MAY DAY TRAGEDY: Scores die in fresh Abuja bombing

...towards a better life for the people

N150VOL. 25: NO. 62135

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2014**

Mr & Mrs

COLUMNIST:

•17 corpses counted at Asokoro Hospital•I saw 20 bodies — Eyewitness

Scores die in freshAbuja bombing

•P.17

Continues on page 5

DonuKogbara

Bravo,ladies!

BOOK SERIALSo much has been said and written about

the Igbo-Yoruba conflict in Nigeria poli-tics. What are the roots of this conflict?Does the conflict have anything to do withthe Nigerian National Development Party(NNDP), Nigerian Youth Movement(NYM) and emergence of the NCNC?

See pages 54 and 55.

Iyabo Obasanjowrites BokoHaram, blastsJonathan's men

>8

MAY DAY TRAGEDY

BY SONI DANIEL,EMMA UJAH, BENAGANDE, HENRYUMORU, JOSEPH

ERUNKE & VICTORIAOJEME

ABUJA — EXACTLY18 days after

deadly bomb blasts atNyanya bus terminal inAbuja killed 75 peopleand injured 200 others,Nigerians were throwninto mourning, yesterdayevening, with anotherblast, which at press timehad claimed at least 17lives and scores more in-jured.

Yesterday’s attack tookplace at Wazobia Park,Nyanya, opposite wherethe last attacks occured.

As at 9:05 pm, 17corpses were counted atthe Emergency Ward of

THE BLAST —Scene of the blast in Abuja, yesterday. Inset: A bloodied car.Photos: Emma Ujah & Gbemiga Olamikan.

Poverty notour problem— Jonathan

Abduction: Four battalions for Sambisa forest >9

>16

CMYK

2 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2014

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2014 — 3

CMYK

POCKET CARTOONVanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2014—5

TAKE HEARTBY ELLA RANDLE

LIFEWORDSBY PASTOR ITUAH

Continues from page 1

Scores dead in fresh Abuja bombing

Happiness and the state of joy is ever lasting whenit comes from within— Take Heart Quotes

UNHAPPINESS lies in that gap between whatwe have now and what we think we need. But

the truth is, we don’t need to acquire anything moreto be content with what we already have. We don’tneed anyone else’s permission to be happy. Yourlife is magnificent not because someone says it is,or because you have acquired something new, butbecause you choose to see it as such. Don’t let yourhappiness be held hostage. It is always yours tochoose, to live and experience.

And from the experts of wisdom notes, Mack andAngel Hack comes this beautiful saying. “As soonas you stop making everyone and everything elseresponsible for your happiness, the happier you’llbe. If you’re unhappy now, it’s not someone else’sfault. Take full responsibility for your own unhap-piness, and you will instantly gain the ability to behappier. Stop seeking in vain to arrange conditionsthat will make you happy.” Simply choose to ap-preciate the greatness that is yours in this moment,and the right conditions will start to line up aroundthe contentment you seek.

When you encounter rejection, shake it off andmove on. Sooner or later you will succeed if youdon’t quit. Don’t personalise it; because someonerejects what you have to offer doesn’t mean you arebeing rejected.

BRIEFING—From left: Director of Communication & Strategy, Ndigbo Lagos, Chuma lgwe; Presi-dent-General, Ndigbo Lagos, Prof Anya O. Anya; Executive Vice Chairman, Techno Oil, Mrs NkechiObi and MD, The Niche Newspaper, lkechukwu Amaechi at the press conference, yesterday, in Lagoson the planned grand reception for Ndigbo who left public and private office recently.

the Asokoro Hospital,while the National Emer-gency ManagementAgency, NEMA, ambu-lances were still rushingto ferry in more of thedead and the wounded.

One eyewitness said hesaw 20 bodies at thescene.

The bombers, whoseidentities were yet to beunmasked, struck at thesame transit point theyattacked exactly 18 daysago.

No group has claimedresponsibility for yester-day’s attack.

At Asokoro GeneralHospital, 16 dead bodieswere on the ground.Many people, familiesand friends were in thehospital while many wereoutside because the hos-pital gates were shutagainst the crowd com-ing into the hospital.Many people were seenwailing and makingphone calls.

The blasts occurred asworkers and residentswho went for the MayDay celebration were re-turning to their bases.Initial reports said anumber of people havebeen killed and manymore have been injured.

Eyewitnesses said itwas caused by a carbomb. The Islamist mili-tant group Boko Haramhad previously staged at-tacks in Abuja. Most ofBoko Haram attacks hadbeen in the North-Eastgeo-political zone espe-cially in Borno, Yobe andAdamawa states. TheApril 14 bombing raisedfears that the militantscould be trying to expandtheir area of operation.

Unlike the last blast,which was targeted at themajor bus terminal, thelatest attack was concen-trated on the oppositeside of the terminal,which is used by com-muters.

Security men, whowere taken unawares by

the deadly attack,promptly mobilised andblocked all routes lead-ing to and from the sceneof the attack.

The developmentcaused traffic snarl onthe Nyanya-Abuja-KeffiRoad and frustratedmany commuters. Theroad leading into Abujafrom Nasarawa State wascordoned off with vehi-cles diverted throughKaru, a satellite town inthe FCT.

Another report said theincident happened atWazobia Park, at the footof the bridge, directly op-posite the Nyanya parkwhere the last one oc-curred.

The corpses werebrought from Nyanya toAsokoro Hospital by twoPolice pick-up vans anda NEMA ambulance.Doctors were immedi-ately mobilized fromtheir homes to the hos-pital to attend to thoseinjured, as they were athome because of the pub-

lic holiday.As at 9.45pm officials

of the hospital came outwith black body bags tocover the corpses as theywere initially broughtout from the hospitalward and put on the fieldoutside.

Vanguard gatheredthat the Asokoro Hospi-tal was short of blackbody bags to covercorpses.

According to a source,some of the injured per-sons and corpses weremoved to Karshi, NyanyaGeneral Hospital, a pri-vate hospital, Panaf Hos-pital located in Nyanya;Maitama District Hospi-tal and Mararaba Gen-eral Hospital.

As at 9.50pm, anotherNEMA ambulance camewith one injured man ofabout 20 years. The am-bulance was accompa-nied by men of the Fed-eral Road Safety Corps,FRSC and the Red cross.

At Asokoro Hospital,stand-by NEMA ambu-lances increased tothree.

CONFAB: North rejects creationof additional state for South-EastInsists S/E does not have required landmass,population for state

BY SONI DANIEL,REGIONAL EDITOR,

NORTH

ABUJA—EVEN before the proposal

for the creation of onemore state for the South-East geo-political zone istabled at plenary for dis-cussion, the North hasrejected the plan, saying

the zone does not havethe required landmassand population to war-rant the new state.

The opposition of theNorth to the creation ofmore states in the coun-try and particularly forthe South-East, is con-tained in a 46-pagedocument, prepared by

the Arewa ConsultativeForum, ACF, for allnorthern delegates to theongoing National Con-ference.

The document, which isentitled “Key Issues be-fore the Northern Del-egates to the 2014 Na-

tional Conference”, alsodescribed Northern Ni-geria as the “backboneand strength of Nigeria”and has already beendistributed to the north-ern delegates.

The ACF said it op-posed the creation of

more states in Nigeriabecause too many stateshave tended to convertthem into what it called“mere cost or effort cen-tres” at the expense ofsocio-economic develop-ment.

“It is against this back-drop that the ACF be-lieves that the creation ofany additional state atthis point in time is coun-ter-productive and there-fore, should be kept onhold until the need canbe justified in future.

“The argument thatcreation of states shouldbe on the basis of equal-ity irrespective of popu-lation and landmass isinconsistent with the el-ementary concept of jus-tice, since injustice is notonly when equals aretreated unequally butalso when unequals aretreated equally”.

The northern group ar-gued further that going

by the population aver-age per state, each of the36 states of the federa-tion could be assumed tohave an average of3,888,987 and a land-mass of 27,327 squarekilometre.

Using its baseline landmass and average popu-lation for each of thestates, ACF argued thatthe South-East with a to-tal population of 16,381,729 and a landmass of33,664 square kilome-tres, presents each of thefive states in the zonewith a population of 3,276,345 and a landmassof 33,664 square kilome-tres.

ACF, therefore, arguedthat the population perstate in the South-East isfar less than the nationalaverage by 612,642 whileits landmass of 33,664square kilometres is notup to 25 per cent of theNational Average.


Nigeriannabbed forrunning drugsupply ringfrom Aussiedetentioncentre

4 vehicles burnt as petrol tankerexplodes in Lagos

Scene of the accident

BY EBUN SESSOU

LAGOS— A SIZEABLEstretch of Admiralty Way in

Lekki Phase1 area of Lagos gotburnt early yesterday morning,following the fuel spilled by apetrol tanker which fell andcaught fire.

The explosion occurred closeto a place where several car hirecabs were parked, with theirowners staying close to them.

It was learnt that the driver ofthe tanker, who was reportedto be sleeping on the wheel, lostcontrol of the vehicle whichskidded off its lane, ramped intoconcrete in the median and fell,spilling its contents

The inferno that trailed thecrash razed to ashes four vehi-cles parked close to the sceneof the accident and the tankerwith foreign registrationnumber, BS 111FR.

However, the driver of the ill-fated tanker was reported tohave escaped the fire whichdestroyed the portion it spilledits contents and there were nocasualties.

A boat parked close to thescene of the crash miraculouslysurvived the raving fire, whichalmost spread to some housesin the area.

An eyewitness, who said theincident occurred about 6 am,explained: "The driver was onspeed and lost control but be-fore he knew what was hap-pening, the tanker had alreadycaught fire.

"We then called on the peo-ple around to drive the cars outof the scene, unfortunately, firerazed other vehicles."

At press time, the fire hadbeen put out through the com-

bined efforts of Federal and La-gos State Fire Service.

A victim of the fire, 63-yer-oldOlu Olowoagbo, whose vehiclewas razed by the inferno, la-mented that his only source oflivelihood had been taken off.

The car, a Toyota Camry, withnumber plate, GGE 846 GE, heused for car hire service, wasburnt with the document of pur-chase the owner left inside.

He said: “Three years ago, Itook a loan of N3 million to buythis car; I am still paying ininstallment. As we speak, Ihave N600,000 to pay off the car.I don’t have other means of sur-vival.

”Right now, I need to speakwith my insurance company aswell as the person that sold it forme in order to evaluate the dam-age. Now this car is a waste.

“When I was informed aboutthe incident, I almost passed out.

I decided not to go and see mycar that has been razed by fire.But my friend advised that Ishould be on ground to knowthe next line of action to take. Ibelieve God will help me.”

The scene of the crash was cor-doned off by policemen while theburnt tanker which blocked onelane of the dual carriageway wasyet to be towed off at press time.

AKALA BOYS LATEST: Arrested kingpin's wife wantsaccess to husband

BY IFEANYI OKOLIE

LAGOS — Mrs. BalikisAjiboye, whose husband,

a Lagos-based businessman,Toba Ajiboye, was arrested bythe police in his apartment atSurulere area of Lagos in con-nection with the latest crisis byAkala boys of Mushin area ofLagos, has called on the Com-missioner of Police, UmarManko, to allow her see thehusband.

Balikis, who spoke with Van-guard yesterday in Surulere,said she does not know if herhusband is dead or alive,stressing that the police hasdenied her, Toba's relatives andthe lawyer access to her hus-band.

According to her, Toba is notwell as he was beaten andstabbed on the neck and otherparts of his body by hoodlums

who accompanied the policementhat arrested him in his apart-ment.

She also explained that herhusband was a former UnitChairman of the National Un-ion of Road Transport Workers,NURTW, in Mushin, but hewent into business after he wasremoved from office.

She said: “Even after he leftNURTW, they wouldn’t let himbe. Some people at NURTW inLagos State, who do not want tosee him alive, are bent on kill-ing him. When they are not spon-soring hoodlums in Akala to at-tack him, they will use the po-lice, all because they want toeliminate him.

"He has relinquished the of-fice they wanted but yet theywon’t let him alone. Last week itwas a combined team of police-men and some hoodlums fromAkala that picked him from

home."The armed policemen broke

into our house and they foundmy husband in the living roomwith his friends. The policemenarrested and handed him overto the hoodlums who smashedbottles on his head and stabbedhim in the neck and other partsof his body.

"His friends were also stabbed,after which they were all whiskedaway. No proper medical atten-tion was given to my husband. Iwas told he was first detainedwith robbers at the SpecialAnti-Robbery Squad, SARS,Ikeja, and later at the Area FCommand.

"The next day, they took himto search our houses in Ereko atMushin and Surulere, wherethey found nothing incriminat-ing. But ever since, I, his rela-tives, friends and even his law-

yer have not set eyes on him."We were told at Area F that the

Deputy Commissioner of Police incharge of Operations, TundeShobulo, who is handling thiscase ordered that my husband betransferred to State Criminal In-vestigations Department, Panti,Yaba, adding that no visitorshould be allowed to see him, in-cluding his lawyer.

"I thought this was a joke andwhen we went to Panti, we werenot allowed to see him. After press-ing hard, they told us that Shobulohas ordered his transfer toBadagry. Where in Badagry?They didn’t tell us.

"I am not saying that my hus-band is above the law and heshould not be arrested if there isa case against him, but the man-ner of his arrest was frightening.

"I fear something sinister is atplay. If he is dead or alive theyshould let us know. I urge the com-missioner of police to listen to mycries and allow me see my hus-band.”

A NIGERIAN detainee at Sydney,

Australia's VillawoodDetention Centre hasbeen arrested by NewSouth Wales police forallegedly running a ma-jor drug supply ring.

The 39-year-old Nige-rian, who was not iden-tified, was taken intocustody by officers fromthe State Crime Com-mand investigating theimportation of cocaineinto Australia.

They alleged he wasusing mobile phonesseized at the detentioncentre to direct the crimi-nal activity.

His arrest follows theseizure of 5kg of cocaineat Sydney Airport afterpolice stopped a US na-tional who arrived on aflight from Santiago,Chile. It is alleged hewas working for the Ni-gerian.

The arrest follows anongoing investigationby police into criminalgangs importing andsupplying illegal drugsin NSW.

Two weeks ago, offic-ers arrested four menand seized more than140kg of drugs from astorage shed inCampsie.

Detective Superin-tendent Scott Cook saidnew technology was aid-ing criminal networks.

He said: "Everyone isso networked now andconnected now that itmakes it far easier tocommit criminal activi-ties. There is an associa-tion and there's certainlyconnections betweenthese people.

"This investigation islooking at criminal net-works operating in NSW,those networks unlikecriminal groups in thepast, unlike bikieswhich are hierarchal andorganised and a strictstructure, what we'refinding now is that or-ganised crimes are farmore networked.

"Rest assured, we willlock them up, take theirassets, and disrupt theirbusiness models in everyway we can."


CMYK

8—Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2014

Confabenergyc'tteesummonsDISCOowners

BY CLARANWACHUKWU

Iyabo Obasanjo writes Boko Haram

SENATOR Iyabo Obasan-jo has accused those in

President GoodluckJonathan's inner circle ofbeing a hindrance to theresolution of the crisisposed by the Boko Haraminsurgency.

In an open letter to the Is-lamist sect, whose leader-ship she credited with"more sense," SenatorObasanjo, however, faultedthe insurgents for betrayingthe true essence of revolu-tionaries in directing theirvenom against the lowerclass.

Dr. Obasanjo in the 860-word letter particularlycringed at the abduction ofhundreds of school girlsfrom Government Second-ary School, Chibok, BornoState, saying their crave forsexual gratification is no ex-cuse for the abduction.

While noting her surprisethat more armed groupshave not risen against thestate given the social andliving conditions of the ma-jority of the population, shewrote:

"I am moved to writeabout the current state ofaffairs in Nigeria. My firstinclination was to write tothe President but since allletters to him seem to elicitonly open derision andeven more stupidity fromhis inner circle, I have de-cided to address my letterto a group also currentlycausing Nigerians a lot ofpain and agony that mayactually have more sensethan the country's leader-ship.

Dear Boko Haram"The fact that you have tak-

en arms against the Nige-rian state is no surprise. Thequestion should be whyhaven't more young peopleorganised themselvesagainst the state?

“Even the fact that yourmotto, 'Against Western Ed-ucation' is in a way reason-able given the fact that yourleader, martyred by the Ni-gerian state had universityeducation and found no rea-sonable employment buthad to resort to thuggeryfor politicians to survive, asthe story goes.

“He, like millions of Ni-gerian young people andcollege graduates, seeing ablighted future are doing

Says insurgents targeting wrong people

anything to survive.“They have become oppor-

tunistic desperados, almostsub-human as the steppingon and trampling on eachother to death at the Immi-gration employment debacleindicates.

‘Where you’re wrong’“Where I think you have

gotten it wrong are in two ar-eas, if you can pardon mygiving you some unsolicitedadvice.

“First, your victims are be-coming more and more thepeople you should be attract-ing to your side. Take theNyanya bus massacre.

“The people that live inNyanya are usually theclerks, messengers and oth-er lowly office workers thatlive out in relative slums com-pared to the rest of Abuja andtake public transportation towork to receive monthly sal-aries they barely get by on.

“Consult any written workof successful revolutionariesbe it French, Russian, Cubanor even the more recent up-rooting of communism inEastern Europe, to succeedyou need the people to be onyour side. Right now you arenot achieving this.

“You are targeting thegroup you need most. This

does not make for a success-ful revolution but you aremaking yourselves into nui-sances to the people and inthe end while the state, in-cluding its military machinemay not be able to conqueryou, your downfall will bealienating these potential al-lies, i.e. the oppressed anddown-trodden.

“Secondly, the abductionof girls. It must be hard tostay in the bush as all malerevolutionaries fending foryourselves with no sexualgratification.

Cuban example“But again, reading up on

past bush revolutionarieslike the Cuban, for example,indicates that they were ableto convince some women togo voluntarily with theminto the bush.

“Somehow, revolutionaryzeal does not include sexualabstinence and cooking andcleaning by yourselves.

“Reading must be hard foryou since you hate educationbut the past is a good guideto the future and if you can'tread, you are done for in or-ganizing or succeeding inmost endeavours as mostthings have been done be-fore and reading up on howit was done can only serve

as good guidance.“The parents of the girls

you abducted are just tryingto give their daughters achance at having successfullives. Without an educationthere is very little anyone canachieve in this early 21st cen-tury.

“I know living in the bush;it must still seem like thedark ages but the truth is thateven with the lack of jobs andopportunities for young peo-ple in Nigeria currently, it isstill better to be educated.

“An educated universitygraduate who was sellingfood from a food cart ignit-ed the Arab Spring whichwas spread by use of the in-ternet which is hard to use ifyou are not educated.

“There are writings, videosand stuff you post on the in-ternet which I haven't seen.But think of it, you can onlypost and use the internet be-cause some of you havesome education.

“But in the end you haveno control over the distribu-tion of your advertising andrecruiting information be-cause as you may know, theinternet is really part of thewestern system you despise.

Why you’re succeeding“The truth is that you have

succeeded because the Nige-rian state has failed to pro-vide jobs and opportunity forits young people who you cannow easily recruit. By dis-rupting education, you areadding to the burden of thepeople.

“You may say, but howabout our religious issue?Let the truth be told, just asthere are indigenous south-ern Muslims, there are indig-enous northern Christianseven from your epicentre inBorno State and just as youare zealous for your religion,I don't see them giving uptheir religion either.

“The reasonable solution tothis impasse would be foryou to advocate for everyoneto be able to practice their re-ligion as they see fit with re-spect for each other’s beliefs.

“Remember, a couple ofcenturies ago, all of our an-cestors below the Saharawere all animists worship-ping various ‘gods.’

“This ‘One God’ — usagainst them situation — is arelatively recent one in ourhuman history and you willbe advised to let the origina-tors fight it out and let yourpeople be.”

Describes them as more competent than Jonathan's men

Iyabo... the past is a good guide to the future.

BY EMMANUELAZIKEN, Political Editor

THE nationalc o n f e r e n c e

Committee on Energyhas summoned ownersof electricity distributioncompanies, DISCOs,unbundled from thedefunct Power HoldingCompany of Nigeria,PHCN, to a meeting.

The meeting is sequelto another meetingwhich held onWednesday in Abuja,and is with a view tounderstanding the post-privatisation issues andchallenges bedevilingthe power sector sincethe acquisition of PHCNassets last year.

A copy of thecommittee’s summon,which also contained abrief on the outcome ofthe earlier meetingobtained by Vanguardread: “Dear CEOs, Iwish to bring to yourattention a meeting ofthe Confab EnergyCommittee, whichwanted a representationof the DISCOroundtable to meet withthem and present post-privatisation issues.

“The Committee hassomething to do with theNational Conference setup by the President todeliberate on all aspectsof the economy.

“Some of you mayhave read about it in thepapers. The EnergyCommittee is chaired bythe former Governor ofOyo State, SenatorLadoja and the ViceChairman is Engr. BelloSuleiman a formerMinister of Power andMD of NEPA.

“The Chairman calledto request that DISCOroundtable meet withthem at such shortnotice, which was notpossible.

“So I, as Mercados,offered to present theissues on behalf ofDISCOs. The meetingtook place yesterday atabout 3p.m.

“A colleague and Itried to present theissues articulated in thepresentation attached,but we could not gothrough it in its entirety.”

Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2014 —9

SEVENTEEN days after 234students of the Government

Girls Secondary School Chibok,Borno State, were abducted byBoko Haram terrorists and thepublic outcry that have continuedto greet the allegeduncoordinated approach of thesecurity agents to rescue them,a major military operation is setto commence as four differentbattalions, a little more than aBrigade of the Nigerian Army,have been mobilised.

Meanwhile, Borno State PoliceCommand and the Departmentof State Service, DSS, office inthe state, yesterday, released newfigures of the missingschoolgirls abducted by BokoHaram insurgents, saying 276students, not 234 were initiallytaken away.

This has contradicted theearlier claims by parents of theaffected girls, who said 234 oftheir daughters were kidnappedwhen the insurgents attacked theschool.

The state PoliceCommissioner, Lawal Tanko andthe Director of DSS, AhmedAbdullahi disclosed this at a jointpress briefing held inMaiduguri last night.

Tanko said that the new figurewas still not authentic as theactual numbers of the missinggirls could only be verified whenmore parents, who were yet toknow the whereabouts of thedaughters, lodge a complaint.

The CP added that 530students from Chibok and otherneighbouring towns sat for thefinal examinations, and that 276were abducted, while 53 othersescaped.

This is just as former BritishPrime Minister, Mr. GordonBrown, has called forinternational military assistance,such as air support, to be offered

Women protesting the abduction of school girls in Chibok Borno State, in Abuja.NAN PHOTO.

SCHOOLGIRLS ABDUCTION: 4 battalionsmobilise for Sambisa forest

to the Nigerian government inthe hunt for the abducted girls.

Nationwide protests against theabduction also gatheredmomentum yesterday asconcerned women and activistsembarked on protests in Bornoand Kaduna states.

It was gathered that thebattalions that will storm Sambisaforest are taking positionsaround all the access routes intothe notorious forest.

MobilisationThe battalions comprised all

formations of the Army,including those from SignalsCorps, Armoured Corps,Ordinance Corps, IntelligenceCorps, Infantry Corps, ArtilleryCorps, Military Police Corps andthe Medical Corps.

Also, fighter jets of the NigerianAir Force and Police surveillancehelicopters have been mobilisedand are waiting for the commandto begin the joint securityoperations for rescue efforts ofthe girls.

The battalions are said to havebeen positioned in the North,South, East and West of theSambisa forest so that when thetroops move in from all theangles, there will be no escaperoute for the terrorists.

Owing to the possibily ofencountering bobby traps, landmines, ambush and otherunknown traps, it was gatheredthat Air Force fighter aircraft,helicopter gunships and Policesurveillance helicopters wouldcarry out round-the-clockmissions.

Aircraft and land equipmentincluding air ambulances,vehicles with mobile medicalfacilities and a considerablenumber of medical personnel,are said to have been deployedfor the operation to ensure thatcasualties, if any, are quicklyattended to when necessary.

Launching offensiveIt was gathered that since the

forest shares borders withtowns in Adamawa, Yobe,Borno and Cameroon, thedifferent battalions would eachlaunch their offensive fromthese locations.

Vanguard was further toldunder condition of anonymity,that because of the high calibernature of the arms andexplosives in the hands of theterrorists, the FederalGovernment had madeavailable to the security forcesnight vision equipment.

In this regards, speciallytrained counter terrorist units,anti bomb discovery units, theK 9 Dog units of the Army andthe Police, the landmines unitof the army and otherspecialised units of othersecurity agencies are allinvolved in this operation,Vanguard was told.

Are the girlsstill in Sambisa?

Speaking on insinuations thatmost of the girls may have beenmoved to Chad, Cameroon orabroad by the terrorists, thesecurity source said: “Let us waitand see.

“All I can tell you is thatsince the incident happened,the borders close to Sambisahave been fortified and a lotof cordon and searchoperation has been going on.How they would have movedthe girls abroad will be amystery.”

When Vanguard expressedapprehension that a majormilitary interventioninvolving air bombardmentswill lead to killing of the girls,the source said: “It doesn’tnecessarily follow.

“On the contrary, theterrorists are afraid. They willbe fighting to save their own

lives. Many of them arecowards who cannot stand thearmy, that’s why they look forsoft targets.

“They know they won’tachieve anything injuring thegirls. We feel they just wantedto get attention with the girlsin their possession. We havestrategies in place to get thegirls and ensure their safetyif indeed they are in the forest.The plan is to rescue themalive.”

Gordon BrownBrown has called for

international militaryassistance, such as airsupport, to be offered to theNigerian government in thehunt for the abducted girls.

The former UK PrimeMinister said he hadapproached the Britishgovernment to discuss thepossibility of militaryassistance. Asked if heanticipated a positiveresponse, he said: “I thinkpeople will want to help, yes.The international communitymust do something to protectthese girls.

“We could provide militaryhelp to the Nigerians to trackdown the whereabouts of thegirls before they’re dispersedthroughout Africa— like airsupport, for example, if thatwas thought necessary.”

Brown will meet PresidentGoodluck Jonathan in Abujanext week to discuss theabduction.

He said: “I am not preparedto criticise the Nigeriangovernment. We’re dealingwith a group of terrorists whohave kidnapped children.

“The sensible way of dealingwith this is to help theNigerian government.”

NLC, womenstorm Borno govt house

Meanwhile, in Maiduguri,Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC,Borno State chapter, womengroups and other civilorganisations, yesterday,converged at the Borno StateGovernment House to registertheir protest over the 234abducted girls.

Presenting a protest letter toGovernor Kashim Shettima inMaiduguri for onwardtransmission to PresidentGoodluck Jonathan and theSenate President, Senator DavidMark, the state Chairman of theNLC, Mr. Titus Abana called onthe Federal Government and themilitary authorities to intensifyefforts in rescuing the schoolgirls.

KadunaIn Kaduna, a coalition of civil

groups comprising women, nongovernmental organisations,students, women lawyers,among others, yesterday,gathered at MurtalaMohammed Square, callingfor the release of the abductedgirls.

The women displayed placardswith inscription such as ‘Bringback our daughters,’ ‘MamaPatience help our daughters,’‘Respect the future of Nigerianwomen,’ ‘Save our girls now,’‘FG, save our daughters,’ ‘Wewant our girls back,’ ‘Reuniteus with our girls.’

Apostolic leadersThe Coalition of Nigerian

Apostolic Leaders, CNAL,yesterday, condemned theabduction, urging thegovernment to facilitate thegirls’ release.

Speaking through itsgoverning apostle, Pastor WaleAdefarasin, the body describedBoko Haram as audacious,harping on the need forintelligence and infiltration toend the sect’s activities.

276 girls, not 234, were abducted— POLICE

As Gordon Brown calls int'l assistance

BY KINGSLEY OMONOBI,NDAHI MARAMA, LUKA

BINNIYAT & TAREYOUEOWEI

CMYK


ASUU issues 7-day final ultimatum to LASUBY IKENNA ASOMBA

Fire guts Lagos waste transfer loading station

NPA takesHIV/AIDSawarenesscampaign totruck drivers LAGOS—THE Academic

Staff Union of Universities,ASUU, Lagos State University,LASU chapter, yesterday said ithad given the institution a sevenday final ultimatum to address itsdemands.

The ASUU-LASU Chairman, Dr.Idris Adekunle, who made thisknown in Lagos, said theultimatum became effective onWednesday, April 30 and wouldexpire in May 7.

The union had on March 24,issued a 21-day ultimatum, whichexpired on April 13 and another14 days from April 15 that expiredon April 29.

The union had contended thatthe hike in fee had accounted fordrop in student enrollment in theinstitution.

The lecturers also expresseddissatisfaction over the “novacancy, no promotion” policy ofthe university and the non-implementation of the 2009University MiscellaneousProvision Act, already operationalin other universities.

In the fresh deadline, Idris saidthat the lecturers would embarkon a comprehensive andindefinite strike if managementcontinued to ignore the union,pointing that the institution’sgoverning council, which wastheir employer, had not invited theunion for dialogue since the initialtrade dispute was declared.

“It was only the Chancellor, Sir

Thomas Okoya, that invited us fora meeting towards the end of theinitial 21-day ultimatum issuedand he promised to bring the issueto a logical conclusion, we are yetto hear from him. The parents’forum also met the union on April29 and promised to discuss withthe government not to allow theissue result into a strike,” he said.

Idris said the union had beenconsiderate enough to narrowdown its 20 demands to three,“yet the management finds itimpossible to meet them”.

He said that the union declared

the trade dispute to fulfill all theregulations of the Nigeria LabourCongress (NLC) by giving thegrace for dialogue before optingfor strike.

Reacting, the universityspokesperson, Mr. Kayode Suttonsaid: “Of the three issuesremaining, two which are thereduction of the tuition andreviewing the retirement age ofprofessors from 65 to 70 are notwithin the purview of theuniversity or its Vice Chancellor,Prof. John Obafunwa, to resolve.They need government

legislation. Then, the last issueof ‘no vacancy, no promotion’ didnot start with this administration.

“The vice chancellor hasappealed to ASUU to come upwith proposals on how the termsof service for academic staff wouldbe towards a better LASU. In the2012/2013 session alone, over 256vacancies were declared by theuniversity. The vice chancellorhad on April 15, issued a bulletinappealing to the lecturers not todown tools but embrace dialogue,because strike would only domore harm to the institution. “

‘Mad woman’ escapes lynching over alleged kidnap attempt

How to win anti-terrorism war — PATIENCE JONATHAN

LAGOS—WIFE ofPresident Jonathan

Goodluck, Patience, yesterday,urged Nigerians to support thefederal, state and localgovernments to address theissue of insecurity in thecountry, saying “terrorism candefeat anyone including myhusband, President GoodluckJonathan, if he fights alone,because terrorism cannot defeatus collectively.”

Mrs. Jonathan made theappeal at the 44th Birthdaycelebration of the NationalCoordinator of the OoduaPeople’s Congress, OPC, Mr.Gani Adams, held in Ikeja,Lagos.

Prominent dignitaries at the

event include: Mr JosephEvah, Coordinator, IjawMonitoring Group, Chief ShinaWilliams, Special Adviser onCulture to Governor KunleAmosun of Ogun State, Alaafinof Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi,represented by Basorun

Akinade.The first lady, who was

represented by Senior SpecialAssistance to President onYouths and Student matters, Mr.Jude Imagwe, said thataddressing the insecurity in thecountry is a shared

responsibility.According to her: “I want to

thank all Nigerians but as Iappreciate your effort, I mustremind you that you all havea responsibility to play in thesecurity challenges facing thiscountry.''

BY MONSUR OLOWOOPEJO

LAGOS—PROPERTYworth millions of Naira

were on Wednesday destroyed asfire consumed some section of theLagos State Waste TransferLoading Station, TLS, OshodiLocal Government.

When Vanguard visited thescene, it was gathered that the fire

started at about 6:00 pm from anapartment which housed usedtyres collected for recycling andother recycling equipments.

Sources said that the apartmentis filled with about a million tyrescollected across the state forrecycling.

It was further learnt that the firestarted as a result of sparks fromone of the machines in the section

and before long, it began tospreading.

At the scene, Nigeria Policeofficers from Makinde station,Oshodi were sighted protectingthe premises from being looted byhoodlums.

It will be recalled that TLS wascommissioned in September 2011by Governor Babatunde Fasholaof Lagos State.

TLS which also has a medicalwaste treatment plant,accommodates waste fromhospitals and serves as transitcamp for waste generated at itsenvirons such as Oshodi,Mushin, Anthony, Mafoluku,Mile 2, Amuwo Odofin, Okotaand Ilupeju. As at the time offiling this report, officers of federaland state fire service and NationalEmergency ManagementAgency, and its Lagos Statecounterpart were still battling withthe raging fire.

BY MONSUR OLOWOOPEJO

LAGOS—A mob stopped asupposedly mad woman

from kidnapping a two-year-old girl in Igbonla community,Sibiri area of Lagos, yesterday.

The ‘mad woman’ reportedlywalked into a compound on 30Afolabi Sekoni street, wherethe twins were in the care oftheir older sibling.

