculum, so what do you do? A manufacturer who produces goods without regard for the requirement of the customer

Continues on page 39

First and foremost, you must look at the PDP when it first won presidential election; it went berserk and, as a result, mismanaged victory. And having mismanaged victory, the outcome is defeat, so if they want to win future elections against a determined party like the APC, they must work twice as hard as they have done in the past

SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015, PAGE 39

’Ex-president was held hostage’ Continued from 38

will always have his store full of unsold goods and that is where we are. The answer is that we have to go back to the drawing board and review our human resources planning.

How many doctors do we need in 10 years, how many accountants do we need in the next 15 years. And then get the universities, the training institutions to produce these people.

If you want 10 doctors and you take 10 and two fails, then you have not achieved anything, so you take 20. If five fails, you still have 15 to meet your 10. So we need to have people who are best in organizing the economy of the country.

But you must admit one thing now, that the APC, as we know it today, has not run a Federal Government, before this is their first time. Therefore, like all first timers, like all new brooms, they must sweep well.

Otherwise the song four years hence will be different.

Buhari’s certificate saga and the army When I joined the army, the army took my certificate. There were two reasons they did that. Some people got trained by the army and, when they came back, they could no longer go along with the salaries that the army was paying, they will disappear.

Because of that, the army will keep your certificate. When I was retiring, the army gave me back my certificate and that was what I was looking for to show you. (Searching his cupboard for the certificate). So I was surprised they said Buhari has no certificate. But even if he has no certificate, there is examination in the army. The time we started the exam, they called it Royal West African Frontier Force entrance examination and you were not allowed to take it unless you present your certificate or your school wrote that you had taken the exam and they believed you will pass. And if the result comes and you fail, they will send you out. However, there were some military people if, in the process they send you to school, they call it remedial courses, so if you did not have school certificate by the time you finish the three years course, you are better than the school certificate holder. So I believe Buhari’s case was a situation where people tried to call a dog a bad name in order to hang it.

But that notwithstanding, Buhari has been elected, what Nigerians want is development, what Nigerians want is good governance, what Nigerians want is a man who will give credit to their representation.

C M Y K

Agitation to cut cost of governance In any society, the first and fore most thing is self. The civil servant at an inquiry on the future of the civil service influences the report of the committee. The parliament, having regards to the future of the parliament, also influences what they will do for themselves in the future. So when they sat down to compute all those heavy duty salaries, they will be doing only one thing, fulfilling the long time belief of self first, then service to the nation second. That is why we should be pleading with Buhari: There should be a body to look into whether parliament should be full-time or part-time and if it should be part-time, how much they should be paid for every sitting?

Same thing for fuel scarcity, we have now found that a few people have milked Nigeria dry, so what do you do? You cannot say that the milk you drank few days ago, give it back to us. All you do is to prevent future ones form doing same. My view is that they should take petroleum supply into an organization that is banned from strike like the military.

The military cannot go on strike; the police can’t; immigration can’t. They should put petroleum in a sector whereby the law forbids any one there from going on strike and, that is the job of government working closely with the parliament because if we were fighting a war and the opponents got our marketers together, they will cripple the army, they will cripple the air force and the navy, so we have nothing to fight with.

Reforming the electoral laws What is the purpose of electoral laws? To have a good election that is acceptable internationally? If you produce a law that did not meet it; amend it. That is why the parliament is there. But the problem here in Nigeria is not with the law; it is with the execution. If a government, in its effort to remain in power perpetually, decides to use extra method to remain in office, then you cannot blame the law. The law is not our problem, it is those who implement it that is our problem..

Anenih’s resignation and PDP’s future in Edo Anything that will be done by the PDP must be central to the reactivation of the party. But if you don’t say anything and you go begging people to come back, come back for what? We have not heard yet how PDP intends to reorganize itself; it is normal that any party that loses election is usually in disarray but with good leaders, effective leadership, we will soon be back on track because PDP offers the best and most effective alternative government today. We in Edo want to help to see that the

state is developed and, because of that, I am going to proclaim Edo Mass Movement to look at the future irrespective of party and we will support the party that gives us indication that it wants Edo to succeed.

You have been blamed that you left the management of the party in Edo to Chief Anenih alone.

Those saying that have my sympathy, arising from ignorance. In 1999, the PDP won the election to Edo Government House, the leaders, we were three: Myself, Chief Anenih and Chief Igbinedion. Two of us, myself and Igbinedion, decided to stay at home and help the governor to ensure he succeeded.

Anenih, a very brilliant and unassuming politician, was sent to Abuja to represent the state. And he did. But as time went on, things fell apart and the center could not hold and that was it.

Anenih is not the cause of our problem, anybody who says he can fight election in Edo without Anenih may not be telling you the truth. Everyone has his own job, my job was to stay at home and support the governor which I did to the best of my ability. Anenih was to stay in Abuja to draw the attention of the Federal Government to the activities of the governor of the state so that they can help him and he excelled.

If both of you worked together, how come the party was factionalized then? You led a faction while Anenih led the other.

I don’t know that but what I know is that Prof.Osunbor lost the election in the court of law.

He is a professor of law; so he cannot complain that he did not get justice because he knew what to do.

The factionalization of the party was based on a different criteria. The party at the headquarters in Abuja was expected to intervene before things went out of hand, but, for reasons known best to them, they decided to leave things as they were.

But I now know that the reason was that they were not much interested in Edo because when we lost the election, the National Chairman of the PDP then was asked how he felt, he said they were not supposed to control every state in Nigeria; so losing Edo was not a serious matter. Before the court judgment, I telephoned Osunbor from London to say I heard that the Federal Government had traded out Edo and Ondo, and I asked him to go and see the president; and from his table phone me so that I could speak to him (president). He came back and told me that the president asked him what will he benefit if he traded Edo out. So he believed that the president was not doing what they accused him of. But later what I told him came to pass.

All these are now history and they are essential development in the scene of democracy. So

what we should be looking forward to is not the man feeding the horse, it is the man sitting on top of it. So we look at the future, where are we going to? If the PDP wants to pack up, then they must tell us.

People have asked me if I am still in PDP. I said yes and I will remain. Many months back, PDP people accused me of belonging to APC, and that in the day time at Abuja I was in PDP and in the night in Benin I was APC. Now, yesterday, I heard that the APC people are saying ‘Ogbemudia is a PDP man, leave him alone’. At least I have been vindicated.

Some accused you of showing no concern when federal appointments meant for Edo were given to people from Edo Central. Did it not bother you?

The people who are complaining are themselves accomplices. It is not a matter of one man sitting down and deciding on a situation, it is a matter of a group of people saying how do we punish this man and they work out a programme, that programme is executed and the result is known. What we should be talking about is the future.

The future now is straight forward because the Federal Government is APC and the state government is APC, therefore the state government will be the one to decide who gets what having regard to their knowledge of the various people and their contributions to development.

If they don’t get it, people will shout, but the major issue is that they should be allowed to execute their programmes.

I believe the APC will perform because we have tremendous confidence in Buhari’s ability to lead Nigeria.

Oshiomhole’s successor Governor Oshiomhole is the finest thing that this state has had the pleasure to have in recent years; therefore before he leaves, we will ensure, or fight or recommend somebody who will carry on where he stops so that development will be a continuous process. No matter what you think about Oshiomhole, he has performed more than his predecessors.

So what do you do with such a man? Put him in the hall of fame so that he can continuously guide the new man to act properly.

Oshiomhole is expected to be the one to decide who he will support and if he does not want his legacy to be destroyed, he will make sure he gets somebody who will carry on from where he stopped.

Nobody can say he does not trust Oshiomhole, he has been there for six years and the difference is clear.

There are Nigerians who are not happy with change but the change has come, we cannot continue to fight, we have to support the incoming government of Buhari to perform.

When I joined the army, the army took my certificate. There were two reasons they did that.

Some people got trained by the army and, when they came back, they could no longer go along with the salaries that the army was paying, they will disappear.

Because of that, the army will keep your certificate. When I was retiring, the army gave me back my certificate and that was what I was looking for to show you.

(Searching his cupboard for the certificate)

PAGE 40—SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015

Buhari can stop class war between the champagne-drinking rich and the poor – Ben Murray Bruce

By Abiodun Alade

Mr. Ben Murray Bruce, a businessman and philanthropist, is a senator-elect representing Bayelsa East.

The media mogul speaks on issues relating to accountability, prudence and transparency in government.

Excerpts: Criticism have not criticised any government. I have not criticised APC. I have not criticised PDP. I have not criticised Goodluck Jonathan, neither have I criticised Muhammadu Buhari. I have raised good government issues and policy issues.

These are issues that I have raised all my life. Maybe these people on social media have just discovered Ben Bruce but, go and check the speeches I made two years ago, three years ago, twenty years ago, even in front of President Goodluck Jonathan to ascertain whether they are different from what I am saying now; maybe they just discovered me. Go on youtube and see my speeches.

I

8th National Assembly First of all, seventy percent of the senators are first term senators like me, so who am I to judge them? How can you know what they think and make that assumption that they will not buy into my ideas. It is a brand new National Assembly. Let us get there, debate and argue things out. I will be tweeting on daily basis. It will be premature to accuse innocent people of a sin they have not committed and they may have no intention of committing. They may all agree with me. I may be the most vocal, outspoken but that does not make me the only one that believes in a just Nigeria.

His victory My views won over the electorate. During my campaign ahead of the election, I never said anything negative about Timipre Silva or insulted him. I did not run him down or any other candidate, either in the PDP or APC because it is not my style. All I did was to speak on key issues such social development, infrastructural development and how to get the people out of poverty and create jobs for the people in my senatorial district. They loved it and voted for me.

Rumour of Dickson’s decamping Dickson is not going to move to APC, he is one of our leaders. He is not going to switch party. He is a PDP member, people will stick to their party, days of moving around are gone.

Green energyFew weeks ago, I launched my electric car and already big companies and institutions like Eko Hotel, Hi-tech, Eko Atlantic have shown interest and ready to convert all cars to electric cars based on the campaign that I started. What is the value of C M Y K

that besides environment benefits? If two or three hundred cars are purchased in the next few months and they don’t buy petrol, how much will Nigeria save from importing petrol? Eko Atlantic’s buildings will use solar power and all their staff will drive electric cars because I raised the issue. I hope President Muhammadu Buhari will drive an electric car and send a clear message to all.

Poverty and unemployment The level of poverty and unemployment is devastating.

We need to focus on laws that protect the poor. What is the biggest problem in Nigeria today? It is consumption versus production. Our leaders are guilty of consuming the resources of the majority. What do we have for the poor - the millions of people living on two dollars a day? And then you have governors in large convoys, commissioners driving N20m cars, flying first class in states that cannot pay salaries. The governors fly private jets.

Commissioners live like kings.

If three policemen guard a commissioner, how many policemen do we have in Nigeria? Less than 200,000. So who is policing the poor when they are being raped, maimed and killed, their goods stolen?

In Bayelsa, sea pirates steal from boats. They steal N200, N500, fishing nets; they attack people and rape their women.

There is poverty and frustration everywhere in the land. And then people we voted into offices are living like lords. Does that make sense? Is it legal? Is it ethical?

Is it moral? Can you justify that consumption behaviour because they voted you into office? In most states, the only employer of labour is government, the rest are jobless.

Some government officials will wake up one morning like monarchs and dash money to the people on the street because they see them as beggars. You turn your people to beggars and you get scared that they could kill you. Why won’t you live in fear? What if you consume less and distribute what you have to the rest of the people so that they can be happy and you can live in peace?

It is a class war between the rich and the poor. I have said it for 35 years and I am saying it again because it is worse today. Boko Haram in the North, militancy in the SouthSouth, kidnapping in the South-West and South East; raping, paedophile, maiming and stealing everywhere, what does that tell you? We have a

problem in our hands and everybody must be held accountable.

President Buhari, who I like, is leading by example. He is a simple man and, because he is a simple man, I expect him to appoint people who will live simple lifestyle, people that will not consume the resources of the people. As lawmakers, we will checkmate their lifestyle. I will remind every minister and appointee of the need to live moderate life.

what for? Were you born to the world as a king and everyone of us must worship you? They should apologise to Nigerians for looting the treasury and destroying the economy.

We don’t have distribution of wealth in Nigeria but the apportioning of wealth by the small minority and nothing else for the poor majority.

There is no wealth distribution and that is why we don’t have the middle class. There are the poor and the champagne drinking super rich.

Fight against corrupt elite I am fighting against the corrupt elite. I am 59 and you only live once. The worst they can do to me is to take me out, so what? When the corrupt elite see me, let them know I am fighting them. When they drink that bottle of champagne that can educate a child, let them know I am fighting them.

When they fly first class with tax payers money, let them know I am fighting them. Let them know that I am totally against their lifestyle because it is destroying the economy.

We are broke, the elite deserve to be fought and they should be ashamed of themselves going by the way they live.

You go into government and fly first class but in your private life, you fly economy.

You go into government, one man carries your phone, another opens the door of your car, another carries your bag, another reads the newspapers to you and you have ten policemen protecting you,

Petroleum Industry Bill I have not read the entire Bill; I have read part of it, where the House amended host community to mean the entire country which makes no sense. People should not be afraid of the Niger Delta; they should take a tour of the place and see the misery and the type of life the people live there.

Let me give you an example.

The Federal Government gives away oil blocs and marginal fields. For all those that have received oil blocs and marginal fields, what the government did was to say “Mr. A, I am going to make you a billionaire”.

Giving someone an oil bloc does not create wealth; you are transferring wealth from the state to an individual. He becomes rich and becomes ‘intelligent’ and gets invited by government to make

Continues on page 41

The Federal Government gives away oil blocs and marginal fields.

For all those that have received oil blocs and marginal fields, what the government did was to say “Mr. A, I am going to make you a billionaire”.

Giving someone an oil bloc does not create wealth; you are transferring wealth from the state to an individual

SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015, PAGE 41

Buhari can stop class war between the champagne-drinking rich and the poor – Ben Murray Bruce

Continued from 40

policies, obviously not for the country but for himself. That is what we have in Nigeria and it has to stop.

You can have the IQ of minus 50, and all you need do is to sell the oil bloc, look for a partner and you are rich, you don’t have to be intelligent. If that is the criteria for giving out oil blocs, why don’t you give that same concession to the people whose area the blocs are located? So give the oil bloc to the local persons and let them develop their community since the criteria is IQ-5. They will pay tax and levies, case closed!

Buhari is a father of all Nigerians. He is the father of all the regions in the country; he should look at the needs of the regions objectively and deal with them. If he does that there wouldn’t be war. Those that are beating the drum of war are doing it for strategic reasons or legitimate reasons.

I don’t know but I am not in favour of war or destruction of pipelines, but for the economic growth of the country and her wealth.

Buhari is a good man; he has run the oil sector before, so I don’t want to talk of a possibility of something that may never happen. He has a good team around him and they will solve the problem.

Constituency project If I get to the Senate and I am told that my constituency will get N30m, I will call the elders of the senatorial district, tell them how much has been allocated and we decide on what to do with it through the ministry that the money has been given to.

Agenda for Buhari First, we must deregulate the oil sector but we must have a mass transit policy. In other words, if it costs you N100 to go to work, when you deregulate, it will still cost N100. We have been subsidizing the rich; now, subsidize the poor. Nobody cares for the cost of petrol but the cost of transportation.

Focus on the cost of transportation and I have a blueprint that I can give to President Buhari. If you subsidize mass transit, you will deregulate and become a hero.

Second, light - you want everyone to have light in the country but with the way we are going, in 100 years, not everybody will have light.

Give them solar power and inverters in the villages and create a billion dollar budget every year. In five years, all Nigerians will have light. We only have electricity for the rich because it is too expensive to have transmission lines across the country, too expensive to generate it and there is nobody to pay the market C M Y K

value for light, so the best way to go is solar power.

I bought a car that is electric, I don’t use light. If I can drive an electric car through the use of solar power, why can’t the government do same?

Then you focus on a $100m a year grant to universities of science and technology so that they can start inventing things. We are a nation of traders. The richest people in Nigeria today are traders, people giving handouts from government. If you look at the list of the top 100 richest people in Nigeria today, how many of them created wealth because they invented something? They all made money from trading - buying and selling. So how can you develop when you don’t create anything? We are buying and selling, expecting patronage from government.

If you go into a village, all the hotels are usually owned by former commissioners, governors, former deputy governors, they own all the assets in the state. It is never owned by businessmen, always owned by people in government. The economy will not grow like that. A nation of traders will find it difficult to grow because you need inventions to grow.

Insecurity It is poverty that causes insecurity. Do we have insecurity in London, Norway, Denmark? We have insecurity in Nigeria, Somali, Sudan, Mali and other poor countries.

Insecurity is poverty. What is poverty?

Lack of opportunities. What is lack of opportunities? Ineptitude by those who rule.

The best way to tackle it is to first address our population that is growing too fast. At the rate we are going, by the third of the century, we are going to be 970 million people. Not long ago, the entire population of West Africa was 114 million. If we don’t address it, we will have to create 4 million jobs every year to keep the growth in population happy. Forget about the backlog. We don’t have the money; the government has not created the policies to enable people to invent things like in China, India, USA or Great Britain.

We need to have our girls in schools to the university level because, once they are educated, they won’t start child-bearing at the age of 15 or 16. Once they are educated, they will be bored of staying at home and will want to invent.

The artistic industry grew on its own. Imagine if you say I will give you one million Naira if you invent something, do you know how many Nigerians who will start creating things?

PDP It is good that PDP is in

disarray. When something goes wrong, you break it and build again that is the best thing that can happen to the party.

They have to fight, people have to leave, but they will be stronger and better. They will come back as a party with the right ideology.

Buhari’s victory It is Buhari’s time. Buhari won, not the APC. Any other candidate would have lost.

Buhari is unstoppable, nobody could have stopped him. If Buhari stood by himself, he will knock everybody out. He has a following that is unbelievable and you have to admire how he runs the campaign.

In 2011, it was Goodluck’s time, he was unstoppable.

Four years ago, Goodluck Jonathan was seen as a saint and knocked everybody out.

I was having dinner with Jonathan after his victory in 2011 and I told him that he won the election and not the party. The leadership of the party that were at the dinner were annoyed with me but I insisted that Goodluck won. I am a very frank speaker.

Buhari won, not APC. When it is your time, it is your time.

It has nothing to do with political party.

Accountability and simple man My people should hold me accountable. The day I can’t be held accountable, I should not be re-elected and I will not even contest. I have done different things in my life and I have never complained. I want to serve; I want to make a difference. I love what I did in the past and I can always go back to it. I am a busy guy,

politics is not a do-or-die affair for Ben Bruce. I am a simple person; my needs are very simple and I don’t need too much to survive. If I don’t have a car, I can go by bus.

My favourite drink is palm wine and coconut water. If you take away the pleasure of life, I can cope with life.

I once had a party and I made palm wine and coconut water available. Guess what?

Nobody wanted to take wine but the palm wine and coconut water. There were guests from the foreign embassies. Palm wine and coconut water are available everywhere in the country. We forget what we have. In the North, they have the biggest mango you eat with a spoon, beautiful fruits, fish, but the simple things in life are the best things in life. I am a long distance runner and I don’t need to give up.

I was born in Yaba, Lagos. I am proud of who I am. When we produced Miss World, I said I will produce the Most Beautiful Girl in the world from Nigeria and we did it. I said Nigerians will drive electric cars and, in less than a week, a whole organisation is buying into it. When I brought cinema to this country, even when there was no cinema in 30 years, did I not make it a vogue? It is also the same for the mall. When I took over NTA, it was broadcasting six hours a day.

There was no daytime television in Nigeria but I did it, I gave the country 24 hrs television; I gave the country entertainment on radio and on TV. Nigeria is going to change, the arrogance of leadership will stop because those days are gone when you lord it over the people and throw breads at them on the streets.

First, we must deregulate the oil sector but we must have a mass transit policy. In other words, if it costs you N100 to go to work, when you deregulate, it will still cost N100. We have been subsidizing the rich; now, subsidize the poor. Nobody cares for the cost of petrol but the cost of transportation.

Focus on the cost of transportation and I have a blueprint that I can give to President Buhari. If you subsidize mass transit, you will deregulate and become a hero

PAGE 42—SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015

APPOINTMENTS INTO TENURED OFFICES

Buhari must romance 'KIDS' O

The Muhammadu Buhari government must therefore restrain itself from the urge of a vindictive transition, that will deny it the opportunity of gaining full appraisal of the governance structures before applying the “KIDS” principle of deciding what to “Keep”, what to “Improve”, what needs to be “Discarded” or what needs to be “Saved”

C M Y K

NE of the greatest disservices that Goodluck Ebele Jonathan avoided was his decision not to heed the counsel of some members of his Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, that Attahiru Jega, national chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, should be removed from office before the end of his tenure. This, in their reasoning, would have allowed for a more supportive appointee as new chairman of the election management body and, therefore, a smoother path to victory at the polls. But Jonathan refused to yield.

And that is why Jega was able to see through his plan for the 2015 elections which has brought change to Nigeria.

But in 2010, Jonathan was harangued by the same political class to remove Professor Maurice Iwu, before the end of his tenure.

Therefore, those insisting on the removal of Jega based their push on a paradigm of one wrong cancelling out another wrong.

But having been elected on a slogan of change, it is understandable if the Buhari government would like to rollup its sleeve and attempt to denude all aspects of the governance structures that it is about to take over. But this may be the undoing of the government, because the only reason, there has been a sustaining structure of governance despite the variance in policies and leadership of different governments since the colonial government, is because the institutional memory of governance was preserved through the ministries, departments and agencies of government and their tenured chief officials.

The Muhammadu Buhari government must therefore restrain itself from the urge of a vindictive transition, that will deny it the opportunity of gaining full appraisal of the governance structures before applying the “KIDS” principle of deciding what to “Keep”, what to “Improve”, what needs to be “Discarded” or what needs to be “Saved”.

Important reasons to exercise self-restraint especially with the position of chief officials of government, appointed over statutory tenures are twofold.

In the first instance, this transition which is expected to help consolidate the practice of democracy in Nigeria, will be the first time, a different political party, although significantly populated by previous members of the incumbent party, will be taking over government from the incumbent. Politicians are therefore watching to see if a scorched-earth policy will be enacted. The significance of

•Prof. Iwu

•Prof. Jega

such a policy however justified, will be to send the wrong signal to political groups that, accepting a loss in an election, is a suicidal gesture. The corollary to that, therefore, is to make elections in future a “do-or-die” affair in which political groups will become dangerously desperate.

Secondly, it will also make tenured officials of government agencies who were appointed for a statutory tenure to serve the country and not the political party especially partisan in future, because the precedence will be established that such tenures will elapse vengefully with the political groups that appointed them.

Consequently, this will especially rob technical officials of their professional commitment in the service of the nation, as they may now become deeply involved in partisan politicking to preserve the government in power.

So, if the Buhari government does not think these are important factors, it must remind itself that 30years after a previous government he led was purged from office, he is back in charge, while many who purged his previous team, are today political by-standers.

Therefore, his incoming government needs no reminder that political fortunes can turn in any direction with time and the huge support now can evaporate over-night.

Two important early signals by significant players in the incoming government and members of the All Progressive Congress, APC, motivates the need to implore the PresidentElect to temper zeal with restraint. The first is the zeal with which members of his inner core group inspired a vindictive exclusion of the African Independent Television (AIT) from covering activities of the President-Elect, even before he was sworn-in, an early reminder of fear of likely repression of the press. A second early signal is a recent threat by a leader of his campaign group, in which he threatened to use the power of

the incoming government to punish members of the Nigerian Police Service who did not kowtow to his partisan position during the elections. It must be pointed out that irrespective of the positions many people held during the general election, the APC was able to win the election, only because many people remained professionals in their different fields or spheres of governance, despite political urgings or their sympathies for either parties.

If all structures of governance had lent their weight to the ruling party, the dream of change by the APC would have been a mirage; the party must therefore restrain urgings to destroy the governance structures which has endured several transitions, by treading wisely and carefully with appointments made from previous governments, while enacting its vision of change.

Examples from other democracies are instructive.

In the United States of America in the first seven months of most American administrations from John F Kennedy to Ronald Reagan a higher percentage of diplomats and Director-Generals were retained career diplomats. For instance Kennedy retained 61%, Lyndon B Johnson retained 68%, Richard Nixon retained 57%, Jimmy Carter retained 58% while Ronald Reagan retained 61%. The need to preserve institutional governance memories and to avoid drastic denudation of experience inspires an incremental process of recruitment, confirmation, mastering of offices and collaboration with career civil servants in the implementation of the president’s priorities and the execution of extant law.

Moreover, the statutory requirements of due process also justify and lend itself to a gradualist approach to removal and appointment.

For instance, the Aspen Institute in the United states found that between 1984 and 1999 in the United states, only 15% of top appointees of new

presidents were actually in place within two months of inauguration. Aspen found that in the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations, about 50% of the top 75 national security appointments remained vacant about 6 months after inauguration, while 85% of sub–cabinet positions in legislative, legal, management and budget offices, stayed unoccupied. It also found that after one year the Obama administration had been able to only fill 64.4% of key Senate confirmed positions; compared to 84.6% for Reagan, 80.1% for George H.W. Bush, 69.8% for Bill Clinton and 73.8% for George W. Bush.

Hence, in the coming government of President Buhari, a zestful rush to vindictively replace particularly tenured chief officials may leave important governance functions neglected with possible decay in public services. If not done with considered respect for extant administrative rules, particularly for a government that is likely to need some functional period of adaptation, this may engender dislocation.

In the particular cases of DGs, directors and chief executives of federal parastatals and agencies, many appointments were made with statutorily specified tenures of office. Some will lapse during the tenure of the incoming government, while others are supported by law until well into the government.

These appointees should not be replaced shoddily in a manner suggestive of political witch-hunting and it will be a terrible start if such development affect people from geo-political zones other than that of the president. A related example is the tenure of judicial officers. In the United states of America for instance, the Obama administration upon coming to office inherited a United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, also called the D.C. Circuit Court, with a full court comprising six judges appointed by Republican Presidents, three Judges appointed by Democrats, with two outstanding vacancies.

But, the Obama administration had to wait for the attrition of time and tenure lapses before making four appointments to the D.C Circuit which shifted the composition of the court to seven Democratic appointees and four Republicans, an important factor when the Halbig case which decided the fate of a very important policy decision on the Affordable Healthcare Act of the Obama administration was brought before the court. The lessons from other democracies similar to that of Nigeria therefore, is that even when political change has taken place, the necessity to respect institutionally tenured appointments, without introducing drastic and overzealous witch-hunting is important in creating an environment of transition without vengeful politics.

Epilogue

BY PATRICK DELE COLE

T

HE lobby at the Transcorp Hilton and other hotels in Abuja were jam-packed with women and men. The men wore long Hausa regalia: none seem to be shorter than 6ft 6 inches or fatter than Buhari. They discussed one subject - power shift - who wanted what, for what?

It reminded me of 1999 when President Obasanjo set up transition committees - 15 of them. We produced 15 volumes of policy papers.

Nobody read any of them. In Abuja then, we had to struggle for hotel rooms.

There were debts of the campaign with the attendant ridiculous claims by politicians.

The payment of hotel bills is always a thorny problem at handover times. As in 1999, so was it last week. Many senators and assembly men could not pay their bills and were being forced out: the new arrivals – too eager to take up their rooms. Bullet proof cars, soldiers, police, flooded the front of the hotel, vehicular movement was slow.

Outgoing governors and ministers’ security and patrol cars were being ordered by the young victors of APC to move out. A Pharaoh who knew not Joseph was in town.

Mountains of curriculum vitae were flying all over town, business centres were fully engaged. Every one pretended to be in the know, penciling names down.

Outgoing senators and members of the House of Representatives and the new senators and members stood in clusters- each group with long swords ready to divide the national cake or die trying to do so. The outgoing were in a rush to sign new contracts, aiming at early approvals and even early mobilization. I witnessed an unbelievable parade of personalities (Ekwueme; Onwa, Andy Uba, plus many more, the Igbo leaders who had visited President Buhari to congratulate him and presumably leave some more CVs. The Ijaws were conspicuous in their absence- no gold studs and Woko and hats which they cockily wear in sight. In the Arewa group, I saw the same people I saw in 1999- Ahmed Joda, Audu Ogbeh, all the new APC governors. The old PDP governors were still in governors’ lodges in Abuja and State Houses. I saw OBJ, Kalu, and many old soldiers of the 1983 regime. Abuja airport was filthier now than ever. The Minister of Aviation was probably too busy trying to see what Stella Oduah had left in the sector (not much, it would seem.) 24 airports were being rebuilt; Chinese were working in Lagos and Abuja – on terms which are still secret even to the FAAN authorities in a democracy!! How much did Nigeria borrow from China for the airports project?

How are we going to repay?

The hotels were full of food coming from everywhere to the newly arrived victors of

C M Y K

SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015, PAGE 43

The change of guard

•The change of guard Abuja.

I saw old French men, Belgians, Germans, etc who were here in 1976, Many claimed their friends were now in power. I met a former MD of CFAO, and another of SCOA, etc with old photos of themselves and their then chairmen who were now at the cusp of power. There was a general atmosphere of freedom; less fear in Abuja then before more relaxed but not less expectations.

I went to Delta and Bayelsa to see friends who had burials. I drove from Warri to Ughelli, to Patani and then to Odi, and on to Tufani where we crossed the river to the other side in a small boat to Ewera to the burial site of Mama Porbeni who died, aged 102. We had been friends with Porbenis( for over 50 years), who were well established in Port Harcourt and Warri – Edwin Porbeni, Mrs Agama, mother of Deziani, ( her husband) Admiral Allison. Madueke, Adm. Porbeni, former Minister of Transport. The burial ceremony was at a school compound- outside canopy.

Low fan fare, super low profile but solemn and befitting the memory of the lady we came to bury. I saw no dignitaries, no Governors, or even other Ministers it was totally unlike old NNPC shows where oil companies competed to out do them selves. No Shell, Gulf, Chevron, Agip, Total etc unlike burials or occasions previously when the oil companies would have paved the roads, provided boats, buses, helicopters, private planes etc.The burial ceremony, there was no fuss no pump I did not even see even one new oil oligarchs.

Just a nice village ceremony for a family that have done especially well. Food was carried from the water side to the school- no local helpers either. It was a very satisfying outing, no mopol, or security, no floggings, no gapping on lookers marveling at the gait of the rich and powerful.

The other burial was also

nearby and for an old grand man, aged 101, with 17 children – 14 from one mother, several grand and great grand children. Also, as in old times, the ceremony was at the school play ground, simple canopy- square but very noisy because the bands were each determine to burst our ear drums! Plenty of food again low outing not ostentatious,- one in law was also a Federal Minister but no police, no hassle. Another burial involving another Minister equally low profiled was further down the river. It was as if the message has gone round- Mr Buhari does not like ostentatious display of wealth or simple common sense may have dictated the tone since all Ministers and political office holders would seem so stand accused until proven innocent. Why draw unnecessary attention to yourself? It may be they decided on low profile in sympathy with the loss of office of their Brother President Jonathan. But whatever the reason it was good news, a blast of fresh air.

By 5:30pm the parties were over- every one went home, no sirens, and no accidents.

Nevertheless I saw some old Militants: cagey, watchful and tight as the tightest spring ready to pounce. All were in eager anticipation of the outcome of the amnesty programme; many sat silently and listened to the old men and women tell old time stories as in day of yore.

There was of course excellent Congac- XOS, 18, 24 years old whiskeys, Gin, Vodka, good wine and some Crystal and Don Perignon champagne and, ofcourse, tons of the local gin. All the above had mixers of whatever choice the Ijaw – wanted, Campari and wine, or Heineken, cognae and coke, Neat Ijaw Water etc.

As we were in the canoe crossing from Tufani to Eweri, on the River Nunn we saw 10 barges, laden with oil on its way to the Atlantic; the barges were pulled by powerful boats, the crew was Indian.

Half way to Ewere, there was

a Chinese dredger, dredging the river so that boats and barges couldpass safely on the river. The dredging was privately contracted, no name in the boats or dredgers. On inquiry we were told by the locals that the operation we saw was constant, day and night, barges going up and down the river driven by Indians carrying cargoes of crude oil.

From Warri - Ughelli – Patani – Odi – Tufani – Ewere – Isoko was about 2 hour drive, which was like we stepped back in history to the 1950’s. Along the Delta Rivers we saw many small canoes which women and single fishermen would use to go out fishing or visiting relatives in other fishing villages. When I was young many young children from surrounding villages came to school in Abonnema in similar small canoes. This was repeated in Joinkrama, Tombia, Bakana, Buguma, etc. As we drove towards Ewere we could see that the rivers were in danger of being swallowed up by the swamps and vegetation on their banks in as much the same way as the hardily used roads, now all gratefully, tarmaced, which NDDC, the state Governments or oil companies had built. The roads were losing the battle of existence to the thick vegetation of plants, trees, elephant grasses on either side of the road, growing into the roads and reducing their width. The tires of our cars crushed plants lying on the tarmac, the sides of our cars were slapped by strong leafy vegetation – wild growing trees on either side, determined, as it were, to regain what was lost to the narrow tarmac dividing them.

We saw very few people, fewer markets, a place of utter desolation, general and evidently desperate poverty: there was nothing to do since NDDC built the roads. Yet on the rivers there was the inevitable and unavoidable oil sheen on them, the smell of crude oil all around and the relentless flaring of gas.

It reminded me of 1999 when President Obasanjo set up transition committees - 15 of them. We produced 15 volumes of policy papers.

Nobody read any of them. In Abuja then, we had to struggle for hotel rooms.

There were debts of the campaign with the attendant ridiculous claims by politicians

PAGE 44 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 31, 2015

C M Y K

SUNDAY Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015, PAGE 45

08116759757

By Dayo Johnson, Akure

T

O describe the auto crash that claimed the lives of a couple, and eight other members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) traveling from the monthly camp meeting on the Lagos – Ibadan Expressway to Ondo town as tragic is an understatement.

Three of the victims, a Zonal Pastor in Ondo Province 2, Pastor Dominic Folorunso Akinseye, 52; his wife, Beatrice; and Pastor Festus Akinsoyinu Fadakinte, were staff of the Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo while the seven other passengers in the bus were staunch members of the church.

Reports had it that the impact of the crash was so much that it took time before the mangled bodies of the deceased persons could be removed from the wreckage.

Sunday Vanguard was informed that seven persons died on the spot while four others were rushed to the Trauma Centre in Ondo town but three others later died.

Some members of the church equally returning to their states after the programme, who saw the crash, made frantic efforts to free the mangled bodies of the victims from under the stationary vehicle their bus reportedly rammed into in Kajola village near Ore. Tears flowed freely as traffic around the scene of the crash built up and, for hours, traffic on the express road came to a stand still. The passengers of the bus were said to have left Redemption Camp earlier with the intention of getting back to Ondo for a wedding ceremony of a member of the Province slated for Saturday, May 2. Akinseye was a second term Chairman of the Non- Academic Staff Union, NASU, of the Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo while the wife, Beatrice, was also a member of the union and the Secretary in the Guidance and Counselling Department of the institution. He was said to have been re-elected the NASU Chairman few months ago.

Sources said the wife had gone to Lagos ahead of the husband to visit relations only to join the team at the camp for the programme. It was learnt that Akinseye was driving the Toyota bus belonging to the NASU Chapter of the college when the crash occurred. Sources hinted that the crash might have been caused by poor visibility which made the bus to ram into a trailer said to have been parked along the ever busy Lagos/ Ore Express way.

Eleven of the church members reportedly boarded the NASU bus to attend the monthly programme because of the fuel scarcity in the country. Many other church members who would have loved C M Y K

• Pastor Akinseye and his wife,Beatrice

BLACK SATURDAY IN ONDO

Pastor, wife, 8 church members killed! learnt that the General Overseer (GO) of the church pastor Enock Adejare Adeboye, visited the families of the deceased, the church and the college to commiserate with them while the only survivor is still receiving treatment at the Trauma Center, Ondo.

A funeral service was held for the Akinseyes while a lying in state was done at the College Quadrangle before they were interred in their residence located at No 3 Adebusoye Street,

Ayeyemi, Ondo. Akinseye’s former colleagues described him as a rare gem, vibrant and a fearless leader, friendly and an uncompromising union leader.

They said these attributes earned him second term as NASU Chairman. They paid tributes to the couple and wondered why death took him at this period when leaders like him are few in the nation’s tertiary institutions.

“Who are we to blame God? He giveth and taketh. Glory be to His holy name”, said a

Christian colleague at the college.

Another colleague, Mr Adebare Akinsiku, prayed God to grant the deceased couple eternal rest and send help to their children and dependants they left behind.

Speaking with Sunday Vanguard, Ondo State Chairman of NASU, Comrade Clement Asepiri, described the late Akinseye as a “ good man, hard working, uncompromising and a loving leader.” Asepiri said the union has lost a worthy leader who was forthright and a good example of a Christian.

Ndanusa Kawu Adam, in Ilorin stated that, in the interest of fairness and justice, the New PDP faction of the APC, in which Saraki was a strong factor, should be allowed to fill the position of the Senate president since the CPC and ACN have occupied the positions of president and vice president respectively.. ”It is very important to also let the ill-campigners realised that

the movement of the then PDP governors, senators, and House of Representatives members to merge with APC was masterminded by the scion of late Waziri of Ilorin,”the statement said.

“This actually led to the success of the newly formed mega party (APC) to win majority positions and the presidency in the general elections.