L A G O S — T H ENigerian Ports

Authority, NPA, has takenits awareness campaignon the HIV/AIDS to truckparks within the portindustry with a view toreducing the rate ofinfection.

The awareness,according to PortManager of the Tin CanIsland port, Mr.Babatunde Longe, saidthat the project is aimedat increasing access toHIV prevention, basictreatment, support andcare services by vulnerablegroups but with particularattention to transportworkers, migrants sexworkers, Customs andimmigration officials andthe local populations livingand working along theWest African trade corridor.

Alonge explained thatin Africa, long range landtransport is a major routefor the spread of HIVsaying that “drivers andtheir assistants stayovernight along their wayand can spend days at theborder crossings waiting toget clearance from Customsand other borderformalities.

“These rest stops anddelays provide multipleopportunities for sexualencounters that cantransmit HIV and otherSexually TransmittedInfections (STIs).

“This puts truck drivers,other mobile sex workersand the people who livealong the route at increasedrisk of HIV”.

He disclosed that about3omillion people live alongthe West Africa’s main East-West route, which stretchesfrom Abidjan in Cote d’Ivoire to Lagos in Nigeria.

He also said that 14million people travel alongthe corridor every yearadding that the route isessential to the socio-economic development ofthe region.

Commending NPA onthe development, the Tin-Can Island Chairman ofNational Union of RoadTransport Workers,NURTW, Prince AdewumiAderinto said thatmembers of the group arebetter educated on themenace, and will ensurethat they use protectionwhenever the need arise.

BY GODWIN ORITSE

BY ESTHER ONYEGBULA She was said to have offeredthe babies, a male and a female,identified as Victor and Victoriathe sum of N100 each.

Frightened, their elder sisteridentified as Oluwatobi wassaid to have quickly carriedthe children and run inside,with the mad womanfollowing, prompting her toraise an alarm, which attractedresidents.

Expectedly, after hearing theolder girl's story, the mobdescended on the woman.

But for the timely interventionof policemen, who arrived thescene and whisked the womanaway, she would have been setablaze.

A resident, Alahji Abudulazeez,stated that; “We were made tounderstand that the mad womanattempted to kidnap the twins.''

WORKERS DAY: Cross section of Nigerian workers, during the 2014 Workers Daycommemoration, with the theme: "Building enduring peace and unity: Panacea for sustainablenational development", at Onikan, Stadium, Lagos Island. Photo by Bunmi Azeez.

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2014—11

‘Osoba has no hand in Ogun APC crisis'

We will capture South West in 2015 — KASHAMU

Osun guber: Aregbesola, Omisore talk tough

PVCs, notcard readers,will be usedfor Ekiti, Osun– INEC

BY GODWIN ORITSE

New vehicletransit regimedebuts atSeme border

FOR ease of shipmentfrom country to

country, the NigeriaCustoms Service hascommenced a new vehicletransit regime forautomobiles beingimported into the countryfrom neighbouringcountries like Benin,Cameroon, Chad andNiger Republic beginningwith Benin Republic andSeme Border as area ofpilot implementation.

The new policy which isa fall out of a March 26,2014 meeting of Directors_General of Customs of the5 proximate countries heldin Abuja, and in line withthe Transit Code,will see allNigerian bound vehiclesimported from the affectedcountries being handedover to the NigerianCustoms by the country’scustoms administrationafter due clearance.

The scheme which hasfeatures of accountability,transparency and easypersonal evaluation andmonitoring will havenames of officersresponsible for transfersand receipts of manifests/vehicles from both countries.

ABEOKUTA—CHIEF IsaacOlu Agemo, a factional

Chairman of the All ProgressivesCongress in Ogun state loyal toa national leader of the party,Aremo Segun Osoba saidyesterday, that the formergovernor did not contribute to thecrisis rocking the party in thestate.

Agemo also said that neither thefaction nor the national leaderwas against the second termelection of the state governor,Senator Ibikunle Amosun, urginghim not to nurse any fear.

The factional Chairman whospoke with Vanguard in anexclusive interview in Abeokuta ,shortly after the inauguralmeeting of the executive in thestate, described the crisis rockingthe party as “an in-housemisunderstanding”.

The party which is divided intotwo factions held parallel ward,local government and stateCongresses which eventuallyproduced two state executivecouncils during the justconcluded Congresses.

Both Agemo and Chief RoqeebAdeniji who were from OgunWest emerged chairmen of thetwo factions of the party in thestate believed to be loyal to Osobaand Amosun.

Speaking on the crisis, the

factional Chairman said “ nobodyshould be blamed for the crisis. Idon’t believe there is crisis in theparty, it is an in-housemisunderstanding, it is not crisisper se ,but, misunderstandingbetween A and B.

“We are saying that let thegovernor take care of thegovernance and the party leaders

take care of the party, so that youwill have a lighter load of whatto carry simple”, he said .

Speaking on the alleged roleplayed by former governor of thestate who is also the nationalleader of the party, Agemo said“I have not seen Chief Osobaplaying adverse role, he hasbeen quiet, gentle in his general

disposition to what is going onin the party and he believesthings would settle.

On Amosun’s second term bid,the factional chairman said,“Amosun can seek for secondterm, we are all together, weare in the same party, we candisagree to agree, that is humannature “, he said.

...Nobody’s against Amosun’s second term —PARTY CHAIRBY DAUD OLATUNJI

OSOGBO – AHEAD ofAugust 9 governorship

election in Osun State, bothGovernor Rauf Aregbesola, the AllProgressives Congress, APC,candidate and his mainchallenger Senator IyiolaOmisore of the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, aretalking tough while asking theelectorates to vote for them.

Omisore yesterday warnedthe former governor of LagosState and National Leader ofAPC, Senator Bola AhmedTinubu to steer clear of the stateahead of the elections, stressingthat “Tinubu will regret anyattempt he makes to causeviolence in the state before,during and after the election.”

Also, Omisore declared thatGovernor Aregbesola lacks thequalities to lead a state like Osun,

BY GBENGA OLARINOYE hence the need to vote him out.But APC, in its response by

the state Director of Researchand Publicity, Mr KunleOyatomi said; “At last, Omisorelet the cat out of the bag. It isno secret anymore that thePDP at the very highest levelhas, in Omisore’s own words,‘concluded arrangement toremove Ogbeni Aregbesolafrom office’, making the PDPparticipation in election itself

only a sadistic formality.“We are not amused about his

boast that the PDP willwithdraw security details fromAregbesola in the coming daysor weeks. It only tells us thelevel the PDP is ready to go, inviolation of the constitution, tocapture Osun.

“Omisore’s declaration thatthe next election is a warconfirmed what the VicePresident has said earlier and togarnish this lawlessness,Omisore warned that when theystart the war, people of Osunshould hide their heads. Is thisa man who wants to rule Osunor who wants to destroy it?'

“Everyone should beconvinced by now that what thePDP seeks is to assume powerundemocratically by any meansincluding murder, violence andany conceivable method deployby terrorists.”

Omisore, a former DeputyGovernor of the state and formerChairman, Senate committee onFinance and Appropriation, whospoke in Osogbo during aspecial prayer andreconcilatory session organisedfor him by the state chapter ofthe PDP, said “Tinubu does nothave monopoly of violence andhe will regret if he tries tocause crisis in Osun.”

A B E O K U TA — T H EPeople’s Democratic

Party has vowed to take overSouthwestern states beingcontrolled by the opposition AllProgressives Congress (APC)before and after 2015 elections.

The Chairman, Organisationand Mobilisation Committee inthe South West, Prince BurujiKashamu stated this whilereceiving 1500 defectors of the

APC members led by their leader, Chief Kayode Ajibu into the PDPat Atan, Ijebu North _East localgovernment area of Ogun State.

Kashamu who boasted thatthough the PDP was not ingovernment, said God has giventhe party the control and authorityin the country .

“I am proud to associate myselfwith PDP and I can tell you todayauthoritatively whether they likeit or not, not only Amosun inOgun State but, in the wholeSouth_West, we are set in PDP totake over the South_West. I trustyou, I believe in you.

“You believe in action. Youbelieve in struggle. You wanthonest people. You know for surewhen you are looking for action,

there are plenty actions in PDP.“You can see it clearly by

yourself, we are not in thegovernment but God has givenus the control and authority. If itis like that, we must know thatall of us have been working anddoing the wish of the people inOgun State.

“The people can see clearlythat there is no any other partythat is better than the nationalparty which is PDP”, he said.

The state Chairman of the party,Bayo Dayo, said the party wouldbe fair to the defectors .

He disclosed that the leaderof the defectors until hisdefection, was a politicalappointee in the APCadministration in the state.

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

THE IndependentNational Electoral

Commission, INEC,yesterday said PermanentVoter Cards, PVCs, will beused for the Ekiti Stategovernorship election onJune 21, 2014, and theOsun State governorshipelection on August 9, 2014;but that it will not deploycard readers for thegovernorship elections.Rather, the card readerswill be used along withPVCs for the 2015 generalelection.

According to INEC, theclarification is to correctreports that card readerswill be deployed for theEkiti and Osungovernorship elections.

The reportsmisrepresented ActingINEC Chairman, Dr.Ishmael Igbani, as havingsaid card readers will bedeployed for thegovernorship elections.

SERVICE: Mrs. Jumoke Akinjide, Minister of State, FCT, representing President Goodluck Jonathanbeing received by Rev. Dr. Supo Ayokunle, President, Nigeria Baptist Convention during the specialcelebration service held for the President in Ibadan by the Baptist Convention. Photo: Dare Fasube.

CMYK


No going back on competency test—Oshiomhole

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

Olu of Warri's 27th coronation anniversarykicks off

BY EGUFE YAFUGBORHI

....As Uduaghan promises extra pay for workers

Amaechiurges Labourto closeranks againstviolence

WARRI—THE Itsekirination of Delta State

turned out en mass, yesterdayin praise worship to kick-startthe 27th coronation anniver-sary of their monarch,Ogiame Atuwatse II, the Oluof Warri.

Atuwatse II, who ascendedthe throne on May 2, 1987, isthe 19th Olu since KingGimuwa I, was crowned in1480, in a transition that wit-nessed an interregnum be-tween 1848 and 1936.

The Christian worship,which opened this year’s an-niversary at the Olu's Palace,Warri, featured songs and dra-ma rendition as well asprayers to God for preservingthe monarch on the throne inpeaceful reign over his sub-jects.

Chairman, Delta State CivilService Commission, ChiefEmmanuel Tetsola, who chairsthe Planning Committee ofthe 27th Anniversary, toldVanguard that the peoplehave all cause to thank Godand celebrate for keeping themonarch in peace with hissubjects.

He said: “It is not easy forGod to keep our king livinghappily with us on the throne.27 years on the throne is nosmall feat. There is also thejoy that the Itsekiri nation re-mains a unified kingdom un-der one monarch. There is nodoubt we are happy.”

Dr. Mark Erumi, Chaplainof Warri Kingdom, who mod-erated the praise worship,said: “The recourse to prais-ing God to open the celebra-tion of our king cannot beover-emphasised.

“There is the usual thanks-giving closing the coronationremembrance, but in truth wecannot give enough to thankGod for all His blessing uponthe throne and the Itsekiripeople. The best we can offeris to praise and worship Himfor His continued mercy andfavour.”

The day one of the eventprogressed into traditionaldances and paying of homageto the Olu as well as a specialpresentation by Itsekiri repre-sentative at the national con-ference, Chief Isaac Jemide,who gave situation report onhis participation at the ongo-ing confab.

Chief Jemide, who de-scribed participation at theconference as strenuous, saidhe has so far made a caseagainst calls for a liberalisedindigenous as well as calls forrenewed efforts at protectingminorities interests, includingthe Itsekiri.

He told the Olu and his peo-ple that, “I am in the Immi-

gration Committee. Incidental-ly, it talks a lot about indigen-ship. In one of my papers to thecommittee, I made it clear thatindigeneship is a natural thingnot artificial. People are bornand hold allegiance to theirroots where they are buried andit must remain so.

“The idea that a stranger canbegin to claim indigeneship in

another land after 15 yearsstay or so, will not help It-sekiris and other minorities.I have told them and Istrongly believe that thecommittee is keying into it.”

Other dignitaries at theevent include President,Christian Association of Ni-geria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor;Pastor John Toritsemotse,

palace chiefs and Mr. Dan-iel Reyenieju, member rep-resenting Warri federal con-stituency, who also gave abrief stewardship of his of-fice to the people.

The 27th Coronation Anni-versary of the Olu continuestoday at Big Warri, with astate of Itsekiri nation speechby Atuwatse II himself.

BENIN—GOVERNOR Ad-ams Oshiomhole of Edo

State, said yesterday that thecompetency test for teachers inthe state will hold in the interestof the Edo child.

Addressing workers at the MayDay rally to mark the 2014 Work-ers’ Day at the Samuel Ogbemu-dia Stadium, Benin City, Oshi-omhole said he would not be in-

timidated to give up the idea.He urged workers to unite

in the fight against insurgen-cy in parts of the country, say-ing that no nation developsunder insecure environment.

On the competency test forteachers, he said: “I have aduty to restore the dignity ofteachers. I am sure that nomatter the bitterness in ourminds we must recognise thefact that our future begins to-day, and that today means

investing in education. I didnot start by building an ultra-modern Government Houseas many governors havedone in many parts of thecountry.

“I decided from day one thatI should build schools that cancompete with many privateones in the state. We have in-troduced one pupil one deskand I am doing these becauseproper teaching and learningcannot take place in an atmos-phere that is not conducive."

BY AUSTIN OGWUDA

ASABA—DELTA State gov-ernor, Dr. Emmanuel Ud-

uaghan, has announced the in-troduction of what he called ‘ex-tra pay package’ for workers atthe end of the year to enablethem meet the financial strainsassociated with yuletide sea-son.

Speaking at the May Day cel-ebration in Asaba, yesterday, thegovernor made it clear thatworkers deserved to be motivat-ed and appreciated for the rolesthey are playing in ensuring in-creased productivity, notingthat the extra pay package,

which will be the first of itskind in the state, is to en-courage them to always putin their best.

He said: “Let me assureworkers that at the end ofthe year, we will work outsomething extra, definitely,

there will be extra paymentfor them.”

He announced that his ad-ministration will employmore teachers and healthworkers within the next fewweeks in addition to the on-going employment into theDelta State Civil Service.

Iwerebon wasfirst MD ofLongman—GCUOBA

Bayelsa workers demand review of pension allowancesBY SAMUEL

OYADONGHA

YENAGOA—Workers inBayelsa State, yesterday,

called on the state governmentto improve the welfare of itsstate's work force and review ofthe pension allowances based

on N18,000 minimum wage, asthe state celebrated the MayDay amidst tight security.

A stop and search was con-ducted on workers entering thePeace Park, venue of the Work-ers Day celebration ostensiblyto prevent suspected miscreantsfrom infiltrating the place.

The state governor, Mr SeriakeDickson, who made a brief ap-pearance at the celebration, saidthough workers in the state haddone well in the last few years,the success of the current admin-istration in the state was depend-ent on the shoulder of the stateworkers.

RIVERS State gover-nor, Mr. Rotimi

Amaechi, has called onthe Nigeria Labour Con-gress, NLC, and TradeUnion Congress, TUC, toclose ranks against ine-quality and violence inthe country.

He said there has beenno successful adminis-tration in Nigeria with-out the support of thelabour unions activelyparticipating in govern-ance.

Amaechi, who spokeduring the Workers' DayCelebration in Port Har-court, the state capital,explained that social in-justice, political and eco-nomic violence as wellas corruption were thebane behind the activi-ties of Boko Haram inthe country.

He said: “I was listen-ing to the TUC Chair-man's address, and hetook me back to myschool days because hewas able to analyze theproblems of Nigeria. Buttypical of TUC, NLC inNigeria, they know theproblems, they also knowthe solutions."

G O V E R N M E N TCollege, Ughelli,

Old Boys Association,GCUOBA, LagosBranch, has said thatChief Felix Iwerebon,one of the pioneer stu-dents of the Alma Materand former President ofGCUOBA, LagosBranch, was the firstManaging Director/Chairman, Longman Ni-geria Plc., now ‘LEARNAFRICA Plc.’ and notGuinness Nigeria Plc asadvertised in the Van-guard Newspapers ofThursday May 1, 2014.We apologise for any in-convenience this errormight have caused.—Editor.

SERVICE OF SONGS: From right: Mr. Emeke Iwerebon, Chairman, Learn Africa Plc,son of Late Chief Felix Iwerebon; Mrs Magdalene Iwerebon, wife; Mrs Margaret Onwuk-we, daughter and Mr. Kelly Onwukwe, son-in-law, during the service of songs for late ChiefEmeke Iwerebon, at the Archbishop Vining Memorial Church, GRA, Ikeja, yesterday. Pho-to: Lamidi Bamidele.


CMYK


HRH OGIAME ATUWATSE 11, OLU OF WARRI'S 27TH CORONATION ANNIVERSARY

HRH Ogiame Atuwatse, Olu of Warri, during his 27th Coronation Anniver-sary, in Warri, Delta State. Photos: Barnabas Uzosike

The Olu of Warri on arrival at the venue of the event

Cross section of chiefs

From left, Chief T. Yahaya Pessu; Chief Rita-Lori Ogbebor; and ChiefMrs. P.E.B.Uku

Itsekiri choirs

Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor and Prince Agidotan Yonwuren.

Her Majesty, Olori Gladys Duroorike Atuwatse, First Lady of Warri king-dom

From left, Chief Brown Mene, and His Royal Majesty, Ogiame Atuwatse II.

Cross section of Itsekiri Daughters & Wives Association of Nigeria (Benin City-based)


2014 WORKERS DAY CELEBRATION ACROSS THE NATION

Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Rivers State chapter during 2014 Work-ers Day in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, yesterday. Photo: Nwankpa Chijioke

A cross section of Federal Civil Servants Multi-Purpose Office withDisabilies during their match past in Abuja

From left: Special Adviser on Labour Matters tothe Kwara State Governor, Comrade Bisi Fakayode;Kwara State Head of Service, Alhaji Dabarako Mo-hammed; Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of KwaraState; Chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress, KwaraState, Comrade Farouk Akanbi and Chairman,Trade Union Congress, Kwara State, KolawoleOlumoh cutting the cake to mark the Workers' DayCelebration in Ilorin.

Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State re-ceiving salute from workers during the celebra-tion at Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Arcade, inAkure.

Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State (left)taking salute from Senior Staff Association of Uni-versities, Teaching Hospitals, Research Institutesand Associated Institutions (SSAUTHRIAL),Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife branch, dur-ing the celebration in Osogbo, Osun State.

CMYK


May Day: Our problem's not poverty, it's wealthdistribution –Jonathan.Labour, politicians seek united front against insurgents .As labour berates political class

BY FUNMI KOMOLAFE,VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG,OLASUNKANMI AKANI,EMMANUEL ELEBEKE &

JOSEPH ERUNKE

....PENGASSAN boycotts rallyover students’ abduction

HOWEVER, the Petroleum and Natu-

ral Gas Senior Staff Associ-ation of Nigeria, PENGAS-SAN, yesterday, boycottedthe May Day celebrationnationwide as a mark ofidentification with theplights and pains of par-ents of the over 200 girlsabducted by terrorists atChibok, Borno State.

The association at its Na-tional Executive Council,NEC meeting on Wednes-day, April 30, 2014, in Abu-ja, resolved that membersstay away from venue of thethis year’s May Day Rallyat the Eagle Square, in

Abuja, and across the statesas a mark of solidarity.

It called on the FederalGovernment to “withoutdelay embark on apprecia-ble steps in search and res-cue of our sisters anddaughters that are still be-ing held hostage since April3, 2014 to date.

The association also in-sisted that its non-partici-pation was also “to protestthe administration by theTUC leadership under Bob-oi Kaigama as PresidentGeneral and ComradeMusa Lawa as SecretaryGeneral.

PRESIDENT GOODLUCKJonathan, yesterday, at the

National May Day rally, in Abuja,said Nigeria is not poor, but suf-fering from the distribution ofwealth, as the main challenge fac-ing the country.

This came as organised labourberated Nigerian politicians andpolitical leaders for playing poli-tics with the state of insecurity in

the country, with Governors Baba-tunde Fashola, Adams Oshiom-hole and Ibikunle Amosun of La-gos, Edo and Ogun states callingfor concerted efforts to tackle theinsecurity scourge irrespective ofpolitical or religious affiliations.

Jonathan was reacting to the re-cent World Bank’s report thatranked Nigeria the fifth poorestcountry in the world at EagleSquare, venue of 2014 workers'May Day festivities.

President Jonathan said he wasamazed when he visited Kenya onan official trip, only to discover that

most of the private jets which flewinto that country were from Nige-ria.

He said: “They say Nigeria ispoor, but I was surprised when theWorld Bank listed us among thepoorest nations in the world. Ni-geria is not poor, it only has theproblem of unequal distribution ofwealth.”

President Goodluck Jonathanused the May Day celebration toreiterate his administration’s de-termination to bring the Boko-Haram insurgency to an end, vow-ing that the abducted secondary

school girls in Chibok, Borno State must be found and rescued. He also restated his earlier sub-mission that the perpetrators of theNyanya Bus Terminal bombing inthe Federal Capital would be fishedout and punished in accordancewith the law.

He assured that government wascontinuously fine-tuning its secu-rity strategies to curb insurgencywhich, he said, perpetrators mustnever be allowed to succeed in theirevil intention.

He, therefore, called for the co-operation of citizens to beat back

the threat posed by the Is-lamic sect to the nation.

He said: “The recentatrocities by terrorists, par-ticularly the Nyanya Mo-tor park bombing of mainlyworking class citizens, aswell as the cruel abductionof some innocent girls, ourfuture mothers and leadersin a very horrific and des-picable situation in BornoState, is quite regrettable.

“The government is con-stantly reviewing and up-grading mechanisms tocurb this mindless act andtogether, with the coopera-tion of the citizenry, weshall triumph.

"Those who want to re-define our country to beseen as a country of chaoswill never succeed. We willcontinue to work hard toensure the security of ourpeople.

Speaking on the state ofinsecurity, Nigeria LabourCongress, NLC, and itsTrade Union Congress ofNigeria, TUC, counterpart,argued that, “it is immoralto play politics with thelives of people,” insistingthat the ruling class shouldrealise that Nigeria was atwar, against a far-reachingnetwork of violence andhatred and demanded anend to the unholy dirty pol-

itics over the insecurity inthe country.”

Governor Oshiomholewhile urging workers tostand and speak for Nige-ria in the face of insurgen-cy and ethnic champions,said: “We should be unitedin the fight against BokoHaram. We should be unit-ed against terrorism, be-cause we need a peacefulstate for us to do politics.”

Governor BabatundeFashola suggested: “I thinkfirst of all we should agreeto fight the scourge of inse-curity under one flag, theGreen-White-Green Flag.

"Let everyone for nowsubsume his flag in what-ever colour and let us rallytogether, not as Yoruba, asIjaw, not as Igbo, not asHausa, but as Nigerians,who rally under one flag,the Green-White-Green todefeat insecurity.”

Governor Amosun ofOgun State said: “I, there-fore, appeal to you all toalways take out time to prayfor Nigeria and the over 200students kidnapped in Chi-bok in Borno State.

"We pray for God’s inter-vention in securing the re-lease of the students andstemming the tide of vio-lent crimes against human-ity in Nigeria.”

The two labour centreswhile addressing workersand other guests, withtheme, 'Building EnduringPeace and Unity: Panaceafor Sustainable NationalDevelopment,' insisted that,“we must all rise in unison,shoulder-to-shoulder andconfront this common ene-my once and for all. We arealmost certain that if any-one was left in doubt aboutthe universality of this war,the Nyanya bomb blasterased all of that.”

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2014 —17

Responses to:[email protected] to 0802 747 6458 OR0811 675 9752 (texts only).PLEASE KINDLY NOTETHAT UNLESS YOUREQUEST ANONYMITY,YOUR COMMENTS MAYBE PUBLISHED, WITHYOUR NAMES ANDCONTACT DETAILSATTACHED.

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Bravo, ladies!

THE abduction of 230 girlsfrom their school in Chibok,

Borno State, has shocked Nige-rians and made headlines all overthe world.

On Wednesday, hundreds ofanguished, angry and mostly fe-male protestors took to the streetsof Abuja, chanting and brandish-ing placards.

The heart-rending requests andpoignant questions on their plac-ards included: “Where Are OurSisters?”, “Please Find Our Daugh-ters”, “Let Peace Reign”, “Can Any-one Hear Me?”, “Please ProtectUs” and “Please Do Something”.

One of the leaders of this laud-able and necessary demonstrationwas Mrs Oby Ezekwesili, a formerMinister of Education. She stoodshoulder-to-shoulder, like theAmazon she is, with thedemonstrators…and joined themas they marched to the NationalAssembly to present a letter in whichthe government was accused of notdoing enough to secure the releaseof the kidnap victims.

I have often complained, on thispage, about the excessive docilityof the average Nigerian. I havepointed out, again and again, thatour rulers constantly mess up andtake us for granted because wedon’t demand respect or progressassertively enough and rarely sus-tain legitimate protests for long.

I salute Oby and the other women

tite” and capacity to tackle en-emies of the people.

The Goodluck Jonathan admin-istration has acquired a chronicimage problem and is facing amajor crisis of confidence, bothdomestically and internationally,because of its under-performanceand arrogant, selfish insistenceon ignoring public opinion.

I have always said that thosewho expected Jonathan to elimi-nate Boko Haram overnight werebeing extremely unfair, given thatsophisticated Western nationshave also not curbed terrorismovernight.

The Americans are still battlingwith Al Quaeda’s Islamic guer-rillas despite their famed mili-tary might and their second-to-none global intelligence network.

The Basque Separatist group,ETA, only agreed to a ceasefirethis February after waging waron the Spanish state for fourwhole decades.

When I was growing up in theUK, the Irish Republican Army,IRA, inflicted all manner of out-rages on the populace andseemed unstoppable for manyyears.

The IRA bombed the LondonStock Exchange building and a

hotel in which several seniorpoliticians (including the thenPrime Minister, MargaretThatcher) were staying. The IRAmaimed and killed indiscrimi-nately and even managed to as-sassinate Queen Elizabeth’s dis-tinguished cousin, LordMountbatten, a decorated na-val officer, statesman and formerViceroy of India.

If those who run countries thatare more well-equipped on ev-ery imaginable level struggle forages to get rid of violent insur-gents, it is hardly surprising thatthose who run a relatively un-derdeveloped country like ourshave yet to whip Boko Haram –which hasn’t been around forlong - into total submission!

However, the Jonathan admin-istration is not completely bereftof skilled security personnel,modern weapons or financialresources…and should be con-fronting this terrible challengemore dynamically and effi-ciently. Boko Haram cannot bedestroyed tomorrow, but it canbe MUCH better controlled.

The Jonathan administrationshould also be A LOT more car-ing. It was in SUCH bad tastefor the President and his croniesto attend a rally in Kano so soonafter the recent Nyanya bus sta-tion bomb blast. Worse still, theywere seen dancing and grin-ning. How insensitive can anyhead of state be?!

Given that he was willing tocancel this week’s Federal Ex-ecutive Council meeting becausehis Vice, Sambo, lost his brother,why couldn’t he display a simi-lar level of concern for the ordi-nary citizens who lost their livesand limbs in Nyanya?

Lives and limbsin Nyanya

Meanwhile, Mr President hasstill not sacked Abba Moro, hiswidely despised InteriorMinister…who should havebeen officially held responsiblefor the Immigration Service re-cruitment debacle that led to sev-eral deaths last month.

Jonathan also comes across asbeing reluctant to punish the mas-sive corruption that is makinggovernment agencies like NNPCutterly dysfunctional.

The positive moves Jonathanhas made – in the power andagricultural sectors, for example- are overshadowed by multiplelapses and failures.

Even on his home turf - the

Niger Delta – where most folksare instinctively loyal to their “BigBrother”, there is increasing dis-illusionment. I have encounteredmany Ijaws, Ogonis, Uhrobos,etc, who used to say that theywould definitely vote forJonathan in 2015, but are nowbitterly changing their tune.

Nigeria is not a happy placeright now and if Jonathan doesnot get a grip, become moreorganised/focused, transformhis leadership style and disci-pline his less savoury sidekicksin the coming months, he willonly be able to win the 2015 elec-tion by force or by fraud.

•President Goodluck Jonathan

*Some women, led by Mrs Oby Ezekwesili, protesting the abductionof 230 school girls in Chibok, Borno State.

I salute Oby and the other women who decidedto brave bad weather – it was raining – to maketheir feelings known; I hope they keep up thepressure

who decided to brave bad weather– it was raining – to make theirfeelings known. I hope they keepup the pressure.

Crisis of confidence: I am inLondon at the moment and havejust watched a really depressingand seriously embarrassing Brit-ish TV news discussion about theChibok disaster.

The foreign commentators wereappalled that this kind of thingcan happen “in this day and age”,sympathised with the helplessparents of the traumatised teen-age captives and expressed theview that the Nigerian govern-ment and army lack the “appe-

OPINION


BY FEMI AYELABOWO

*Mr. Ayelabowo,a public affairscommentator, wrote Ibadan, Oyostate.

Challenge Tinubu, If you canEVERYWHERE in the world, there are

people who go into politics because theyfeel a genuine call to service. Others do so,either for self aggrandisement or infurtherance of some ignoble objectives orsimply to protect their crooked and morallyunscrupulous background. Whatever thecircumstances, it is our character thatdetermines the motivation and pattern ofour politics.

Anyone who remembers the dying days ofmilitary dictatorship in Nigeria and theactivities of pro-democracy groups wouldhardly forget Ahmed Bola Tinubu. Thoseconcerned enough to study his backgroundand personal profile knew how difficult it wasto sift the real from the fabricated. It wascommon knowledge that in Tinubu’s records- from family history, through education andworking career to political activities - nothingsimply seemed to add up.

Much of what was said or written aboutTinubu belonged to the rumour categoryand was, therefore, of no significance toserious-minded Nigerians. Of what concern,for instance, was Tinubu’s doubtfulparentage, whether or not the late AlhajaAbibatu Mogaji was, truly, his biologicalmother? Why would Nigerians bother, if hedid or did not attend Government CollegeIbadan, whether or not he obtained a degreefrom Chicago State University, unless thequalifications acquired from theseinstitutions were presented for the purposeof securing appointment?

Nor, was it of relevance to many in the1990s - when Tinubu came into the political

limelight - whether or not he grew up as anarea boy (the euphemism for socialmiscreants) in Campus Square of Lagos Islandor, indeed, whether or not he was once apolitical thug? What seemed most crucial toNigerians at the time was that the manplayed an active role as one of the foundingfathers of the National Democratic Coalition(NADECO) that fought the nation’s militarydictators to a standstill. So, when Tinuburan away on self-exile in 1994-98, it wasconveniently interpreted as an escape frommilitary persecution. But, he might havehad other reasons for abandoning hisfatherland.

Tinubu’s rise, on the political ladder, sincehis return from exile, has been so meteoricthat he appears to have forgotten his humblebeginning. Having acquired enormouswealth and power, he now wears the toga of“Asiwaju.” Information has it that he ispressing hard to enthrone himself as the“Asiwaju of Yorubaland”, with or withoutthe blessings of the Yoruba people.

Now, what accounts for the sudden rise ofTinubu’s profile? First, he was Governor ofLagos State, the richest State in the country,for eight years during which he was theAlpha and the Omega. Then, he installedone of his most loyal subordinates who agreedthat his godfather must stick around for theirmutual benefits.

The juiciest part of the agreement, it seems,was that Tinubu’s company, Alpha Beta(Consulting) Ltd, would be in charge of theassessment and collection of all taxes and

Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) due,payable and paid, on behalf of the Lagos StateGovernment. In actual figures, the LagosState Government makes over N40 billionfrom IGR every month and based on thepercentage of commission agreed uponbetween godfather and godson, Tinubu’scompany rakes well over N4 billionbelonging to the long-suffering people ofLagos each month. So, in effect, Tinubu holdsLagos State by the jugular.

Tinubu’s rise appears unstoppable,especially after his transformation to thestatus of national leader, following themerger of the defunct ACN with other partiesgiving birth to the APC. He now sees himselfas Nigeria’s President-in-waiting or, at least,Vice-President to be; which explains why heis desperately seeking recognition as theidolized leader of the Yoruba race. In fact, hemade the point abundantly clear the otherday when he challenged the Awo dynasty(even with Mama Hannah almost clocking100 years) for a final determination of whoshould be the Leader of the Yoruba. No doubt,Tinubu has lost respect for traditional Yorubavalues.

Those who may be reading inordinateambition into Tinubu’s apparent desperationshould take serious note of the man’s policy:“If recognition is not willingly given to you,procure it.” It is a policy anchored on theabsolute power of wealth. To a large extent,it appears to be very effective, especially inthe South West–dominated media wherethere is hardly any voice of criticism against

Tinubu, no matter what he does. In fact, Tinububelieves that with money, the entire Nigerianmedia – and politicians too - can be bought.He may be right, considering the number ofaccomplished journalists, editors andcolumnists who sing his praises on a daily basisand would find nothing wrong, even if hecommits murder!

As the saying goes, “power corrupts andabsolute power corrupts absolutely.” BolaTinubu believes that he has conquered theSouth West (almost all the States therein,except stubborn Governor OlusegunMimiko’s Ondo). In some of the States, he hassuccessfully deployed his army of area-boys.With Lagos State under his firm grip and thedaily inflow of massive funds guaranteed,he believes that he is now capable of raisinga military outfit that can defeat the ArmedForces of the Federal Government. Thatmust have been Tinubu’s source of confidencewhen he recently threatened that “electionriggers in Ekiti and Osun States”, during theforthcoming governorship contests in the twoStates, would be “roasted”, rather than facenormal legal processes.

Now back to the critical question: Why isTinubu in politics and why is he so eager toacquire more powers and resources? Theanswer is simple: he needs power to cover uphis not too pleasant past and mountains ofinfractions - some purportedly criminal -against the people. He also needs theresources, perhaps, to continue to appeasethe Lagos masses that he has impoverished.

More Electricity Challenges

NIGERIANS complaining overpoor electricity supply shouldbrace up for tougher times as theconfusion over new ownership ofthe generating and distributingcompanies continues. If the agita-tions of electricity workers are sus-tained, there would be further dis-ruptions that could lower alreadypoor supplies.

The issues would become morecontentious now that the new com-panies that spawned last year fromNEPA, as we commonly knew it,were supposed to have taken overthe businesses at the beginning ofthis month.

A six-month transition contract toassist the new successor companiesassess NEPA staff to determinethose they would keep has ended.What should be a smooth transitionwith those not employed disen-gaged, is brewing a crisis. TheFederal Government reportedlypaid N380 billion as the entitle-ment of NEPA workers.

The understanding of the newowners was that it would be at theirdiscretion to decide who to retain.It seems enough questions werenot asked about what the Bureauof Public Enterprises did with theprivatisation of the electricity sec-tor.

New owners who paid billions ofNaira to purchase these power as-sets cannot recover their invest-ments if they are unable to makecritical decisions about the quali-ty and quantity of staff they wouldengage.

Can the new owners succeed ifelectricity workers do not allowthem to decide how to run their

businesses? Retained NEPA staffwould have had the double distinc-tion of enjoying their entitlementsand working with the new compa-ny.

Electricity workers make theircase powerfully too. They havestarted picketing the new compa-nies. According to them, more than10,000 of them have not been paidtheir full entitlements. They fearthat if they leave, nobody wouldpay them. They could be leaningon the experience of former Nige-ria Airways staff, who have beendenied their entitlements since thebusiness was sold in 2004.

They also claim the new owners

are turning down the agreementthey had with the workers, whichprovided for consultations beforedisengagement of workers.

New electricity companies wantto recoup their investments. Theyalso want to be the ones to makethe important decisions, especial-ly who works for them. Many hadexpected that many NEPA staff af-ter their huge payouts would haveopted for self-employment or staketheir interests in other ventures.

Unless government handles thismatter with care – by resolving out-standing issues it has with the elec-tricity workers - it is setting upgrounds for the failure of anotherprivatisation exercise. Nigeria Air-ways and NITEL went similar ways.

The impact of the botched priva-tisation of Nigeria Airways andNITEL was minimal because exist-ing private enterprises took up theirplaces. How would we managewithout even the worse form ofNEPA?

CMYK


CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2014—————2121212121

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, BY CLEMENT UDEGBE

*Mr.Hassan, a public affairs analyst,wrote from Abuja.

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,BY BASHIR HASSAN

Nyako's call and Nigeria'sstability

VICE Admiral MurtalaNyako (rtd), GCON, CFR,

joined the Royal Nigerian Navyin 1963, trained in UnitedKingdom and returned to Nigeriain 1966, fought in the Nigeria-Biafra war. In February 1976, hewas appointed Governor of thenewly formed Niger State. Hebecame the Chief of Naval Staffin January 1990, the DeputyChief of Defense Staff two yearslater and retired from the Servicein September 1993.

Nyako entered politics in 2006and was elected Governor ofAdamawa State in April 2007. InFebruary 2008 the ElectionPetition Appeal Tribunal upheldnullification of his election, andthe House Speaker James Barkawas sworn in as Acting Governor.A fresh election was run, andNyako was re-elected andresumed office on April 29, 2008.Soon after, the House initiatedmoves to impeach him, but wasdissuaded after the personalintervention of President UmaruYar’Adua.

In 2012 after the first tenure, heran for a second term and was re-elected. He is sole owner of oneof the largest dairy farms in thecountry, Sebore (EPZ) Farms, andowns the largest mango farm inthe country leading to him beingknown as Baba Mai Mangoro, *Mr. Udegbe, a legal practitioner,

wrote from Lagos.

BMM.He is the President of theHorticultural Crops GrowersAssociation of Nigeria, thePracticing Farmers Association ofNigeria and the Apex FarmersAssociation of Nigeria. Nyako, istherefore an accomplished NavalOfficer, a very rich farmer andpolitician. He should be takenvery seriously when he speaks.To ignore the implications of hiscall to the North, will be to theperil of this nation.

Governor Nyako left the PDPlast year to join the APC, and hassubsequently changed histhoughts about Nigeria.

In a speech in March this yearin Washington D C, he accusedPresident GEJ and keygovernment officials of supportingstate terrorism by funding andarming terrorists, adding that “there is simply no person(s) in theNorth Eastern zone rich enoughto foot the financial and logisticbills on Borko Haram activities,and that “ it was clear there wasunhindered coordination betweenthe activities of Boko Haram cellsand strategic commanders inNigeria’s National DefenseSystem”. What a damaging anddiscouraging accusation to hiserstwhile constituency, and whosays he cannot foot such bills? Hecan, of course!

But he continued: “The initialassumption was that Boko Haram

was religiously motivated.Nobody now associates the groupwith any religion; their targetshave largely been within Muslimcommunities. What therefore, arethe motivating factors of the so-called Boko Haram ?” And heprovides the answer: “The peoplein the North have also begun tosuspect that the objective of allthis is to create enough mayhemfor an excuse to deny them theirdemocratic right to vote bycancelling the forthcominggeneral elections in the regionand also reduce the voting powerof the people there now and inthe future through mass killingsof its populace, especially itsyouth.”

Is this man not fanning theembers of violence among theNorthern youth? Nyako, by ourConstitution, will benefit byremaining in office if there is noelection in his state! But hequeries: “Is Northern Nigeriafacing another demonic agendasimilar to that which wiped awayits political and military leadersand killed a number from theWestern Region in January 1966?” The conjuring up of the horrorof 1966 is the biggest harm to the

fragile unity of Nigeria at thistime. Nyako is for a split Nigeria!His New Country is The North.

In his recent Memo to theNorthern Governors Forum, healleged the following: “Theprotection of life and property ofinnocent citizens in NorthernNigeria and recognising theirHuman rights and voting right inthe forthcoming general electionsis no longer a cardinal principleof the administration (GEJ’s)".Hisverdict: “The victims of theadministration’s evil-mindednessare substantially NorthernNigerians. The administration isbent on bringing wars in theNorth….There have also beenattempts to assassinate the SenatePresident (Northerner) in ImoState, two Executive Governors ofStates in the North (the Governorof Benue State and my humbleself), two of our most prominenttraditional leaders (Shehu ofBorno and the Emir of Kano),Senators and others, all fromNorthern Nigeria. This is in linewith the demonic policy of theevil-few in and around theadministration that haveadvocated how Northerners, bothChristians and Muslims, are tobe so dealt with, ill-treated andoppressed!”

He echoed: “It is a well-knownfact that virtually all the soldiersof Northern Nigerian originrecently recruited to fight Boko-Haram have been deceived inthat aspect. Virtually all theNigerian Army soldiers killed/murdered in these operations so

far are of Northern Nigerianorigin”, adding that: “The North-East is under occupation .TheNorth-West is under assault. TheNorth is under occupation.”

If this is not treasonable, thenwhat else is ? When will the FGdo something about this type ofseditious, and treasonable,conduct? Terrorism has come toroost in the North East becauseof this type of mindset amongtheir leaders!

He then goofed: “Nigerians,this is the first time we havecollectively elected a citizen of thiscountry from the former EasternNigeria as a President. Dearcitizens of Eastern Nigerian originplease note that this Federaladministration under your son isgiving you a very bad name!…..If you had condemned thecold-blooded murder of politicaland military leaders of Northernand Western Nigerian origins inthe night of 15 January, 1966 byyour sons it would not have ledto the subsequent massacre of theinnocent and the Nigerian CivilWar….Northern Nigeria is on itsown.” It is unbelievable thatNyako labours shamelessly underthe wrong impression, that GEJis an Igbo man. No wonder! Histypes and party cannot live withthe Igbo or Southern Presidency.Let’s wait till 2019. If indeed thereare many Nyakos in the North,then the die is cast for Nigeriaand the Igbo man once again! Butwill the Igbo man see?

EMPHASIS on innovation and humanresource development has been the

hallmark of the two and half decades ofthe founding of the Nigeria DepositInsurance Corporation (NDIC). Also,remarkably, the diversity of NDIC’sorganisational structure has faithfullyreflected the federal character.

It has worked in harmoniouspartnership with Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) and Ministry of Finance since itsestablishment, a partnership that hasbecome more consolidated in recent years.

The NDIC was established on March 17,1989. It has withered of the manyfinancial storms that beset not only thecountry but indeed the world in the last25 years largely due to the trained andhighly motivated staff and innovativeservices, founded on sound policies andeffective leadership in the last decade.

Looking back to March 1989 when theNDIC commenced its operations, many ofthe odd 100 banks or so in the countryhad gone through one form of distress orthe other - indeed, many had gone out ofbusiness! The Structural AdjustmentProgramme (SAP) introduced in thecountry in 1986 opened a flood gate of newbanks. But it soon became clear that thephenomenal increase in the number ofbanks from 40 in 1986 to 120 within thespan of six years was clearly unsustainableas the nation neither had adequatemanpower to serve those growing banksnor requisite knowledge of riskmanagement to ensure strict goodgovernance regimes within the bankingindustry. That was the first challenge of afledgling corporation.

Luckily NDIC had other countryexperiences to learn from. Czechoslovakia,for example, which was the first countryto establish a nation-wide deposit schemein 1924, used the scheme to revitalize the

NDIC: 25 years of innovationscountry’s banking system after ravages ofthe First World War. Similarly, the UnitedStates of America (USA), which establishedthe Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation(FDIC) in 1933, did so in response to abanking collapse and panic.

And, as was the case with thesecountries, the deposit insurance optioncame to the rescue in Nigeria, with theestablishment of NDIC, as a riskminimiser with the broad mandate ofdeposit guarantee, bank supervision, aswell as provides mechanism for orderlyresolution of failure, including bankliquidation. Its history in the past quarterof a century has been to realise thismandate in the most professional manner.From its humble beginning today thecorporation operate from 10 branchesacross the country with a staff strength of1141.

Some of the measures taken by our ownNDIC back in the 1990s to save manycollapsing banks include moral suasion;continuous interaction with bankmanagers/owners; imposition of HoldingActions on distressed banks to restrictoperations and encourage self-restructuring; and rendering of FinancialAssistance to banks. In 1989 alone, forexample, NDIC in collaboration with theCBN granted facilities to the tune of N2.3billion to ten banks with serious liquidityproblems.

Takeover of Management and Controlwas another set of measures adopted byNDIC. Between 1991 and 1996 24distressed banks were taken over by NDIC.By the turn of the century acquisition andrestructuring saw seven (7) distressedbanks handed over to new investors in1999 and 2000.

These different measures adopted werethe manifestation of the innovativegrounding of the NDIC. And the mostinnovative period was the last five years,when its current management team came

on board, led by Mr. Umaru Ibrahim,managing director/CEO.

Most of the measures taken from 2009to date were quite novel measures inbanking failure resolution, including bailouts; bridge banking; establishment ofasset Management Corporation of Nigeria(AMCON); assisted merger and acquisitionand introduction of financial stabilityfund (FSF).

The bailout measures were notarbitrary, but rather preceded by

Special Audit of the DMBs to ascertain theextent to which they were affected by thefinancial crisis that engulfed the world in2008. The special audit report revealedthat banks were afflicted by large volumesof non-performing loans (heavily exposedto Oil & Gas, Margin Lending), capitalerosion, poor risk management, illiquidityand poor corporate governance practices,amongst others. It further revealed thatten (10) out of the 24 DMBs needed closesupervisory monitoring out of whicheight (8) were in precarious financialcondition which required serioussupervisory intervention. The auditresult showed the market shares of the 8banks in precarious financial condition interms of Total Assets, Deposits, Credits andBranch network were 30.08%, 30.72%,52.70% and 40.32%, respectively. TheSupervisory Authorities thereforeintervened in eight (8) of the banks withprecarious financial condition by sackingtheir managements and appointing new

ones.To complete the resolution of the

situation of the eight most affected banks,the CBN, injected N620 billion into them asloan capital and liquidity support. Theapex bank, working with the NDIC, alsogave guarantees for all the affected banks’interbank takings and foreign creditobligations. In the end the eight bankswere bailed out and their depositors andshareholder were saved from the deadlydepression that such loss causes.

When it became clear that the three (3)banks (Afribank Plc, Spring Bank Pc andBank PHB Plc) out of the 10 found to be ingrave financial condition in 2009 couldnot recapitalize, merge nor find anacquirer before a deadline, the bridge bankoption had to be adopted by NDIC toaddress their problems as provided for inSection 39(1) of NDIC Act, 2006. TheNDIC adopted the bridge bank optionbecause the three affected banks hadattractive franchise, and deterioration intheir assets would hamper their sale.

Depositors were protected, thuspromoting confidence in the system byensuring continuity of banking services.Outright liquidation would have had direconsequences on depositors & otherstakeholders.

The adoption of innovative optionhelped to preserve and sustain dailyoperations in all the 577 branches of thethree failing banks; Safeguarded 6,667jobs in the affected banks; and depositorshad immediate access to a total deposits ofN809.4 billion (U$5.58 billion) as againstN130.57 billion (U$842.39 million)insured deposits guaranteed by NDIC. Thethree bridge banks established and whichwere acquired, through sharesubscription, by the Asset ManagementCorporation of Nigeria (AMCON) wereKeystone Bank, Mainstreet Bank andEnterprise Bank.

Terrorism hascome to roost inthe North Eastbecause of this typeof mindset amongtheir leaders!

Takeover of Managementand Control was anotherset of measures adoptedby NDIC. Between 1991and 1996 24 distressedbanks were taken over byNDIC


CURRENCY BUYING SELLING

CBN Exchange rate as at 30/04/2014

107.36 -0.71

99.48 -0.26

109.95 0.55

2,832.00 +41.00

17.27 0.23

US DOLLAR 154.73 155.23 155.73 POUNDS 260.2249 261.0658 261.9067 EURO 213.9142 214.6055 215.2967FRANC 175.3116 175.8781 176.4446YEN 1.506 1.5109 1.5158CFA 238.9104 239.6824 240.4544WAUA 24.7231 24.8034 24.8838RENMINBI 24.7231 24.8034 24.8838RIYAL 41.2558 41.3891 41.5225KRONA 28.6548 28.7474 28.84SDR 239.9243 240.6996 241.4749

ELDER statesman, Chief PhillipAsiodu, said that the failure of

the federal government to implementthe economic roadmap put in placebetween 1975 and 1978 to rebuild Ni-geria was responsible for the country’sunder-development.

Speaking in Lagos at the inauguralmeeting of the newly establishedPhilip Asiodu Economic Initiative(PAEI), he said after the civil war,between 1970 and 1975, the economywas growing at 11.5 percent, adevelopment he said would have takenthe nation out of poverty if continued.

His words: “In the 1975 economicplan, there was plan to look atAgricultural processing, functionaleducational system, Agro-chemicalsand many issues. But before we couldget started, we derailed andabandoned the plan. Our currentproblem can be traced to the inabilityto keep to such plan that would havehelped us built an industrial vibrantand agricultural independent society.We started assembling of cars beforeKorean but we fail to communicate ourplan for future into action. At a time,our power generation was more thanthat of Taiwan, where are we today?”

On the objective of the initiative,Asiodu, who is the Chairman Board ofTrustees, said the need to create aplatform and ways to communicatewith the nation’s decision makersinformed the establishment of PAEI. The former federal Permanent Secretaryfurther stated that part of its objectivewould be to promote and encouragegood economic initiatives throughlecture series, seminars andworkshops.

While suggesting ways to fast-trackNigeria’s development, he urged the

Abandoned economic roadmap scuttledNigeria’s development — Asiodu

By PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU incoming Governor of Central Bank ofNigeria (CBN), to look at the effi-ciency of regulatory system in order toencourage investors and long termsavings. He also called ongovernment to create an enablingenvironment for business owners to beglobally competitive.

Earlier, Director General of the ini-

tiative, John C. Nwabueze, enumer-ated the objectives of the body to in-clude: Sponsorship of entrepreneur-ship training and economic fellowshipprogrammes in institutions within Ni-geria and abroad and; Giving of schol-arships and grants to indigent anddeserving students. He said PAEI willperiodically sponsor, lobby, propose

and present bills to National Assem-bly and contribute to Nigeria economicpolicy.

Other members of the initiative are:Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, AmbassadorJoe Keshi, Dr. Gabriel Soyoye and Prof.Femi Kayode, while Dr. HassanAdamu, (Wakili Adamawa) is theChairman, Advisory Board.

Indian High Commissioner inNigeria, Mr A. R. Ghanashyam, has

called for greater trade ties in the non-oil sector between Nigeria and India.Ghanashyam made the call in Abujaduring a courtesy visit to the Chairmanof Independent Corrupt Practices andOther Related Offences Commission(ICPC), Mr Ekpo Nta.

He said the visit was to identify areasthat could be explored to strengthen thealready existing trade relations betweenthe two countries. According to him,Nigeria is India’s largest tradingpartner in Africa with about $18 billionand partnership potentials. “The fact isthat we do not want our relationshipwith Nigeria to be in oil alone, we wantto diversify; we want to exploit othersectors. As the relationship is growing,the future potentials of the two countriesare also growing considering the factthat Nigeria has the most intelligentpeople on the African continent,” hesaid. The high commissioner pledgedthe commitment of the IndianGovernment to strengthen thedevelopment of real assets of its tradingpartners. In his remark, Nta thanked thehigh commissioner for the visit addingthat a cordial relationship had existed

India seeks greater ties with Nigeria in non-oil sectorover the years between ICPC and theIndian high commission.

He pledged the commitment of ICPCto partner with relevant embassies toensure that use of forged documents toapply for visa was addressed. Nta saidthe commission’s partnership with some

embassies in the area of visa scams hadstarted yielding results, adding that 32suspects had been arrested with about13 cases already in court. He called onembassies to develop strategies toreduce incidences of people travellingabroad without relevant documents.

Shareholders of Sterling Bank Plchave approved the bank’s plans

to raise new capital through a privateplacement. The private placementwhen concluded will shore up SterlingBank’s share capital to N16 billionfrom the existing N12 billion.

The shareholders gave the approvalat the bank’s 52nd Annual GeneralMeeting (AGM) held in Lagos.According to the shareholders, theprivate placement should be raised bythe creation of an additional eightbillion ordinary shares of 50k each. Theshareholders also approved thepayment of 25k dividend per sharedeclared by the bank.

Speaking at the meeting, Dr Farouk

Sterling Bank’s shareholders approveshare capital increase

Umar, President, Association for theAdvancement of the Rights of NigerianShareholders, said that theshareholders would support the capitalraising exercise. He said that the bankneeded to increase its share capital tofinance value creation projects, addingthat enhanced shareholders’ fundswould increase the bank’s lendinglimits.

Mr Sunny Nwosu, NationalCoordinator, IndependentShareholders Association of Nigeria(ISAN), said that the exercise wouldimprove the bank’s return oninvestment. He said that the bankwould not be able to finance bigbusiness with a small capital base.

From left: Comrade Abiodun Agboola, National Coordinator, Peoples Welfare League (PWL); Professor OyesojiAremu, Guest Speaker; Comrade Hassan Sunmonu, Chairman of the occasion; Mr. Lekan Sote, Consultant, PoshicaLtd and Mr. Ismaila Jaiyola-Alagbada, Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, Osun State at theOsun 2014 Economic Summit for all stakeholders in Osogbo, Osun State. Photo Lamidi Bamidele.


UBA Capital Plc hasexplained to itsshareholders that its

revenue rose by 241 percentto N4.6 billion for the financialyear ended December 31,2013, just as it declared adividend of N1.5 billion.

The shareholders at theAnnual General Meeting,AGM, commended the Board,management and staff for theimpressive financialperformance during the yearunder review and equallyendorsed all resolutions putbefore them at the meeting.Speaking at the first AGM ofthe company, Group ChiefExecutive Officer, UBACapital, Mrs. OluwatoyinSanni, said:

“We recorded gross earningsof N4.6billion, representing agrowth of 241 percent on prioryear earnings. The stronggross earnings was driven byfees and commission fromexecution of variousinvestment banking mandatesincluding power sectortransactions and capitalmarket (45 percent), as well asnet interest margin income (41percent ) generated from ourvarious funds undermanagement . Other incomecontributed 14 percent.”

She, however, assuredshareholders that thecompany would maintainminimal cost of transactions insubsequent financial periods.“We are mindful of ourexpenses and will ensure thatwe maintain minimum cost.The major cost that weincurred during the yearunder review was a result ofour acquisition of two busi-

UBA Capital explains rise in revenue,declares N1.5bn dividend

nesses. Our acquisition ofTrustees and asset manage-ment businesses enabled us todiversify our income streamsand grow our asset base andrevenue line,” she added.

In his own remark at theAGM, Chairman, UBA CapitalPlc, Mr. Chika Mordi, com-mended the shareholders for

the support and promised thatthe company will always takeof care of their interest by de-claring better returns.

He disclosed that just withinone year of the company’soperation, it recorded totalassets of over N68 billion,stressing that the acquisitionof two new businesses contrib-

uted to boost the Group’s as-sets. According to him “Profitafter tax from continuing op-eration grew by 106 percent toN1.8 billion from N856 mil-lion. This is as a result ofgrowth in our various businesslines, a more diversified in-come stream and efficient costmanagement.”

EBITDA, increased by 12 per-cent to N10.4billion comparedto N9.3billion for same periodin 2013.

Also, quarter one EBITDAmargin of 39 percent increasedby two percentage points asagainst the 2013 average lev-el of 37 percent.

The net finance cost reducedfrom N980million toN760million due to lower in-terest charges following the fullrepayment of the Naira syndi-cated bank loans. Investmentincome simultaneously grewby N160million toN260million.

Commenting on the results,the Managing Director/ChiefExecutive Officer, Joe Hudson,said: “The good performancein the first quarter is a reflec-tion of the increasing demandfor our quality products and anoutcome of the implementationof various volume and costimprovement strategies. Weare especially pleased that thenew line in Ewekoro continuesto gain momentum and remainvery optimistic about the restof the year despite the challeng-ing operating environment”. Inhis remarks, the Chief Finan-cial Officer, Anders Kristians-son, stated that “Lafarge Ce-ment WAPCO further strength-ened its financial position dur-ing the last quarter and remainscommitted to delivering valueto our shareholders and otherstakeholders in 2014”.

Lafarge Cement WAPCO Ni-geria Plc is a leading manufac-turer and marketer of cement.A subsidiary of France-basedLafarge SA, the world leader inbuilding materials, LafargeWAPCO is a premium cementcompany with innovative driveto provide valued added prod-ucts and services solutions inthe building and constructionindustry.

Lafarge records N8.1bnprofit in quarter one

By NKIRUKA NNOROM

LAFARGE CementWAPCO has announced

profit after tax of N8.1 billionfor its first quarter endingMarch 31, 2014. Thisrepresents 34 percent increaseover N6.074 billion recorded incorresponding period in 2013.

Highlights of the financialstatement filed with the Nige-rian Stock Exchange, NSE,showed that the company’sprofit before income tax in-creased by 20 percent to N8.6billion compared to N7.2 bil-lion reported in correspondingperiod in 2012.

Similarly, revenue increasedby 16 percent to N27.0billioncompared to N23.2billion inquarter one of 2013, while theearnings before interest, tax,depreciation and amortization,

Dunn Loren Merrifield(DLM) has been an-

nounced as award winner forBest Investment Bank Nigeriain the prestigious FinancialAwards 2014 by InternationalFinance Magazine (IFM).

In an official statement re-leased by the editorial board ofInternational Finance Maga-zine (IFM), Dunn Loren Mer-rifield emerged winner in thecategory after rigorous panelscreening and voting supportfrom IFM readers worldwide.

Commenting on the awardannouncement, founder ofDunn Loren Merrifield, Mr.Sonnie Ayere said, “This is anincreasing recognition of thework our firm is doing in thedevelopment of our financialsector”.

Ayere noted the firm will con-tinue to strive for excellence bycontinuing to introduce innova-tive products and models intothe country that will positivelyimpact the development of thefinancial and capital markets inNigeria.

DLM commenced operation in2009 and was the firm to struc-

Dunn Loren Merrifield wins ‘Best InvestmentBank Nigeria 2014’

ture the first “AAA” rated corpo-rate bond listed on the Nigeri-an Stock Exchange, indepen-dently advised on the first sub-sovereign debt restructuringtransaction in Nigeria and wasin 2012 appointed by the Fed-

eral Ministry of Finance as ad-visers to set up the NigeriaMortgage Refinance Company(NMRC) which was officiallylaunched by President Good-luck Ebele Jonathan on 16thJanuary 2014.

Shareholders of Access Bank Plc haveapproved the bank’s plans to raise

about $1 billion (N160 billion) from the bondmarket. The resolution was put forward tothe shareholders at the bank’s AnnualGeneral Meeting in Lagos.

Mr. Gbenga Oyebode, Chairman, AccessBank, informed the shareholders that thefund will be raised in tranches when need-ed and will be used in the bank’s prioritygrowth sectors and in market segments thatguarantee steady earnings in conformitywith the bank’s sustainable growth agen-da.

He noted that this is in furtherance of itsobjective of being ranked as one of the topthree banks in any of the markets in whichit operates. He said, “Board has considered

Access Bank gets shareholders approval toraise $1bn

a variety of available capital raising optionsand came to the conclusion that having theoption of raising additional financing of upto $1 billion or its equivalent in local cur-rency via the issuance of debt instrumentsis the most cost-efficient option to meet thebank’s capital adequacy objectives.

“Injection of fresh capital into the bank’soperations would accelerate theattainment of its aspiration of becomingthe World’s Most Respected African Bankand help consolidate its position as aleading African financial institution.

“Enhancement of the bank’s capitalbase is a key imperative for the realisationof its developmental goals and commitmentto society.”

The shareholders commended the bank’smanagement and Board for the performancerecorded for the period under review.

BY MICHAEL EBOH

From left: Mr. Ipoola Morakinyo, Channels Sales Lead, West Africa, Hewlett-Packard;Winner, Mr. Godwin Oteri and Mrs. Gloria Oboh, Assistant Manager, Regulatory andMonitoring, National Lottery Regulatory Commission presenting an ENVY Recline 23 all-in-one PC to one of the winners, marking the end the national consumer promo.


CMYK

From Left: Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mrs Asabe Asmau Ahmed;Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwumi Adesina and Denis Kyetere, Executive Director, AATF inAbuja.

THE Minister ofAgriculture, Dr. Adesina

Akinwumi, has said that there canbe no real progress in the effortsat providing adequate food forthe teeming Nigerians withouttechnology, adding that soundscience and proven discoverieswill be used to drive thecountry’s agriculture agenda.

Speaking recently whilesigning a Memorandum ofUnderstanding, MoU, withAfrican Agriculture TechnologyFoundation, AATF, onagriculture technology sharingcooperation, Akinwumidisclosed that the cooperationwith AATF does not mean thebody will be bringingunregulated into Nigeria as thebill on biosafety is still pendingat the national assembly.

Said Adesina: “As we use theoccasion today to sign the MOUbetween AATF and my Ministry,it is pertinent to state that, underAgriculture TransformationAgenda (ATA), we place muchpremium on the use ofappropriate technology as key toreversing the low agriculturalproductivity and unlocking thepotential of African smallholders.

“We are therefore happy tohave you here and we aremindful of your many effortsaimed towards food security andimproved livelihoods of farmersin many countries of Africa.

Insecticidespraying

While appreciating thesuccesses of AATF in differentareas they have intervened inAfrica agriculture like maize,cowpea and banana, the ministersaid they will be working inpartnership with AATF todevelop and test cowpeavarieties with a genetic trait thatwould make the plant resistantto the borer and provide farmerswith an alternative to costly andhazardous insecticide spraying.

“As we are determined toincrease production andempower farmers, particularlythe small-scale, ourmechanisation transformationagenda will benefit from AATF’scassava mechanisation andagro-processing – acceleratingcassava harvesting andprocessing.

“We expect the impact to coverover one million farmers and theirfamilies, increase yields from thecurrent average of 9 tonnes perhectare to 25 per hectare, andincreasing labour productivity.

Dr. Akinwumi added that theimportance of hybrid rice isrecognised in the ministry’sefforts towards repositioning riceproduction in Nigeria to meetlocal needs as well as create

Agriculture minister harps onimportance of technology

By JIMOH BABATUNDE export opportunities.“Under ATA, we are focusing

on developing hybrid rice withyield advantage. We areencouraged by the remarkableefforts of AATF to improve foodsecurity and rural livelihoodamong African small-scale riceproducers, with the programmeto create sustainable hybrid riceagro-businesses to support ricefarming in East, West andSouthern Africa by determiningprecise relationships betweenyield, environment and genetics.These will be an asset to us herein Nigeria.”

Dr. Adesina said Nigeria’smeeting with AATF opens anavenue for collaborative efforts tojointly identify and facilitate thetransfer of appropriatetechnologies that meet theneeds of farmers, particularly in

Nigeria, in ways that address andresolve the concerns oftechnology providers and users.

He stated that under theAgricultural TransformationAgenda (ATA) of the presentadministration, Nigeria enteredthe third year of implementationof Growth Enhancement Support(GES) scheme, a programmewhich depends on a moderntechnology called electronicwallet,.

Dr. Akinwumi explained thatthe electronic wallet technologyhas enabled the Ministry to reachnearly ten million farmers withsubsidised farm input supportsince inception, with attendantincrease in farm yield andimproved livelihoods for theregistered beneficiaries.

Speaking earlier, the ExecutiveDirector, African Agriculture

Technology Foundation,AATF, Dr. Denis Kyetere,said that the Kenya basedorganisation’s mission forAfrica agriculture was toaccess, develop, adapt anddeliver appropriateagricultural technologies forsustainable use bysmallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa, throughinnovative partnerships andeffective stewardship alongthe entire value chain.

Kyetere listed areas ofconcern for agriculture inAfrica as well as crops onwhich AATF had startedworking on in Nigeria andWest Africa and some of theachievements and benefitsso far realized.

AS controversy continues to trail theproposed use of bio-technology in food

production in Nigeria, one of the world•fslargest seeds companies, Monsanto, hadpersuaded Nigerians about the benefits ofbio-technology and Genetically ModifiedOrganisms, GMO, in food production andits safety for human consumption, as othercountries were accepting the technology.

Vice President, International Raw Cropsand Vegetables, Mr. Michael Frank, whomade the call in Abuja also disclosed that itwas the right time for Monsanto to investand establish in Nigeria followingtransformation in the nation’s agriculturalsector.

Frank said: “Monsanto is a 100 per centagriculture based company and $50 billioncompany, and most people around the worldknow us as seed and bio-technologycompany. We are focused on four main crops,maize, soybean, cotton and oil seed-grape.

World Bank has grantedan additional $19

million to Forum forAgriculture Research in Africa(FARA) to extend its Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF)grant agreement for a furtherfive years.

The extension paves the wayfor the Bank to accept newcontributions to FARA’s MDTF.The signing of this extensionis an important milestone forFARA as it unlocks theresources the FARA Secretariatneeds to commence fullimplementation of its newmedium-term operational plan

The signing by Forum forAgriculture Research in Africa(FARA) and the World Bank at the latter’s headquarters inWashington, DC recentlyrepresents the first contributionto be received from theEuropean Commission.

The signing ceremony waspresided over by Dr. ColinBruce, Director RegionalIntegration Africa Region, onbehalf of the Bank, and by DrYemi Akinbamijo, ExecutiveDirector of FARA, waswitnessed by Dr. DavidNielson, Lead AgriculturalServices Specialist at the WBand Ms. Bremala Nathan,Senior Operations Officer,World Bank, among others.

Speaking after the signingceremony, a Lead AgriculturalServices Specialist at the WorldBank, Dr. David Nielson, saidthe MDTF for FARA wasestablished about five yearsago as a forum of budgetsupport to help FARA takeforward some programs.

“It was designed as aninstrument of support and verymuch associated with CAADP,the Comprehensive AfricaAgriculture DevelopmentProgram, as a form of supportfrom outside of Africa forbringing the agriculturaltransformation to thecontinent.”

David Nielson said theWorld Bank recognize thecontribution that FARA hasmade since its establishmentand feel it has an important roleto play in representing theagricultural research andextension and educationcommunity in the CAADPprocess continent-wide.