Sunday Vanguard was informed that seven persons died on the spot while four others were rushed to the Trauma Centre in Ondo town but three others later died ar or th Forum thr ow Senate presidency: Kw Kwar araa N Nor orth throw owss weight behind to join the bus could not because Saraki the pastor insisted that he would not overload the vehicle.

The tragic and sudden death of the Akinseyes threw Adeyemi College of Education into mourning. Worst hit was the NASU which both couple belonged to before their death.

The union building was adored with the posters of the obituary of the couple while workers wore long faces. Sunday Vanguard

K

wara North Grassroot Solidarity Forum is soliciting support for the Senate president ambition of Senator Bukola Saraki, describing him as one of the pillars of democracy in Nigeria.

The group comprises the Yoruba non-speaking people of Kwara North and the suburb of Kwara Central (Ilorin).

The group, in a press statement by its president, Alh

PAGE 46—SUNDAY

Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015 08116759757

KILLING OF 6-MONTH-OLD BABY!

Bereaved mother pleads for justice

OLA AJAYI, IBADAN

S

ince her only child was violently taken from her back and flung to the ground at the peak of a bloody clash between loyalists of Ajoriwin of Irawo,Oba Musiliu Ademola, and her husband, which allegedly resulted in the death of six-month-old Azeem, Mrs. Wahab Adijat has been a shadow of herself. Irawo is in

Atisbo Local Government area of Oyo State.

It doesn’t require a soothsayer to know that she was shattered.

The pain of a woman losing any child for any reason at all is a bitter pill to swallow. When she walked into Vanguard office in company of her husband, Wahab Idowu; their counsel, Mr. Remi Alli; and the second wife, one could tell from her swollen eyes that an unimaginable

tragedy had befallen her. As young as she is, it seemed the whole world had collapsed on her.

Before she opened her mouth to explain the fracas that claimed the only child of her five-year marriage, stream of tears filled her eyes. At her first attempt to talk, her voice faded and when she had mustered enough composure to speak, uncontrollable and intermittent sobs accompanied her response.

After calming down, she recounted how one Ojo Baloosa allegedly snatched her baby from her and caused him serious injuries that led to his death two days after.

She said, “I was at home on that fateful day when some people came to me. Sensing what could follow their unfriendly countenance, I took to my heels with the baby strapped to my back. The uninvited guests pursued me. Ojo Baloosa caught up with me and kicked my legs from behind and I fell on my face with the baby.

“To my surprise, he took my baby from me and flung him away. I stood up to prevent them from hurting the innocent baby.

But, I was yanked off and given serious beating. Despite that, I still struggled to where my baby was lying and picked him up. By this time, the baby did not even cry.

He was only moving some parts

of his body”.

When asked how she identified the person who took her baby from her, she said she knew him well since she is from Irawo and the suspect knew her as the wife of Wahab Idowu who had earlier been attacked by the same people.

She continued, “I called him(my baby), but he did not respond. All these happened around 3pm. I got to one hospital, the nurses took the baby from me and told me to excuse them.

Later, I was referred to the General Hospital, Tede. The baby could not eat or drink. He died two days after. I got married in 2011. This baby was the only child I had.”

She called on Nigerians to help her so that the baby would not die in vain.

When with the police, she quoted the suspect as saying he was one of those who destroyed the block-moulding industry of her husband but was not the one that took the baby from her.

Police arrest suspect Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Muhammed Katsina, who promised that the culprits would be brought to justice, said his men had arrested the suspected attacker, Baloosa, and may be charged to court.

Wahab Idowu, the father of the baby, who was also beaten by

To my surprise, he took my baby from me and flung him away. I stood up to prevent them from hurting the innocent baby. But, I was yanked off and given serious beating the suspected attackers, pleaded with the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, CP Katsina and other security agents to do all things necessary to ensure that those who had hands in the killing of the baby and ruining his business interests were not allowed to get away with the crimes.

He noted that he remained in exile in an undisclosed town to avoid being killed by his attackers for daring to challenge them for the loss of his baby.

‘Buhari can creat om tr anspor or’ createe 4m jobs frfrom transpor ansportt sect sector’

BY EPHRAIM OSEJI & IKENNA ASOMBA

T

ransportation professionals, under aegis of t he Transportation Society of Nigeria (TSN), have urged President Muhammadu Buhari to harness the potentials of the sector, pointing t hat it is capable of creating over four million jobs.

The President of TSN, Francis Ehiguese, said the Nigerian road transport sector accounts for over 90 percent of domestic passenger and freight movements but has been neglected by successive administrations, adding however that Buhari needed to declare a state of emmergency on the road sector.

Ehiguese said: “The Nigerian road transport sector accounts for over 90 percent of all domestic passenger and freight movements but successive administrations have not paid adequate C M Y K

attention to it. The result is a decaying road infrastructure, in some cases a total disconnection from the grid; high level of accidents and insecurity; high cost of transportation; a lack of regulatory control, hence turning our road transport space to an intense war zone.

These problems call for a declaration of a state of emergency on the road subsector.

“The TSN recognises the critical role of road transportation in national economy and therefore calls on the incoming administration to take affirmative action on road transportation for the good of Nigeria.” Promising to assist the Buhari administration towards achieving an improved transport sub-sector, the TSN boss however advocated for an all-inclusive and responsive National Transportation Policy (NTP) within the next six months.

According to him, “The NTP should inevitably make

provision for the creation of the following institutions at the national and state levels within the first year of the new administration, and they are National Road Transportation Board (NRTB), State Road Transportation Board (SRTB), National Express Coach (NEC), National Freight Service (NFS), Intra-State Bus Service (IBS) and Intra-State Freight Service (IFS).”

Children having fun at the 2015 Inspiration FM Children’s Day carnival as part of activities to mark Children’s Day celebrations at Lekki, Lagos. Photo by Lamidi Bamidele

Factional Kwara OPC chides Gani Adams

BY DEMOLA AKINYEMI

A

faction of the Odua Peoples Congress (OPC) in Kwara State has dissociated itself from the purported affiliation with the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former President Goodluck Jonathan by an embattled leader of the group, Otunba Gani Adams, saying OPC was not designed to be involved in politics. OPC’s factional state Coordinator, Comrade Abdul

Kareem Eleji, and the secretary, Comrade Abiodun Ayegbami, stated this in Ilorin.

“OPC from onset was not meant to partake in politics, the objective of the congress has been welfare of the people,” they said in a statement.

“For OPC to partake in politics, it must be seen to be an act to rescue the people as against the action of Otunba Gani Adams who seems to be against the people by partaking in a regime that most Nigerians would never want to experience

again.

“Its members in the state would not form a freedom fighting group with a new but as sons and daughters of Oduduwa will remain members of OPC until situation does not anymore permit such”. The group pledged its allegiance to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state and at the federal level, stating that “it is ready to work with and for all progressives whose vision is to better the lives of the common people of Nigeria.”

SUNDAY Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015, PAGE 47 08116759757

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

industries. Home Owners Charter is basically for people with low income.

D

irector-General, Bureau of Lands and Survey in Ogun State , Mr. Adewale Oshinlowo, in this interview, reveals that over 100,000 Certificates of Occupancy were being processed under the Home Owner Charter programme. He, however, dismisses the insinuation that the initiative was solely for revenue generation , saying it was aimed at enhancing the economic value of the citizens.

What has your journey been so far?

My predecessor did a very wonderful work, she started most of what we can see even though we are at the foundation level. Today, I am sure if you see what we have done, you will see that she has done well. You must have seen the renovations going on in the Bureau of Lands, it is as if you have spent a fortune on the department.

With innovation and the attitude of staff, we’ve been able to minimize the cost, the only cost that is very high is the part of the equipment that we procured and the equipment were negotiated and they were bought at a very reasonable price.

How many C of O has your agency issued to people so far?

Over 8,000 Certificates of Occupancy have been issued to the people so far.

They were presented by Governor Ibikunle Amosun. He is going to present many more very soon.

How many people have you captured so far?

We have captured over 100,000 applicants, that is over 30 per cent. But with the equipment we have now, very soon, we would capture 70 per cent. If this programme will start again, the decision will come from the land exco and the Home Owners committee.

To what extent has this programme improved Ogun State economy?

We have been collaborating; part of the collaboration is the Orange Valley.

We also have collaboration with the ministries of education, health, commerce and industry, among others; it has been yielding good fruit.

It is believed that the Home Owners Charter programme was introduced by the governor to secure second term and now that second term has been secured, what should we expect?

We are looking inward to do something for corporate bodies. The first thing we intend to do is to reduce our concentrates from 8 per cent for consent and that is a compensation for the evaluation of the land that has gone up in the state, and that is not my own doing, it is a matter of demand and supply. The rate at which people demand for land now in the state is on the high side. For corporate bodies, we will do a lot of things for them for coming into the state. We will give them good land with access to gas pipe that will make them function well and we will also give them state pioneer status.

Do you think that this Home Owners Charter is achieving the purpose for which it was established?

If you do the cost benefit analysis, you will see that government is trying to support the people of Ogun State.

Apart from that, we look at the future that it will also enhance the economic value of the citizen and once the economic value of the citizen is enhanced , it is going to have a good effect on the government of the day.

So, we are not looking at Governor Ibikunle Amosun alone, we are looking at other government that would C M Y K

*Adewale Oshinlowo

Ogun Homeowner Char ter beneficiaries get 8,000 C of O – Lands Bureau chief be in place so that when they have the data of all the property, in the state then, they can plan. And with the Home Owners Charter, you don’t need to go to Internal Revenue for the stamping of your document, you don’t need to go to the Ministry of Urban and Regional Planning to get approval. Through the Home Owners Charter Committee, you can get your urban and regional planning stamped. And through that committee, you can get your CofO. How many agencies and ministries are involved?

Four is involved. Ministry of Urban and Regional Planning, Ministry of Finance that is giving you receipt, Bureau of Lands for your C of O and Internal Revenue. That means, what can take you away ,we can do it within one day. We are trying to reduce the process of collecting C of O to 90 days.

What is your relationship with industries?

What we’ve done is that the moment we have the data concerning the number of properties you have, we mark them so that we can do infrastructure which has already started. Our rail is coming on board to

Security patrol vans donated by Platform Petroleum Limited/ Newcross Petroleum Limited to Umutu and Obiaruku divisions of the Nigeria police at Umutu, Delta State. which was commissioned by the Group Managing Director of Platform Petroleum Limited Mr. E m m a n u e l Konyebagu.

Over 8,000 Certificates of Occupancy have been issued to the people so far. They were presented by Governor Ibikunle Amosun. He is going to present many more very soon reduce the number of people and pressure on the road. There are other facilities we are trying to put in place for the people. So, definitely, we are tackling property marketers.

Is there a discount between the price for residential and industrial selling?

The Home Owners Charter is for residential structures alone, we are not doing it for industry; we are not even doing it for churches, hotels and other

So what are you doing for industries?

What we are trying to do for the industries is that at the time they are buying the land we already give them discount.

Are you going to repeat this programme especially for new buildings?

All we are doing is just to bring those who have bought land to a legal position so that they can enjoy the reason of having land.

Are you reserving some lands for future purposes?

Yes, that is why we divided the land into different branches for industries, for agric and residential. So, we minimize so that proper planning could be followed, because we have a strategy and this is one of the reasons for the charter so that we can have data to plan. Our offices are still strong throughout the 20 local governments.

How do you distinguish between those who built years back and those who are just building?

We have intelligence units with different strategies of detecting if it is a new building or not. We ask for the picture of the building as well.

How do you feel when you are asked to lead a team to go and pull down buildings that are revoked by government?

We don’t revoke C of O without justification, but, there are reasons why you revoke C of O . It could be due to failure to effect development on the land, or maybe the land is constituting nuisance. Also, the person also failed to pay grant-rent for about five years. It could also be of government use. And I can tell you that the M.D of OPIC has sent letters to everyone who has refused to develop his/her land to come and do so and they must have gotten the ultimatum and failure to comply with, we would now swing into action as directed in the 1999 Act. So, we follow due process before any CofO could be revoked.

What is the fate of those who could not participate in the Home Owners Charter programme?

Those who were not part of this arrangement should apply for C of O from our ministry which processes the Certificate of Occupancy within 90 working days.

Will they enjoy the same discount with those collecting theirs now?

You know when you are doing a promo, you enjoy discount until the promo ends. For now the promo has stopped until we do another one.

MONARCH NAMED IN LAND TUSSLE IN EGBE:

Octogenarian cries for help

BY YINKA AJAYI

Pa Olatunde Aina, an octogenarian, whose property is located at 24, Olalekan Adekoya Street, Off Liasu Road, Egbe in Egbe Idimu LCDA, Lagos State, has accused a traditional ruler in the area (names withheld) of supporting an alleged land grabber to illegally encroached on his land.

“I bought this land in 1977 and paid for it. I have been living in my house which I built on it since 1994. I was surprised when the son of a high chief in Egbe came in March 2015 and started laying claim to the undeveloped portion of the land which I reserved for car park”, Pa Aina told Sunday Vanguard.

He said the traditional ruler knew that the land was sold to him, and that the claim to the land by the alleged land grabber took him to his palace. “But I was surprised by the utterances of the traditional ruler who spoke in favour of the alleged land grabber. They are now telling me to forgo my land because I have dared them by leaving the land unfenced for so long”, he added.

“I am appealing to the authorities and the Lagos State Government to come to my rescue because I don’t know when the traditional ruler turned himself to the interpreter of law by giving the alleged land grabber order to start constructing on my land”.

Centurion Systems wor kshop workshop C

enturion Systems West Africa is organizing training courses covering installation and maintenance of its products, which include remote gates, traffic barriers and GSM devices, to be facilitated by Chris Grobler, the company’s inhouse training manager.

Speaking in Lagos, Managing Director, Mr. Okulaja, said:” The aim of the training courses is to empower individuals to start their own businesses, and to empower business-owners to grow their enterprises by equipping them with the necessary skills to install the manufacturers sophisticated and reliable security products.

The company, which started in 1986 in Johannesburg, South Africa but opened its doors in Nigeria in 2011, has built a reputation in this country (and world-wide) as a provider of reliable, durable and feature-rich access automation solutions.”

PAGE 48—SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 31, 2015

Late Justice Ejiwunmi’s son weds in Lagos Kaduna

T

he roll call of dignitaries was rich, classy and highly distinguished when son of late Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Justice Akintola Ejiwunmi took a wife in Lagos. Akintola Ejiwunmi (Jnr) and his beau, former Miss Oyinkansola Johnson, daughter of Engr. and Mrs Alex Adebisi Johnson were joined as man and wife in a traditional engagement ceremony witnessed by prominent politicians, captains of industry, traditional rulers and all manners of society big shots. The event took place at Havila Event Centre in Victoria Island, Lagos. Photos by Biodun Ogunleye .

The couple, Mr. & Mrs. Akintola Oyinkansola Ejiwunmi with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

C M Y K

L-R:Mr Alex Johnson, Mrs Adebisi Johnson, bride's parents and Otunba (Mrs) Adenike Ajibode.

L-R:Chief Billy Aigbe (JP), Mrs Ivie Ejiwunmi and Mr Kola Ejiwunmi, parents of the groom.

L-R: Chief (Mrs) Abba Folawiyo, Amb. Tayo Ogunsulire and Chief Frank Akinrele (SAN).

L-R: Gov Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State, Chief Bisi Akande and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu

L-R: Chief (Mrs) Bola Obasanjo, Chief (Mrs) Leila Fowler and Mrs Grace Kusemiju

L-R:Sunny Omoregie Asemota, Mrs Maiden Ibru and Mrs Ireti Asemota

Diocese Bishop

Anglican celebrates

T

he Holy Communion service for the 25th anniversary celebration of the consecration of the Bishop of Kaduna Anglican Diocese and newly appointed Secretary-General of the Anglican Communion worldwide, The Most Revd Josiah Idowu-Fearon took place at the Cathedral of St. Michael’s, Kaduna recently. Photos by Olu Ajayi.

Most Revd. Fearon with his wife Comfort Amina Fearon, cutting the Anniversary cake

L-R: Arc. & Mrs Ndanusa Fearon; Most Revd Fearon and his wife, Comfort Amina Fearon and Mr & Mrs IbrahimFearon.

L-R: Diocesan Council Member, Chief Ako with Most Revd Fearon and Dr Samaila and others

Diocesan Council Members with Most Revd Fearon

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 31, 2015, PAGE 49

Alpha Ma Mayy anniv er sar anniver ersar saryy

Club

celebrat es celebrates

M

From left: Chief [Mrs] Rita Lori Ogbebor, The Igba of Warri Kingdom, guest speaker; Mr. Godfrey Etikerentse, chairman of the occasion, Mr. Robinson Eyoyibo, Chairman, Alpha May Club and Mr. Ben Atseyinku, member of the Club

L-R: Mr. Fred Dudu and Mr. Tola Aragho

30 th

embers of Alpha May Club of Lagos, an elite association of Itsekiri professionals, rolled out drums penultimate Saturday to celebrate their 30th anniversary.

Chief (Mrs) Rita Lori Ogbebor, the Igba of Warri Kingdom took the front seat as guest speaker and spoke on “The Itsekiri Nation May 29, 2015 and Beyond’ before a high-profile members of the club and their spouses. The event which held at Oakwood Park Hotels, Lekki, Lagos was spiced up with Itsekiri cultural dances and plays.

Photos by Bunmi Azeez

From left: Esisi Beatrice, Prof. Egerton E. Uvieghare and Hauwa Musa.

From left: Mr Victor Hammond, Oritsebemigho Eyoyibo and Cecilia Omatete

From left: Bar. Andrew A. Ayonmike, Mr. Oti Edukugho, Prince Yemi Emiko and Mr. Ukueyinden Tony Edegbele,

From left: Tony Ede, Comrade Alex Eyengho and his wife, Matel.

Pomp as Kanene Azinge marks 70

I

t was th a gathering of family, friends, associates and well-wishers when Kanene Azinge celebrated his 70 birthday in Lagos last weekend. From the church, Our Saviour’s Church, Tafawa Balewa Square, where a thanksgiving service was held in honour of the celebrant to the venue of the reception, it was an atmosphere of celebration all the way accentuated with panache and class. Photos by Diran Oshe

Mr & Mrs Kanene Azinge and their children cutting his 70th birthday cake.

L-R: Chief ( Prof) Epiphamy Azinge (SAN), Mr Onwuka Ogbolu and Chief John Edozien.

Mrs Merit Ofulue (l) and Mrs Tobi Odunaiya C M Y K

L-R: Mr Onwuka Ogbolu, Mr Ugboko Onyema and Mr Damasus Nwabueze.

L- R: Mrs Rita Amuka and Yeye Rawane

L-R: Barr. Jerry Azinge, Mr Isichie and Barr.