He added that at the regionallevel, the World Bank equallyrecognized the role of FARA’ssupport for different programs“and also at the country levelproviding support toinstitutional capacity building,providing Africa’s equalagricultural technologyprograms for Africa.”

By JIMOH BABATUNDE

World Bankpulls togethermore fund forFARA’s MDTF

Nigeria needs bio-technology inagriculture — Mosanto

By GABRIEL EWEPU “We have been in Africa for 40 years andnever established our presence in Nigeria,but a number of visits had been made, andwe feel now that this is the right time to cometo Nigeria, to make investments, developpartnerships, and help small-scale farmershere in Nigeria. Especially to increase theyields of maize and we have interest in that.

“A lot of people ask about bio-technologyor Genetically Modified Organisms, GMO,and that is definite part of our business. Bio-technology is a technology that helps farmersto farm efficiently and do it environmentallysustainable way.

“A lot of questions is been asked in Nigeria,and that debate and conversations on GMOsare going on right now in Nigeria, and thatis a decision the people and the governmenthave to make in Nigeria. And we will supportthe decision. “If you look at bio-technologyall crops are advanced to sophisticatedbreeding technologies, and there have beenzero cases of health problems anywhere inthe world. There is no health risk.


INSIDE PAGE 27 PAGE 28 PAGE 27

Peace, politics andthe polls

,

YOU left the PDP whereyou were a founding

member to join APC. Was thatdecision influenced by yourspeculated interest in the2015 presidential election?

If I had a choice, I wouldn’thave abandoned a house ofwhich I was a key familymember. The PDP wasfounded according to certaindemocratic principles ofinternal democracy. If youcannot practice democraticprinciples within, how do youpreach democracy to the restof the country? Internaldemocracy was systematicallydestroyed so badly that theparty (PDP) is owned by thepresident rather than thepeople.

Internaldemocracy

The President decides whohe wants to be party chairmanand imposes his choice oneverybody. We thought thiswas wrong and the party asthen led didn’t like ouropposition to the idea ofkilling internal democracy.

My ambition is legitimate – Atiku

,

BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN,POLITICAL EDITOR &DAPO AKINREFON

The primary reason for my leaving the PDPin 2007, and now was largely influenced by aprinciple, and not actually my desire tocontest presidential elections

The primary reason formy leaving the PDP in2007, and now waslargely influenced by aprinciple, and not actuallymy desire to contestpresidential elections.And if, indeed, I havesuch ambition, I believesuch aspiration islegitimate.

It amazes me whencritics accuse of me ofbeing “over-ambitious” asif my own ambition is

criminal while at the sametime legitimizing theambitions of my opponentswho are ready to break everybasic rule of fair play to imposethemselves.

If it is not wrong for othersto aspire, I wonder why itshould be wrong for Atiku toaspire. I am not in politics tomake money, I am in itbecause I believe, however,rich you are and, however,committed you are to serve thepeople, you must be in

government to bring thenecessary policies to put yourcountry on the path ofprogress and development.

As an oil-rich nation, I don’tbelieve the current level ofpoverty in the country isacceptable. I have theexperience and the passion togive my best to this country.

How would you describe thelevel of rot in the PDP?

I am no longer in the PDPand therefore, I wouldn’twaste time discussing abouttheir current internal problemsanymore. I will however saythat no forward-lookingpolitical party should be socareless about internaldemocracy and conflictmanagement as to allow itskey members such asgovernors to leave in droves.

At what point did PDP beginto deviate from its formativecore values?

It is impossible to tell thestory of the rot in the PDPwithout talking about whattranspired in the run-up to the2003 nomination convention.

Control ofthe party

At that time, courtiers haddone so much to poison therelationship between thenumber one and number twocitizens to the point that evenwhen both of us wereprepared to patch things up,the damage to the party hadmore-or-less becomeirreparable.

Courtiers had convinced thePresident he had to take 100percent control of the party ornothing.

Continues on page 26

•Atiku: I was a key family member of PDP

•How they poisoned Obasanjo against me

Jonathan hasresults to show—Oyibocha-Agbajoh

Atiku Abubakar, erstwhile vice-president of the country has been one of the mostvisible political players since the advent of the Fourth Republic in 1999. With one ofthe most formidable political organizations in the country, Abubakar has been oneof the most persistent presidential contenders in the country’s modern history,having first made his mark in the match-up with the late Bashorn Moshood Abiolafor the ticket of the defunct Social Democratic Party, SDP in the 1993 presidentialcontest.

Abubakar’s preparation for the presidency after the inauguration of the FourthRepublic was helped by the now rested National Democratic Project, NDP, a quietNGO founded and financed by him to research into virtually every segment of thesocio-economic fabric of the Nigerian state. Abubakar’s power of persuasion,

extensive patronage across the political class and his famed deep pockets mayhave been his staying power as a political prodigy. However, over the years, hissurefootedness on the political terrain has turned into an issue. One of thefounders of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Abubakar upon anorchestrated campaign against him in that party slipped out to join others infounding the defunct Action Congress, AC in 2006. In 2008 he returned to thePDP and last year again walked out on the party.

Abubakar, however, remains unfazed asserting that his political migrations areunderpinned by principles and founded on democratic ethos. Atiku Abubakarrecently fielded questions from Vanguard on his mission, message and manner ofpolitics among other issues affecting the nation. Excerpts:

Those of us seeking reformswere perceived as obstaclesand in 2005, they started thepolicy of de-registration to getrid of me and my supporters.The party was restructured in

such a way that nobody shoulddare indicate interest to contest

against the President at theprimaries. I was so badly treatedand consequently had to leave PDPand join AC in 2007. And the lackof internal democracy is still there.

We'll mobilise youths for2015 polls — Obiekwe,DYON boss


Since that time, no one whobecame President wanted tosettle for anything less. Whenwe came together in 1998 asG-38, we never envisaged asituation where a Presidentwould hijack the party andinstall leaders at will againstbasic democratic standards ofinternal democracy.

As the presidents took overthe party, all those married tothe idea of reform becameonlookers. This reality has notchanged.

Do you think politicalparties and politicians haveideologies considering therate of defections?

What ideology would youdefend when all theelementary standards ofdemocratic practices aredestroyed in your politicalparty?

When a political party doesnot respect fair play, integrity,freedom of choice andsystematically destroys thewill of the people throughimposition, what ideology arewe going to defend?

You don’t expect a politicianlike me to remain in a politicalparty that does not even allow

Why I left PDPagain — Atiku


•Atiku: I pray that the elections will be peaceful

return it to the originaldemocratic ideals on which itwas founded. I didn’t hesitateto return, but some of myfriends and associates choseto remain in AC.

Therefore, if any right-thinking adult takes decisionbased on his/her informed selfinterest, I have no right tocastigate the person. It iswithin their right to changetheir minds.

Given your experience inthe former Action Congress,AC, and the dominance ofAPC leaders by leaders of thedefunct AC, do you think youmay have a level-playingground in APC to realize yourambition?

I don’t want to cross mybridges before I come to them.Politics is not rigid sciencewhere the rule of alliance andre-alliance is constant. Youhave to build a network offriends across the country.

In fact, I don’t think anyformer AC leader has anypersonal grudge against me somuch that such grudge wouldoverride the larger interest ofthe party.

Politics is like marketing; youmust sell yourself by gentle

own growing pains andchallenges and we keeplearning and improving everyday. I want to see APC as apolitical party with the largestand widest national appeal.However, as APC expands andsells its programmes acrossthe country, the PDP will doanything to throw a spannerinto APC works.

Desperatetactics

It is already launching apropaganda war against APCby calling it the MuslimBrotherhood Party of Nigeria.And these desperate tacticswon’t help the PDP because itis capable of polarizing thecountry and deepening thereligious divide we areworking hard to bridging.

I am glad that the APC hasrefused to be distracted fromits focus on the country’s mainproblems, which includejoblessness on the part of ourteeming youths, the issue ofpoverty and the lack ofsecurity throughout the land.

Are you worried that partybigwigs such as AttahiruBafarawa, Ibrahim Shekarauand Buba Marwa have left theAPC o the PDP?

This issue is not aboutindividuals leaving to anotherparty, it is about the desire ofNigerians to seek alternativeplatform for change. Peopleare more concerned about thequality of their lives and thatis why they need change.

Therefore, whether somemembers left or not, the mostimportant thing is thewidespread desire for changein 2015.

In your opinion, is thenational dialogue recentlyinitiated by PresidentJonathan necessary?

An agitation for dialogue ornational conference is not anew thing and they precededPresident Jonathan’sadministration.

Possiblesolutions

Any platform for Nigeriansto discuss their problems andpossible solutions is notnecessarily a bad idea to me.It is part of the democraticprocess.

These agitations arepersistent and I don’t thinkthe coming together ofNigerians to discuss theseproblems is a bad idea. It isbetter than pretending that

these problems don’t exist.What is your current

relationship with GovernorMurtala Nyako?

We are not enemies. We hadpolitical differences, but thosedifferences should not turn usinto permanent enemies. Myphilosophy of politics is onewithout bitterness.

There are politicians thatonce cast aspersions on me,but today we relate likebrothers. I don’t keepgrudges.

Do you foresee the 2015elections holding peacefully?

By the will of God, Nigeriais going to survive theprediction of doom in 2015.Once elections are free andfair and people are willing toacknowledge honest defeat, Isee no reason why anypatriotic politician would wantto protest.

Patrioticpolitician

Let us pray for Nigeria andat the same time appeal to ourpoliticians to abandon theirdo-or-die attitude to power.You don’t need to kill thepeople in order to serve them.

Do you have hope that the2015 election would holdunder peaceful conditions? Ifnot, what are yourprojections?

I pray that the elections willbe peaceful. I, also, alongwith other Nigerianpoliticians, must do our bestto ensure that the electionshold under peacefulconditions.

What do you make of theclaims by the PDP that yourassertion at the PDP 2010convention that those whomake peaceful changeimpossible make violentchanges inevitable has fueledthe violence in the country?

If you know me and know myantecedents, you know that Iabhor violence. I can not be anagent of violence. Thatstatement was originallycredited to John F. Kennedy.

The renowned statesmanand former president of theUnited States of America,could not have beeninstigating violence in hiscountry at the time he madethat statement. Our country,Nigeria, has experiencedseveral episodes of violence inthe past, especially whenpeople felt that their votes hadbeen stolen or their civil rightstrampled upon.

It behoved me as a Nigerianstatesman to have calledattention, during a partyevent, to the need for us toavoid any similar recurrenceof violence.

When President Kennedymade that classic statement,Boko Haram didn’t exist. Letus stop politicizing securityissues in this country.

persuasion, using yourunique qualities such asexperience and passion forservice as your selling point.And I don’t think anybody isagainst me in APC. I don’t seeit that way, although somemay perceive it as such.

How would you rate therecent registration exercise inthe APC? How does itcompare with the lastregistration in your formerparty PDP?

The turnout was incrediblygreater than my wildestimagination.

The level of enthusiasmdemonstrated by APCsupporters nationwide wasmarvelous. And the simplemessage in this massiveturnout is that Nigerians aredesirous of change. As to thesecond aspect of yourquestion, I don’t want to talkabout PDP registrationbecause I am no more there.

What reforms would youlike to see in APC?

Like any new politicalenterprise, APC may have its

a semblance of democracy toprevail at its primaries.Ideology cannot exist inisolation. Rather than blamingthe politicians that havedefected, blame the politicalparties that created the hostileenvironment for theirdefection. Which ideologywould have tolerated theownership of political partiesby individuals rather than thepeople?

Some of your colleagues inthe nPDP changed theirminds and refused to followyou to the APC. Was theiraction a form of betrayal?

As a democrat, I don’tbelieve in forcing anybody tofollow me to any party againsthis or her convictions. When Idecided to return to the PDPin 2008 from AC, some of myfriends and associates refusedto follow me back to the PDP. Ididn’t hold it against them.

I returned to the PDP in 2008following the late PresidentUmaru Musa Yar ’Adua’spledge to reform the PDP and

,I want to see APC as a political party withthe largest and widest national appeal.However, as APC expands and sells itsprogrammes across the country, the PDP willdo anything to throw a spanner into APCworks

,


WHAT informed DYON?Through DYON, we

would ensure fair, transparentand credible elections come2015, and this we intendachieving by positivelymobilizing the youth ahead of thepolls to avoid any technicalconfusion.

It is obvious that the Nigeriangovernment is failing inrecognising and or realising theimportance of the youth insustaining national growth andpolitical peace in the country.

DYON intends to empower

We'll mobilise youths for 2015polls — Obiekwe, DYON boss

THE President, Dynamic Youth Organization of Nigeria(DYON), Chief Elvis Obiekwe has assured Nigerians of fair andtransparent general elections, come 2015, as DYON wouldpartner Independent Electoral commission (INEC) to ensure thatNigerians votes count. He also disclosed that DYON is compilinga list of unemployed Nigerian youths through its YouthIntervention Scheme (YUIS), and is also committed in efforts toensuring that Nigeria never witnesses a situation as was therecent stampede at the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) testcentre. Excerpts:

BY VERA SAMUELANYAGAFU

youth and make them realizetheir importance to realisingmaximized economic growth andpolitical peace in the country.

We are passionate in promotingyouth•fs interests and alsoresponsible for ensuring that theyouths are well-represented ingovernment, and for fact that thefuture of Nigeria depends onthem, DYON will not relent inefforts to harness the potentialsof the youths towards nationaldevelopment, hence the decisionto mobilize them ahead of the2015 general elections.

How prepared are the youthsahead of the 2015 general

elections?We have already started

mobilising youths across thecountry to participate effectivelyin the general elections, andarrangement is on to partnerINEC and other stakeholders toensuring the polls are free andfair.

DYON is prepared toencourage youths to vie forelective positions in 2015.

We cannot afford to sit on andwatch a few selfish individualsdecide the future of the countrybecause the youths are the futureof the country.

Nigerian youths have leftgovernance in the hands of theold breed politicians who havecontinued to recycle themselvessince the nation attainedindependence in 1960, and it ishigh time a change comes, andDYON is willing and ready tosupport any candidate or anypolitical party whose manifestosseek to improve the lots ofNigerians.

How long has DYON been inexistence?

DYON has been in existence

for over 7 years, and is situatedin all states of the Federation, andwe have been actively involvedin the country•fs elections sinceinception. The organisation hasits headquarters in Lagos andconducts a monthly visit to youthswho are in various prisons acrossthe country.

In Nigeria today, we haveyouths who were imprisonedunjustly, and DYON has thecapacity to ensure their cases arerevisited and accorded fairhearing. One of those who

enjoyed DYON•hs unalloyedsupport while in prison was theChief Security Officer (CSO) tolate General Sani Abacha, MajorAl-Mustapha.

What is the idea behindDYON's compilation of lists ofunemployed youths in Nigeria?

The idea is to source foremployment for the alarmingnumber of unemployed youthswho are roaming the streets, inaddition to cutting down on thehigh rate of crime in the country.

The tragic and or unfortunateincidence which occurred duringthe Nigerian ImmigrationService (NIS) recruitment testclearly stated that Nigeria hasmore than half of her populationunemployed. This is indeedshameful.

In view of this, it has becomeimperative for all hands to be ondeck to ensuring that youth•fsinterests are well represented inthe country, otherwise, angryyouths may one day declare waragainst the ruling class.

The situation is so that Nigeriais presently sitting on a keg ofgun powder due to the high rateof unemployment in the country,and on our part, DYON is benton encouraging youths to be self-reliant and less dependent on thegovernment for jobs.

•Obiekwe: Our plans for theyouths

POLITICAL BackgroundWe all are politically

inclined, perhaps right fromour birth. To me, politics is away of life, it depends on howone views, perceives and playsit. I started playing politics frommy very early days in myfamily.

I was actually born into ahome where love and truth isthe parameter; a platform Ileveraged on towards beingpart of the process or means

Jonathan has results to show —Oyibocha-Agbajoh

through which I can be part ofthe policy making andimplementation process thatwill impact on the lives of mypeople.

Performance of PresidentJonathan

I say it categorically thatPresident Goodluck Jonathanhas done extremely well; wellabove expectation. Even in theface of turmoil and securitychallenges, he still remainsfocused to transforming Nigeria.

When did the railway work lastin the history of Nigeria? Whendid ‘Almajiris’ start learning

instead of walking or beggingon the streets? When last didNigerians stop sleeping inpetrol stations? These areclear signs of a President whois genuinely committed to histask and his people. Even ifNigerians are seeking for asudden change, it will notcome overnight. President

BARRISTER Mary Oyibocha-Agbajoh is a SeniorSpecial Assistant on Special Duties to Governor EmmanuelUduaghan of Delta State. Oyibocha-Agbajoh studiedIndustrial Relations and Personnel Management (IRPM) andLaw at the University of Lagos and also has professionalcertificate in Negation and Mediation. A member of thePeoples Democratic Party, PDP, she describes herself as aprogressive, but besides her duties for the governor of DeltaState, Oyibocha-Agbajoh is also a strong and passionateadvocate for a second term for President Goodluck Jonathanwho according to her has transformed virtually every sectorof the Nigerian polity.

Oyibocha-Agbajoh was in 2007 appointed chairperson/national coordinator of the Goodluck Initiatives, a platformthat was conceived to propagate the political philosophy ofthe then vice-president of the country. In this interview shecanvasses reasons why Nigerians should support theadministration, rebuffs the assertions of the opposition as shepoints at what she describes as the legacies of the Jonathanadministration. Excerpts:

Jonathan isp r a c t i c a l l ycleaning up themess ofyesteryears andthat cannothappen by magic.

Look at thealmajiris, hedesigned ascheme to takelittle kids out ofthe street andgive them worldclass education.

On petroleumproduct supply;P r e s i d e n tJonathan hasbeen able toexpose thoseeating the nationdry in the name offuel subsidy. Inthe same vein, bymaintaining lawand order in theNiger Delta andother parts of thenation, Nigeria’srevenue has

around 2000 megawatts to 4502megawatts; the highest sinceNigeria returned to democraticrule in 1999.

President Jonathan’sadministration set up 14 NewRice Mills with capacity toprocess 240 metric tons of ricewhile Nigeria is the largestproducer of cassava in theworld with 34 million MTproduced per annum amongstother achievements.

He is not only a visionaryleader; he is also a performingleader. His performances areevident in job creation, powerreforms, agriculturaltransformations, roadsconstruction, aviation,transportation, economicgrowth, education, water,pension reforms, oil industryreforms, electoral reforms, portsreforms, freedom of informationact, legal and judicial reforms.

You see, only a man with asound academic resume and aclear developmental visionwould achieve so much withinthe limitations of so manyfactors.

On Jonathan’s second termambition

I say it categorically thatPresident Goodluck Jonathanhas done extremely well; wellabove expectation. Even in theface of turmoil and securitychallenges, he still remainsfocused on transformingNigeria.

increased since oil productionskyrocketed from 700,000barrel per day to 2.5millionbarrel per day at presentleading to a robust economywhere other African nationsare currently using Nigeria asa model.

The Goodluck Jonathanadministration has improvedthe power generation from

•Oyibocha-Agbajoh: Jonathan has done well

BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN,POLITICAL EDITOR

IT is a fact that some of the economicallyadvanced nations in the Western World

practice and embrace democraticinstitutions.

They are politically stable and live apeaceful life. It is not that there are nopolitical strives or economic stresses withinthe environment, but there are recognizedmechanism to handle them.

If it is agreed that since Independencein 1960, various governments at differenttimes have made Prosperity (throughPeace) one of their main targets, yetinsecurity had become the vogue. Peaceis often associated with absence of stress,political or otherwise. Prosperity, on theother hand, would require stableeconomic and political environment togrow. As prosperity would rest on thepillars of macro-economic stability, sopeace would survive only in a stable state.

The joy of prosperity through peace isthe subtle management of politics andeconomics. Politicians often talk gliblyabout the attainment of a prosperous statewithout giving thoughts to the problemsof insecurity. The idea of insecurity to thesixteenth century Englishman wasfavourably captured in the Hobbesian•gState of Nature•h, where everythingincluding life, was hopeless. It was a stateof total confusion where everyone waseverybody‘s enemy.

Modern political historians wouldquickly remember ‘Biafra‘ of 1967 to 1970and also, the present Borno State wheremore than two hundred female studentssuddenly disappeared (throughabduction) without trace (at the time ofwriting this column). It appears like acomical tragedy, or like the Malaysianflight MH 370 which disappeared in theair without any trace till now – modernphenomenon.

The Boko Haram saga has become anintriguing aspect of the present Nigerianpolitical tragedy It is seen as a small caseof insurgency which has grown into a full-scale war (whatever name you call it), tyingdown a division of the Nigerian Army, ablysupported by air power. Yet, with heavylosses inflicted on these savage killers,their foot-army could choose targets withprecision and effort-lessly too. Nigeriais faced today not by local armed bandits,

but by internationally armed terroristgroups.

What is the appropriate response to adangerous situation? The 16th centuryEnglish Philosopher, Hobbes moulds hispolitical idea into the Contract form. Hereminded his generation that people wereonce unsocial, but that they suffered veryintensely from the insecurity of theirisolated life that they made a Contract witheach other to give up their rights to asovereign, some men or assembly of men,who should have power to keep the peaceand guarantee their security.

Hobbes‘ philosophy is the creation of a‘Leviathan‘ who has absolute power tocrash rebellion and ensure enduringpeace. It is from peace that prosperitywould eventually flow.

This idea is popular with dictators allover the world, and especially in Africawhere individual dictators had thrived. It is true that Nigeria under dictatorAbacha or powerful Obasanjo would brookno opposition or any form of insurgency.

It may be correct to say that not manyNigerians would applaud the pacific traitsand the constitutional behavior ofPresident Jonathan in a volatile butdangerous environment. It tooksometime before he could declare a ‘Stateof Emergency‘ in the three States of theNorth-East – Borno, Yobe and Adamawa(with democratic institutions intact), asituation not favoured by dictators butfound attractive to the seemingly foxy

leader of the country. And the costly warrages on.

The admirable steps taken recentlytowards winning the war against BokoHaram was in widening the SecurityCommittee to include all the ‘executive‘governors. An advantage of the measureis to make Boko Haram war a nationalissue rather than a war between insurgentsand the ruling party.

It has been for a long time that thiscolumnist has been calling for a joint andunited approach to combat the seriousproblem of Boko Haram insurgency. Though President Jonathan has taken thefirst important step of raising the conscienceof the almighty servants (turned masters),it is up to the President as a Statesman toinduce the governors to work as a unitedfront to crush the menace of insurgencyand other vices that tend to destroy thesoul of the country.

The ardent democrats of this worldbelieve in the opportunity of enthroningthe government of their choiceperiodically. This is the opportunity givento the people to have a government of thepeople, by the people, and for the people. Thus, at a scheduled period, registeredcitizens go to the polls to electrepresentatives of their choice from a welterof parties (or two parties). The parties withelected majority of candidates form thegovernment.

An elected government is expected likethe Hobbesian ‘Leviathan‘ to guarantee

peace and stability through whichprosperity would eventually flowceaselessly. Anything short of thatstandard is generally regarded as a breachof trust between the government (with allits forces i.e. police, military etc) and thepeople of the country.

In a civilized environment, an electedgovernment with a workable majoritywould submit its proposals to the localparliament for ratification. Thegovernment proposals are normallyapproved (with the opposition having itssay). Each elected government has itsprogram of Peace and Prosperity. It maybe a single party government or a coalitionof more than one party as now beingpractised in Britain and Germany. Inthese two countries, no single party couldmuster enough votes to rule alone.

However, in many countries where thereare strong political traditions of trust andsubmissive loyalty to great leaders, it ispossible to have a government which isrespected by all. The leader of such agovernment, (often a Statesman) wouldbe able to get measures through theparliament and the country without anyagitation or protests. Such a leader wouldbe a rallying point in periods ofturbulence. In the absence of a statesmanas the leader, the country‘s politicalproblems are resolved at the polls. Butsuch polls would be expected to be freeand fair.

One of the problems of Nigeria is theelectoral system which needs judiciousreform in order that the people of thecountry might have confidence that theelections are true reflections of their choiceand that the government of the day is theone they think could solve their variousproblems. It is, however, believed that aplural society without a very strongleadership would be able to cope with itsdiverse problems through coalition offorces rather than relying on a singleparty.

And occasionally where there are severepolitical crisis like sectional war andeconomic imbalance (with heavyunemployment) leading to deepeningpoverty and crime, it is safe to root for agenuine national government.


Peace, politics and the polls

ON spate of developmentin the kingdom

It is true that Gbaramatukingdom is blessed withabundance of oil and humanresources, however, the level ofdevelopment is not encouraging.We have been agitating for rapiddevelopment. Get somethingclear here, the kind ofdevelopment that we desire forin Gbaramatu can only beprovided by governments andnot individuals.

I also believe that someday, withour consistent prayers we shall

Tompolo is a force toreckon with — Oluba

•Oluba

MR. Timi Oluba is a prominent youth leader in Okerenkokocommunity, Gbaramatu kingdom in Warri South West LocalGovernment Area of Delta State. Oluba, in this interview, spokeon the prevailing peace and unity among the people ofGbaramatu kingdom and efforts being made by ChiefGovernment Ekpemupolo aka Tompolo towards human andinfrastructure development in Gbaramatu. The Ijaw youth leaderalso spoke on the ongoing reconciliation between Tompolo,Chief Michael Johnny, Chief Mosco Johnny and six others whowere recently released from detention over dispute bordering onfamily affairs. Excerpts:

get to the promise land. Thepeople of Gbaramatu shouldthank God for having a son likeChief Government Ekpemupoloaka Tompolo, whose desire is tosee Gbaramatu gets it fair sharein the distribution of dividendsby governments.

Tompolo that I know would doeverything possible to attractwhat he thinks is good for ourpeople to Gbaramatu kingdom,and gradually we are beginningto understand his vision for thekingdom. Though, Tompoloalone cannot provide the desired

development in Gbaramatu, butto an extent, he has tried to dowhat he could to ensuredevelopment in area.

On allegations againstTompolo by some

Well, sometimes people dodisagree to agree. The disputewe had with Tompolo was afamily affair. Those allegationswere ignorantly made againstTompolo, and it has not changedthe fact that Tompolo has goodintention for his people andGbaramatu kingdom.

Truly, some allegations were

made against Tompolo, andsome of us who had dispute withTompolo may have been helpedby Tompolo in one small way orthe other.

But because of human nature,when the gesture seems not tobe coming as expected there isevery tendency formisunderstanding and I thinkthat was what happened. I cantell you that Chief MichaelJohnny, Chief Mosco Johnnyand others have nothing personalagainst Tompolo, it is a matter of‘live and let us live’ andeverybody would be happythereafter.

Sincerely, Tompolo is a visionaryleader, who has done what mostof us have not been able to do inGbaramatu. To be frank with you,a leader is not measured by themoney he gives out to people northe properties he has, but ratherhis plans for future generations.So, I see Tompolo as agenerational leader.

For instance, the Tompolo’sDiving School in Kurutie, whenoperational would boost theeconomy of Gbaramatu andphysical development. Jobswould be created, economicactivities and infrastructuraldevelopment guaranteed. This isTompolo’s vision that yet unborn

generations in Gbaramatu wouldbenefit from, that is how youclassify a real leader.

If it were some selfishindividual, they would havepreferred to build the Schoolsomewhere outside Delta State,or even outside the country, butTompolo took the wise decisionto invest in his community and Iencourage other well meaningNigerians to emulate Tompolo.

Surprisingly, we havediscovered that the sitting of theproposed Marine University inOkerenkoko community wouldnot have been possible withoutTompolo. Some others wouldhave chosen to collectinducement to have theUniversity relocated, but becauseTompolo knew the importance ofthe University and its viablebenefits to future generations ofGbaramatu kingdom, he stoodfirm and ensure that theUniversity was approved to besited in Okerenkoko, acommunity in Gbaramatu.

And that is why as at today,Tompolo is our leader inGbaramatu and whateverdispute we had with him orallegations made against him hasnot changed his being our leaderand those allegations were merepretense to get his attention.


CMYK


CMYK


It is not newsanymore thatpopular hip-hop

star, Jaywon, who wasunder the record labelof Kennis Music hasparted ways with thepremier record labelafter buying out hiscontract. But theotherwise peacefulseparation has leftmore questions thananswers, with musiclovers wanting toknow why.

Though Jaywonrefused to state why,saying “Controversynever works for me”.But in this exclusiveinterview withWeekend Groove, theartiste gives enoughclues and opens up onlife after KennisMucis. Excerpts:

What have you been up tolately?

We’ve beengoing in andout of Lagosfor a coupleof events

and it’s a new team andit’s like a new Jaywonright now. We’re justtrying to see how wecould get new materialsout there. I have Tan NaWole which is more of afreestyle and I haveMadantin remix featuringPhyno, Olamide and MayD.

Have you released anyalbum this year?

For close to three yearsnow I have not droppedany album but I’mpresently working on acollabo album with afriend of mine which isprobably going to be outbefore my own album. Butright now, you’re going tobe getting a lot of singlesback to back from Jaywon

The whole controversy

with Kennis music,what started it?

It’s something I reallywouldn’t like to talkabout. The main thingright now is I’m notwith Kennis Musicanymore; I’m on myown now. I wouldn’twant to talk aboutanything thathappened. That’s in thepast and I don’t want totalk about it.Controversy is not mything, it never works forme so I just want to domy work and get thesongs out to the people.I’m not ready forcontroversy. I just wantto do my thing

Are there any legalissues?

There’s no legal issue,I’m on my own and Irun my own team. I’mnot having any issuewith Kennis Music- my

contract expired.

You say you are nowwith your own recordlabel. What’s the name?

We have a name alreadyregistered but I’m notready to put it out yet.It’s just me and my teamand you guys would getto hear more.

Do you think that recordlabels in Nigerian tendto exploit artistes?

What I think the recordlabels should know andunderstand better is thatsigning an artiste is apartnership. Once yousign an artiste, there

should be more ofpartnership because ifboth parties are nothappy, it won’t work.Nigerian record labelsare trying and I won’t

Controversy neverworks for me– Jaywon

lie to you, without thelikes of Kennis Music inthis industry, therepossibly won’t be muchof these other record

BY DAMILOLA SHOLOLA

Peter Okoyecelebrates familyreunion withBentley GT 2014

Laide Bakare’sboutique sealedover husband’sscam saga

Social mediameets politicsas journalistsgear up for 2015elections


Forweeksnow,

the Eco-nomic andFinancialCrimesCommis-sion, EFCC

labels becauseKennis Music islike an inspirationto every otherrecord label. BigBut for me person-ally, I think recordlabels shouldknow tha signingan artiste is apartnership andideas should beshared. Itshouldn’t be one-sided becausewhen it’s one-sided, there willalways be issues.

What’s your viewof the Nigerianmusic Industry?

The music indus-try keeps gettingbetter. What weneed more rightabout now is thatunity. Let’s justcome to realise weare into this busi-ness together,we’re in the samerace. It’s ourindustry and if wedon’t treat it well,if we don’t loveourselves, we would keephaving issues. So I think wejust need to love ourselvesmore, come together and bewho we are and let’s not justfake anything. There are somany artistes out there whofake everything; their status,their personality and theirimage. Some feel too big fortheir shoes and unjustly dis-criminate and snub others. Forsomeone like me,I work witheverybody. It’s only when I getattitude from someone that Ijust say ok, I’d rather be on myown because I don’t take thatfor anything. Apart from allthose attitude things, we aredoing great. The industry is 3rdbiggest industry in the world.We are good

How was it like working withOlamide, Phyno and May D onMadantin remix?

Good people, I would say. Iwatched them grow from whenthey started and they are all bignow and I appreciate the factthat when I call them, theynever said ‘no’, so I appreciatethem. They didn’t give anyissues at all. As a matter of fact,May D recorded his part thesame day Olamide and Phynodid theirs.

Who else do you look forwardto working with?

Everybody knows me to be thatguy that always works with alot of people. I’ve worked withTiwa Savage, Olamide, May D,Phyno, Flavour N’abania. I

have a new song coming outfeaturing Storm Rex. Storm Rexis one of the biggest femaleartistes out of Enugu and fromthe eastern part of Nigeria. I’mworking on different videos. Ihave a 3 video projects I’mworking on, so 2014 is a greatyear already but it’s going to begreater because we’re justgetting started and my team isworking endlessly to make surewe get the materials out there.

Have you won any awards?

We have a couple of awards. Mysingle Odun Yi won ‘BestRecording of the Year’ at thelast Headies awards. We have acouple more of them

Who inspired you to go intomusic?

The people I listened to whilegrowing up; the likes of KingSunny Ade and EvangelistEbenezer Obey. I have a lot oftheir CDs at home and I stilllisten to almost all the time.

Laide Bakare’sboutique sealedover husband’sscam saga

has declared ‘wanted’ AlhajiMutairu Atanda Orilowo, thenew husband of popular Yorubaactress, Laide Bakare for al-leged complicity in a case ofcriminal conspiracy, obtainingmoney under false pretencesand stealing.The actress’ husband allegedlyconspired with some past exec-utives of MTN’s EmployeesMultipurpose CooperativeSociety(MEMCOS), namelyVictor Akintunde and GaniMustapha to defraud membersof the Society through hiscompany, PrimaVera Engineer-ing and Construction Company

a whooping sum of N2.5bn.Since the Alhaji has failed toshow to clear himself of allallegations the Economic andFinancial Crimes Commission,EFCC, has declared him ‘want-ed’ and recently obtained aforfeiture order on all his knownproperties. WG reliably gath-ered, all his properties includ-ing his two petrol filling sta-tions in Ajah, his house at IbejuLekki, No. 1 OtunbaAdeniyiStreet, Papa-Epe, Lagos and the2014 model of Bentley. boutiquehe opened for actress wife,Laide Bakare have been confis-cated.

There are somany artistesout there who

fake everything;their status, theirpersonality andtheir image. Somefeel too big for theirshoes and unjustlydiscriminate andsnub others

Continues from page32

CMYK


CMYK

With PRINCE OSUAGWUPRINCE OSUAGWUPRINCE OSUAGWUPRINCE OSUAGWUPRINCE [email protected]

08050498513


IT appears that the 2015 election bug seems to have caught

not just Nigerian politicians, butjournalists as well who are pre-paring ahead to give unprec-edented reportage to ensurefree, fair and transparent elec-

tions through the innovative useof social media.

This was obvious at the recenttwo-day Editors Lab Hackdayssponsored by Google and organ-ised by Global Editors Network,GEN, in conjunction with Van-guard Newspapers.

The participants were taken

Social media meets politics asjournalists gear up for 2015 elections

first-hand on the fundamentals ofGoogle applications such asGoogle search, display ads, knowl-edge panel, modifiers, conversion,Google scholar, Google translate,Google trends, Youtube, Googlemaps, Google streaming amongothers, by Mr. Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Communications &

Public AffairsManager forGoogle in WestAfrica and Mr.Ameth Sokhnafrom GEN. Theywere later asked

to develop digital tools for journalists with thefocus on “New ways to cover elections onlineand through social media.”

Kola-Ogunlade, speaking on the rationalebehind the training, said: “We usually bringtogether developers with people who are notdevelopers to bring technical solutions to prob-lems, problems that digital technology or theinternet can help to solve.

“In this particular situation, it is the media,so at this event, we have different media peo-ple from different media houses brainstormingabout what difference we can bring to the tablewith respect to reporting the 2015 elections.I’ve been pretty impressed about some of theideas that have come up.

“The media has seen that we are no longercompeting with one another as media houses,but with individuals on the street. Social me-dia enables literally anyone to become a me-dia person.

“How do we use social media to source forinformation, and how do we present such in-formation in a way that practically anyone canunderstand such information.”

The team from the School of Media and Com-munication, Pan-Atlantic University, SMC-PAU,emerged winners of the competition for devel-oping an application called Verifi, and will rep-resent Nigeria at the Hackathon during theGEN Summit in Barcelona, holding from June11 to 13.

Here they will get to share ideas people fordifferent parts of the world about how newmedia is reshaping the world that we live in.Vanguard developed an application termedPollswatch and came second with a score of10.15.

In the mean time, fingers are crossed in an-ticipation of the 2015 elections; whether or notnew social media tools will play a role in chang-ing age-old election habits remains to be seen.

Samsung’s latest flagshipsmart phone, the Galaxy S5,has been making the newssince it was officiallylaunched in Nigeria on April16. The device comes packedwith a new upgraded cameraand a heart rate scanner,among other features. Acco-lades have since been pour-ing in, with highly-respectedgadget display calibrators,DisplayMate, describing thedevice as having the “bestsmart phone display evertested’, even before its glo-bal roll-out on April 11. Butdo these improvements jus-tify discarding your currentsmart phone for the GalaxyS5? The choice is yours, butthere are some unforgettablepointers to guide you alongthe right path.

A battery that lasts for awhole week with just a sin-gle charge

The Galaxy S5 features anultra-power saving mode thatshuts down all of the device’skey functions to allow youmake the most of your last bitof battery power. When thecharge on the device gets lowand this mode is activated,the feature automaticallytransforms the colour displayon the device to black andwhite, reducing backgroundprocesses and limiting accessto many apps. According tothe manufacturers, the Gal-

axy S5 can run forup to 24 hours ona 10 percent bat-tery charge whenthe ultra powersaving mode is ac-tivated. When it’s100 percent, you’retalking about aweek of ‘uninter-rupted power sup-ply.’

Dust and waterr e s i s t a n c eYou would prob-ably have to buy a new de-vice if you dropped your cur-rent phone in water, but withthe Galaxy S5 can live to tellthe tale after experiencing adribble or a dip, with abso-lutely no residual problems.The device boasts IP67 certi-fication, meaning that it iscompletely dust proof and canbe submerged in up to onemetre of water for up to 30minutes. If you’re a swimmeror water-sport enthusiast youcan even take photos underwater if you wish.

Control access when shar-ing the Galaxy S5 with chil-dren

Nothing beats a smartphonegame in quieting down awhining child, but the lastthing you want is for an erro-neous tap to lead to an em-barrassing exchange whereyou to have to explain those

Four points in favour of the SamsungGalaxy S5

50 selfies with you in an un-compromising position to yourcolleagues! With the GalaxyS5, there’s a unique “Kids’Mode” feature that limits chil-dren’s access to just the appli-cations that you label as beingchild-friendly. Giving up yourselfies is now out of the ques-tion!

A fingerprint scanner thatauthorises payment

Most smart phones that boastof a fingerprint scanner prob-ably don’t let you do anythinginteresting with the feature.Samsung’s fingerprint scannerboasts a partnership withPayPal, meaning you can actu-ally use it to authorise pay-ments on your device. What’smore, upcoming deals withother payment service provid-ers will further expand thescanner ’s utility as Samsunghas announced that it is opento working with partners.

BY LAJU ARENYEKA

SONY Mobile isgiving its customers

the opportunity to play inthe 2014 FIFA world cup.Not on the field however,customers can participatefrom home and win amaz-ing prizes. The spokesman of SonyMobile, speaking to jour-nalist recently said:“Through SONY MobileFIFA 2014 promotion cus-tomers will get a free overthe ear headset and pre-mium Roxfit case andstand a chance to win atrip to Brazil to be a ‘FanPhotographer’ to watch amatch at the FIFA 2014World Cup when they buyany of SONY smartphones(Xperia Z1, Xperia Z1Compact, Xperia C, Xpe-ria M Dual, Xperia E Dual& Xperia E1).” Fanswatching from home willbe able to enjoy this fabu-lous event via Sony vid-eos as it unfolds on thepitch with the same speed,power and the same ex-citement.”SONY Mobile stated thatcustomers can also partic-ipate in the promotion andget the opportunity for achild to be a FIFA Flagbearer for the Nigeria vs.Argentina match at theFIFA 2014 World Cup.Customers can buy the“Xperia Z1” and get a freeover the ear headset andpremium Roxfit case and-

Sony gears up for FIFA2014 World Cup

stand a chance to win a trip toBrazil to be a Fan Photogra-pher and watch a match at theFIFA 2014 World Cup. Anyonewho purchases the “Xperia Z1Compact” can get a free overthe ear headset and premiumFIFA branded gift and stand achance to win a trip to Brazilto be a Fan Photographer andwatch a match at the FIFA 2014World Cup.Also, buying the “Xperia C”means you get a free overthe ear headset andpremium Roxfit case andstand a chance to win a tripto Brazil to be a FanPhotographer and watch amatch at the FIFA 2014World Cup.That’s not all. Those whobuy the “Xperia M Dual” or“Xperia E Dual” and get apremium Roxfit case andstand a chance to win a tripto Brazil to be a FanPhotographer and watch amatch at the FIFA 2014World Cup. And purchase ofthe “Xperia E1” attracts apremium FIFA branded giftand a chance to win a trip toBrazil to be a Fan Photogra-pher and watch a match atthe FIFA 2014 World Cup.

Participants at the event


OFFSHORE weddings havebecome all the rage,with the big players of the En-tertainment industry intent onoutdoing each other tying theproverbial knot overseas.

The trend is by no means anew one, with big boys and girlsdoing the offshore thing as farback as ten years ago. The Car-ibbean islands used to be theplace of choice. Now, South Af-rica and Dubai are the placesto be, especially for tying theknot, onward to the honey-moon.

Entertainment celebsStaphanie Linus, Tuface Idibiaand most recently Tiwa Savagehave been roundly criticized forgoing out of the shores of ourbeautiful country. A top govern-ment aide in Aso Rock who wasinvited for the wedding report-edly shunned the invitation,retorting: “What is this idiocyabout going to wed in Dubai allabout?

What is there? You drag guestsall the way meanwhile both ofyou are Lekki or Surulere (La-gos metropolis) based. Some ofyour kins are below averagefolks. You abandon them andhead for Dubai because you arenow an artiste or made somecash? We are so primitive”.

A top travel agency owneralso slammed the trend, lament-ing that it is bad for Nigeriantourism, saying weddings doneoutside Nigeria could have pos-itively impacted on NigerianTourism sector. “The worst isthat our celebs don’t recognizethe fact that they have power toignite a culture in a society. AsTuface and so on have success-fully done their wedding inDubai, France etc, you will beshocked how many ordinaryNigerians will start doing allthey can to make sure they wedoutside Nigeria just to belong!”

Tourismsector

Financially, these weddingceremonies can heavily impacton Nigeria’s Tourism sector andbecause it has a multiplier ef-fect, it will spill into other sec-tors. Imagine if Tuface spent theN20 Million his Dubai weddinggulped in Nigeria? Some Nige-rians would have made mil-lions.

But it’s different strokes fordifferent folks, as they say. An-other Nollywood diva whowishes to remain anonymous forfear of “being shouted down”,says she chose to exchange herwedding vows in Abuja, whereher father was based, ratherthan in the village as traditiondictates. Announcing that shewould be celebrating her tenthyear anniversary (if it comes) inthe Maldives, she posits that itis a matter of choice.

“I didn’t want the crowd in the

Offshore Wedding?Why Not?East so I took it there so as tohave few and decent crowd. MyUK and USA friends still cameand had loads of fun. My broth-ers had their weddings in theEast and the crowd was unbe-lievable.

They all featured in NTA andover 3000 guests is not my wayof having fun at a wedding. 90%of the crowds were daddy’sfriends and associates and peo-ple that want favours from dad-dy and so on. Abuja to me wasmy choice”.

Cheaper andwarmer

Further reiterating her point,she says the trend is by nomeans limited to Nigeria orcelebs, as according to her mostUK citizens now do their wed-dings in the Mediterranean andAfrica precisely in safari be-cause it’s cheaper and warmerand they have honeymoon at the

same time there. “Nobody cas-tigates them. It’s their choicedream wedding”

You may want a weddingalone or with a few selectedguests somewhere special andunknown to many people, costsfor weddings abroad are gen-erally more controllable thanhome equivalents.

Research, research, re-search

Now you’ve got an ideaof the type of wedding

you want and a shortlist of des-tinations in mind, it’s time tostart consulting more impartialsites and forums to explore ev-ery aspect of your upcomingnuptials. Decide on an upperand lower limit to your budget,and then resolve to stick to it.

A Theme

Incorporate the theme intothe setting, or is it vice ver-

sa? In this respect, Stephanie

Linus’dress was a hit, while Ti-wa’s and Annie’s was a hugemiss. Stephanie’s long trainedold school white gown was incomplete harmony with the ca-thedral setting in Paris, while

Dubai is too nouveau riche for Tiwa andAnnie’s otherwise stunning gowns. Letthe environment you are in form thebasis for your theme.

Make it a holiday

Obviously a honeymoon isbound to come after the wedding

and it only makes sense that it all comesin one package. Nudge your stickyfriends along back home straight afterthe wedding so you can have yourselvesto yourselves.

The legal stuff

Finally, don’t forget that you’llhave some extra factors to consider

on a more practical level when plan-ning a wedding abroad - and these canvary dramatically depending on yourdestination of choice. Weddings abroadare usually non religious civil ceremo-nies. However religious weddings areusually possible in many locations formany faiths including Christianity,Moslem, Jewish, Buddhist, etcetera. Aslong as the ceremony does not contra-

ABUJA – THE National Centrefor Women Development,

NCWD, had come up with aninitiative to reduce violenceagainst women in the countrythrough their mobile phones.

The Director General of NCWD,Onyeka Onwenu, while speakingat the media briefing taggedgender-friendly mobileapplications in Abuja said theproject was borne out of need toaddress the lack of access to

information by women.Onwenu said the initiative

was in partnership with Tin-go Mobile Limited, as bothorganizations had agreed tolaunch the mobile applicationaimed at reducing the risingsecurity challenges in thecountry.

Onwenu said: “This is agroundbreaking event thatwill impact in the lives ofwomen and everyone inNigeria. It is a process ofthinking outside the box.

”The application has a

NCWD tackles violence against By SUCCESS UZOKWE


2011 World Special Olympics inGreece returned with two goldmedals.

Expressing hope that helpingchildren living with autism dis-cover talents in sports wouldshield them from leading de-pendent and redundant lives,she implored parents and care-givers to continue in their showof love and support while alsolooking forward to overcomingautism.

Speaking at the event,Mr.Richard Eniefiuk, SportsOfficer, Special Olympics, not-ed that molding children withspecial needs in sports was cru-cial since most of them couldonly do little academically.

“When it comes to sports, theycan showcase certain talentswhich could really impress theirparents, themselves and the

PSLPSLPSLPSLPSLC moC moC moC moC movvvvves tes tes tes tes to uncoo uncoo uncoo uncoo uncovvvvver talent iner talent iner talent iner talent iner talent inchildren with autismchildren with autismchildren with autismchildren with autismchildren with autism

Autism- Mrs.Dotun Akande, Proprietress, PSLC(3rd right)flanked by the US-based Blazing Trails International teamshortly after the competition in Lagos

vene with the marriage laws of your own country thewedding will be completely legal and you can regis-ter the marriage when you get home.

Normally you will require formal proof that youare free & able to marry plus proof that you are whoyou say you are.

Be sure to study documents covering issues suchas necessary documentation (and whether or notyou’ll need to have it translated), legal advice andwhere to get it, as well as each country’s stance onsame-sex marriages. If it applies, that is.

Use an Expert

There are those wedding and event plannerswho specialize in who specialize in offshore

weddings. Familiarize your planner with your desti-nation and get involved with sourcing everything.The planner’s job is to organize.

Arranging and planning weddings abroad has be-come much easier as get away weddings becomeever more popular. Attend one, then maybe if youlike it you can use the same planner, or get a refer-ral.

feature with which by pressing adigit, a woman who is being sub-jected to violence or assault cancontact security agencies in hervicinity.

”You all know the securitysituation in the country and evenbefore that, we have recognizedthat violence against women is onthe increase”Most times, we accept violenceand do nothing about it, well withthis application you can dosomething now because you canlink with that protection you areseeking at any given

women through mobile phones

PREPARATIONS are in topgear to haveNigeria shine at the 2015

World Special Olympics Gamein Los Angeles, USA.

Proprietress of Patrick Speech& Language Centre, PSLC,Mrs.Dotun Akande, disclosedthis during a preparatory com-petition organized by PSLC incollaboration with the NationalOlympics Team, Guarantee TrustBank Plc and Blazing Trails In-ternational Centre recently inLagos.

Speaking at the contest whichwas in commemoration of theannual April Autism AwarenessCampaign, Akande recalledthat one of the centre’s pupilswho represented Nigeria at the

nation as a whole. I advise that thefederal government, as well asmore corporate bodies, come in tosupport Special Olympics becauseit is really bringing out the talentin special children. Unlike in timepast when parents would preferlocking them indoors rather thanexpose them, because of pro-grammes like this these days, theyare happy to bring them out to becelebrated”, Eniefiuk said.

Autismspectrum

Encouraging parents to strength-en support for children with spe-cial needs, US-based speech pa-thologist and consultant, BlazingTrails International Centre, USA,Rachael Johnson Cromwell, reiter-ated that sustaining hope was par-amount.

“I want parents to know that thechildren God has given them havepotentials. All they need do is un-lock those potentials. I have agrandson who is 18-year-old andon the autism spectrum. He hadlanguage problem and was givena speech therapist but right now,he is about to graduate from highschool and move on to college.That’s the hope everyone must holdon to.”

Autism is a neuro-developmentaldisability that slows down braindevelopment in children, and cur-rently, 1 in 88 children is estimat-ed to be on the spectrum world-wide.

BY ANINO AGANBI

Women around the globe have beenenjoined to desist from being

complacent and work towards restoringsanity in the world by pioneeringtransformative leadership.

Making this call during the Young WomenChristian Association- YWCA of Nigeria’sWorld Membership Day celebration inLagos, theg r o u plamented thatwomen had fortoo longassumed ap a s s i v eattitude to theplethora ofu n r e s tp r e s e n t l ytroubling theworld.

Tagged ‘Bolda n dTransformativeLeadership’ ,every bit of theevent which

brought together women from all walks of lifechallenged women to live up to their God-given role as mothers, teachers and leaders.

According to Chief(Mrs)Ayo Akideinde, Ex-Vice President, YWCA Nigeria, “Whenleadership is innovative, truthful and loyal,the people feel fulfilled. It is known globallythat we are able to influence others, includingmen, very easily. Therefore, women shouldlearn to be frank at all times. Only then willthe world be a better place”.

Leave your comfort zones, YWCAtells women

YWCA- R-LMrs. SussieMetu,MrsOyeyemiTinubu,ChiefMrs. AyoAkideinde,MissBusolaBankole atthe YWCAMembershipDay inLagos

time,Onwenu explained.“With this application, the

security challenges will notonly reduce but will also con-nect women to information, re-garding government pro-grammes designed to bettertheir lives,”DG added.Earlier the founder, TingoMobile, Dr Dozy Mmobuosi inhis address said, “had it beenthe application was in placethe abduction of the schoolgirls in Borno State wouldn’thave been successful.”

BY JOSEPHINE IGBINOVIA

...condemn ClarionChukwura’s action

administration ‘zero’, maintaining that “Icannot see what it is she has achieved inthe past 19 months.” But, it was actorEmeka Ike, who has been laying claim tothe presidency of the guild since 2009, thatfirst fired back at Chukwura. He said,given the circumstances that broughtIbinabo to power, after Segun Arinze, asthe former president of the guild breachedthe court order not to conduct any election,‘Chukwura is not eligible to contest in anyelection considering the matter onground.”

Meanwhile, two former presidents of theguild, Ejike Asiegbu and Segun Arinzehave thrown their weights behindIbinabo’s re-election. In a telephone chatwith WG during the week, Ejike Asiegbusaid, “She’s doing very well. I will continueto support Ibinabo. We should pray for heras well as give her our support.”

Incessantcriticisms

Scoring Ibinabo’s administration veryhigh, the bulky actor frowned at ClarionChukwura’s incessant criticisms of theleadership of the guild. Reacting in respectof her recent attack on the leadership ofthe guild, Asiegbu revealed that when hewas the president of the guild, the sameChukwura did not spare him.

“On the issue of criticising the incumbentpresident, when I was the president ofAGN, the same Clarion Chukwuracriticised me. She has the right to contestfor the presidency of the guild. But sheshould do so without pulling anotherperson down. I read with greatdisappointment, Clarion Chukwura’srecent attack on the leadership of AGN.There’s nothing wrong in paying acourtesy visit to Mr. President. It’s a pluson the part of Ibinabo and her executives.When I was the president of the guild, Imade efforts to visit Mr. President to noavail.”

“However, it’s a minus on the part ofClarion Chukwura, having used the pagesof newspapers to run down the leadershipof the guild,” Asiegbu stated.

Ibinabo’s predecessor, Segun Arinzesaid, he’s strongly in support of the re-election of the Rivers State-born actress.

According to him, “I am strongly behindIbinabo. She should vie for her second

Battle for the soul of AGN

Ejike Asiegbu, SegunArinze back Ibinabofor re-election

tenure in order to complete what shehas started 19 months ago.”

Arinze, however, advised Ibinabo tobe focused on her goals, and ignoreany form of distraction. He said, “Iam not against anybody criticising theleadership of the guild, but they shoulddo so constructively.”

Also, Prince Ifeanyi Dike, theChairman, Board of Trustees of AGNbelieved that Ibinabo should seek forre-election. In his view, as the firstfemale president of the guild, Ibinabohas not only succeeded in uniting theactors since she assumed office 19months ago, but has also ensured thatpeace reigns in the guild which hadbeen plagued with crises for severalyears.

Recently, Ibinabo took stock of herstewardship, where she has put smileson the faces of members of the guildthrough her open door policies andre-structural developments. She hasalso restored sanity in the body whichwas once riddled with complaints,corruption, neglect and dejection.

Ibinabo was sworn- in as the firstfemale president and the 7thpresident of AGN in September 2012,which had herself, Emeka Rollas andSteve Eboh as contestants for exaltedoffice. She started by bringing unity

and a sense of participation among itsmembers with seminars, workshopsand above all, celebrating some of theirown who had made the industry proud.

She also ensured that their departedcolleagues were all duly honoured evenin death. One of such persons is veteranactor, Peter Eneh. She led a group ofmovie stars to the tribute night whichturned out to be a carnival night ofcelebrations.

Notably, Ibinabo’s tenure drew theattention of the Nigerian government toNollywood as uncountable are thenumerous rewards the AGN has beengetting from President GoodluckJonathan lately, ranging from donationsto grants. Recently, she led a group ofmovie actors to Aso Rock to honourPresident Goodluck Jonathan with thetitle of Grand Patron of AGN. During

the visit, Mr President donated a plotof land for the building of the guild’ssecretariat in Abuja and promised toassist them in building a befittingsecretariat.

Ibinabo who was recently appointedinto the board of the National Councilfor Arts and Culture (NCAC), has alsobridged the gap between the Englishand Yoruba actors to a reasonableextent as she not only attends mostevents organised by Yourba actors, shealso includes them as part of herdelegation whenever the need arises.However, despites the achievementsrecorded by her administration in thepast 19 months, most industryoperators believed that Ibinabo isusing her position to advance her owninterest.While describing Ibinabo’stenure as ‘a failed one’, ClarionChukwura accused AGN boss of usingher position to enrich herself. “I wantto know what specifically she hasdone that has moved the actorsforward in areas like their pay, health,and other vital concerns about theirjobs. She secured an appointment tosee the President on behalf of theguild but that opportunity wassacrificed on the alter of selfish interestand myopic objectives which has fora while now heightened the selfishinterest in the state chapter levels.”

BARELY five months to another general election of theActors Guild of Nigeria,AGN,the battle to succeedIbinabo Fiberesima as president of the Guild hots up.

Ibinabo’s administration which assumed office in 2012, isexpected to expire in September this year. Already, theatmosphere is tense as some members are warming up tochallenge the fair actress, in her bid to seek re-election. Notableamong the members, is Clarion Chukwura, who recentlydeclared her intention to vie for the guild’s top position.

In a recent report, the veteran actress scored Ibinabo’s

I am not againstanybodycriticising theleadership of theguild, but theyshould do soconstructively

The dashing singer and husband of LolaOmotayo acquired the 2014 model of BentleyGT for a whooping sum N30 million to showall hard feelings are gone and no doubt set toride around in his new luxury acquisition

PPPPPeeeeettttter Oker Oker Oker Oker Okoooooyyyyyeeeeecelebrates familycelebrates familycelebrates familycelebrates familycelebrates familyreunion withreunion withreunion withreunion withreunion withBentleBentleBentleBentleBentley Gy Gy Gy Gy GT 20T 20T 20T 20T 201111144444

One of thesinging duoof P-square,

Peter Okoye, who wasrecently reconciled withhis brothers, Paul andJude, has celebrated thereconciliation andreunion with a gift topamper himself.

Peter Okoye Bentley

PeterOkoye


BY BENJAMIN NJOKU

CMYK


Amaka Igwe: A little song for a Nollywood Matriarch

BY OKOH AIHETRIBTRIBTRIBTRIBTRIBUTEUTEUTEUTEUTE

LIKE you said, I am a youngfilmmaker, quote and unquote.I have not started thinking aboutfootprints because I am notgoing anywhere for now.

THAT was Amaka Igwespeaking to this writer a few

years ago. On Monday night,April 28, 2014, Amaka died! Oncemore death has ambushed thefate, fortune and determination ofa brilliantly resolute woman tohold on to life and reach herheights. It is difficult to trace thepoint of intersection, the creativeconfluence relationship thatwould grow into some kind ofblood relationship,metaphorically. She was and willalways remain a sister, no matterthe distance and difference intribes and languages.

Dazed into incomprehensionwhen the news was first brokento me by Dr. Don Pedro Obaseki,I am speaking to Charles now,which is the way she would evencall her husband.... Charles, noceremonies and no pretensionsabout those pet names laced inbemused love packages...but shewas the big sister.

“Tell me what is happening.Your sister is gone. Your sister isgone. Your sister has left us.” It isa whisper. The voice is fading andbecoming inaudible. The eyes aregetting blurred and the tears arewelling up. Soon they begin torain and in very big drops as theheart begins to question thetransiency of life and always theuntimely departure of those whomean well to the society. Amakawas well endowed - large in size,large in brain and large ininfluence and commitment tosociety.

Mr. Ken Nnebue gave

crew is an opportunity to besubjected to some teaching andtraining. And my God, did manypeople loathe that. The movieindustry could sometimes comewith bloated images and stardomthat do not allow some industryplayers already with some vestigeof visibility to stoop, learn andconquer. No way, life wouldrather revolve around them. Forthis reason, Amaka would rathergrow her stars, build her crewsand release somethingrefreshingly appealing anytimeshe was hitting the screen or themarket.

Yes, I was there. Amaka was astar maker by choice and detailedcommitment to, and anunderstanding of an industry thatstill remains an esoteric mysteryto even the practitioners, not totalk of the business community.Her concern always was to buildcapacity for Nollywood so thatNigerian moviemakers can dotheir work and not feel inferior orbe ashamed of their trade. “So

looked at the future of Nollywoodand knew that something goodcould come out of the industry.Some people looked at thestrength of content and projectedthat it would be king in the future.Some of these residualprojections were far before thecoming of African Magic. I amlooking at Gab Okoye (Gabosky),Mahmood Ali-Balogun, EmekaMba, and Charles Igwe whosewife has gone to join Mr. JustusEsiri, who was also a member ofthe group (May God keep themin good abode). This small grouphad great plans and vision for themovie industry and must be very

commercial vision to Nollywood.Amaka supplied the intellectualcapacity that fired the industry togreater heights and providedbenchmarks for others to follow.What she did for television shesurpassed in Nollywood.Checkmate and Fuji House ofCommotion are axiomatic of someof the greatest works for televisionin the country, but what do yousay of Rattlesnake, Violated andForever, three great movies thatwould always rate as highest endof creativity in Nollywood. Itwasn’t just the simplistic narrativestyle of her stories but the cast andordinary characters that grow intoreal life and become somekindergarten psycho-babbleamong children. Remember ToyinTomato in Fuji House ofCommotion!

While the TV programmes andthe movies are the visualmanifestations of her creativeproclivity, there is the other sideof her that is not muchappreciated. Amaka was more ofa teacher than a movie maker orTV producer. Being in her cast or

why can’t we leave America anddo our own thing,” she onceasked me. “I think we would bemasters of our people. Mygreatest joy was at Sithengi 2001,in South Africa, when I heard aTanzanian say that on the bustravelling for six hours from onepart of Tanzania to the other, theywere playing a Nigerian moviewhich has to do with witchcraft,but which had people strugglingto buy copies of the film after thescreening. So if the Nigerianmovie that is made here in Lagosor far away Aba or Enugu ismaking waves in Tanzania, thatmeans there is an African story,”she concluded very emphatically.

She would teach young actorshow to act for TV which is quitedifferent from stage, especially forthose coming with degrees fromtheatre schools, and teach youngminds the art of directing for thescreen. Her programmes werelike a school and some peoplewho went through them bear thetestimony of success. In the earlydays it took so much boldness andcommitment to creativity to

Amaka was a thorough professional, oneof the few that was very friendly with critics,and it was part of her strength andmatriarchal dominance ,,

polygamous home, you do acharacter attestation for Chief Fujiin Fuji House of Commotion.

This was the kind of open-mindedness that gave birth toMovie Half Hour, a pioneertelevision programme focusingon Nollywood; nothing about therazzle dazzle of stardom or thesplash and dash of the movieindustry but a serious programmeaimed at contributing to thebuilding process of the nascentmovie industry. What most otherproducers and other industryplayers couldn’t even tolerateAmaka supported with thefacilities of her studios. AmakaIgwe Studios even with little orno cash in the pockets of thejournalist cum producer.

Thanks to Wale Obadeyi, LillianAgbeyegbe, Chris Otaigbe andRalph Ezeoke who were ready towork for very little pay, that iswhen it was coming at all. It isdifficult to represent yourcollective grief in this little piece.

Some people see the coming ofBest of the Best TV (BoBTV) asan enterprise or even a prestigeproject. They miss the point. Thisyearly exhibition and capacitybuilding programme wascarefully structured and nurturedto provide an avenue for thederegulated broadcast sector tosource content for its stations andprovide opportunities for capacitybuilding.

The University Challengewhich encouraged Nigerian

universities to do short movies forcompetition was a major step inthis direction. The UniversityChallenge attracted entries fromnumerous higher institutions andthe students in attendance weregiven the opportunity to attendmaster class addressed by localand international filmmakers.BoBTV was a financial drain. Itnever made money.

Those behind it borrowed tokeep the concern going. But it wasa huge success and contributedimmensely to building humancapital for Nollywood. It wasAmaka’s resilience that keptBoBTV going and she primed theresource persons that theircontributions, even without pay,was for the good of the industryand to the glory of the countrywhich today enjoys theappellation of a top movie makingcountry.

My sister, I told your sister withthe beautiful smile last night thatyou were gone. That ended herday and drew a pall on the darkhours. We are unable to tell thechildren that you have gone onthis journey from which you willnever return. We are not allowingthem to watch TV at the momentfor them not to chance on thenews. If they do find out, and thatcould be very soon, we shall askthem to say a prayer for Ruby,Bobby and Danny. Above all weshall continue to pray for Charleswhose business imprimatur wasresplendent on all your creativemasterpieces. Sleep well.

•Okoh Aihe contributed thismaterial from Abuja.

happy todayas theindustry hasgrown beyondindiv idualaspiration andimagination.

Amaka wasa thoroughprofessional,one of the fewthat was veryfriendly withcritics, and itwas part of herstrength andmatriarchaldominance.She would doa script andpass it roundto hercolleaguesand critics tolook at.Oftentimes,the scriptwould alreadybe a great onebut there isa l w a y ssomething toadd, a littleflaw in thecharactershere and thereto bederacinated,some credulityto be added tothe story line,and what youhave is as t u n n i n gouting likeRattlesnake,Violated orForever or ifyou are from a

produce amovie notcommissionedby themarketersand not besinged inthe marketplace. WithRattlesnake,Vi o l a t e da n dFo r e v e r,A m a k a ,goaded byh e rhusband,forced themarketersto come toher.

T h e r ewere somepeople who

Amaka Igwe


Oko communal crisis deepens as youthsthreaten to dethrone monarch

Sacked Abia workers disrupt Workers' Day celebration in Imo

Workers Day:We won'tshortchangeworkers — OBIANO

Don’t ignorecyber terrorism,don cautionsFG, securityagencies

Traditional healers seek separatehospitals for practice

BY VINCENTUJUMADU

BY NWABUEZE OKONKWO

O N I T S H A — T H Ecommunal crisis

currently rocking Oko inOrumba-North LocalGovernment Area of AnambraState appears to havedeepened, with the two warringfactions involved stillthreatening hell and brimstoneagainst each other.

At the centre of the crisis arethe traditional ruler of the area,Igwe Laz Ekwueme, executivemembers of Oko PeoplesUnion, OPU, on one hand, andthe rector of FederalPolytechnic, Oko, Prof. GodwinOnu, and some concernedyouths of the area on the other.

According to sources, the cruxof the matter is that while the

royal father and his subjects arecalling for the removal of Prof.Onu as rector of the institutionfor allegedly sponsoring crisisin the area and at the same timeallegedly making secret movesto relocate the institution to hishometown, Ezira, in theneighbouring Orumba-SouthLocal Government Area, Onuand his loyalists among theyouths are gunning for thedethronement of Ekwueme forallegedly standing againstOnu’s second term bid as rector.

Although the state policecommand has just issued awarning against any groupembarking on any form of protestin the area without police permit,tension still pervades the entirecommunity at the moment.

A recent visit to the area

showed that the atmosphere wascalm, since after the April 19invasion of the palace of thetraditional ruler of Oko, IgweLaz Ekwueme, and settingablaze of his vehicles by someirate youths but the next line ofaction from both parties cannotbe predicted for now.

However, investigationsshowed that the crisis may nolonger take the shape ofviolence, rather, it may berestricted to petition writing,accusations and counter-accusation by both parties.

Speaking on the development,the National President of OPU,Mr. Cyprian Nwammuo, andLegal Adviser, UchennaOkonkwo-Okom, insisted thatOnu’s tenure expired on March4, 2014, adding that any renewal

of his tenure for second termwould be regarded as a nullity.