Emeka Azinge

PAGE 50—SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 31, 2015

Senate Presidency and the Lawan-Akume deal: End of discussion VIEWPOINT

By Sufuyan Ojeifo

VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF The scenario to expect on Senate leadership

I

N my two previous inter ventions on the issue, I had tried to offer some illuminations as to the path the APC should take in the tricky circumstance in which it had found itself, especially with some audacious members poised to go the whole hog in the battle for the coveted seat of Senate president. The trio of Senators Bukola Saraki, George Akume and Ahmad Lawan had thrown their hats in the ring. They brought a large dose of intrigues and horse-trading into the mix.

The themes of the first article titled: “Senate Presidency: Considering the Akume, Lawan Options” and the second article, titled: “Senate Presidency, Speakership: the Conversation Continues” favoured both Akume and Lawan Senate presidency. It was pretty difficult for me in my first outing to prop up one against the other. I had simply navigated the turbulence by proposing an Akume Senate presidency if the APC ceded the position to the North C M Y K

Central and a Lawan Senate presidency if the party decided to cede it to the North-East zone.

That was quite explicable: both aspirants are very good, meritorious, experienced and, in the legislative parlance, ranking senators. In other words, either of them would make a good Senate president; or put differently, both of them have all the requisite qualifications to occupy the office. In my second outing, after the APC had discountenanced the factor of zoning, I weighed all the aspirants on the scale of merit, experience and ranking and concluded that while Saraki failed to measure up, both Akume and Lawan were spoton in their claims on merit, experience and ranking.

My argument was that overall Akume would appear to have a head start over Lawan, apparently guided by the Senate standing rule. Whereas, Lawan was a member of the House of Representatives from 1999 to 2007 before his election into the Senate in 2007, the same year Akume got elected into the Senate, in determining ranking, the Senate rule does not take into account the fact of previous membership of the either the state legislature or House of Representatives. That makes both

By virtue of that seniority, now that the APC, which he leads as Minority Leader in the Senate, has become a majority party, Akume should have been allowed to progress into the position of Senate president in line with the convention of leadership by progression in advanced democracies Akume and Lawan equal in terms of length of tenure. The head-start, which Akume has over Lawan, as I argued, is the fact that Akume has been a principal officer, to wit: Senate Minority Leader since 2011.

By virtue of that seniority, now that the APC, which he leads as Minority Leader in the Senate, has become a majority party, Akume should have been allowed to progress into the position of Senate

president in line with the convention of leadership by progression in advanced democracies. In the same vein, I had argued that the Minority Leader in the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, should also have been allowed to progress to become Speaker. Those were the frontiers of the conversation that I continued to expand in my second intervention before the horse-trading that redefined the shape and course of the race for the senate presidency.

Although, I came short of suggesting that Akume and Lawan should agree to step down for each other so that one would pick the position of Senate President and the other Deputy Senate President simply because I did not want to offend the sensibilities of either of these solid candidates, it was gratifying when the APC Senators Unity Forum, a group comprising 37 out of the 60 members-elect, got Akume to step down for Lawan so that Lawan would emerge as Senate President and Akume as Deputy Senate President.

That move gave birth to a very solid APC bloc in the emergent 8th Senate, leaving Saraki with the support of 23 senators to search for support in the PDP caucus to shore up

his dwindling fortunes. Knowing the Senate politics and politicking as one does, the acclaimed 23-member Saraki Like Minds group cannot remain intact between now and the day of inauguration. Saraki will steadily lose some of his supporters, who would not want to miss out in the chairmanship of standing committees, to the Lawan-Akume group, which looks good to clinch the presiding officers’ slots.

Having sat back to consider all the indices on ground, it was clear that the only way to breeze past Saraki was for Lawan and Akume to present a tag team or joint ticket. That worked perfectly for them. It also bolstered the support for the ticket among senators of the PDP caucus. Lawan is believed to enjoy the solid support of the outgoing Senate President, David Mark. Mark is very influential and would be instrumental to securing the support of a majority of the 49-member PDP Senate caucus for Lawan-Akume ticket.Saraki will get his share of support from the PDP caucus, no doubt. That is the scenario to expect. *Ojeifo, Editor-in-Chief of The Congresswatch magazine, sent this piece via ojwonderngr@yahoo.com

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 31, 2015, PAGE 51 sameyoboka@yahoo.com

08023145567 (sms only)

I am not Junior TB Joshua —Fufeyin of MercyLand

T

HE crowd of miracle seekers who attended the just concluded 3-day crusade by the fast-growing Christ Mercy Land Deliverance Ministry in Effurun, Delta State was unprecedented. Theme of the event was; “I must carry my Samuel”, and as expected several participants testified of diverse deliverances including instant healing while hundreds smiled home with cash gifts worth millions of Naira.

General Overseer/founder of the church, Prophet Jeremiah Omoto Fufeyin, told newsmen after the crusade that he was called by God to organise the programme that attracted participants from across the globe, disclosing that a woman who carried her pregnancy for 12 months and could not deliver, delivered her baby during the crusade.

Asked to assess the success of the crusade which held at Mercy City permanent site in Effurun, the cleric said: “I must say that the programme was very successful because a lot of miracles took place,” adding that it is a yearly programme that attracts a lot of women, especially barren women and young ladies seeking life partners, not forgetting to mention that it was designed for men with low sperm count, weak erection and those who could not impregnate their wives.

On how he is financing the gigantic project under construction at the permanent site, Fufeyin agreed that it is a gigantic project, “but let me quickly remind you that the project is God’s design, it is not from man. I will not forget to appreciate the goodness of God in this direction because this present site is a water logged area and we have to spent huge amount of money to sandfill it. I can say that God is actually helping us because my projection is that from now to December 2015, we would have gone far

It is true that people call me Warri T.B Joshua or Junior T.B. Joshua, but I believe that everything about T.B. Joshua is divine and natural and possibly complete it. Of a truth, I cannot actually give the expenditure we have made so far.

Infact it has cost us several millions of naira and we are still building”.

Reminded of his prediction that the Islamic terrorist group, Boko Haram would soon be flushed out after the general election, the church founder insisted that the so called insurgents will be brought to their kneels, adding that the military will be ruthless in dislodging them and, it is happening now. He maintained that he still stand on his statement or prediction that the Boko Haram issue will be a thing of the past.

Asked to comment on the Buhari administration, Prophet Fufeyin said, “Well, it is a political issue but we will continue to pray for peace to reign. Above all, we appeal to the president, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari to carry everybody along, irrespective of party or religious affiliation. I will always pray too for God to give him strength and wisdom to pilot the affairs of this nation to the promised land.”

•Prophet Jeremiah Omoto Fufeyin On how he reacts when people call him junior T.B Joshua, Fufeyin declared: “It is true that people call me Warri T.B Joshua or Junior T.B. Joshua, but I believe that everything about T.B. Joshua is divine and natural. Frankly speaking, our father, T.B. Joshua having watched my programme on Mercyland Television was delighted because we are healing people too. I would also say that everything I am doing comes from God. May be it is the way people see me performing miracles, hence they address me as junior T.B. Joshua. Mind you, I am neither junior or Warri T.B Joshua, but I am Prophet Jeremiah Omoto Fufeyin. Actually, we have only met during the incident that happened in his church in which part of the building collapsed and I paid him a condolence visit.”

Asked if he had received financial assistance from government to construct the project, Fufeyin countered, “No, I don’t get any financial assistance

from government but God who called me used people to bless me and it is what they are giving us for use to build this project.

Government has never given us one kobo. I do pray for governors. They come to me in the night and God do hear their prayers. Infact, this place is for everybody, but when I pray for politicians and prophesy to them, the prophecies always come through. I am sent by God”.

On how he started the church, the cleric explained that he was a member of Mountain of Fire Ministries (MFM) when God called him, adding that he left the church because they were against the miracles he was performing, “but today, here we are. God is awesome and I give glory to Him. I started the journey about four years ago. God who called me also gave that name, Mercy Land because of his mercies to mankind. By his mercy we are performing miracles, by his mercy we are building our permanent site and by his mercy we are progressing. In anything I am doing God’s mercy is always following me.”

When asked of his relationship with his former members who were criticizing him, Fufeyin declared: “For God sake I have forgiven them long ago. I don’t bear grudges against anybody.

God say we should learn to forgive one another. We have even become friends because they have fallen in love with me. “I have helped many people and that is my hallmark because I fall sick if I don’t help people. God has built that system in me that I must help people on daily basis. In fact I help people a lot. Above all, there is an office called “Act of his shepherd” that takes care of widows and the needy.

Every Sunday I do give money to the needy, at least 200,000 and above. There are a lot of women who deliver their babies and we buy baby things for them,” he maintained.

Tak alues int akee Godly vvalues intoo politics, Anglican bishop admonishes Christians

By CALEB AYANSINA

B

ISHOP of Ondo Anglican Diocese, Most Rev. George Lasebikan has admonished Christians to take Godly virtues into politics for the purpose of sanitizing the country’s political system.

Lasebikan gave the admonition in his sermon at a thanksgiving service for the second session of the 9th Synod of the Anglican Diocese of

Choir ministration during Hossanah Praise programme, organised by Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, Royal Chapel Parish, Ikorodu, Lagos.

Abuja with the theme: ‘So Give Back to Caesar what is Caesar and Give back to God what is God’, held at the Cathedral Church of the Advent, Life Camp, Abuja.

The cleric lamented a situation where Nigerian politicians see politics as a conduct of public affairs for private advantage, instead of taking it as service to humanity.

He expressed dissatisfaction that “we (Christians) believe that a nonChristian leader has moral power to fight corruption in Nigeria,” noting that Christian faithful are always skeptical whenever a Muslim emerges as leader in the country, reminding them that God had in the past used unbelieving kings to order the steps of Jews.

The Preacher noted that worry would not solve the problem as things would definitely fall in to place, when people learn “to give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” He warned Nigerian leaders not toe the path of abomination like the same sex marriage, capable of incuring the wrath of God. Primate, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh, in an interview, said the theme of the Synod demands man’s total obedience to God, stressing that “it is a clarion call for all creatures, especially the human kind to submit their wills and lives to God in total obedience.”

GBENGA ADENUGA:

I’ll continue my free worship concer ts concerts

BY OLAYINKA LATONA

I

T was a non-stop three hours of praise, worship and reconnection to the Maker as Nigeria’s ace gospel recording artiste and performer, Gbenga Adenuga organized another in his live worship concert series for music lovers at the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos.

Tagged: “Worship With Gbenga Adenuga” (WWGA), the interdenominational event was witnessed by thousands of worshippers including participants with hearing challenges who had to be assisted by sign interpreters mouthing the words, playing air guitar, air drums and jammed along with the musical bands.

The participants all had a glorious time in God’s presence as Gbenga Adenuga and his crew performed held the participants spell bound as they sang along and danced to the tunes.

Adenuga who easily lifted participants to a unique level of intimacy with their Maker with the mastery delivery of some of his hit tracks also shared stage with another gospel artiste, Shola Allyson of Eji-Owuro fame, who also inspirationally took the participants right to the throne of grace.

Describing his zeal and his natural love to worship God, Adenuga disclosed that he has been a gospel music performer for the past 20 years because of the love he has for God. According to help him, he derives his drive from a belief that people should not pay to worship God, stating that he can spend all his fortune to ensure this.

He believes that the real concert is a manifestation of efforts put into the preparations of the event, pointing out that for the fact that God has provided him with everything needed for the show, he has no reason to charge for it.

In his words: “I have been doing this for the past 20 years. I love it. I am happy. It is what I am made to do and I am going to keep on doing it. I pray to God that I can do concert for nations where people can gather from everywhere and worship God. “It is not that I have all the money in the world; once God provides, I can spend the last of the money to do this for Him. He has been so good to me and I feel that the least I can do is also to give back to Him in my own little way; that is what life is all about.

“Also, I believe that worship is free. For me, the concert that we do here is not the real thing; my concert has ended before we started. The real thing for me is the efforts, the money and the sacrifice that go into it, that is worship for me. Why should I then charge for what God has already provided for me? Why should I charge for something that had already ended before it even took place?”

PAGE 52—SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 31, 2015

M

ARRIAGE is not man-made; neither is it subject to human design. God is the author of marriage, meaning marriage was made in heaven. The greatest marriage of all is that between God the Father and Jesus the Son. Theirs is the supreme love story; one that is eternal and everlasting. God loved Jesus before the foundation of the world. (John 17:24).

The relationship between God and Jesus is the Christian model for the ideal marriage relationship. It gives us the exemplary insight of how husbands and wives should relate to one another.

Jesus’ prayer for the Church is also applicable to the husband and wife in the Christian marriage. He says: “I pray that they all may be one, as you, Father, are in me, and I in you; that they also may be one in us. That they may be one just as we are one: I in them, and you in me; that they may be made perfect in one, that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:2026).

Family of God At the dawn of creation, God said: “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness.” (Genesis 1:26).

The plural community that reflects God’s image is the special community of the husband and the wife. When God created man in his image, he created a marriage; a family relationship: “God created human beings, making them to be like himself. He created them male and female.”

(Genesis 1:27).

The marriage community is a sacred reflection of the family of God. Its identity, life

BENZAK AND CHIOMA UZUEGBU: THE PERFECT MARRIED COUPLE and power come from God. Paul says: “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.”

(Ephesians 3:14-15). Using Benzak and Chioma as points of contact for others, I would like to highlight the following aspects of God’s relationship with Jesus as the blueprint of the ideal husband/wife relationship.

Love and devotion Jesus says: “The Father loves the Son.” (John 5:20).

As the Father loves the Son, so must the husband loves his wife. This love must not be hidden but should be openly displayed. Jesus says: “The world must learn that I love the Father.” (John 14:31). The wedding ceremony gives the husband and the wife the imperative from thenceforth to show the world their love for one another.

The days of pretence and coyness are over. No more: “If I call him on the phone he might think I am running after him.” “If I phone to tell her where I am; my friends might get the impression that I am tied to her apronstrings.” Let everyone know you are head-over-heels in love with your spouse. Let your friends know it. Let your

The greatest marriage of all is that between God the Father and Jesus the Son parents know it. Let your children know it. The marriage relationship is all about love. Express it to the full.

Husband and wife must be devoted to pleasing one another. Jesus says: “He who sent me is with me. The Father has not left me alone, for I always do those things that please him.” (John 8:29). The husband should be his wife’s faithful companion. So also should the wife remain steadfast beside her husband.

Even when they are apart, they must remain mindful of one another. Moreover, they should always do things to please one another.

Harmony and unity Husband and wife have different roles and accomplish different functions in marriage. The assignment of God the Father is different from that of God the Son. Jesus says: “My Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it again.” (John 10:17). The Son does not begrudge the

Father his role. Neither does the Father begrudge the Son. The same should apply between husband and wife.

Jesus acknowledges the headship of God. He says: “My Father is greater than I.” (John 14:28).

Marriage is the union between husband and wife.

Therefore, they are required to live together in unity of mind and purpose. Jesus says: “I and my Father are one.”

(John 10:30). So should be the husband and the wife.

Jesus says: “I am in the Father and the Father is in me.”

(John 14:11). This is the most profound expression of intimacy that is possible.

Physically, it can only take place between husband and wife. Spiritually, it means the husband and the wife carry one another along wherever they go and in whatever they do.

They should also have all things in common. Jesus says to God: “All I have is yours, and all you have is mine.”

(John 17:10). There is no private property anymore.

No more should one say: “My salary is mine but your salary is ours.”

Communication Communication is an essential element in marriage. There must be no silent treatment between husband and wife. Jesus says: “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. And I know that you always hear me.”

(John 11:41-42). Husband and wife must always listen to one another. The one should never be too busy to listen to what the other has to say. They should allow one another to finish their sentences. They should always be sending each other love notes and text-messages.

They must share everything. Jesus says: “The Father loves the Son, and shows him all things that he himself does; and he will show him greater works than these, that you may marvel.” (John 5:20). There must be nothing hidden in the husband/wife relationship. No hidden letters or bank accounts. No holding back. Everything must be laid bare. Each partner must stand naked and unashamed before the other.

(Genesis 2:25).

Interdependence Husband and wife must

do everything together. Jesus says: “The Son can do nothing by himself.” (John 5:19). Marriage means that both husband and wife have chosen to lose their independence. They are now a team. Jesus says: “I do nothing of myself; but as my Father taught me, I speak these things.” (John 8:28).

Seek each other’s counsel in everything. Don’t start a business without consulting your wife or your husband.

There is a peculiar wisdom that God has given to your wife. There is a peculiar wisdom that God has given to your husband. One completes the other. One complements the other. There is no competition.

The wife submits to the husband, and the husband loves the wife. Jesus says: “I have kept my Father ’s commandments and abide in his love.” (John 15:10).

Submission reinforces love and love reinforces submission. The more the husband loves his wife; the more he expresses love for his wife, the more she will submit to him. Similarly, the more the wife submits to her husband the more he will love her. Husband and wife esteem one another. Jesus says: “If I honour myself, my honour is nothing. It is my Father who honours me.”

(John 8:54). Husband and wife must operate as a kind of mutual admiration society.

Benediction Chioma and Benzak: “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.”

(Numbers 6:24-26).

(Healing Wings, 31st January, 2015).

WCC, cchur hur or hurcch leader leaderss call ffor end of South Sudan war

BY SAM EYOBOKA with Agency reports

A

S the tragic situation of conflict in South Sudan moves into its 18th month, the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the South Sudan Council of Churches (SSCC) continued their call for an end to the senseless conflict. Human rights are being abused at every level, both on the battlefield and in peaceful areas. People are being killed, raped and tortured. The humanitarian situation is deteriorating. South Sudan, a rich and fertile land, should be the bread basket of Africa yet instead is relying on foreign aid.

In a statement issued in Juba on May 26, the South Sudan Council of Churches spoke of the deteriorating situation in South Sudan: “We challenge the military and political leaders of all sides, most of whom call themselves Christians: why are you not listening to the voice of your church leaders, who echo the voice of the ordinary citizens of South Sudan?”

The statement also said: “Children are being recruited into armed groups. Looting is endemic. People are being arrested for no reason.

Security organs appear to be acting as if they are above the law. The space for citizens and civil society to speak out appears to be narrowing.”

Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general

secretary of the WCC, commented on the statement: “The church leaders are playing a significant role to bring peace to South Sudan. The churches are representing the people and the civil society and they speak the truth and the true will of all the people of a real and just peace for South Sudan” Tveit added: “Together as the South Sudan Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches, we will convey the message we have as one worldwide fellowship of churches: Stop the war!”

The WCC has accompanied the churches in South Sudan for more than 40 years. In April this year, the WCC in collaboration with the South Sudan Council of Churches convened 20 church leaders and representatives from South Sudan and Ethiopia, along with related agencies, in Addis Ababa to reflect on the tragic situation of conflict in South Sudan, the recent collapse of peace talks among the parties to the conflict, and fresh ways forward.

Tveit underlined: “We have to build South Sudan by peaceful and political means.”