Also in a petition to GovernorWillie Obiano of Anambra State,signed on their behalf byNwammuo and Igwe Ekwueme,the community called on theauthorities concerned not to renewOnu’s appointment for a secondterm because he had failedwoefully to manage himselfpeacefully and operateharmoniously within his workenvironment.

They said their grudge againstOnu started in 2011 when theystumbled on his promise to hisEzira kinsmen that he would notleave Oko until he brought acampus of the polytechnic to hisvillage, adding that theydiscovered that he had alreadyprocured the management'sapproval for the Ezira offer.

They, therefore, urged the stategovernment to set up a judicialcommission of inquiry to beheaded by a high court judge,serving or retired, with men andwomen of proven integrity,traditional institution as membersto unravel the whole truth aboutwhat was happening in Oko.

But in his own reaction, thePublic Relations Officer, PRO ofthe polytechnic, OnuchukwuObini, told newsmen that therelocation of a federal institutionlike Oko Polytechnic was alegislative matter, which wasinstituted by law and must bechanged or adjusted through thesame process.

He said: “In other words, Prof.Onu, as the rector, does not havethe constitutional empowermentto relocate the institution, andbesides, does it make sense thatthe Rector wants to relocate it fromOko to Ezira, which is less than10 kilometer distance?

“If he is relocating theinstitution, he asked, why wouldhe be interested in developing thecampus by erecting no fewer than17 different structures of not lessthan two floors each?”

He said Oko indigenesconstituted about 60 percent of theentire work force in the institution,contrary to allegations that theywere being marginalized, addingthat at all times, they were givenconcession at both employmentsand admissions.

On the second term bid, Obininoted that Onu had alreadycommenced the implementationof his second term agenda withlast week’s flag off of a two-storeybuilding project for the Wing ‘B’of institution’s medical center.

He therefore appealed to thecommunity to sheath their swordand close ranks with theinstitution to encourage furtherdevelopment of the area, even ashe described Onu as a selflessperson who not only justdetermined to develop the area,but to make a name and his careerbecause peace and developmentgo pari-pasu. He added:”we shalcontinue to respect the traditionalinstitution, our founder andmentor, Dr. Alex Ekwueme.

OWERRI—THE May Day celebration in Imo State

nearly turned sour yesterday aspeople disengaged from Abia

State stormed the venue in redattires and complained bitterlyabout their plight.

The sacked workers,numbering over 1,600, wereparticularly irked that they

were yet to be absorbed intothe state civil service or recalledby Abia State government,despite Okorocha’s previouspromises.

They expressed disgust thattheir previous representations togovernment on the need toabsorb them into the service hadremained a mirage, while anumber of their colleagues haddied out of frustration andstarvation.

The Coordinator of Aba Zone,Mrs. Angela Madu-Okoli, whospoke jointly with her counterpartfrom Umuahia Zone, Mr. PeterOluigbo, told journalists in tearsthat none of the callously sackedImo indigenes had been paid akobo.

They debunked the recentnews that filtered in fromGovernment House, Umuahia,that the sacked workers shouldcome for reinstatement, stressingthat the official document to theeffect was not signed by anybody.

A W K A —GOVERNOR

Willie Obiano of AnambraState yesterday assured thestate’s organised labourthat his administrationwould not shortchange anyworker, saying the journeyto the great future of thestate should begin withthem.

Addressing the workersat Alex Ekwueme Squareto mark the annualworkers’ day in Awka,Obiano thanked them forvoting massively for himduring the lastgubernatorial elections.

He assured that by doingthat, the workers haddemonstrated their wish toaccelerate the pace of socio-economic development ofthe state.

Obiano said: “In votingfor me, you voted forpeace and industrialharmony in Anambra Statebecause you people are thegovernment of AnambraState in flesh and blood."

A don has warned of dire

consequences if theFederal Government andsecurity agencies failed toput proactive measures inplace to checkmate what hedescribed as budding cyberterrorism in the country.

Boniface Alese, anAssociate Professor ofComputer Science, statedthis while delivering theFirst Bank ProfessorialChair in Computer Sciencelecture at the FederalUniversity of Technology,Akure, FUTA.

He said the country’squest for technologicaldevelopment should putcyber crime and cyberterrorism into considerationto properly secure itscitizens and polity.

He described cyberterrorists as those whoengaged in conducts thatconstituted cyber crimes forthe purpose of effectingpolitical change throughthe intimidation of asubstantial portion of thecivilian population.

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA

MEMBERS of theNigerian Union of

Medical Herbal Practitioners,NUMHP, Lagos State chapter,have called on the stategovernment to support theirmembers towards buildingseparate hospitals for thepractice of traditional medicine.

The herbal practitionersstated that their clamour forseparate government-backedgeneral hospital andmaternity centres for thepractice of traditional medicinewould offer government the

opportunity to regulate theirpractice, confirm the efficacy oftheir medicines and complementthe practice of orthodox medicinein the state.

The union, in a statement bytheir leaders, Dr. Ayoka OgunpejuOguntokun, Iyalode-General, Dr.Sabir Adeokin, Lagos StateChairman, and Dr. FunmilayoSalami, State Secretary, asked thegovernor to allocate land to theirmembers for the purpose ofbuilding the traditional hospitalwhich, they said ,was the practicein the other climes as India and

AGM: From left — Mr Adeyemi Adeola, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer,Sterling Bank Plc, Alhaji Suliamon Adegunwa; Chairman, Board of Director; Mrs JustinaLewa, Company Secretary, during the 52nd Annual General Meeting of Sterling BankPlc, held at Eko Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, yesterday. Photo by Kehinde Gbadamosi.

...Town union exco insists on removal of poly rector

VANGUARD, VANGUARD, VANGUARD, VANGUARD, VANGUARD, FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2014—FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2014—FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2014—FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2014—FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2014—4141414141

, ,We were asked if we were ready to retraceour steps by removing our hijab and weresponded that we cannot remove our hijab

TWO female nurses ofNational Orthopaedic

Hospital, Igbobi Lagos(NOHIL) have been sackedfor wearing hijab while onduty.

The nurses Mrs FasilatOlayinka Lawal and MissSekinat Sanusi, relied on theprescription of their regulatorybody, the Nursing andMidwifery Council of Nigeriawhich says nurses shouldeither wear nurse cap orshoulder lenght hijab ascontained in a circular datedFebruary 11, 2002 (referencenumber N&MCN/CMF/721/1/3).

The circular which wassigned by P. N. Ndatsu,Secretary General/Registrarwas said to have been sent toall Directors of Nursing andtheir deputies, chief MedicalDirectors, chief Executives,and Principals.

Vanguard gathered thatMuslims nurses in othergovernment and teachinghospitals in other states wearshoulder lenght hijab. Some ofthem include Kwara, Osun,Oyo in the South West andmost states in the north of thecountry.

The victims in anticipation ofthe hospital managementweilding the big stick,approached the court to obtaininjunction against furtheractions by the management ofthe NOHIL, But this did notdeter the hospital managementas the two nurses were sackeda few days ago.

Sacking oftwo nurses

Narrating how it happened,Mrs Lawal said she acceptedthe offer based on the circularof Nursing and MidwiferyCouncil of Nigeria prescribinga shoulder length hijab whichshe expected the hospital tocomply with.

When Vanguard contactedthe Medical Director, NOHIL,Dr. O.Odunibi on phone forcomments, he declined saying“the matter is already in courtand we have been told not tocomment on the matter.”

A senior Muslim nurse in thehospital who crave anonimitytold Vanguard that they werenot wearing hijab merelybecause no circular was givento them to that effect. Shemaintained that thedevelopment was an eye-opener to other Muslimnurses in the hospital.

The Nursing and Midwifery

Orthopaedic hospital sacks twonurses for wearing hijab

Council of Nigeria is aparastatal of the FederalGovernment of Nigeriaestablished by Act Cap. No143Laws of the Federation ofNigeria, 2004, and the Councilis the only regulatory body forall cadres of Nurses andMidwives in Nigeria.

How ithappened

“I assumed duty onFebruary 25, 2014, at thecommencement of the onemonth orientation, I was toldto remove my hijab but Iinsisted presenting a copy ofa circular from Nursing andMidwifery Council of Nigeriato the head of NursingDepartment, Mrs Adebowale,hence I was allowed to do theorientation wearing hijab.”

“I completed the orientationon March 23, 2014 andresumed duty fully in uniformon Monday March 24, 2014and I was told that I was notproperly dressed as I wasusing hijab and not a nursecap.

"On April 8, 2014' I wrote aletter of protest to the MedicalDirector copying Minister forHealth, Minister for State forHealth and Board Chairman,National Orthopeadic HospitalIgbobi Lagos and Nursing andMidwifery Council ofNigeria.""On April 9, 2014, I was givena query dated April 8, 2014 toexplain why disciplinaryaction should not be institutedagainst me for insubordinationby not wearing Nurse uniformwhich I replied with a letterdated April 9, 2014 and sinceApril 10, 2014 I have not beenallowed to work or even signthe attendance register, wewere told to stay outside the

Director of Administrator ’soffice by the Chairman ofNational Association ofNigerian Nurses and Midwife(NANNM).

“On April 11, 2014, we weregiven two letters, one from theDirector of Administrationsummoning us to adisciplinary committee onMonday April 14, 2014 andanother from the AssistantDirector of Nursing calling our

attention to some so calledfacts.

On the April 14, 2014, wewere at the panel/ disciplinarycommittee and was told to havea rethink of removing our hijabwithin 24hrs and get back to thecommittee the following day at10:00am to avoid a disciplinaryaction taken against us.”

“We immediately sort a legaladvice since we weredetermined not to remove ourhijab and decided to proceedto court to stop any diciplinaryactions taken against us andalso seek redress on theviolation on our fundamentalhuman rights and be allowedto work and wear our hijabswithout hindrance as permittedby Nursing and MidwiferyCouncil of Nigeria, the onlybody permitted by law toregulate the NursingProfession in Nigeria.

“We were further preventedfrom entering the ward andcarrying out our official duty,we wrote another letter to theMedical Director in theafternoon of April 15, 2014notifying him of the situation.”

“On April 17, 2014, a letterwas written to the Medical

Director by our Lawyerinforming him of theimplication of their actions ofnot allowing us to work and ifthe situation persists acontempt proceeding wouldbe commenced against them.The situation continued thatway without been allowed towork until April 23, 2014 whenwe were given a memo toappear before the HospitalManagement Board by

10:00am.”“We met with the board and

was told that by not removingour hijab we have committedan act of insurbodination anddisobedience which ispunishable by the law of publicservice.

We were asked if we wereready to retrace our steps byremoving our hijab and weresponded that we can notremove our hijab and moresothe matter is in court and wecannot take any further stepwithout informing our lawyer.

Later that day ( April 23,2014) we were issued a letterof termination of service,” shenarrated.

MuslimLawyers react

The Muslim LawyersAssociation of Nigeria,MULAN, has described thetermination of employment ofthe two muslim nurses as‘wrongful dismissal’.

The Chairman of theassociation, Barrister MusadiqAdunni Sanni said the nurseshave right to complain and alsohave the right to institute legal

action if their fundamentalhuman rights were infringedupon.

“It is wrongful dismissal.What I think they should havedone is to wait on the courtbefore taking a decision.”

Sanni continued: “this is alabour matter and if theinstitution allows it, then thecourt will have to decide whois wrong.”

“I also think they don’t haverespect for the rule of law andwe are not happy that a FederalInstitution like that would gothat way.”

On similar case of hijabinvolving a student who waspunished because she worehijad while in school, BarristerSanni stated that althoughthere is a proposal for out ofcourt settlement, butmaintained that the conditionwas not in favourable to theMuslims.

He said: “Just last Tuesday,the state maintained that it onlylimited the use of hijab to theMosque on Fridays duringJumat and also during Zhurand Asr prayers, but we are nothappy with that; our interest istotal use of hijab. We are stillon it and we are going to argueour case insha-Allah,” hestressed.

MUPACcries foul

The Muslim Public AffairsCentre (MPAC) also expresseddeep concern over theescalation of the case, sayingthe two nurses are yet anothervictims of discrimination. In astatement sent to Vanguard’sFacing the Kaaba, the groupsaid the Muslim nurses couldhave been subjected to crueland degrading treatmentssimply because of their choiceto wear the hijab at work.

“By its latest action, NOHILand the hospital managementhave continued to showaggression against the victimsand unrestrained andunaccountable hostility towardsthe Islamic faith. The Nursingand Midwifery Council ofNigeria (NMCN) prescribes astandard uniform for all nursesin Nigeria and in its circular ofFebruary, 11,2002 (referencenumber N&MCN/CMF/721/1/3), it unambiguously specifiesthat “female nurses” may“wear either a Nurse cap or ashoulder length hyjab”.

“The sisters will continue todemand justice, and theresolve of the Muslimcommunity to stand by themwill only strengthened themagainst this latest act ofaggression.”

“Tyranny of employers, publicand private, highlights theneed for our lawmakers to dothe right things and make lawsthat will criminalisediscrimination on the basis ofreligions.”

MPAC urged all Islamicorganizations, mosques,Imams, human right groupsand individuals who cherishand value the collectiveaspiration to lend their prayersand support to these Muslimnurses.

From left: Alhaji Abdul-Hafeez Abou, Baba Adinni of Lagos;His Eminence, Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa'ad Abubakar; and Com-missioner of Home Affairs and Tourism, Alhaji OyinlomoDanmole during the commissioning of Al-Hujaj Mosque in Lekki,Lagos.

From left: Alhaji Abdul-Hafeez Abou, Baba Adinni of Lagos;Sheikh Ahmad Jilanni from Saudi Arabia; Alhaji AbdulJeleelAnimashaun (Al-Hujjaj) and other guests during the commission-ing of Al-Hujjaj Central Mosque in Lekki, Lagos.

•Muslim lawyers, MUPAC react


Adenuga bagsGrandCommander ofBusinessAward

Taraba crisis: NorthernChristian forum faults NGF

Dwindlingfederal revenueaffecting statewage bill—Yuguda

By SAM EYOBOKA

A STATEMENT credited to theNigerian Governors' Forum

(NGF) dismissing claims that theongoing crisis in Taraba State wasreligiously motivated, has at-tracted reaction from a Northern-based Christian organisation, say-ing that Christians in the state areindeed being targeted.

Northern States ChristianElders Forum (NOSCEF), in astatement jointly signed by Sun-day Oibe and Emmanuel Subilim,voiced its astonishment at the de-nials coming from the NGF fol-lowing recent reports of conflictbetween Islamic militants andother predominantly Christianethnic groups.

According to the forum. "For theNGF to suggest that the conflictin Taraba State is not religiouslymotivated is in complete contra-diction to what members ofNOSCEF have been telling us forseveral months.

"Approximately six months ago,NOSCEF members began to raiseconcerns following a sudden and

unprecedented influx of peoplefrom outside of the state whogave the appearance of cattleherders. Unlike the cattle herd-ers they are accustomed too, thisnew group travelled without fam-ily, arrived outside of the normalseasonal movements and werearmed with sophisticated weap-onry.

"Our members complained thatshortly after their arrival, Chris-tians in the state began to reportan increase in conflict with thisnew group, which includedarmed robbery and confronta-tions.

"Since January this year, therehave been many reports of vio-lence in Taraba State against thepredominantly Christian Tivpopulation at the hands of Is-lamic extremists. Hundreds ofmembers of the Tiv communityhave been murdered and thou-sands forced from their homes.They destroyed their villages,their farms and their churches.

"Although many in the mediahave reported these fracas be-tween 'farmers and herdsmen',

our members tell us that the ba-sis for these attacks is purely re-ligious. After attacking the Tivcommunity, the Islamic extrem-ists attacked the predominantlyChristian Jukun ethnic group.

"The NGF should ask them-selves why the attacks aroundWakuri, which consumed somany lives, including manyNOSCEF members, came justweeks after a ceasefire wasagreed upon between the com-munities? Our members havegiven us the answer.

"NOSCEF would thereforeurge the NGF to follow our callfor the Federal and State Gov-ernments to provide the neces-sary resources so that our secu-rity services bring a swift end tothe violence. We must keep ournation united and protect therights of every Nigerian B re-gardless of ethnicity, religion orregion. We must not hide fromthe root cause of the violence, butadmit the truth so we can under-stand the violence and bring itto an end."

Governor Gabriel Suswam (3rd left), his wife, Yemisi and Deputy Governor of Benue StateSteven Lawani and his wife, Magareth and others cutting a cake to mark Mrs. Suswam's 47thbirthday in Makurdi, yesterday.

GLOBACOM Chairman,Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr.

(GCON), has bagged theaward of Grand Commanderof Business.

Dr Adenuga received theaward at the 17th City PeopleAwards for Excellence 2014,held in Lagos over the week-end.

Dr. Adenuga sits atop a chainof businesses in the telecom-munications, aviation, real es-tate oil, gas and other sectors.His companies includetelecoms firm, Globacom, up-stream oil and gas company,Conoil Producing, and down-stream oil marketing firm,Conoil Plc. He also has mas-sive investments in the realsector and banking.

Mrs Fashola said, "On be-half of the organisers of the17th City People Awards forExcellence 2014, I present theaward of the Grand Com-mander of Business in Nigeriaand Africa to Dr. MikeAdenuga Jr. the chairman ofGlobacom."

In his citation, the judgesacknowledged that Adenugais a shining symbol of the ir-repressible spirit of the quin-tessential African entrepre-neur, passionate, committed,resilient and extremelyhardworking.

"Each of his businesses inthese sectors plays leadershiproles, helping to set the paceand contributing to the growthof the Nigerian economy.These companies provide di-rect employment to thousandsof Nigerians and people fromthe international community,as well as millions of other in-direct employment."

Receiving the award,Adenuga said the award wasa confirmation of the appre-ciation of the people for hiscontributions towards the eco-nomic development of Nigeriaand Africa as a whole.

He attributed his success tothe help of God and thankedCity People for the recognition.

Former Kwara gov Adamu Atta, Wash Pam dieILORIN — Two power brokers

during the Second Republic,Alhaji Adamu Atta and JohnWash Pam are dead.

Attah, 88, first civilian governorof old Kwara State, died in hishome town in Kogi State, whileWash Pam, 73, died at the Na-tional Hospital, Abuja at about1.25pm as a result of complica-tions from prostrate cancer.

Wash Pam hailed from PlateauState.

Attah won the election on theplatform of the defunct NationalParty of Nigeria, NPN, whileWash Pam was elected on the plat-form of the defunct Nigerian Peo-ple’s Party, NPP, which had anaccord with the ruling NPN.

Adamu Atta hailed fromEbiraland in present Kogi State.He was son of warrant ChiefIbrahima Atta, whom the Britishgranted wide powers under theNative Authority system.

He became the first civilian gov-ernor of the state, although hecame from a minority ethnicgroup. In January 1967, he waspermanent secretary at the Fed-eral Ministry of Finance.

Atta contested election againstObatemi Usman for a seat in theConstituent Assembly in 1977,beating his opponent. Latestronman of Kwara politics, Dr.Abubakar Olusola Saraki sup-ported Atta in his bid to becomegovernor of Kwara State in 1979.

Atta was responsible for establish-ing the Obangede SpecialistHospital.

The former governor was a poloenthusiast, and owner of the FifthChukker Club and Resorts,Kaduna.

Reacting to his death, the im-mediate past governor of KwaraState, Senator Bukola Saraki anda former Aviation Minister, ChiefFemi Fani-Kayode, said theywere saddened by the death,describing Attah as a statesmanof repute.

In a statement in Ilorin yester-day, Saraki said: “I am saddenedover the death of His Excellency,Alhaji Adamu Atah, the first Gov-ernor of Kwara State; a statesmanof repute and a stakeholder in

the Nigeria project whose recordsand antecedent are clear in thehistory of Kwara and Nigerianpolitics.

”The impact of Alhaji Attah can-not be under estimated in Kwarapolitics and apparently his roleand contributions in the admin-istration of the state. His depar-ture is painful, but the fact thathis wealth of wisdom in the his-tory of Kwara state administra-tion will be missed is more pain-ful."

In his own condolence mes-sage, Chief Femi Fani-Kayodesaid he was “deeply saddenedby the passing on of Alhaji Atta."

According to him, Attah "wasnot just a close friend and politi-cal associate of my late father

during the days of the NPN buthe was also the father of my firstwife, Saratu, and the grandfatherof my first child Folake."

However, Wash Pam's deathwas confirmed by his first son,Mr. Ganan Wash Pam and hisSpecial Assistant, Mr. WilliamsChieshe (Jnr) in Jos yesterday.

His Special Assistant said:“Baba has died, he has beenbattling with prostrate cancer fora while now.

Senator Pam was a prominentBerom elder from Foron inBarkin Ladi Local GovernmentArea of Plateau State and is sur-vived by two wives and 18 chil-dren.

BY SUZAN EDEH

BAUCHI— GOVERNORIsa Yuguda of Bauchi

State, yesterday, lamentedover what he described ashuge wage bill being paid byhis administration, sayingsalaries of workers had takenthe greater percentage ofstatutory receipts from the fed-eration account by the stategovernment.

Yuguda lamented that theproblem was further beingcompounded by decline in therevenue accruing to the statefrom the centre in recentmonths.

This was even as the Chair-man of the Nigeria LabourCongress, NLC, in the state,Comrade Hasimu Gital, hascommended civil servants inthe state for their understand-ing and loyalty demonstratedwhen they sacrificed 10 percent of their salaries for a pe-riod of four months due to thedwindling resources of thestate.

The governor who spoke inBauchi during the WorkersDay celebrations at theAbubakar Tafawa Balewa Sta-dium, noted, however, that thesituation was not peculiar toBauchi State, but a nationwidephenomenon.

He was represented on theoccasion by his deputy, AlhajiAminu Sagir Saleh.

According to him, somestates had already downsizedtheir workforce while otherswere unable to pay salaries asat when due.

“At this time of dwindling re-sources, workers are expectedto appreciate the situation andidentify with the governmentby making necessary sacrificesto enable government sustainmonthly salary payments andproceed with rendering socio-economic services.


Group flayskidnap ofschool girls inBorno Ex-militant leaders condemn call to scrap

Amnesty programme, NDDC

Court orders Edo HIV/AIDS ControlAgency to declare financial statements

BY EGUFE YAFUGBORHI

BY FESTUS AHON

JTF destroys9 illegalrefineries

BY SAMUELOYADONGHA

Eket monarchpasses on

WARRI—AN Edo StateHigh Court sitting in

Benin, has ordered the stateAgency for Control of HIV/AIDS, SACA, to make its finan-cial statements available to acivil society group, Foundationfor Good Governance and So-cial Change, FGGSC.

The order of court was sequelto an application by FGGSC,brought pursuant to the Free-dom of Information, FOI, Lawby the group.

FGGSC had asked the courtto compel the Edo SACA to dis-close information on fundingreceived including those fromnon-governmental organiza-tions, donors and how thefunds were being disbursed, towhom it is being made availa-

ble and other issues concern-ing transparency and account-ability in the running of theSACA.

The suit followed SACA’s re-fusal to honour the complain-ant’s letter asking the agencyto furnish it (FGGSC) with therequired information.

Edo State Solicitor Generaland Permanent Secretary of thestate Ministry of Justice, Mr.Oluwole Iyamu who led thedefence team, had argued thatthe plaintiff could not invokethe provisions of the FOI Lawin forcing the demanded infor-mation from SACA on groundsthat the law had not been do-mesticated in Edo State.

Prest Aigbokhan, lead coun-sel for FGGSC, countered, con-tending that it does not re-quire any domestication be-

cause the Freedom of Infor-mation Law flows from theright to information, right tobe heard and make publicdemands on public agenciesfor information guaranteedby the constitution.

Trial judge, Justice IdadaIkpomwen, who granted theprayers sought by the plain-tiff, gave SACA 14 days todisclose all the informationit had refused to divulge.The court awarded N100,000as cost in FGGSC favour.

“This is victory for Niger-ia. It shows that laws are notjust made, but made to beimplemented and this onewill be enforced,” Mr AustinOsakwe, Executive Director,FGGSC, said while reactingto the judgment.

PRESENTATION: Chairman Peoples Democratic Party, Akwa Ibom State, Obong Paul Ekpo,presenting a communique of Akwa Ibom State PDP to the National Chairman, Dr. AhmedMu'azu, at Legacy House, Abuja.

HUNDREDS of ex-mili-tant leaders and their

boys, yesterday, described asprovocative, a statement fromNorthern delegates at the on-going national conference call-ing for the scrapping of the am-nesty programme, Ministry ofNiger Delta Affairs and the Ni-ger Delta Development Com-mission, NDDC, as a way for-ward for the country.

The ex-warlords, who con-verged in Bomadi, Delta State,analysed the opinion paper cir-culated to various committeemembers at the confab, notingthat it was obvious that theNorth does not have the inter-est of the South-South or carefor the wellbeing of its peopleand environment.

Chairman, Phase II Amnes-ty Programme, Mr. Preye Ek-pebide, who spoke to journal-ists, advised delegates from theSouth-East, South-West andSouth-South to reject the po-sition of the North, noting thatthe South-South region wasyet to realise the full potentialsof the establishment of MNDAand NDDC.

Ekpebide condemned theNorthern delegates for notcommending the Federal Gov-ernment for granting amnestyto the ex-warlords, noting thatthe idea had paid off, makingNigeria the largest economy inAfrica and one of the fastestgrowing economies of theworld.

He said: “The Northern del-

egates at the confab are in-sensitive to the plight of theoil producing states, who facethe brunt oil pollution, dev-astation of the ecosystem andgas flaring that are hamper-ing the lives of the inhabit-ants of these areas. The 13percent derivation is inade-quate and should be re-viewed upward.

“If every individual whohas land in the North handsover same to the FederalGovernment, then the South-South will be willing not tolay claim to the oil resourceson their land. In the historyof revenue sharing in Niger-ia, the North and the South-West in the 60s enjoyed 50/50 with the Federal Govern-ment."

THE Paramount Rul-er of Eket, and

Clan Head of Ekid Afa-ha, Edidem NathanielOduonyi is dead, a fam-ily source said yesterday.

Chief Oduonyi ascend-ed the throne as a para-mount ruler of Eket in2011 after the demise ofEdidem Timkingiko En-odien, the former Ekettraditional helmsman.

Meanwhile, consulta-tion has already begunfor the selection of thenew Paramount Ruler ofEket.

Late Chief Oduonyi

THE Joint TaskForce, JTF, in the

Niger Delta, has saidthat it destroyed nine il-legal refineries and im-pounded a barge ladenwith suspected stolencrude in multiple raidson oil thieves.

A statement by Lt.-Col.Mustapha Anka, MediaCoordinator of JTF, inYenagoa, Bayelsa State,yesterday, said that theraids were carried outwithin the last 10 days.

It stated that the barge,Dera 1 intercepted onBrass Creek, Brass LocalGovernment Area of thestate, was in the custodyof JTF.

The JTF spokesmansaid the vessel and crewwould be handed over tothe prosecuting agencyafter preliminary inves-tigations were conclud-ed.

In another raid, JTFtroops destroyed eightillegal crude oil distillerycamps on Tebidade BrassAgip pipeline in Gbam-atoru Community, inSouthern Ijaw Local Gov-ernment Area of BayelsaState.

The statement said thatfive crude oil and Auto-mated Gas Oil, AGO,dumps filed with sus-pected stolen crude andillegally refined AGOwere destroyed duringthe operation.

U G H E L L I — AGROUP, Urhobo

Democratic Assembly,UDA, has described asungodly and barbaric,the abduction of over 100school girls in BornoState by suspected BokoHaram insurgents. Italso condemned the re-cent Nyaya bomb blast inAbuja.

The group, in a state-ment by its NationalPresident, Chief ArthurAkpowowo, urged theFederal Government andsecurity agencies to in-vestigate the incidentsand ensure that the per-petrators and their spon-sors were brought tobook.

Police call forinformationon insurgents

BY GABRIELENOGHOLASE

BENIN—EDO StatePolice Commis-

sioner, Mr. Folusho Ade-banjo, has called on citi-zens in the state not siton the fence, but shouldbe watchdogs in theirdifferent communities,following the securitychallenges facing thecountry.

Meanwhile, no fewerthan 33 suspected crimi-nals were paraded be-fore newsmen by theCommand, amongstthem were suspectedarmed robbers, rapists,child traffickers.

He enjoined the citi-zenry to give useful in-formation to the Policeand other security agentson activities of suspect-ed criminals.

Adebanjo, who ad-dressed newsmen in Be-nin, yesterday, notedthat while the securityagencies were doingtheir best to arrest thesituation, “there is theneed to create a robustpartnership and synergywith members of the pub-lic, so that together wecan achieve a high levelof safety and security inthe state.

“This we can do by tak-ing more interest in whatis happening in andaround our immediateenvironment."

CMYK


08102479985 By Bartholomew Madukwe([email protected])PEOPLE SPEAK

On confab and security

BayelsaSpeaker,MajorityLeadercommended

UGHELLI— WORRIEDby the threat to the

security and safety ofteachers in Ughelli NorthLocal Government Area,Delta State, occasioned bythe kidnap of theircolleague, Mrs ElizabethUrevbu, the Nigeria Unionof Teachers, NUT, in thearea has embarked on aweek warning strike,demanding theunconditional release oftheir colleague.

Mrs Elizabeth Urevbu wasreportedly kidnapped fiveweeks ago at AwhireSecondary School, Awirhe-Agbarha-Otor duringschool hours alongside anengineer, whose identitywas not known at presstime.

The engineer, accordingto a dependable sourcewho does not want hisname in print, was releasedfew days after the incident.

The union, in acommuniqué at the end ofits emergency meeting,said: “The branch council insession, equally frowned at

Delta teachers embark on strike overcolleague's kidnap

the way and manner the DeltaState security operatives arehandling the matter,

especially the Delta PoliceCommand, five weeks intothe kidnap of ourcolleague.”

The union urged securityoperatives in the state to step

up effort towards securingthe immediate release of MrsElizabeth,” adding that thestrike was in obedience to thedirective of the state wing ofthe union.

BY FESTUS AHON

Protesting youths barricade Beninairport over appointment of NDDC rep

BENIN— HUNDREDS ofyouths of Edo State,

yesterday, barricaded thegate of Benin Airport,protesting the non-appoint-ment of a representative forthe state on the Board ofNiger Delta DevelopmentCommission, NDDC.

The youths, who describedthe failure to appoint a staterepresentative to the boardas unconstitutional and asetback for NDDC projects inthe state, gave a 21-dayultimatum to the FederalGovernment to announce theappointment or activities offederal establishments in thestate would be disrupted.

Meanwhile, the choice of arepresentative might bedifficult as Governor AdamsOshiomhole; Chairman,

Board of Trustees of PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP,Chief Tony Anenih andSenator Ehigie Uzamere, allsubmitted nominees for theposition.

The protesting youths, ledby Mr. Iyamu Osaro,disrupted activities for overtwo hours at the airport.Some of the placards theycarried read: “Edo youthssays no to marginalisation,”

“We want NDDCCommissioner,” “PresidentJonathan should appoint EdoNDDC Commissioner,”“Stop playing politics withour lives,” among others.

Osaro said: “We urgePresident Jonathan to give usEdo State NDDCcommissioner within 21 days.Failure to do so will result inthe barricading of all federalparastatals in the state.”

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

THE Anglican Diocese ofUghelli, Delta State, has

appealed to political leadersto exercise tolerance in theirquest for power, urgingthem to concentrate onstabilising democracy andachieving good governance.

In a communiqué at theend of the second session ofthe sixth synod, the Diocesesaid such a paradigm shiftwould gain the confidenceand support of the electorate.

Held at St John’s Anglican

Church, Okpare-Olomu,Ughelli South LocalGovernment Area of the state,the synod also lamented thehigh rate of unemployment.

The communiqué, signed bythe Bishop, Rt. Revd CyrilOdutemu and the SynodSecretary, Clerical, VenDiakeleho Edjere,commended the FederalGovernment on the same-sexmarriage law, but condemnedthe abduction of young schoolgirls in Borno State.

Politicians tasked on tolerance

Hotelier slams N1bn suitagainst Naval officers

ASABA—FORMER DeltaState House of Assembly

member and proprietor ofKayriott Hotel and SuitesLimited in Delta State, Mr. EfeAfe, has dragged some Navalofficers, who allegedlyinvaded his hotel, before aFederal High Court sitting inWarri, Delta State, claimingN1 bilion as damages.

Afe is contending in the suitthat during the invasion,property were damaged,while mobile police officersattached to the hotel andstaff were assaulted.

The plaintiff, in the suit byhis counsel, Mr.Oghenejabor Ikimi, iscontending that “I know thatthe hotel lost the patronageof guests and customers forthree weeks after the incident

and the claimant lost overN200 million as guests andcustomers avoided thehotel.”

Defendants in the suit areMr. Ndubuisi Akalieze,Lieutenant Uche Akalieze,Lieutenant Ibrahim Yohana,Commodore GarbaMohammed, Chief of NavalStaff and Attorney General ofthe Federation.

The plaintiff want the courtto declare that the unlawfuldamage of the claimant’sautomated glass doors andshooting within theclaimant’s premises onJanuary 30 by Naval ratingsunder the control,supervision and command ofthe defendants at the instanceof the 1st and 2nd defendantsis unconstitutional, wrongfuland ultra vires the powers ofthe defendants.

BY AUSTIN OGWUDA

Y E N A G O A —M A N A G I N G

Director and ChiefExecutive Officer ofAnderson ZipamorConstruction Company,AZCC, Engr. AndersonZipamor has commendedthe Bayelsa State Speaker,Mr. Benson Konbowei andthe Majority Leader, PastorAkpe for their qualityrepresentation andlegislative experience inthe state House ofAssembly.

Zipamor told newsmenin Yenagoa, the BayelsaState capital, thatKonbowei has since hisappointment as Speaker,pursued popular bills forthe advancement of notonly Bayelsans, but theIjaws in general.

He added that theSpeaker ’s wealth ofexperience in legislativeduties has brought a newspirit amongst the Bayelsalawmakers, who now havethe interest of the peopleat heart.

Describing the Speakeras unassuming anddetribalised, who he saidwas steering the state to thepromised land throughquality legislature, heapplauded the harmonybetween the executive andthe legislature.

He said the understan-ding between the two armsof government hadbrought rapid transfor-mation to the state.

He said: “The Speaker,Konbowei and GovernorSeriake Dickson are agood blend for the state.”

IT cannot solve thesecurity challenges in

the country. However,beyond solving securitychallenges is the issue ofacceptability. WillNigerians acceptwhatever comes outfrom the ongoingnational conference?—Mr. Peter Fowoyo,Journalist.

THE securitychallenges have been

here before the adventBoko Haram. Even afterthe confab started,bombings and killingsstill continued. Leaderswith the fear of God, andnot national conference,is what Nigeriansneed.— Mr. Koku Yomi,Lawyer.

Security is not an issueto be discussed by laymen. It is must behandled by expertshome and abroad. Allhands must be on deckto fashion out a betterstrategy. It is a newdimension and shouldbe tackled specially.—Mr. Ranti Thomas,Journalist.

I must appreciate thefact that the House of

Representatives hasasked service chiefs toquit if they fail toproduce the kidnappedschool girls in BornuState. That is one step totackling security. Butnobody thinks ofresignation.—Mrs MarisIgwe, Businesswoman.

THE confab islaughable. It cannot

do anything aboutinsecurity. In whichcapacity would the confabsolve the security situa-tion in the country? Wedo not have the logisticsto fight the insurgencyand the confab is justthere to talk.— Ms. AbiaBassey, Lawyer.

THE confab issupposed to fashion

out a better Nigeria forNigerians. Among thedelegates are variousclasses of persons andreligions. So all we cando is hope for a betterplan at the end of theday.— Mr. ChineduC h i n w e o d a ,Businessman.


CMYK


AWARDS: From left, former Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Com-mission, NCC, Engr. Ernest Ndukwe; guest lecturer & Managing Director, Nigeria Sover-eign Investment Authority, Mr. Uche Orji; Group COO, Globacom, Mr. Mohammed Jameel,and the Editor-in-Chief, Nigeria Communications Week, during Beacon of InformationCommunications Technology lecture and awards, at the Eko Hotels and Suite, Victoria Is-land, Lagos.

UNVEILING: South African musical duo, Theo Kgosinkwe and NhlanhlaNciza Mafikizolo, a.k.a Mafikizolo, performing, during the unveiling of MTN’snew brand ambassadors, and premiere of a collaboration between Mafikizoloand Davido, in Ikoyi, Lagos.

VISIT: From left, General and Neuro Surgeon, Kwara State Association ofNigeria, North American Chapter, KSANG, Elizabeth Rawls; Health Com-mittee Chairman, KSANG, Wale Adeoye; Kwara State Governor, Dr. AbdulfatahAhmed; Health Committee Member, KSANG, Ayo Ojulari; President, MosesLake Medical Team, Lateef Olaniyan; Vice President, (finance), Moses LakeMedical Team, Irwin Frances, and others, during a courtesy visit to the gov-ernor by KSANG Medical Team, at Government House, Ilorin.

TAKE-OVER: From left, Chaminda Boteju, BDC Manager/Compliance Officer; Leon Shaier,Senior Travel Consultant, Retail Sales (UK & Europe); Andrea Fearon, Global BDM (UK &Europe); Keith Lloyd, Travel Manager (UK), and Aare Segun Phillips, Group ExecutiveChairman, Peacock Group of Companies, during the official take-over of Edwin DoranTravels by Peacock Group at Twickenham, Middlesex, UK.

AWARD: Managing Director, Noah’s Ark Communi-cations Limited, Mr. Lanre Adisa, receiving Outstand-ing Young Agency of the Decade Award, from Mr. JimiAwosika, Managing Director Insight CommunicationsLimited, during the Marketing Edge Magazine 10thAnniversary and Award ceremony.

VISIT: From left, Mrs. Isedua Obiodiaka, Project Man-ager, Customer Service Practitioners Association,CUSPA; Mr. Ernest Orji, Chairman, Southern Sun Ho-tels, Ikoyi, and Mrs. Uloma Umeano, President ofCUSPA, during a sensitisation visit by CUSPA Execu-tives to Southern Sun Hotels, in Lagos.

PRESENTATION: From left, Rhema Chapel Interna-tional Church Pastor, Abiola Ajadi; Managing Director,Ifako-Ijaiye General Hospital, Dr. Ibironke Sodeinde;Pastor' wife, Folake Ajadi, and President, Chrisgate In-ternational, Christopher Alabi, during the presentationof Neonate Phototherapy Equipment, to Ifako-IjaiyeGeneral Hospital, in Lagos.

WEDDING: From left, Engr. Tajudeen Lawal, D. Segun Demuren; Ms. VictoriaOtubu (who just got married); Professor Joseph Otubu, and Dr. Israel Akinadewo,at the wedding ceremony of Ms. Victoria Otubu, in Lagos.

CLOSING: From left, Director, Centre for Research in Leadership and Ethics, Lagos Busi-ness School, Dr. Franca Ovadje; Principal, African Capital Alliance, ACA, Mr. SegunAdebanji; President, VIMP Class of 2014, Ojutayo Lanre; Director, Programmes and Op-erations, Junior Achievement Nigeria, JAN, Mrs. Efe Adefulu, and Regional ProgrammesCoordinator, JAN, Mr. Adegbola Abiodun, during the closing ceremony of Venture inManagement Programme,ViMP, seminar, sponsored by ACA foundation, in Lagos.


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Protests greet May Dayglobally

BY EMEKAAGINAM, with agency

report

TENS of thousands ofpeople yesterday took

to the streets around theworld to mark Internation-al Labour Day, includingin Turkey, Hong Kong,Moscow, Jakarta, Nigeriaamong others.

In Istanbul, police yes-terday dispersed hun-dreds of protesters whotried to defy a ban on dem-onstrations on the city’sTaksim Square on the an-niversary of clashes thatprompted a nationwideprotest movement.

After giving a final warn-ing, hundreds of riot po-lice backed up by water-cannon moved in on pro-testers in the Besiktas dis-trict as they tried to breachthe barricades leading upto the symbolic square, anAFP reporter said yester-day.

Rallies also took placeacross Asia, including inHong Kong, Jakarta, Kua-la Lumpur, Singapore,Taipei and Seoul, wherethe annual protest was ex-pected to take a sombretone in the wake of theSouth Korean ferry disas-ter.

In Nigeria for instance,workers and activists indifferent states across thenation used the occasionto protest unfair labor prac-tices and worsening con-dition of living as well asinsecurity in the countryamong other issues.

Russian workers, mean-while, paraded on RedSquare for the first timesince 1991 - the latest So-viet tradition to be revivedas a wave of patriotismsweeps the country.

May Day was a key datein the Soviet calendar, with

elaborate celebrations in-volving ranks of marchingathletes, soldiers andworkers on the Moscowsquare, but in recent yearsthe annual demonstrationshave been relegated to acity highway.

In Cambodia, securityforces armed with sticksand batons forcibly dis-persed dozens of May Dayprotesters near PhnomPenh’s Freedom Park, ac-cording to an AFP photog-rapher. Several peoplewere beaten.

“We are sad that wecould not mark May Dayproperly. Workers’ rightshave been thwarted,” saidAth Thorn, president of theCoalition of CambodianApparel Workers Demo-cratic Union.

Tens of thousands ofMoroccans also demon-strated for higher mini-mum wages.

The government onWednesday announced a10 percent hike in the pri-vate sector monthly mini-mum wage from $287 andan increase in the publicsector monthly minimumwage to $369, but thecountry’s labour organisai-tons issued a joint state-ment, saying the changeswere not enough.

Indonesian police saidabout 33,000 workers wereset to rally across the cap-ital Jakarta.

Unions said up to twomillion workers would beout in force to demand bet-ter working conditions inSoutheast Asia’s most pop-ulous nation, although inprevious years the num-bers have come in muchlower than such forecasts.

“Demonstrations will beheld nationwide but thebiggest will be in Jakarta,with around 33,000 work-ers,” Rikwanto, police

spokesman, told AFP, add-ing that 18,000 police of-ficers would be out on thestreets.

He said workers wereplanning further rallies onFriday.

In Hong Kong, unionorganisers said some 5,000people were set to join theirmarch from the city’s Vic-toria Park to governmentheadquarters, with betterworking hours top of theagenda.

In Seoul around 5,000

workers were expected torally outside Seoul railwaystation in the afternoon butthis year’s traditional MayDay trade union gathering

has been overshadowed bythe ferry disaster that hasclaimed the lives of hun-dreds of people, many ofthem school children.

The workers were tomarch to City Hall and paytheir respects to the victimsof the April 16 disaster at atemporary memorial.

Missing flight MH370:Relatives told to return home

MALAYSIA Airlineshas asked rela-

tives of passengers onboard flight MH370 toleave the hotel accom-modation it is providingand return to their homes.

It is closing the familyassistance centres set upafter the plane vanishedon 8 March with 239 peo-ple on board.

The airline promised tokeep relatives up to dateon the search operation.

Meanwhile, a reportby Malaysia’s transportministry has recommend-ed the introduction of

real-time tracking ofcommercial air trans-port.

The ministry’s air ac-cident investigation bu-reau said there had nowbeen two occasions overthe past five years whenlarge passenger planeshad gone missing andtheir last position wasnot accurately known -MH370 and Air FranceFlight 447 in 2009.

“This uncertainty re-sulted in significant dif-ficulty in locating theaircraft in a timely man-ner,” the report noted.

Istanbul’s Taksim Square was the scene of new protests yesterday

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2014 WORKERS DAY CELEBRATION ACROSS THE NATION

Pelumi Olaide-Gold delivers a speech on abducted girls of Chibok in Borno State, dur-ing the 2014 Workers Day celebration in Onikan, Stadium, Lagos, yesterday. Photo: BunmiAzeez

Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State (left) taking salute duringthe May Day celebration in Asaba. Photo: Henry Unini

From left: Mr. Chidi Ezeoke, Head of Service, Anambra State; GovernorWillie Obiano of Anambra State and Prof. Joe Asike, Chief of Staff at theMay Day celebration in Awka.

Agriculture and Allied Employees Union of Nigeria duringthe celebration at MKO Abiola Stadium, Kuto, Abeokuta. Photo:WUMI AKINOLA.


Zik, Ndi-Igbo and their southern neighbours:

Charting a new political direction for Nigeria (4)

ROOTS of Igbo-Yorubaconflict in Nigerian politics

The first point to be noted is thatthe appearance of ethnic conflictin Nigerian national politicsespecially as it relates to the Igboand the Yoruba actually maskeda more complex struggle betweeninterests that were non-ethnic innature.

In this study, it will be shownthat although the politicalmechanics of anti-colonialnationalism first ignited tensionand defined the parameters ofAzikiwe’s face-off with theleadership of the Nigerian YouthMovement (NYM), in the end,class and personal interestsbecame the dominant factor thatdeepened that face-off and havefoisted the persistent Igbo-Yorubaconflict in Nigerian politics.Before I delve into the issue ororigins of the said Igbo-Yorubaconflict, I would like us to ponderover these general observationsabout politics and its nature;

1. In every clime, politicalleaders exercise authority anddispense patronage to buildsupport for themselves anddiscourage or repress opposition.

2. In liberal democratic theory,the interests of a class arerepresented in different ways byrival political parties. Conversely,every party represents a varietyof class interests and hence itsmembership will be drawn fromdifferent classes.

Socialdeference

3. Party leaders and many ofthose who benefit from theparty’s activities usually becomepart of a privileged class thatenjoy social deference, power,and wealth regardless of theparty’s official doctrine andprogramme.

4. Many people who espouseor practice ethnic solidarity inpolitics are not traditionalistic andmay adopt ethnic-basedstrategies in their pursuit ofpersonal and class-based goals.

5. Finally, while class interestsmay be asserted by electoralmeans, party competition, assuch, should not be mistaken forclass struggle—See, R. L. Sklar,Op cit.

For a fuller appreciation of theabove assertion and itsapplicability in the analysis of theroots of Igbo-Yoruba conflict inNigerian politics, let us go a littleway back to historicaldevelopments in Nigerianpolitics starting from the time ofHerbert Macaulay.

The era of the NNDP: HerbertMacaulay founded the Nigerian

National Democratic Party(NNDP) on June 24, 1923. Theparty was basically for thepropagation and defence of theinterests of the residents of Lagosnotwithstanding its “Nigerian”appellation.

The NNDP was until 1938 themajor force in Lagos political life.Its candidates were victorious inthe Legislative Council electionsof 1923, 1928 and 1933, alwayswinning all the three legislativeseats allocated to Lagos.

Educatedelements

The chief sources ofMacaulay’s strength were hisnewspaper, the Lagos DailyNews; the party; the support ofthe highly organised Lagosmarket-women, the House ofDocemo and its supporters; andhis unique ability to fire theimagination of the semi-literateand illiterate masses of Lagos.Macaulay was reputed to beruthless in vilifying hisopponents in his paper and onthe rostrum. For nearly fourdecades he did more than anyother person to divide andpolarise the educated elementsof Lagos leaving deep andunhealed wounds that definitelyinfluenced later developmentswithin the nationalist movement.But whatever his motivations forthe different actions and politicalbattles he fought, he consistentlyespoused and defended thecause of Africans and wastherefore regarded as a greatnationalist.

Two currents of opposition toMacaulay and the NNDP in the1920s are discernible. One wasa group of conservatives led byDr J K Randle which revived thePeoples Union, a politicalassociation that was formed in1908 and became defunct in 1916.The Peoples Union expired afterthe death of its founder, J KRandle, in 1928. Ernest Ikoli wasits last secretary. The other was a

group of young progressives whoorganised the Union of YoungNigerians in 1923. It was led byAyo Williams, Dr J C Vaughn andErnest Ikoli. Although the partyexpired after only five years, itmay be regarded as the forebearof the Nigerian Youth Movement(NYM).

The NYM era: In 1934however, leading young criticsnotably, Ernest Ikoli, SamuelAkinsanya, H O Davies and DrJ C Vaughn—formed the LagosYouth Movement, which in 1936changed its name to NigerianYouth Movement (NYM) uponthe advice of the editor of theLagos Comet. The highlyintellectual H O Davies becameits General Secretary (1937-1941). According to Coleman,apart from occasional outspokencriticism of government policy byindividual members, the policyof the movement was moderate:

Long live our Prince and LongLive their majesties. TheNigerian Youth Movement willnever fail to cooperate with . . .the governor. (Coleman, Nigeria,p.218)

Newspapereditor

In 1937 the NYM wasstrengthened by the return ofNnamdi Azikiwe, after nineyears sojourn in the United Statesand three years as a newspapereditor in the Gold Coast. In thesame year, H O Davies alsoreturned from overseas studiesin England and re-joined theorganisation. With the hyper-activity of these two, NYMbecame within the next threeyears the first Nigeria-wide multi-ethnic political organisation inNigerian history. Events duringthese three crucial years howeverlaid bare certain underlyingfactors which were to shape thesubsequent course of nationalistmovement in Nigeria.

Coleman writes, during thefifteen-year period 1934-1949,

Nnamdi Azikiwe wasundoubtedly the most importantand celebrated nationalist leaderon the West Coast of Africa, if notin all tropical Africa. To theoutside world “Zikism” andAfrican nationalism appeared tobe synonymous. (Coleman, op.cit., p. 220)

A brief review of Azikiwe’sbackground and the influencesthat shaped his ideas is essential.Azikiwe was born in Zungeru innorthern Nigeria in 1904, the sonof an Ibo clerk in the Nigerianregiment.

He attended mission schools inOnitsha, Calabar and Lagos andlived in Accra briefly beforesailing for America in 1925 forfurther studies. “Azikiwe spenthis first seven years in Americaat segregated Negro colleges inthe Southern atmosphere ofdiscrimination and caste.Profound changes wereoccurring in the character ofprotest activity among AmericanNegroes; the growth of a militantpress, the emergence of a ‘NegroRenaissance’ with a newemphasis upon the rediscoveryof Africa, the ‘Black Nationalism’of Garveyism . . . As a result ofhis experiences in the UnitedStates . . . Azikiwe wasdetermined to be a leader, withthe West Coast of Africa as hisarena, in the world-wide struggleto emancipate the Negro race”.(Coleman,op. cit., p. 222) His firsttwo books, Liberia in WorldPolitics and Renascent Africa,were written with the basicpreconception that the struggleof the future was going to beracial, between black and white.

largest tribes of Nigeria, theIgbo, which until then had hadno spokesman. Azikiwe broughtthree new elements to Nigeriaand the Nigerian YouthMovement: militant racialconsciousness; an expandingsensationalist press; and a largenumber of educated Nigeriansthat were previously politicallyun-mobilised or excluded. WithH O Davies, they enlivened theNYM. In the 1938 elections, theNYM defeated the NNDP,winning all the three seats in theLegislative Council as well asthose of the Lagos Town Council.

Restrictiveproperty franchise

But it should be noted that theresults did not reflect popularopinion because of the restrictiveproperty franchise used incompiling the voters’ list. Only792 persons voted in theelections, but the result did reflectthe political inclinations of theupper strata of the WesternisedLagos elite.

However, because the oldestablished leaders of themovement were conservativesand moderates, and were moreinclined to ‘cooperating’ with thecolonial government of the day

VANGUARD'S EXCLUSIVE BOOK SERIALS

•Herbert Macaulay: Founder of the NNDP

The appearance of ethnic conflict inNigerian national politics especially as itrelates to the Igbo and the Yoruba actuallymasked a more complex struggle betweeninterests that were non-ethnic in nature

Yesterday, we presented indetail how Awo stopped Zikfrom going to the CentralLegislature via the WesternRegion. Today, we publish theorigins of Igbo-Yoruba conflictin Nigerian politics andlinkages to the NNDP, NYMand NCNC. Read on...

Given this background Ziktended to think and act alongUniversalist and racial lines.

He was just as much at homein Accra, Lagos, or Onitsha. Thesensationalism and pugnacity ofAmerican yellow journalism alsohelped shape his outlook andjournalistic style, particularly theobsessive race-consciousness ofAmerican Negro newspapers. Inhis Renascent Africa, Zik advisedthat “there is no better means toarouse African peoples than thatof the power of the pen and ofthe tongue”.

Azikiwe arrived Nigeria in timeto carry on the traditions ofJackson and Solanke (two strongideological firebrands andactivists of bygone era). And hecame properly equipped for thetask. Thus when he arrived, hefound waiting not only a largenumber of young Yorubas andnon-Yoruba Lagosians who weredissatisfied with theconservatism and moderation oftheir traditional Lagosianleadership, but also all theeducated elements of one of the

to effect ‘mundane’ reforms forthe betterment of the society atlarge as well as creating lucrativeopportunities for its members andleadership, they did not quitewelcome Azikiwe’s militant anduncompromising tactics. Theycertainly found Azikiwe’sextremely impetuous, highlypersonalised militant attitudeand incessant attacks on theBritish unpalatable.

How NYM leadership saw Zik:The NYM leadership probablysaw Zik as a radical and fearedthat he could put all of them intotrouble with the British orcolonial authorities or perhapsfrustrate their individual andclass interests that were partlydependent on the goodwill of thecolonial government. Theytherefore began to distancethemselves from Zik. The firstoutward sign of this resolve wasthe NYM’s tactical decision todistance itself from Azikiwe’s

West African Pilot newspaper,which was the main organ ofZik’s apparently worrisomeattacks. Although Azikiwe’s Pilot

,

,


Charting a new political direction for Nigeria (4)

newspaper espoused the causeof the Nigerian Youth

Movement (with obviousembarrassing radical andmilitant colouring from Zik) theNYM leaders decided to publishan official organ. In June 1938,they launched the Daily Servicenewspaper, advertised as “theofficial journal of the NigerianYouth Movement”, with ErnestIkoli, Vice President of NYM andacknowledged dean of Nigerianjournalism, as publisher andeditor, and H O Davies asbusiness manager.

From that moment Azikiwe’senthusiasm for the movementreportedly cooled. The action wasperhaps a confirmation to Zikthat his contributions andapparent attempt to alter thevision of the NYM, howeverdevised, were not appreciated orwelcome to the NYM leadership.Azikiwe’s critics alleged that hebitterly resented the competitionfrom the Daily Service.

But the Daily Service was notthe only newspaper competingwith the West African Pilot; therewere others. In an editorial,according to Coleman, ErnestIkoli rejected the suggestion andaccused Azikiwe of being amegalomaniac. That accusationin itself was a confirmation thatIkoli and his peers in theorganisation were not exactlywell disposed to Azikiwe and hiscontributions in the movement;in fact that they must haveregarded him as an upstart.

In any event, you can wellimagine the fierce counter-attackthat must have come fromAzikiwe’s West African Pilot!Thus began a breach within theNYM which was neversuccessfully closed.

Zik resignsfrom NYM

Shortly afterwards, Zikresigned from the executivecommittee of the NYM citingpreoccupation with businessaffairs. In February, 1941, theLegislative Council seat held byDr Kofo Abayomi, then presidentof the NYM, became vacantfollowing his resignation from theCouncil and ultimateappointment to the governor’sExecutive Council.

Abayomi’s resignationprecipitated within themovement’s leadership - andultimately within themembership - a struggle over theselection of his successor. Theprincipal contestants for the officewere Ernest Ikoli (Ijaw) andSamuel Akinsanya (IjebuYoruba).

The selection of Ikoli by theleadership led to allegations ofintra-tribal discrimination.Akinsanya and Azikiwe chargedthat the former (Akinsanya) hadbeen rejected only because thedominant group of Lagos Yorubaswho formed the bulk of themovement’s leadership wouldnot want an Ijebu Yoruba.

This was how the ‘Ijebu ke’

syndrome or slogan was coinedand used to attack those thatrejected Akinsanya.

Richard L. Sklar had this to sayof the episode: Certainly therehad been a tendency on the partof the Lagos elite to look down attheir brethren from the provinces,a kind of snobbishness thatelicited resentment.

But Ikoli was an Ijaw, not aLagos Yoruba, and hiscandidature was supported byanother prominent Ijebu Yoruba,Obafemi Awolowo, thensecretary of the Ibadan branch ofthe NYM and assistant (toAkinsanya) of the MotorTransport Union. Adamantly

Azikiwe and Akinsanyainsisted that anti-Ijebu prejudicewas the underlying motive atplay, and they resigned from themovement. (Sklar, op. cit., p. 54)

A press war between the WestAfrican Pilot and the DailyService ensued. Akinsanyacontested against Ikoli as anIndependent, with Azikiwe’sbacking, and lost. Of course youcan see that the old quarrelbetween Ikoli and the otherleaders of the movement on onehand and Azikiwe on the otherwas taking a deeper shape andmust have contributed toAzikiwe’s response.

Tribaltension

James S. Coleman offered amore detailed insight. His words:The Akinsanya crisis was the firstmajor manifestation of a tribaltension that affected allsubsequent efforts to achieveunity [in the NYM]. From thebeginning the mass membershipof the Youth Movement waspredominantly Yoruba in origin.Because of certain historicalfactors many Yorubas wereprejudiced against the IjebuYoruba. The Ijebu had nevercome completely under the oldYoruba kingdom at Oyo. Duringmost of the nineteenth centurythe Ijebu controlled the maintrade routes into the interior, andthey had acquired the reputationof being the Jews of Yorubaland.

Situated as they were on the edgeof the Lagos Lagoon, they hadsupplied most of the middlemenin the slave traffic. Yorubas fromOyo, Ibadan, and the Egbakingdom tended to look downupon or dislike the Ijebu.Akinsanya, an Ijebu, felt that hehad been discriminated againston the basis of this prejudicewhen Ikoli won over him. Itmattered little that Ikoli was anIjaw. It is not known whetherAzikiwe quit the movementbecause of intertribalantagonisms, or because he wasdissatisfied with his role.(Coleman, op. cit., pp. 227-228)

Completebreak

Well, I personally think thatAzikiwe’s resignation must havebeen informed by the laterreason. He had resigned from theexecutive committee in 1939, Iimagine, because his aggressivemilitant approach in the fightagainst colonialism was frownedat by the NYM leadership. Thiswas a deep matter thatsuggested very serious fermentas would exist when strangebedfellows cohabitate. Hisremaining a member of themovement at the time meant thathe only adopted a wait-and seeattitude. His next line of actionno doubt would depend on howthe leadership’s attitude to hisstyle, tactics and overall anti-colonial philosophy developed.If he perceived a change or amore accommodating attitudefrom the leadership, he wouldhave stayed. But this neverhappened nor did Zik want tomellow down and becomeanother middle roader in orderto fit in. A complete break withthe group was thereforeinevitable, if Zik was to continuethe anti-colonial struggle in hisown way. Otherwise, he riskedbeing sacked from the group for‘incompatible or anti-NYM’stance. Of course, if theleadership began to imbibe hismethods, even after hisresignation, a rapprochementwould or could happen. And this

was why Zik continued to parleywith the NYM leadership allthrough the years, even after theformation of the NCNC, as youwould see below. I think theAkinsanya crisis only served asthe last straw in Azikiwe’sdecision to quit the NigerianYouth Movement.

Sklar was right when he wrotethus: It is not at all likely that anomination controversy alonecould have produced as grave aconsequence as actuallyfollowed. The NYM was aturbulent party and controversyamong the leadership wasnothing new. Thus Dr K. A.Abayomi, President of the YouthMovement after its reconstructionin 1938, was replaced a year laterand is reported to have resignedfrom the Legislative Councilpartly as a result of having fallenfrom favour within the party. In1941 the split might easily havebeen averted since the death of

joined the governor’s ExecutiveCouncil in 1943; H O Davies,

the General Secretary withdrewto serve as a governmentmarketing officer; Akinsanyawent home to his village andbecame the Odemo of Ishara, achief; and others drifted away.The one exception to the processof disintegration of themovement was a development inthe period 1941-1944 in Ibadan.Under the leadership of

Chief Obafemi Awolowo, thenan Ijebu cocoa trader, a group oftraders and intellectuals madeefforts to reform the movement.

Indeed, Awolowo had becomewary of the lethargy in the NYMduring this period. He organisedtwo Western Regionalconferences of the NYM between1942 and 1944 in Ibadan, wherehe was based, to rejuvenate theorganisation.

Provisionalcommittee

According to Coleman, the lastof the conferences which heldbefore Awolowo’s departure forLondon for further studies passeda resolution of no confidence inthe Lagos executive of themovement, and established aprovisional committee to conductthe affairs of the movementduring the interim period beforethe planned All-Nigeria

VANGUARD'S EXCLUSIVE BOOK SERIALS Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2014—55

•Azikiwe: Succeeded Macaulay as NCNCpresident

•Awolowo: Founded Action Group

Azikiwe’s break with the NYM leadershipset the stage for the political fusion of theIgbo, southern minority elements and theYoruba masses of Lagos, which tookorganisational form in 1944.


Representative Councilscheduled to hold in June 1944.Before the council could meethowever, Awolowo left for furtherstudies in England, and themovement for reform andrejuvenation of the NYM whichhe started was largelyabandoned.

It should be noted however thatuntil 1938, although the variouspolitical organisations thatemerged frequently referred to“Nigeria” in their names andstated objectives, their activitieshardly went beyond Lagos. Butbetween the period 1938-1941when H O Davies and Azikiwewere active in the NYM,branches were established inIbadan, Ijebu-Ode, Warri andBenin City in the west; Aba,Enugu, Port Harcourt andCalabar in the east; and amongsouthern expatriate groups inJos, Kaduna, Zaria and Kano inthe north.

Olayinka Alakija had created asecond vacancy in the LegislativeCouncil that was contested thatsame year. Obafemi Awolowo has[in his The Autobiography ofChief Obafemi Awolowo (1960)]reviewed the controversy from apartisan standpoint andattributed the fall of the NYMmainly to the tactics of Nnamdi

Azikiwe. (Op. cit., p. 54f)In any event, Azikiwe’s break

with the NYM leadership set thestage for the political fusion of theIgbo, southern minority elementsand the Yoruba masses of Lagos,which took organisational formin 1944.

Post-Akinsanya crisis and theemergence of the NCNC:Shortly after the Ikoli-Akinsanyaepisode of 1941, most of theleaders of the NYM becamedisenchanted or distracted bywar-time changes and turned toother things. Azikiwe hadresigned, of course. Dr Abayomi

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Private jets: House probe, and matters arisingBy LAWANI MIKAIRU

THE recent upsurge inthe acquisition of private

jets by individuals and govern-ment officials has attracted theattention of Nigerians with theongoing probe by the Houseof Representatives of the al-leged unofficial use of char-tered planes by the PetroleumMinister,Mrs Diezannai Ali-son-Madueke.

Mrs Madueke is alleged tohave “expended more thanN10 billion on charter andmaintenance of a Challenger850 aircraft.” Findings re-vealed that more than 42 pri-vate jets land at the MuritalaMuhammed International Air-port, Lagos, everyday.

One report said “private jetsacquisition has cost wealthy

Nigerians more than one tril-lion naira in five years. Theluxury trend actually rose by650 per cent between 2007 and2012. This has increased therate of private jet acquisitionfrom 20 in 2007 to more than150 in 2012 which has placedNigeria and China as the fast-est growing private jets mar-kets in the world.”

The Regional Vice-President,Sales, Middle East, Africa andTurkey, Bombardier BusinessAircraft, the Canada-based air-craft manufacturing firm, Mr.Khadar Mattar, who spoke onthe sidelines of Nigerian Eco-nomic Summit organised byLondon-based Economist inLagos was quoted as sayingthat his company delivered 88out of the 138 aircraft current-ly flying in Nigeria.

According to Mattar “In Ni-geria, we are looking at anoth-er 60 to 70 new business air-craft within the next five years;that is about 10 airplanes ayear. There are 138 airplanesin Nigeria at the moment.Bombardier is currently lead-ing the market in Nigeria andAfrica. Twelve new ones shouldbe delivered this year.

Medium and large sizeprivate jets

“Most medium-size andlarge-size private jets current-ly go for between $30m and$65m. Taking an average priceof $40m per aircraft, the 12 newprivate jets slated for deliveryin Nigeria this year are expect-ed to cost about $480m(N76.8bn).” The Bombardier

senior official also said he ex-pected the 138 private jets cur-rently in the country to doubleto 276 in the next 10 years be-cause of the manner the busi-ness aircraft market was grow-ing in Nigeria.

Former Governor of AnambraState, Peter Obi, was quoted assaying during the opening cer-emony of the Second CatholicBishops Conference of Nige-ria held in Umuahia in Sep-tember 2012, “that more than123 private jets were registeredin the country in that yearalone.”

According to Adeniyi Kola-wole, Secretary, ConcernedCitizens of Nigeria “ Some ofthe most modern jets are ownedby serving and former gover-nors, even governors of poorstates that hardly afford to paythe salaries of their workers.

alleged N10 billion thePetroleum Minister issaid to have expendedon the maintenance ofthe chartered plane.

It will be recalled thatthe House of Represen-tatives has been probingthe Petroleum Ministerover an allegation thatshe “has expended overN10 billion on charterand maintenance of aChallenger 850 aircraft.”However, the NigerianNational Petroleum Cor-poration, NNPC, has de-nied the existence of achartered aircraft for ex-clusive use of the Minis-ter .

The former NNPC Act-ing Group General Man-ager, Group Public AffairsDivision, Dr. OmarFarouk Ibrahim, had in astatement said that “con-trary to the informationbeing peddled is somequarters, Mrs. Alison-Madueke has not char-tered any aircraft for herpersonal use or the useof her family.” Dr. Ibra-him also insisted that theCorporation is empow-ered to own or charterairplane to ensure promptdischarge of its activitiesin line with global bestpractice

He said, “NNPC, how-ever, notes that in conso-nance with the legal in-strument which establish-es the Corporation as acommercial entity to en-gage in the oil and gassector, the NNPC incourse of discharging itsstatutory and commercialfunctions engages thirdparties for the provisionof services outside of itscore business.”

What observers aresaying is: If the Housemust probe the minister,the probe must be ex-tended to all governmentofficials who are usingpublic money to takechartered flights insteadof going on scheduledcommercial flights whichare cheaper.

Something is definitely wrongwith our value system. It is sadthat this is happening in acountry where more than 70 percent of the people live belowpoverty line.”