The church leaders concluded their statement: “We will take more proactive steps to try to achieve peace and reconciliation for the people of South Sudan. Any long term solution to the conflict must take account of the needs of the ordinary people, not the agenda of the political and military elite.”

Rev Mrs Carol Ighele, (left) Mrs Josephine Ugwu, the Lagos Airport Cleaner who returned lost 12 million dollars (middle) and Bishop Charles Ighele, (right) President, proposed Sharon University of Agriculture and Rural Development during the Bishop's 60th birthday in Lagos recently.

Navy rescue stranded foreign mariners, arrest oil thieves

T

BY EGUFE YAFUGBORHI

HE Nigerian Navy has rescued two foreign na tionals reportedly found stranded in the waterways around Amami Oil field under the Central Naval Command after one of the two boats in which they were navigating got damaged.

The stranded duo, Jose Anthonio Guiana and Mulato Idalacio Batista from São Tomé/Principe were handed over to the Nigerian Immigration Service in Warri, Delta State by the Flag Officer Commanding,

FOC, Central Naval Command, Rear Admiral Stanley Ogoigbe.

Ogigbe said, “They were rescued recently during our patrol of the waters. The two rescued expatriates, blacks, can only speak Portuguese and one of their boats was terribly damaged.

“From our investigation, we believe they were lost and stranded, but we are handing them over to the Immigrations who have the authority to deal with movement of expatriates for further investigation and action in line with the law.”

The FOC Central Naval Com-

mand at the handover of the expatriates at the Nigerian Navy Ship, NNS, Delta, Warri base also paraded two suspects reportedly caught by vigilante with equipment before they could carry out out a mission to steal oil from a well around Forcados in Delta.

“In a separate effort by our men in furtherance of commitment to fighting oil theft to a standstill, our men have also caught two suspects and a self propelled badge, MV Choppin, loaded with large volume of substance suspected to be crude oil.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 31, 2015, PAGE 53

SUBSIDY CRISIS

Diversifying Nigeria’s economy with petroleum refining

BY SONNY ATUMAH

A

t the dawn of the third millennium in the year 2000, the United Nations gave a boost to the least developed countries including Nigeria and others a window to improve their developmental strides in what was known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Fifteen years on, the global body, appraised that programme and remodeled it in a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the year 2030.

This agenda is to perk up the welfare of people through diversification of our economic base. Using petroleum as a launch pad, Nigeria should translate this to increased fiscal revenue, increased employment, improved skills acquisition, and therefore a reduced national destabilisation owing tensions.

Integrity and absence of profligacy: One posits that the SDGs set by the United Nations are not unassailable. Our petroleum resources could be that springboard for sustainable development if we do the right thing.Doing the right thing bothers on integrity. Warren Buffett says that if you are looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. If you don’t have the first, the other two will kill you. If you hire somebody without integrity, you really want them to be dumb and lazy. Buffet, best known as the ‘Oracle of Omaha’, is an 84- year old American investment guru, one of the richest and most respected businessmen in the world.

Nigeria must not get it wrong this time especially now that the new administration of President Muhammadu Buhariis trying to do away with some petroleum resources managers who are avaricious in nature.We must solve this lingering problem in our own way. We should not be cajoled into giving away our four refineries in the name of privatisation; as touted recently by the immediate past Petroleum Minister, Diezani AlisonMadueke, but for the resistance of Labour Unions in the industry.

The new government of Muhammadu Buhari must not make the mistake of previous administrations that were either deceived or deliberately ignored our calls for diversification via refining and petro-chemicals in Nigeria. We are not lost in memory over how the only fully fledged petrochemical complex in Nigeria which came on stream in 1990, became moribund in the early 2000s due to lack of maintenance.The preferred investor acquired the wholly owned Port Harcourt subsidiary of the NNPC in August 2006, did the normal turn around maintenance (TAM), and rehabilitated the complex. In three months, the petrochemical complexresurrected and the then President Olusegun Obasanjo was invited to commission it on October 12, 2006. Since then that facility which was prematurely led to its death-bed,had the investors done turn around maintenance twice, which our people did not do.

•Chief Ken Iwelunmo

It is on record from OPEC sources that Nigeria earned $77 billion in 2014, $89.3 billion in 2013, $94.6 billion in 2012, $87.1 billion in 2011, $66.9 billion in 2010, $42.2 billion in 2009( low figure in 2009 because of militancy in the Niger Delta)from crude exports It is on record from OPEC sources that Nigeria earned $77 billion in 2014, $89.3 billion in 2013, $94.6 billion in 2012, $87.1 billion in 2011, $66.9 billion in 2010, $42.2 billion in 2009( low figure in 2009 because of militancy in the Niger Delta)from crude exports.The previous administration between 1999 and 2007 had more revenue from crude exports. If we had invested about five percent of these amounts we would have had our four refineries back on stream and possibly constructed more. We were profligate, concentrated on snake oil importation, and paid phony price differentials in the name of subsidy which actually is a racket. We have been embroiled in trillions of Naira arms - length transactions between petroleum marketers and the Federal Ministry of Finance.

Vertical diversification: When we refine locally, ‘subsidy’ which had fraudulently claimed trillions of our hard earned Naira would disappear. Our discourse should rather be whether adding value would make a difference in the life of the average Nigerian.

There is something fundamental we must do to add value to this natural endowment; refining gives 105 percent of by products and derivatives (5 percent gain), there is no waste in petroleum.

That is where investing in local refining and petrochemicals would come in handy as a way of diversifying the economy.

Vertical diversification is where we use vertical policies in the direction of higher value added activities related to petroleum resource industries. We enjoy this diversity in natural resources as petroleum is considered a comparative advantage sector in our economy. When we refine, we are diversifying the economy away from relying solely on crude exports. Saudi Arabia, the giant

in OPEC and the Middle East, and better known for its upstream activity, is set for an ambitious target in the downstream. The country has identified that higher value refined petroleum products, are expected to account for more of Saudi Aramco’s export portfolio in the coming years.

Malaysia, Indonesia and Mexico have all diversified vertically using petroleum.

Malaysia’s National Oil Company, Petronas, equivalent of our NNPC, used vertical policies to invest in refining and petrochemicals, to become an efficient and global company operating in more than 30 countries. The NNPC can also build local linkages with the rest of the economy using our local content laws to build local capabilities in the downstream sector. Malaysia discovered oil in the 1970, almost two decades after the discovery of crude oil in Nigeria.

Investment opportunities: The benefits of local refining cannot be wished away on the altar of crude export. If by 1970 our gross domestic product (purchasing power parity) was $1572 and by 2010 it was $1695, we should reevaluate our approach towards sustainable development by 2030. We have a market of 340 million people in West Africa to make us invest in refinery and petrochemical plants. This large market would make Nigeria become the real giant in the sub – region. An expanded industry would go a long way in reducing the unemployment figure in Nigeria which the National Bureau of Statistics recently, put at about 4.9 million.

What we need in this vertical linkage is to invest in petroleum based industries in fuels, agriculture, automobile, fashion and beauty, electrical/electronic,

medical and health services, construction, packaging and other domestic uses. See a List of 144 of 6000 petroleum by products and their derivativeswhen we refine a barrel of crude oil (Courtesy:Ranken Energy).

Agriculture: In perspective, agriculture is a major beneficiary of petroleum. When we invest in refineries and petrochemical plants that produce artificial fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, mineral spiritsand other agro-chemicals, as well as products like storage shelters, mulches, planting bags, agricultural products storing tanks, fish crates and boxes, irrigation pipes, egg trays, fishing nets, among others,we enhance agricultural productivity. There is of course the fuel component for agricultural machinery and vehicles for evacuation of agricultural produce.

A critical component of paving road, highways, or aircraft runway as well as waterproofing is asphalt. Asphalt is a semi-solid by- product of petroleum distillation. Fashion and beauty products are large beneficiaries of petrochemicals. Here is a list of 50 fashion and beauty products when we refine locally: -lip stick, lip gloss, lip plumper, mascara, eye liner, Vaseline, nail polish, eye makeup, makeup remover, hair gel, hair spray, perfume, foundation, face powder, eye shadow, concealer. Body lotion, sunscreen, hair conditioner, shampoo, hairbrush, hairbands, bobby pins, toothbrush, soap, tampons, sanitary pads, ibuprofen, aspirin, toothpaste, breath mints, gum. Acrylic, nylon, polyester, coated formaldehyde, finishes, organic cotton, socks, buttons, stretchy part of underwear, all bra, running shoes, stretchy jeans, shirts, plastic earrings, bracelets, necklace, sunglasses,purse, iPod and cellphone.

Strategic Alliances:We should collaborate and form alliances.The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the European Union met this month in Saudi Arabia, for a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement.

The $19billionSadara Chemical Complex is expected to come on stream this year. The joint venture project between the Saudi Aramco and Dow Chemical Company would produce more than 3million tonnes of chemical products per annum.Saudi Aramco is to invest $150billion at home and abroad through 2019. It is to expand her market share in China, South Korea, and Japan. These investments are in thedownstream sector (refining and petrochemicals).Most Middle East and North African (MENA) countries have realized the benefits of value added and are tinkering on refining and petrochemicals from their liquid hydrocarbons. We should take a cue from them to form regional alliances and also go into joint ventures with Asian countries with strong economic base for sustainable development.

Conclusion:There is no doubt that an investment in the

downstream of the petroleum sector is a way of vertically diversifying the economy.

Diversification would assist in capturing the West African market thereby increasing our GDP and keep our youth in employment. If we exhibit some levels of integrity and accountability, we may be in the right path of joining the league of self-reliant countries in agriculture and other industries with vertical linkages.

A partial list of products made from Petroleum (144 of 6000 items)Courtesy: Ranken Energy Solvents Diesel fuel Motor Oil B e a r i n g Grease Ink Floor Wax Ballpoint Pens F o o t b a l l Cleats Upholstery Sweaters Boats Insecticides Bicycle Tires Sports Car Bodies Nail Polish Fishing lures Dresses Tires Golf Bags Perfumes Cassettes Dishwasher parts Tool Boxes Shoe Polish Motorcycle Helmet Caulking Pe t r o l e u m Jelly Transparent Tape CD Player F a u c e t Washers Antiseptics Clothesline Curtains F o o d Preservatives Basketballs Soap Vitamin Capsules Antihistamines Purses Shoes Dashboards Cortisone Deodorant Footballs Putty Dyes Panty Hose Refrigerant Percolators Life Jackets Rubbing Alcohol Linings Skis TV Cabinets Shag Electrician’s Tape Rugs Tool Racks Car Battery Cases Epoxy Paint Mops Slacks I n s e c t Repellent Oil Filters Umbrellas Yarn Fertilizers Hair Coloring Roofing Toilet Seats Fishing Rods Lipstick Denture Adhesive Linoleum Ice Cube Trays Synthetic Rubber Speakers Plastic Wood Electric Blankets Glycerin Tennis Rackets R u b b e r Cement Fishing Boots Dice Nylon Rope Candles Trash Bags House Paint Water Pipes Hand Lotion Roller Skates Surf Boards Shampoo Wheels Paint Rollers Shower Curtains Guitar Strings Luggage Aspirin Safety Glasses Antifreeze F o o t b a l l HelmetsAwnings Eyeglasses Clothes Toothbrushes Ice Chests Footballs Combs CD’s & DVD’s Paint Brushes Detergents Vaporizers Balloons Sun Glasses Tents Heart Valves Crayons Parachutes Telephones Enamel Pillows Dishes Cameras Anesthetics Artificial Turf Artificial limbs Bandages Dentures Model Cars Folding Doors Hair Curlers Cold cream Movie film Soft Contact lenses Drinking Cups Fan Belts Car Enamel Shaving Cream Ammonia Refrigerators Golf Balls Toothpaste Gasoline

Sonny Atumah is a member of the Middle East Petroleum Club Email: satumah@yahoo.com

PAGE 54—SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 31, 2015

‘New govt inheriting 70% poverty, 28% unemployment’

Nigerians at the immigration job screening in Lagos...Will new government end unemployment crisis?

BY UDEME CLEMENT

A

p p a r e n t l y , President, Muhammadu Buhari has inherited what can best be described as a troubled economy with 70 percent of the population in poverty, over 15million housing units deficit, epileptic power sector, depreciating local currency, which is at the exchange rate of over N200 to a Dollar, a real sector that is in comatose, environment of insecurity and inefficient transport system among other challenges. At present, the rate of growth shows that an important sector like housing contributes only 3.7 percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Electricity generation for a population of over 170million is less than 4.000mega watts and manufacturing that is the engine growth of every developed economy contributes between 5 and 6 percent to the GDP. Aside from the dismal growth indices, the country has a huge debt burden to settle. Economic experts who spoke with Sunday Vanguard said Nigeria’s economy is in severe stress and if not well managed can degenerate.

Mr. Olu Ajakaiye, a professor of economics and one time Director General, Nigeria Institute for Social and Economic Research (NISER), said, “In reality, the economy has been in a bad shape for a long time. So, with the new government in place, the questions we must ask are, how do we get out of this challenging situation? How do we rekindle

Prof. Olu Ajakaiye the system to boost productivity in order to enhance tangible growth and development? It is very sad that all those years, we allowed our industrial structure to shrink, even to the point of collapse. For example, in the 70s and even up to 80s, Nigeria’s economy moved very well in the direction of even producing some capital goods.

“At that time, we had assembling plants where vehicles were assembled here in Nigeria.

For instance, air-conditioners, refrigerators and other items were assembled in this country.

All those assembling plants if they were still functional, the next stage would have been to de-link them from import, began to produce some of the components here, and eventually began to produce some machinery along with other equipment for our factories. That is why at that time, the plan was to develop the steel

President Buhari

The economy is in severe stress, but not in recession, and if not properly handled can degenerate

Prof. Akpan Ekpo as well as plastic industries to feed the intermediate and capital goods requirement of the economy, having had the assembling plants in place, but that was not realised.

Giving a holistic statistical analysis of the economy from the 80s up to 2015, the current Director General, West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM), Professor Akpan Ekpo said, “The state of the economy before Jonathan took over: Jonathan took over from late Musa Yar ’Ádua, and economic growth then was 7 percent, exchange rate of Naira to Dollar was N145, foreign reserve was almost $48billion and could finance imports for about two and half years, lending rate was about 25 percent, manufacturing contribution to GDP was 8 percent and inflation was 14 percent, (double digits).

Also, unemployment was 24 percent, power supply was epileptic, the quality of education was low and provision of health services was nothing to reckon with. It was in attempt to reverse the dismal performance of the economy that YarÁdua adopted planning to fast track development. That ultimately resulted in the Vision 20:2020 blue print, which among other things was to make Nigeria rank among the top 20 economies in the world by 2020.”

The economy under Jonathan/ indices of growth: He went on, “When Jonathan took over, he claimed ownership of Vision 20:2020 and derived his Transformation Agenda from the Vision’s document. The Agenda sought to grow the economy at 10 percent and above. Jonathan promised to create jobs, improve education, healthcare and infrastructure, especially power supply. However, during Jonathan, economic growth came down to 5.5percent, lending rate increased to 27 percent, our foreign reserve declined to about $31billion, partly due to the dwindling oil prices, unemployment increased to 28percent, and one must take with caution the recent unemployment figures published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Incidence of poverty stood at almost 70percent, as the economy was growing at average of 5.5percent, and the rebased GDP made Nigeria a middle income country, the misery index was also growing, hence the

Continues on page 55

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 31, 2015, PAGE 55

Skye Bank’s N6billion first quarter 2015 PBT result: A sign of things to come SEGUN ADEBOWALE

S

kye Bank’s acquisition of Mainstreet Bank is beginning to yield appreciable results as the consolidated result for the first quarter ending March 31, 2015 submitted to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) shows a significant rise in earnings and profits, thus justifying management’s strategic decision of an acquisition that had led to a bigger bank.

The expanded business activities is immediately reflected in the sharp rise in gross earnings which rose to N42.3 billion in the first quarter of 2015 from N34.3 billion in 2014, appreciating by 23 per cent.

The Bank announced pre-tax profits of N6.2 billion, representing an increase of 82 per cent over the N3.4 billion recorded during the same period in 2014.

The bank’s bottom-line followed the growth trajectory as net profit or profit after tax sprang up to N5.0 billion during the review period compared to N2.7 billion achieved during the corresponding period in 2014, an 85 per cent rise.

In marginal terms, pretax profit margin for the period rose to 14.7 percent from less than 10 percent in the corresponding quarter. In percentage terms, this is over 49 percentage points from the equivalent quarter.

What this means is that where the bank used to translate every one hundred naira put in the business to N9.9, in the quarter

under review, it made N14.7.

The result is a strong indication of a more efficient bank that promises to consolidate on the gains.

The rapid improvement in the fee based transaction of the bank is evident of the bank’s strategy of leveraging the fee and commission income opportunities in the Nigerian economy. Fees and commissions rose to a whopping N10.2 billion from the previous figure of N6.2 billion in the corresponding period in 2014, a 65 percent improvement.

Fees and commissions are complementary to the bank’s interest earning assets.

Timothy Oguntayo, the Bank’s Group Managing Director and CEO while commenting on the results said that Skye Bank was set to deliver superior value and returns to shareholders as the bank enters its new strategic growth phase.

Oguntayo said that the bank would leverage the acquisition of Mainstreet Bank Limited to take its services closer to its current and prospective customers and expand its bouquet of value adding offerings to meet the diverse needs of its various stakeholders.

The IFRS compliant result also shows the bank’s total assets hitting N1.43 trillion as against N1.42 trillion during the same period in 2013. Similarly, its total liabilities, including total deposits, stood at N1.3 trillion as against N1.2 trillion in the preceding year.

The shareholders’ fund also rose to N137.3 billion from N132

Timothy Oguntayo billion in the period.

Upon release of the results last Thursday, investors rewarded the bank by helping to shore up the Bank’s stock price to N2.7 as at the close of trading on the NSE. It was a clear 10 kobo appreciation over the previous day when the stock traded at N2.60.

The rise on Thursday represents a 46 percent rise in the Bank’s stock price since early January, a sign that the investment public is taking note of the Bank’s strategic actions and are stocking up on the Bank stocks.

Analysts had predicted the positive growth trajectory in the Bank’s financial as reflected in the 2014 Full year results.

The Bank’s 2014 Full Year results which had a significant appropriation to retained earnings, suggests a willingness to deploy resources to growth segments of the Bank’s business.

The results submitted to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) last week revealed that the bank

yanked up retained earnings in the year under review from N19.73 billion in the 2013 financial year to N33.7 billion, a 70.6 percent growth.

The huge commitment to reserves may not be unconnected to the Bank’s tier one ambitions which requires significant investments, analysts insist.

The first quarter results already confirms this suggestions as it has begun consolidating gains from last year towards playing big in Nigeria’s highly competitive but highly rewarding retail sector.

That playbook can be read from the Mainstreet acquisition, which the bank plans to fully integrate by June this year. By subsuming Mainstreet, Analysts say Skye Bank would figure among the first four banks in the country. Rightly so because it would vault the number of branches to about 450 branches across the country.

When integration is complete, the consolidated bank should be able to configure competencies towards cost leadership, business optimisation, stronger profit and greater ability to offer business convenience to retail and commercial customers across all geographies, analysts say.

The bank had in a statement after the acquisition said the move, will bring valuable synergies from the mutual focus areas of commercial and retail banking of the two entities in a larger Skye Bank. The bank noted that its focus is on retail and commercial banking, which are also the main focus areas of Mainstreet Bank Limited.

Financial analysts are also convinced that the Bank will

automatically leapfrog other banks in the tier 2 category to become a major tier-1 player in the Nigerian banking industry.

The 2014 Financial results indicate that Operating income was up marginally to N69.33 billion from N68.5 billion, which goes to speak of the bank’s improving ability in efficient cost management. This was on the back of a 2.4% rise in interest income from N105.3 billion to N107.85 billion.

Though interest income rose only in marginal terms, it nonetheless shows that the bank is succeeding in its maturity transformation function. This much is demonstrated in the loan deposit metric, which slowed in the period under review.

A slow- down in this metric is indicative of a cautious approach towards credit risk.

Interest income is an indicator that helps explain how well a bank is doing in its maturity transformation quest.

According to figures in the full year result, bank grew assets over the 2013 full year by 27% from N1.12 trillion to N1.42 trillion, helping to provide a stronger cover for deposit liabilities. The metric improved to 1.5 from 1.3.

This is as the bank grew deposits 15.7% to N952.3 billion from N823.3 billion.

A robust deposit base indicates a bank’s strong marketing ability especially in the area of attracting and mobilising deposits. Deposit mobilisation is a key indicator of a bank’s growth prospects given the emergence of a very choosy class of emerging middle class in Nigeria.

Nigeria’s economy under severe stress — Experts Continued from page 54 economic performance was dismal. The quality of education became worse at all levels, to the point that Nigerians sent their wards abroad, even to Ghana to study. For example, the public school system was in shambles.

“Jonathan succeeded in unbundling the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) but no further progress at improving electricity supply in the country.

Under him, the GDP was rebased, putting Nigeria’s GDP at $510billion with 2010 as the reference year. The rebased GDP ranked Nigeria as the 26 economy in the world and the largest in Africa, but had no impact on global economies as well as the Nigerian citizens, as it did not improve the standard of living. However, there were positive developments like the effort by Jonathan to revamp the housing sub-sector, by establishing Nigeria Mortgage Refinancing Company, attempt to build the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) and the GDP increased slightly to 10 percent. Broadly, the economy remains at the level of primary production still driven by commodity exports. Consequently, any negative shock like the recent decline in crude oil prices put the entire economy in disarray.”

Nigeria’s current debt profile: He continued, “Between 2012 and 2015 we owe about $18.1billion as the country’s total debt profile, and in the last two years, government has been borrowing money to pay salaries. With the recent Debt

Sustainability Analysis (DSA), what we owe is sustainable, but it is not advisable to borrow money to fund recurrent expenditure when the economy is not in a prolong recession (depression). It is better to borrow to finance capital projects and infrastructure due to the positive multiplier effect. It should be noted that sometimes government can borrow to maintain some levels of liquidity in the system, but the rising debt profile is worrisome. After rebasing, the debt GDP ratio allowed more space for borrowing but what is important is the debt revenue. If you compute the debt revenue ratio, then we have a big challenge in the country, because as the debt is rising , the revenue is declining.”

Growth indices from 80s to 90s before democracy in 1999: He added, “In the early 80s, the economy was better and the school system was not that bad. But from 1985 to 1990 the economy experienced problems like what we are facing now. We tried different policies and in 1986 we adopted Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) but that did not solve the problem either. However, during 1991 and 1998, which was Abacha’s era, the economy was better, as basic macroeconomic fundamentals were in the right direction, though Abacha was a dictator. During Abacha, we adopted what was called Guided Deregulation and the economy recovered. There were jobs, lending rate was not too high, but that did not stop corruption.

Economic Performance Index (EPI) from 2009 to 2014: He

explained, “In analysing the EPI the things to consider include inflation rate, unemployment level, deficit/ GDP ratio as well as GDP growth.

Therefore, from 2009 to 2014, the EPI showed below-average performance. In 2009, the EPI, which stood at 71.5 per cent declined to 67.6 per cent in 2013, showing poor economic performance. The misery index increased rapidly from 20.3 per cent in 2010 to about 51 per cent in 2013, and poverty rate increased to 69 per cent in 2010 economic year. At present, the economy is growing at about 5.6 per cent after the rebasing without creating employment for the citizens.

The direction of Nigeria’s

economy now: He stressed, “Our economy currently is in disarray, partly due to recurring fuel scarcity and declining oil prices. For instance, fuel scarcity of only few days sent everyone into serious shock, showing that our economy is still dependent on oil. The economy is in severe stress, but not in recession, and if not properly handled can degenerate.

The way forward: He advised, “Buhari must work with time-lines to achieve growth in different sectors.

He must move fast to diversify the economy, tackle power crisis, poverty, unemployment, building of new refineries and curbing corruption. For him to succeed, he needs a committed team of

technocrats determined to change Nigeria positively to implement good economic policies. On the whole, there is hope for the economy, but such hope requires adequate planning to achieve positive result.

Nigeria’s population in poverty: • 1980: 17.1 million • 1985: 34.7 million • 1992: 39.2 million • 1996: 67.1 million • 2004: 68.7 million • 2010: 112.47 million Source: National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) However in 2015, poverty rate in Nigeria stands at 70 percent, meaning about 70 percent of the nation’s population is in poverty.

Terminal Operators fault Intels on court rulings

BY TONY NWANKWO

T

here is no judgment or ruling in Port Harcourt

in favour of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) against any terminal operators.

Reacting to the claim by INTELS general manager, Mike N. Epelle, that there were conflicting rulings by the Federal High Courts in Port Harcourt and Lagos, Ports and Terminal Operators Nigeria Limited (PTOL) Managing Director, Mrs. Lizzie Ovbude, said the claim was faulty.

According to Mrs. Ovbude, “Terminal Operators operating in Port Harcourt got into Port

Harcourt by a duly executed Lease Agreement after the concessioning by the Federal Government in May 11, 2006. In the case of PTOL like that of INTELS, the Agreement empowers it to operate as a multipurpose (general cargo) terminal.

The issue pervading in the maritime industry today is that unnecessary monopoly is being created by INTELS and encouraged by its collaborators in government by the coining and inventing of the term “oil and gas cargo”.

She remarked that: “In the maritime business, it is the importer that determines the terminal that handles its cargo

because it is a free market economy. It is, of course, important to emphasis that this is a standard practice worldwide.

“We maintain that INTELS was certainly telling less than the truth when it made those unsubstantiated allegations that was intended to mislead the public and cast aspersions on the Nigerian judiciary”, Ovbude said, adding, “The only subsisting rulings we know of are rulings delivered by two courts in Lagos in favour of the Terminal Operators. There is no conflict whatsoever in the rulings. We challenge INTELS to produce any judgment in Port Harcourt involving Terminal Operastors.

Page 56 — SUNDAY Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015

VIEWPOINT

By Fred Latimore Oghenesivbe

VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF

The battle for the soul of a state

I

N mid-2014, I circulated a piece via social media wherein I prophetically declared that Chief Great Ogboru is not destined to be governor of Delta State.

The post generated controversy and his political friends attacked me, calling me all sorts of names.

I also mentioned Obaisi OmoAgege in that stuff, It turned out that Ogboru failed in 2015 while Omo-Agege left PDP hoping to be senator riding through the back of Ogboru’s political popularity.

Well, Omo-Agege is not the subject matter for now. Ogboru is the focus. He teamed up with the PDP on the one hand and a faction of the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) on the other hand with the sole objective of dividing APC votes in Delta State in favour of the PDP. Ogboru’s campaign was heavily funded to ensure that the APC

Emerhor, Ogboru, PDP and the inevitable change in Delta votes were fragmented. He bombarded the airwaves with political commercials like he never did in previous elections to deprive the Urhobo and the APC from getting 100% votes of Delta Central.

He boasted that Delta APC will die a natural death after his assignment to crush Emerhor and his party. The APC gubernatorial candidate put up a good fight, pressing hard on the network of political enemies. He exhibited rare courage and determination.

He fought a good fight and Ogboru and the Labour Party fell YAKATA. Now, the same APC that Ogboru was determined to destroy in Delta is the same party he now wants to actualize his mandate in.

He wants to be the boss all the time. He finds it difficult to queue politically behind anybody hence his regular choice of mushroom parties: From DPP to Labour Party. Now he is scheming to come to the APC and possibly be the big

boss. What a tall dream!

The rumour is everywhere that Ogboru has commenced talks with the leadership of the SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY (SDP) in Delta in case he is rejected by the APC. This is the right thing for him to do. A reliable source said that the SDP people are also skeptical about his moves. They are afraid that Ogboru may take over the party and make himself the party chairman in the state.

Emerhor is the new face of Del-

Emerhor, the progressives and the APC will keep pressing forward through the instrumentality of the rule of law and civilized engagements to rescue Delta from the PDP

ta politics; in no time, Deltans will get the CHANGE they voted for.

The struggle to rescue Delta State from the 16 years of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) misrule is total. There is no going back, we just have to keep pressing forward until Deltans are liberated.

The just concluded elections opened a new page in Delta politics as the APC put up a good fight and rattled the PDP and the Labour Party.

The truth is that Deltans voted for APC and not PDP or Labour Party during the presidential and gubernatorial elections. Facts on the ground lend credence to this claim. The PDP allocated votes to itself, the Labour Party and the APC in the state, period!

The certified true copy of the CARD READERS captured voters shows that nearly 400,000 accredited voters were added to the figures announced by INEC. Nothing near a million voters were

Nigeria: Using the past to reshape the future VIEWPOINT

By Tomisin Ajibulu

VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF Clearing a nation’s rot

I

have pondered on the rot that made some people to refer to Nigeria as a failed state and I came to the conclusion that the problem lies not only in the hands of our leaders, but also in the formation of the country.

The geometrical decline of the infrastructures and the socioeconomic welfare of the citizens call for stock taking, re assessment of our value and charting new strategies for a fresh start.

No doubt, Nigeria came about mainly for the administrative convenience of the colonial masters. The thought of a nation was far from their minds. Worse still,wedges were put in the diverse tribes through the ‘divide and rule’ antics employed. Also, the indirect rule approach could

VIEWPOINT

By Charles .S. Uzoukwu

VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF

If only INEC staff in Abia could confess their partisanship

P

ROF. Attahiru Jega’s INEC had a disastrous showing in Abia State, in the governorship election. The wishes and aspirations of the people, who had clamored for change in the state, were thwarted by some unscrupulous INEC staff, in collaboration with the PDP. It is only in Abia State that all the contested positions and declared results by INEC are in contention and vigorously challenged in the election tribunals.

The change the people of Abia State sincerely wished for

not have laid a good foundation for a nation-state as the ruling class created was not only alienated from the masses but also indoctrinated to see things from the point of view of the colonialists.

There was no way the leaders that took charge of the coun-

To reverse the trend, we must convert our weaknesses into strengths, take advantage of our size and population

try at independence could have had the exposure, experience, training and skills to successfully steer Nigeria for a smooth take off in the jungle of international trade alignments and diplomacies. The first crack in the house reared its head during the initial motion for independency. Unfortunately, the trend continued unabated in form of inter-tribal clashes, religious uprisings, military coups, civil war, wanton destruction of public utilities by militants and miscreants,political unrests and emergence of terrorists. The indices of self destruction had long been implanted in the emerging nation.

The amalgamation of the protectorates into one entity produced one big country of different nationalities. People say in our diversity lies our strength but I do think in our diversity lies complications beyond our imagination.

After over 50 years of nation-

hood, we have not been able to master the art of harnessing our potentials in human and mineral resources to shame our detractors who hold the view that the black man cannot run a prosperous state or even plan for the future. Then came the oil era..The oil was a gift from God to better our lives. Meanwhile, it remains our biggest curse. Thousands of lives have been lost in senseless fight over power and control of our now oil-based economy. In the days of oil boom, power changed hands several times; from one dictator to another. And instead of the oil revenue to improve our lot, it only heightened our sense of marginalization and hate.

Power has moved from one region to another, neglecting the cries of the people. The oil has created a demon among us.

Corruption grows by the day.

Political positions are made to be as juicy as heaven. People would kill just to be in the po-

INEC and the blunder in Abia was that their votes should count in electing their preferred candidates, which they enthusiastically demonstrated during the elections. This dream was aborted by the INEC staff.

The PDP in Abia has adopted the laconic approach on the issues raised by the six arrested INEC staff in Umuahia, for removing card readers, ballot papers and result sheets used during the elections to forstall credible evidence at the election tribunal.

The election clearly won by Dr Alex Otti, of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), was upturned by the INEC officials in favour of the PDP. Abia could be drifting

into disaster if justice is not done immediately. Elections characterized by intimidation

Jega, in counting your successes and achievements during and after the 2015 elections, do not include Abia because your commission failed woefully there

from the government in power, snatching of electoral results, shooting of opponents can not be said to be credible, more so, when INEC officials were allegedly caught removing electoral materials. Nigerians know that Abia elections were a sham. For instance, the INEC returning officer in Abia North never announced his result. The same applies to results from Abia Central.

This is a state where government workers are owed salaries for months.

Weeping and gnashing of teeth are commonplace in Abia, especially from children whose parents are unable to foot their bills back to school, as a result of non-payment of

accredited. How come over one million Deltans voted during the gubernatorial election of April 11 when the CARD READERS only captured a little above 700,000 voters?

Emerhor will not rest in his oars until justice is done. Deltans are optimistic that victory will come their way at the end of the legal tussle by Emerhor to reclaim his mandate. They voted for CHANGE. They are entitled to it. APC and its candidate prayers at the tribunal is that the gubernatorial election should be cancelled for a fresh election in the state.

Emerhor, the progressives and the APC will keep pressing forward through the instrumentality of the rule of law and civilized engagements to rescue Delta from the PDP.

•Oghenesivbe is Director of Media & Political Communication of Otega4Governor Campaign Organisation. litical class, billions of Naira is looted from the treasury, no questions asked.

The case of the oil is like giving a two-year old child a real gun to play with, instead of a toy gun. The child would kill the people around him and possibly himself.

The masses are hungry and an hungry man, they say, is an angry man that tends to behave irrationally. Hunger, not in the sense of food alone, but also in the deprivation of knowledge, shelter, medical care and security.

To reverse the trend, we must convert our weaknesses into strengths, take advantage of our size and population.

Why have the efforts at forging unity such as the NYSC, quota system, creation of states, etc failed to achieve results?

The answer lies with us all? The WILL to reason rationally and put aside greed and selfishness is missing. The time has come for us to put the past behind us and forge ahead as a nation.

•AJIBULU lives in Ado Ekiti

salaries, gratuity and pensions

by Gov. T.A. Orji’s administration. That Orji, in spite of his calamitous regime, is imposing a successor on the people, as against their collective wish, is a disgrace.

Jega, in counting your successes and achievements during and after the 2015 elections, do not include Abia because your commission failed woefully there. In order to salvage the name of INEC, you have only one course of action to take: At the tribunal, let INEC staff confess the illegalities that attended the elections, and make amends. It is unfortunate that Abia has to go through this at this time.

•Uzoukwu, a public affairs analyst, Abuja.

SUNDAY Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015,

As the governor of excellence takes a bow VIEWPOINT

By OLU ADEBAYO VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF Lagos looking forward to another good governance

H

E literally barged in on the political consciousness of the Lagos political mainstream, almost turning to shreds its well known uncompromising proclivity to doing business with only those schooled and weaned by the denizens of the old political establishment. In sum, you must have been in the eye of the people and have a track record.

But, typical of men of history, Babatunde Raji Fashola rode to power on the back of destiny.

Pitched against already wellestablished and grounded party heavyweights, he emerged the governorship candidate of the then Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, amidst rancor-

VIEWPOINT

By Eyitayo Adeogun VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF Setting the records straight

E

VERYBODY wants a bar gain. It is exactly why I understand the strident calls for the institution of a Pay-As-You-Watch (PAYW) TV model in the country.

The call, which hasn’t yielded the desired result, I understand, is encouraged by the use of the pay-asyou-go (PAYG) model in the telecommunications sector. The telecoms sector also adopted the persecond billing system after an initial reluctance, a development that gives pay-TV subscribers the belief that a harder push for what they want could deliver the kind of thing they got from telecoms companies.

Most pay-TV subscribers are running with the conviction that a pay-as-you-watch model will free them from monthly contracts and introduce greater flexibility in how they watch television. That conviction is fuelled by purely invented suggestions the model is already in operation in South Africa.

ous protests that almost turn the party apart in Lagos, the only state it was able to wrestle from then President Olusegun Obasanjo’s PDP contrived electoral blitz on the South-West in 2003.

Rolling out Fashola’s massive achievements in his eight years as Lagos governor is fast becoming too routine to count, but his mantra of “the greatest good for the greatest number” stand, him out. For instance, the massive environmental renewal projects have robbed off positively on the people, and enhanced their sense of self worth that Nigerians can also live in a clean and beautiful environment. Apart from this, the beautification and landscaping projects created mass employment for thousands of jobless people especially youths who otherwise would have been ready hands for criminal activities.

Apart from the huge attention

to the environment which has greatly improved the quality of life of citizens, other iconic projects worth mentioning, even at the risk of repetition, include the Orile-Badagry Expressway reconstruction, an ambitious expansion work that will turn the hitherto four-lane road into a 10-lane super highway with light-rail and BRT lanes. This

One other attribute that had worked for the outgoing governor and drawn the peoples admiration, is his hands on approach to project implementation

expressway, which links bigbrother Nigeria to all other ECOWAS countries, had become such a big eyesore and a huge disgrace to the status of Nigeria as the leading country in the sub-region.

When completed, the highway, which is being built with some credit assistance from the World Bank, is set to be one of the best on the continent with the capacity to move millions of commuters along the corridor more efficiently, creating thousands of jobs and generally boosting the state and the national economy. It is worth mentioning here, though, that the federal government has, for political reasons, often displayed crass irresponsibility in its dealings with Lagos as the nation’s former capital and economic jugular. Apart from doing nothing to assist the state, which is home to about 21 million Nigerians, to address its

By Godwin Osawe

VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF

Putting the people in good hands

A

S Edo State looks forward to the inauguration of the new House of Assembly on June 8, keen interest will be on the new leadership that is expected to emerge.

A House is as good as its leadership. Of critical importance in this consideration are the Speaker and his deputy.