He further said, “ But that isnot all, several Nigerians, es-pecially those in public offices,have equally resorted to thehiring of private jets for regu-lar trips within Nigeria andaround the world often at as-tounding costs to the country.According to findings by Trans-parency Action Group, thosewho regularly hire private jetsinclude private and govern-ment officials.”

It is interesting that somemembers of the House are alsoflying chartered jets regularly.And it is believed that this mayprevent the House from carry-ing out a holistic probe of the


Igbo filmmakersdeclareone weekmourning

FILM makers from theeastern part of the

country under the aegis ofOhanaeze Ndigbo Nolly-wood, ONN, yesterday,declared one-week tomourn the demise of afrontline film producerand director, Amaka Igwewho died on Mondaynight at the age of 51.

Mrs Igwe who producedthe popular TV series,‘Checkmate’ and ‘FujiHouse of Commotion’passed on in Enugu,Enugu State on Mondayfollowing an asthma at-tack.

In a statement by itspresident, Nze HarrisChuma, the body direct-ed its members to observea week mourning periodin honour of the deceasedwhich commenced sinceWednesday, April 29, andis expected to end onMay 6, 2014.

According to Nze Chu-ma, “Amaka Igwe was in-strumental to the successof Nollywood brand thatwe are feeding on. Fromthe fillers I have gotten sofar, film makers from theIgbo extraction are com-plying with the directive,especially those of themwho are based in Port Har-court, Enugu and Asaba.”

Film producersand directors

In the same vein, Gov-ernor Sullivan Chime ofEnugu State, yesterday,expressed shock at thesudden demise of oneNigeria’s best known filmproducers and directors.

The Governor, in a state-ment signed by his ChiefPress Secretary Chukwu-di Achife, described thelate Mrs Igwe as an iconand pacesetter in the Ni-gerian movie industrywhose pioneering workshad inspired many andbrought glory to the na-tion.

He said, her death at theprime age of 51, will leavea huge vacuum in the in-dustry where she had ex-celled with uncommonvigour, creativity and dil-igence.

Chime extended hissympathies to the de-ceased family and thenation’s entertainmentcommunity asking themto take solace in the en-during legacies that sheleft behind.

•as Gov. SullivanChime condoles family

AMAKA IGWE:

By BENJAMIN NJOKU

VanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardCLASSIFIED

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YOU CAN B O O K Y O U R A D V E RT SAT OU R

L A G O S I S L A N D O F FI C E —VA N G U A R D M E D I A L I M I T E D

(LAGOS OFFICE)K I O S K 4 8 , E A S T PAV I L I O N ,

T B S , L A G O S .

VANGUARD'S LAGOS OFFICE

How voluntary blooddonation saved mylife — Pharmacist

VERA Nwanze woke upone morning in 2007,

feeling rather unwell. She hadgone to bed hale and hearty theprevious night, but the nextmorning, there was a sharp,throbbing pain in her lowerabdomen. Instinctively, sheknew something was wrong.

“I was feeling dizzy, fever-ish, and sweating profusely,”she told Good Health Weekly.Although Vera, a pharmacist,and today, the Country GroupHead, Novartis Pharma Serv-ices, English West Africa, didnot know it at that time, hercondition was an emergency.

Pregnancy: “I was pregnantbut didn’t know it. It was my5th pregnancy. Few days ear-lier, I felt weak. I had called insick and my boss gave me theday off. My doctor gave me painmedication and I also took an-tibiotics. But I felt no relief. Bythe time my husband decidedto take me to the hospital, Icould no longer stand or movemy arms and legs. My limbswere heavy; my stomach wasslightely swollen and painfulto the touch.”

BY SOLA OGUNDIPE

• A donor during the voluntary blood donation drive by Novartis Pharma at the LUTH last week.

nor. We mark every April 26 tocommemorate the merger inApril 1996 of Ciba-Geigy andSandoz to form NovartisPharma. The event this yearcoincided with World MalariaDay. This year, we decided togo on a blood donation drivebecause of the need to haveavailability and sustainabilityof blood banks in Nigeria.Blood is vital to the body. Thetarget is to save 120 livesthrough voluntary blood dona-tion of 120 units of blood.Blood keeps the body alive.”

All Novartis staff joined in theinitiative to donate blood inNigeria across major cities, andin health institutions in Ghanaas well, similar activity held.

The ultimate message fromthe donation drive was to en-courage the community toregularly be part of the initia-tive and to donate blood vol-untarily to enable hospitalshave a sustainable blood bank,so that when patients needblood, it will be readily avail-able to save lives.

Non-availability of safe bloodhas long been identified as oneof the major challenges of thenation’s healthcare system.

•Pharm Vera Nwanze, Country Group Head, Novartis Pharma Services, EnglishWest Africa, being checked before donating blood during the exercise.

in which a pregnant womancould bleed into the space be-tween the placenta and theuterine wall.

Seriousemergency

“An obstetrician calls it abrup-tio placenta; it is an internalbleeding, but requires that par-ticular obstetrician who ishighly suspicious to observethat the uterus and placentahave separated. This is a veryserious emergency. A womanin this situation requires bloodtransfusion otherwise thewoman would bleed to death.

“This is one of the reasons weinsist that all husbands of preg-nant women must donate bloodin anticipation of complicationsduring the pregnancy. Luckily,90-95 percent of women do nothave this complication. But the5-10 percent that will requiretransfusion services and whoselife span is hanging in the bal-ance, except under the watch-ful eyes of the competent ob-stetrician and in a hospital set-ting where blood is readilyavailable.”

Voluntary donation: A sur-vey of the total blood collectedin hospitals nationwide con-ducted by the Federal Minis-try of Health in 2005-2007showed that Nigerian hospitalscollected 1.2-1.3 million units

of blood.The World Health Organisa-

tion, WHO, recommends that 5percent of the population of acommunity must have donatedblood at least once in a year, or10 percent of the eligible blooddonors of that population, musthave donated blood at leastonce in a year. Estimates sayin Nigeria, 7-8 million litres ofblood should be collected perannum.

“I congratulate Novartis au-thorities on this decision. Thisis indeed the way to go if wewant to impact on health indi-ces in Nigeria. The most im-portant person in transfusionmechanism is the blood donor.If there is no blood donor, that

is no transfusion, therefore itbehoves on those of us in thetransfusion mechanism prac-tice to ensure the welfare andsafety of the blood donor.

Donor safety: Donor safetyhas been designed in such away that it is safe. To donateblood, a person must have suf-ficient blood and be in goodhealth. A voluntary donor,Otshemona, who donated forthe first time described the ex-perience as a noble way of giv-ing back to society.” I’m gladI’m giving out my blood tosomeone who will need it.When you think about the soulyou are going to save it is athing of joy.

If there was no blood to save my life atthat point, I would have been dead

, ,

58—Vanguard,58—Vanguard,58—Vanguard,58—Vanguard,58—Vanguard, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, MAY 2, MAY 2, MAY 2, MAY 2, MAY 2, 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014

always there. Andthere is nothing youcan do when an in-dividual is rapidlylosing blood otherthan to replace whatis lost. So we needregular blood dona-tion.”

Lamenting thatthis is one of themajor issues inhealthcare deliverytoday, Akanmu saidvolunteering to do-nate blood is rel-evant because it isgoing to save a lotof lives.

He related anemergency scenario

Although Vera and herspouse are medically inclined,could not interpret what washappening. On arrival at thehospital, she had gone all frail.“All my blood had leaked intomy stomach, and I was diag-nosed with ectopic pregnancy.More than three quarters of myblood had drained out of mybody. But not a drop leakedout. I was lapsing in and outof consciousness.” Vera wasrushed into the operating thea-tre and immediately transfusedwith four pints of blood to keepher alive.

Safe blood: “If not for avail-ability of safe blood, I wouldnot be here today. Assumingthere was no blood to save mylife at that point, I would havebeen dead,” she recounted.

Vera who related her per-sonal experience last week atthe Lagos University TeachingHospital, LUTH, Idi-Araba,Lagos, during the NovartisPharma Community Partner-ship Day, said the experiencehas forever changed her per-ception about the essence ofvoluntary blood donation.

“It was one of the motivatingfactors that compelled me tobecome a voluntary blood do-

Lamenting the challenge of ob-taining safe blood in hospitalsin the country, Head, Haema-tology and Blood Transfusion,LUTH, Professor SulaimanAkanmu, said the whole ideais to encourage regular volun-teer blood donation.

No donors, no blood: “Theway we do it in Nigeria is notacceptable. We do not havevolunteer blood donors or fam-ily replacement donors. Fami-lies refuse blood donation, yetif there are no blood donors,there will be no blood to trans-fuse. In emergencies, there isno emergency greater thanloss of blood.

“When a patient is losingblood, that person’s life can bemeasured in minutes. Whenpeople get involved in aghastly road accident, manywill bleed to death at the spot.A number will get Good Sa-maritans to take them to thehospital where several morewill also expire during trans-portation and at the hospital.

“What is painful, usually, arethose lives that are lost whenthey have been taken to thehospital. Those lives get lostbecause the blood bank cannotsalvage them since blood is not

CMYK


L-R: Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Prof. Modupe Adelabu; Chairman, All ProgressivesCongress, APC, Ekiti State, Chief Jide Awe; Governor Kayode Fayemi; former Gover-nor of Ekiti State, Otunba Niyi Adebayo; and Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr. YemiAdaramodu, during the Fayemi Re-Election campaign tour at Iyin-Ekiti, in Irepodun/Ifelodun LGA... on Thursday.

Bamidele is too ambitious — AdebayoBY EMMANUEL

AZIKEN, POLITICALEDITOR

FORMER governor ofEkiti State, Otunba

Niyi Adebayo has de-scribed the Labour Partycandidate, Mr. OpeyemiBamidele as too ambitiousand a man who should notbe trusted with power.

Adebayo who is fromIyin Ekiti, the base of Ba-midele spoke at a cam-paign rally for Dr. KayodeFayemi when the Fayemicampaign carnivaltouched ground in thetown.

Adebayo told the homecrowd that it would be amistake to vote for Bam-idele whose aspiration hesaid does not represent thecollective will of the peo-ple.

“I am the one who intro-duced my brotherOpeyemi to you and ap-pealed to you to vote forhim when he wanted tobecome a legislator. Butless than three months af-ter he was elected into theHouse of Representatives,he came to tell me hewanted to become gover-nor.

“I sat him down and toldhim the futility of his aspi-ration. Because one, hehas not done anything tojustify the confidence ofthe people that put him inthe House. Two, I told himIyin Ekiti where we bothcome from had less thanten years ago produced agovernor that Ekiti peoplewill see us (Iyin Ekiti) asgreedy and unreasonable

people if we now want toproduce another governorwhile other towns have yetto do so.

“I then advised him todelay his aspiration till thetime it would be okay foran Iyin man to come out.But he refused and said hemust be governor at all costand that he could do italone with or without thesupport of the people.

“Iyin Ekiti has benefitedtremendously from theFayemi administration interms of people-orientedprojects and number of ap-pointments. Iyin alone hasabout three commissionersand other strategic ap-pointments under Fayemi,and given the quality ofwork he is doing, I wantyou to vote massively forFayemi,” Adebayo added.

Fayemi on his part hailedAdebayo for being a trueleader who is not given toprimordial sentiments, ashe promised to do a lotmore for Iyin people if vot-ed in for a second term.

Throwing shots at Bam-idele and Ayo Fayose, thePDP candidate, describedthem as bad products say-ing while “one is inexpe-rienced and not trust wor-thy, while the other is reck-less and had made a shipwreck of his first assign-ment.”

The campaign trainwhich included, the dep-uty governor, Prof ModupeAdelabu, Speaker of theHouse, Dr Adewale Omi-rin; Secretary to the StateGovernment, AlhajiGaniyu Owolabi; APCChairman, High ChiefJide Awe; Commissionerfor Environment, Dr Enio-la Ajayi; Commissioner forWorks, Mr Sola Adebayoamong others had earliervisited the palace of theOluyin of Iyin, ObaAdemola Ajakaiye.

Ex-Council chairmen back Fayose

WHILE former Governor Adebayo is

clearly pushing for hisparty man, Fayemi, the in-clinations of former Gov-ernor Segun Oni remainsin the realm of specula-tion.

Engr. Oni’s inclinationsnonetheless, local govern-ment chairmen whoserved under his admin-istration, yesterday cameout to throw support for thePDP candidate, Ayo Fay-ose.

Led by Chief ObafemiFalayi, the former councilchairmen said that theirmotive for pledging theirsupport was for the PDPto win, stressing that theirprayer was for the best can-didate to win to push outthe Fayemi Administra-tion.

A press statement is-sued by Fayose’s spokes-man, Mr Idowu Adelusiquoted the former councilchairmen as describingthe PDP candidate as thebest thing that has hap-pened to the Ekiti PDP.

They therefore promised

to work for the victory ofthe PDP candidate in theforthcoming election.

Responding, Mr Fayosewelcomed the formercouncil officials and prom-ised to conduct local gov-ernment election as soonas he becomes the gover-nor. Fayose told them thathe was not out to discrim-

inate against anybody, say-ing PDP in Ekiti State wasone and the leaders weremore united.

He appealed to the fol-lowers to be mindful oftheir actions and inactionsthat can divide the party,stressing “Adeyeye, Olubolade,

Omoyeni and other lead-ers are with me to win thisstate for the PDP.

” When I was governorthen, I tried to be impar-tial in handling party mat-ters. I will not pay evil withevil but pay evil with good.I want the PDP to be stronglike the way I left it.”

APC, LP in war of words afterFayemi’s rally in Iyin Ekiti

BY GBENGA ARIYIBIADO EKITI

THE APC and LabourParty were yesterday

drawn into a war of wordsafter eight LP supporterswere arrested in Iyin Eki-ti, the hometown of the LPcandidate, Opeyemi Bam-idele.

While the APC describedthe men as thugs, LP de-scribed them as local folkswho protested after “cult-ists” allegedly invaded theresidence of the LP’s can-didate’s father, Pa Ogun-juyigbe Bamidele.

Eight hoodlums wereyesterday arrested by menof the Ekiti State PoliceCommand at Iyin EkitiEkiti, Irepodun/IfelodunLocal Government Area ofthe state for allegedlyblocking the Ado-Iyin roadand preventing free ve-hicular movement

Vehicularmovement

According to the policeimage maker in the state,Mr Victor Babayemi , someof the Weapons recoveredfrom the hoodlums include two cut lasses ,axe , cata-pult and other dangerousweapons.

Babayemi added that thehoodlums were arrestedfor engaging in conductlikely to cause breach ofpublic peace.

He ,however, fell short ofmentioning the name ofthe political party the hood-lums were associated with.

“They barricaded thehighway and preventedother party members andother road users from pass-

ing. They were arrested atabout 9.30am this morn-ing”, he said.

“Tension was mountingthrough their actions andunder such situation wehave a duty to perform. Wehave to ensure that thereis no breakdown of lawand order”

The hoodlums, accordingto PPRO are now beingdetained at the Policeheadquarters in Ado Eki-ti, the Ekiti State capital.

But a statement emanat-ing from the KayodeFayemi Campaign organi-zation alleged that thosethat were arrested weremembers of Labour Party.

In the statement signedby Director of Media of theoutfit, Dimeji Daniels, al-leged that “they besiegedthe palace of Oluyin ofIyin,Oba Ademola Aja-kaiye, with the intent ofpreventing the monarchfrom receiving GovernorKayode Fayemi who visit-ed six towns, includingIyin-Ekiti, hometown ofOpeyemi Bamidele, theLP gubernatorial candi-date in the June 21 elec-tion, in the Local Govern-ment”

However, a statementsigned by Bamidele’sMedia aide , Ahmed Sal-ami blamed the APC forthe violence in the town,saying some suspectedcult members numberingabout twenty at about9.15pm on Wednesdaystormed the private resi-dence of Pa OgunjuyigbeBamidele, the 85 year oldfather of Hon Bamidele,Salami said."

I will remove your yoke, Fayose tells Ekitiworkers

THE PDP candidate,Ayo Fayose has

promised to remove theyoke he claims theincumbent governmenthas placed on workers ofthe state.

Fayose stated thisyesterday while salutingthe Ekiti workers on theoccasion of Workers’ Dayduring his visit to Ward 9in Ado LocalGovernment Area of thestate in continuation ofhis campaign tour ofwards in Ado LocalGovernment.

A press statement

issued by Fayose’sspokesman, Mr IdowuAdelusi said:

” F a y e m i ’ sadministration chastisedthe workers withscorpion and placedheavy yoke on theirnecks, the incoming PDPgovernment underFayose will remove theyoke, heal all yourbruises and put smile onyour faces.

”The PDP governmentsunder Segun Oni andAyo Fayose conductedlocal governmentelections, but the AD/

ACN/APC governmentsunder Niyi Adebayo andKayode Fayemi failed toconduct local governmentelection.

” Nothing good butsuffering can come fromAPC government becausethey are full of deceit. Ifyou workers should returnFayemi, the teachersshould expect mass sackthrough political test, anddelay of salary due tozero allocation and /orhuge debt hanging onour neck incurred by theFayemi administration,”the statement deposed.


CMYK


Westerhof

Continues from B/P

parade in Brazil andpredicted a good outingfor Nigeria at the WorldCup.

He said that he wasproud of the job Keshi isdoing with Nigeria,adding that he expectednothing less going by theleadership qualitiesKeshi displayed ascaptain of the Eagles.

On the players he saidthat they could surprisethe world and repeatedlymentioned a “terrificplayer in Spain”amongothers. Asked if theplayer he meant was IkeUche, he screamed ‘yes’.He has watched a coupleof games Uche hasplayed this season andsaid that the Villarealstriker has been in greatshape.

Westerhof wasdisappointed when hewas told why Keshi maybe reluctant to invite IkeUche to camp.

Uche was reportedlysaid to have continuouslycampaigned againstKeshi’s tactical approachand was said to haveeven complained tosenior authorities aboutthis during the lastNations Cup.Incidentally, Uche playedbadly during the NationsCup. He played assupport striker but wassaid to have bluntlyrefused to fall deep tomark in the games thathe played. And Keshi,apparently feeling that itwas unwise to invite aplayer who did notbelieve in his approach,left him out during thequalifying games for theWorld Cup. He wasscared of sabotage andhas repeatedly said thatteam spirit mattered somuch that he would makeit a strong considerationfor the invitation ofplayers to the World Cup

camp.“It is bad if Uche

behaved like that. If aplayer did that to me offhe goes, I tell you. Butsometimes a coach is afather to the whole team.”

Westerhof said thatNigeria had the potentialto reach the semifinal ofthe World Cup if “theymake good selection andprepare the team verywell.”

He is in town with aDutch television crewdoing a documentary onNigerian football in hisera and how he was ableto earn Nigeria numbera 5th place in fifa ranking.Tomorrow will be specialas he marks his birthdayin Lagos. Keshi, AloyAgu, Austin Eguavoenare among those who willgather in Ikeja to wishhim well when HotelDiplomat hosts him tocelebrate his birthday.

Brazil 2014

Continues from B/P

gathered that in thelast meeting Keshi hadwith the NFF bigwigs hewas congratulated overhis reconciliation withStoke City forward,Osaze Odemwingie butwas made to sweat overhis hard stance on IkeUche.

Speculations were rifeduring the week thatKeshi’s list would bedominated by the Afcon2013 winning squadwith a few additions thathave featured in some ofthe friendly matches theteam has played so far.

Some of the playerswho were not part of the2013 Afcon squad like

Osaze Odemwingie andGermany based LeonBalogun are heavilyfavoured to be part of thepreliminary squadexpected to assemble inEngland May 26, aheadof the internationalfriendly againstScotland at CravenCottage on May 28.

If there are going to beany new faces, thesemight include Belgiumbased duo MichaelUchebo, Imoh Ezekiel,Spain based RamonAzeez and ChineduOgbuke Obasi based inGermany.

A member of the NFFtechnical committee,

Paul Bassey hadpromised news men aftertheir April 22 meetingthat the list will bereleased this week. Heexplained that thereason was to allow formore consultation so asto be able to come outwith a list of players thatNigeria would be happywith.

AdebayorContinues from B/P

whether the girls arestill alive, Tottenham’sEmmanuel Adebayorhas joined those callingfor their release. Heexpressed concern onhis Instagram account.

The Togointernational’s heartfeltmessage read: “Over 200girls have beenkidnapped in a school inNigeria over 2 weeksago. This needs to end

now.“As a father it breaks

my heart knowing thatthe kidnapping of thesegirls hasn’t beenresolved yet and theyare still missing.

“As the whole worldcan search for a planethat is missing, theycertainly can help outbringing these schoolchildren home. Bringback our girls home.”

Ancelotti:Continues from B/PMadrid, people arehappy that the greatfinal will be aMadrilenian one. In afinal there is nofavourite. Atlético ishaving a very goodleague; it will beanyone’s final”, he saidon Sky Italia.

The Italian was veryhappy with what wasachieved at the Alianz:“Obviously, I’mdelighted. We have toenjoy these positivemoments becausesooner or later the badones will come.

Delta Federation Cup: Warri Wolvestackle Bobbies FC in finalTHERE will be fireworks

at the Warri TownshipStadium this Sunday, asWarri Wolves take onBobbies United FootballClub in the final of the 2014Delta State FederationCup. Kick off time is 4 pm.

Apart from the footballartistery expected to be ondisplay, the stadium willalso witness series ofpodium celebration as theDelta State FA is set to hosta galaxy of personalitiesduring the grand finale ofthe federation cup.

Highlight of the grandfinale to be beamed live onSupersports Channelwould be the presentationof awards to deservingindividuals which includeHis Excellency, Dr.Emmanuel Uduaghan, theGovernor of Delta State(DFA Emerald Award),Prof. Amos Utuama, SAN,the Deputy Governor (DFAPlatinum Award), Dr. JohnOganwu (DFA PlatinumAward), Larry Izamoje

(Football Personality of theyear Award), Jibril Aku,Managing Director,Ecobank (DFA LifetimeAchievement Award), AdeOjeikere (Football MediaExcellence Award), PiusOrigho (Post-humousFootball Fanatic LegendAward) and Solomon Ogba(DFA Special RecognitionAward).

The Delta State FootballAssociation has raised thestakes of private sectorparticipation in footballactivities, having securedthe longest sponsorship inAfrica’s football history withEcobank Nigeria Limitedfor an uninterrupted 15thyear running.

According to the DeltaFA Chairman, Mr. AmajuMelvin Pinnick who is alsothe helmsman of the SportsCommission in the State,“this is an anniversaryedition of an FA Cup final,which would by no meansless glamorous,entertaining and exciting.”

Ogba to flag off OkpekpeRace

PRESIDENT of theAthletic Federation of

Niger ia ,Evangel i s tSolomon Ogba will flagoff the 2nd Okpekpe10km road race tomorrowin Okpekpe,Edo state.

Disclosing this in Auchiyesterday,the race’stechnical manager,YusufAli said Ogba is a fittingchoice because of hisposition as the leader ofthe athletics family inNigeria and a lover ofsports.

‘There was nohesitation over the choiceof chief Ogba,’’said Aliwho assured allarrangements for a verysuccessful event havebeen concluded.

‘We have some of thebest personnel on groundto oversee the race andensure everythingcomplies with thestandard set by theInternational ‘We have

one of Nigeria’s most ac-complished coaches andformer Nigeria middleand long distancerunner,Tony Osheku inour team. He is the Routemanager while the onlystatistician recognised bythe ATFS (Association ofTrack and FieldStatistician) inNigeria,Samuel Fatunlawill be the Finishmanager while retiredColonel Jaiye Abidoyewho was in Nigeria’sOlympic team in 1972 inMunich will be the Startmanager,’revealed Ali.

NBBF names 24 All Star playersTHE Nigeria Basketball

Federation, NBBF, hasreleased a list of 24 playersand six officials from theAtlantic and SavannahConferences of the DstvPremier League for thisweekend’s All Stars gamescheduled for theUniversity of Lagos indoorhall in Akoka, Lagos.

According to the NBBF/DStv League Director,Agboola Pinheiro, 12players and three officialseach were selected from thetwo conferences for thegame holding in Lagos onSaturday with Kano Pillarsand Mark Mentorsdominating the SavannahConference list.

“The SavannahConference will behandled by coaches PeterAhmedu (Mark Mentors)and AbdulrahamanMohammed(GombeBulls) with formerinternational, Lawal Garba

as Team Manager whileCoaches AdeboyeAderiboye (OluyoleWarriors) and ChrisNomingo (DodanWarriors) will handle theAtlantic Conference teamwith former international,Deji Jaiyeola as Team

Manager,” Pinheirodisclosed in Lagos.

Coach Sani Ahmed ofKano Pillars is Head coachof the Savannah All Starsteam but has some familycommitments while Headcoach of the AtlanticConference.

•Egwuekwe: Wolves skipper.


08053068728

Ndanusa’s regret!,

,I feel we should continue topursue the objective of massparticipation in sports

SANI Ndanusa hasbeen the President

of Nigeria TennisFederation for over adecade.

He has served assports minister duringwhich he became thePresident of NigeriaOlympic Committee, apost he holds till date.He has one regret today.

As sports minister hecould not realise onedream. He had plannedto use his position toinfluence massparticipation in sportsfrom the localgovernments to the stateand national levels.

In a chat recently,Ndanusa said that thestory of Gokana LocalGovernment, in RiversState, which he read onthis column on January10 this year brought himmixed feelings. He wasextremely excited aboutthe achievement of theLocal Government andat the same time sad thatother local governmentsin the country have nottaken such giant stridesin sports development.

I picked Gokana as myLocal Government of theYear and commendedtheir chairman, DemuaLedee Demua, for hisvision for sports. Gokanacommissioned an 8,000capacity stadium withfacilities for track andfield , tennis courts anda swimming pool. It’s asmall sports complexwhich the localgovernment builtwithout any fundingfrom the stategovernment. They wonmy heart. And I toldthem so. I do know thatif not for the culture ofcorruption in the countrymany local governmentswould be on the samepage with Gokana forthey have the capacity tobuild similar structuresand engender somekind of sports revolutionin the country. Suchfacilities will lead to thekind of massparticipation thatNdanusa was talkingabout. And that’s somekind of revolution. Suchfacilities in our localgovernment areas willcertainly attract peopleto use them andorganise programmesthat could producetalents. The lack of suchfacilities is denying uspotential worldchampions in manyareas. Ndanusa said thisto me:

“I read your columnon Gokana and it mademe recall my plan whenI was sports minister.My plan was to meetstate governors and getthe federal governmentto encourage them tobuild such facilities allover the country. The

type of massparticipation that willproduce world beaters. Istrongly feel that we canstill do it and must notgive up. His Excellency,the Governor of DeltaState, Dr. EmmanuelUduaghan hadpromised to take me tothe Governors’ Forum sothat I would be givenfew minutes to addressthem and sell the idea tothem. The idea was forState Governors toencourage localgovernments in theirstates to embark on suchprojects by providing acertain percentage of thecost. You can imaginewhat sports will be likeif we have sportsfacilities in many localareas. The effect will betremendous. In years tocome Nigeria would beamong the best in theworld because we havetalents and would haveproduced stars. Theproblem is that we lackthe facilities to nurturethem into stardom. Icommend Gokana LocalGovernment. I commendyou on your columns andI feel we shouldcontinue to pursue theobjective of massparticipation in sports.Construction of sportsfacilities will encouragethat. Other LocalGovernments shouldemulate Gokana ”

Well, Ndanusa spokewell. I’m sure that hisseeming short stay asminister of sports (andthe inability to executethe lofty idea) may notbe his only regret. Hecannot be celebratingthe state of the TennisFederation and NigeriaOlympic Committeewhich he heads. But thesystem is partly toblame. The NationalOlympic Committee ofEngland and manyother countries havehuge budgets fromwhich they grow sports.It is different in ourclime. NOC is so poorthat they lack resources

to run a decent officewhat more growingsports. The structuredoes not favour them.And they lack the will toradicalise their status.Our NOC depends onthe sports commissionfor survival. And it hasbeen an uphill task forthem. How can such abody then developsports like they do insome other climes? Andhow far is the NSCdoing? In AugustNigeria will participatein the CommonwealthGames. As I write, onlytrack and field appearsto have a programmeand they have campedtheir athletes. The NSCis waiting for budgetaryallocation to startpreparation. We cannotgrow sports this way.And I’m more interestedin real developmentprogrammes and not justparticipation in games.

The states have theresponsibility toproduce athletes for thesports ministry, NationalCommission or NOC asthe case may be. Butthey do not. Rather, thenational bodies try toproduce athletes for thestates. We will neverdevelop well this way.The mass participationNdanusa is dreamingabout may never berealised if the states donot change and starttaking sports seriously. Ihave mentioned Delta,Lagos and Cross Riveras the flag bearers insports development butI don’t see what othersare doing. Anambra, byappointing TonyNnachetta sportscommissioner, has sent asignal that somethingcould be in the offing.But that’s still far fromit. Let’s hope thegovernor, Willy Obiano,will, materially andfinancially, support theformer NFA ViceChairman to succeed.The buck stops on histable.

CMYK

CMYK


CMYK

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Website: www.vanguardngr.com (ISSN 0794-652X) Editor: MIDENO BAYAGBON. Phone: 01-7742861, All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos.

How to Play Sudoku

Place a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line canhave two of the same number).

Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (alsonine lines from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within abold block (nine blocks) contains number from 1through 9. This means that no number can appear twicein any block, column or row.

No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, divisionor multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination.

YESTERYESTERYESTERYESTERYESTERDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSTODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLE

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS

VANGUARD,VANGUARD,VANGUARD,VANGUARD,VANGUARD,FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2014FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2014FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2014FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2014FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2014

QUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDACROSS1 Throng (5)5 Broadcasting (6)8 Perch (5)10 Save (6)11 Otherwise (4)14 Customer (6)15 Compete (7)18 Enclosure (3)19 Scull (3)21 Expensive (4)23 Remedied (5)24 Skin (4)27 Fixed (3)29 Fish (3)31 Aloof (7)32 Trader (6)34 Insect (4)35 Harmony (6)38 Crawl (5)39 Ordain (6)40 Cogs (5)

DOWN2 Fish-eggs (3)3 Garland (6)4 Rabbit (3)5 Pace (4)6 Squandered (6)7 Store (6)9 Threatening (7)12 Circuit (3)13 Sea-eagle (4)16 Formerly (4)17 Challenged (5)20 Train (7)22 Soon (4)24 Cushioned (6)25 Petal (4)26 Cashier (6)28 Band (6)30 Shelter (3)33 Tribe (4)36 Entrap (3)37 Abroad (3)

ACROSS: 1, Clutch 5, Ship 8, Aisle 9, Aft 10,Miss 11, Iris 12, Scope 13, Career 16, Leer 18,Eddy 20, Boa 22, Mad 23, Red 24, Harp 25,Item 28, Demure 30, Gouda 32, Drip 33, Idea34, Ire 35, Bound 36, less 37, Tennis.

DOWN: 1, Chance 2, Ulterior 3, Compel 4,Discarded 5, Slipper 6, Here 7, Pass 8, Ass14, Reminding 15, Odd 17, Eat 19,Delusion 20, Ban 21, Apropos 26, Menace27, Recess 29, Idol 30, Gibe 31, Add.

Westerhof arrives,speaks on Keshi, Ike Uche

BY ONOCHIEANIBEZE

C L E M E N SW e s t e r h o f ,

arguably, Nigeria’s bestever foreign coach,arrived the countryWednesday night andcontinued to speak on

Nigeria’s chances at the2014 World Cup.

He spoke on thequalities of StephenKeshi, Eagles currentcoach who captained theEagles of his era, theplayers Nigeria could

Continued on Page 61•Keshi

Brazil 2014: NFF, Keshi to releaseprovisional list May 6

•Westerhof

BY JACOB AJOM

SUPER Eagles coach,Stephen Keshi is

expected to meet withthe technical committeeof the Nigeria FootballFederation Tuesday,May 6 at the GlassHouse, Abuja.

The meeting will dwellon the long-anticipated38-man provisional listof the Nigerian squadfor the Brazil 2014 WorldCup.

Insiders hinted that thelist will be made publicafter the meeting whichis expected to be brief.

The meeting which is

coming on the heels ofan earlier one heldApril 22, that failed toyield expected result asNigerians were kept towait longer for the listwhich has beenshrouded in controversy.

Sports Vanguard

•Yobo

Boko Haram: Adebayorappeals for global attentionon abducted girls

IT’S been almost twoweeks since more

than 200 Nigerianschoolgirls werekidnapped by Islamistgroup, Boko Haram.

The sect membersabducted the girls fromtheir dormitories,loaded them onto trucks,before setting theboarding school ablaze.The girls are agedbetween 13 to 18.

With no news on

Ancelotti:Atlético deserveto be in the final

Eightpages ofSportsVanguardinside

ANCELOTTI hasgiven his first

impression of his club’srival in the ChampionsLeague final: “Atleticodeserve to be in the finalbecause they playedbetter than Chelsea. In

Continued on Page 61



•Adebayor

•Ike Uche

MAY DAY TRAGEDY: Scores die in fresh Abuja bombing

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