Interestingly, by the House rule in alignment with the zoning arrangement of the ruling All Progressives Party, APC, in Edo, providence has beckoned on Hon. Victor Edoror, representing Irrua, from Edo Central, to be the

infrastructural deficit, it is said to be owing the state a debt of N51b it spent on federal roads in the state. This is not a sensible way to treat a state where the nation derives the bulk of its revenue outside oil.

One other attribute that had worked for the outgoing governor and drawn the peoples admiration, is his hands on approach to project implementation. Contractors are usually put on their toes because they don’t know when the governor will show up at project sites, sometimes at weekends.

No doubt, the incoming Akin Ambode administration has its job well cut out, as he has to build on the performance of a man whose achievements already transcends the borders of Nigeria. But, as a member of the original team, as a former Accountant-General of the state, Lagosians are looking forward to another season of stellar performance.

* ADEBAYO, a public affairs commentator, lives in Lagos.

Pay-TV: The lies told about Pay-As-You-Watch There is no such thing as payas-you-watch TV in South Africa.

The internet can help clear this up if doubts still remains. What exists is the monthly contract model like we have in Nigeria and other countries of the world.

PPV, which operates via telephone, the internet or direct interface with a real life customer service person, allows a subscriber to watch some special live events,

There is no such thing as pay-as-you-watch TV in South Africa. The internet can help clear this up if doubts still remains. What exists is the monthly contract model like we have in Nigeria and other countries of the world

usually of the high-ticket variety in sports and entertainment, by paying for such events. This is in addition to paying a regular subscription. One is not a substitute for the other.

What this means is that if payper-view was available in Nigeria, a subscriber would need to pay his/ her monthly subscription to a payTV provider and then pay an additional sum-usually considerably bigger -to watch a high-ticket event like the Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquaio fight for which boxing fans in the US paid $100 on top of their regular subscription.

That is $100 for a two-hour fight.

Back home, those who watched the fight on DStv’s SuperSport channel did so at no extra cost. I shudder to think of what the cost would be if we had pay-per-view in Nigeria. Like pay-as-you-watch, pay-per-view also does not exist in South Africa, contrary to popular belief.

Many continue to ask why we not have a pay-as-you-go model for

pay-TV as we have in telecommunications, where subscribers pay for what they use. It is a question worth asking, but it one that ignores the fundamental difference between telecoms and pay-TV industries. Telecoms service providers, we forget, do not buy content like pay-TV providers. Telcos are not in the business of providing family entertainment and do not buy television content. What they buy is spectrum, for which they make a one-off payment.

We all know that television companies have to buy content except if they want to fold up. In actuality, they have to keep on buying the type of content that will make their subscribers keep paying. TV content is not bought on one-off basis.

Pay-TV providers are thus condemned to dealing with upward reviews in cost when they seek to renew contracts for content.

What that means is that if a payTV provider charges the same sum for a movie, the cost of access to the movie is not likely to be beara-

Edo House and the new face of leadership VIEWPOINT

Page 57

Speaker. This is by virtue of his being the only ranking and, therefore, most senior legislator from the district to which the position is zoned.

Going by this arrangement, the Deputy Speaker ’s position, zoned to Edo South, should go to the most ranked member of the House. Of the ten members representing Edo South, four of them are ranked. They are Hon. Bright Osayande (Ovia North East 11), Hon. Elizabeth Ativie (Uhunmwode), Hon. Sunday Aghedo (Ovia South West) and Hon. Sunday Osazemwinde (Ovia North East 1). All these members, with the exception of Osayande, are returning as second term members. Osayande is in parliament for the third term. Therefore, as the most ranked APC member in the

House, Osayande is definitely the most qualified for the position of Deputy Speaker.

Apart from being the most ranked member, Osayande is a foundation member of the APC since the days of the Action Congress. And he has remained loyal to the party, in spite of the pressures and temptation to abandon the APC in the crisis period which saw four APC members of the Assembly decamping to the PDP. In fact, the lawmaker defied predictions that he would jump ship due to the fact of his relationship to a political benefactor who mounted pressure on him to leave the party. He spurned friendship and the offer of pecuniary inducement to remain with the APC even when the party did not have the strength and advantage of a national gov-

ernment it has now. This is the time for the party to acknowledge and appreciate the sacrifices of this loyal and trustworthy party man.

Some persons have been trying to advance the cause of the only female member of the House in the person of Ativie. Granted that women should be specially considered in the scheme of things, it should not be to the detriment of qualification, loyalty and trust. For this reason Osayande is the man for the job.

Evidently, Osayande, in the past eight years, has demonstrated competence and capacity, which enabled him to receive the mandate of his constituents to return to the House to represent them. Also, on the floor of the House, he has helped in articulating bills and motions which

ble. We also must remember that when we pay to watch a movie at the cinema, we do not get a refund if, after 35 minutes, we do not find it exciting.

It is the same for pay-TV companies, which also cannot go back to companies from which they buy content to demand a refund on the basis that subscribers find their content boring. Content purchase is done by contracts.

We must consider the cost of data. In Nigeria, television and broadband do not come in the same package. We also know how smooth or otherwise internet connectivity can be in our country.

Whatever we think, we have to be reminded that we cannot ask for a refund from the Internet Service Provider in the event of poor service. Neither can you demand refund from the TV company when you find the content not to your taste.

•Adeogun is a Calabar based lecturer have helped Comrade Governor Adams Oshiomhole to deliver the dividends of democracy to the satisfaction of Edo people.

Beyond representing his immediate constituency effectively and helping the development agenda of the incumbent administration – as he has demonstrated on two occasions – in the leadership position such as he is expected to assume, Osayande’s character of integrity and commitment to the good of all will greatly impact legislative business which is expected to propel Edo to a higher level of development.

Indeed, it can be concluded that with Osayande in the leadership boat of the new Edo House of Assembly as Deputy Speaker, the people can really be said to be in good hands.

•Osawe is based in BeninCity.

PAGE 58, SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 31, 2015

SUNDAY Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015, PAGE 59

Only book revolution will bring back the book in Nigeria — Experts

By JAPHET ALAKAM LITERATURE

Q

ualitative education has been described as the antidote to youth empowerment and the book industry is the best tool to use to actualise that. It is as result of this that the various government in Nigeria has come up with different initiatives like free education, Bring Back The Book and others, but despite these laudable initiatives, the results so far revealed that the country is far from getting it right, this is so because the government has not given priority to the education sector, hence the need for stakeholders in the education sector to come together and embark on what can be described as a book revolution in order to make their voice to be heard.

These were the submissions of experts in the book industry during the just concluded international conference of Nigeria International Book Fair held at the Multi-Purpose Hall of the University of Lagos. They also presented shocking statistics on the relegation of education in Nigeria, the dearth of books and its effect on youth empowerment, poor reading culture of Nigerians, among other burning issues in the education sector, while proffering the way forward. peaking on the topic”Empowerment through Book for Sustainable National Development”, keynote speaker,Prof. G.G. Darah of the Delta State University, Abraka, who took out time to educate the audience on how best to educate the youths said that Nigeria budget for education is very small compared with the vast population of youths. He explained that Nigeria has the largest population of people without basic education. “By 2013, Nigeria had 34 million adults who have not had the benefit of basic education.

There were also 10.5 million children of school age who were not enrolled.” Despite the discouraging statistics, Darah observed that unlike Ghana and South Africa who spend 25% and 21% respectively, of their annual budget on education, Nigeria devotes less than 8% of her annual budget on education “The figures for the respective countries reflect the dimensions of the challenge of providing adequate educational opportunities for the young people.

According to him, in the modern world, the spread of education to all is a prerequisite for development. Without a literate and educated population, African countries cannot attain the status of a knowledgeable economy,” Darah noted. Darah who confessed that he is a beneficiary of the free education introduced by Late Awolowo bemoaned the relegation of the book industry in the country to the background; a situation he said disempowers the youths. “By

S

under-developing the book industry in Nigeria, government is guilty of the breach of the fundamental rights of citizens to benefit from the spiritual and ethical values that book provide,” adding that the youths who are the main victims of the book hunger are being systematically disempowered and dehumanized.

Continuing, the renowned author and professor of Oral Literature and Folklore decried the numerous challenges facing the local production of educational materials such as chronic inadequacy of electricity and dependency on imported paper products, identifying piracy as ‘one of the seeming intractable hindrances’.

Pointing the way forward, he identified the effective ways of empowering the youths through books to include, “provision of universal education and elimination of illit-

Without a literate and educated population, African countries cannot attain the status of a knowledgeable economy

By JAPHET ALAKAM REVIEW

T

he level of moral decadence in the society today speaks eloquently of how badly, societal, cultural and family values have been eroded. This can be attributed to a lot of factors but mainly to modernisation which has taken the place of such educative norms like story telling with its attendant lessons. But even with the present level of decay, there are still some people who believe that the vacuum created by such can be filled through the written records.

One of such people is Delta State born writer, lawyer and custodian of culture who is a beneficiary of such, Mr Isodi Dike who came out with a new book titled Okadigbo The Kingdom.

Exhibiting his knowledge of culture as a legal officer and story telling prowess as one time journalist , Isodi who is presently a chief Magistrate grade one, serving in Delta state in the book brings to the fore the challenges of the present age which includes greed and inability of the populace to stand by the truth which is why many bad people find themselves in leadership

positions.

The 89 pages book published by De Master in Digital Print, Asaba which can be seen as a clarion call to all to go back to the basis tells the

•L-R; Prof. G.G.Darah, keynote speaker, Prof. Ismail Junaidu, Special Guest; Mr Ayo Ojeniyi, Chairman and Alhaji Rilwanu Abdulsalami, Chairman, NBFT at the event eracy from the African continent; the extension of basic education to the secondary and tertiary levels; the devotion of 25% of the county’s annual budget to education; granting of scholarships and loan schemes; bail out of the nation’s publishing sector and the translation of great books into the indigenous languages. can give to its young people,” He commended the organisers of the 2015 Book Fair Festival and charged them to come together like other bodies and challenge the political leadership to give priority attention to the knowledge economy that can empower Africa to become a leading global player in the pursuit of sustainable development.

I

n his speech, the Chairman of the occasion, Mr Ayo

Ojeniyi, who is also the Publisher of HEBN Publishers Plc, observed that the most important tool for youth empowerment is exposure to quality education, adding that African countries with their teeming youths need to wake up from their slumber to the fact that youth empowerment is key to sustainable development. “Through the ages, education is known as the antidote to stop the spread of poverty and ignorance. It is the key for unlocking natural resources. Hence, sustainable national development requires a huge investment in education.

On his part, Prof. Ismail Junaidu, the Special Guest of

Honour and Acting Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), who harped on the importance of reading said that NERDC is committed to the improvement

in the reading culture. He pledged the support of NERDC to the book fair trust and asked them to come out with a communique so that it will be given the required attention. He however pointed out that both parents and teachers, and not just the government, should share the blame of the falling standard of education and poor reading habits of the children. “What we fail to understand in Nigeria is that it is not only the government that is coming that will change things, we too need to change.

Government cannot do everything especially in a democratic dispensation where it is government of the people for the people and by the people. It is people centered, so don’t expect that

miracle will happen, all of us, as far as the education sector is concerned should have our hands on deck.

Ok adigbo The Kingdom or rest oration of Okadigbo Kingdom,, calls ffor restoration culture/traditional values story of peoples effort to proffer a new order by standing up against the inglorious ambition of few who were bent on rubbishing the old order to suit their motive.

In the book, the Delta state award winning writer and judge opens the mind of the reader to the dangers of modernisation which has taken away such practices like story telling by adults that teach the youth the core values of life which helps in shaping their future.

Okadigbo The Kingdom tells the story of a typical sub Saharan African society before the advent of modern civilisation. The kingdom was blessed with abundant natural

A work of art that has all that it takes to bring back the desired change in the society, it is good for all especially movie makers as it is a ready made script waiting for adaptation

resources with large expanse of land and things worked well with them with the use of their local judicial system where issues were treated and offenders

punished. A situation that is lacking with the present judicial system. That was the situation until enemies of the society conspired and wrecked havoc on the society. They killed many kings and drove away the present king and an usurper king took over. As a result, the gods visited them in a bad way, but the king and his cohorts did not bother.

That was the scenario until, one of the warriors Awele took the initiative to find out the cause of the problems, the search led him to the forest where he had an encounter with the gods, who revealed the whole secret and way out.

His efforts led the restoration of the real king who decided to adhere to the rules, but he was opposed by one over ambitious Agiliga, who posed as Adaeze and her group. And in the course of trying to find a lasting solution to the crisis, the truth was revealed.

Adaeze’s escapades were made open and the true Adaeze was discovered and the fake Adaeze and her group were paid in their own coins, they were sentenced to

Okadigbo The Kingdom; Isodi Dike; De Master in Digital Print, Asaba, Delta State; 2015;PP.89 death, while others were banished and finally peace returned to the kingdom.

A book with a good storyline and written in very simple English language for easy understanding.

The book is master piece, a work art that has all that it takes to bring the desired change in the society, it is good for movie producers, as it is a well written script begging for adaptation into a film. However, a good use of proverbs would have helped the author to convey the necessary messages, but that not withstanding, the book is nice and I recommend it for all, especially the younger ones and suggest that government should include it as one of the literature books for secondary schools in Nigeria.

PAGE 60—SUNDAY Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015

By PRISCA SAM-DURU COMEDY

Baba Sala: 80 hurra ys ffor or King of Comedy hurrays

E

ach time the name Baba Sala is mentioned, what comes up in the minds of people who knew his vibrant days was that signature tune in the 70’s. It had voices chanting amidst drums, ushering in an over-bloated, fat stomach, teeth painted, alarm clock-wearing, loud large bow tie-tying, baggy trousers-wearing with huge rimless glasses and pipe-smoking clown.

That was the trade mark of Nigeria’s iconic actor and filmmaker, Baba Sala, a brilliant and intellectually sound artiste whose creativity and artistry are responsible for his height in the theartre industry.

During those ever green days, 7pm every Wednesday night on NTA Ibadan, had his fans, scampering home to ensure they did not miss a single episode of Alawada Comedy Show.

The legendary actor, Pa Moses Adejumo Olaiya aka Baba Sala turned 80 on May 18th and his family spoiled him with a birthday bash.

Unarguably one of Nigeria’s father and king of Yoruba films, Pa Olaiya who was born on the 18th May, 1935, is an Ijeshaborn comedy actor and dramatist who has made tremendous

Baba Sala is a brilliant and intellectually sound artiste whose creativity and artistry are responsible for his height in the theartre industry •Baba Sala(middle) flanked by relations mark on the Nigerian theartre industry.

“He started out in life as a civil servant, a sanitary Inspector. After work, he would put off his sanitary inspection (Wole Wole) uniform and go for teaching part-time work in the evenings where he would go round town collecting daily thrift contribution — popularly called Ajo by Yorubas.

In the night, he would transform from a thrift collector into a highlife musician.

Baba Sala started his career as a highlife musician and “In 1964, he led a group known as The Federal Rhythm Dandies.

Interestingly, among his band’s men was King Sunny Ade, who was his lead guitarist. Sunny Ade later left to become a music maestro and

Love song of Tony Afejuku

By UDUMA KALU BOOK REVIEW

W

as Plato naive or simply mischievous? Perhaps, he was just wrong or at best contradictory. For this is a man who banished poets in his republic for being liars and unreal but would go ahead in another treat to say that at the touch of love, everyone is a poet.

On love, Plato is right for love is perhaps the truest expression of emotion and poetry is its vehicle. It is honest and sincere feeling for another which only poetry can convey, in Plato’s words. So, where in the lines lie the lies of poetry and the poet?

Can we say that Plato does not understand the basic definition of poetry as being memories recollected in heightened utterance? Or does he forget that indeed, at the touch of love is poetry, where the truest person emerges?

And that is what one can conveniently say: the poet is the truest person. This is because no matter how he tries to hide his innermost feelings in hidden images and obscure languages, his truest feeling finally emerges through some slips, intrusions or confessions within the verse that betrays his mysteries. And indeed, it is from these- those simpler verses that tell of his quiet and lonely moments- that draw the

critic and reader to a conclusive theme or subject of the poet’s worth and works. It is this the conclusion that defines the poet’s trajectory and preoccupation throughout his career.

And that is perhaps the right key to the definition of Tony E. Afejuku’s poetry.

Because throughout his poetic career, spanning perhaps over 40 decades, one central theme in the entire work is love. But where Plato fails, indeed in Afejuku, is that he does not see the truth of love as the reflection of the innermost person.

This is because Afejuku in his love theme does not simply dwell on the land or nation, race or religion or those other externalities, he reflects and indulges in man\woman relationship, so much that

Afejuku in his love theme does not simply dwell on land or nation, race or religion or those other externalities, he reflects and indulges in man/ woman relationship

indeed, every poem in this his new outing, A spring of Sweets, a six part collection of 108 pages, with a forward by Prof.

Abdul R. Yesufu of the National Open University and an introduction by Prof. Damian Opata of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, oozes with sex, and patriotism to land and faith but also with doubts on all these.

But one can actually say that in his later years, when the twigs and and sticks of the mangrove forest bare their skeletons, the truth in Afejuku’s poetry arrives, and it is not even poetry, the land, sex or any of those externalities. It is far deeper than all these. It is in procreation, the extension and continuation of life on earth.

And he writes about this in the first part of the collectionOption One in the poem, Grand-Boy and Grand-Girls (For his kids’ kids). This is a poem about the birth of his grand children. On his choice of beauty and poetry and the most valued of his existence, Afejuku writes: And what beauty can be greater than/ My grand-boy and grand-girls created/ In two Aprils and one July receptively/ By brother and sister? My own prime creations grander than/ My grand poetry and any great poem?

Like every other poet, Afejuku is concerned with immortality and in this very collection, he

king of Juju music in Nigeria. According to the pioneer comedy actor, he started acting in 1960 in Lagos and since then had been bringing joy to his fans.”

With his sterling achievements as a dramatist, singer and Yoruba actor who was regarded as one of the fathers of modern Nigerian

comedy, the history of comedy, television drama and stage play in Nigeria cannot be written without highlighting his contributions.

Pa Olaiya was in 2011, crowned the Grand Living Legend of Nigerian Theatre in the Living Legend Series 2 at a grand event which held at the Banquet Hall of the National theatre Iganmu Lagos. The dramatist is regarded as the father of modern Nigerian comedy and highly placed alongside other dramatists such as, Hubert Ogunde, Kola Ogunmola and Duro Ladipo, for his total commitment to theatre practice, evolution of comedy in Nigeria and impeccable achievements in the industry.

His successes earned him a National Award of Member of the Niger (MON.) Pa Olaiya however, suffered some set backs when he experimented on film production. His first movie, Orun Mooru which was highly appreciated, was pirated before he could recover his expenses.

Since his retirement from stage, he has dedicated the rest of his life to serving God, and heads a Cherubim and Seraphim Church in Ilesha, Osun State.

actually opens the book with speak, Afejuku’s A spring… it. The first poem here is unites all his feelings and entitled You are not Mortal. perceptions in one central poetic And this mortality is ascribed theme: love. And one way to to the land with its answer the riddle of love in his vanishing beauties and verse is to ask: what is the sweet charm. The land in Afejuku’s in the title of his book? This is sense is mortal though answered in the verse Ipshita, sometimes couched in a reflection or summation of Christian images of a holy perfection and all the good mother. And love for the things of humanity found in an land despoiled by oil Indian woman. It is in her explorers also dies as he humanity that the poet finds writes in Love passes like a balance, even the rhythm and wish and a dream. style portray this through That is the contradiction repetition of words in emphatic also in Afejuku’s A springs manner- for balace. This is the of sweets. He exalts centre of love which is indeed, procreation and existence of the real meaning of Afejuku’s humanity far ahead of art sweets. and poetry and indeed sees These above are the kernel of this procreation as Afejuku’s new outpouring— immortality itself. But in I balance. And the poems that can smell my mortality, are dedicated to his heroes and perhaps originally an earlier peers are extensions of this love poem before the birth of his in their variants- like those grand children, Afejuku, poems for sex, Eni Jones and returns to poetry as the very the militants. They extend and anchor of immortality, “So restore the beauties of the land give me adoration and love under tyrannical and and love/that will write my multinational exploitation. immortality in and on a stone of love.”… Be my divine immortal choir…”

Love is Afejuku’s vehicle through which he conveys his verse. And as he writes, it can be about flesh or spirit.

He seems to make a testament of this in I sin to Love (For Annie at the Time of Final departure). “I sin to love; to kill my existence/I love…My will must be my will, my free will/ to cast A Spring of Sweets, Tony E. love’s sin and sin’s love into our beige barren land’s Afejuku, A Mace books/ Sunbird Media Ltd production, dungeon.”

With this prologue, so to Ikeja, Lagos, 2014

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 31, 2015, PAGE 61

C M Y K

PAGE 62

S UNDAY Vanguard Vanguard,, MAY 31, 2015

All Africa Games: Dream Team VI will emerge victorious — G/Keeper Daniel * Says Rangers ‘re back to winning ways

By Solomon Nwoke

T

HE Dream Team VI re sumes camp this weekend, ahead of the qualifiers for the 2015 CAF U-23 championship slated for Senegal.

The Nigerian U-23 will face either the Black Meteors of Ghana or Congo Brazaville in the third and final round of the qualifiers. And ahead of their resumption to camp and ahead of the qualifiers Sports Vanguard spoke with Dream Team VI Goalkeeper, Emmanuel Daniel in this concluding part of the interview with the Rangers International of Enugu safe-hands, he talked about their All Africa Games qualifiers, and the 2016 Olympic Games and praised the Dream Team coach, Samson Siasia.

Now lets talk about the National U -23 team. You have just qualified for the forthcoming 11th African Games scheduled for September 4–19, 2015 in Brazzaville, Congo. This edition marks the 50th anniversary of the Games, as well as their return to Brazzaville, which hosted the first edition in 1965. So how has it been with the team?

Our All Africa Game/ Olym-

pic team (U-23) is a great team made up of formidable players mostly drawn from the various league clubs doing well in the country today. The ‘Dream Team VI’ is a team of the future because it has good players like Junior Ajayi, Etebor, Egwuekwe, Igiebor and many others, so if you check them out, they are great players blended by great coaches of repute, Samson Siasia and his crew.

So tell us about them (Coach Siasia).

Coach Samson Siasia is a very good coach who is down to earth. He relates with the players as his brothers from the same mother, he knows how to encourage players to get results for him, no matter what the stakes are. So long as you are doing what he wants you to do on the pitch, he has no problems with you.

He tells you the truth.

What chances do you think Nigeria has at the All Africa Games?

Nigeria has a great chance.

All we need now is going back to camp and train even harder than the way we played during the qualifiers. With the calibre of players that we have, Nigeria’s U - 23 team will come back from the Games victorious. Same for the Olympics. We have great players and we have great coaches as well and I think

Leopards in trouble .As Siasia frees Warri Wolves duo

H

EAD Coach of the Olym pic team, Samson Siasia has exempted Warri Wolves FC duo of Oghenekaro Etebo and Freedom Omofonma from resuming in camp on tomorrow, due to their CAF Confederation Cup game against Leopards FC of Congo, coming up on June 6 in Warri.

Speaking after returning from a brief vacation in the United States, Coach Siasia said he had to permit the players to remain with their club who will be involved in a crucial CAF Confederation Cup play-off second leg game against the Congolese club, so as to allow them prepare for the game with their club.

While disclosing that he is on ground to assist any club in the interest of the nation, the former Super Eagles coach said being the only club side left in the continent from Nigeria, it was only pertinent for him to allow the players stay back and report on

Sunday, 7th June after the game.

Disclosing that he hopes Warri Wolves will progress to the group phase of the continental competition, Siasia said the progression of the team will go a long way in making his players in the team mature better and more confident players, and this will in turn benefit the team in its pursuit of the gold medal at both this year’s AllAfrica Games and the Rio Olympic Games next year.

The Dream Team is expected to play the winner of this weekend’s qualifying match between Congo and Ghana for the Africa U-23 championship coming up in December in Senegal, with Ghana going into the return leg with a 1-0 advantage.

Siasia added that aside these two players, all other invited players are expected to report to camp tomorrow, unfailingly, as training will commence on Tuesday, in Abuja.

everything will be fine with the team.

What next for the U-23 team?

Before the end of the month, we shall be going back to camp. Soon, they’ll start calling the players they need to resume training for the Olympics qualification matches and I believe the Dream Team VI will give their best. With All Africa Games qualifiers gone, Olympics is a different ball game, so we have to push harder because it’s going to be intensive. It will be my utmost desire to help the team qualify and perhaps win the Olympics gold for the country again.

As a goalkeeper, what challenges are you facing in the team?

I don’t think I have any challenge(s) because in the national team, we are like brothers and whenever anyone has a problem he shares it with his teammates. Apart from real qualifying matches that I kept, whenever we have a friendly match, I sit out, we encourage ourselves to do well. There’s no witch hunting among the players. The three of us that are keepers in the team, are all friends.

We sit down and discuss issues about our games as friends, whoever has a problem will table it and we look at it dispassionately. The only thing is that the coaches make decisions on who should keep for a particular match.

The U-23 team is next to the senior national team, what is

•Goal keeper Daniel your aspiration as keeper especially now that the current number one goalkeeper and

Captain of the Super Eagles, Vincent Enyeama’s has served his retirement notice?

Nwosu, Sofoluwe, Disu grace St Paul’s school sports sphere, reminding one of the

E

X-internationals Henry Nwosu, Yisa Sofoluwe and Tajudeen Disu were the star attractions at the Annual InterHouse sports of St Paul’s Catholic Primary School in Ebute Metta.

The former Super Eagles legends, who are ambassadors of the Greater Tomorrow Children’s Foundation, founded by 1984 AFCON silver medal winner, Paul Okoku were on hand to watch primary school pupils run and shine for glory at the school\’s premises located near Costain Bus Stop.

The school has been in existence since 1902 and has produced great sports stars like Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi, Godwin Odiye and Okoku,

Pink House rules amongst other leading professionals dotting the length and breadth of the world.

On a day that Pink House won the competition, Nwosu, Sofoluwe and Disu rocked with the pupils in a carnival-like atmo-

great gays when the bestrode the pitch with their mesmerizing runs and eye-catching defensive tackles.

Nwosu was a proven midfielder in the good old days when he lined up to play for the Green Eagles, winning the first Africa Cup of Nations trophy in 1980 at the National Stadium in Lagos.

Sofoluwe, an hard-tackling defender in his time, was dreaded by opposition forwards who cringed at the prospects of facing the former Shooting Stars if Ibadan player while Disu, an hard-working midfielder of yore, passed the ball effortlessly as well as cut out supplies to opposition strikers. Disu was a tough nut to crack in the midfield and gained wide acceptance in the Flying Eagles and Green Eagles in the early ’80s.

PAGE 63

S UNDAY Vanguard Vanguard,, MAY 31, 2015

It’s World Cup or nothing, restates All square for All Whites Manu N C

OACH Manu Garba has restated the resolve of the Flying Eagles to make history by becoming the first Nigerian team to win the FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand.

The Flying Eagles have been beaten finalists at the 1989 and 2005 tournaments and have qualified for this competition without a break for the past 10 years.

From 2.am tomorrow morning, the African champions begin their campaign in New Zealand when they take on five-time champions Brazil at the 11,000-capacity Stadium Taranaki in New Plymouth.

“It is either the Cup or nothing else for Nigeria,” declared Manu, who led the country to win a record fourth FIFA U-17 World Cup two years ago and he is back in New Zealand with half of that championshipwinning squad.

“There is a lot of pressure but we do not allow it to affect us because once we put yourself under pressure, you are most likely to make a lot of mistakes.

“For us, we do not know the word pressure.

We do our best and just

Garba’s hatchet men Continues from B/P for the main team against the second side.

Mustapha Abdullahi smashed home the opening goal for first team, before Simon doubled the advantage.

Godwin Saviour, who is also pushing for a starter ’s shirt, pulled a goal for the other team and could have even drawn his team level in the closing moments but he missed target from inside the box.

Flying Eagles main team on Saturday

pray for mother luck.

“We have all it takes to go all the way and take the Cup back to Nigeria.”

The Flying Eagles trained at the smart Stadium Taranaki yesterday afternoon for

an hour and will have their final training this morning before the Brazil showdown.

Possible 11 Joshua Enaholo – Musa Mohammed,

Mustapha Abdullahi, Wilfred Ndidi, Zaharadeen Bello – Ifeanyi Ifeanyi, Ifeanyi Matthew, Kelechi Iheanacho, Moses Simon – Taiwo Awoniyi, Isaac Success.

EW Zealand gained a point in their opening match of the Under-20 World Cup against Ukraine, but they will wonder what might have been. While on the balance of play the 0-0 draw was probably a fair result, it won’t be any consolation for the home side.

They will rue three missed opportunities, any of which would have been taken on another day.

It’s not that New Zealand deserved to win Ukraine missed a mountain of chances - but Darren Bazeley’s men could be sitting on top of Group A with three points.

United States survive a scare

T

Panama more than held their own against a favoured Argentinian side

Iheanacho fires hat-trick in training

K

ELECHI Iheanacho may have missed out on the Flying Eagles build up towards the 2015 FIFA U-20 world cup in New Zealand, but he has announced his arrival to camp with a superb hattrick.

This will tell Brazil that they may have won the championship five times, they are in for a showdown tomorrow.

Manu played Iheanacho behind Taiwo Awoniyi and Isaac Success and opened scoring for what looked like the starting XI for Monday ’s showdown against Brazil with a superb, left-footed, halfvolleyed goal from the top of the box.

“It was pure magic!”

F/Eagles Continues from B/P was in the Soviet Union (USSR) in 1985, when Nigeria lost 2-0 to the Samba Boys in the semifinals.

Brazil completed a hattrick of wins over Nigeria at Chile 1987 with a ruthless 4-0 thrashing of a team that paraded the likes of Etim Esin, Nduka Ugbade and goalkeeper Willy Okpara.

The last meeting was at Holland 2005 when coach Samson Siasia-tutored side recorded the first point against Brazil with

saluted NFF executive committee member Ahmed Yusuf ‘Fresh’.

The 18-year-old forward went on to fire two more goals past Olorunleke

Ojo. Isaac Success grabbed a brace as he displayed his all-action style, while Taiwo Awoniyi completed the routing

HE United States survived a scare before seeing off minnows Myanmar 2-1 in Whangarei yesterday, moving to the top of group A. With New Zealand and Ukraine drawing earlier in the day and Myanmar seriously threatening the highly-rated Americans, the pool could become one of the closest at the tournament.

The US eventually played enough quality football to claim three points but, having taken an early lead, Myanmar provide a much sterner challenge than many anticipated.

Argentina held by Panama

P

RE-tournament favourites Argentina were held to a 2-2 draw by Panama during an entertaining Under-20 World Cup clash in Wellington tonight.

The damp conditions couldn’t take away from the enthusiasm of either side as they both attacked throughout the contest.

Argentina were tipped to ease through the pool stages but Panama had other ideas and could have taken the game but striker Carlos Small spurned a golden chance in the 86th minute. A draw was probably a fair outcome given both teams had their moments.

Ghana, Austria share points

G

•Flying Eagles’ marksmen Chidera Ezeh, Kelechi Iheanacho and Taiwo Awoniyi a goalless draw.

The Flying Eagles lined up Mikel Obi, Promise Isaac, Chinedu Obasi, Sani Kaita, among others.

The present class of the U20s are a team to beat in New Zealand and could well record a first win over the South Americans on Monday.

Former U20 stars Abduljeleel Ajagun and Kehinde Fatai, both of Panathinaikos (Greece) and Astra Giurgiu (Romania) said the Flying Eagles are capable of going all the way to win Nigeria a first-ever U20

World Cup trophy.

“This present U20 team is solid, I have been reading a lot about them from the U17s till now, they have formed a formidable unit. I believe they will beat Brazil and go all the way to the final and win the trophy, but they must take it one game at a time and concentrate,” predicted Fatai.

Ajagun, who captained the Flying Eagles to reach the Round of 16 in Turkey two years ago, said: “Flying Eagles are favourites to win this competition.

ROUP B remains wide open at the under-20 World Cup after Ghana and Austria fought to a 1-1 draw in Wellington on the opening day.

Given fellow Group B sides Argentina and Panama battled to a 2-2 draw at the same venue earlier in the day, the remaining pool matches will hold noted significance for each side.

Ghana, the only African world champions at under-20 level after they claimed the title in 2009, were anything but at home in the cool Wellington climes.

Austria proved a technically-proficient outfit and they were rewarded for their toil in the 50th minute when Bernd Gschweidl finished from a tight angle with his left foot.

The African champions have drafted as many as eight players who were not at the African Youth Championship in Senegal in March with the likes of Kelechi Iheanacho, Isaac Success and Wilfred Ndidi expected to start on Monday.

Brazil, on the other hand, struggled in the South American qualifying tournament to finish a disappointing fourth.

They replaced their coach less than three weeks to the big kick-off, but must be boosted by 1-

0 wins over both Portugal and Australia in warm-up games leading up to the World Cup. Star player is playmaker Andreas Pereira, who has already made his debut in the EPL with Manchester United in March.

However, they will be missing the inventiveness in attack of Kenedy, who has been replaced at the last minute by Malcolm after he suffered an appendicitis issue which required surgery in Australia.

SUNDAY Vanguard, MAY 31, 2015

Arsenal blow away Aston Villa to keep FA Cup

A

RSENAL yesterday at the Wembley Stadium proved too much for Aston Villa, beating them 4-0 in the

final of the 2015 FA Cup. The Gunners forced Shay Given into a number of fine saves early on before Theo

Walcott volleyed home before the break.

Alexis Sanchez doubled the lead with a dipping effort from 25

FIFA U-20 W/CUP

yards just after half time before Per Mertesacker bundled the ball home with his shoulder.

Olivier Giroud put the icing on the cake with the fourth as Arsenal became the first side since Chelsea in 2010 to win the competition in successive seasons.

F/Eagles seek first win over Brazil • Kick-off 2am, Monday

T

•Joshua Enaholo

•Musa Mohammed

• Mustapha Abdullahi

• Wilfred Ndidi

• Zaradeen Bello

•Pag e 63

It’s World Cup or nothing — Manu • Ifeanyi Mathew

• Manu Garba

• Ifeanyi Ifeanyi

HE Flying Eagles, will aim for a firstever victory and first goal against five-time champions Brazil on Monday in an opening World Cup Group E match at the Stadium Taranaki in New Plymouth, New Zealand.

Both countries have met four times at the FIFA U20 World Cup with Brazil winning thrice, while the last clash ended in a goalless draw.

Their first meeting was at Mexico 1983 when Nigeria debuted at the tournament. The Flying Eagles captained by late Ali Jeje and boasting the likes of Femi Olukanmi, Tarila Okorowanta, and Paul Okoku lost 3-0 to Brazil team who had Bebeto and Dunga.

The second encounter

Contiues on page 63

FIFA U-20 W/Cup: Tomorrow’s matches

•Moses Simon

• Kelechi Iheanacho

• Taiwo Awoniyi

CROSS WORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1.Nobel-winning Archbishop (7-4) 5.Sailor (3) 7.Consumed (5) 8.Domesticates (5) 9.Ovum (3) 10.Electricity counting gadgets (6) 13.Highlander (4) 15.Poem (3) 17.One that contests (9) 20.Nigerian tribe (5) 22.Cereal (5) 24.Demoted (9) 27.Pig’s pen (3) 29.No one (4) 30.Sulks (6) 33.Away (3) 35.Presses (5) 36.Till (5) 37. Swine (3) 38. “The Man Who Saw Tomorrow” (11)

DOWN 1.Sleeping vision (5) 2.Possessor (5) 3.Tax (4) 4.Depressing (9) 5.Argentinian dance (5) 6.Wash lightly (5) 11.Greek letter (3) 12.Distress call (1-1-1) 14.English boy’s name (5) 16.Obstacle (3) 17.Bovine animal (3) 18.Mindfulness (9) 19.Alarm (5) 21.Help (3) 23.Village house (3) 25.Gnome (3) 26.Vast age (3) 27.Condescend (5) 28.Youthful (5) 31.Circular (5) 32.Trades (5) 34.Old Russian King (4)

Group E Nigeria Korea DPR

• Isaac Success

v Brazil 2.00 am v Hungary 5:00 am

Group F Germany v Fiji 2:00 am Uzbekistan v Honduras 5:00 am

Manu Garba’s hatchet men

G

See solution on page 5

HENT of Belgium forward Moses Simon could be in line for surprise starting place in the Flying Eagles opening World Cup match on Monday after he played in place of Musa Yahaya on the left side of midfield in Saturday ’s training.

Simon, fresh from winning a first-ever Belgian league championship with Ghent in 115 years, was the only

change in a possible starting XI coach Manu Garba is considering for Monday ’s showdown against the highlyfancied South Americans.

Musa Yahaya played from the left side of midfield for what looks like the starting XI in Friday’s training, but it was Simon who took his place in Saturday’s training.

And he even scored with a left-footed belter in a 2-1 win

Contiues on page 63

Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa. Advert Dept: :01- 7924470; Hotline: 01-4544821; Abuja Advert Hotline: 09-2921024.

E-mail website: sundayvanguard@yahoo.com, editor@vanguardngr.com, news@vanguardngr.com, sunvanguardmail@yahoo.com. Advert:advert@vanguardngr.com.

Internet: www.vanguardngr.com (ISSN 0794-652X) Editor: JIDE AJANI. 08111813023 All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos.