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Vol. 8 No. 57 Tuesday, June 12, 2012 Rajab 22, 1433 AH N150. . . putting the people first

Bandits go berserk,kill 23 in Zamfara

>> PAGE 2 >> PAGE 5

Man, 67,'rapes'

14-year-oldgirl

>> PAGE 19

Jaiz Banklicencenot atrisk- MD

>> PAGE 2

Reps queryPTDF

over auditreport

L-R: Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, Chairman, Technical and Administrative Review Panel OnDomestic Airlines, Group Captain John Obakpolor (rtd), member of the panel, Captain Mfon Udom, during theInauguration of the Panel, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-Owo Contd on Page 2

Kano masswedding:Four fakesuitorsunmasked

Contd on Page 2

From Salisu Zakari Maradun, Gusau

Armed bandits have yetagain attacked villagersin one of the sleepy

villages in the predominantlyrural state of Zamfara, killingno fewer than 23 persons.

The latest casualty figure

brings to at least 115 thenumber of persons killed sinceOctober last year in similarattacks by the wanderingarmed robbers who haveterrorised the arid villagesalong the Nigeria-Niger borderareas in Zamfara state.

In the latest incident which

occurred in the evening of lastSunday in Dan Gulbi Village ofMaru local government area ofthe state, the attackers,according to sources, launcheda massive onslaught on thevillage, apparently sensingthat it was a Market Day, whenmany people from

neighbouring villages throngthe village to buy and sell.

A source in the villagedisclosed that a “large numberof people carrying dangerousweapons, including guns,entered into the market andstarted shots in the air, causingcommotion among the people

who scampered for their lives,but ultimately shot and killed23 people”.

Most other eyewitnesses putthe death toll in Dan Gulbi at23, but a local governmentofficial claimed that the

Tinubu to Jonathan:RecogniseMKO, dropsentiment

From Edwin Olofu, Kano

The Kano state Hisbah Board said ithas unmasked two couples who werealready married and participated in

the last mass wedding organised by theboard in Kano recently.

Director General of the Kano stateHisbah Board, Malam Abba Said Sufi whodropped the hint yesterday while speak-ing with newsmen in his office, said one ofthe commanders of the board betrayedthem and presented two couples who werealready married.

He further revealed that the Hisbah

CONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSNews 2-11

Editorial 12

Op.Ed 13

Letters 14

Opinion 15

Metro 16-17

Business 19-22

S/Exchange 23

S/Report 24

Discourse 26

Newsxtra 27

Agriculture 29

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Jang is the major threatto peace in Jos, saysChom Bagu, Page 38

WE WANTTO HEAR

FROM YOU

International 31-34

Strange World 35

Digest 36

Politics 37-40

Sports 41-47

Columnist 48

PAGE 2 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012

Contd from Page 1

Kano mass wedding: Four fake suitors unmasked

Contd from Page 1

Bandits goberserk,kill 23 inZamfara

robbers killed 27 people.Ibrahim Sidi, an official

with the Maru localgovernment council toldAssociated Press (AP) that heand other officials counted thedead after the attack.

Talatu Mai Tasshi, a womanwho escaped the violence, saidshe hid inside of empty sacks asthe gunmen stalked otherpeople preparing to sell theirgoods.

The operation, according tothe source, lasted for about 3hours and also led to thedestruction of valuable itemsand property including cash,worth millions of naira by thebandits.

Hours later the police wentto the scene and evacuated thecorpses to a hospital in Gusau,saying that they wereinvestigating the incident.

The Police Public RelationsOfficer (PPRO), ASP SanusiAmiru, who confirmed theincident, said he will not makefurther comments on the issueuntil the Police Commissionerreturned from the scene of theincident.

According to a securitysource, some of the affectedtowns and their casualtiesinclude, Magami where about35 people lost their lives in twoseparate attacks; Dansadau lost15 people in a reprisal attackon it by the bandits after theresidents fend off an earlierattack.

Other towns affected includeBirnin Magaji which lost atleast 36 people who were killedand set ablaze while they werereturning from the market inanother town, and Lingu Adowhich witnessed the killing ofmore than seven people as aresult of the unhinderedactivities of the armed banditsthat appear to have madeZamfara a safe haven for theirheinous activities with little orno challenge from securityoperatives.

Tinubu to Jonathan: RecogniseMKO drop sentiment

Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN) chieftains, ChiefBola Ahmed Tinubu, and

Osun state governor, OgbeniRauf Aregbesola yesterdaycalled on President GoodluckJonathan to shun sentimentsand accord the acclaimed win-ner of the June 12, 1993 Presi-dential election, Chief MoshoodKashimawo Olawale Abiola abefitting recognition.

Aregbesola who played hostto frontline traditional rulersin the country in Osogbo whilespeaking against the back-ground of June 12 anniversaryurged the royal fathers to pre-vail on the President to recog-nize Abiola posthumously as aPresident-elect and accord himall his rights and privileges.

Speaking before that assem-blage of the nation’s traditionalrulers which include the Chair-man of the National Council ofTraditional Rulers and the Sul-tan of Sokoto, His EminenceMuhammad Sa’ad Abubakar;his co-chairman, Oba OkunadeSijuade, Ooni of Ife; Shehu ofBorno; Alhaji Dr. YahayaAbubakar, Etsu Nupe; and

By Lawrence Olaoye, Abuja,& Ayo Oloye, Lagos

other traditional rulers drawnfrom across the country, theOsun state governor said ac-cording Abiola his deservedhonours would go a long wayin healing the wounds inflictedon the psyche of the people bythe annulment of the June 12,1993 Presidential elections.

He said, “We demand forrecognition of the victory of Ni-gerians over disunity, back-wardness, poverty and primor-dial sentiments which MKO’ssweeping victory on June 12,1993 represented. Therefore,for the complete restitution ofthe nation’s battered psyche,MKO Abiola must be recognisedas a President-elect and givenall rights and priviledges de-serving of his Presidency. Thatis when his immortality can becomplete.”

In a similar circumstance,Tinubu said the only accept-able honour due to the late de-mocracy icon from Jonathanwas to declare him as the sec-ond duly elected President ofthe Federal Republic of Nige-ria.

According to him “Thespirit of June 12 is that of pa-triotism, that of a burning de-sire to join hands to build a bet-

ter country, June 12 was a re-jection of religious and tribalpolitics, a demonstration ofcommitment to the ideals of afree society and that of a doggedspirit to vote for the best candi-dates.”

He added “Now, the mosthonorable thing to do is for thegovernment of PresidentGoodluck Jonathan, to recog-nize M.K.O. Abiola as the sec-ond duly elected executivepresident of the Federal Repub-lic of Nigeria posthumously.We should accord him, even ifposthumously, the recognitionand all the rights and privi-leges due to that office. Finally,we should declare M.K.O’sbirthday a national public holi-day, just as it has been done inthe United States for MartinLuther King. Or June 12, thedate of the election could be de-clared a public holiday. I callupon all Nigerians, particu-larly politicians to imbibe thelessons of June 12 and by sohonor the man, Abiola, whomade it possible. The man whorevealed to us all what wenever knew about ourselvesthat though tribe and tonguemay differ, in brotherhood wecan still stand.”

Commander who brought thecouples from Gabasawa localgovernment area has been sus-pended and full investigationhas commenced on the issue.

Sufi added that the house fur-niture and the N20, 000 empow-erment fund, N10, 000 brideprice that were given to the pur-ported suitors by the state gov-

ernment to support their mar-riage have been retrieved byHisbah.

He warned that henceforthanyone caught will be pros-ecuted, noting that Hisbah hasnow set up a screening commit-tee headed by the district headof each local government thatcomprises of the Divisional Po-lice Officer and the head of the

State Security Service (SSS) ofthat local government.

He said the committee wouldscreen prospective couples begin-ning from their ward to avoidany foul play in the future.

It would be recalled that theboard had married out 100 couplesin an elaborate occasion held re-cently in Kano.

Sufi added that the board would

marry 250 divorcees and widowsbefore the beginning of theRamadan (Muslim fasting month),adding that Kano state Governor,Dr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso hasdirected the board to marry out4,000 widows and divorcees.

He added that already theyhave commenced training semi-nar for the would-be couples thatwill soon be married.

Reps query PTDF over audit report

The House of Representativesyesterday queried the officials of the Petroleum Trust

Development Fund (PTDF) overalleged diversion of the sum ofN2.8 trillion accrued to Fund fromsignature bonuses.

The Audit examination of thestatement of consolidated rev-enue fund for year ended 31stDecember 2006 further revealedshortfall in revenue collectionworth N81,904,469,177.27 oneight heads of recurrent revenue.

The committee during thescrutiny of the report also queriedthe N94 billion fund accrued toEcological account and requestedfor the submission of the man-dates as well as inflow and outflowstatements for year 2006 withinfour days.

The report, also queried theutilisation of multi-million nairagrants and donations by severalinternational agencies to manyfederal ministries, extra-ministe-

rial departments and agencies forimplementation of specificprogrammes which are beneficialto the nation.

The lawmakers expressed theconcerns during an interactivesession with management teamfrom the office of the AccountantGeneral of the Federation led byJonah Otunla.

Solomom Adeola, chairman,House Committee on Public Ac-counts, had queried the rationalebehind the diversion of publicfunds without following due pro-cess and recourse to the Ministerof Finance and office of the Accoun-tant General of the Federation.

Adeola also queried the unilat-eral diversion of N250 million forregistration of Galaxy Backboneand additional sum of N625 mil-lion for operational activities;N593 million deducted from N2.5trillion fund domiciled with theCentral Bank of Nigeria, notingthat management of PTDF "usedit to finance departments of gov-ernment for outsourcing

programme, the detail of theoutsourcing programmes was notin the books. From what we heard,and from very reliable source, thesignature bonus account is meantfor who?

"I agree with the Auditor Gen-eral that there are a lot of prob-lems in the Petroleum Trust De-velopment Fund and the accountas reported by the Auditor Gen-eral has been shrouded in secrecyand that particular account is notmade known to us."

While reacting, Mr. Babayaro,Director in charge of signaturebonus account, PTDF howevernoted that the approval for the re-lease of the PTDF was from thePresidency (by fiat) but managedby the Accountant General's of-fice.

To this extent, the Committeehas summoned management ofthe 22 agencies as well as DebtManagement Office (DMO) to ex-plain how the monies weresourced and spent.

By Lawrence Olaoye

PAGE 3PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012

Power tussle in PDP as Bamanga’saide, National Secretary trade tackcles

The Chief of Staff to thenational chairman of thePeoples Democratic Party

(PDP), Alhaji Abu Fari, yesterday,affirmed his supremacy over thenational secretary of the party,Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola.

Abu Fari in a letter in responseto an earlier one written byOyinlola to Tukur titled ‘Illegal actsprejudicial to the interest of thePeoples Democratic Party’ insistedthat he had the mandate of his bossto carry out his duties.

The response to the letter byTukur’s Chief of Staff was copied toPresident Goodluck Jonathan, VicePresident Namadi Sambo, SenatePresident David Mark, Speaker of

the House of Representatives,Aminu Tambuwal, chairman ofGovernors’ Forum, ChibuikeAmaechi, PDP chairman, BamangaTukur and all members of theNational Working Committee(NWC), dated June 8, 2012.

Abu Fari said: “All letterswritten by me including the oneyou mentioned were done anddispatched on the authority of thenational chairman”.

He added: “I sincerely believethat the correspondence was ingood faith and without anycalculated attempt to undermineyour office as you misrepresented.For your information, there wasno correspondence in effect carriedout by me without directives of thenational chairman. You may wish

By Lawrence Olaoye to cross check in order to ascertainmy source of authority”.

On the insistence of the nationalsecretary for the office of thenational chairman to use theestablishment manual instead ofthe constitution, the chief of staffto the national chairman wrote: “Iwant to visit your persistentemphasis on establishmentmanual and your attempt torecognise it far and above theconstitution of the party. In orderto educate you substantially, theconstitution came first above theestablishment manual and anyregulations governing the party.

“The establishment manualwhich we produced in the year2000, before you joined the party,was with a singular intention to

run the national secretariatsmoothly. The said establishmentmanual is currently under review.It was reviewed by the immediatepast National Working Committee(NWC) without its adoption andapproval by the National ExecutiveCommittee (NEC), hence itspresent review status. For the factthat the document is to be reviewedhas given room for consistentinputs to accommodate new ideasfor the best interest of our greatparty”, he explained.

Commenting on the allegationthat the office of the NationalChairman wants to set the NationalWorking Committee (NWC) on acollision course and settle old scores,Fari emphasised: “It is mostregrettable that in your capacity

as the national secretary, you listenand believe in speculations withoutsubstantiating and recourse to facts.I cannot imagine how we can setthe National Working Committee(NWC) on collision course with thePDP governors and how I intendedto settle scores with staff of thenational secretariat overdisagreement in the past. All theseare unfounded allegations andwere figments of your mereimaginations”.

“I will like to remind you thatmy appointment as the chief of staffto the national chairman wasstrictly at his pleasure. I do notthink there is any guidingregulations or law that prohibitsthe national chairman in doingso…”

President GoodluckJonathan has commendedthe giant strides of Dangote

Group, saying it is spearheadingindustrial revolution in Nigeriaand the African continent.

The President made thecommendation yesterday whilecommissioning a 5.25 millionmetric tonnes per annum Line-3cement plant of the DangoteCement at Obajana, Kogi state.

The President also performedthe line 4 plant groundbreakingceremony for the 3million metrictonnes per annum.

With the commissioning of thenew Line-3, the production

capacity of the Obajana plant willbe raised to 10.25 million mtpaand by 2015 when the fourth linewould have been completed, theentire four lines would be having acombined production capacity of13.25 million mtpa, thus makingthe plant the single biggest plantin the world.

President Jonathan alsodisclosed government’s plan tomake president of the Dangotegroup, Alhaji Aliko Dangote thechairman of a cement institute tobe established soon.

“Indeed, it gladdens my heartthat DIL is spearheading a silentindustrial revolution in thecountry through its laudableactivities that have put Nigeria on

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem the world map as an emergingeconomic giant in Africa. Today’sevent will further cement thecompany’s capability to competeeffectively with other global giantsin the industry and also fast trackDangote Cement’s ambition ofranking among the top eightcement producing companies inthe world by the year 2015.

Also speaking, Alhaji Dangotesaid: “With the completion of our5.25 million metric tonnes perannum Line-3 Plant, Obajana willbecome the single largest cementplant in the world with acombined capacity of 10.25million metric tonnes per annum.It will also interest you to note,distinguished ladies and

gentlemen, that we haveachieved all this in less than 10years. The 3.0 mmtpa Line-4Plant, whose foundation stone Mr.President will also lay today, willfurther take the capacity ofObajana to 13.25 mmtpa, whencompleted by 2015. This willindeed make us the power houseof cement in Africa.

“The launch of our 6.0 mmtpaIbese Cement Plant; thecommencement of our Ibese PhaseII Plant, with the same capacity;the completion of our 5.25 mmtpaObajana Line-3 Plant; and theincrease in the capacities of otherlocal cement manufacturers, haveushered us into a new phase ofindustrialisation, as a country.

Dangote Group leading industrial revolution in Nigeria — Jonathan

Anti-bomb Squad at the Plateau State Polytechnic premises, yesterday in Jos following a bombscare. Photo: NAN

Director General NationalBiotechnology Develop-ment Agency (NABDA)

Mr. Bamidele Solomon has called

for the need for a deoxyribonucleicacid (DNA) databank of allNigerians security, healthcareand other institutions.

Mr. Solomon made the callyesterday in Abuja in an interviewwith newsmen at the openingceremony of a training workshoptagged “Basic Techniques in DNAIsolation, Manipulation andApplication organised by NABDAin collaboration with theInternational Centre for GeneticEngineering and Biotechnology,for biotechnology and forensicscientist in Africa and beyond.

While relating DNA to theunfortunate incident involvingthe DANA airline, Solomon saidthat the victims of the crash wouldhave been easily identified if therewas a DNA database.

“DNA is a history book that cantell the origin of any species andit’s unique to each individual sowe can isolate every species evenone on one. The DNAfingerprinting would have beena veritable tool in that particularoccasion.”

By Joy Baba

The Sultan of Sokoto andchairman National Councilof Traditional Rulers of

Nigeria (NCTRN), Alhaji Sa'adAbubakar, has urged traditionalrulers to honestly address the issueof insecurity in order to boostdevelopment.

The Sultan made the appeal atthe 2012 General Assembly of theNCTRN yesterday in Osogbo, theOsun state capital.

According to him, there is theneed for total commitment by alland sundry with a view to findinga lasting solution to the securitychallenges.

The Sultan urged Nigerians topray fervently for solutions to theproblems confronting the country,pledging that traditional rulerswould play their own roles in theinterest of peace and progress.

President Goodluck Jonathanwho was represented at the eventby Gen. Andrew Azazi, theNational Security Adviser, saidsecurity should be seen aseverybody’s business and urged thetraditional rulers to ensuresecurity in their domains.

Gov. Rauf Aregbesola of Osunsaid the involvement of thetraditional institution remains amajor way to address the issue ofinsecurity facing the country.

Aregbesola said traditionalrulers were in a better positionthan those who held political officesto tackle insecurity at thegrassroots because the peopleremain loyal to them.

Among those present were ObaOkunade Sijuade, the Ooni of Ifeand Oba Jimoh Ajagungbade, theSoun of Ogbomoso.

Sultan, Azazi, other royal fathersmeet in Osogbo over security

Biotechnology agency wantsDNA databank for security

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012PAGE 4

Name Boko Haram in your cabinet, CD challenges JonathanSpeaking further, the CD boss

posited that much as thePresident had admitted theexistence of Boko Haram in hisgovernment, he should notremain silent on the issuepointing out that “Nigeria is nowin the intensive care unit withall the symptoms of a failed Statebecause of bad leadership”.

“Nigeria today is ranked as oneof the twenty poorest nations ofthe world despite the fact that it isthe world’s seventh largestproducer of petroleum and gas.The tragedy of Nigeria ispervasive pathology. Itsleadership selection processexcludes its best while celebratingmediocrity’ Odumakin furtherstated.

‘The incremental influence ofthat pathology has created afailing State that is unable to domuch more than uphold theconclave of looters that holds thecountry hostage. In many ways,every election process turns out

to be worse than the precedingcycle”.

“Upon taking power afterstolen polls, the new leadershipoften proceeds to enthrone a rulingethos that is defined by a searingcontempt for the people. That iswhy, despite the billions of dollarsthat Nigeria State has earned overfive decades, it remains at thebottom of human developmentleague. It is a fate that Nigeriansmust reject because a better life ispossible,” the Human RightsActivist affirmed.

“Fifty -two years into Nigeria’sattainment of nationhood, it stillhas the status of what domesticand International observers calla failed State, failing State, orfailed asset”.

She spoke on corruption“Beyond corruption andinefficiency, my first suspicionthat the Nigerian State is idlecame several months ago whennewspaper reported with gleethat the Federal Executive

Yobe stategovernor, MalamIbrahim Gaidam(left), in ahandshake withformer MD ofdefunct Bank ofthe North, AlhajiMuhammadBulama (right),when thegovernor visitedto condole withhim over thedeath of hisbrother, EngineerMustaphaBulama,yesterday inMauduguri.

Plateau state governmentyesterday announced banof operation of motorcycles

popularly known as Okada withinthe Jos greater master plan.

Announcing the ban toJournalists at state policecommand amidst tight security,the state commissioner ofinformation Mr. Abraham Yiljabsaid any motorcyclist foundoperating with the Jos greatermaster plan would pay a fine of N20,000 or have his motorcycleseize.

The ban is in the interest of peaceand beauty of the state Mr. Yiljabsaid urging all affected to cooperatewith government saying adequatesecurity measures have been putin place to ensure peacefulenforcement of the ban.

According to him, both religion,political leaders, traditional rulers,stakeholders and the leadership ofthe motorcycle riders wereadequately consulted and all agreedto the measures taken to ban theactivities of Okada within the Josgreater master plan.

Yiljab disclosed thatgovernment has providedalternative means of transportationsaying the ban is backed by thelegislation of the state House andsigned into law by Governor JonahJang in 2010.

Reacting to the ban, AlhajiBabangida Maihula, NationalPresident of AmalgamatedCommercial Motorcycle RidersAssociation of Nigeria(ACOMORAN) disclosed thatalready the association had gone tocourt to challenge the decision ofgovernment on their operation insome parts of the state.

Plateau govtannounces banon motorcycles

From Nankpah Bwakan, Jos

Council, known by theConstitution as Executive Councilof the Federation had approvedthe citizenship applications ofeighty-two aliens”.

Chairman of theCorrespondents Chapel, Mr.Kehinde Akinyemi earlier in hiswelcome address said “The themeof the maiden lecture was borneout of the genuine measure toensure that peace reign supremein our dear country. Peace is abasic requirement in anydemocracy; no democracy canflourish in the absence of peace”.

Akinyemi explained “We allknow the role of the media buthow have we fared in the quest tohave good governance in all tiersof government, particularly inthis period where insecurity hasassumed a worrisome dimension.We are of the strong convictionthat Journalists can use the powerof the mass media to evolve goodgovernance even in the midst ofglooming insecurity”.

of the suicide bombing and attackon worshippers at a church in Joswith shock regretting further thatthe despicable act occurred at atime the nation is still mourningdeath of many people in theDANA plane crash in Lagos.

Dr. Aliyu, said, “the JNIreceived with shock the dastardact of suicide bombing at ChristChosen Church of the RukubaRoad area, in Jos, Plateau stateand also the gun attacks said to

have been carried out onworshippers in Biu, Borno state.We therefore condemn in strongterms these sordid acts onworshippers.

“The statement condemns theact saying ‘I is painful that at thismoment of mourning the victimsof DANA plane crash the nation isstill witnessing these barbaricincidents.

“May Allah the Most High,continue to protect us and bring

JNI urges FG to investigate allegedsupplier of weapons to Jos militantsFrom Agaju Madugba, Kaduna to book the perpetrators.

“We call on the FederalGovernment to thoroughlyinvestigate the case of a customscomptroller who is being accusedof supplying weapons to histribesmen in Jos because he is oneamong many that have beencausing havoc to the nation.

“Similarly, we call on the stategovernment to make arrest ofperpetrators particularly thosecarrying out reprisal attacks.”

From Dimeji Kayode-Adedeji,Abeokuta

The Senate of University ofLagos after an EmergencyMeeting yesterday rejected

the renaming of the institution asMashood Abiola University, Lagos.

“The proposed re-naming of theUniversity of Lagos is notacceptable in its entirety as it is amere declaration of intention withno legal effect.

The University of Lagos Senatesupports all legal processes beingcarried out by all stakeholders onthe subject”.

The school announces that allacademic activities should resumeon Monday, June 18, 2012, while,the Halls of Residence will be re-opened on Sunday, June 17, 2012at 4.00p.m.

UNILAGrejectsnew nameFrom Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

The Jama’atu Nasril Islam(JNI), has called on theFederal Government to

thoroughly investigate the case ofa customs officer alleged to havebeen supplying weapons tomilitants in Jos.

In a statement signed by theSecretary General of JNI, DrKhalid Abubakar Aliyu in Kadunayesterday said it received the news

The Campaign for Democracy(CD), yesterday challengedPresident Goodluck

Jonathan to make public thenames of members of his cabinethe alleged to be members of theBoko Haram sect.

President of CD, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin challenged thePresident while delivering alecture titled: ‘The Media and theSearch for Good Governance in theMidst of Insecurity’ organised bythe correspondents chapel ofNigeria Union of Journalists(NUJ), Ogun state council

Odumakin told the Presidentto stop cosmetic approach insolving the problems,emphasising that revealing theidentities of those officials ingovernment would serve as thefirst step to convince Nigeriansthat the Presidency is serious infighting the Boko-Haram sect.

One feared dead, 4 injured in Ibadan NURTW clash, commuters strandedFrom Inumidun Ojelade, Ibadan than four people sustained

various degrees of injury duringthe early morning clash thatlasted for several hours.

According to reliable source,the clash started on Saturdaywhich saw two people believed tobe loyalists of new caretakerchairman dead while others werebadly injured.

Our reporter gathered thatyesterday’s clash was a reprisalwhich spread across all motorparks in the ancient city ofIbadan.

The ugly incident forced othermembers of the union to pack theirvehicles off roads which subjectedthousands of commuters to severehardship.

Some students and civilservants were forced to longdistance trekking as means ofgetting home.

One of the drivers (Ajasa) whospoke with our reporter disclosedthat, commercial drivers in thestate are no longer interested inunionism urged the governmentto scrap its activities.

A middle aged member ofNational Union of RoadTransport Workers

(NURTW), Oyo state chapter wasfeared dead yesterday following areprisal by factional unionmembers yesterday in Ibadan.

It was gathered that no fewer

*We’re already incourt, saysACOM ORAN

PAGE 5PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012

Tension in Taraba as gunmenattack village, burn houses

Tension has continued tobrew in Lau and KarimLamido local government

areas of Taraba state, as unknownpeople in Lau attacked Fulanicommunities in 2 villages:Ababare and Katibu in the localgovernment.

The police PPRO whoconfirmed the incident, told

Peoples Daily correspondent inJalingo that it was Bachamacommunities from Adamawastate that made the attack.

He said the police from the localgovernment division are there andthat Taraba state police commandhas sent additional reinforce-ment, including mobile police tothe area.

The PPRO said that in theincident, there was no threat, while

From Yusha’u Alhassan, Jalingo nobody was injured, but houseswere burnt down, adding that fivepersons have been arrested.

According to an eye witness, theattack was retaliation by Bachamacommunities from Adamawa state,against Fulani, where there hasbeen misunderstanding betweenthem since last year.

A resident of Abbare toldPeoples Daily that 7 people werekilled and about 12 injured,

while houses and properties wereburnt.

He said the fighting was aguerrilla war where people fromAbbare village were killed at bushby the Bashama communities.

He claimed that some of thosekilled “were complying with theeviction order given by theBachama only for them to beattacked and killed while crossingRiver Benue.’’

From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

Man, 67, ‘rapes’14-year-old girl

The former Speaker of theHouse of Representatives,Dimeji Bankole, yesterday

failed in his efforts to frustratetendering of documents againsthim before a Federal High Courtin Abuja by the Economic andFinancial Crimes Commission(EFCC).

Bankole is standing trial overa 16-count charge bordering oncontract fraud in the House ofRepresentatives when he was

Speaker.The trial judge, Justice

Donatus Okorowo, in admittingthe document as evidence heldthat since the certification of thedocuments are valid and not beencontested by the defence, the courthas no option than to over-ruletheir objection.

Bankole had, through hislawyer, Wale Akanni, argued thatthe documents which includedminutes of series of meetingspurportedly held in the conferenceroom of the former speaker over

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin the purchase of some stationerywere not serially numbered andincomplete.

An inconsistency, theprosecutor, Festus Keyamoattributed to typographical errorwhich he said had not in any wayaffected the contents of thedocuments.

When the matter came upyesterday, Justice Okorowo overruled the objection of the defenseand admitted the documents asevidence on the grounds that thecontent and the certification of the

facts are not been contested and assuch the documents remainsadmissible.

The court therefore wentahead with the cross examinationof the second prosecution witness,Adeboye Adeniyi, aninvestigative officer with theEFCC who tendered letters ofagreements entered into by theHouse of Representatives and somecompanies on the inflatedcontract scam as additionalevidence.

After the witness was

discharged, the prosecutor, OtemuOghenovo who held the brief ofFestus Keyamo prayed for a longadjournment to enable themsubpoena their remainingwitnesses.

Though Bankole’s counsel,Akanni objected to the request foradjournment and accused theprosecution of delayingproceedings.

The case has now beenadjourned till September 24, 25,26 and 27, 2012 for continuationof trial.

Contract inflation: Bankole loses bid to stop tendering of document

The Kwara state policecommand, KulendeDivision, has arrested 67

years old Ahmed Atanda forallegedly raping a 14-year-old girlnamed Hauwa at Oke-Andi, alongSango area, Ilorin.

Our correspondent gatheredthat Atanda, a private driver inIlorin was caught red handed whileraping the victim by her mother,Adijatu Saliu, who had sent her tofetch water last week Thursday.Adijatu said when Hauwa did notreturn on time, she becamesuspicious.

Uncomfortable, Mrs. Saliu hadto send her older daughter to look forher who eventually found out thatthe driver was having fun with hersister before she rushed home to alerther mother about the development.

While speaking with ourcorrespondent, Mrs. Saliu, who wasdepressed by the development,said: “When I got there, I met thatold man on top of my daughter,and I had to tap him to leave mydaughter who is under him andshouted for help. I met him on topof my daughter on that day andwe reported the case at the KulendePolice Station.”

The victim, Hauwa, whoacknowledged that the man rapedher, said she was sent to fetch waterby her mother before the incidenthappened.

In his reaction, Atanda whodenied raping the victim said hewas in the bush to cut some herbsto treat himself before the girlcalled him to assist her to lift abucket of water on her head.

Atanda, a father of two and adivorcee, who hails from a villageTanpado, along Oke-Oyi, in IlorinEast local government area, said hewas embarrassed that the motherof the victim accused him of rapingher daughter when he cannot haveany in his pelvic region.

The absence of the Economic andFinancial Crimes Commission (EFCC)witness, yesterday, frustrated the trial

of former Managing Director of Bank PHB(now Keystone Bank), Mr Francis Atuche andtwo others before Justice Lateefa Okunnu of aLagos High Court sitting in Ikeja.

Atuche, his wife, Elizabeth and theformer Chief Financial Officer in the bank,Ugo Anyanwu, are standing trial overallegations of stealing N27.5 billionbelonging to the bank by EFCC.

According to the prosecution led by KemiPinheiro, the witness, David Olom Nkpe, who

is still being cross examined by Atuche's counsel,Anthony Idigbe, had believed that the courtwould not sit on the premise that the new ChiefJudge would be sworn-in on Monday.

According to Pinheiro, the witness wasmistaken to believe that the court may notsit due to the possible swearing in.

“I agree the witness made a mistake andI tender our unreserved apology for this,”he said.

When asked for his reaction, Idigbe saidhe has no objection as he would also be askingthat Wednesday's date be vacated to enablehim attend the collation of reports of thePresidential Task Force Committee on Fuelsubsidy utilisation.

From Francis Iwuchukwu, Lagos

N27.5bn theft: Absence of prosecutionwitness frustrates trial of Atuche, others

The Minister of Mines andSteel Development, MusaMohammed Sada, has stressed the

need for adequate skill acquisition and properapplication by mining operators and otherstakeholders in the minerals and steel sectorof the economy.

“Nigeria, being endowed with hugedeposits of mineral resources cannot developthe sector, if relevant skills are notadequately acquired and properly appliedby both mining operators and other

stakeholders in the minerals and metalsector of the economy.” Sada stated.

He made the declaration during thehandover ceremony of Council of MiningEngineers and Geoscientists recently, notingthat despite huge deposits of mineralresources in the country, there will be nodevelopment without skill acquisition.

In a statement issued by the ministry’sDeputy Director (Press), Marshall H. Gundu,he said that developed nations became greatnot only because they are blessed withnatural resources but as a result of relevantskills people have to do complex things.

By Mohammed Kandi

Mining sector cannot develop withoutskill acquisition, says minister

R-L: President Goodluck Jonathan, Chairman, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, and Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon.Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, during the commissioning of the 5.25 million metric tonnes per annum Line-3 cement plant of the DangoteCement, yesterday at Obajana, Kogi state. Photo: Joe Oroye

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012PAGE 6

School children returning from school in an open truck following the withdrawal of commercial vehicleson some roads, yesterday in Ibadan, as a result of clashes between factions of the National Union ofRoad Transport Workers (NURTW). Photo: NAN

The Vice President,Republic of Ghana,John Dramani Mahama,

will be the guest lecturer at thefirst year anniversary of the 7thAssembly of Lagos state House ofAssembly and thecommemoration of June 12anniversary.

This was contained in astatement issued yesterday bythe chairman, HouseCommittee on Information,Strategy, Security andPublicity, Segun Olulade.

Immediate past governor ofthe state and National Leader ofthe Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu willbe guest of honour at the event,which is scheduled to hold at theAssembly's Chambers today.

From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

Ghana VP todeliver lectureat 7th LagosAssemblyanniversary

The President of theNational IndustrialCourt of Nigeria (NIC),

Justice Babatunde Adejumo, hasadjourned till August 7, 2012for the adoption of writtenaddresses in the case of unlawfultermination of appointment suitbrought against the NigeriaLabour Congress (NLC) byComrade Onah Iduh.

Justice Adejumo fixed thedate after consultation with thedefence and claimant's counselat the end of cross examinationof a witness.

Comrade Iduh was untilMarch 2011, the Acting Head ofthe Department of Informationand Public Relations of the NLC.

At the resumed hearing ofthe matter, the only defencewitness in the matter, ComradeHappiness Okechukwu, anaccount officer in theemployment of the NLC, told thecourt that she is not conversantwith the conditions of service orthe constitution of the NLC.

When asked by counsel to theclaimant, Emole Orji to statewhether the appointment of astaff could be deemed rightly orwrongly terminated, ComradeOkechukwu responded: "I cannotsay whether the appointment ofa staff is rightly or wronglyterminated. I am not in aposition to state whether or notthe employment of the claimantin this matter is rightly orwrongly terminated."

According to ComradeOkechukwu, her involvement inthe case was based on the factthat she paid a cheque into theclaimant's account on 14th ofJuly 2011, shortly after thetermination of the claimant'semployment with the NLC.

She said though she couldnot remember the intervalbetween the termination of theclaimant's employment andthe period the cheque wasdeposited in his account, butsaid however that the claimantrejected the amount paid intohis account and refunded it bydepositing the exact amountinto the Zenith bank account ofthe NLC.

It will be recalled thatComrade Onah hadapproached the NationalIndustrial Court sometime lastyear asking it to, among otherthings, make a declaration thatthe purported termination ofhis employment with the NLCon the pretext of on-going re-organisation in the NLC wasillegal and against the ideals ofwhat the NLC represents.

He therefore prayed thecourt to reinstate him and togrant him costs in the sum ofN20 million as damages.

From Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

Steer clear of Edo politics,Oshiomhole tells JonathanEdo state governor,

Comrade AdamsOshiomhole has warned

President Goodluck Jonathanand the Peoples DemocraticParty (PDP) to stop usingdifferent groups to cause chaos

in the Edo polity. The governor who spoke

at a rally organised by thewomen wing of the ACN todrum support for his re-election bid, reminded thePresident that the state votedmassively for him and not thePDP in the last presidential

election.The governor's statement is

coming ahead of PresidentJonathan's visit to the state onJune 30th for thegubernatorial campaign flag-off of PDP governorshipcandidate, Major Gen. CharlesAirhiavbere (rtd) campaign.

."Edo is our own, we are notlooking for external forces. He(Jonathan) should not submitto the forces of manipulationand darkness. In any event, Iam ready to fight against theforces of manipulation. Noamount of Abuja oxygen canput them on their feet," he said.

Buy Sunday Ejike Benjamin

IsDB commits N96bn to foodsecurity in Islamic worldBy Aminu Imam

The launch of a $600million (N96 billion)Food & Agribusiness Fund

to promote strategic investmentflows and expertise into the foodand agricultural sector inIslamic countries was announcedyesterday by the Director of theIslamic Corporation for theDevelopment of the PrivateSector (ICD), Mr. Farid Masood,.

The fund is a strategicpartnership between ICD and aqualified management team,advised by Robeco - a subsidiaryof Dutch Rabobank.

The ICD Fund will addressgrowing food security concernsby capitalising on the region'slargely under-exploited potentialfor increased food production andsupply.

The Chief Executive of ICD,Mr. Khalid Al-Aboodi,commented thus: "The fund is thefirst public-private partnershipof this nature and size to addressthe inefficiencies and wastagefacing the food and agriculturalsector throughout our membercountries.

"Boosting regional foodproduction, supply and trade, thefund's investments will also lead

Suit againstNLC overillegal sackslated forAug 7

Nigeria can’t progress in atmosphere of insecurity - Lawmaker

Vice Chairman, SenateCommittee on NigerDelta Affairs, Senator

Nurudeen Abatemi-Usman,yesterday, said it would bedifficult for Nigeria to achieve

From Francis Iwuchukwu, Lagos meaningful growth anddevelopment in the midst ofinsecurity.

In a statement issued by hisSpecial Assistant on Media andPublicity, Michael Jegede, theSenator, representing Kogi CentralSenatorial District, condemned the

recent spate of bombings andterrorist attacks in the country.

Appealing to perpetrators ofsuch heinous acts to have a changeof heart and allow peace to reign,Abatemi-Usman, noted that thecontinuous killing of innocent liveswas not the best way of resolving

grievances.He wondered why the attacks

would be coming at a time whenthe people and government ofNigeria were yet to get out of theshock created by the DANA Aircrash, which claimed over 160lives on June 3, 2012.

Bauchi SEMAexpendsN154.8m ondisastermanagementFrom Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

Bauchi state EmergencyManagement Agency(SEMA) has expended the

sum of N154.8 million onassistance to disaster victimsacross the state.

The permanent secretary ofthe agency, Alhaji MahmoudGarba, disclosed this in Bauchiwhile presenting a report.

He said the agency spentN50 million on themaintenance and upkeep ofinternally displaced persons asa result of different crises inand outside the state.

to creation of jobs, transfer oftechnology, promotion ofsustainable practices andpoverty alleviation. The fundwill significantly benefit fromICD's standing and resources inthe Islamic countries".

The fund will be managed bya specialised asset managementcompany that will house a teamof seasoned professionals,including secondments from ICDand Robeco, who together shallbring extensive investmentexperience and track record inthe Islamic countries andinternational food andagricultural sector.

PAGE 7PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012

ACN chieftain chides SupremeCourt over Benue guber verdict

L-R: Principal, Government Arabic College, Alkaleri, Hajiya Safiya Shal, receiving some text booksfrom Bauchi state deputy governor, Alhaji Sagir Saleh, during the distribution of educational initiativebooks and other instructional materials to public and community secondary schools, yesterday inBauchi. Photo: NAN

Chairman of the ActionCongress of Nigeria (ACN)Benue state chapter,

Comrade Abba Yaro has criticisedthe Supreme Court over therecent verdict in the 2011 Benuestate governorship elections.

Comrade Yaro, who wasreacting to last Friday’s verdictby the apex court upholding theelection of Governor GabrielSuswam against Professor StevenUgbah and Daniel Saror of ANPP,expressed displeasure over thejudgment maintaining that itwas an indication that one

cannot have confidence in thejudiciary.

He added that it translates toencouraging violence in electionin Nigeria and the win at all costsyndrome.

The ACN chairman positedthat if something is not done tochange this ugly trend in the

Ikeja NBA election: Court threatens tostrike out parties who fail to file processesFrom Francis Iwuchukwu, Lagos

judiciary, there would be chaosin 2015.

Comrade Yaro said his partyhas accepted the verdict andcommitted the decision of theapex court in the hands of Godwho is the ultimate judge ofevery man even as he appealedto his supporters to remain calm.

Taraba citizens urged to support Suntai

Majority leader TarabaState House ofAssembly Charles

Maijankai has asked Tarabapeople to continue to supportGovernor Danbaba Suntai tobring more development totheir doorsteps.

He stated this whilespeaking to Peoples Dailyreporter in Jalingo.

Charles explained thatGovernor Danbaba Suntai haslaudable programmes that

have direct bearing on the livesof the people of the state.

He noted that if the variousprojects included in this year’sbudget are properly executedthe governor would put smileson the faces of Tarabians.

The legislator observed thatin spite of the meagresubvention being collected bythe state from the FederationAccount every month,Governor Suntai has been ableto execute various projects in thestate. On the performance of thestate House of Assembly

From Yusha’u Alhassan Jalingo

The leadership of theNational KakandaDevelopment Association

(NKADA) cutting across Nigerand Kogi states, has organiseda reception to honour fourgovernment functionaries whohave been elevated toleadership positions.

Speaking at the occasion,the president of NKADA,Comrade Abdulmalik A. Muye,called on the Kakanda speakingpeople to be united in order tomove the association forward.

He further urged Kakandapeople resident across thecountry to co-operate with theleadership of NKADA to put toan end to some of the lingeringproblems affecting theassociation, while warningthem against insubordination.

The four functionaries whowere honoured include: Dr AdoJ.G. Muhammad, ExecutiveDirector of National PrimaryHealth Care DevelopmentAgency, Honourable UsmanMagaji; member Niger StateHouse of Assemblyrepresenting Lapaiconstituency, Dr (Mrs) H.N.Muhammad; permanentsecretary Niger state Ministryof Investment, Commerce andCo- operatives and Hon. IsahSaidu Baka; chairman of Lapailocal government council.

From Usman Shuaibu, Minna

NKADA holdsreception forgovernmentpersonalities

Maijankai said the Assembly,passed 57 bills and othermotions into law within thefirst legislative year.

According to him, the billpassed by Assembly on state andlocal government joint projectswas aimed at complementingthe efforts of one another.

The majority leader saidthat the N10 billion loanapproved for the purpose by theState House of Assembly was insafe account and assured thatthe Assembly will ensurejudicious use of the money.

An Ikeja High Court,presided over by JusticeOpeyemi Oke, yesterday,

threatened to strike out any ofthe parties who failed to fileprocesses in the on-goingNigerian Bar Association, NBA,Ikeja Branch leadership crisissuit within the next seven days.

The court gave the orderwhile giving a ruling in thematter.

Justice Oke had reorderedthe interim injunction whichrestrained the chairman of theNBA Ikeja Branch fromswearing in the newly electedofficers elected at the May 9,2012 election of the branch andordered all parties, who aredefendants in the suit filed by one

of the contestants, Mr. YinkaFarounbi, contesting the resultof the election, to file theirrespective preliminaryobjection and response on pointof law to the motion on noticefiled by the claimant.

At the resumed hearing ofthe suit yesterday, Mr. SundayAgumemo, counsel to the 8thdefendant, Memuna Esegine,had told the court that he justfiled a fresh preliminaryobjection to the motion on noticeof the claimant and sought to

withdraw the initialpreliminary objection.

Agumemo, had argued in thenew application that theclaimant ought to have broughtthe suit through a writ ofsummons and not through anoriginating summon while in theinitial application, he hadquestioned the jurisdiction of thecourt to entertain the matter.

Counsel to the claimant, Mr.A.A. Adewunmi had confirmedreceiving the application onMonday but said that he would

From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

Townplannerscall forenforcementof buildingcode

The national president ofthe Town Planners’Registration Council of

Nigeria (TPRCN), Mr. KabirYari, yesterday, calledfor enforcement of the buildingcode to curb collapse ofbuildings in the country.

Yari who made the call inan interview with the NewsAgency of Nigeria (NAN)in Abuja, said the buildingcode was supposed to ensurethat structureswere constructed accordingto safety standards.

He said that the existingbuilding code was not beingenforced and that there was noadequate sensitisation on thecode.

“A building code should notbe left to government officialsalone, it must be a code foreverybody in the city,particularly potential homeowners, who should know itwill protect their safety”, Yarisaid. (NAN)

need time to study and respondto it appropriately.

In her ruling, Justice Okereminded all parties in the suitagainst doing anything thatwould lengthen the dispensationof justice in the matter.

Justice Oke said she wouldnot hesitate to strike out anyparty that failed to file processesin the matter within the nextseven days.

Further hearing in thematter has been adjourned toJune 19, 2012.

Former Chief of Army Staff,Gen. Alwali Kazir,yesterday, called on the

Federal Government to revivethe Ajaokuta Steel and ItakpeIron Ore in Kogi to provide jobs.

He also appealed to the peopleof Ebiraland in the state toembrace peace to usher indevelopment in the area.

Kazir made the call at a booklaunch in Abuja. He said that ithad become imperative to checkunemployment, especially inEbiraland to avoid youthrestiveness.

Kazir traced the origin of anti-social behaviour among theyouths in the area to risingunemployment.

The former army chief saidthat if the two establishmentswere revived, they would providejobs for the youths and shieldthem from anti- social behaviour.(NAN)

Formerarmy chiefcalls forcompletionof Ajaokuta,Itapke ironore

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012PAGE 8

4

2

3

1

34

Anambra state ministry ofenvironment demolishing someillegal structures, yesterday atNnewi triangle, in Nnewi metropolis.

Photo: NAN

Ekiti State Governor, Dr. KayodeFayemi (middle), dispensingkerosene to members of the public,during the flag-off of Eyiyato Kero-Direct Enterprise, yesterday in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.

2L-R: Public Affairs Coordinator,Julius Berger Nigeria, Mr. ClementIloba, Head, CorporateCommunications, Angela Schmidt,a senior staff, Bunmi Oladejo, SeniorPublic Relations Officer, GraceAyoola, and Coordinator, EduvisionComputer Institute, Simon Damuala,during the presentation of N1 millioncheque, to Family Care EduvisionIT School as part of Corporate SocialResponsibility (CSR) of thecompany, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

1Some judges and Khadis, during theinduction course for newlyappointed judges and Khadis,yesterday in Abuja. Photo: NAN

PAGE 9PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012

L-R: Deputy Director, Annual Report and Public Account, Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, Mr. Daniel Bosa, Director,Treasury Audit, Mr. Tomothy Osunuga, and Deputy Director, Treasury Audit, Mr. Goddey Daniel, during their meeting with HouseCommittee on Public Account, yesterday at the National Assembly, in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

FG to create 370,000 jobs out of subsidy funds

The Federal Governmenthas outlined how itintends spending part of its

share from the partial withdrawalof subsidy on fuel.

The Co-coordinating Ministerfor the Economy and Minister ofFinance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iwealawho said this yesterday in Minna,Niger state capital, said about370,000 jobs are to be creatednationwide in the next fewmonths.

This she noted would beachieved through theCommunity Services and Womenand Youth Employment Projectwhich is a part of the SubsidyReinvestment Programme of the

Government.According to the Minister, the

project is a direct FederalGovernment intervention toredress the current high youthunemployment rate in thecountry.

“Youth unemploymentcurrently stands at 37.5% and47.5% in the age groups of 15-24and 25-44 respectively. Thissituation is not acceptable togovernment. Therefore, theCommunity Services, womenand youth of SURE-P is a directFederal Governmentintervention towards creatingopportunities for women andyouths across the country”, astatement issued by DeputyDirector (Press) A.I Okorafor

quoted.The Project, which has three

components via CommunityServices Scheme, GraduateInternship Scheme and VocationalSkills Development, will beoperated efficiently,transparently with emphasis onmerit, the Minister promised.

The Graduate EmploymentScheme is to be executed inpartnership with the organizedprivate sector which would beencouraged to engage the servicesof fresh graduates while theFederal Government pays theirstipends for two years duringwhich they would acquire thenecessary expertise andprofessionalism to enhance theiremployability.

By Abdulwahab Isa

The consultant who carriedout staff verification in the25 local government areas

of Niger state at the weekend,exposed no fewer than 7000ghost workers on the payroll ofthe councils.

Out of the figure, 3,394 arefake local government staff whilethe rest are teachers in primaryschools across the state.

The government had hired aconsultant to verify the numberof workers in the localgovernment areas of the statefollowing the huge salary bills ithas to contend with as a result ofthe payment of the N18, 000minimum wage.

Permanent Secretary in theMinistry for Local government,Alhaji Adamu Garafini whobriefed journalists in Minna,yesterday said a total of 26,846staff were on the list in the 25local government area whileonly23, 452 were screened,19,296 were cleared by theconsultants.

He said that 3394 localgovernment workers did notappear for screening, raisingthe suspicion that they areghosts.

According to AlhajiGarafini, the consultant alsodiscovered that 207 staff hadduplicated salary accounts intowhich monthly stipends arepaid simultaneously while 565

were under aged having beenemployed when they were notup to 18 years.

The Permanent Secretaryalso revealed that 2,157 teacherswere discovered to beunqualified even when they areperforming their dutiescreditably, while 319 are duefor retirement but refused toretire.

Consultant identifies over 7000 ghost workers in NigerFrom Iliya Garba, Minna

On the other hand, the SkillsAcquisition Scheme is to beexecuted in partnership withmaster trainers who will helpunskilled youths to acquire newskills that will make themproductive and employable.

The Minna project waslaunched with an initial 300beneficiaries drawn from the threesenatorial zones and selectedthrough the CommunityDevelopment Associations of thevarious

communities. However, theprogramme targets to employ10,000 Niger State youths whenfully operational.

In his remarks at the occasion,the Niger state Governor, Dr.Muazu Babangida Aliyu

expressed gratitude to the FederalGovernment for choosing Niger asthe first state to launch theproject. He revealed that thestate’s own GraduateEmployment Scheme had alreadyemployed 6000 graduates andpromised that part of Niger State’sshare from the subsidy removalwould be used to create jobs for theyouths.

He said following the protestby the public and the show ofsympathy by the Governor,Muazu Babangida Aliyu, thegovernment has released overN1, 9 billionn for the paymentof the salary arrears to allcategories of workers in the localgovernments while governmentwhite paper into the report ofthe consultant is being awaited.

In order to boost the standardof education in Niger state,the Commissioner for

Education, Mrs. Susan Gana saidthat ‘Omega’ principals would beused to reposition secondaryschools in the state.

Some secondary schools havebetween two to three principals,a development that often createfriction and confusion among staff

and students.Represented by the

Commissioner for Lands andHousing, Dr. Peter Sale Sarki at apress briefing yesterday in Minna,Gana said the government willorganise a retreat for the schoolheads during the long vacationafter which the ‘omega’ principalwill emerge.

Mrs. Gana said that theproblem with education in thestate ‘is management’ and to solve

the problem, “it is important thatthose managing education arebrought up to date onmanagement.”

She however said that theinfrastructural problem facinginstitutions in the state cannot besolved over night as a result of thelean purse of the governmentadding that “if we put the wholebudget of the state in a year intoeducation it will not solve theproblem.”

‘Omega principals’ to take oversecondary schools in NigerFrom Iliya Garba, Minna

Some experts on InformationTechnology have expresseddivergent views on the

advantages of electronic books (e-books).

The experts expressed theirviews in separate interviews withthe News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)yesterday in Lagos.

Electronic book is a publicationin digital form, consisting of texts,images or both and readable oncomputers or other electronicdevice.

The Chief Executive Officer ofGlobal ICT Ltd., Mr. TundeAwoseni told NAN that Nigerianreaders and school administratorsshould take the advantage ofelectronic books as an alternativemeans of teaching.

He said that the cost ofdelivering learning materialswould eventually reduce throughthe Internet as a result of the low-cost ICT devices.

According to him, e-book is atechnological innovation that maybridge the digital divide by the useof electronic device to read books.

“In this 21st Century, e-bookhas come in electronic format thathas gradually taken over fromtraditional printed books astechnologists are discovering newand better ways to improvinghuman lives.

“With today’s technology,people can read e-books anywheresuch as in the bus, train, aircraftand while standing in a queue, ‘’Awoseni said.

He advised schooladministrators and governmentto promote electronic books to teachstudents so that they would catchup with their counterparts ondigital systems.

Mr. Ofulue Aniekwe, anotherIT expert, said that electronicbooks could violate IntellectualProperty Right (IPR) if not wellused.

“It is difficult to deal withcopyright violators in theconventional books and now thatbooks can be read online, it mighteven be more difficult catchingculprits who are supposedlyonline, `` he said.

Aniekwe, who is also apublisher, said that with theadvent of e-books, publishersenvisaged rampant cases ofinfringement on copyright.

“At first, most publishers hadproblem allowing books online, butmany are now getting morepublished online as readers aremore attuned to e-books than theconventional books. (NAN)

IT expertsexpress mixedfeelings on useof e-books

PAGE 10 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012

CISLAC calls for probe into $600,000 dollar bribery allegationThe Civil Society Legislative

Advocacy Centre (CISLAC),yesterday, called for probe

of the alleged $600,000 bribeagainst a “key member” of theHouse of Representatives Ad HocCommittee on Fuel Subsidy Regime.

This is contained in a statementissued in Abuja and signed byMalam Auwal Ibrahim, executive

director of CISLAC. The statement called on the

National Assembly and theexecutive arm of government “notto let the current scandal serve asa straw to bury the probe reportunder the carpet”.

It advised the leadership of theHouse to urgently institutethorough investigation into the

alleged bribe and involve anti-graft agencies to also probe thecircumstances and reality of allclaims.

“Those indicted by the reportmay go to their wits end in order torubbish an exercise that is widelyapplauded by Nigerians in view ofthe nasty dealings it uncovered”,CISLAC said.

The organisation warned thatthe outcome of the probe panelshould not be tampered with butshould be implemented by theFederal Government to the later.

The organisation warned thatany attempt to foot-drag inimplementing the report, asendorsed by the larger House wouldbe viewed by the public “as a lame

to thwart the entire report”.According to the statement,

the 7thSession of the House ofRepresentatives enjoyedtremendous respect and goodwillfrom the public.

“It should therefore shunsentiment and do all that is neededto be done to clear its name fromthis odious allegation.” (NAN)

Bomb scare yesterdaydisrupted academicactivities at the Jos Campus

of the Plateau State Polytechnic asstudents and staff vacated theirhalls and offices for fear ofexplosion.

Our correspondent gatheredthat some mischief makerspurportedly planted an explosive

device in the ceiling of the one ofthe classrooms of the schoolbuilding.

A source said the device wassuspected to have been planted inone of oldest blocks of class roomspopularly called BEPCO Block withmore than 30 classrooms andoffices accommodating bothstudents, academic and non-academic staff.

The institution's authority

From Nankpah Bwakan, Jos were said to have asked the PoliceAnti-bomb Squad to comb thebuilding to ascertain thegenuineness of the case.

A visit to the institutionshowed students and lecturersgathered in groups discussing theincident while lectures could nothold in the campus for the fear ofunknown.

The Rector of the Polytechnic,Mr. Dauda Gyemang, assured

students to return to theirclassrooms as the Anti-bomb Squadcertified the area to be safe.

According to the Rector, “onmany occasions, there have beenincidents of theft at the ICT Centreof the school and few laptops havebeen stolen. I think this case is noexception; someone was just tryingto play pranks…”

Mr. Gyemang lamented thedearth of security personnelmanning the institution butassured that he had written to thestate government on theshortage of academic andsecurity staff.

Bomb scare disrupts activitiesat Plateau Polytechnic

Amidst the global economiccrisis stirred by euro zoneand Greece debt burden,

government has been urged to takepreliminary measures bycultivating savings culture fromoil earnings.

Besides, it should demonstrategenuine effort towardsimplementing the PetroleumIndustry Bill (PIB) as a means toopen up the sector for bothcompetitiveness andtransparency.

These, were the submissions ofManaging Director of Citigroup, Dr.David Cowan yesterday in Abujaat the Securities and Exchange

Commission (SEC) lecture serieswith a theme: “Global EconomicTrends and the impact on Nigeria’sCapital Market”.

Cowan in his lecture drew alink between prevailing globaleconomic crises in the Europeanzone and the Greece debt burdenon the one hand, and the indirecteconomic buoyancy the impacthas brought to bear on oil exportcountries including Nigeria.

Consequently, Cowenchallenged the relevantauthorities to beware that “highoil prices should not be taken forgranted as has been the case inrecent years “advising thatNigeria must be cautious onrunning down it savings.

By Abdulwahab Isa

He pointed out that with PIBpassed on good time, Nigeria couldconveniently move from thecurrent 2.2 million barrel oil dailyproduction to 4 million barrel aday. Other areas of focus listed byCitigroup MD to be accordedpriority include, the SovereignWealth Funds (SWF) to shieldgovernment against possiblefuture oil price shock.

In his contribution, Dr.Kingsley Obiora from the office ofthe Chief Economic Adviser to thePresident, noted that Nigeria’seconomy is on right track andadvised the financial regulators,especially those responsible for thestock market to look inward andcome up with how the capitalmarket can be the engine of Nigeriaeconomy growth.

Citigroup boss warns against extravagantspending of oil savings

Governor Abiola Ajimobi ofOyo state has said thatcorrupt and indolent civil

and public officials do not have aplace in the state of his dream.

He stated this yesterday at theswearing-in of 12 permanentsecretaries recently appointed bythe government.

Although he said that it wasnot his administration’s plan toengage in the sacking of workers,Gov. Ajimobi, however, said nocorrupt civil servant would beallowed a place in his government.

“We will not toleratecorruption, inefficiency andnepotism in the civil service”, thegovernor said.

According to him, as much ashis administration recogniseshard work and competence, itwould not tolerate indolence underany guise.

Gov. Ajimobi said that in thelast one year, government hadbeen watching its workforce,department by department andschedules by schedules, stressingthat disposition and attitude to thebusiness of government were theparameters to gauge loyalty of civilservants.

“This is in line with ourgenuine intention to correct thevisible flaws in the state’s drive forsocio-economic development, to thebenefits of our people. This has beenevident in the constitution of arobust State Executive Council,made up of men and women of highquality and proven integrity, whoare not only ready to serve buthave also proven their mettle intheir respective chosen careers”,he said.

Ajimobi tosack indolentcivil servantsFrom Inumidun Ojelade, Ibadan

The Centre for ConflictManagement and PeaceStudies of the University of

Jos, yesterday, disclosed thatdevelopment has eluded Plateaustate as a result of the persistencecrises bedeviling some parts of thestate.

Speaking at the peaceadvocacy visit to Jos South andBarkin Ladi local governmentareas of the state, the DirectorGeneral of the centre, Prof.Nanven Audu Gambo, saidPlateau state is far behind in termsof development because ofsecurity challenges confrontingthe state adding that other statesare far ahead of Plateau in terms

of development.He said the resources allocated

to the state to provide socialamenities to the people are beingchanneled into the provision ofpeace and security. According tohim, "The Plateau people havecontinued to suffer problems of badroads, lack of water, electricity, badschools and other social amenitiessince 2001, when violence firsterupted in the state".

Prof. Gambo urged the peopleto resolve to live in peace with oneanother irrespective of theirpolitical, ethnic and religiousaffiliation saying the benefits ofliving in peace outweigh crisis asinvestors would be scared fromcoming to invest because they arehuman beings.

From Nankpah Bwakan, Jos

Crises cause development toelude Plateau - Don

R-L: Rector, Waziri Ibrahim Federal Polytechnic Birnin Kebbi, Malam Mohammed Nabade, with his deputy, Malam Garba Kangiwa,during a news conference on the 11th joint convocation of the polytechnic, yesterday in Birnin Kebbi. Photo: NAN

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012 PAGE 11

INEC to introduce permanent voterscard to check electoral fraudsThe Independent National

Electoral Commission(INEC), has concluded

arrangements for the introductionof permanent voters’ card tocheckmate electoral malpracticesin the country.

Amb. Lawrence Nwuruku, theINEC Commissioner for South-East,disclosed this in an interview withthe News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

in Abakaliki yesterday.Nwuruku listed the

malpractices to include multipleregistrations and multiple voting,among others.

“These are some of themeasures taken by INEC to stopelectoral frauds. The permanentvoters’ card is designed to capturethe bio data of an eligible voter.

“INEC is putting things in

order so that the vote of everyeligible voter in Nigeria will count”,he said.

“The Electoral Institutes arebeing revitalised to properlyeducate the voters. If the voters arenot educated, we cannot get itright.

“We are all voters from 18years and above. If you areeducated on your rights, you will

get it right,” Nwuruku added.He explained that the aim of

introducing INEC clubs in schoolswas to help educate the pupils andstudents on the voting system andtheir rights.

The commissioner said thatwhen such students attain the ageof 18, they would now be fullyprepared to exercise theirfranchise, adding that the

commission would also introducea system that would ensurecontinuous registration of voters.

To achieve the objective, he saidmany members of staff of thecommission would be posted, on apermanent basis, to localgovernments areas for the purpose.

“You see the revision of voters’list and registrations of new votersare, very important in ourelectoral system. All these are themodernisations that will helpsustain the system,” Nwurukusaid. (NAN)

Workers of FederalMedical Centre (FMC),Idi-Aba, Abeokuta,

yesterday embarked on anotherround of industrial action accusingthe management of nonchalanceto their welfare, as well as accusingthe Medical Director of imposing achairman on the medical advisorycommittee on the workforce.

The Monday strike which is thethird within six months was on theorder of the Joint Health WorkersUnion of the hospital. But themanagement in a counter moveissued a directive for the workersto ignore the union leadership.

However, the union leadersrose to the challenge as they wereseen within the premises to enforcethe stay-at-home order, furtheralerting the workers to complywith the directive.

In spite of the repeatedannouncement by the hospitalmanagement warning thatwhoever failed to report to workwould face sanction as containedin the civil service rules andregulations, offices in the hospitalremained locked. Policemen werehowever drafted in to keep order.

The Ogun state governmenthas declared today,(Tuesday) as work free day

to celebrate the annual June 12anniversary. Barrister TaiwoAdeoluwa, Secretary to the StateGovernment made this known ina statement issued in Abeokuta,the state capital.

The press release madeavailable to journalists inAbeokuta said that the holiday isdeclared in honour of the late iconof democracy, Bashorun MoshoodKasimawo Olawale Abiola, whowon the annulled June 12, 1993presidential election.

According to the scribe, thework-free-day will also be used tocommemorate Democracy Day.

FMC Abeokutaworkersembark onanother strikeFrom Dimeji Kayode-Adedeji,Abeokuta

Ogun declaresJune 12public holidayFrom Dimeji Kayode-Adedeji,Abeokuta

The Bureau of PublicProcurement (BPP)yesterday presented the

national database module for theregistration, categorisation andclassification of federal contractors,consultants and service providersto the general public.

According to BPP DirectorGeneral, Engr. Emeka Ezeh, thenational database will contain theidentities of all federal contractors,their owners, directors and capabi-lities and it will make it easier forBPP and other anti-graft agenciesto fight crime in the system.

In his welcome address at thepresentation held at State HouseAuditorium, Abuja yesterday,

Engr. Ezeh said: "The centraliseddatabase and categorisation ofcontractors and service providersdoing business with the FederalGovernment is anticipated toenhance efficiency, save cost inpublic procurement, improvebudget implementation andincrease professionalism, besidesinitiating transparency in publicprocurement business."

He added that the new databasesystem which is in practice in theUSA, India, Wales and Tanzania,would help reduce the cost of doingbusiness in Nigeria through theelimination of multipleregistration and pre qualificationsin the various MDAs.

In an interaction with reportersafter the opening ceremony, Engr.

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem Ezeh noted that: "Today's event isa milestone in the history of thiscountry because we are bringingtechnology into procurementbusiness wherein contractors haveto click in online and fill in theirdata. This is to completelyeliminate the chances of humancontact and bribery andcorruption in contract awards."

"They will also be given anidentification number with whichthey will continue to use in doingbusiness with all governmentparastatals and agencies. We willverify their claims with theCorporate Affairs Commission(CAC), Federal Inland RevenueService (FIRS) and other relevantagencies and stakeholders withregards to the claims made the

contractors.On when the online process will

become fully operational, EngrEzeh said the bureau was still indiscussion with the Head of Serviceof the Federation, adding that allother processes will be completedbefore 2013 when the onlineregistration will take full effect.

The BPP boss decried the habitof contractors in misleading MDAsabout the volume of jobs they canexecute, adding that the newsystem will make it easier indiscovering false claims.

He also stated that anycontractor found guilty of makingfalse claims about his or hercapacity will be banned fromdoing business with governmentfor 10 years.

Online registration of govt contractors to commence in 2013

Muslim lawyers advise FG to dialogue with Boko HaramThe group urged President

Goodluck Jonathan to reinstateJustice Isa Salami as the Presidentof the Court of Appeal.

It also opposed the increase inelectricity tariff, arguing that theincrement was done without dueregard to the provisions of Section76 of the National Electricity Actand Chapter II of the 1999Constitution. (NAN)

The Muslim LawyersAssociation of Nigeria(MULAN), yesterday,

advised the Federal Governmentto dialogue with the Boko Haramsect, to curb the spate of violencein the country.

MULAN made the call in acommunique issued at the end of its17th National ExecutiveCommittee (NEC) meeting in Lagos,

which was made available to theNews Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

The communique was jointlysigned by MULAN's President, Mr.Tajudeen Adewara and its Lagosstate chapter chairman, MusoddiqSanni.

It reads: "The security situationin the country, whereby armedrobbery, militancy, incessantbombings by identified and

unidentified groups, extra-judicialkillings, wanton destruction ofproperty, vandalism of oil pipelinesand kidnappings are getting worse,require urgent solution.

"MULAN urges government toin particular, heed the call of well-meaning Nigerians to engage indialogue with the Boko Haram secttoward an amicable solution to theproblem".

L-R: Chairman, Ijaw Youth Council, Ibani clan, Mr. Telema Pollyn, Leader, Bonny Youth Federation, Mr. Gift Furo, and Ijaw Youth ClanLeader, Mr. Ala Hart, during a press conference on the marginalisation of Bonny youth By NLNG, yesterday in Port Harcourt. Photo: NAN

PAGE 12 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012

President Jonathan’s delayin assenting to bills

Going by some Presidentialpronouncements as well as acts ofcommission and omission, there is

little to doubt that the President Jonathan-led executive arm of the government has adisdain for its legislative counterpart. Thisdisdain may well explain the President’sdelay in assenting to the bills passed by theNational Assembly, for which the twochambers of the legislature have had causeto voice out their frustration recently.

Early in the year, when in the wake ofthe fuel subsidy crisis the House ofRepresentatives passed a resolution onJanuary 8 asking the executive to revertthe pump price of petrol to N65, thePresidential spokesman, Mr. ReubenAbati described the resolution as “mereexpression of opinion.” The Presidentialspokesman was roundly condemned forthis ill conceived remark.

At a one-day symposium on Monday,May 28, organized to mark the nation’s2012 Democracy Day, the Speaker of theHouse of Representatives, Aminu WaziriTambuwal used the occasion to, amongother things, accuse the President of notassenting to Bills sent to him from thelegislature.

“In as much as it is the constitutionalrole of the legislature to pass laws, it isequally the constitutional responsibility ofMr. President to assent to same; it ishowever disturbing to note that theExecutive had shied away from itsresponsibility by not assenting to billspassed by the National Assembly,” theSpeaker said.

Then at the opening of a public hearingby the Senate Committee on Environmentand Ecology on a bill to set up an erosioncontrol commission recently, SenatePresident David Mark reechoed theSpeaker’s accusation against the Presidentover his failure to assent to some billspassed by the National Assembly.

“We want to join theleadership of the NationalAssembly in, on behalf ofNigerians, expressing our

displeasure over the executive’stardy handling of bills from the

legislature, a developmentwhich may well have been

responsible for the clear lack ofdirection by the administration in

its past one year in office

The Senate President, who spokethrough his Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu onMay 30, also said President Jonathan“distorted facts” when he said that thelawmakers tore up the budget proposal sentto them thereby making it difficult for theexecutive to implement it.

“A number of bills that would havechanged a lot of things for this country havenot been signed,” Mark said, advising theexecutive “to dialogue with the legislature inmatters like these and find a common

ground instead of shifting blames.“We expressed our displeasure over

some of the bills which we have sent to thePresidency for assent since last year thathave not received presidential assent. Andin response, the President said that it isbecause we are creating agencies. We willcontinue to create agencies if it is important,because that is why we are here,” he said.

“So, we have to do our job. Most of thosebills have nothing to do with agencies. Iremember we have the State of the Nation

Address Bill, it has nothing to do with anyagency and it has not been signed. We havethe National Health Bill. It has nothing todo with an agency. It has not been signed.We have the Air Force Institute ofTechnology Bill and Tobacco Bill,” hestressed

But in place of a convincing argument toexplain his refusal to assent the bills, all thePresident could do was to accuse thelawmakers of “tearing” the 2012 budgetproposal and acting against the manifestoof the ruling Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), admonishing the leadership of theAssembly against openly criticising thegovernment as, according to him, that iswhat “anti government people want”,adding that the executive and legislaturemust be seen to be working together fortheir own good.

“If we begin to see this clear division,then you are also exposing the NationalAssembly to people who are anti-government to use.

“There is theoretical separation ofpowers, but where the executive and thelegislature come from the same politicalparty, they must work together fordemocracy to be meaningful to Nigerians,”he said.

We want to join the leadership of theNational Assembly in, on behalf ofNigerians, expressing our displeasure overthe executive’s tardy handling of bills fromthe legislature, a development which maywell have been responsible for the clearlack of direction by the administration inits past one year in office.

We also think Mr. President’s allegianceto the ruling party and not the Nigerianpeople smacks of a very shallowunderstanding of the place of the sovereignin a democratic setting. Government’sallegiance, we believe, should be first andforemost to the people not the ruling party,no matter its popularity.

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PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012 PAGE 13

The smoldering smoke fromthe ill fated Dana Airlinecrash in Iju-Ishaga, a suburb

of Lagos, has gradually died downand with it, a nation tottering onthe brinks of security maelstromhas gone back to its troubled sleep.Life, as in the greatly unsecured andun- assured form we have known itas Nigerians, has assumed itsnormal style.

Oh yes, an un-shockable nation(apologies to the late Dele Giwa) hasshown its fly-in-the-pan reactions.Crocodile tears have been shed,weeks of mourning have beendeclared, flags have been flown athalf mast, but the nation retires toits state of decay to await the nextcrash. The president has cried andassured it will never happen again.People have expressed theirtraditional piety but you can betthat from the scene of that fatalcrash, most have gone to resumethe same dawdy ways thatpockmark life and conduct of everybusiness in a nation that is fastbecoming a scourge to the humanrace.

I wonder who believed thepresident when he vowed that wewon’t experience such crash again.At most he has been dour anduninspiring in leading ameaningful exit from such charredcases. Many wonder whether hemeant a crash of a Dana plane inIju Ishaga on a bleak Sundayafternoon. If that was what hemeant, he might be right. We maynot experience such again. Ifhowever he meant that Nigerianaircrafts would not crash again, hewas indulging in a flatteringhyperbole. As a president whosewords have lesser meaning thanany president in the history of thecountry, he was not scoring a firstin such hyperboles. He was far fromhitting the bull’s eyes with suchstatement and woe betides whoever

takes his words here to the bank.Remember the moratorium to

cement manufacturers to crashcement price last year?

Remember the ultimatum tosell kerosene for N50 a liter?

Remember the false promisesand the prurient vow to turnNigeria to a modern wonder withthe proceeds from the fuel priceincrement last January?

Remember the promise onpower, mass transit, state of thewonder rail lines, etc? Which onehas been met except in breach? SoNigerians, pummeled by badleadership, have come to treat thewords of their president as the freeoutpourings that occur in anaverage beer parlour. The issue ofpresidential flippancy is not ourconcern in this report but the factthat Nigerians are living corpses;whether they are flying in the air,traveling on roads, praying inchurches and mosques, sitting inthe comfort of their rooms or in anyother place. Nigeria has become alooming disaster region and no oneis spared its negative fallouts.

What better way to show thekind of dire security risks andimponderable safety options facingNigerians presently than the manyevents of the week of the fatal DanaAir crash? In the middle of the week,travelers, bystanders and othersundry road users on the ever-busybut horribleLagos-IbadanExpressway (?) were roasted in anearly morning inferno as a full ladenpetrol tanker tipped over on theuneven, scraggy and tight road. Itsplashed its combustible contents onpeople and automobiles near itsdeadly vicinity and a wild fireconsumed so many Nigerians, somany vehicles, and properties. Itlocked up the narrow road for the

rest of the day and this imposed hugetrauma on road users who ply thatgateway to Nigeria’s commercialand economic nerve. A day afterthat, there was a repeat of suchsimilar hell on another stretch ofthe same road; this time withdeadlier effects.

On the morning of the day ofthe ill fated crash, Boko Haramterrorists set upon worshippers intwo churches in Bauchi. Whenthey have exhausted their deadlymission, more than twentyNigerians lay dead, many otherssustained varying degrees of injurywhile properties were destroyed.On Friday, a Nigerian cargo planeexported its nuisance value bycrash landing on road users inneighboring Ghana. It took with it,ten lives and with the benefit ofhindsight; it was just a fore runnerto a deadlier carnage in Nigeria.The Dana Air crash took with it allpassengers on board, the flight crewand of course several otherNigerians that were relaxing in thecomfort of their homes thusclimaxing the security miasmathat threatens every Nigerian atpresent. There is practicallynothing to show that the nation hasseen its last air crash as there isnothing to suggest the security wildcat that threatens to devour all ofus is about to be caged for reasonswe shall see in the course of thisreport.

Sometime in the weekpreceding this chain of ugly events,I had written on the social mediaforum thatNigeria is a land wherehorrible reports of insecuritystruggle for space with each other.In another, I had written that inthe present day Nigeria, a heinouscase of corruption merely waits tobe displaced each day by more

egregious cases. And in both, I hadtried to draw a nexus between theincreasingly insecure state we havein Nigeria with the rampant casesof corruption, which to all intentsand purposes, had been elevated toa directive principle of state policyby successive governments inNigeria and has been made abinding law by the presentgovernment, which has so far,shown the most tolerant andpermissive attitude to corruption. Istill wonder why anything canwork in such state of sleaze andaudacious stealing.

The sordid state of Nigeriansecurity and the Nigerian state atpresent is a demonstration of whatcorruption a culture of impunitycan do to a nation. Nigeriaresembles the Hobbesian state ofnature where life is brutish, shortand nasty and every Nigerian is apotential victim of thisFrankenstein monster nurturedover the years and which has nowassumed full manhood. In theopinion of Theophilus Danjuma, aranking PDP chieftain and a formerChief of Army Staff, Nigeria is verymuch like Somalia today. AndSomalia typifies a state where lawand order have irretrievablybroken down. The systematicenculturation of an amoral orderthat rests on the rotten pillars ofcorruption, graft and avarice hasgotten to a dizzying height thatleaves us with no better expectationthan the disheveled state of anomiewe are living with today. Life hasbecome so cheap that Nigerians areliving corpses to the forces of Hadesthat have been littered sogenerously in the polity to snuff lifeout of any Nigerian at the drop of ahat. The reality of the frightfulNigerian state at present is that one

A nation in distressBy Peter Claver Oparah

can meet extinction mid air in theflying coffins that pass as ourairplanes, on the rickety roads asmobile infernos, unlatched trailers,heavy duty vehicles struggle forspace with all manners of smallvehicles on our crater-riddled,narrow, ill maintained roads. Whatmore, armed robbers, killers,kidnappers, terrorists of all guiseand persuasions lie in wait forNigerians on the roads, ready topounce on hapless Nigerians at will.Even in the worshipping places,markets, work places, schools,Nigerians are potential causalitiesto all manners of criminals who runrings round a confused, clueless andcorrupt government and makemincemeats with Nigerians at will.Hunger, privation, disease andwant complement this destructiveennui that has been let loose overNigerians while the governmentdithers and those in governmentsfeed fat from the common till.

Through acts of corruption,public treasury is there for theincessant raiding of those thatwarm government positions.Annual budgets merely finance thefreebies, nuances, idle lives, excessesand idiosyncrasies of those ingovernment, together with theircivil servant collaborators and ofcourse their private sectors laundrymen, who help them stash publicfunds while the public sector suffers.As a result of corruption, our roadshave remained death traps evenas trillions of Naira were reportedlyspent on them, our health facilitieshave turned to mortuaries, ourschools have gone decrepit, theenergy sector continues to generatemillions of megawatts of darkness,our energy sector wobbles on theweight of trillion Naira scams and

Last week on this website, Ihad once again mootedthat Jonathan’s greatest

obstacle to success as president ishimself.

Time and time again he hasshown, as a result of hisunnecessary unforced errors,that he is his own chief enemy.They simply resuscitate thequestion, as to whether he wasready to be president.

On Democracy Day, I got tolisten to his speech by chance.Nothing else to do; just lazing inbed. What would he say thatother presidents before him havenot said and promised Nigerians?What would be different?

In any case, when I startedwatching, Jonathan was readingfrom a prepared speech before hisnose, like a school boy forced bythe teacher to read from atextbook in class. And his bodylanguage was not helpful. Youcould easily see that he did notbelieve in what he was readingto his “fellow Nigerians”.

What was only inspiring, asthe reading progressed, was thatit was a comprehensive report ofhis stewardship, untypical of our

leaders. He covered almosteverything. Telling Nigerianswhat the state of things was beforehe assumed office, and what it ison that day. For the first time,since I supported his presidency,I was impressed. I was compelledto nod along as he read.

Unfortunately, at the end, heshot himself at the foot once more.Jonathan capped his speech byannouncing the renaming of theiconic University of Lagos afterthe Late Chief MKO Abiola, the“presumed winner” of thedubiously annulled June 12Presidential elections of 1993. Ina singular statement, Jonathanillegally attempted to erase myAlma Mata. I was speechless!“This can not be possible,” I laterbreathed.

But what could be possible?Jonathan had once againembarrassed people like me, whodesperately wishes that hesucceeds as president.

He once again proved,through another needless boo-boo,that he is the one preventinghimself from blazing the path togreatness.

I had spent the next hourspondering over Jonathan’s illegaland provocative MAULing of

University of Lagos. He nowwants the great school to becalled MAUL and no longerUNILAG. Impossible!

The legendary University ofLagos was established by Act ofParliament, and in Article 1 ofthat law, it is stated that theschool shall be called: Universityof Lagos. To repeal, amend orotherwise alter those provisions,a legislative amendment wouldbe needed. This is why it bafflesme how the president coulddelude himself to think that hecould change any provision ofthat Act by a mere executivepronouncement.

This can never be possible.This aside, the action of

Jonathan is very fascist and hasthe footprints of a ruthlessdictator. As in the withdrawal ofthe fuel subsidy, he actedcontemptuously arbitrarily.Apart from being or pretendingto be a democrat, Jonathan comesfrom the academia. Therefore,one would have expected him toconsult with the schoolauthorities, Student Union andAlumni Association before hecould contemplate changing theschool’s name.

For the avoidance of doubt,

the late Abiola deserves everyhonour he could get for payingthe supreme sacrifice for ourfreedom. But what I am saying isthat you can not sacrifice a brandlike University of Lagos for cheappopulism. It therefore seems tome that Jonathan only wantedto ridicule the late Pillar of Sportand divide the Yorubas with suchdoubtful recognition. First, thename Abiola can neverovershadow UNILAG of 50 yearsof iconic excellence till life onearth is through. So, it was nohonour. Secondly, Abiola was aNational Hero. So whyregionalise the recognition. Sincehe was acknowledged as Africa’sPillar of Sports, renaming theNational Stadium Abuja afterhim would have been moresuitable. Or re-naming the EagleSquare to Abiola Square. If tothose in power, it must be auniversity, despite the fact thata polytechnic in Ogun State hasalready been named after him,then the University of Abuja,which is not yet a brand or any ofthe new proposed 9 federalUniversities.

Unilag students are riotingand resisting the name change.The school has been shut down

for two weeks. Could this be theaim of the recognition? Torubbish Abiola’s name or what?ASUU is also spoiling for war. Iwill encourage them to ask acourt of competent jurisdiction todeclare Jonathan’s rascalityillegal, null and void.

Typical of fascists, the reactionof the government is that “thereis no going back” and that thechange “is in the interest of thenation”. I also watchedInformation Minister, LabaranMaku defend the governmentdecision on NTA’s Tuesday Live.As always, he likes to talk, butwhat his listeners don’t like is thecontent of what he says. CouldEngland ever contemplaterenaming Cambridge or Oxford,No! How could people who saythey are democrats insists onwhat is overwhelmingly rejectedby the people?

University of Lagos is possiblyNigeria’s finest institution, abrand with enormous goodwillacquired over five decades.

This can never be wiped awayby a misguided presidentialexuberance. Charles Ofoji can be reachedatcheckpointcharley@yahoo.de

Jonathan’s MAUling of UNILAGBy Charles Ofoji

‘

Continued on page 15

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012PAGE 14

Letter to President Jonathan: Requestfor public inquiry into the Dana air crash

Peoples Daily welcomes your letters, opinion articles, textmessages and ‘pictures of yesteryears.’ All written

contributions should be concise. Word limits: Letters - 150words, Articles - 750 words. Please include your name anda valid location. Letters to the Editor should be addressed

to:

The Editor,Peoples Daily, 1st Floor Peace Plaza,

35 Ajose Adeogun Street, Utako, Abuja.Email: let ters@peoplesdaily-online.com

SMS: 07037756364

WRITE TO US

We the undersignedrepresentatives of N-Katalyst, a non-partisan

network of individuals fromdiverse sectors committed to thepromotion of Nigerian unity andprogressive change, herebyrequest the establishment of apublicly accessible andrepresentative inquiry into theDana Air crash of June 3, 2012.

Background and PurposeThe aircraft, a McDonnell

Douglas 83 (MD83) withRegistration Number 5N-RAMand 153 people on board departedAbuja for Lagos in the afternoon ofJune 3 but crashed five minutesto landing at Iju-Ishaga, a denselypopulated neighbourhood inAgege Local Government Area ofLagos. All the 153 passengers onboard were reportedly killed aswell as unverified number ofpersons on ground. The fallenaircraft destroyed severalbuildings and rendered a goodnumber of others uninhabitableby the force of the impact on earthsurface. Environmental expertshave also reported possibleemission of radioactive materialsin the neighbourhood.

Available information frominsider sources and passengerswho have flown in the aircraftbefore the incident suggests thatit ought not to have been in serviceon that day and in fact shouldhave been retired on account ofincessant engine faults if theoversight agencies as well as theairline had been steadfast withmaintaining aviation safetystandards, although the Dana Airdisputes these claims.

Therefore, an open andaccessible public Inquiry will helpin ascertaining what reallycaused the crash and resultantdeaths and destruction of propertyby investigating the immediateand remote causes and bringing

to justice any persons or corporatesfound culpable.

Chronology of major Air Crashesin Nigeria

Nigeria has experienced one toomany crashes resulting to massdeaths in the last twenty years andall the aircrafts involved wereregistered and operated in thecountry, which calls into questionhow serious we take aviation safetyand security:

1. September 26, 1992 - ANigerian AirForce C-130c r a s h e dminutes aftertaking off fromLagos airport.Around 200people died.

2. June 25,1995 - A HarkaAirlines Soviet-era TupolevT u - 1 3 4crashed atLagos airport,killing 15people.

3 .November 13,1995 - A Nigeria Airways Boeing737 crashed on landing in Kaduna,killing nine people.

4. November 7, 1996 - A Boeing727 operated by Nigeria’s ADCAirlines crashed on its way fromPort Harcourt to Lagos. All 142passengers and nine crew died.

5. May 4, 2002 - A NigerianEAS Airlines BAC 1-11 crashed inKano. At least 148 people werekilled, 75 on the plane and at least73 on the ground.

6. October 22, 2005 - ANigerian Bellview Airlines Boeing737 airliner crashed shortly aftertake-off from Lagos. All 111passengers and six crew were killed.

7. December 10, 2005 - ANigerian Sosoliso Airlines DC9 fromAbuja crashed on landing in PortHarcourt, killing 106 people, halfof them schoolchildren on their way

home for Christmas.8. September 17, 2006 -

Twelve Nigerian militarypersonnel, mostly high-rankingofficers, were killed in a plane crashin Benue state. Six survived.

9. October 29, 2006 - An ADCairliner with 114 passengers onboard crashed and burned aftertake-off from Abuja, killing 96people.

10. June 3, 2012 - A Dana Airpassenger plane carrying 153

people crashed in the Agege suburbof Lagos, killing everyone on boardand an unconfirmed number onground.

It is disheartening to note thatthe standard response of theGovernment of Nigeria (GON) toall these aforementioned crasheswas to set up secretive technicalinvestigation panels whose reportswere apparently neither madepublic nor acted upon. In a way,these technical panels became atunnel through which successivegovernments ran away from theirresponsibility of making Nigerianairspace safe and secure for allstakeholders.

Your government is in a historicposition to break this vicious cycleof public deceit if it heeds ourrequest to convene a public inquiryinto the crash.

Possible Terms of ReferenceThe Panel should among other

things look into the following aspart of its Terms of Reference:

a. Investigate and determinethe cause of the crash andexamine contributory factors;

b. Inquire into the roles playedby the regulatory bodies and otherorganisations responsible forairspace management in Nigeria,prior to the accident;

c. Examine what regulatoryg u i d e l i n e s ,instructions andorders wereapplicable andwhether theywere compliedwith;

d. Determinethe state ofserviceability ofthe aircraft andr e l e v a n tequipment;

e. Establish thelevel of training,r e l e v a n tcompetences andqualifications ofthe crew

members involved in the crash;f. Ascertain if search and rescue

facilities were fully available,utilized and functioned correctly;

g. Ascertain the number ofpeople on ground that lost theirlives and value of propertydestroyed at the site of the crash.

h. Assess any health and safetyat work and environmentalprotection implications to theresidents of the area in which thecrash occurred.

i. Determine and comment onany broader contributory factorsor causes including,management, oversight,maintenance culture andresources.

j. Make appropriaterecommendations.

We request that themembership of the panel should

be broadly representativeincluding members of non-governmental human rightsorganizations and Nigerian BarAssociation (NBA). This is toensure transparency andaccountability.

We look forward to a favourableand timely response to our requestin order to take advantage of themood of the moment; provide someassurance to the bereaved that thedeath of their loved ones will not goin vain; prevent avoidable airmishaps in future and moreimportantly ensure that theNigerian airspace is not only safebut complies with internationalaviation safety standards.

We thank you for your kindconsideration and attention to ourrequest.

Long Live the Federal Republicof Nigeria.

Yours faithfully,Dr Jibrin Ibrahim Dr Otive

IgbuzorSaudatu Mahdi Bilkisu YusufAyisha Osori Prof Ebere

OnwudiweYemi Candide-Johnson Ayo

ObeSaka Azimazi Maryam UwaisBashir Yusuf Ibrahim Innocent

ChukwumaChris Kwaja Hassan HussainiDr A. S. Mohammed

Nsongurua UdombanaAsma’u Joda Nsirimovu

AnyakweeDr Kabir az Zubair Martin

ObonoDr Hussaini Abdu Aisha

OyebodeHubert Shaiyen Dr Arabo

Ibrahim BayoFatima Wali-Abdurrahman

Dr Charmaine PereiraYusufu Pam Dr. Chidi

OdinkaluN-Katalyst, 16 A7 Street,CITEC Mbora Estate, Jabi/Airport Road BypassEmail:nkatalyst33@yahoo.com

Again and again and again …never againBy Dr Arese Carrington

My heart and prayers goout to the family ofvictims of the Dana plane

crash and the nation as a whole.Thoughts and emotions runthrough my mind nineteen to thedozen as I think of my nativecountry Nigeria, who like aprodigal child continues tosquander its opportunity for thelove of money, greed andcorruption. There is a cleardifference between the inevitableand the avoidable. A lot of thedisasters that are befalling thenation can be classified asavoidable. Bad roads leading tomultiple fatal accidents, poormaintenance and inadequateemergency services leading tofatal crashes, collapsed buildingsdue to defective construction arebut a few of the avoidabletragedies that have befallen thenation.

I will never forget the plight ofthe students who lost their lives inthe ill fated Sosoliso plane crash on10th December 2005 in PortHarcourt. I keep rememberingwhen my husband, AmbassadorCarrington laid the foundationstone for the Jesuit College whichthey attended on April 1st 1995 inAbuja and gave an address titled“Hope reborn on the field ofdreams”. How as he looked over theempty fields he saw hope reborn inthe dreams and bright future theschool would offer the students whoattended it, but he feared what layin wait for them once they left thecollege and entered into the harshreality outside. In his speech, he saidin part:

“But, I must also frankly say,that as good as my long-rangevision may be, my vision dimswhen I try to gaze beyond theconfines of the school. The horizonis much hazier, and I don’t thinkit is just a case of the lingering

winds of harmattan. Because thegreat challenge for all of us, afterthe Jesuits have done their job ofbringing in children from allparts of Nigeria, educating them,giving them strong values, iswhat happens when theygraduate and leave? What will thepicture be outside of the walls ofthis college? Will the society theyreturn to be nurturing andaccepting of the values they learnhere?”

“Let us pray that these studentsmatriculate into a society in whichgetting rich quickly is no longer acherished value; in whichcorruption is to be shunned and notenvied. A society in which freedomand democracy flourish.”

Unfortunately the answer to hisquestion revealed itself when thoseinnocent children became victimsof a corrupt nation that cuts cornersregardless of the cost to its citizens.A crash that when it happened livescould have been saved if proper

emergency and rescue serviceswhere in place. After all didCaptain Sullenberger of U.SAirways not land a plane on theHudson river in New York and allits passengers were rescued?

We remember the students notas individual but en mass as agroup but to their loved ones,friends and family, their namesare forever individually engravedin their hearts while that paincontinues to linger on. On theother hand we remember thenames of the VIPs because theirsare headlined in the media whenthey are a victim of a disaster.Their positions are then filled withnew people who promise heavenand earth.

In our quiet moments let usexamine our hearts and mindsand ensure we are not guilty ofomission or commission. In ademocracy it is the right and dutyof the people to make certain thatthose governing are accountable

to those being governed. Thepeople’s fundamental basic humanrights for life, liberty and freedommust be put above corruption andgreed. Some of the people in thebuilding the Dana plane crashedinto may never have flown before,living on the precipice of povertybut became victims and lost theirright to life.

Again and Again and Againeach time there is a catastrophicdisaster we hear the words: “Neveragain will this be allowed tohappen”. Let us stop kiddingourselves, unless it is backed up bythe necessary action, such asaccountability in all sectors, goodgovernance, transparency and anend to corruption or at leastconsequences for corruption….thesad truth is “Never Again”becomes empty words.Dr Arese Carrington is thewife of former USAmbassador to Nigeria,Walter Carrington

By Dr Jibrin Ibrahim & 23 others

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012 PAGE 15

Minister of State forEducation, Barr. EzenwoNyesom Wike believes

that the structures put in place bythe Federal Ministry of Educationand UBEC are robust enough toprotect the interest of the Nigerianchild and ensure that the books arenot diverted. Wike said that themechanisms were jointly workedout with the State Universal BasicEducation Boards and security

agencies to avoid the mistakes ofthe past.

According to him: “TheMinistry of Education will neitheraccept nor tolerate the malady ofthe past where such textbookswere either found in the openmarkets despite the brandedinscriptions against suchunwholesome practices or leftunutilized in the storerooms ofschools, unprotected fromdestruction by water, mold andpests. For us, education remains

key to national development andthe administration of PresidentJonathan is determined to ensurethat primary school pupils andJunior Secondary students haveaccess to relevant books for betterlearning to take place”.

To the Executive Secretary ofUBEC, Dr Ahmed ModibboMohammed, the commission willcollaborate with all the StateUniversal Basic Education Boardsand other stakeholders to deliverthe books to the children. The UBEC

Executive Secretary noted that noeffort will be spared in ensuringthat criminal elements in thebooks supply system are deterredfrom denying zthe children theirright to access these books.

What President Jonathan hasdone by distributing books free ofcharge to Nigerian children inpublic schools is simply to show anexample privileged Nigerians andcorporate organisations that thetime has come for every group tomake practical contributions to setthe nation’s education sector onthe path of growth.

Chairman, Senate FormerCommittee on Education, SenatorUche Chukwumerije was full ofpraises for the Presidential action,which he said that the Senate willcontinue to identify with andsupport. Senator Chukwumerijecommended the Federal Ministryof Education and UBEC forworking round the clock to addressthe decay in the nation’s basiceducation sub-sector. The Federallawmaker noted that if the Senatehad any doubts about the booksdistribution to less privilegedNigerian children will besuccessful, such doubts weredispelled by the realisticmechanisms put in place to get thebooks to the remotest parts of thenation.

Also speaking at the books’distribution flag off, the HouseCommittee chairman onEducation, Rt. Hon. FaroukLawan, said that the free booksdistribution programme is one ofthe best initiatives of theJonathan administration toaddress the basic challengesfacing the education sector.Lawan said that he

Jonathan’s book gift to the Nigerian child (II)By Simeon Nwakaudu

The history of agricultureof course dates back tothe fall of man where, after

tasting the forbidden fruit of whichidentity and nomenclature pointsin no other direction than animmoral roll in the hay, he wasdivinely sanctioned and strippedof many fringe benefits of theluxurious Garden of Eden, amongwhich included the fact that hewould have to toil and till on theground for his sustenance. Sincethen, man has taken thatpunishment in his stride, and has,as time and generationsprogressed, conscientiously madeeffort to cushion every difficultyand strain on that chiding rod.

The oil boom in Nigeria of thelater part of the nineteenthcentury which was harbinged bythe discovery in Oloibiri 1956 ofsedimentedA crude oil depositsopened a floodgate of opportunities,foreign exchange and local andinternational attention, such thatit had the net effect of shifting bothprivate and governmental focusaway from agriculture, which washitherto the single largesteconomic pillar of the country inthose times. It is no gainsayingmentioning the fact that thegroundnuts which the pyramidsof Northern Nigeria boasted ofserviced the needs of most of sub-

Saharan Africa, Europe andAmerica, while the exploits of thecocoa farms of Western Nigeria arebetter witnessed than imagined inthe beverage industry the worldover. That is apart from the hugeincome and impact made fromother agricultural products suchas cassava, maize, sorghum,millet, sesame, grossing millions ofnaira in foreign exchange. Sadlyenough, oil denied the country thismustard seed of potential by thefleeting respite it offered, by wayof a burgeoning level of acceptanceand acclaim in the world market,and of course acquiringmeaningful proceeds, and thenickname of black gold in theprocess.

Within every sane andrational recluse of analysis, I daresay with the other side of mytongue that oil and its attendantexigencies has not broughtdevelopment anywhere in theworld, but rather has fuelledgreed, avarice, and sectionalism.A casual streaming of the profilesof oil rich regions in the world is asimple pointer to the truth andveracity of this fact-Syria,Tunisia, Algeria, Afghanistan,Sudan, Libya, Iran, Iraq, andmost recently, our dear giant ofAfrica and most populous blacknation, Nigeria. This is in additionto the indolence and lackadaisicalattitude it has unleashed on not

only our policy makers, but alsoour teeming youth and eventeenagers. In the oilfields of theNiger Delta, reports of truancy atwork by the so-called indigeneswho are simply spirited intosensitive positions arecommonplace, and on the basis ofthe fact that the community hasan understanding with thecompanies, they hardly feel thesledgehammer of sanction. Insome isolated cases they even hireimpersonators who share themonthly pay with them. Whenbillions roll in by the second intostate coffers by divine and naturaldesign and not by anycontributory ingenuity orresearch by any local technocrator knowledgeable person, whatcan be expected other thanprimitive stealing, embezzlementand mismanagement of itsproceeds? The kind of nonchalanceand deliberate triviality withwhich we treat funds accruingfrom oil, and the brazen manneroffenders go scot-free with itsinevitable looting does not in anyway depict a system that sweated,tasked and toiled for what it isfreely enjoying and psycho-savouring. And as is expected ofsuch a system, there is no othermineral worthy of discourse in theface of oil, leaving our rich depositsof iron ore, tin, columbite, granite,coal and the like to either be

savagely exploited by people whoare aware of its potentialities, orjust left to waste away. Theterrorist monster,disagreements, riots and fighting,resource control, derivation anddeprivation arguments andmany such unnecessaryfigments of dissatisfaction all aretraceable to one source: oil, in thesimplest terms.

Oil has sure broughtcommensurate income to Nigeriaworthy of mention, but it is in noway comparable to whatagriculture is capable of doing toan economy such as that ofNigeria. Apart from thetraditional beneficial derivativesof assurance of food supply all theyear round, provision of stable andsecure sources of engagement andlivelihood, raw materials for theagro-allied industries and the like,what oil is earning this country isin no way estimable to what stableand sustained agricultural focusin terms of political will,governmental input and researchand development can assure thiscountry, and that is putting itmildly. For while crude oil is just anon-renewable source of energy,agriculture maintains its pride ofplace as the most traditional andefficient means of driving acountry, people and economy towhatever height. There will notalways be sediments of fossil under

Making a case for agriculture in NigeriaBy Ogbonna Nnaemeka Henry rocks in the soil, but God has made

sure there will always be nitrogen,phosphorus and other nutrients inthe soil to fertilize and germinateevery living seed thrown into thesoil. At this juncture, kudos mustbe given to the government fortheir effort at stepping upagricultural proceeds over theyears in programmes likeOperation Feed the Nation,FADAMA, Green Revolution andmost recently the value chaininitiative of the Goodluck Jonathanadministration.

This is calling on everystakeholder that holds the all-round prosperity of this countrydear at heart to heed this economy-diversification call to agriculture.Government should devote moreenergy and resources to drivingand making succeed theagricultural sector, while theprivate sector should also key inand contribute their own quota tomaking Nigerian agriculturecomparable to that of nations suchas Israel, China United States andthe like. Agriculture remains themost potent power and economicindex this country needs to bothmake life more meaningful to moremembers of the populace, and toenthrone Nigeria in its pride ofplace in the comity of nations.Ogbonna Nnaemeka Henrycan be reached athenchyman@yahoo.com

administration in the last one yearhas impacted positively on thenation’s education sector.

For the less privileged childrenacross the country, PresidentGoodluck Jonathan has presenteda gift of knowledge embedded inthe critical books to be presentedfree of charge to them. The onlyrole they have to play is to makethemselves available to receivethese books and take the very nextstep to read these books to upgradeheir knowledge.

Even as the Federal Ministryof Education and UBEC have putin place mechanisms to check thediversion of books to markets,parents and other Nigerians havea role to play to stop these evilminded persons from succeeding.Nobody should patronise anyoneselling these free books. The dutyparents owe to the nation is toquickly report anyone selling hebooks to law enforcement agents,so that they can face prosecution.This nation belongs to everyNigerian. As such, no criminalelement should be given the freehand to frustrate genuinePresidential efforts to empower thegreatest number, who are the lessprivileged.

For Nigerian child, PresidentGoodluck Jonathan has madeavailable books in core subjects.This is a gift of life, which will helpall Nigerians have access to thegood things of life. Hidden in thesebooks are the treasures of personaland societal growth. Nothing canbe greater than this Presidentialgesture of love.

ConcludedSimeon Nwakaudu is theSpecial Assistant (Media) toMinister of State for Education.

unbridled stealing. In fact, thenation’s infrastructural state is sodecadent that nothing more thanthe present state of bedlam ispossible. Poverty walks on all fours,as graduate unemployment hasreached a crisis point. These andmany more details of a collapsedstate have sowed dread, fear andennui on the minds of everyNigerian that life has become sounpredictably cheap.

At a time like this, when Nigeriatotters on the brinks of disaster, thelack of an inspiring, competent,knowledgeable and incorruptibleleader to lead a possible recoverystands out so pointedly in theconfusion and lack of wit that afflictour leaders. Operating under asearing halo of corruption, thepresent Nigerian leadershipdemonstrates the hopelessness andhelplessness that loom over thecountry at present-and this is a veryfearful scenario. The presentgovernment that should offer hope

is riddled with abject lack of hope.The government that should helpout the citizenry is in dire need ofhelp. Its soul is gone and in this stateof crisis, it rather exacerbates thenational tragedy that Nigeria facestoday. Ethically rusty, morallyship-wrecked, lacking in integrity,deficit in character, hollow in clues,bereft of ideas, the presentgovernment leads in the rankingorder of atrophy and nationaltragedy that looms all over thecountry and its citizens. It has failedin mobilizing the will and thecapacity to act in the face of thethreatening tempest that pokesceaselessly at the soft underbelly ofevery sector in Nigeria. Its cozinesswith corruption has furtherworsened an already bad situationsuch that Nigerians look for divinesolution to their worseningproblems.

It is not too late for Nigeria tostart the process of repair that willpositively improve on the securitycrisis in the country but also mend

the many sectors that have beenbadly mauled by corruption. Thecitizenry must lead an ethicalregeneration that should target areturn to the hallowed ethos thatdisallows the prevailing culture ofcorruption that reigns presently. Anaffirmative action that shouldattract citizens to take more proactive moves to protest the ragingcorruption and incompetence thathave grown into portent threats tothe nation and its citizens must startand all Nigerians must sign up to it.The national tragedy is becomingso real and scaring that no one wouldbe spared its wide reach. Thecitizenry should constitute itself intoa formidable force against thecorrupt acts that have almostcompletely wrecked the country. Ibelieve there lies our salvation fromthe present state of nationalperdition.Peter Claver Oparah wrotefrom Ikeja, LagosE-mail:peterclaver2000@yahoo.com

A nation in distressContinued from page 13

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012PAGE 16

‘They came, demolished our housessecretly and ran away like thieves’

Residents of Kpadumacommunity, located atAsokoro district have

decried the demolition oftheir houses by theDepartment of DevelopmentControl of the Federal CapitalDevelopment Authority(FCDA).

The residents, who saidthat they had instituted alegal action at a Federal HighCourt, demanding the courtto bare the FCDA fromfurther demolition in thecommunity, lamented thatdespite this, the developmentcontrol went ahead at theweekend to pull downstructures in the area.

Peoples Daily recalls thatthe natives of Kpaduma, hadsometimes in March lastyear, dragged Federal CapitalTerritory Administration

(FCTA) and the FederalCapital DevelopmentAuthority (FCDA) to courtover al leged attempts toforcefully displace them fromtheir area.

The community, which were seeking an injunctionfrom the court to stop FCTAand FCDA from displacing theoriginal indigenes byreallocating their plots ofland to non-indigenes andsome government officialswithout providing necessaryfacilities to resettle them, had in the suit, asked thecourt to save the indigenesfrom being rendered homelessby government authorities.

Lawyer to thecommunity, Mr. MelaNunghe, had said that thecommunity had beencomplaining and if theircomplaints were listened to,the case would have beensettled without resorting tolegal action but that theauthorities concerned had

vehemently refused.Similarly, the councillor

representing Garki Ward, Mr.Bala Iya, who spoke on behalfof the community, had saidthat the community decidedto drag FCTA, FCDA andAMAC to court, as a result ofthe continuous harassmentand threat from non-

By Adeola Tukuru

FEATURE

Scene from the demolition exercise at Kpaduma community. Photo: Adeola Tukuru

indigenes who claimed thatresidential plots of indigeneshad been reallocated to themwithout the knowledge of theoriginal indigenous owners.

Some of the resident saidthat they lost propertiesworth over N8m to the‘illegal’ demolition exercise,alleging that they were not

given prior notice of thedemolition which took placeat the weekend.

Lamenting their loses, the displaced residents saidwhen most of them were outof the community in searchfor their daily bread,officials of the developmentcontrol invaded theirresidence, pulling down theirbuildings in their absence.

For instance, one of theresidents, Mr. Musa Jibril ,told Peoples Daily that he hadgone for his father’s burialceremony, only to receivean urgent call , requiringhim to return to the villagebecause his residentialbuilding has been demolishedby FCDA.

According to him, all hisproperty was still inside thebuilding when it wasdemolished.

“They came to demolishour house secretly and ranaway l ike thieves, because

Continued on page 18

“They came to demolish our housesecretly and ran away like thieves,

because people were not around, I andmy family were in the village for my

father’s burial. I doubt if they were trulysent by the government to carry out thisdemolition because if they were, they

would have first met with the chiefbefore going to demolish houses that

people are still living in

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012PAGE 18

Demolition: Anger grief asKpaduma residents recount lossespeople were not around, I andmy family were in the villagefor my father’s burial . Idoubt if they were truly sentby the government to carryout this demolition because ifthey were, they would havefirst met with the chief beforegoing to demolish houses thatpeople are still living in,” hesaid.

A councillor representingGarki ward, Hon. Bala Iya,whose house was also affectedin the exercise, said that theauthority of developmentalcontrol acted unjustly for embarking on the demolish without informingresidents.

He further described theexercise as an injustice thatthe Federal Governmentmust look into and ensurethat justice is done.

“Although the Director ofthe Development ControlUnit in FCT is coming withthe name of the FCT Ministerand that of Mr President, thatthey sent him, but this is not

the right way to go about thiswhole thing. I am notdisputing that they shouldnot go about doing what theywant to do, but we are humanbeings and should be treatedas such,” the councillor said.

Continuing, he added: “Ifthey have anything in mind,they should have contactedthe chiefs in Garki ward, thatthey have intention of usingour community. I am also aleader in Garki ward, butthey disregarded us and wentahead to demolished ourhouses and quantifying thedemolished houses, they areworth over N8m losses.

An obviously angry, Iyawarned the developmentcontrol to put a stop to suchillegal demolition, or expectcrisis from the indigenes.

In the same vein, heappealed to the FCT ministerand the National Assemblyfor justice to have its course.

His words: “The Director ofDevelopment control shouldstop this illegal demolition ofour residential buildings, if

they do not stop it , it willresult to a great crisis in FCTand it may start from myvillage. They are treating uslike animals and we arehuman beings l ike them. Iam call ing on the FCTMinister Sen. BalaMohammed and the NationalAssembly to quickly act onthis injustice against on us,because if they do notintervene, there may behavoc”.

Also reacting to the

incident, Secretary toKpaduma community, SimonBaba, condemned thedemolition by thedevelopment control,sayingthat the way the FCTgovernment is going aboutforcefully evacuatingoriginal inhabitants of FCT,may not yield positiveresults.

“It is unfair the way we arebeing treated in this FCT. Wedid not know when thesepeople came to demolish our

houses. Now many of ourpeople are homeless. Theyare pushing us to the wall. This is injustice, we are lawabiding people, we are incourt and the court has notgiven any verdict on the issueand they are demolishing ourhouses without theconclusion in the FederalHigh Court.

“I do not know why thisgovernment has no humanface at all for its citizens, afterforcefully acquiring ourfarmlands; they are comingto our houses to push usoutside without alternativeprovisions and more than 500houses have been marked fordemolition in thiscommunity without anyalternatives for us indigenes,this is wickedness,” he said.

In a bid to get the reactionof the development control onthe matter, several calls wereput to the mobile phonenumber of the spokesperson ofthe department, Mrs. JosieMudasiru as well as a textmessage, but were notresponded too.

Continued from page 16

“I do not know why this government has nohuman face at all for its citizens, after

forcefully acquiring our farmlands; they arecoming to our houses to push us outside

without alternative provisions and more than500 houses have been marked for demolitionin this community without any alternatives for

us indigenes, this is wickedness

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012 PAGE 17

4

1. L-R: A sachet water hawkerand a cobbler while plying theirtrade, yesterday at Area 1, inAbuja.

2. Two youngsters having anice time, during their friend'sbirthday party, at the weekendin Garki, Abuja.

3. Dignity in labour as these twoyoung men eke out a living withtheir wheelbarrows, along Zuba,in Abuja.

4. Local musicians entertainingguests, at a naming ceremony,on Sunday in Apo, Abuja.

Photos: Justin Imo-Owo andMahmud Isa

1

2

3

PAGE 19PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012

Management Tip of the DayGrow your company without sacrificing culture

unhappy, don’t try to squelchtheir anger. Instead, identifythe loudmouths. Spend timelistening to them, notinterjecting your own thoughts.That way, you can learn moreand solve their gripes.

Measure culture. It’stough, but not impossible. Use

internal surveys or interviews toget a baseline. Find out whypeople enjoy working at yourcompany and what they value.Use this information to monitorwhat matters most to youremployees.Source: Harvard BusinessReview

INSIDE

Every company wants togrow. But growth oftenbrings some hiccups,

especially when it comes toorganizational culture. If you’regrowing fast, here are two waysto keep your culture intact:

Spend a lot of timecommunicating. If people are

BUYING SELLING

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‘Lasaco Assur-ance committedto oil and gas’

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ABJ-LOS: 07.00, 09.30, 10.30,11.15, 16.15, 19.15, 19.35

ABJ-KANO: 18.40

KANO-ABJ: 08.35

ABJ-SOK (MON): 09.35

SOK-ABJ (MON): 11.35

LOS-ABJ: 06.50, 13.30, 19.45

ABU-LOS: 07.30, 13.00, 14.00, 19.00

LOS-ABJ: 07.02, 08.10, 12.06,15.30, 17.10

ABJ-LOS: 07.20, 09.36, 13.05, 14.40

LOS-ABJ: 9.45, 11.45, 2.45

IRS AIRLINES

AIR NIGERIA (MONDAY - SUNDAY)

DANA AIRLINES (MON - SUN)

AEROCONTRACTORS (MON - SUN)

ABJ-SOK (FRI): 10.10

ABJ-SOK (WED/SUN): 11.20

SOK-ABJ (FRI): 12.00

SOK-ABJ (WED/SUN): 13.20

LOS-ABJ (SUN): 12.30

LOS-ABJ (SAT): 16.45

ABU-LOS (SUN): 10.30, 14.30, 19.30

ABU-LOS (SAT): 18.30

ABJ-LOS (SAT/SUN): 13.05, 18.00

LOS-KANO: 08.10

KANO-LOS: 11.25KANO-ABUJA: 11.25

ABUJA-KANO: 10.08

ABJ-LOS: 11.30, 3.45, 4.45

LOS-KANO: 6.15LOS-KANO (SAT/SUN): 16.30KANO-LOS: 07.30KANO-LOS (SUN/SUN): 10.30

Managing Director of thefirst Islamic Bank inNigeria, Jaiz Bank Plc,

Alhaji Mustapha Bintube hassaid that the licence of the bankis not at risk.

Bintube was speaking at the10th Executive Walimatul –Qur’an and 9th Nigeria MeritAward presentation organisedby Al-Habibiyyah Academy inAbuja.

He called on the public todisregard a short messagingservice (SMS) making the roundsto the effect that there is a threatto the licence of Jaiz Bank, sayingafter a long struggle to institutethe first licensed Islamic bank inNigeria, plans are on to establishbranches in all the 36 states ofthe federation with a view toenhancing non-interest banking

services in the country. Bintube regretted however,

that the accounts are notcommensurate with theenthusiasm that greeted theinitiative due to inadequatepublicity. He therefore called onNigerians to avail themselveswith the opportunities of Islamicbanking as they have a lot tobenefit from them.

The managing directorreiterated that Jaiz bank hasmany poverty alleviatingproducts and services to benefitall and sundry. In his words: wehave products to enable youbuy a house, reconstruct yourhouse, buy householdappliances, cars and so on.

He pointed out that there areplans for a Jaiz foundation tocater for such organisations likethe Al-Habibiyyah to benefitfrom school construction and

other services for the benefit ofhumanity.

Earlier, chairman of theoccasion, and also formerinspector general of policeAlhaji Musliu Smith,commended the Al-habibiyyahAcademy for contributingimmensely to Islamicdevelopment in the countrythrough its programmes such asthe Arabic for Beginners,Advance Qur’an, AdvanceExecutive Qur’an, Zakatfoundation, Ramadan Tafiramong others.

Guest lecturer at theoccasion, Governor MuazuBabangida Aliyu, said thelecture titled: Integrating theAlmajiri into Formal EducationSystem: Perspectives fromQur’an and Sunnah, as apt, andthat the almajiri system onceprovided a gate way to education

Jaiz Bank licence not at risk- Bintubeand early life training for manyMuslim children in northernNigeria, adding however, thatArabic and Western knowledgeare fundamental to humanexperience and progress.

On her part, wife of the Vice-President, Hajiya AminaNamadi Sambo, who receivedthe award of Jewel ofWomanhood, applauded theinitiative of Al-Habibiyyah inpropagating the religion andpledged continued support inenhancing the cause of Islam.

Other beneficiaries of theAward included Minister ofEducation, Professor RukkaiyatuAhmed Rufai, Governor of Osunstate AbdulRauf Aregbeshola,Governor of Imo state OwelleAnayochukwu Rochas Okorochaand the Managing Director ofNERFUND, Alhaji Baba MainaGimba.

By Jamila Nuhu Musa

L-R: Chief Economic Adviser to the President, Dr. Nwanze Okidegbe, Permanent Secretary, CareerManagement Office Head of Service, Mrs. Kehinde Ajoni, and Director-General, Bureau of PublicProcurement, Engineer Emeka Ezeh, during the presentation of national database for the registration,categorisation of contractors, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Joe Oroye

The Federal Governmenthas begun an ambitiousprogramme to bring the

nation’s domestic borrowing toa sustainable level by the year2015, which analysts say willlikely cut into the huge profitsof Nigerian banks which arethe major holders ofgovernment debt.

The main route to domesticborrowing in Nigeria isthrough the issuance ofTreasury Bills (T-bills) by theCentral Bank and manyanalysts have argued that thecurrent volume of TreasuryBills and Federal Government(FGN) Bond issues could becrowding out the real sectorfrom the credit market.

“Beginning this year, we arereducing the amount weborrow by N100 billionannually and by 2015 we willbring it so low that we are nolonger crowding out theprivate sector,” Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Finance Minister andCoordinating Minister of theEconomy, told BusinessDay.

“N1 trillion was initiallyproposed for 2012, but by a deftmaneuver, the figure wascollapsed to N744 billion.”

Okonjo-Iweala added that it

was not the desire ofgovernment to further worsenthe debt position which atcurrent levels compare veryfavourably with virtually allof Nigeria’s peers.

Nigeria’s domestic debtstock stood at N5.96 trillion asat March 31, 2012, accordingto data from the NationalBureau of Statistics (NBS).FGN Bonds made up 61.44percent of the debt, TreasuryBills, 32.63 percent, whiletreasury bonds made up therest at 5.93 percent.

Nigerian banks held N2.85trillion worth of investmentsecurities on their books at theend of 2011, according toStanbic IBTC Bank analysts,Muyiwa Oni and Rele Adesina,in a January 2012 researchnote.

Banks’ profit to reduce asFG plans domestic debt cutBy Abdulwahab Isa

Adjusted electricity tariff will attract investors, says Power MinisterFrom Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

Minister of State, PowerDarius Dickson Ishakuhas stressed that price

adjustment in electricity willattract foreign investors into theelectricity market.

The Minister who made thisassurance during a courtesy callon Governor Gabriel Suswamyesterday explained that the newprice adjustment is in pursuance

to the electricity law of thecountry, adding that it haspositive and negative impact onthe rural and urban consumersof electricity.

“Private homes will pay as lowas N4 per kilo hour whilecommercial and industrialconsumers will pay N10 per kilohour. Without this adjustment,investor will not come into theelectricity market. The markethas to be free for this to happen”,

he said.He intimated that his

ministry, in collaboration withthe National Orientation Agency(NOA), is embarking onsensitisation tour across thecountry to educate electricityconsumers adequately on the newtariff.

Governor Gabriel Suswamhailed the Federal Governmentfor deeming it necessary tosensitise the people on the new

price adjustment, contending thatprice adjustment must be backedby steady power supply.

He noted that the intendedprivatisation of the power sectorwill go a long way in reviving thesector for optimal production.

“We hope that this will not endup in the air conditioned roomsbut should be implemented for thebenefit of the consumers. Thiscould cause apathy if not wellhandled”, Suswam stated.

PAGE 20 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012

Competitionslashes JohnHolts earnings

John Holt has made public itsfull year 2011 result showinga steep 42 percent drop in

turnover from N10.2billion in2010 to N5.9 billion in 2011.

Airtel signsglobal deal withOpera Browser

Bharti Airtel, a leadingintegratedtelecommunications

company with operations in 20countries across Asia andAfrica, announced that it hassigned a global arrangementwith Opera Software to offer acustomised and co-brandedversion of Opera Mini Internetbrowser for Airtel mobilecustomers across its operations.

DeloitteannouncesN120bninvestment instrategic markets

As part of its drive tofurther deepen itspresence, across the

world, Deloitte ToucheTohmatsu Limited (DTTL), atits annual World Meeting, heldat the weekend, announced acommitment of US$750 million( N 120 bn) in investments instrategic markets over the nextthree years, a continuation ofthe prior three-year strategicmarket investmentprogramme (FY10-12),financial year 2010, 2012,which totalled US$500million.

SON discoverspetroleumproductsadulteration depotin Port Harcourt

The StandardsOrganisation of Nigeria(SON) has clamped down

on a filling station in PortHarcourt, where petroleumproducts including petrol anddiesel are said to be adulteratedand sold to unsuspectingmotorists and household users.

Telecom operatorslament industrychallenges

The Association of LicensedTelecommunicationsOperators of Nigeria

(ALTON) on Friday pleadedwith the Federal Governmentto address the challengesconfronting the networkoperators.

COMPANYNEWS

L-R: Guest Lecturer and Special Assistant to the Chief Economic Adviser to the President, Dr KingsleyObiora, with Managing Director, Citigroup African Economic, Mr. David Cowan, during a lecture on globaleconomic trends and impact on Nigeria's capital market organised by Securities and ExchangeCommission (SEC), yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

By Muhammad Nasir

OPEC’s crude oil outputjumps to 31.75m bpd in May

Crude oil production fromthe Organisation ofPetroleum Exporting

Countries (OPEC) rose to 40,000barrels per day (bpd) to 31.75million b/d last month.

In a survey carried out byOPEC, oil industry officials andanalysts showed that Mayproduction marks a rise fromApril’s output level of 31.71million b/d and is the highestlevel since October 2008 whenOPEC volumes averaged 32.26million b/d.

“The number that reallymatters is the jump fromJanuary to May this year, whichshows that OPEC output rosefrom 30.87 million b/d inJanuary to 31.75 million b/d

last month,” said Mr. JohnKingston, Platts’ global directorof news.

According to the survey,Saudi Arabia is OPEC’s largestexporter and has boosted itsoutput by 50,000 b/d to 10million b/d in May.

OPEC’s president signaledyesterday it could act to reduce aglut of oil that has knocked theprice down towards double digits,but said it was unlikely to setindividual country productionquotas at a meeting this week.

However, Abdul KareemLuaibi, who also serves as oilminister of Iraq, saidmaintaining the price at $100(64.33 pounds) - $120 a barrelwas “reasonable and acceptable”,

but repeatedly declined to specifywhat action if any OPEC mighttake when it meets on Thursday.

Supply from OPEC is runningnearly 2 million barrels per day(bpd) above a self-imposedproduction ceiling of 30 millionbarrels per day set whenministers last met in December.At the time, individual targetsfor countries were not allocated.

Oil is now trading at about$100 a barrel after falling backfrom a four-year high of $128 inMarch. Worries about the slowpace of global economic recoveryhave helped depress prices, whichhad been boosted earlier thisyear by tension between theWest and Iran over its nuclearprogramme.

Amidst the global economiccrisis stirred by euro zoneand Greece debt burden,

the Federal Government havebeen urged to take preliminarymeasures by cultivatingsavings culture from her oilearnings.

This was the submission of theManaging Director of Citi groupDr. David Cowan yesterday inAbuja at the Securities andExchange Commission (SEC)lecture series with a theme:“global economic trends and the

impact on Nigeria’s capitalmarket”.

Besides, he said, it shoulddemonstrate genuine efforttowards implementingthe Petroleum Industry Bill(PIB) as a means to open up thesector for both competitivenessand transparency.

Cowan, in his lecture, drew alink between the prevailingglobal economic crises in theEuropean zone and the Greecedebt burden on one hand, andthe indirect economic buoyancythe impact has brought to bearon oil export countries, including

Nigeria.Consequently, Cowen

challenged the relevantauthorities to be aware that“high oil prices should not betaken for granted as has beenthe case in recent years” andadvised that Nigeria must becautious on running down itsavings.

He pointed out that with thePIB passed in good time, Nigeriacould conveniently move fromthe current 2.2 million barrel oildaily production to 4 millionbarrel a day. Other areas offocus listed by Citigroup MD to

Citigroup boss warns against extravagant spending of oil savingsbe accorded priority include the Sovereign Wealth Funds(SWF), to shield governmentagainst possible future oilprice shocks.

In his contribution, Dr.Kingsley Obiora from the officeof the Chief Economic Adviser tothe President, noted that theNigeria’s economy is on the righttrack and advised the financialregulators, especiallythose responsible for the stockmarket to look inward and comeup with how the capital marketcan be the engine of Nigeria’seconomy growth.

As the centre of world oildemand shifts east,Nigeria-based energy

firm, Sahara Group has startedpumping its first crude oil andplans to expand tradingactivities in the Middle East andAsia, the chief executive of itstrading division said.

Privately owned Sahara,which had a turnover of $8billion (N1.28 trillion) in 2011,is along with Swiss-based tradersVitol, Trafigura and Glencore,one of the main independentexporters from Nigeria, via termcontracts with the NigerianNational Petroleum Corporation(NNPC).

Already present in theAfrican fuel distribution and

power sector, Sahara this yearstarted pumping its first oil.

“We are currently focused infully developing one onshore block(OPL274), where we believe to getsoon a peak production ofminimum 25,000 barrels perday,” said Fortunato Constantinoin an interview.

The firm also has stakes inseveral offshore Nigerian oil blocks,including OL284 and OL286.

Sahara Group pumps first oil, expands trade east Sahara also expects to becomea producer of liquefied natural gas(LNG) in the next few yearsthrough Nigeria’s long-delayedBrass LNG project, alongsideshareholders Eni and Total.

“The plan of the shareholders isto take a final investment decisionby the end of the year. Weparticipate with a 2 percent stakeand are willing to market asignificant part of the 10 milliontonnes per annum plantproduction,” he said.

‘LasacoAssurancecommitted tooil and gas’

Lasaco Assurance hasaffirmed its commitmentto the oil and gas industry.

This was disclosed recently in astatement by the firm’sExecutive Director, BabajideWright, who noted that thecompany is a major player inthat sector and it is working hardto leverage on its potential.

He said one major area thecompany has demonstrated itscore policy is through promptclaims settlement.

According to him, LASACOpays claims promptly. It is apolicy its management paysattention to most, especially inoil and gas business.“International oil companies paypremium promptly, whenclaims materialise, we should doso too,” he added.

He said the depth of thecompany’s professionalism inhandling business, especially inthe oil and gas sector, has madeit to stand out from among itscompetitors, adding: “Lasaco’sinvolvement extends beyondgrowth of the company, it alsoencompasses ways and means ofdeveloping the market. Itcontains technical capacities todevelop the industry. To this end,Lasaco has been in the forefrontfor capacity building andprofessional training.

On how the firm intends tomaintain its position in theindustry, he said it will organisetraining and seminars, bothlocally and internationally formiddle management and topmanagement staff, attachmentprogrammes in overseas for staffwith international affiliates toget more knowledge of how thebusiness is practiced abroad.

By Muhammad Nasir

OPEC chief hints at action to reduce oil glut

By Abdulwahab Isa

By Muhammad Nasir with agencyreport

PAGE 21PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012

NDIC set to booststudents knowledgeon banking, finance

As part the measures putin place to boostdepositor’s knowledge on

the banking and financialmatters, the Nigeria DepositInsurance Corporation (NDIC)has presented a handbook to theLagos state Ministry of Educationaimed at enhancing financialliteracy of secondary schoolstudents.

The Managing Director of theNDIC, Mr. Umaru Ibrahim, whilepresenting the handbook titled: ‘Basic Knowledge on Banking’, tothe commissioner for Education,Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye statedthat available evidence showedthat an average Nigerians bankcustomer lacks the requisiteknowledge necessary for makingimportant financial andinvestment decisions.

According to him, as result ofthis dearth of this basis knowledgemany banks depositors hadsuffered some loses by placingtheir funds in illegal andunlicensed hands which are not

insured by the corporation.Ibrahim, who was

represented by the deputydirector, Establishment, NDIC’sLagos office, Mr. PeterEigbiremonien said that the bookcover some important issues suchas the definition of a bank, typesof financial institutions, thereasons why depositors shouldkeep their money in banks,different types of bank accounts,basic information people needwhen choosing which banks toopen an account with.

He explained that thecorporation’s decision was basedon the need to catch them youngin understanding the principlesand practice of banking.

He urged the commissioner toensure that secondary schools inthe state put at least six copies ofthe handbook in their variouslibraries to enable juniorsecondary school student haveaccess to it.

Responding, thecommissioner thanked themanagement of the NDIC theirsupport and assured that the

books would be distributed to theschool library.

Oladunjoye, who expressedoptimism that the book wouldposition students better to knowsome rules in banking, said 6,400copies of the book would beenough to go round the secondaryschools in the state.

She said that although mostof the secondary schools in thestate were overcrowded becauseof children’s population, thegovernment has embarked onreform to ensure that properstudents are enrolled in the stateschool.

She commended thecorporation for its guarantee topay a sum of N500,000 perinsured depositor in the event offailure of commercial bank inthe country and N200,000 fordepositors of microfinance banksand primary mortgageinstitutions.

She said that the newamount being paid by the NDICin recent times is moreencouraging compared toprevious years.

From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

R-L: Kaduna Sate Governor, Mr Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa, MD/CEO of Jaiz Bank Plc, Alhaji MohammedMustapha Bintube, a Director of the bank, Malam Falalu Bello, during a visit by the bank's Board ofDirectors to the governor, recently in Kaduna.

Airlines have urgedWestern governments todo more to improve safety

in Africa, and accused theEuropean Union of failing tograsp the continent’s needs bybanning dozens of carriers.

The head of the InternationalAir Transport Association(IATA), which represents mostmajor airlines, said a list ofoperators banned from the EUincluded several that are safe,that and the EU failed to aidothers needing practical help.

Plane crashes in Nigeria andGhana have killed over 160people in the past week,increasing concerns over Africa’s

safety record.“The airlines on the EU

blacklist are on it because the EUhasn’t adequate confidence inthe safety oversight provided byregulatory authorities, so theairline can be perfectly safe butthe EU decides the regulator isn’tdoing its job,” said IATA’s TonyTyler, director general of theGeneva-based airline lobby.

IATA says its members mustpass a tough check-up called theIATA Operational Safety Audit(IOSA). Airlines in the scheme,which also contains many non-IATA members, had a 53 percentbetter safety record last yearthan ones outside it, Tyler said.

“This is why we think the EUbanned list is a misguidedapproach. It is not helpinganybody and it is not improvingsafety.”

The latest EU blacklistincludes 279 carriers from 21states, 14 of which countries areAfrican.

The list includes a handfulof IATA members includingSudan Airways and part of thefleet operated by AirMadagascar.

IATA says African aviationsafety improved from 2010 to2011, but the continent’saccident rate is still the worstin the world. (Reuters)

EU’s airline safety bans hinder Africa - IATA

Group scores Jonathan highon economy, employment

The Concerned Advocacyfor Good Governance(CAGG), a non-government

organisation, has scored PresidentGoodluck Jonathan’sadministration high on economyand employment in the first oneyear.

The National Coordinator ofCAGG, Mr. Olusegun Bamgbose,told the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) in Aba, Abia state thatthe Federal Government had putthe inflation rate under control.

According to him, prices ofgoods and services have beenstable.

Bamgbose also said thatJonathan’s administrationdeserved commendation forinitiating the Youth Enterprisewith Innovation in Nigeria (YouWIN) programme to create morejobs for Nigerians.

He said that the programme,

if properly implemented, wouldreduce the unemployment ofyouths in the country.

He said that Jonathan hadlived up to his promises ofinitiating measures to cushion theeffects of the subsidy removal byproviding vehicles to all the statesacross the federation.

“Generally, one can score thisadministration high, the statesnow have more resources at theirdisposal,” he said.

Bamgbose, however, said thatsecurity had been the greatestchallenge of the presentadministration.

He urged the FederalGovernment to tackle the securitychallenge to further improve theeconomy.

“It has not been easy but theFederal Government has recordedsome breakthroughs in terms ofsecurity,” he said. (NAN)

Borno targets becominglargest exporter of gum Arabic

The Borno stategovernment said that itplans to make the state the

world’s largest exporter of gumArabic soon.

The Commissioner forEnvironment, Alhaji HassanMustapha made the plan knownin an interview with the NewsAgency of Nigeria (NAN) inMaiduguri.

Mustapha explained that theplan was part of the government’spolicy to harness the full potentialof the state.

He said the Ministry ofEnvironment had raised 20million assorted seedlings of theplant for planting toward theattainment of the target.

“Our ultimate target is to

become the world’s largest exporterof gum Arabic in the next fewyears. We believe we have all ittakes to attain the goal because ofour numerous potential.

“Already, more than 20million seedlings have been raisedacross the state for planting duringthe rainy season,’’ Mustapha said.

He said that apart from gunArabic, the ministry had alsoacquired different seeds, includingAcacia Senegal and other economictrees for planting across the state.

“Sudan is currently the world’slargest exporter of gum Arabic.

“We believe we should be ableto overtake Sudan as the largestexporter of the commodity goingby our strategies and plans,’’Mustapha said. (NAN)

Prices of tomato, pepper riseacross Lagos markets

Prices of some soupingredients haveincreased by an average of

65 per cent in some markets inLagos, the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports.

A market survey by NAN inLagos yesterday revealed thatprices of the ingredients have goneup astronomically since rainstarted.

Traders at Mushin, Mile 12,Ipaja and Ishaga markets said theyraised the prices of the ingredientsbecause of limited supply andhigher cost of transportation.

At Mile 12 market, a big basketof tomatoes now sells for N13, 000from the old price of N9, 000.

The same bag of tomato sells forbetween N12, 000 and N17, 000at markets in Mushin, Ipaja andIshaga.

The medium-size basket ofpepper goes for between N6, 000and N6, 500 in all the marketsagainst the old price of N5, 000.

The price of onion is, however,relatively stable in all the markets.

The traders described thecurrent high prices of tomatoes andpepper as “beyond imagination”.

Mrs. Nike Ayansanwo, leaderof tomatoes sellers at Ipaja market,

said that the security problem insome states in the north hadaffected the supply of tomatoes andpepper.

She said that the security issueswere being compounded bydeteriorating roads across thenation and high cost oftransportation.

Mrs Eniola Bakare, a tomatoseller, said that the current priceof tomatoes was higher that whatobtained throughout 2011.

Bakare said also that farmersattributed the increase to heavyrainfall and flooding of tomatofarms.

Busola Shodiya, anotherseller, said that the high prices hadmade some customers to avoid theingredients.

“People who were buyingN500 worth of tomatoes now payN700. There is nothing we cando; it’s because of the heavy rain,”Shodiya said. (NAN)

Mrs Olamide Koku, acustomer, said that she nowdepended on tin tomatoes tosupport her cooking.

“I no longer use fresh tomatoes,I buy some pepper and then buytin tomatoes to make soup. This isalright by me,” Koku said. (NAN)

PAGE 22 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012

Industrial court President admonishesNLC to put its house in order

The President of theNational Industrial Courtof Nigeria (NIC), Justice

Babatunde Adejumo, at theweekend admonished theleadership of the Nigeria LabourCongress (NLC) to put its house inorder.

Justice Adejumo gave theadvice at the resumed hearing inthe case of unlawful terminationof employment brought before theNational Industrial Court againstthe NLC by Comrade Onah Iduh,who was until March 2011 the

By Muhammad Sada Acting Head of the Departmentof Information and PublicRelations of the NLC.

Justice Adejumo’s counselcame when the case was calledand the parties declared theirappearance. “I have stated beforethat it is better to always settleyour disputes,” Justice Adejumosaid, adding that “you will be amore united front. It is better thatyou put your house in order.What Nigerians are reading inthe pages of newspapers aboutyou (NLC) is not good. At the endof the day, the union will suffer.”

At the resumed hearing, the

only defence witness in thematter, Comrade HappinessOkechukwu, an account officer inthe employment of the NLC oncross examination based on hersworn witness statement, told thecourt that she is not conversantwith the conditions of service orthe constitution of the NLC.

According to ComradeOkechukwu, her involvement inthe case was based on the fact thatshe paid a cheque into theclaimant’s account on 14th ofJuly 2011, a couple of monthsafter the termination of theemployment of the claimant with

the NLC.It will be recalled that

Comrade Onah had approachedthe National Industrial Courtsometime last year asking it to,among other things, make adeclaration that the purportedtermination of his employmentwith the NLC on the pretext ofon-going re-organisation in theNLC was illegal and against theideals of what the NLCrepresents.

He therefore prayed the courtto reinstate him and to granthim costs in the sum of N20million as damages.

L-R : Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Dr Samuel Ortom, Minister of Trade and Investments, Mr Olusegun Aganga, Niger stateGovernor, Dr Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu, Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, HajiyaZainab Ibrahim Kuchi, and Director Community Service, Women and Youth Empowerment in SURE- P, Mr. Papka, during the flag-off ofcommunity service, women and youth empowerment scheme of the SURE-P, recently in Minna.

Commissioner urges Southern Kadunapeople to develop entrepreneurial spiritThe Kaduna state

Commissioner for Justice,Mr. Kish Adamu, has

advised Southern Kaduna peopleto be industrious and exploreopportunities for self-reliancerather than depend ongovernment for survival.

“Southern Kaduna peoplemust be enterprising; they muststep up their capacity to identifyand explore abundant resourcesand work harder to improve theirliving standards.

“Yes, their son is the governorof Kaduna today but they mustnote that Gov. Patrick Yakowa isfor everybody. We must be up anddoing if we want to grow as a

people,’’ Adamu told the NewsAgency of Nigeria (NAN) in Josat the weekend.

He decried the lowentrepreneurial spirit of thepeople in Southern Kaduna,saying they should not continueto look up to government toprovide schools, houses and otherbasic necessities of life for them.

Adamu urged the people toharness the rich natural andhuman resources in their midstto overcome poverty.

“Once we take the first step,we shall find that it is not difficultto forge ahead but if we expecteverything to come from Yakowa,we are getting it all wrong,’’ he

said. Adamu cautioned the people

against putting ‘unnecessarypressure’’ on the governor butpromised that whatever was dueto the area would be given to it.

He said Southern Kadunawas still a vast space and urgedthe people to return to the farm,while those blessed with resourcesshould return home to invest toimprove the lot of the people.

He also urged SouthernKaduna people in elective andappointive positions to “playtheir parts very well’’ and lobbyfor projects and opportunities fortheir people.

“We cannot have our people

in various choice positions onlyto keep crying overmarginalisation. That will be avain cry,’’ he said.

Adamu expressed happinessover the development brought toSouthern Kaduna since theinception of democracy, sayingpeople from the area werecurrently holding positions manythought they could not hold.

“Our people have been madeministers, ambassadors,secretary of state government,head of service, and now governor.Democracy does open vastwindows of opportunities and wecannot even count our blessings,’’he said. (NAN).

NAFDAC canvasses capacity building for firmsFrom Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

NEM Insurance Plc. hasrecorded a gross premiumincome of N8.4 billion for

the financial year ended 31stDecember, 2011.

This showed a growth rate of31.2 per cent when comparedwith N6.4 billion written in thepreceding period in 2010.

Addressing shareholders atthe company’s annual generalmeeting in Lagos, the Chairmanof the firm, Chief Adewale Teluwocommended the company formaintaining a good financialperformance since the last firstyears.

According to him,investment income also increasedby 31.7 per cent over 2010 whileNEM Insurance Ghana Limitedachieved a profit before tax ofN25.9 million against loss ofN10.4 million recorded in theprevious year.

Profit before tax for NEMinsurance Plc. moves from N1billion in 2010 financial year, toN1.45 billion in the period underreview representing an increaseof 40 per cent while profit aftertax which stood at N 833 millionin the comparable period of 2010rose to N1.3 billion in the periodunder review, showing a surgerate of 58 per cent.

Shareholders at the meetingapproved a dividend payout of 5kobo per share to investors whosenames appeared in the companyregister.

NEMInsurance’sgrosspremiumgrows by 31percentFrom Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

The Director General of theNational Agency for Foodand Drug Administration

and Control (NAFDAC), Dr. PaulOhii has advocated capacity

building in drug manufacturingas a veritable tool needed inchampioning the fight againstcounterfeiting in Nigeria and

neighbouring countries.Speaking at the World Anti-

Counterfeit Day, 2012, Ohiisubmitted that 80 per cent of

counterfeits circulating inNigeria are foreign, which wereimported into the countryillegally.

He assured that once Nigeriaceases to depend wholly onimported drugs, it will get rid ofthe menace.

Ohii, who was represented bythe Director, Narcotics andcontrolled substances, NAFDAC,Pharmacist Hashim UbaleYusufu noted that the WorldHealth Organization (WHO) hasopened doors of opportunitiesadding that it has equallyactively encouraged the localpharmaceutical companies indeveloping the necessarycapacity.

He further stated that withthe local content policy, Nigeriacan favorably compete withother countries abroad.

‘’80 per cent of thecounterfeits in Nigeria areforeign, by the time we candevelop our own capacity, we willovercome this. With the localcontent policy we can competewith big countries of the world’’,he said.

The theme of the event, ‘Fakemedicine kills... take a close look’,he said, was apt as counterfeitingleads to drug resistance, deathamong others dangers.

PAGE 24 PAGE 25PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012

Farouk Lawan in the eye of a storm

F arouk Lawan needsn o i n t r o d u c t i o n i nt h e l e g i s l a t i v e

par lance in th is countryh a v i n g s u c c e e d e d i nr e p r e s e n t i n g t h eShanono/Bagwai FederalC o n s t i t u e n c y o f K a n os t a t e i n t h e H o u s e o fR e p r e s e n t a t i v e s s i n c e1999. The lawmaker whos h o t i n t o l i m e l i g h timmediately after he wasfirst elected in 1999 whenh e i n d i c a t e d i n t e r e s t i nb e c o m i n g t h e S p e a k e rt h e n w a s b e a t e n b y R e pSal isu Buhari , a lso f romKano state. Since then, hehas succeeded in buildingh i s r e p u t a t i o n t o av e n e r a b l e l e v e l i n t h ep a r l i a m e n t w i t h t h el e a d e r s h i p a l w a y sdifering to his opinions.

L a w a n , b a s e d o n t h i sr e p u t a t i o n h a s b e e ng e n e r a l l y r e f e r r e d t o a sL e g i s l a t o r E m e r i t u s ,having been regarded aso n e o f t h e m o s texperienced and of courseinte l l igent lawmakers inthe parliament. Althoughs o m e o f h i s d e t r a c t o r shave dismissed him as av e r y c u n n i n g p o l i t i c i a nw h o u s u a l l y d e p l o y si n t r i g u e s a n d b l a c k m a i lt o f i g h t h i s s e l f i s hp o l i t i c a l b a t t l e s b ygarbing such in patrioticc l o t h i n g s , m o s t o f h i s

c o l l e a g u e s a c t u a l l y f e a rh i m . T h e l a w m a k e r i sp e r c e i v e d a s o n e w h oc o u l d p u l l a s u r p r i s e a tany time with his oratory

day, what with .T h i s o r a t o r y a n d h i s

C h a m e l e o n i c c h a r a c t e rw a s f i r s t d e p l o y e d w h e nhe led the plot against thefirst female Speaker in theHouse of Representatives,Hon. Olubunmi Etteh, in2 0 0 7 .

With Et teh 's removal ,the Kano born pol i t ic iani n s t a n t l y b e c a m e t h e' k i n g - m a k e r ' a s h i sIntegri ty Group played ap i v o t a l r o l e i n t h ee m e r g e n c e o f E t t e h ' ssuccessor, Rt. Hon. DimejiBankole . Throughout theS i x t h A s s e m b l y , L a w a nw a s n o t o n l y b e i n gr e s p e c t e d , h e w a s a l s ob e i n g f e a r e d b y t h eleadership.

At the inception of theSeventh Assembly, i t wasgathered that Lawan wasl u r e d t o c o n t e s t t h eSpeakership of the Housewith a view to polarizingt h e s u p p o r t b a s e o f R e pAminu Waziri Tambuwal.But, a foxy Lawan, adepta t t h e p o l i t i c s o f d i v i d ea n d r u l e r e f u s e d t o p l a y

Hon. Farouk Lawan

By Lawrence Olaoye ball, preferring instead tonegotiate his relevance int h e i n c o m i n g l e a d e r s h i punder Tambuwal .

F o l l o w i n g t h eintervention of the Housei n t h e p r o t e s t t h a tf o l l o w e d t h e r e m o v a l o ffuel subsidy by PresidentG o o d l u c k J o n a t h a n i nJ a n u a r y , t h e l a w m a k e r sr e s o l v e d t o i n v e s t i g a t et h e s u b s i d y r e g i m e a n dLawan was made the headof the ad-hoc committees a d d l e d w i t h t h eresponsibility. He invitedt h o s e i n v o l v e d i n t h esubsidy scam and severalr e v e l a t i o n s w e r euncovered indicating thatt h e n a t i o n s h a d b e e nr o b b e d b l i n d b y a n o i lc a b a l . S e v e r a l l o c a l a n di n t e r n a t i o n a l c o m p a n i e swere indicted in the scamb u t t h e r e h a v e b e e ns e v e r a l r e p o r t s , i n t h ec o u r s e o f t h ei n v e s t i g a t i o n s , t h a t t h ecommittee may have beencompromised. The Housea s a n i n s t i t u t i o n a n dL a w a n a s a n i n d i v i d u a ll a b o u r e d h a r d t o d i s p e l

the insinuation, insistingt h a t t h o u g h t h e r e w e r eattempts by the oi l cabalto offer bribe to memberso f t h e c o m m i t t e e , t h e yw e r e b e i n g p a t r i o t i ce n o u g h t o r e p e l s u c h

m o v e s .B u t s u d d e n l y , t h e

a l legat ion that has beens e v e r a l l y d e n i e d b y t h eH o u s e l e a d e r s h i pr e a p p e a r e d , a g a i n t h i st i m e w i t h p r e c i s i o n .F o r m e r P r e s i d e n tO l u s e g u n O b a s a n j o h a dreferred to the membersof the National Assemblyarmed robbers and roguesw o n d e r i n g w h a t m a n n e rof laws are expected fromt h e m . T h e o l d m a n w a sv i r t u a l l y p r o v e n r i g h tw h e n t h e C h a i r m a n o fZenon Oil, Femi Otedola,came out to authenticatet h e a l l e g a t i o n i n s i s t i n gt h a t L a w a n a c t u a l l yc o l l e c t e d t h e s u m o f$620,000 as bribe for thename of his company to bee x p u n g e d f r o m t h o s eindicted in the probe.

O t e d o l a s p i l l e d t h ebeans shortly after Lawano v e r t l y d e n i e d b e i n gcompromised. The ZenonOil boss confirmed that heactua l ly gave the moneyas part payment of the $3million deal to Lawan andt h e S e c r e t a r y o f t h e a d -

hoc Committee, BonifaceEmenalo.

Otedola narrated howLawan at the outset of thep r o b e h a d a p p r o a c h e dh i m t o g e t s o m e i n s i g h tinto the workings of the

d o w n s t r e a m o i l a n d g a ssector. According to him,h e o b l i g e d h i m a n de n s u r e d t h a t h i sm a n a g i n g d i r e c t o r s o fForte Oil Plc and Zenon Oila p p e a r e d a t t h e s u b s i d yp r o b e d u r i n g i t s p u b l i ch e a r i n g a f t e r b o t hc o m p a n i e s h a d b e e ninvited by the committee.

Otedola said he decidedt o i n v o l v e t h e s e c u r i t yagents when he suspectedt h a t L a w a n w a s b e n t o ne x t o r t i n g m o n e y f r o mh i m . H e s a i d " A s a l a w -abiding cit izen, I decidedt o i n v o l v e t h e s e c u r i t yagencies and they advisedm e t o p l a y a l o n g , w h i c hp r o m p t e d m e t o o f f e r t op a y p a r t o f t h e m o n e yw i t h t h e p r o m i s e t h a t Iw o u l d p a y t h e b a l a n c ewhen my company's nameh a d b e e n r e m o v e d f r o mthe report."

T h e s e c u r i t y a g e n c i e s ,h e d i s c l o s e d , g a v e h i mser ia l ised dol lar b i l l s forthe sting job and there arecall logs, video and audior e c o r d i n g s i n t h epossession of the agenciest o c o n f i r m a l l t h a t h a dt r a n s p i r e d b e t w e e nhimself and Lawan.

R e a c t i n g t o t h eallegation, Lawan claimed

he was never involved inthe scandal maintainingt h a t t h e a l l e g a t i o n w a sc o m i n g f r o m t h o s emembers of the indictedo i l c a b a l w h o w o u l d d oanything to rubbish therecommendations of theC o m m i t t e e t o e s c a p ejustice. He said "I wish tocategorically deny that Io r a n y m e m b e r o f t h ec o m m i t t e e d e m a n d e da n d r e c e i v e d a n y b r i b ef r o m a n y b o d y i nconnection with the fuels u b s i d y p r o b e a n d Ib e l i e v e t h i s i s e v i d e n tf r o m t h e t h o r o u g h a n di n d e p t h m a n n e r t h einvestigation was carriedo u t a n d t h e a l le n c o m p a s s i n gr e c o m m e n d a t i o n sp r o d u c e d t h e r e f r o m a sapproved by the House”.

W i t h t h e o n g o i n gaccusation and counter-accusation on the matter,c r i t i c s h a v e r a i s e d t h efears that the reports oft h e s u b s i d y s c a m m a yhave been rubbished byt h e u n f o l d i n g d r a m a .T h e y p o i n t e d o u t t h a tshould i t be establ ishedt h a t L a w a n w a s i n d e e dc u l p a b l e i n t h e b r i b e r ys c a m , t h e r e p o r t o f t h ec o m m i t t e e w o u l d h a v e

been considered unworthyof implementation by theE x e c u t i v e .

T h e y h a v e a l s o r a i s e dt h e f e a r s t h a t t h ei n t e g r i t y o f t h ei n s t i t u t i o n o f t h e H o u s ew o u l d h a v e b e e nrubbished in the eyes o ft h e p e o p l e . T h er e b r a n d i n g e x e r c i s ee m b a r k e d u p o n b y t h el e a d e r s h i p o f t h e H o u s em a y h a v e b e e njeopardized by the greed ofan indiv idual who wouldw a n t t o a c q u i r e o d i o u sw e a l t h t h r o u g hi l l e g i t i m a t e m e a n s .A g a i n , t h e b r i b e r yscandal coming only aftera y e a r o f T a m b u w a l ' sl e a d e r s h i p w h e n h e w a sg r a d u a l l y g a i n i n g p u b l i cconf idence may have se tthe progress made so farb y t h e G r e e n C h a m b e rinto the reverse gear.

W i t h t h e l a t e s ta l l e g a t i o n m a k i n g t h erounds, subsequent probesby the House may not net a k e n s e r i o u s l y b y t h ep u b l i c a s t h e y m a d b es t e r e o t y p e d a s a n o t h e rLawan's probe that wouldultimately be tainted withbribery a l legat ion.

M e a n w h i l e , t h e r e h a sb e e n d e b a t e o n w h e t h e r

t h e g o v e r n m e n t s h o u l dp r e s s f o r w a r d w i t h t h ei m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f t h es u b s i d y p r o b e r e p o r t sw h i c h i s c u r r e n t l yh a v i n g t h e a t t e n t i o n o ft h e E c o n o m i c a n dF i n a n c i a l C r i m e sCommission (EFCC) of not.W h i l e s o m e a r g u e d t h a tthe latest allegation doesn o t d e t r a c t f r o m t h es a n c t i t y o f t h e r e p o r t s ,others are of the opiniont h a t t h e l a t e s td e v e l o p m e n t c a l l s f o r ahalt on the actions to netaken by the government.

T h e H o u s e o fR e p r e s e n t a t i v e s , w h i l eu r g i n g t h e s e c u r i t ya g e n c i e s t o i n v e s t i g a t et h e a l l e g a t i o n o f g r a f tagainst Lawan even as i tp r o m i s e s t o s e t u p a nindependent committee toe q u a l l y l o o k i n t o t h em a t t e r , i t c a l l e d o n t h egovernment not to back-o u t i n i t s r e s o l v e t oprosecute those indictedin the scam with a view torecovering lost funds.

S h o u l d t h e a l l e g a t i o nagainst Lawan be provenr i g h t , t h e e r u d i t elawmaker may have beenc a u g h t i n h i s o w nc o n t r i v a n c e s w i t h g r a v ec o n s e q u e n c e s o n h i spolit ical future.

•Will he survive it?

PAGE 26 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012

Gwamma: Yes… even after thecivil war.

Me: So you used to administerinjections in hospitals and duringvaccination exercises, when therewere many diseases like meningitis,small pox, wounds, etc.?

Gwamma: Yes. Both…Me: Let me tell you. We were

your patients then… (laughter). If Iwere to show you my legs, youwould count over seven largewounds of all kinds… (laughter) butdue to your effort all such diseasesare now absent…

Gwamma: Yes. They areabsent.

Me: May God reward youabundantly. Does the governmentpay you any pension?

Gwamma: Yes. I receivepension.

Me: How much?Gwamma: It is not much, just

N6,000.00, monthly.Me. That is good. I will now ask

you about something. You are notfamous because of your publicservice. (Gwamma startedlaughing) You are famous becauseof the song that Mamman Shata didfor you. What was actually yourrelationship with Shata, if I mayask?

G w a m m a :Laughter….Laughter… (After awhile she spoke, but still laughing).My children are around. Pleasedon’t ask about that here. (I visitedher with some two elderly lookingpeople, Sada and Musa, who are intheir 60s, perhaps, and two of my

Gwamma Malama - A truelove story in Hausaland

Northern Nigeria. She is amongthe health workers during theFirst Republic and with whomShata acquainted the acquaintedthe world for over 50 years now.Her name is Hajiya GwammaMalama. We will discuss brieflywith her. Hajiya! You arewelcome.

Gwamma: You are welcometoo.

Me: I will ask you some fewquestions without wasting much ofyour time. First of all, were you ahealth worker?

Gwamma: Definitely.Me: How did it start?Gwamma: When I was

employed, I was asked what work Iwould like to do. I replied,“Whatever you my employerswish.” They then said, “Okay. Canyou administer injections?” Ireplied, “No one is born skilled. If Iwill be trained, I can do it.”

Me: Where were you firstposted to?

Gwamma: Here, Kankia.Me: Then to where?Gwamma: Katsina, then

Kaduna…I know everywhere inKaduna (laughter).

Me: Good. In your work, didyou serve under Europeans?

Gwamma: Yes. We workedwith Sister… … …

Me: No. No. You don’t have toremember their names. That was upto the First Republic. Right?

Gwamma: Yes.Me: And you continued beyond

the coup and the civil war…

sons - Omar and Omer - weremanaging the cameras).

Me: But he really loved you…Gwamma: And I loved him

too… (Laughter)Me: That made you Romeo and

Juliet… (Laughter).Gwamma: (Again she became

consumed by laughter)Me: At what time of your life did

he compose the song for you?Gwamma: I was fairly grown up

then.Me: So did you just hear the

song first on radio or…Gwamma: No. Everything

started at the theatre, there andthen.

Me: In Malumfashi...Gwamma: Yes. In

Malumfashi. Later, he used to visitme here (in Kankia), then inKatsina…

Me: Now that so many yearshave passed because as you told mesome moments ago you are 86…

Gwamma: Yes, I am 86.Me: What would you tell the

younger generations?Gwamma: You see I

sometimes say there was no war likeHitler’s. Even those of SaddamHuseyn or Ojukwu were not as bad.You know the final moment ofHitler is unknown. Did he commitsuicide? No one knows. His body isnot found to date.

Me: Finally, what would youlike to tell your numerous fans thatlisten to your song and would loveto meet you, one to one?

Gwamma: (laughter). Then,we used to adorn ourselves withcinkuna (?). Do you know them?(laughter)

Me: No. I don’t.Gwamma: We used to wear

them from neck to knee. They arelike the gold jewellery of today. If ayoung man would meet his friendwho did not go to the market thatday, he would ask the friend: “Didyou go to market today?” Thefriend would say, “No.” Then hewill say, “I did. Gwamma wasterrific.” (laughter and clapping)

Me: So you were really intofashion then? Wao! You werespending your salary on dresses?That must have endeared you toShata. You must have stood outamongst your peers so much sothat once Shata saw you from afar,he had to enquire about you.(laughter)

Gwamma: Actually, when hesustained a fracture, he was treatedhere at Danazumi’s house.

Me: Oh sorry! Finally, whatadvice would you give to youngergenerations?

Gwamma: Well, they shouldtry to tread the world cautiously,with the fear of God in their mind.For us, our time has passed; onlyrepentance is left. It is now theirs.

Me: Oh. Oh. Thank you. Thankyou. Viewers, this is the end of ourchat with Gwamma Malama. Asyou can see she is still strong. Shecan get up quickly and walk aboutwithout any difficulty. Thank you.

Gwamma: Thank you.Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde is a

renowned columnist based inJos

Gwamma Malama is one ofthe most famous women inHausaland. She was not

famous by her profession but bythe heart she shared with the mostrenowned singer yet in Hausaland– Alhaji Mamman Shata. That wasover 50 years ago. But she is stillkicking. He in turn composed forher a love song unrivalled by any –in my opinion – among the dozenshe made for various women hecame across in his life.

At the age of 86, I metGwamma still strong yesterday inher native town, Kankia, KatsinaState, on my return journey fromMaradi. She is a jovial lady whomust have captivated many duringher youth, as Shata acknowledgedin his song.

She was picked as a young girlby Native Authority officials andtaught specifically how toadminister injections to patientsand during vaccinations exercises.Recruited in Kankia, she wastransferred to Katsina, Kaduna,Malumfashi, and many otherplaces. It was while she was inMalumfashi that she first caughtthe attention of Shata, then also aslim, handsome boy with long“Afro” hair, marauding from oneplaying ground to another acrossHausaland, but particularly in theold Katsina Province (now KatsinaState).

When I mentioned her loveaffair with Shata, she felt shy,covered her face and laughed untilher forehead almost touched theground. She pleaded, saying,“Please leave that matter, foramong us are my children.” Butwhen after she normalized herposition, I told her that Shata didlove her, she readily replied,smiling: “And I loved him too.”Then came another prolongedlaughter before I said, “That madethe two of you Romeo and Juliet!”

I think Shata was captivatednot by her beauty alone. Gwammasaid she used to wear the mostexpensive dress and bracelet of hertime. Combine this with her statusas a female health worker – whenyou hardly meet female publicofficials in Northern Nigeria - youhave a girl that everyone wouldlove, particularly the artist. So ifher dress had brought her outamong other girls - and you knowshe had the money to outwit them,being a health worker – her statusmust have played a subtle role inpulling Shata towards her. Whenit comes to association withwomen, man differs from otheranimals, said Charles Darwin: Heoften goes for status, not simplybiological features.

The affinity between Shata andGwamma was instantaneous. Hemust have noticed her during herposting in Malumfashi such thatimmediately she appeared at theplaying ground for the first timethey were to meet, the Gwammapulled his heart like how a magnatewould pull iron filings. Shatainstantly improvised one of hismost memorable songs – GwammaMalama. When I asked her whereshe met Shata and how theirlegendary love started, sheanswered, saying, “It was rightthere and then.”

Shata would continue to singhis Gwamma song wherever hewent. I watched him repeating it onTV in far away Sokoto in the early

1980s, over thirty years after heinvented it. The mostcomprehensive version of the songwas recorded by EMI in Lagos,obviously after Gwamma wastransferred to her hometown,Kankia. That transfer pained him,but he assured Gwamma, in ametaphor, that it is the nature ofpublic service – difficult but sweet:

The rodent of the anthill isdifficult to dig (and catch)…

But its meat is sweet.The rodent of the waste heap is

easy to digThrow it away; its meat is

bitter(in taste).Likewise, public service is

sweet but difficult:Gwamma! I was told that you

have been transferred to Kankia.

Yet, distance did not extinguishthe fire of their love. Shatacontinued to visit her in Kankiaand later Katsina. She recalled thatwhen he later sustained a fracture,he was treated by one Danazumithere in Kankia. I can easilyimagine Gwamma cooking for himthroughout those sorrowful days.Her Shata was sick!

Two stanzas that make the songa bit wild to the pious ear except ifit listens to them from theperspective of a literati as it doesto those of Imru’ul Qais, AbuNuwwas or Qais Majnun – waswhere Shata invented a wound andpleaded with his Gwamma toviolate her professional ethics andtreat him. Listen to him, luring herto his nest:

I have sustained a wound onmy body

Come and examine it for meOh Gwamma! Come and

examine it for me, in camera.Then give me an injection of

aphrodisiacThe relevance of such old songs

is how they graphically portray thesocial condition of Hausalandbefore leisure was completelydivorced from our lives. To me theydo not only teach and entertain;they are historical records too.

Having seen Gwamma “live” inKankia, I asked Sada, my guide, toescort me quickly to a shop. Wereturned with a small gift, which Ipresented her with at the end of thebrief interview. My remarks then:

“Hajiya Gwamma! Here aretwo wrappers: This is inrecognition of the service yourendered to our people in thosedays when there were so manydiseases but few health workersaround. This other one is given inmemory of your Shata, who stuckyour name on our lips, paintedyour portrait as a beautiful andexpensive girl in our memory, andmade you a Mecca for us his fansand students of Hausa literaturealike. And this N2,000.00 is fortailoring. Thank you so much.”

She accepted the little gift withall pleasure.

The InterviewMe: We are here today in the

company of a famous woman in

By Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde

Alhaji Mamman Shata

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012 PAGE 27

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un surroundedby weeping children on official visit

Revolution is a serious business: Kim sits among the young North Koreans, wearing the red scarf thatis the emblem of the KCU, the first political organisation that North Koreans join when they are justseven years old

These North Korean childrenhad no doubt been instructedto weep with joy at the

opportunity to walk alongside KimJong Un.

But perhaps they were a little tooyoung to have honed the art ofsycophancy as they gave theimpression that they were simplydeeply upset at having to entertainsuch an esteemed visitor.

The youngsters, all members ofthe Korean Children’s Union,appeared more like a group who hadbeen snubbed by their pop idol.

But in the Communist state, theonly idol they are allowed to worshipis their Dear Leader, and so made agood show of for jostling for positionto be as close to him as possible.

While the over-exaggerateddisplay of affection is typical of thecountry, Kim Jong Un is alreadyproving himself unlike his fatherwith a willingness to mingle closelywith those he rules with an iron fist.

The latest leader of the worker’sparadise - the world’s only everhereditary communist dictatorship- chose the rally to make his secondspeech at a major public event sincetaking power in December.

About 20,000 young peoplegathered at Pyongyang’s Kim Il SungStadium for Wednesday’s speech,which capped an unprecedented six-day children’s festival.

The celebrations took place twodays after North Korea’s military

threatened to fire at South Koreanmedia companies unless theyapologised for criticisms of thefestivities, including a reportcomparing the event to Hitler Youthrallies during Germany’s Nazi era.

North Korea typically holds massevents for landmark anniversariessuch as the leaders’ birthdays and thefounding of the Workers’ Party ormilitary, but this is the first time suchextensive celebrations have beenheld for the founding of the KoreanChildren’s Union, the first politicalgroup young North Koreans join.

North Korean children aretaught from an early age to be loyalto the Kim family, with educationabout the childhoods andaccomplishments of founder Kim IlSung and late leader Kim Jong Ilbeginning in kindergarten.

Seeing and hearing their newleader in person is likely to reinforcea sense of paternal awe among thechildren, who are raised to refer tothe leaders as ‘father.’

Kim walked into the stadium,accompanied by two children, to thecheers of the young delegates to theKorean Children’s Union. Wearingthe red scarf of the politicalorganisation around his neck, hesmiled and laughed with easily withhis audience.

He told the children, whotravelled to Pyongyang by plane,train and bus from across the nation,that they were the future masters of

‘a most powerful country whereevery home will be full of laughterand everybody lives in harmony.’

By speaking publicly twice in hissix months as leader, Kim already isdistinguishing himself from hisfather. Kim Jong Il, who died inDecember, addressed the public onlyonce, two years before he succeededfather Kim Il Sung.

‘By mingling with kids, Kim JongUn is showing that he is a leader whocan interact with the public,’ saidAhn Chan-il, a political scientist whoheads the World Institute for NorthKorea Studies in Seoul, South Korea.

‘He understands that one of thekeys to winning back the respect of

Dreams for the future: Kim told his young audience that they werethe future masters of 'a most powerful country where every homewill be full of laughter and everybody lives in harmony'.

the people is by starting with theyoung generation.’

In the lobby coffee shop ofPyongyang’s Koryo Hotel, waitressesin bright red suits gathered arounda big flat-screen TV to watch thespeech. Throngs of children dressedin their school uniforms could beseen with their families in parks andplazas.

June 6 marks the 66thanniversary of the founding of theKorean Children’s Union, whichstudents join at age 7 until theygraduate at age 13 to the Kim Il SungSocialist Youth League.

South Korean media have calledthe festivities ‘a political show.’ The

criticism prompted the NorthKorean military to warn it would fireat South Korean media outlets ifSeoul refused to apologise fororchestrating what North Koreacalled a ‘vicious smear campaign.’

The North’s statement was thelatest in a series of threats aimed atSouth Korea’s president and newsagencies following the death of KimJong Il, which Pyongyang feels wasnot respectfully acknowledged bySeoul.

The Korean peninsula remainsin a state of war because the 1950-53 conflict ended with an armistice,not a peace treaty.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Meeting the Dear Leader: A photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency showsNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un walking surrounded by weeping members of the Korean Children'sUnion (KCU) during a joint national meeting of KCU organizations at Kim Il-sung Stadium in Pyongyang.

Special occasion: Kim is led to his seat by uniformed members ofthe KCU. The unprecedented event is the first time a festival hasbeen held to celebrate the founding of the youth group 66 years agoand it was attended by youngsters from across North Korea.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012 PAGE 28

David Cameron mistakenlyleft his eight-year-olddaughter in a pub by herself

when he drove off without her, itwas revealed on Sunday night.

The Prime Minister – who hadbeen enjoying Sunday drinks withhis family near Chequers – onlyrealised his eldest daughter wasmissing when he arrived back at hisofficial country residence.

The Camerons had beendrinking at the Plough Inn, inCadsden, Buckinghamshire, withtheir three children and two otherfamilies.

As they went to leave, Nancy

Distraught’ Dave and Sam Cameron leftdaughter Nancy, 8, behind in pub for 15 minutes

went off to the toilet without tellingthem.

The Prime Minister was drivenback to Chequers, which is twomiles from the pub, with protectionofficers in one car, while MrsCameron drove their other childrenin another.

Mr Cameron presumed thatNancy was in the car with his wife,while she thought that theirdaughter had jumped in with thePrime Minister.

A spokesman for the PrimeMinister last night said he was‘distraught’ when he realised whathad happened.

David Cameron, pictured holding his daughter Nancy at a weddingin 2007, thought Samantha Cameron had all their children but shethought Nancy was with him

‘Thankfully when they phonedthe pub she was there safe and well,’the spokesman said. ‘The PrimeMinister went down straight away toget her.’

When Mr Cameron arrived backat the pub he found his daughterhappily helping the pub staff. It isunderstood she had been left byherself for 15 minutes.

A Downing Streetspokeswoman said today that theCamerons take full responsibilityfor looking after their children andwere not blaming security officersfor failing to ensure that Nancy waswith the party before returning toChequers.

‘They are their children and theytake responsibility for them,’ saidthe spokeswoman.

‘No-one is going to facedisciplinary action. This was anerror.’

The spokeswoman declined todiscuss whether Mr Cameron haddrunk alcohol with his meal.

‘He had gone with friends atlunchtime, with a number of familieswith children, and they left in variousdifferent vehicles,” she said.

‘As you know, the PrimeMinister is a very busy man but healways tries to live as normal a lifeas possible with his family.’

Asked how often this involved avisit to the pub, she replied:‘Occasionally.’

The spokeswoman declined todiscuss the security arrangementsaround Mr Cameron and his familybut said they were always keptunder review.

Last night a pub ‘insider’ said:‘You’d have thought that someonewould have done a headcount orsomething.’

The source told The Sun: ‘It’snot like you can look up DavidCameron in the phonebook andthen ring to say you’ve left yourdaughter behind.

‘It’s frightening that the PrimeMinister of Britain can forgetsomething so important as his owndaughter.’

Friends of Mr Cameron lastmonth told how he enjoyeddrinking ‘three or four glasses ofwine’ over lunch at the weekend.

The revelations were in abiography that criticised theamount of time the Prime Ministerspends ‘chillaxing’

The book records weekends atChequers singing karaoke, playingframes of snooker, and tennisagainst a machine dubbed ‘TheClegger’.

After long lunches the Prime

Minister likes to recharge hisbatteries with an afternoon nap, thebook claimed.

A source told the authors: ‘Ifthere was an Olympic gold medalfor ‘chillaxing’, the Prime Ministerwould win it.’

One adviser claimed that thePrime Minister ‘spends a crazy,scary amount of time playing FruitNinja’, a computer game in whichplayers use a cartoon sword to slashfast-moving fruit.

Mr Cameron has previouslybeen branded ‘DVD Dave’ for hislove of watching Danish dramas inbed with his wife Samantha.

He also finds time for a weeklydate night.

Plough landlord Steve Hollings,who has run the pub with his wifeSharon for more than 13 years, saidthe Prime Minister and his familyregularly pop in for lunch or drinks.

Mr Hollings said Mr Cameronhad again been in the pub with hisfamily at lunchtime yesterday, andhad spent about an hour there.

Speaking as he prepared the barfor the lunchtime rush, Mr Hollingsconfided that the incidenthappened ‘some time ago.’

‘It certainly wasn’t thisweekend, or three weeks ago as theyare saying on TV,’ he insisted.

Mr Hollings said: ‘What do youwant me to say? That he’s aneglecting father? Well he’s not.

‘He’s a great father and genuinefamily man and a genuine guy.

‘I’ve only got good things to sayabout him.

‘He’s not the Prime Ministerwhen he comes down here; he’s justDavid Cameron, a family man.’

The Plough has been nestled inthe picturesque Chiltern Hills sincethe 16th century and is the oldestpub in the area.

Its traditional Sunday roast isserved for £14.95.

The Prime Minister and hisfamily spent Boxing Day lunch atthe pub.

Source: Dailymail.co.ukMrs Cameron thought her daughter had travelled back to Chequerswith the Prime Minister.

The Plough is a short drive away from Chequers.

Popular: The Plough pub, where the Camerons are regulars.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012 PAGE 29

Niger govt to distribute100 tractors to farmers

Agric union president wantsregular supply of fertilisers

Mr Simon Anchaver, theNational President ofAgriculture and Allied

Employees Union of Nigeria(AAEUN), has called on the federaland state governments to providefertilisers for farmers always.

Anchaver made the call inMakurdi on Monday at a receptionorganised by Benue workers forhim, following his election as theNational President of AAEUN.

He said that availability offertilisers for farmers at all timeswould go a long way in boostingagriculture production.

He further urged government atall levels to encourage irrigationfarming to enhance agriculture andimprove farmers’ income.

He lauded Gov. Gabriel Suswamof Benue for supporting him duringthe election and solicited thecooperation of members of theunion to enable him to succeed inthe office.

The Governor of Niger state,Babangida Aliyu, has said thathis government would

distribute 100 tractors to farmers toboost food production in the state.

The governor, who made thisknown in a broadcast markingDemocracy Day in the state, said 50of the tractors would be issued outto farmers for rice cultivation whilethe rest would be made available toother farmers.

He said the programme would becoordinated under the state TractorHiring Scheme, adding that “We arealso adopting the Drip IrrigationScheme in the three agro-ecologicalzones of the state to boost year-roundagriculture production with a viewto creating employment for ouryouth while enhancing food securityin the state.”

Aliyu said the state wouldcontinue to consolidate its ranking

as the state with least incidence ofpoverty in the country.

“We believe that once we canconquer poverty, hunger and greedour state will be the most peacefuland secured state in Nigeria”, thegovernor said.

“I therefore appeal to allNigerlites to eschew bitterness andanimosity, and come together tobuild a Niger state of our pride,” hesaid. (NAN)

The Chairman, Rice FarmersAssociation, Delta StateChapter, Mr Silvanus Ejezie,

has appealed to the state governmentto assist rice farmers with tractors toboost production.

Ejezie, who stated this in Asaba,the Delta State capital recently, notedthat the use of herbicides in landclearing would not encourage largescale production of rice.

He said farmers adoptedherbicides for farm clearing becauseof the difficulty they encountered ingetting tractors to prepare their farmsfor planting.

“We appeal to the stategovernment to assist the farmers withtractor services, fertilisers andimproved seedlings to encourageimproved outputs of all crops.

“We want the government tosupport us with tractors because landpreparations consume so much of thefarmer’s funds,” he said.

He said using tractors for landpreparation was preferred toherbicides because of the high cost ofthe chemicals.

Ejezie expressed dissatisfactionwith the state government’s decisionto give priority to cassava, fish,plantain and tomato production,saying the policy was discriminatoryagainst rice production.

“At a recent meeting withstakeholders, Gov. EmmanuelUduaghan said cassava, fish, plantainand tomato production will be givenpriority.

“So, in spite of the FederalGovernment’s initiative to stop rice

importation, the Delta Governmenthas ignored rice production,” hesaid.

Ejezie, however, expressedoptimism that with sufficient rainfallduring the year, rice farmers couldproduce up to 400 tonnes of rice atthe end of the season.

Reacting to Ejezie’s comments,the Commissioner for Agriculture inthe state, Mr Misan Ukubeyinje, saidthe state was investing in areas whereit had comparative advantage.

Ukubeyinje said that Delta couldnot be said to be a rice producing stateand as such the government could notinvest much in the sector.

“We, therefore, have decided toencourage production of those cropswe can produce in abundance,” hesaid. (NAN)

Chief Boga Abuul, SpecialAdviser to the Governor of Benueon Labour Matters, promised tosupport Anchaver to enable him toeffectively represent the state at thenational level.

Abuul also assured Benueworkers of their welfare packages toenable them to perform very well intheir jobs.

Mr Ordue Tartenger, thePresident of Trade Union Congressin Benue, described Anchaver’svictory as a great feat which oughtto be celebrated by workers in thestate.

Tartenger also urged Anchavernot to relent in his efforts in the fightfor the welfare of workers.

The State Chairman of AAEUN,Mr Jemimah Uji, assured thepresident of the workers support toenable him to succeed and urgedhim to remain resolute in hisstruggle to transform agriculture.(NAN)

Over 720 cooperatives benefit from N1bnagric loan in Edo, says Commissioner

Over 700 cooperatives havebenefitted from the N1billion commercial

agriculture credit scheme, the EdoCommissioner for Agriculture andNatural Resources, Mr AbudulOroh, has said.

Oroh, who disclosed this inBenin, the Edo State capital, saidthe state government’s effort wasgeared toward alleviating povertyamong the citizenry.

The commissioner noted thatsince the inception of the AdamsOshiomhole’s administration, theagricultural sector in the state hadwitnessed a huge transformation,adding that “the loan is meant toassist farmers to purchase farmimplements and seedlings in otherto guarantee food security andcreate employment in the state.”

“The boost in the agriculturalsector is as a result of theimplementation of variousgovernment policies to ensure jobcreation, income and food security.

“In the past three and half yearsof the administration, the governorhas shown the strong will and desireto transform the agriculture sector,”he added.

“He (Governor) has done thisthrough prompt payment ofcounterpart funds to donor agenciesprogrammes and settlement alloutstanding arrears,” he said.

According to the commissioner,48 co-operative farmers benefittedfrom Akoko-Edo, 19 from Egor, 17from Esan Central, 35 from Esan N/East, 54 from Esan S/East, 25 fromEsan West, 33 from Etsako central,54 from Etsako west, and 27 fromEtsako East.

Other beneficiaries are 18 co-operative farmers from Igueben, 64from Ikpoba-Okha, 51 from Oredo,68 from Orihiomwon, 49 from OviaN/East, 17 from Ovia South-West,43 from Owan East, 42 from OwanWest and 56 from Uhumwode LocalGovernment Areas of the state.(NAN)

Farmer wants govt to organisecassava, fish cooperatives tosustain industry in Delta

A farmer, Mr Jerry Ossai, hasadvised the Delta government to organise

cassava and fish farmers intocooperatives to realise its objectivesof promoting cassava and fishindustries in the state.

Ossai spoke to the News Agencyof Nigeria (NAN) in Asaba whileresponding to the stategovernment’s plan to establish sixcassava and four fish feed millsacross the state before Dec. 31.

He said that organising thesegroups into cooperatives would helpsustain government initiatives toestablish 10 industries in the state.

He said that the government’splan to establish the industries wasgood but the approach needed to beproperly worked.

“Unless you organise the peoplewho are producing the rawmaterials for these industries insuch a way that these industries will

be permanently serviced, we mayrun into a problem.

“Government should go theextra mile to form cassavacooperatives and fish productioncooperatives and organise themproperly.

“There should be a determinedeffort by government to have thesetwo major components it is startingto drive well organised intocooperatives with clearly definedobjectives of producing the rawmaterials to feed these factories,”Ossai said.

Ossai, a small-scale farmer,added that unless this was done,there could be problems of wherethe factories would be located andhow to source the raw materials forthe industries.

He urged the government toalso ensure that there was marketfor the produce from the industriesso as to sustain production. (NAN)

Delta farmers require tractors to boost rice production

The African Development Bank(AfDB), has approved 46.50million dollars grant to Liberia

under the bank’s Global Agricultureand Food Security Programme(GAFSP).

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN), reports that Liberia alsoreceived a loan of six million dollarsfrom the AfDB fund to finance thecountry’s Smallholder AgriculturalProductivity Enhancement andCommercialisation (SAPEC) project.

The grant and loan agreementswere signed on Tuesday by AfDB’sVice President for Sector Operations,Mr Kamal Elkeshen and Liberia’s

National Investment CommissionChairman, Mr Natty B. Davis at thebank’s ongoing annual generalmeeting in Arusha, Tanzania.

According to Elkeshen, the twoagreements reflect the strongpartnership between the country andthe bank toward the government’sreconstruction process.

He said that the goal of the SAPECproject was to reduce rural povertyand household food insecurity.

“The other aims are to increase,on a sustainable basis, the income ofsmallholder farmers and ruralentrepreneurs, particularly women,youths and the physically-

challenged,” he said.Davis earlier described the

development seed funds asmilestones, saying: “this is the firstagreement my country has signedsince it launched relationships withthe African Development BankGroup.”

He urged the bank to establish itspresence in Liberia, adding that theloan and grant would help thegovernment to realise its policy oftaking services to rural communities.

NAN reports that from availabledata, the AFDB group’s cumulativecommitment in Liberia is estimatedat 200 million dollars. (NAN)

AfDB group boosts Liberia’s agriculture,food security programme with $52.50m

Newly procured tractors on display to boost farm production

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012PAGE 30

We need a mixture of cassava flour andwheat flour to fight diabetes, says nutritionist

The other was that, since theperson who was making thatmotion said that cassava flour whenadded to wheat flour to make breadwill increase the rate of diabetes iscompletely untrue because when wetalk about diabetes, there two thingsyou talk about. The Gglycemic index(GI) which measures how acarbohydrate-containing foodraises blood glucose, and theGlycemic Load.

Now, foods with low GlycemicIndex are foods that diabetics areadvised to consume and cassava isnot among the high Glycemic IndexFood. In fact, wheat flour has highGlycemic Index from between 70-72 while cassava has a Glacemicindex between 46 and 60.That is the

range for cassava. Having that at theback of our minds, it then meansthat when you mix cassava flourwith low Glycemic Index with wheatflour that has high Glycemic Index,the blend that will come with theGlycemic Index will come down.

In essence, if we are going toattack diabetes, then the mix ofcassava flour and wheat flour is eventhe right step to start with becauseby the time you combine cassavaflour with that wheat flour, theGlycemic Index of the overallproduct will come down becausethat of white bread is 70 as at now.

So when you bring cassava flourinto it, it may bring it down to about60 percent, thereby giving a betterproduct that will fall within the

range of medium Glycemic Indexfood. Right now, bread as it is, is inhigh Glycemic Index group. So withthe coming of cassava flour, you canbring it down to a mediumGlacemic Index food.

Therefore, I don’t know wherethe person got his informationfrom. There was a survey that wasconducted in Kenya and in thatsurvey they found that out of over1, 380 people that were studied,they got their energy or calorieintake from cassava. About 86percent of that number got theircalorie intake from cassava andnone of them was diabetic.

In the same survey, those whowere diabetic in that community,they found that they rarely tookcassava. They were eating othersorts of food hence cassava is notimplicated as such anywhere as thecausative effects for diabetes that isthe point I am making.

What is your advise to thegovernment and the people?

My advise is that the policy ofgovernment on the inclusion ofcassava flour into wheat flour forthe production of bread is a step inthe right direction and I thought theargument were going to be , may bethe crumb structure of the bread,may be the weight of the bread thesewere going to be issues because ofthe fact that there were no glutenin cassava flour. But that is not theargument.

Even then, the Americangovernment through theprogramme we had in Lagosrecently have shown that even insuch situations where you use aproduct that do not contain gluten,you should add about 5 percent soyabeans flour to that particularformulation, then the loaf fileimproves and therefore the crumbstructure of the bread also improves.We have communities in Nigeriathat do soya beans. Benue State isan example. I think is anotheropportunity for government toencourage soya beans producers sothat they include 5 percent soyabeans flour along with the 40percent of cassava flour to the wheatflour to produce our bread.

And that is where we haveseveral advantages. One, theGlycemic Index will be lowerbecause the GI soya bean is lowerthan that of cassava. So GI will below and soya bean contain a lot ofprotein and protein will be good inbread and the crumb structure willbe fine and the taste will be betterand it will be more nourishing thanthe other way.

I want to state that there is needfor nutrition education in Nigeria.Federal government should partnerwith the Nutrition Society ofNigeria and other institutions sothat we can take this message to thegrass root and to every Nigerianeven to the National Assembly.

In fact, it is good that theNational Assembly member raisedthis issue perhaps because he hasinterest of Nigerians at heart. Hedidn’t want Nigerians to becomediabetic and therefore, now that theinformation has come, is good thatthey too be informed about this sothat they will be better placed toserve the Nigerian public.

will be available.But something happened

recently in Nigeria which we needto celebrate the issue of bio-fortification where cassava thatcontained yellow flesh was found tocontain adequate beta carotenewhich is the major source ofVitamin A. I was at the celebrationat Umudike, Abia State, when it waslaunched and what that showed wasthat, there is no home in Nigeriawhere cassava products are notconsumed. If we can develop thatin such way that the cassava that isnow naturally fortified with VitaminA, it will become our source ofcarbohydrate foods, say for garri,fufu or whatever way you wish toprepare your food with cassavaproducts, then indirectly, you aretaking in may be enough Vitamin Athat you do not need to bother somuch about other source becausecassava products are well known inNigeria and there is no where theyare not consumed. It isbreakthrough in a way for Nigerianpeople.

Firm issues are beingraised that comparingquality of wheat flour withcassava flour is almostimpossible, is that the rightthinking?

I must say that I was alarmedwhen a motion was moved in theFederal House of Assembly andsome information was providedthat cassava was food that will leadto increase in diabetes. Such motionshould not have been because in thefirst instance, the prevalence thatwas quoted from that report that thediabetes rate in Nigeria is between20-30 percent is completely nottrue.

The diabetes rate in Nigeria isless than 10 percent. In fact, we havenot done any recent survey as thatwas just a projected percentage. Thelast survey that was done wasaround 1992 and it was not even anationwide survey and put thediabetic rate at 2.5 percent.

From 1992 till now, there isprojection that it must haveincreased but up to the point ofabout 9.5 percent. So the issue of theissue of 20-30 percent does notarise.

With the emphasis onfood fortification,would you say

Nigeria is on the right path inaddressing the problemnutritional deficit?

Well, you fortify food for somany reasons. First of all, when youobserve a gap either in particularmicro nutrient relating todeficiencies you find in thepopulace, then you think of ways bywhich you can remedy that. Forinstance, there are three differentlevels: Supplementation in whichthe micro nutrient in question isgiven in the form of capsules ortablets or added in some food forchildren. But that is not sustainablebecause it is so expensive to importsuch micro nutrient dense, eitherpowders or capsules.

However, the second option isfortification. In fortifying food, welook at a particular food that webelieve is available to majority ofthe people. And one thing is that ifyou have a centrally processed foodsystem like you have in developedcounties, is easier for people tomake that demand.

But in Nigeria you realize thatmany of our foods are not centrallyprocessed. So the only foods thatare fortified right now are the flour;the wheat flours, the maize flour inform of semolina, you also have thevegetable oil, the sugar and the saltthat is iodized. These are centrallyprocessed to some extent.

Therefore is easier to use themas vehicle for fortification. But youknow, many Nigerians do not eatthese foods as stable. Therefore weare thinking of a situation whereyou have small holders within eachcommunity, for instance wherethey make maize flour, rice mill andthose kind of small holders withincommunities. A similar thing wasdemonstrated in Adamawa Stateabout two years ago. It could alsohelp to add to the nutrient that isdeficient to the food particularly;micro nutrient that is the focus offood fortification.

But again there another option,we call the dietary diversificationwhich is the best option in whichcase the person gets all thenutrients from his diversified dietsthat he or she consumes because allthe foods, if you can combine themappropriately to have an adequatediet, then all the micro nutrients

President Goodluck Jonathan and Minister of Agriculture, Akinwumi Ayodeji, during the launching ofcassava bread in Abuja.

Following a recent statementcredited to one of the NationalAssembly members,disapproving proposition byfarmers to include at least 30-40 percent cassava flour in allcassava confectionaries andthe need to encouragecitizens to eat more ofcassava bread than thewheat bread, Professor ofnutrition and President,Nutrition Society of Nigeria,Prof. Ignatius Onimawo, inthis interview withMohammed Kandi, holdscontrary opinion. Excerpts:

Prof. Ignatius Onimawo

PAGE 31PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012

Obama’s Iran and Syria muddle

From one point of viewthe connectionbetween our troubles

with Syria and Iran is prettystraightforward. The Syrianregime of Bashar al-Assadis Iran's closest ally, and itsl ink to the Arab MiddleEast. Syria has provided theland bridge for thetransport of Iranianweapons and militants toLebanon and the Gaza Strip.Without Syria, Iran'spretensions to regionalhegemony, and its ability tochallenge Israel, would becrippled.

It fol lows that, as theU.S. Central Command chiefGen. James N. Mattistestif ied to Congress inMarch, the downfall ofAssad would be "the biggeststrategic setback for Iran in25 years." Making it happenis not just a humanitarianimperative after theslaughter of more than10,000 civil ians, but aprime strategic interest ofIsrael and the UnitedStates.

So why are both theObama administration andthe government ofBenjamin Netanyahuunethusiastic - to say theleast - about even indirectmilitary intervention totopple Assad? In part it 'sbecause of worry aboutwhat would follow thedictator. In Obama's case,the U.S. presidentialcampaign, and his claim

that "the t ide of war isreceding" in the MiddleEast, is a big factor.

But the calculus aboutSyria and Iran is also morecomplicated than it looks atfirst. The two are not justlinked by their alliance, butalso by the fact that theUnited States and its allieshave defined a distinct andurgent goal for each ofthem. In Syria, i t is toremove Assad and replacehim with a democracy; inIran it is to prevent anuclear weapon. It turnsout that the steps thatmight achieve success inone theater onlycomplicate Westernstrategy in the other.

Take military action - aprime concern of Israel.Syria interventionists(such as myself) have beenarguing that the UnitedStates and allies like Turkeyshould join in setting upsafe zones for civilians and

anti-Assad forces alongSyria's borders, whichwould require air cover andmaybe some (Turkish)troops. But i f the UnitedStates gets involved in amilitary operation in Syria,would it still be feasible tocarry out an air attack onIran's nuclear facil it ies?What i f Israel were tolaunch one while a Syriaoperation was sti l longoing?

The obvious answer isthat the result could be anunmanageable mess - whichis why, when I recentlyasked a senior Israeliofficial about a Westernintervention in Syria, I gotthis answer: "We areconcentrated on Iran.Anything that can create adistraction from Iran is notfor the best."

Obama, of course, iseager to avoid militaryaction in Iran in any case.But his strategy - striking a

Obama

ANALYSIS

“If Obama wants the support of Vladimir Putin onIran, he may have to stick to Putin-approved

measures on Syria. That leaves the administrationat the mercy of Moscow: Obama is reduced topleading with a stone-faced Putin to support a

Syrian democracy, or angrily warning a cynicallysmirking Putin that Moscow is paving the way for a

catastrophic sectarian war.

By Jackson Diehl

diplomatic bargain to stopthe nuclear program - alsonarrows his options inSyria. A deal with Tehranwill require the support ofRussia, which happens to behosting the next round ofnegotiations. Russia, inturn, is opposed to forcingAssad, a longtime client,from power by any means.

If Obama wants thesupport of Vladimir Putinon Iran, he may have tostick to Putin-approvedmeasures on Syria. Thatleaves the administration atthe mercy of Moscow:Obama is reduced topleading with a stone-facedPutin to support a Syriandemocracy, or angrilywarning a cynicallysmirking Putin that Moscowis paving the way for acatastrophic sectarian war.

At the root of thistrouble are confused andconflicting U.S. aims in theMiddle East. Does

Ahmedinejad Assad

Washington want tooverthrow the brutal,hosti le and closely al l ieddictatorships of Assad andIran's Ali Khamenei - orstrike bargains that containthe threats they pose? Theanswer is neither, and both:The Obama administrationsays it is seeking regimechange in Syria, but in Iranit has defined the goal asrapproachment with themullahs in exchange fornuclear arms control.

Obama tries to squarethis circle by pursuing amulti lateral diplomaticapproach to both countries.But if regime change in Syria isthe goal, Security Councilresolutions and six-point plansfrom the likes of Kofi Annan aredoomed to failure. Only acombination of economic andmilitary pressure, by Assad'sopposition or outsiders, willcause his regime to fold.

A collapse, in turn, couldundermine the same Iranianregime with which Obama isseeking a bargain. So it's nowonder Tehran sought to addSyria to the topics fordiscussion at the last session ofnegotiations - or that Annanwants to include Iran in a new"contact group" to broker asettlement in Syria.

The Obama administrationrejected both proposals -because they are at odds withSyrian regime change. Thismuddle may delight VladimirPutin, but it's not likely toachieve much else.

Jackson Diehl is theDeputy Editorial PageEditor of WashingtonPost

PAGE 32 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012

Obamas’ freedom of Cape Townhonour divides South AfricaBestowing an honour on

America's first blackpresident might seem an

uncontroversial choice for post-apartheid South Africa. But whatwas good enough for the Nobelpeace prize committee is just thelatest trigger for acrimony in thepolarised city of Cape Town.

Its decision to grant presidentBarack Obama and his wife,Michelle, the freedom of the cityhas provoked a growing backlashfrom rival parties, churches,Muslim groups and trade unions,who branded it a "politicalgimmick".

They warn that if the coupleever set foot in Cape Town toaccept the award, they will begreeted by mass protests drawingattention to America's humanrights record.

The dispute began a monthago when Patricia de Lille, themayor of Cape Town and memberof South Africa's main oppositionparty, the Democratic Alliance(DA), announced the nominationof the Obamas for the city's highestaccolade.

"For this city, as for the entireworld, president Barack Obamaand first lady Michelle Obamaare the guiding stars to oureventual destination," she said. "Ina cynical age, there is a desperateneed for universal hope - hope thatacts as a reminder that, no matterwhat the odds, even thesupposedly unattainable is withinour grasp."

"Freemen of the city" includeNelson Mandela and thearchbishop emeritus DesmondTutu, she added.

Michelle Obama hadtravelled to Cape Town last yearduring a tour of Africa.

To some the award seemedin keeping with a longstanding

Cape Town's decision to grant Barack and Michelle Obama freedom of the city has been branded a'political gimmick'. Photograph: Alex Wong/Getty Images

HosniMubarak’shealthcontinues todeteriorate

Hosni Mubarak's health hasdeteriorated further,with the ousted Egyptian

president slipping in and out ofconsciousness and being fedliquids intravenously, securityofficials have said.

Doctors had to use adefibrillator twice on the 84-year-old, according to officials atTorah prison hospital, where theformer leader is serving a lifesentence. They did not saywhether Mubarak's heart hadstopped or if he suffered fromirregular heartbeats, but saidMubarak had slipped in and outof consciousness three times sofar on Monday after similardifficulties on Sunday.

Mubarak's sons, one-timeheir apparent Gamal andwealthy businessman Alaa,were by his side, the officials saidon condition of anonymity sincethey were not authorised tospeak to the media. The pair arebeing held at Torah prisonawaiting trial on insider-tradingcharges.

According to Egyptianofficials, Mubarak's health hasdeteriorated sharply since hewas convicted on 2 June offailing to prevent the killings ofhundreds of protesters duringthe uprising that removed himfrom power last year. They havealso said he is suffering fromdepression.

He and his sons wereacquitted of corruption charges.

Mubarak's wife, Suzanne,visited him in Torah on Sundayand, according to the officials,demanded he be transferred to abetter-equipped hospital outsidethe penal system. The officialssaid such a transfer was likelyunless Mubarak's healthimproves.

relationship between the UScivil rights and South Africanliberation movements: Obamahas recalled that his first tasteof political activism wasspeaking at an anti-apartheidrally. In the immediateafterglow of his 2008 electionvictory, it may have struck apopular chord. Now, however,South Africans have doubts.

Tony Ehrenreich, theprovincial secretary of Congressof South African Trade Unionsin western Cape, said it was"appalled" at the award, citing"the atrocious behaviour of theUSA on the Palestinianquestion, and their endorsementof Israel aggression against thepeople of Palestine."

Ehrenreich, who as thecandidate of the governing

African National Congress (ANC)was defeated by De Lille in the lastmayoral election, accused her ofignoring the majority ofCapetonians. "Obama has donenothing for the city of Cape Townthat in our view deserves thefreedom of the city, as he does notrepresent the value system of thecity people of justice and fairness."

In a joint letter to presidentJacob Zuma, two Islamicorganisations, the Media ReviewNetwork (MRN) and MuslimJudicial Council (MJC), said theywere "astonished anddumbfounded" by De Lille'sdecision.

"Obama's intimate role inauthorising US drone attacksoverseas is a cold-blooded accountof how he and his disciples inWashington decide on who will

live and who must die," theywrote. "Innocent Pakistani,Yemeni, Somali and Afghanicivilians have lost their lives orhave suffered traumatic injuriesthat have changed their lives forever."

The National EducationHealth and Allied Workers' Unionalso condemned the move. "Weare totally opposed to thisbecause the majority of the poorpeople of Cape Town are stilltreated like outsiders in theirown city and nothing has beendone by Ms De Lille to narrowthe huge inequality gap thatexist between the rich and thepoor," it said.

De Lille's office said theObamas would still be given theaward because more than 60% ofthe city council voted in favour.

Libya: British diplomatic convoy attacked in BenghaziTwo people were injured

when a British diplomaticconvoy was hit by a rocket-

propelled grenade in Benghazi,in the most serious of a spate ofassaults on foreign targets inLibya's second city, localsecurity officials said.

An embassy spokeswomansaid the British ambassador toLibya was in the convoy butwas uninjured. "Two closeprotection officers were injuredbut all other staff are safe anduninjured," the spokeswomansaid. The injured officers werereceiving medical treatment.

The convoy was hit about300 metres from the Britishconsulate office in the al-Rabhaneighbourhood. Police cordonedoff the area, and a damaged butstill intact car windscreencould be seen lying on theground.

A source from thegovernment's high securitycommittee said the grenadewas fired at the front of thevehicle, blowing out thewindscreen.

Another security sourcesaid the convoy was leaving a

Workers bring a damaged windscreen into the British consulateoffice after an attack on a convoy in Benghazi. Photograph: EsamOmran al-Fetori/Reuters

restaurant when the attackhappened. "We are looking intowho is responsible, aninvestigation is under way,"the source said.

In London, a Foreign Officespokesman confirmed that aBritish embassy convoy hadbeen attacked in Benghazi. "Allstaff are accounted for and weare liaising closely with theLibyan authorities," thespokesman said.

Some analysts have blamedattacks in Benghazi on Islamistmilitants exploiting thesecurity vacuum left afterMuammar Gaddafi's overthrowlast year. The eastern city wasa cradle of the uprising thatended Gaddafi's 42-year rule,but is now a hotspot forviolence, with arms readilyavailable and state securityforces struggling to assert theirauthority.

Security experts say the areaaround the city is host to anumber of Islamist militantgroups who oppose any westernpresence in Muslim countries.

Last week an explosive devicewas dropped from a passing caroutside the offices of the USdiplomatic mission in Benghazi.The blast that followed slightlydamaged the gate in front of thebuilding.

On 22 May a rocket-propelledgrenade hit the offices of theInternational Committee of theRed Cross in the city, blasting asmall hole in the building butcausing no casualties. A monthearlier in Benghazi, a bomb wasthrown at a convoy carrying IanMartin, the head of the UnitedNations mission in Libya. No onewas hurt.

The worst-case scenario forwestern governments is that theattacks could be the start of anIraq-style insurgency by Islamistmilitants. However, analysts sayan insurgency is unlikely to gainthe kind of momentum it did inIraq, mainly because westernstates have no military presenceon the ground in Libya.

Mubarak in court during his ver-dict hearing on 2 June: officialssay his health has deterioratedsharply since his conviction.Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

PAGE 33PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012

China to send its first woman into spaceOne of two female fighter

pilots will become the firstChinese woman in space

later this month, after the twowere shortlisted for a place in thethree-person team that will blastoff in the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft,the state news agency Xinhua

Either Captain Wang Yaping (l) or Major Liu Yang will join the Shenzhou-9 manned spacecraftdocking mission. Photograph: EyePress/Photoshot

said.Chinese media described

Major Liu Yang, from Henan, asa "hero pilot" who achieved asuccessful emergency landingafter a dramatic birdstrikeincident spattered thewindshield of her plane with

blood.Meanwhile, her rival,

Captain Wang Yaping, fromShandong, is said to have flownrescue missions during theSichuan earthquake and piloteda cloud-seeding plane to helpclear the skies of rain for the

Beijing Olympics in 2008."They are selected as

members of the first batch offemale astronauts in Chinabecause of their excellent flightskills and psychological quality,"said Xinhua.

This month's mission isregarded as an important stagein China's ambitious spaceprogramme. "The Shenzhou-9will perform our country's firstmanned space docking missionwith the orbiting Tiangong-1space lab module," ZhouJianping, chief designer of themanned space program, toldstate media.

"It means China's spacecraftwill become a genuine mannedshuttle tool between space andEarth. It can send human beingsto space stations or space labs.This will be a significant step inChina's manned space flighthistory."

China will be the eighthcountry to see one of its femalecitizens go into space, and only

the third to put one there itself.Valentina Tereshkova of theSoviet Union became the firstwoman to go into space in 1963.

Both the women shortlistedare in their 30s and have onechild: Chinese authorities havedecreed that only mothers cantrain as astronauts, apparentlybecause of their concern thatspaceflight might affect women'sfertility. Earlier this year, thedeputy editor-in-chief of anofficial magazine said womenastronauts should also have noscars - which might open andbleed in space - nor body odour.

"They even must not havedecayed teeth because any smallflaw might cause great troubleor a disaster in space," said PanZhihao of Space International,published by the ChinaAcademy of Space Technology.

But he also told China Dailythat female astronauts tend tobe more "keen and sensitive withbetter communication skillsthan their male counterparts".

Burma clashes kill scores despitecurfew imposed in Arakan state

A Buddhist man brandishes a machete amid rising tensions in Sittwe, Burma. Photograph: SoeZeya Tun/Reuters

Scores of people have beenkilled in Burma as sectarianviolence escalated despite

the declaration of a state ofemergency in the western stateof Arakan.

A strict curfew was imposedat the weekend on four towns,including the state capitalSittwe, but clashes betweenBuddhists and Muslimscontinued late into Sundaynight.

The Muslim district of Nazirin Sittwe was set ablaze in thelatest of a series of arson attacksacross the state carried out bygroups on both sides.

Chris Lewa, head of theArakan Project, an internationalagency monitoring Burma'swesternmost state, said witnesses

had reported between 50 andhundreds dead.

Multiple reports from sourceson the ground alleged thatsecurity forces had opened fire onMuslims in the town ofMaungdaw, where foreigners areforbidden to enter.

An Arakanese agency workerliving in Bangkok told theGuardian her family home inNazir had been razed and afamily friend, a formerpolitician, had been killed. Herfather was missing, while threeof her friends, all former staff atthe office of the UN highcommissioner for refugees(UNHCR), were also detained. "Itseems police are targeting theeducated people like they did inCambodia," she said.

Mohammad Seddigh Kaboudvand was jailed for 11 years for 'acting against national security'.

Iranian Kurdish journalist stageshunger strike over ill son

Many imprisoned Iranianjournalists, stripped oftheir basic rights by the

government, are going on longhunger strikes to draw attentionto their plight in a countrydescribed by the Committee toProtect Journalists as the "world'sworst jailer of journalists".

Mohammad SeddighKaboudvand, who was namedthe international journalist ofthe year at the British PressAwards in 2009, is on his thirdhunger strike after his 10threquest to visit his ailing son inhospital was turned down.

Kaboudvand's son Pejmanwas diagnosed with a rare bloodcondition and has been"gravely ill" in a Tehranhospital for five months,putting the family underimmense emotional andfinancial pressure.

In a letter smuggled out ofEvin prison last week, the 50-year-old Kaboudvand said hehad been left with no option butto go on hunger strike since the

authorities had withheld all newsabout his son's condition andcontinued to deny himtemporary leave to visit him.

Speaking by phone fromTehran, Kaboudvand's wife,Parinaz Husseini, told the IranBlog she was very worriedabout her husband's healthand did not understand whythe authorities were blockinghis request to see his son.

"Maybe the reason for theirrefusal is his Kurdishness or thefact that he has refused to repentand ask for forgiveness from theauthorities," she said.

Kaboudvand, who himselfsuffers from multiple serioushealth problems, is serving analmost 11-year prison term,which began in July 2007, for"acting against national securityby establishing the HumanRights Organisation of Kurdistanand proposing a campaign toboycott the 9th presidentialelection" which broughtMahmoud Ahmadinejad to officein 2005.

PAGE 34 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012

Russian police launch raidsahead of anti-Putin march

Russian police officers guard the entrance of the building where opposition leader Alexei Navalnylives. Photograph: Leonid Lebedev/AP

Armed police launched aseries of raids on Mondayon the homes of prominent

opposition activists as Moscowbraced itself for a mass streetdemonstration against PresidentVladimir Putin.

Anti-corruption bloggerAlexei Navalny, Left Frontleader Sergei Udaltsov, socialiteand television presenter KseniaSobchak and former deputyprime minister Boris Nemtsovwere among those targeted.

"There is a search going on inmy home," Navalny wrote onTwitter shortly after 8am localtime. "They almost split the doorin two."

Police also cordoned offNavalny's office, where theprolific campaigner runs hisAnti-Corruption Fund and co-ordinates his exposés involvinggovernment bodies and largecompanies.

Russia's opposition has alicence for up to 50,000 people

to attend a rally on Tuesday , anational holiday. But thosetargeted were ordered to reportto police for questioning onTuesdayat 11am - a time thatcould prevent their attendanceat the march, which is due tobegin in central Moscow atmidday.

Officials said the raids were apart of an investigation into theviolence that broke out betweenriot police and protesters at thelast opposition demonstration on

US commerce secretary, JohnBryson, named in hit-and-run crashThe US commerce department

says secretary John Brysonsuffered a seizure in

connection with two trafficaccidents in the Los Angeles areathat left him injured andunconscious.

Bryson was cited for a felonyhit-and-run tied to two LosAngeles-area traffic crashes onSaturday, though he has not beenformally charged.

The commerce departmentsays Bryson was taken to thehospital for examination andremained overnight forobservation. He was released andreturned to Washington.

The department says aninvestigation is ongoing.

Bryson, 68, was treated at ahospital following the crashesSaturday evening, the Los Angelescounty sheriff's department andthe San Gabriel police departmentsaid in a joint statement.

"Secretary Bryson was involvedin a traffic accident over theweekend," the commercedepartment said Monday. "He wastaken to the hospital forexamination and has beenreleased. He has sustained noinjuries."

The secretary was drivingalone in a Lexus on a major streetin San Gabriel when he allegedly

struck the rear end of a vehicle thathad stopped for a passing train.

He spoke briefly with theoccupants and hit their car againas he departed, officials said. Thecar's occupants followed him whilecalling police.

Bryson then allegedly struck anearby car minutes later, thepolice departments said.

Bryson was found alone andunconscious in his car and wastreated at the scene before beingtaken to a hospital.

There was no immediateindication that alcohol or drugs

played a role, the departmentssaid. Duran said authorities don'tknow if Bryon had a prior medicalcondition.

"When the first officer rolled upon the scene, he was behind hiswheel unconscious," Duran said."But our officer did speak with himat the hospital."

David Axelrod, senior adviserto President Barack Obama, saidon CBS's This Morning that hedoesn't have any details.

"This news broke overnight, soI don't have anything to contributeto that," he said.

Commerce secretary John Bryson was found alone andunconscious in his car and was treated at the scene before beingtaken to a hospital. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images

6 May.Police confiscated computers

and other electronic equipmentas well as flags, photographs andclothing. Searches were alsoconducted in the homes of theparents and parents-in-law ofseveral of the oppositionactivists.

Celebrity socialite Sobchak,often dubbed Russia's ParisHilton, tweeted that she did nothave time to get dressed beforepolice "stormed in".

The raids are the latest in aseries of moves by theauthorities against Russia's

opposition movement. Newlegislation that imposesdraconian fines on participantsin unsanctioned demonstrationswas rushed through the Dumathis month and signed into lawby Putin on Friday.

It increases fines forindividual participants 150times to 300,000 rubles(£6,000) and for organisers to 1million rubles.

Putin and the primeminister, Dmitry Medvedev,publicly defended the new law,saying it wasin line withEuropean standards.

Hurried Spanish banking bailoutfails to calm market nerves

A bailout of up to •100bn forSpain's ailing banks failed tocalm nerves about the

future of the euro on Mondayamid confusion over the plan'sdetails and worries that Greekvoters might choose to abandonthe single currency.

The hurried bailoutannouncement after anemergency video conference ofeurozone finance ministers at theweekend was meant to easepressure on Spain and othertroubled European economiesahead of Sunday's elections inGreece.

But Spain's borrowing costsrose on Monday, nudging closerto levels that are consideredunsustainable and dragging Italytowards the danger zone. Europe'sstock markets fell slightly, despitean early bounce, the FTSE 100 inLondon finishing down 0.05%.

Investors worried aboutuncertainty over the amount ofbailout money Spain would take,the mechanism for providing itand the conditions attached to thedeal.

"The size of the deal is meant toshow a real commitment on thepart of the eurozone to stabilise thesystem," said Robert Pavlik, ofBanyan Partners. "However, thisjust moves the problem down theroad and shows how nervous theEU was going into the Greekelection."

Spanish prime minister

Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy's triumphant approach tothe bailout appeared to annoy Germany. Photograph: Juan Medina/Reuters

Mariano Rajoy's triumphantapproach to the bailout appearedto annoy Germany and othereurozone countries who mustpersuade sceptical voters that themoney is well spent.

As he tries to escape thedevastating political price paid byother European leaders who haveasked for bailouts, Rajoy has toldSpaniards that the •100bn comeswith no strings attached except forthe banks receiving the money.He refuses to call it a bailout.

But Germany's financeminister, Wolfgang Schäuble,warned that - as with Greece,Portugal and Ireland - Spain mustanswer to the feared "troika" thatenforces the debt repaymentterms imposed on other bailed outcountries like Portugal, Greeceand Ireland. The troika is madeup of the European commission,the International Monetary Fund(IMF) and European CentralBank.

"The Spanish state is taking theloans, Spain will be responsible forthem," Schäuble said. "There willlikewise be a troika. There will ofcourse be supervision to ensurethat the programme is beingcomplied with, but this refers onlyto the restructuring of the banks."

"Of course there will beconditions," EU competitioncommissioner Joaquín Almuniaadded in a radio interview."Whoever gives money nevergives it away for free."

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012 PAGE 35

'I’m just ill, not a monster': Chinesemum discovered with seventumours can’t afford surgery bill·Mother-of-two Li Hongfang, 40, has watched the tumours grow on her face for the last TEN years·She has been unable to afford £60,000 medical bill to have them removed·They started growing slowly in 2001 but she ignored the swelling because she thought it was nothing to worry about

‘I am NOT a monster’: Li Hongfang, 40, has a rare condition whichhas caused tumours to grow on her face - but she is unable toafford treatment

Nightmare illness: The mother-of-two is shunned in public becauseof her rare condition. The tumours on her face have been growingfor the last 10 years

Grief: Li Hongfang was hit by the death of her husband shortlyafter she was diagnosed with Chordoma

The woman she used to be: Lu Hongfang with her son before the tumours began to grow

A Chinese mother-of-twohas been left disfiguredby tumours which have

been growing on her face for thelast ten years.

Li Hongfang, 40, is shunnedin public because of the rarecondition which has caused herface to slowly swell.

She has been unable to getmedical treatment forChordoma because she cannotafford it. The illness is a form ofbone cancer which causes tissueto grow.

The trouble started in 2001when she noticed a small patchof swelling on her foreheadwhich she initially ignoredbecause it was not painful.

When her condition wasfinally diagnosed four yearslater, doctors said she hadseven tumours growing on herface.

But she has been unable topay the £60,000 or 600,000yuan medical bill and has beenforced to watch them slowlygrow.

The mother said: ‘I knowthat a lot of people see me as amonster but I am just a normalwoman and a mother inside.’Nightmare cancer that hasruined a mother’s life

Li Hongfang has Chordomawhich is a type of bone cancerwhich causes tissue to grow.

The most common placewhere the tumours begin togrow is in the skull and at thebottom of the spine.

Although global figures arenot available, in the U.S. thecancer affects around one in a

million people.In western countries, a

sufferer would have thetumour removed before beinggiven high doses of radiationtherapy.

But because of China’shealthcare system, LiHongfang has been unable toafford proper care.

The cancer may be rare,although there have been someinstances of several membersof the same family being hit bythe tumours.

When she was diagnosed,she was living with herhusband and two sons inTianchao village, in Qianxian

county, in west China’sShaanxi province.

She said: ‘We didn’t havemuch money but we were veryhappy and we loved each otherand our two boys. I would saylife was good then.

‘I didn’t think anything of itwhen I got a small swelling onmy forehead – I thought it wasprobably just an insect bite.

‘It didn’t even itch or achein anyway – but it also didn’tgo away and in fact just gotbigger and bigger.’

In China, healthcare hasdisintegrated in recent decadeswhen the old state system wasdismantled and medical fees

introduced.Many cannot get access to

it or simply cannot afford itand many of the 700 millionpeople in the countryside haveto travel to cities to get decentcare.

Officials are debating aprogramme which aims toprovide health insurance for allits 1.3billion people by 2020but at the moment the Chinesehealth system falls far behind

the needs of those it is supposedto be treating. She was told shewould have to pay to cover thecost of the operation - which isfar beyond her limited means.

By 2009 she met GuoYingping, 40, who as anorphan knew something aboutloneliness and the two becamefriends and later married.

Her two sons, now aged 17and 14, have left home to work.Source: Dailymail.co.uk

PAGE 36 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012

How the man cured of AIDS has inspireddoctors to discover revolutionary new treatment

closer to emulating the success ofBrown’s surgery to help theestimated 34 million peopleworldwide who are HIV positive.

Experts hope that umbilicalcord blood transplants couldprovide a similar solution toBrown’s in curing the virus.

Brown - often known as ‘TheBerlin Patient’ because heformerly lived in that city - firsttested positive for HIV in 1995.

In 2007, when he was stillliving in Germany, Mr Brownwas undergoing extensivetreatment for leukemia.

During the course of histreatment, doctors gave him abone marrow stem cell transplantfrom a donor with a geneticmutation that made himimmune from HIV.

The mutation, called delta 32,occurs in an estimated 1 per centof people descended fromNorthern Europeans, with Swedesbeing the most likely candidates.

The percentage is far less thanin people of other races. In 2007Brown’s doctors tested nearly 70donors before they found a match.

However, stem cell transplantisn’t feasible as a widespreadtreatment for HIV patientsbecause it is often very difficult tofind a matching bone marrowdonor, and much harder to findone who also carries the HIV-

Timothy Brown, 46, becamethe first person in history tobe cured of HIV after

receiving a blood stem celltransplant from a person resistantto the virus.

In 2007 doctors made thebreakthrough surgery as theytreated Brown for the leukemiathat he had been diagnosed witha year earlier.

And now doctors are one step

'Cured': Timothy Brown feels guilty at being the only person cured of the virus but hopes his storywill give hope to the millions with the disease

Breakthrough? It is hoped the discovery will lead to better ways ofidentifying and treating anxiety problems, which affect womenmore than men (file picture)

resistant gene.Conversely the match

between donor and recipient inumbilical cord transplants doesnot need to be so close, accordingto Dr. Lawrence Petz, medicaldirector of StemCyte, an umbilicalcord blood bank.

Petz told ABC News that

Brown’s transplant was mademore complicated because theblood stem cells came from anadult donor.

‘When you do that [stem celltransplants] you have to have avery close match between donorand recipient,’ Petz told the newsstation. ‘With umbilical cordblood, we don’t need such a closematch. It’s far easier to find donormatches.’

However, out of 17,000samples of cord blood Petz and hiscolleagues have found only 102cord with the genetic HIV-resistant mutation - so the bankneeds to be built up over time.

‘At the present time, I feelthere’s no other way to cure areasonable number of patientsother than using cord blood,’ Petztold Fox News.

The first cord blood transplanton an HIV infected patient fromthe Netherlands was performed afew weeks ago and Petz’s teamhave another transplant lined upfor a patient in Spain later thismonth.

It will take months before

researchers can tell if thetreatment has made anydifference to the patient’s HIV.

‘We don’t know the finaloutcome yet, but we’re veryoptimistic that the transplant willbe of significant benefit to thepatient,’ Petz told Fox.

Like in Brown’s case, thetransplants aren’t carried outsolely to treat AIDS, the patientshave an additional condition thatrequires the transplant.

‘It can be done. It’s just amatter of time,’ Petz said offinding a cure.

Since his transplant Brown’sbody shows no signs of HIV. ‘I feelgood,’ Brown told ABC News. ‘Ihaven’t had any major illnesses,just occasional colds like normalpeople.’

Brown, who feels guilty to bethe only person to have beencured of the illness, hopes his storywill inspire sufferers that a cure ispossible.

‘I don’t want to be the onlyperson in the world cured of HIV. Iwant a cure for everyone,’ he said.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

How worrying takes itstoll on a woman’s brain

rated themselves as more anxiousperformed the same as the menon the tasks, researchersdiscovered their brains had towork harder at it.

And as the test became moredifficult, the anxious women didworse, suggesting that worryinggot in the way of completing thetask.

Girls who identifiedthemselves as ‘big worriers’recorded high brain activitywhen they made mistakes duringthe test, according to the studypublished in the InternationalJournal of Psychophysiology.

Professor Jason Moser, who ledthe study, said the femalehormone oestrogen may bedriving the increased response in

If you’re one of those womenwith a tendency to fret, here’ssomething else to start

worrying about.Women who are worriers

have to work harder to performsimple tasks than men, and makemore mistakes on difficult ones,researchers claim.

In a US study, those whosuffered from anxiety haddistracting thoughts that got inthe way of them succeeding.

By contrast the men testedshowed no signs of anxiety, anddidn’t have to work so hard toachieve the same results.

The discovery could lead tobetter ways of identifying andtreating anxiety problems, whichaffect women more than men.

Around one in six Britons suffersome form of anxiety.

Overall, 13 per cent willdevelop it at some point in theirlives, according to Anxiety UK.

A research team at MichiganState University enlisted the helpof almost 150 college students,half of them women.

An electrode cap was used tomeasure their brain activity whilethey performed a simple task,which involved identifying themiddle letter in a series of five-lettergroups on a computer screen.

They were also asked tocomplete questionnaires ratinghow much and how often theyworried.

Although the women who

women. It is known to affect therelease of dopamine, aneurotransmitter in the front ofthe brain, the area that controlslearning ability.

Professor Moser added:‘Anxious girls’ brains have to workharder to perform tasks becausethey have distracting thoughtsand worries.

‘As a result their brains arebeing kind of burned out bythinking so much, which mightset them up for difficulties inschool.

‘We already know thatanxious kids – and especiallyanxious girls – have a harder timein some academic subjects suchas maths.’

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Cured: Doctors are being inspiredby Timothy Brown who wasinfected with HIV for more than adecade when he was given antransplant of bone marrow withHIV resistant cells in 2007.

CCR5: People who inherit two copies of CCR5, the so-called'immune gene', one from each parent, seem to have strongimmunity to HIV. The mutation, occurs in an estimated 1 per centof people descended from Northern Europeans, with a lowerpercentage in other races.

PAGE 37PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012

How Middle-Belt underminedNorth, by Chom Bagu

If it is not a mysteriousgroup, why has it beendifficult to contain it?

Because we have no security.We have no security. These ones,if you put NYSC people to do thesecurity, they will do a lot better.Do you know why? Because thesecurity issue is not about holdinga title; it is about commitment tosecurity. Are these onescommitted? I don’t think so; theydon’t look like they are committedto anything .If an SSS man meetsBoko Haram man today and theBoko Haram man brings N2m(Two million naira) and giveshim, will he not look the otherway and leave him to go?..Theseare people breaking banks. Sincethe man has ten million and hemeets a group of these people andhe brings that money out, theywill take it. Wallahi they will takeit and pretend..

Your argument is thatprobably even the securityoperatives are not beingproperly taken care of; theyare not being motivatedenough to do their job

They are not motivated. I amnot talking of being taken care of.They are not motivated and theyhave been so politicised that theyonly give political office holderswhat they think they want tohear. And because of that, itmeans a lot of the real securityreport doesn’t get to the officeholders so that they can use theinformation to take a decision.Anyway, most of our politicaloffice holders have been hijackedby the security. The presidencyis a security controlledenvironment. That is whysomebody said even if you put adog there, it will function. If youare director of press there, is it notthe security people who vet all thepress statements? They vet it andtell you what to say. That is whathappens there…They organiseand contain them. The basketthat contains the presidency is a security outfit. So politicians onlybounce around. If that is the case,it becomes difficult …

So you think there is theneed to reorganize thepresidency towards propeople establishment?

Yeah .You have to make it apolitical office. The presidencyshould be a heavily politicisedsetting. When you see the Obamapresidency, it is his party peoplewho are in charge of key processes.

Chom Bagu

INTERVIEW

Chom Bagu, a pro-democracy crusader in this concluding part of the interview he granted to Danlami Nmodu, (Publisher/Editor)Newsdailyonline.com, says the major threat to peace in Plateau state is the governor, David Jonah Jang even as he maintains thatJonathan only succeeded in using the people of the Middle-Belt to rise to power without giving them anything in return.

They have different offices. Thesecurity people have their own,they brief the president every day.But it is just one…..

This stranglehold ofsecurity

Yes. Alot of the policy…Look atcommunity radio, who is stoppingthe community radio, is it notsecurity people…And yet we allknow that if you do communityradio you will open the space, youwill democratize the country

So how did the security takeover the polity?

It is the handiwork of themilitary

So it is a failure of ourpolitical leaders

Yes, and they (politicians allowit) because they want to hold on topower and most of them come without having anyunderstanding of power. Andbecause they don’t understandpower, what happens?Even thepresident…

They surrender to thesecurity people?

They think the issue is stability,okay I want to be in power. I don’twant anybody (else) and that iswhy somebody, Labaran(Information Minister) will go andwarn Buhari. How can you darewarn (him).You can only counterhim with your own argument.You can’t warn him; this is apresidential candidate of anotherparty and you say you arewarning him, because he said thegovernment itself is Boko Haram?He has that license to say so. Youcan only reply him. You can’twarn him. What is the warningabout? Sometimes the warning isthat the minister is now behavinglike a security agent…He is now asecurity agent, he is no more apolitician who has only one pieceof the truth, other party also havetheir own truth. So you can’twarn them. This securityapproach.

In your own view, Buharihad the right to say what hesaid?

Yeah, he is a politician. Hewants to replace this government.So if he has a point that is againstthe government, if he doesn’t sayit what makes him different fromthe government? Thegovernment itself had insinuatedthat Buhari is instigating BokoHaram. Are they not saying so?Yet they know they have noevidence. And so the man shifts itback to you and said in fact youare the Boko Haram. Then youwarn him. No, you don’t have thatpower.

All these battles about our

democracy, civil societyactivism and those ingovernment seeking to hold onto power. It’s like a battlebetween those who wantbetter elections and those whowant to maintain the statusquo. And some of us felt thatthe coming of Professor Jegawould make some difference.Given our experience so far,especially with the lastelections, do you think ourhopes were misplaced?

Ehhh, you know Jega is apublic lecture radical.

Public lecture radical?Do you know why? Because if

you look at Jega, Jega is a rigidperson. I mean Jega is intolerantif you know him well. I am sayingthat you can’t be a goodrevolutionary and a good radicaland be intolerant and be rigid. Forexample if Jega sees you nowdrinking Star, he will startlooking at you. So what is theradicalism there? He doesn’t seethe right of people to live their lifethe way they are..He is just aconservative. In practice he is aconservative.

It is like you are telling usabout a different person

That is why I said he is a publiclecture radical. He can read agood paper. But in terms of thepractice, those who know, go toASUU and see whether some ofthe radicals in ASUU will supportJega. They are not likely tosupport Jega. They are verycritical of Jega. Look at how he

determined who are the goodpeople who would manage theelections with him, universitydons (vice chancellors). Me andyou know, how can you say theuniversity dons (vice chancellors)that they are the good peoplewhen we know the crimes they arecommitting on the campuses. Thatis cut and paste. There areNigerians whether they areacademic or non academic who aregood. And Jega knows this but hewould not dare bring them onboard. Look at his advisers, are anyof the radicals you know? The guyshe carried to that INEC are they the radicals you know? I don’tthink so. His Chief of Staff is rightwing. It is not that Jega publishesthis his so called radical things inpublic, it is who does he work with?Who are the kind of people hetrusts? And that is why you willnot see a difference because he isan establishment man

You mean Jega cannotmidwife good elections?

I don’t think so. He doesn’t havethe character to do it. He has thegoodwill because people believethat he was a good ASUUPresident. But he doesn’t have therock determination to move theelection in that direction becausewhile Jega was busy dealing withthe radicals, he was doing a lot ofthings with the Obasanjogovernment.

Like what?Ha ha? He was one of, if you

check I can’t mention some of thekey committees they put Jega and

they did it deliberately. Wethought after the Uwais(Committee) thing if they hadgiven it to Jibo (Dr jibrin)Ibrahim I can tell you that therewould be a difference. Not thatJibo is publicly more radical thanJega, but Jibo believes indemocracy. He will notcompromise at all. He believes init and if you meet Jibo, he lives it.Jega doesn’t. You get the point.Jega doesn’t. If he gave it to Jibo,I would say yes he would try.

But most people may notknow the man you call Jibo.But what makes him stand outto the point that you arerecommending him for such avery important position?

They were all in UwaisCommittee together. Jibo hasbeen in the civil society. He livesin Abuja here and evennationally he has been a mainrallying point.

That is Jibo, you are talkingof Dr Jibrin Ibrahim

Jibrin Ibrahim,yes. That oneI can trust because he has been inthe middle and everybody knowshim. Everybody can vouch forhim and say this guy ,you cantrust him. There are places I willnot trust Jega. And we have seenin the last elections. He wassimply aiding PDP.

That is a very strongallegation. We thought he didsome of the things he did likestopping the presidentialelection because of logisticproblems here and there. Butyou don’t believe that?

A: I don’t believe that becauseJega assured everybody thateverything was there. How canyou, if you have elections to run,if you have not seen the ballotpapers, you will fix the electionand assure the public that theelection would hold on this day.He assured us that everythingwas in place. So what logistics?Why did he stop it, the electoralmaterials? Is it not so? He didn’tknow them? He didn’t know theywere (not) there? Two,J egaimmediately he got into thatoffice, his emphasis was money.That was what just told me thatthis guy doesn’t know what he istalking about. Why was itmoney? What is the differencewith Iwu.It is money , money,money.

But doesn’t he need moneyto really get things in place?

But he should not emphasizeit because if you emphasize it, youmiss the point. Because the

Contiuned on page 38

PAGE 38 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012

Jang is the major threat topeace in Jos, says Chom Bagu

Contiuned from page 37

government can give you themoney. Nigerians will fight foryou to get the money, but what isyour policy thrust? It is that policythrust that will make Nigeriansto be happy so that if thegovernment doesn’t give you themoney, the public come on yourside. In the end, you find that Jega(conducted) one of the mostexpensive elections in the world.What kind of radical is that?

I get the impression thatfrom what you are saying thatJega is not carrying his radicalconstituency along with him

He didn’t. In fact he despisesthem. That is why I am wonderingwhy? He despises them. Check,who are the radicals with him?May be the only one I can say isEbeano. But the other ones are not

You mean ProfessorEbeano?

Prof. Ebeano, I mean he issomebody I can vouch for and say he has also been very consistent.But the others,I don’t know wherehe got them from.

But with this scenario andnow that we are workingtowards 2015, that means youdon’t expect any radicalchange in the electioneeringprocess?

Even if there will be radicalchange, it will be because thepeople who are going to contestelections are going to be a bitdifferent from the ones we had thelast time. If genuine radicals andgenuine Nigerians who knowwhat governance is about decideto run, they could force the pilot,because they are not just going toleave things to run on their own.If I am contesting elections, it isnot going to be easy for you to rigme out. You‘d know that you havewar on your hands..You try it,you know you will fail. That is it.But if you are waiting for PDP toaward you the position, then ofcourse you can’t fight. It meansyou will not make the kind ofarrangement, you will notmobilize people enough to standand defend their votes.

Now given the scenario youhave painted so far, especiallylet’s go back to this issue ofJonathan being clueless

Very, very clueless about howto run Nigeria. I don’t think heunderstands it. That is whysomebody just said he is aPresident for the Niger Delta, thathe doesn’t know anything. Buteven the Niger Delta I am not toosure he is comprehensive.

But we already hear, likechief Edwin Clark has declaredthat Jonathan is going to runfor election in 2015.

Who is Clark?Chief Edwin Clark , a

godfather from the South-South

Nobody. He is an absolutenobody. The south-south cannotdeliver the Presidency. You knowthat. As a journalist you know it,

can the South-south deliver aPresidency? No way. They don’thave the numbers. They have toalign with two other regions ifthey want it. So the way they aretalking, how will they do it? Theyare thinking that they will rig theelections? Maybe. The second,they won this one, how did theywin it? Is it not because the middlebelt undermined the north andthe North lost confidence.That was the basis.

But why did the middlebeltagree to undermine the North?

They undermined the northbecause they knew that given thekind of crisis that we have in themiddlebelt that if you had a fullmuslim northerner as Presidenthe is going to strengthen the forcesthat are attacking the middlebelt

Who undermined the northnow?

I am saying that the middle-belt deliberately decided toundermine the north, to say weare not going with you, we aregoing to support Jonathan, eventhough Jonathan promised themnothing and has given themnothing. But they did it. TheNeighbour to Neighbour, whowere the guys who were runningit? It was a pure middle-belt setup.

So what was the reasoninglike you said?

The reasoning was that if anortherner, muslim northernerbecomes president, the middlebeltwould suffer.

How?Ha ha? Because of the crisis,

the violence in Jos and otherplaces. That was the calculation.That was the pure calculation.They said let’s support Jonathanbecause Jonathan being aminority will depend on us and itwill provide a space for us to comeand contest the elections2015.And the middle-belt is alsoa clueless body of people who don’thave any strategic thinking.

Do you agree with thisreasoning?

Iam not agreeing, I amdescribing what informed it. Andthey were doing that hoping thatJonathan will recognize andcompensate them. Theyunderestimated the structure ofNigeria: That every president islooking at the strength of theregions and what they can do tohim as president. He (Jonathan)knows that the north can totallyundermine him and make hisgovernment very unpopular. Butyou see the middlebelt didn’tunderstand. The middlebelt wentto the north to mobilize northernChristians. That was done. But nonorthern Christian now was madea minister, so everybody is crying.The middlebelt self, the peoplewho got there were nobody. Soeverybody is crying , saying thisguy (Jonathan) messed us up. Heused us and dumped us.

I have heard people sayingthat the middlebelt people arethoroughly disappointed inJonathan because they felt hebetrayed them. He used themand dumped them

They offered themselves tohim.

Middlebelt people?Yes. Why can’t you produce

the candidate yourselves?Produce a candidate. You wait tillI come out. You come and supportme, you now want rule, to takethe power from me, how will Iagree? Is that strategic, does thatmake sense? So they went to fightfor Jonathan, he didn’t pledgeanything to them, he didn’tpromise them anything. JonahJang would use N3billion ofPlateau state money to campaignfor him. Suntai in Taraba did thesame thing.

N3billion?Yes. That ‘s why he can’t pay

salaries. Up till now, he has notbeen able to catch up and paysalaries of civil servants as at

when due. So they did thatbecause they are supporting aChristian President. The mancomes round and then they foundout the man has other priorities.He is looking at the damage thatother people can do to him. Sincethese ones offered him support freeof charge, why should heworry about them?

This kind of reasoning isfundamentally flawed. Yousupport a candidate becauseof some sentiment; will thatlead us anywhere?

That is why I am telling youthat it makes no sense. It doesn’tmake sense because it doesn’tmove the polity anywhere. Theyhave been making sure that therehas been no issue on the table. SoJonathan comes and tells you thathe won’t promise anything. Canyou imagine anywhere in theworld that the president says I amnot promising anything, and heis elected?

Take for instance, the issueof whether he was going to doone term or go for a secondterm. I remember very well,former President OlusegunObasanjo announced thatJonathan said he was going todo only one term. But now, theyare saying he didn’t make thepromise

It is not the first time. He(Jonathan) denied the zoning eventhough he is a signatory to it. Sohe is not a man of homour. And(they ) are like that because theylack political experience. Theylack political experience, so theynow put cunning as areplacement for political skills.Now cunning can only work onceor twice, then it will not workagain. Because people would haveunderstood the game. Jonathanis going to attempt to run but ifwhat I am seeing happens, he willbe disgraced.

Disgraced in what sense?He will not win.Jonathan will not win? He can be humiliated. Don’t

forget that the north is going tocome back. It is just that the northis not united. If they were able topatch something, they will comeback with a vengeance. Themiddlebelt is totally divided. Theyare not ready, most people are notready to support Jonathan

“No. The governor andhis.., they are not for peace.And I don’t know what they arethinking about. And yet, it istheir people that are beingkilled. But they are not forpeace. They are not at all.Anytime you see peace istrying to come back to Jos, justlisten to the governor”

In the middlebelt?Yes, because they are so

disappointed. Of course, thechurches are saying youknow..they are trying to playreligious politics. But the people aresaying it’s not it. The man is aPresident, he has not helpedplateau. What did he do? He seized

the money that belongs to the localgovernments that were underattack. Is that your friend?Somebody is being attacked, thenyou seize his money. No salarieswere paid for five months. Theyonly released the money a week orso ago (in May) and they just paidthem some two months salaries,some one month. And you aresaying those people should vote forhim?…

Now that we are talkingabout the Jos issue, why do youthink that the Jos (Plateau)crisis has seemingly becomeinsurmountable?

The Jos crisis has becomeinsurmountable because you can’tmake peace unless governmentsupports that peace. That is mysector. I was in Jos. There was ameeting, this World Council ofChurches came and they broughtMuslim and Christian leaderstogether to say what are the issuesand how they could help. The firstperson to collect themicrophone was the Gbong GomJos. He seized the mic and he spentthe next fifteen to twenty minutesabusing Hausa and Muslim leadersto their faces there, askingindividuals who are you, where areyou from? Are you getting me?The first one was Nakande, formerminister to stand up and he said no, we are not going to take this.What nonsense is this, and heshouted him down saying ‘you arerude to the throne’ That was howeverybody left the meeting o!

So the Plateau elite are nohelping peace?

No.The governor and his men;they are not for peace. And I don’tknow what they are thinkingabout. And yet, it is their peoplethat are being killed. But they arenot for peace. .Anytime you seepeace is trying to come back to Jos,just listen to the governor. Whenhe went for medical check up, hecame back, there was relativepeace in Jos. What did he do? Hewent to commission the newGovernment House and what did he say? That they are going tochange the name of streets in Jos.What does that tell you, if you area Muslim or Hausa guy? You knowhe wants to change Ahmadu BelloWay. That is what will come toyour head; that the purpose ofchanging a street name is to furtherhumiliate the Hausas andMuslims. That is the purpose andviolence came back. Everytimeyou see peace is trying to come, theman says something, then violencecomes back

So government is the majorthreat to peace in Plateau?

In Plateau,Wallahi, they arethe major threat as far as I amconcerned. I am just coming fromJos. I’m so disappointed because theWorld Council of Churches there isa good will and they also have someMuslims among them.

Source: Newsdiaryonline.com

Bagu

Concluded

PAGE 39PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012

With few days to localgovernment electionin Zamfara state, the

Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN)which had earlier entered intoalliance with the ruling ANPP, hadcalled on all its members to support,and elect candidates of the ANPP atthe election.

The party alos called on itssupporters to avail the ANPP of alltheir moral and financial supportso as to prevent the PeoplesDemocratic Party from recordingany impact at the polls.

Chairman of the party in

Zamfara, Alh. Salihu MaibuhuGumi, made the declaration inGusau, the capital of the state whilespeaking to some selected journalistsat his residence.

According to him, the alliancebetween the two parties has come tostay, considering the fact that all thepromises made by the ANPP to ACNwith regard to the appointmentshave been fulfilled.

He explained that it was for thatreason that the ACN did not fieldany candidate for the forth cominglocal government electionscheduled for 23rd of this month(June)2012.

Maibuhu also stated that the

From Salisu Zakari-Maradun, Gusau party executives have recentlymet and discussed issues related tothe election, where a collectivedecision was taken that nocandidate should be fielded.

”We have no problem with theANPP right from the beginning. Infact it was one of the reason why wetook the decision of having alliancewith it, and we have seen a goodstart,” commented Maibuhu.

He further commented thatafter the gubernatorial election, theANPP after it has won the exaltedseat of the governorship, appointedtwo ACN members ascommissioners, four special advisersand two permanent commissioners.

Governor Gabriel Suswamof Benue state hasextended the olive branch to

the opposition parties in the state tojoin hands with his administration togalvanize growth and development.

He stressed that only genuinereconciliation amongst the variouspolitical leaders can enhance peaceand stability of the State.

The governor who made thisstatement while speaking withnewsmen at the weekend after theSupreme Court verdict that upheldhis election, urged the oppositionparties to accept the judgment in goodfaith.

He dedicated his victory to God andthe down trodden in the state,maintaining that his governmentwould accept all shades of opinion tomove the State forward.

“The reality of the Supreme Courtverdict calls for total reconciliationamong the people of Benue state andall political leaders. We must all shelvethe spread of dangerous rumors andfalsehood that tend to create divisionamong the people and also set themagainst each other. We must all jettisonthose ideals that divide us political andsocially but rally round each other tobuild a state of our dream”.

“I know we cannot all belong toone party but we must come togetherand properly harness our potentialsand ideals that would help thegovernment take the state to anotherlevel of development”, Suswamurged.

The governor reiterated theresolve of his government in the nextthree years to focus on povertyreduction and wealth creationthrough agricultural development.

Suswam extendsolive branch tooppositionpartiesFrom Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

Edo State House ofAssembly legislatorrepresenting Owan East

Constituency, Hon FollyOgedengbe, yesterdaycommended the courage of theleadership of IndependentNational Electoral Commission,INEC for including NationalYouth Service Corp (NYSC)members in the conduct of the

July 14 2012 Governorshipelection.

The Action Congress ofNigeria, ACN, lawmaker whokicked against the use of CivilServants only in prosecutingthe election which has drawnthe flank of opposition, howevermaintained that if INEC hadbacked down to do the biddingof the voices of Babel, it wouldhave amounted chaos.

Ogedengbe, commended the

INEC boss, Prof. Attahiru Jegafor helping to reduce tension inEdo through his useful counselsto pliticians, especially thevarious candidates vying forthe governorship election.

“I must commend INEC Bossfor retaining NYSC members toserve as ad-hoc staff in theforthcoming election in Edostate because as you know corpmembers are neutral in theelection held in the state. I want

to give INEC a pass mark forensuring that the election willbe conducted with NYSCmembers which I have nodoubt will bring about fairnessin the July 14th election. Theuse of civil servant as ad-hocstaff will be hijacked bypolitical parties which willgenerate more tension as civilservants could be induced bydesperate politicians to rig theelection”, he said.

Edo guber: Lawmaker laudsINEC on use of corps members By Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

People waiting for election materials at INEC office in Eket Headquarters of Akwa Ibom state, during thelocal government polls, on Saturday in Akwa Ibom state. Photo: NAN

Ekiti state governor, Dr.Kayode Fayemi, hastraced the recent series of

violence across the country to highlevel of unemployment among theable youths and called for NationalConference.

The Governor, who made thecall in Ilorin yesterday whiledelivering a lecture at the NigeriaBar Assocaition(NBA) Kwara statebranch 2012 biennial law weeknoted that there must berenegotiation among the aggrievedparties in order to find lastingsolution to the nation’s crises.

“As panacea to the ground-swellof agitations and recurrent outbreakof conflict in the country, there isthe need for a National Conference,in which the various constituenciesand groups in the country wouldcome together to renegotiate theterms of the Nigerian union, anddeal decisively with all the naggingand contentious issues that havebeen animating the country in anegative manner.

“Issuing from this is the necessityof instituting a comprehensiveconstitutional reform process, inwhich the responsibilities andpreserves of the various levels andtiers of government will befundamentally reviewed. And,questions pertaining to theFederation Account, the FederalCharacter Principle, State police,fiscal federalism, etc would beultimately sorted out.

“What has compounded therecent crisis and underplayed theneed for dialogue has been theinfluence of years of military rulein Nigeria and the exclusive,personality driven projects ofcurrent civilian rulers. Themilitarisation of the national psychealso affects individuals in their dailylives. Nigeria witnessed, especiallyunder the last military dictatorship,intense communal conflicts thatdisrupted peaceful relations inseveral communities.

“Some of the conflicts haveantecedents in old animosities, butmany were resource-driven,spurred by perceptions of unequaldistribution of governmentresources. Incidents of aggression,impatience, and competition arisein domestic violence and otherfamily disputes, over petrol queues,in the conduct of motorists, and inthe behaviour of the armed forcesand police in dealing with ordinarypeople”.

Governor Fayemi added thatthe immediate causes of increasedviolence and crime include the highunemployment and poverty levelsstressing that “at the root, however,is the loss of a culture of compromiseand accommodation.

“This point cannot beoveremphasized; Nigerians losttheir culture of dialogue in a periodwhen militarisation and theprimacy of force had become statepolicy. Nigeria needs a return ofthe culture of dialogue. This maynot necessarily culminate in asovereign national conference,although some perceive this as theonly solution to the crisis ofgovernance in the state.”

Insecurity: Fayemicalls for NationalConferenceFrom Olanrewaju Lawal,Ilorin

intimidation and blackmail.The state police

Commissioner who spoke tonewsmen in his office yesterdayin reaction to the petition by theACN leader in the state sent to thePolice Service Commission said hehas not received any petition tothe effect.

He indicated that hiscommand acted on a complaintmade by one Alkassim Ta’ambuwho alleged that the ACN

Chairman had abducted him toKano for three days.

Theophilus pointed out thatthe suspect was subsequentlyarrested on 11th of May, 2012 andwas charged to court on the 14thMay, 2012.

He said the police has amandate to maintain law andorder, ‘We are not politicians so wehave nothing to do with his partyand their challenge to thegovernor’s victory in June 2011at

the gubernatorial electiontribunal as to harass him orintimidate him.”

The Police Commissionerhowever declined furthercomments on the issue since itmay be prejudicial to the casealready before the court.

The Jigawa State ACNchairman Dr. Abubakar HassanFulata had petitioned the Policeservice Commission over allegedharassments by the state police.

The Jigawa state policecommand has refutedthe allegation credited to

the Jigawa State Chairman of theAction Congress of Nigeria (ACN),accusing the Commissioner ofPolice Mr. Theopillus Kayode, theAssistant Commissioner in chargeof criminal investigations, Mr.Aminu Kogi, Abdul Idris and ASPIsa Dahiru for harassment,

Jigawa Police denies intimidating ACN chieftain

L.G election: Zamfara ACN supports ANPP

From Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse

PAGE 41PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012

... Amavubi hit Lagos tomorrow

“

The Nigeria Referees’Association (NRA) haslambasted Super Eagles

head coach, Stephen Keshi andhis players for lacking the neededvim to chart desired positivecourse in the national team.

The General Secretary of theassociation, Prince Moruf Oluwa,said yesterday while x-raying theteam’s performances so far in the2013 and 2014 Nations Cup andWorld Cup qualifying matches andwarned that peoples’ patiencewith the team would soon run out.

Though the scribe admittedthat the team was undergoing arebuilding process, he saidhowever regretted that theprocessing was becoming too longand warned that Nigerians are

likely to seethe over the team’sinability to produce neededresult.

The referees’ association he saidhas charged both keshi and theplayers to redouble their effortsand restore pride to Nigerianfootball by winning matches andearning the respect of othersoccer powers in the continentand beyond as it used to be.

“I don’t want to single any outplayer because it takes a teamto succeed. The re-buildingprocess of the Super Eagles is avery good idea for Nigeria butsoon Nigerians will give out ofpatience, unless keshi acts nowto avert that.

“We urged the technical crewand the players to live up toexpectation of Nigerians and thatthey can do by getting the results

that Nigerians want. If the resultis not forthcoming even the re-building process of the Eagles thatNigerians are happy with will elicitnegative response from theteeming fans of Keshi and theEagles,” he said.

The scribe urged Keshi to drawlessons from what happened to

Samson Siasia who in spite ofenjoying public support gotunexpected response from thesame public when he failed to leadthe Eagles to qualify for the 2012Nations Cup.

Further the scribe urged theEagles to defeat the Amavubi ofRwanda in this weekend’s 2013

Referees’ association slams Keshi, EaglesBy Albert Akota

Aminu Maigari, NFF president

President Goodluck Jonathan, mayto assent to the new NFF bill soon

The draft to amend the controversial operational instrument ofthe Nigeria Football Federation 2004- CAP 110-as amended andwhich later generated hiccups over name-change and other

legal encumbrances- is currently being perused by the legal unit ofthe National Assembly following the submission of the same to theunit.

This was revealed by the Chairman of the House Committee onSports, Honourable Godfrey Gaiya, who hinted that the draft isbeing looked at with a view to producing a clean copy that wouldbe forwarded to President Goodluck Jonathan for assent.

“We have done a lot of underground work. We want to enablethe NFF to function properly with an acceptable legal framework.To that end, we have collated and sieved through the 200 and morememoranda that we received at the public hearing that we organisedlast Match.

“After that, we set up another committee to look at all thepresentations with a view to addressing the issues that werepresented during the public hearing and in the issues raised in thememos submitted. The committee has finished its work and submittedits recommendations to the House Committee on Sports and we, onour own part, have forwarded same to the legal unit of the NationalAssembly,” he said noting that hitherto controversial areas wereadequately addressed.

Further, Gaiya said the clean copy of the draft would be madeavailable to the House to ensure all areas of conflict for whichamendments were demanded have been strictly expunged as wellinclusion of the new legal name that had been a matter for legalbattle between the NFF board and a parallel NFA.

“The sub-committee has finished and handed over the draft tothe legal unit of the NASS who in turn will ensure that none of theareas are at variance with the law of the land. As soon as we areback from our recess, the clean copy of the report will be referredback to the main committee who will present it to the leadership ofthe House.

“We are giving ourselves the time frame of between now andAugust to lay the report before the whole committee of the Houseto look at it and then forward it to the president for assent,” hesaid adding that once that was accomplished all the controversiesover name change and other legal hiccups shall have been sortedout.

New NFF Act:Presidential assentin August, as NASSlegal unit perusesclean copy

African Cup of Nations qualifier inCalabar.

Moruf implored the technicalcrew to feature only the bestnoting that if the best are mainlythe domestic league players Keshishould leave out sentiment andline them up against Rwandabecause what Nigerians need isthe result irrespective of thosethe coach uses to prosecute thecourse.

NFF demands no mercy for RwandaWe don’t want any draw.

In fact, there should nomercy for Rwanda.

What we insist on is routing of theAmavubi Stars on Saturday.Anything short of that meansfailure on your part.”

This was the charge of thepresident of the Nigeria FootballFederation (NFF), Alhaji AminuMaigari during a breakfast meeting

with the players and stressed thatin spite of the understandingshown by Nigerians for the on-going rebuilding process victoryon Saturday was non-negotiable.

Maigari charged the StephenKeshi-led technical crew tofashion out a winning plan that willsee the Eagles not just beatingtheir opponents but routing outof the contention for the 2013Nations Cup race.

“We are happy to remain at thehead of the qualifying group forthe 2014 FIFA World Cup qualificationrace, despite drawing in Malawi.But there will be no room for adraw on Saturday. It is a match wemust win.

“I also want you to devise astrategy that will ensure aconvincing win. We are re-buildingbut there are matches that wecannot afford to let slip. This isone match that we must win.

“The NFF will continue to giveyou total support in allengagements, activities andprogrammes of the Super Eagles.Please go ahead and guaranteevictory for Nigerians to be happyon Saturday,” said Maigari.

In response, Coach Keshiassured that they would ensurethat hope of the nation wasrealised in a fashion different fromrecent experiences.

“We know it is an important stepfor us to get back into the AfricanCup of Nations, which we missedthis year. Everyone knows howcritical this match is. However, wewill play without pressure in orderfor us to deliver.”

The Super Eagles will fly toCalabar this morning to firm uppreparation for the clash with theAmavubi, which first leg in Kigaliat the end of February ended 0-0.

Super Eagles opponents in the must-win second leg of the secondround of matches in the 2013 Nations Cup qualifier, the AmavubiStars, are expected to hit Lagos tomorrow with a contingent of

23 players and 17 officials including sports journalists.The team is expected to arrive in the country aboard Rwanda Air

but would be accommodated in Lagos for the night and would beflown to Calabar Thursday morning, according to the NFF GeneralSecretary, Musa Amadu.

The Confederation of African Football has appointed IvorianNoumandiez Doue to be Centre Referee for the crucial match. He willbe assisted by compatriots Songuifolo Yeo (Assistant Referee 1), MoussaBayere (Assistant Referee 2) and Bienvenu Sinko (Reserve Referee).The Match Commissioner if Abdoulaye Lawandji Mahamat from Chad.

Nnamdi OduamadiStephen Keshi

By Patrick Andrew

PAGE 42 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012

Rafael Nadal clinched a record seventh French Opentitle yesterday by defeating world No 1 NovakDjokovic 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 and shattering the

Serb’s dream of Grand Slam history.In a fractious final pushed into a third week for only

the second time because of Sunday’s rain, the Spanishworld No 2, playing in his 16th Grand Slam final, alsotook his Paris record to a staggering 52 wins againstjust one loss.

Victory, which was achieved on a Djokovic doublefault, allowed him to break the tie for six French Openshe shared with Bjorn Borg.

It was the 26-year-old’s 11th Grand Slam title, takinghim one behind Roy Emerson, three off Pete Samprasand five away from the record of 16 held by RogerFederer.

For five-time major winner Djokovic, the Wimbledon,US Open and Australian Open champion, it was the endof his dream of emulating Don Budge (1938) and RodLaver (1962 and 1969) by holding all the Grand Slams atonce.

He was left to regret his unforced error count of 53which undermined his challenge.

“For me it’s a real honour, this tournament is themost special and for me to have this trophy isunforgettable - it’s probably one of the greatestmoments in my career,” said Nadal, who needed just 49minutes on Monday to complete victory.

Djokovic, who had won the pair’s epic AustralianOpen final this year, admitted that Nadal had been thebetter player. “Rafa was better. He is a great playerbut I hope to come back next year and do better,” saidthe Serb, playing in his first Roland Garros final.

After Sunday’s suspension, the players, meeting in afourth successive Grand Slam final, resumed with Nadalleading 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 1-2, but with Djokovic in theascendancy and serving for a 3-1 lead in the fourthset.

But a forehand error from Djokovic, with the courtat his mercy, gave Nadal a break point and the Spaniardseized it when the Serb had been left flat-footed by anet cord which allowed his opponent to push through awinner. The set remained tight as would be expectedwith the pair meeting for a 33rd time.

Nadal moved to 5-4 as the umbrellas went up allaround Philippe Chatrier Court and the players satcourtside to wait out a passing, heavy shower andcomplained to tournament referee Stefan Fransen aboutthe slippery conditions.

Djokovic finally buckled when a monster forehandfrom Nadal set up championship point which heconverted when the top seed tamely served up a fourthdouble fault.

The celebrations were ecstatic as Nadal fell to hisknees and consoled Djokovic before the championclimbed into the player’s box to embrace his family.

Meanwhile, Djokovic has admitted that he wasdisappointed at losing his chance to make history butconceded that the better player won.

“The better player won today, so congratulationsfor that,” Djokovic said, refusing to blame rain andthe decision by tournament officials to delay the matcha second time late on Sunday, which he said helpedNadal recover his form.

“He is definitely the best player in history on thissurface, and results are showing that he is one of thebest players that ever played this game, and he is only26 years old. Hopefully we can have many more battles,”Djokovic said.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) yesterday applaudedthe Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji M. D. Abubakarand the Nigeria Police in general for rescuing Nigerian

international Christian Obodo from kidnappers in record time.The midfielder was abducted on Saturday in Warri, Delta

State by four gunmen who later demanded $188,000 ransomprice from his family. But the Police stepped and within 30hours were able to free the player from his abductor.

The successfully operation occurred barely hours after theNFF President, Alhaji Aminu Maigari appealed had on thekidnappers to set the player free on patriotic grounds as hehad represented the nation with passion both as youth playerand later Super Eagles midfielder.

“We are very happy with this development. It was the firsttime that a Nigerian player had been kidnapped and honestly,we feared the worst. “But I want to use this opportunity toappreciate the Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji M. D.Abubakar and the generality of the Nigeria Police for themarvelous job done to set the player free, ” Maigari said.

Obodo played for Nigeria at the African Cup of Nations finalsin Egypt six years ago, among several other international capsin the colours of the Super Eagles. He is currently playing hisclub football for Udinese FC in Italy, though he spent last yearon loan with Lecce.

Manny Pacquiao

NFF praises Nigeria Police over Obodo rescue

“I wanted him to retire before, but now Iwant to see this rematch happen. I want tolet all of Manny’s fans to know there will bea rematch, and he will get back his belt

Nadal stops Djokovic’sdream, wins recordseventh French Open

Pacquiao has joined the fray by calling on the authoritiesto organise a rematch. She believes that her son will takethe second opportunity to revenge the loss.

Ironically, Dionisia Pacquiao has for years publicly urgedher son to walk away from the ring. Not any more. Instead,she wants him to get into once more if for the last time.Dionisia wants her son to retire with a clean record.

“I wanted him to retire before, but now I want to see thisrematch happen. I want to let all of Manny’s fans to knowthere will be a rematch, and he will get back his belt,”Pacquiao’s emotional mother, 63, told GMA television fromher southern Philippine hometown.

Pacquiao is a social phenomenon in the Philippines, wherehis status as one of the greatest boxers ever has propelledhim to huge riches, a movie career and election toparliament.

He has won world titles in an unprecedented eightdivisions, but suffered his first defeat since 2005 when Bradleytook his WBO welterweight title on Sunday.

The split-decision defeat resulted in his record droppingto 54 wins, 4 defeats and two draws.

Even Las Vegas promoter Bob Arum questioned the scoring,describing the result as “nuts”. Many in the Philippines alsoinsist their hero was robbed.

Dionisia Pacquiao said she believed her son won on points,and called Bradley a “dirty fighter” for clinging on to himduring exchanges.

Philippines’ Army Scout Ranger spokesman Major HaroldCabunoc said the military brass also wanted Pacquiao, areservist colonel, to face Bradley again.

“Let’s settle this once and for all. There should be arematch, and Pacquiao will then be more vicious and knockBradley out,” he said.

Both boxers have already indicated their interest in arematch, setting the stage for a lucrative bout, probably inNovember.

But the Philippines’ influential Catholic church leadersregard Pacquiao’s loss as a sign for one of their most famoussons to quit the sport.

Pacquiao, who had a reputation for womanising, gamblingand drinking, recently said he was dedicating himself toreligion after a dream in which God told him to follow arighteous path.

“We’re very happy he has found his way after a spiritualconversion of some kind,” Archbishop Oscar Cruz, a seniormember of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of thePhilippines, said.

“But he should quit now and just continue to inspire thepeople with his other pursuits.”

Christian Obodo

Rafael Nadal with French Open trophy

WBC title: Pacquiao’smother demandsBradley rematchManny pacquiao’s mother is furious. Her son was beaten

controversially on Saturday, a defeat that ensuredhis loss of the WBC welterweight title to American

Timothy Bradley.Instead of consoling his bemoaning son over the loss, mama

By Patrick Andrew with agency report

PAGE 43PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012

Marouane Fellaini admits he may be forced to leave Everton tofulfil his desire to play European football. The Belgium midfielder,who signed a new long-term contract in November, has been

linked with a money-spinning move to Chelsea this summer.Fellaini, 24, is currently happy with life at Goodison Park but the

lure of playing in the Champions League or Europa League could tempthim away.

He said: “If I have got to go, I will go. If not, I repeat, I am at Everton.“I am ambitious I want to play in the Champions League or in the

Europa League.“Last season we finished seventh and were not able to qualify for

Europe, which was a shame.”Fellaini added: “If an ambitious club comes in for me? Why not, just

to gain experience.“But I’m on vacation right now, I do not give speculation too much

attention.“Every year they say I’ll be transferred to the left or right but I’m

still at Everton.“If it comes, I take, if it does not come, I stay at Everton, where I am

happy, and where I still have a four-year contract.

Manchester City is weighing up a move forFrance and Real Madrid striker KarimBenzema. City could be in the market for a

new striker this summer with doubts surroundingthe long-term futures of Edin Dzeko, Carlos Tevezand Mario Balotelli.

Real hitman Benzema is thought to figure highlyon City’s wanted list for striking reinforcements, withthe 24-year-old catching the eye for club andcountry over the last 12 months.

Benzema enjoyed his best season to date withReal last term, scoring 32 goals in all competitionsas Los Blancos won the Primera Liga title.

Real Madrid would be loathe losing Benzema, withthe Frenchman established as a key member of JoseMourinho’s squad, but City are thought to be readyto test their resolve to keep hold of the formerLyon man.

Agent, Jonathan Hope, who is working on securingthe UK mandate for Benzema, has revealed he hasput forward the player as a possible arrival at theEtihad Stadium this summer.

“We are working closely to secure the exclusive

Karim Benzema has ruled outa summer transfer toManchester United, who he

says have tried to sign him everysummer for the past four seasons.

The 24-year-old, who will leadFrance’s attack against England onMonday in their Euro 2012 groupD opener, said he was ‘very happy’at Real Madrid after establishinghimself as the main striker in JoseMourinho’s team.

The former Lyon star told the

‘When I was at Lyon they and anumber of other English clubswanted me but could not agreeterms with Lyon. Besides, I wantedto go to Spain and I can honestlysay I have never regretted thatdecision.

‘I’m still young and I have acontract at Madrid until 2015. Istill want to achieve things at theclub. I have had a taste of successafter winning the Spanish title butI want more.’

Karim Benzema

Vurnon Anita

Alex boss Steve Davis has confirmed the England Under-18international’s representative is currently negotiating over a moveaway from Gresty Road, with United topping his list of suitors.

“I still envisage him leaving us this summer, but if it doesn’t happenthen we would welcome him back for pre-season.

“We’ll see what happens this week because obviously I would like toknow as soon as possible if we are moving forward without him ornot.”

The move away from Crewe would be final for Powell, with Davisruling out the prospect of an immediate loan return being part of anytransfer deal.

The 18-year-old further enhanced his reputation with a spectacularstrike to open the scoring in last month’s 2-0 League Two play-off finalvictory over Cheltenham at Wembley.

LiverpooL is plotting a £15million summer swoop for Daniel Sturridgeto help fire them back into the Champions League. New bossBrendan Rodgers will act quickly after the departure of Dirk Kuyt

to Fenerbahce and the Chelsea striker, 22, is at the top of his wantedlist.

Sturridge may be offered a new deal at Stamford Bridge soon – buthis future at the club is far from certain.

the former Manchester City forward won’t commit to anything untilhe discovers if Roberto Di Matteo is given the Blues job full-time.

Sturridge has been unhappy at his lack of games under Italian DiMatteo and, when he has come on as a substitute in a wide position,he doesn’t feel comfortable. He sees himself as playing in a centralrole.

Liverpool would be delighted to make him one of their main menand it’s no secret that they tried to get him to Anfield as part of theFernando Torres deal when the Spaniard joined Chelsea last year.

Liverpool chase Chelsea star

Sun he was used to speculationabout his future, despite playingfor the La Liga champions. ‘Therumours about my future arecommon, every summer it’s thesame that I will be going to thisclub and that club,’ Benzema said.

‘ I am very happy at Real Madridand the thought about leaving hasnever crossed my mind. I knowManchester United have tried tosign me for the past three or fourseasons.

Newcastle has made a bidfor Ajax star Vurnon Anita,according to the player’s

agent.The versatile 23-year-old, who

can play as a defensive midfielderand as a full-back, has enjoyedback-to-back Eredivisie titleswith the Dutch giants.

Alan Pardew’s men are makingtheir move for the Hollandinternational with three caps tohis name.

Anita’s representative HarryLulofs said: “Ajax are verysatisfied with him and want tokeep him, but Newcastle havebeen watching him for a longtime and really want to sign him.

“This is the first offer Ajax hasreceived for Vurnon and we’llsoon see how they react.

“The only other PremierLeague club to get in touch wasNorwich. Paul Lambert called meto ask about him.

Benzema deny United move

Fellaini refuses torule out Goodison exit

United lead chase for Powell

Newcastle setfor Vurnon

mandate to obtain the paperwork firstly after aserious interest from the champions.

“We spoke with Manchester United two years agoand it went nowhere, which I can see is perhapsregretting on their part.

City eye Benzema

Edin Dzeko Nick Powell Daniel Sturridge

Bayern table£20m for DzekoBayern Munich will table a

£20million bid to take EdinDzeko back to Germany.

Manchester City reckons thatcould prove the ace up theirsleeve which sees Thomas Mullermove in the opposite direction.

Last month the PremierLeague champions would listento offers for Dzeko, who costthem £27m from Wolfsburg 18months ago.

City has also been alerted tothe fact attacking midfielder

Muller, 22, has hinted he mayhave to quit the Allianz Arena forregular first-team action.

The prospect of landing Mullerin exchange for Dzeko plusaround £5m is hugely appealingto Etihad chiefs.

PAGE 44 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012

Clean sweep of the medals in the100m at the Olympics Games inLondon will be Jamaica’s to lose,

according to reigning 100m worldchampion, Yohan Blake.

Blake, who clinched the world title inDaegu, South Korea, following a falsestart by compatriot and reigningOlympic champion, Usain Bolt, in amatter-fact express, said the trio ofhimself, Bolt and Asafa Powell are capableof sweeping the medals at the LondonGames.

Blake, aided by a 0.7m/sec tailwind,will best be tested by training partnerBolt, Asafa Powell and a host of rivals atthe Jamaican Olympic trials in late thismonth June. But he boasted afterwinning in New York Jamaica are capableof sweeping 100m Olympic podium sweepclean.

“I’m excited. We get to push eachother in training. It’s going to be acracker in Jamaica in a few weeks. Beingundefeated is important going into thetrials You feel invincible. I’m preparedfor trials. That’s the key. Qualifying forthe Olympics is what matters.”

Speaking on the Games proper Blakesays Jamaica have enough arsenal in theshort distance races to dominate andadded that his major concern is keepinga clean slate and remaining in top shapebefore the Summer Olympics Games inLondon beginning from July 22 throughto August 15.

The Jamaican, who won Saturday’sNew York leg of the Samsung DiamondLeague, was disappointed with the 9.90seconds winning time he clocked. Buthe feels staying in top shape ineventually peaking at the LondonOlympics Games is better than recordingtremendous time but slumping at theGames.

“I just wanted to keep a clean sheet

going into the Olympics. I feel a littledisappointed. I wanted to do somethingbetter. Just one of those days,” Blakesaid.

Blake battled back to edge Trinidadand Tobago’s Keston Bledman at the linein 9.90 seconds, winning by .03, withAmerican Michael Rodgers third in 9.99and 2008 Olympic runner-up RichardThompson fourth in 10.09.

Last year in South Korea, Blakebecame the youngest world 100mchampion by winning the final afterworld record-holder and reigningOlympic champion Usain Bolt wasdisqualified for a false start.

Meanwhile, in another exciting raceof the evening, Dutchman ChurandyMartina edged Jamaican NickelAshmeade in a photo-finish for the 200m

title in 19.94, both .03 off Blake’s 2012world-best 200m time, and former worldchampion Sanya Richards-Ross won thewomen’s 200 in 22.09.

Fraser-Pryce, the 2009 worldchampion and defending Olympicchampion, grabbed the lead early andwon in 10.92 seconds, her best time sofar this year coming three weeks beforeJamaica’s Olympic trials.

American Tianna Madison was secondin a personal-best 10.97 with CarmelitaJeter, whose 10.81 is this year’s worldbest, third in 11.05.

Kenyan’s world record-holder Rudishacruised to victory in 1:41.74, the fastesttime in the world this year. Kenyan AlfredKirwa Yego, the 2007 world champion,

Olympics 2012: 100m clean sweeppossible for Jamaica, says Blake

By Patrick Andrew with agencyreport

was a distant second in 1:44.49.“It was a fast time,” Rudisha said.

“It felt good for my first time in theUnited States. I’m in great shape andI’m expecting to perform well inLondon.”

Two-time world indoor champion andlast year’s world outdoor runner-upAbubaker Kaki of Sudan pulled upstarting the last lap and did not finish.

Dominican teen Luguelin Santos wonthe men’s 400 in 45.24, .06 ahead ofrunner-up Jeremy Wariner, the 2004Olympic champion, in a strong field.

Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba, reigning5 000 and 10 000 Olympic champion and5 000m world record-holder, won the 5000 in 14:50.80 with compatriot

Meseret Defar, the 2004 Olympic and2007 world 5 000m champion, 6.22seconds back.

World champion Jason Richardsontook the 110 hurdles in 13.18 with fellowAmerican Jeff Porter second in apersonal-best 13.26. Beijing Olympicbronze medalist David Oliver was fourthin 13.37.

American Bernard Lagat won themen’s 1 500 in 3:34.63 with Djibouti’sAyanleh Souleiman second, .10 of asecond back.

Ethiopian Fantu Magiso celebratedher 20th birthday by winning thewomen’s 800 in a national-record1:57.48.

South Africa’s Sunette Viljoen won thewomen’s javelin with a throw of 69.35m,the longest distance in the world thisyear. New Zealand’s Valerie Adams, athree-time world champion and thereigning Olympic champion, won thewomen’s shot put with an effort of20.60m.

“We get to push each other in training. It’s going to be acracker in Jamaica in a few weeks. Being undefeated is

important going into the trials You feel invincible.

Men’s 100m1. Yohan Blake (Jamaica) 9.902. Keston Bledman (Trinidad andTobago) 9.933. Michael Rodgers (U.S.) 9.99Men’s 200m1. Churandy Martina (Netherlands)19.942. Nickel Ashmeade (Jamaica) 19.943. Warren Weir (Jamaica) 20.08Men’s 400m1. Luguelin Santos (DominicanRepublic) 45.242. Jeremy Wariner (U.S.) 45.303. Chris Brown (Bahamas) 45.357. Oscar Pistorius, South AfricaMen’s 800m1. David Lekuta Rudisha (Kenya)1:41.742. Alfred Kirwa Yego (Kenya) 1:44.493. Andrew Osagie (Britain) 1:44.61Men’s 1500m1. Bernard Lagat (U.S.) 3:34.632. Ayanleh Souleiman (Djibouti) 3:34.733. David Torrence (U.S.) 3:35.489. Peter Van Der Westhuizen, SouthAfricaMen’s 110m Hurdles1. Jason Richardson (U.S.) 13.18

2. Jeff Porter (U.S.) 13.263. Orlando Ortega (Cuba) 13.35Men’s High Jump1. Jesse Williams (U.S.) 2.362. Robbie Grabarz (Britain) 2.363. Trevor Barry (Bahamas) 2.313=. Jamie Nieto (U.S.) 2.31Men’s Long Jump1. Mitchell Watt (Australia) 8.162. Fabrice Lapierre (Australia) 8.143. George Kitchens (U.S.) 7.88Men’s Discus1. Zoltan Koevago (Hungary) 66.362. Frank Casanas (Spain) 65.213. Vikas Gowda (India) 64.86Women’s 100m1. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Jamaica) 10.922. Tianna Madison (U.S.) 10.973. Carmelita Jeter (U.S.) 11.05Women’s 200m1. Sanya Richards-Ross (U.S.) 22.092. Bianca Knight (U.S.) 22.463. Mikele Barber (U.S.) 22.96Women’s 400m1. Francena McCorory (U.S.) 50.062. Novlene Williams-Mills (Jamaica)50.103. Rosemarie Whyte (Jamaica) 50.62Women’s 800m

1. Fantu Magiso (Ethiopia) 1:57.482. Molly Beckwith (U.S.) 1:59.183. Marilyn Okoro (Britain) 1:59.37Women’s 5000m1. Tirunesh Dibaba (Ethiopia) 14:50.802. Meseret Defar (Ethiopia) 14:57.023. Gelete Burka (Ethiopia) 15:02.74Women’s 400m Hurdles1. Ti’erra Brown (U.S.) 54.852. Kaliese Spencer (Jamaica) 54.913. Queen Harrison (U.S.) 55.32Women’s Pole Vault1. Fabiana Murer (Brazil) 4.772. Yarisley Silva (Cuba) 4.703. Nikolia Kiriakopoulou (Greece) 4.60Women’s Triple Jump1. Olga Rypakova (Kazakhstan) 14.712. Kimberly Williams (Jamaica) 14.453. Dailenys Alcantara (Cuba) 14.24Women’s Shot Put1. Valerie Adams (New Zealand) 20.602. Jillian Camarena-Williams (U.S.)19.623. Michelle Carter (U.S.) 19.32Women’s Javelin ThrowSunette Viljoen (South Africa) 69.352. Barbora Spotakova (Czech Republic)68.733. Kara Patterson (U.S.) 60.33

RESULTS

Yohan Blake

PAGE 45PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012

P I C T O R I A L

c

d

ba

e f g

a. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton says his latest victory in Canada means as much as his maiden win in Montreal five years ago.b. Andrew Strauss says resting James Anderson and Stuart Broad was not the reason for England's below-par display in the drawn final Test.c. Harlequins lock George Robson will captain England in Wednesday's tour match against the South Africa Southern Barbarians in Kimberley.d. The first British women to compete in an Olympic boxing tournament are named in the final Team GB squad.e. Spain's Rafael Nadal wins a record seventh French Open with a 6-4 6-3 2-6 7-5 victory over world number one Novak Djokovic.f. Rory McIlroy finishes joint-seventh at the St Jude Classic as a final-hole double bogey ends his hopes of victory.g. Tom Daley says it would be a dream come true to win Olympic diving gold after his place at London 2012 is confirmed.

PAGE 46 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012

The Union of European FootballAssociation (UEFA) has asked localauthorities to step up security for open

training sessions at Euro 2012. The requestfollows the racial abuse of Dutch players by

UERO 2012

UEFA wants more trained security personnelsome spectators watching training in Krakowlast week.

An increased police presence at traininggrounds is one option that UEFA have asked tobe considered.

“Any such behaviour is totally incompatiblewith UEFA’s zero-tolerance policy. While to datethere has only been one isolated incident,Uefa is confident the local authorities willadequately deal with the issue,” a statement

said.Mark Van Bommel complained specifically

of racist abuse, the Dutch FA said this wasmixed with anti-Euro 2012 chanting believedto have been prompted by the fact Krakowhas not been given any matches in thetournament.

The Panorama programme last month raisedthe issue of potential racism at Euro 2012 afterfilming supporters in Ukraine giving Nazi salutesand taunting black players with monkey noises.

England captain Steven Gerrard wassatisfied after his side launched theirEuro 2012 campaign with an

encouraging 1-1 draw with France in Donetsk.Joleon Lescott nodded home the opener

in the 31st minute only for Samir Nasri tobeat Joe Hart at the near post with a fine

Gerrard okay with draw

England versus France today Petr Cech claims Czech Republic haveshrugged off the misery of their defeatto Russia and are ready to revive their

Euro 2012 challenge.The Czechs were comprehensively

outplayed by a classy Russian outfit, butthey are not cast adrift as their Group Arivals Poland and Greece played out a 1-1draw.

Greece is up next for Michal Bilek’s sidetoday and Cech insists the players are readyto respond.

“I think the anger has changed intodetermination. Determination to fix the badstart we had in the tournament. We feltthe disappointment immediately afterwards,for sure.

“We did not succeed in any way in thatfirst match, but we know we have another180 minutes to play to allow us to qualifyfor the quarter-finals. So we’re determinedto do just that,” he said.

Russia were full value for their 4-1 win,but the Czechs were guilty of makingmistakes and Chelsea keeper Cech insiststhe players have held their hands up.

He said: “The only lessons we learnedwere not to make unnecessary mistakes andto play much more aggressively. They hada lot of space and they have some verygood players, so they were able to use that.

“We attacked them too late in the game,and they had already created their chancesand scored them. We do not want to repeatthose same mistakes and we will, of course,play more solidly in defence.”

strike nine minutes later. England tired inthe second half, but they held France outto secure a point from their Group Dopener.

Gerrard was impressed by theperformance of 18-year-old Arsenal wingerAlex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who waspreferred ahead of Stewart Downing on theleft flank.

England coach Roy Hodgson was pleasedwith his side’s defensive performance andfelt they could have taken all three points.

“France doesn’t panic in the final thirdso you have to be much disciplined in yourdefending,” he said. “To finish 1-1 and askthe questions of them that we did, I’ve gotto be happy.

“We kept them at bay and there weren’tthat many situations in front of our goalwhere I was panicking in any way. And therewere a few situations in their third wherewe would have scored a second goal witha bit of luck.”

Hodgson refused to criticise the displayof referee Nicola Rizzoli. “The referee didOK. It’s foolish to start commenting on thereferee’s performance,” he said.

Vicente Del Bosque has suggested hemay continue with his policy offielding a Spain side without a

recognised striker.Del Bosque had many in Spain scratching

their heads when leaving Fernando Torres,Fernando Llorente and Alvaro Negredo onthe bench against Italy. He elected todeploy Cesc Fabregas in a free role,supported by Andres Iniesta and David Silva.

It almost backfired as Spain needed agoal from Fabregas to rescue a point in a 1-1 draw with Italy.

Spain will clash with Ireland, who openedtheir campaign with a 3-1 defeat at thehands of Croatia, and even though it isperceived as a must-win game – there is achance that Del Bosque will persist withFabregas in attack.

“We have a lot of confidence in what we

did,” Del Bosque said on Spanish radiostation Cadena Ser. “We have three fantasticforwards but Cesc is also a good forward.

“He has a lot of composure on the ball,he links up well with everyone and he getsinto good scoring positions.

“We did what we thought was best evenif we risked being mistaken. We have playerswho are very difficult to control and Ithought it was the right time to do it.”

Del Bosque does not regret selection

Cech eyeing victoryover Greece today

Giovanni Trapattoni,Coach of Ireland

Vincente del Bosque, coach ofdefending champions Spain

Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni hasinsisted his team can still shock worldchampions Spain on Thursday at UEFA

Euro 2012 as the Irish look to bounce backfrom their opening defeat to Croatia.

Ireland take on Spain in Gdansk, Poland,having already lost their opening Group Cmatch 3-1 to Croatia in Poznan on Sundayafter Mario Mandzukic scored twice.

The 73-year-old Italian coach said he hasto rebuild some dented Irish confidencebefore taking on Vicente del Bosque’s Spain,who were held 1-1 by Italy in Gdansk, and asecond defeat would almost certainly putIreland out.

Trapattoni compared Ireland’s chancesagainst Spain to those of Chelsea who beatBayern Munich in a penalty shoot-out inlast month’s Champions League final havingequalised through their only genuinechance of the game.

“Spain are the world champions, theyhave ten players from Real Madrid and tenwith Barcelona, they are only missing(Lionel) Messi,” joked Trapattoni, whoseside had kept 11 clean sheets in a 14-matchunbeaten run before Sunday.

“We know they are technical, but I canalso remember Bayern Munich dominatingChelsea, Chelsea only had one corner(which they scored from) and (went onto)win the game. Football is like that. We knowthey are good, we know they haveconfidence.”

Del Bosque played a 4-3-3 formationagainst Italy with Barcelona midfielder CescFabregas up front before bringing onChelsea’s Fernando Torres for the last 15minutes, who had several late chances forthe defending champions.

Trapattoni says he suspects del Bosquemay start with Torres against the Irish andshuffle his side.

“I think after I saw the game, maybe hewill play with Torres. Vicente made thechange when they needed a striker, he hada good opportunity, I don’t know who hewill play against us. I have ideas how theywill play, but I must keep them to myself.”

Trapattoni has come in for some criticismin the Irish media for leaving in-formSunderland wing James McClean on the

bench, but putting West Bromwich Albionstriker Simon Cox on the wing for the last35 minutes.

Having conceded a goal after just threeminutes against Croatia, Trapattoni said hisside must raise their level of concentrationor risk getting punished again by theSpanish.

The Ireland team trained here onMonday, but Aston Villa defender RichardDunne sat out with blisters from Sunday’sdefeat, while veteran goalkeeper ShayGiven reported no reaction after havingknee problems before the Croatia game.

Ireland can shock Spain, says Trapatoni

TODAY’S MATCHESCzech Rep. vs Greece

Poland vs RussiaRESULT

Sweeden 1 Ukraine 2England 1 France 1

PAGE 47PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012

Badminton enthusiasts urge BFN for morenational competitions

Ifraimu Jinkam, Grace Daniel, the only badminton player that will participate at the LondonOlympic Games

Nigeria, Surrey Chamber ofCommerce UK sign MOU

Super Eagles’ utility player EfeAmbrose is to miss the team’snext game in the 2014 FIFA

World Cup Qualifiers, an officialconfirmed on Sunday in Blantyre.

The General Secretary ofNigeria Football Federation (NFF),Musa Amadu who confirmed thisto the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN), however said there was nocause for alarm over thedevelopment.

Ambrose had been booked inthe team’s two matches in the2014 World Cup African QualifyingSeries, played against Namibia’sBrave Warriors and Malawi’s TheFlames.

The match against Namibia wasplayed in Calabar on June 3 in theopening matchday of thequalifiers, while the game againstMalawi was played on June 9, inBlantyre.

Ambrose was booked in the 72nd

minute of the Blantyre game, whilehe was carded by referee KhalidAbdel of Sudan in the 89th minuteof the Calabar match.

According to the competition’srules, the FC Ashdod player willnow miss the team’s next game inthe competition, which is theMatchday Three game.

The match, which is a home tiefor the Eagles, is against Kenya andit is scheduled for March 22, 2013.

“Ambrose will miss a match as aresult of the competition’s rules,and this is in the World Cupqualifiers and not the Nations Cupqualifiers.

“So, he is going to miss theNigeria/Kenya match of March 22,2013, and not the Nigeria/Rwandamatch of June 16 in Calabar,”Amadu said.

He expressed confidence thatthe team would not suffer theabsence of the player, eventhough he lamented thedevelopment.

“Ambrose is a fine and usefulplayer of the team, no doubt, butI am sure the team’s technicalcrew will find a solution andensure his absence does notbecome an impediment for us,”the NFF General-Secretary said.

Speaking on the development,Ambrose regretted the situationwhere he would be missing thegame as a result of bookings.

“It is not easy to be ruled outof a game as a result of cards. Itmakes some game followers to viewyou as a bad player.

“However, my major worry isnot being available to help theteam, even though I am confidentand assured of my teammates’capabilities.

“I am sure I will not be missed,even though I am not happy at itat all. But I wish the team welland will be around to lend supportfrom the sidelines,” he said.

Ambrose has been playing forthe Eagles as either a midfielderor a defender and had played inthe past two games as a right full-back.

Yellow cards ruleAmbrose out ofNigeria/Kenya match

Efe Ambrose

Sani Ndanusa,NOC president

were getting discouraged by thelack of local competitions.

Ifraimu Jinkam, the country’snumber one ranked player, saidthat the lack of competition wasnot doing the sport any good andthat it was dampening theenthusiasm of the players.

“Players improve when theytrain and put into practice all themoves they have learnt incompetitions; this is lacking at themoment,”she said.

He urged the federation toreach out to multinationalcompanies to come to the aid ofbadminton by partnering with thebody to sponsor some of itsprogrammes.

By so doing, Jinkam saidbudding talents from thegrassroots would be discovered.

“If we can rely little ongovernment allocation and lookfor an alternative by getting thehelp of corporate bodies, it wouldhelp the sport,” Jinkam said.

Eneojo Abah, the number tworanked player, complained that nobadminton championships hadbeen staged in Abuja since theyear began.

“We have not had the AbujaBadminton Open Championshipsthis year, and this is not goodenough for players.

“We usually go for international

championships, which is good,because we earn points toincrease our ranking at theinternational scene. But, whatabout our local competitions?

“When we have nationalcompetitions, talents arediscovered, upcoming players havethe opportunity of playing withseniors and they will know theirstrength and weaknesses.

“I want to use this medium toappeal to BFN that they shouldorganise local competitions for us,to enable us maintain ourform,”he said.

Abah stressed that long termsponsors should be wooed to thegame to maintain the visibility levelof the sport among youths.

Meanwhile Abuja-basedMohammed Bako said the lack ofnational competitions wasgradually taking its toll on playersand coaches, adding that somestates had had to organisecompetitions on their own.

“The development ofbadminton is at zero level as faras I am concerned. The states aretrying on their own but at thefederal level, it is not enough.

“We urge the BFN to organisenational and inter-statechampionships to boost theprofile of developing players inthe country, ‘’ he said.

Badminton enthusiasts onSunday appealed to theBadminton Federation of

Nigeria (BFN) to regularly stagecompetitions to keep the playersbusy and in the process, sharpen

their competitive edge.Some of the players in separate

interviews complained that they

Nigeria’s Bank of Industry (BOI) and Surrey Chambers of CommerceUK have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on tradeand investment opportunities in each other’s economy during the

London Olympics Games.The Europe Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports

that the Nigerian contingent to the games will camp at Surrey before thecommencement of the fiesta on July 15.

Ms Evelyn Oputu, the Managing Director of BOI, signed the agreement inLondon on Sunday on behalf of Nigeria.

Oputu said that the Olympics would provide the ideal stage to showcasethe best of Nigeria’s culture, sports and diverse investment opportunities.

She said BOI would collaborate with the Nigerian Olympic Committee toboost the country’s exports and attract investment to Nigeria in line withPresident Goodluck Jonathan’s transformation agenda.

Also, Ms Louise Punter, the Chief Executive of Surrey Chamber ofCommerce, said with 6,000 start-up businesses yearly, Surrey was one ofthe leading areas in the UK’s economy.

“With 250 major companies, three universities and 6,000 business starts-ups every year based on up to date hi-techs and innovations, Surrey offersthe best business opportunities and economic bounties for investors,”Punter said.

Under the agreement, both parties shall jointly promote various Nigeriancultural products in Guildford from July 15 to July 17.

Also both parties shall jointly organise seminars on the specifics of doingbusiness in Nigeria along the lines of training/information sessions on import/export procedures, cultural and business practices.

Also, exhibitions showcasing Nigerian products will feature commercialand cultural activities as well as opportunities for corporate matching/networking during the period.

SPORTS LALALALALATESTTESTTESTTESTTEST

ADVERT:ADVERT:ADVERT:ADVERT:ADVERT: 0803 311 74580803 311 74580803 311 74580803 311 74580803 311 7458BUSINESS:BUSINESS:BUSINESS:BUSINESS:BUSINESS: 0805 689 17650805 689 17650805 689 17650805 689 17650805 689 1765NEWS:NEWS:NEWS:NEWS:NEWS: 0803 606 33080803 606 33080803 606 33080803 606 33080803 606 3308LAGOS:LAGOS:LAGOS:LAGOS:LAGOS: 0805 327 19690805 327 19690805 327 19690805 327 19690805 327 1969

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Published by Peoples Media Limited, 35, Ajose Adeogun Street, 1st Floor Peace Park Plaza,Utako, Abuja. Lagos Office: No.8 Oliyide Street, off Unity Road, Ikeja, Lagos,Tel: +234-09-8734478. Cell: +234 803 606 3308. e-mail: contact@peoplesdaily-online.comISSN: 2141– 6141

TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012

QQQQQUOUOUOUOUOTTTTTABLE QABLE QABLE QABLE QABLE QUOUOUOUOUOTETETETETEIfIfIfIfIf it tur it tur it tur it tur it turns out thans out thans out thans out thans out that thert thert thert thert there is a God,e is a God,e is a God,e is a God,e is a God, I I I I Idon't think that he's evil. But thedon't think that he's evil. But thedon't think that he's evil. But thedon't think that he's evil. But thedon't think that he's evil. But the

worst that you can say about him isworst that you can say about him isworst that you can say about him isworst that you can say about him isworst that you can say about him isthat basically he's an underachieverthat basically he's an underachieverthat basically he's an underachieverthat basically he's an underachieverthat basically he's an underachiever

— Woody Allen— Woody Allen— Woody Allen— Woody Allen— Woody Allen

Enyeamaanticipates Keshiaxe in Calabar

A few heady members, frommainly the oppositionparties in the House of

Representatives, responded toformer President OlusegunObasanjo's attack on the NationalAssembly members, by payinghim in his own coin, includingrecalling a weighty allegation bythe man's son, Gbenga, that hisfather had maintained animproper relationship with his(Gbenga's) wife.

The reaction of the legislatorsas a group and an institution has,otherwise, been unusually tamed,although OBJ had been unsparingin his attack. The legislators are"rogues and armed robbers," OBJhad said, in clear language, and ata crowded public gathering.

The Senate's guarded response,said in a barely audible tone, was amere, 'name the rogues and armedrobbers among us.' The response ofthe House was no less subdued. TheSenate has issued some kind ofinvitation to the man to appearbefore it, which many people see ashalf-hearted and very few thinkwill be honoured by the man.

If such an insult had come fromany other person - includingperhaps, the incumbent president,GEJ - hell would have been let loose.The legislators would havesummoned to use all the powersthey have in the books and outsideit to make the person pay for hisinsolence.

When, some years ago, one ofits members, Nuhu Aliyu, saidsimilar things of his colleagues towhat OBJ has now said, the Senateforced him to eat his words andapologise, which he did.

Maybe it was out of the respectand reverence the legislators havefor OBJ that their response to hisattack on them had been someasured and tamed. The manhad been a two-time leader in thiscountry, and, until his recentresignation, the chairman of theBoard of Trustees of the rulingPeoples Democratic Party (PDP), onwhose platform a considerablemajority of the legislators had beenelected.

But it is also not unlikely thatthe legislators' response was partlyinformed by their fears of the man.Many of the leading figures in theSenate, especially, have been longin the circle of power. And, OBJ, byvirtue of the positions he has held,knows them and knows theirrecords even better.

In life generally, but in politicsespecially, the fear of those whohave and can use damaginginformation against one, is thebeginning of wisdom.

But even at that, and even ifwe make allowance for the fact thatsubtlety is not OBJ's natural state,we must still wonder why the mancame down so hard on thelegislators and chose to use thelanguage he used.

What has made the man soannoyed that he could be so abusiveto the legislators? Was he trying to

trying, of sending the "Ghana-must-go".

And who in Nigeria doesn'tknow OBJ turned his government'sprivatization exercise as an avenueto get juicy public ventures sold offto his friends and cronies? Or thathis library project was madepossible through outright extortionfrom public officers and wealthybusinessmen?

But it would be foolhardy toallow all this detract from thesignificance of what OBJ has said,or to fail to read correctly themessage in it.

Certainly, if, in spite of his ownobvious involvement in the spreadof corruption in the land, and hisnot-so-impressive performance aspresident (only 8,000 jobs createdduring his eight years, forinstance), OBJ still had the nerveto say what he said, the man mustbe trying to pass a message. And itbehoves us to listen.

OBJ's outburst perhapssignifies a parting of ways withthe Jonathan presidency.Maybeit is informed by the man'sgrowing frustration, engenderedby his growing irrelevance in thescheme of things in the countrytoday. Perhaps the old man is nolonger being carried along by thePresident and his men in theconduct of the country's affairs.

It may be, then, that OBJ is, byhitting the legislature and thejudiciary, registering his protest,hoping - and knowing - that theexecutive will get the message, andstart to mend its ways, before it toois hit.

But a more plausibleexplanation for OBJ's outburstseems to me to be that he is servingthe nation a warning - a warningthat things are not okay, thatdanger is lurking somewhere near.

OBJ may not be your typicalpolitician, but his militarybackground, training, warexperience and years in public officehave helped to sharpen hisinstincts, and given him a knackfor sensing danger from afar.

We have seen proof andpractical expression of this in theman over the years. In his heredirect, and there indirect ways,OBJ had on several occasions givenus warnings which have provedprescient, but which weresometimes misread or ignoredcompletely.

Part of this, of course, may besaid to be opportunistic. OBJ is wellknown for always wanting to be

OBJ’s coded message

Eagles stand-in skipperVincent Enyeama hassaid he would not be

surprised if he were droppedfrom the new team StephenKeshi is rebuilding, beginningfrom the game in Calabar onSaturday against the AmavubiStars of Rwanda in the 2013Nations Cup qualifier.

The Lille goalkeeper madethis shocking declarationyesterday when he addressedthe rest of the squad in Abuja.

“I won't be surprised ifduring this period I'm droppedfrom this team. Nobody is toobig to be asked to go if he's notmeasuring up, but I mustcommend those of us that arehere for being very committednot only to qualifying for theWorld Cup but also the NationsCup,” Enyeama said.

The goalkeeper, who hasnow been an international for10 years, was widely blamedfor Malawi last-gasp equalizeron Saturday in a World Cupqualifier in Blantyre.

He fumbled a long ball insidehis area and from the loose ballJohn Banda fired home to drawMalawi level in stoppage timeat the weekend.

But Enyeama, whostruggled for first-team actionin France last season, said hewould rather ask that theMalawi game be consigned tohistory as the next focus isSaturday's 2013 Africa Cup ofNations clash against Rwanda.

“We were supposed to winin Malawi and it didn't happen,that is now in the past. We mustforget that and be ready to beatRwanda silly to qualify for thenext Nations Cup.

“Don't forget that we failedto qualify for the last NationsCup and God forbids thunderwill not strike twice in our time.That is why I'm begging us toleave issues of last week behindand get ready to poundRwanda for the Nations Cup,Enyeama said.

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. . . putting the people first

tell us some urgent message,flashing across the nation a signalthat needs decoding to decipher itsmessage?

Of course, our first reaction toOBJ's tirade on the legislators is tosee it as a case of a pot calling thekettle black. And there is animportant sense in which it is so.

That corruption is rife in thelegislative arm of government issomething only a few would deny.Even fewer would deny that ourjudiciary, which OBJ didn't sparein his speech, is also riddled withcorruption.

But what can also not be deniedis that OBJ isn't exactly the sainthis attack on the two institutionswould suggest. He certainly cannotabsolve himself of blame for thestench of corruption oozing fromthe two institutions.

In part because of his militarybackground, and in part due to hisown personal and attitudinaldisposition, OBJ, throughout hiseight-year tenure as president,considered and treated thelegislature as his own backyard,whose leaders it was his prerogativeto appoint, and the judiciary as aninstitution that was there to do hisbidding.

In the process of ensuring thatthe two institutions remained andbehaved as such, he corruptedboth.

It was during OBJ's tenure aspresident that a "Ghana-must-go"culture was developed, its mainfeature being the constantmovement of huge bags filled withNaira or dollars from the Aso Villato the National Assembly for thepurpose of keeping the legislatorssweet and getting them to pass hisbills and elect as their leaders hispreferred candidates.

Of course, OBJ didn't alwayshave his way, but he never tired of

with the winners, no matter howthe winning has been achieved.But let's not allow his motives todetract from the significance of hisusually timely warnings.

Now, let's consider the facts. Hemade a scathing criticism of theShagari regime in 2003. A fewmonths later, it fell. He did thesame with the Buhari regime; itwas ousted a few months later. Hiscriticism of the Babangida regimecame only a few months beforecircumstances forced the man tostep aside.

Is OBJ then, by his latest outingtrying to tell us something,perhaps to warn us that all his notwell with the country and thatsomething may give?

True, he restricted himself tothe legislature and the judiciary.But OBJ, much more than the restof us, knows that the two arms ofgovernment operate within asystem in which the executive isthe driving force. If two of thesystem's two arms are rotten, itcannot be different with the thirdarm.

Who, in any case, has ever seenor heard of a fish that starts rottingfrom its tail or trunk? The rotalways starts from the head.

It may well be, in fact, thatOBJ's real worry is not so muchwith the legislature and judiciaryas with the executive itself. And,in reality, there is much thatshould worry OBJ, and the rest ofus.

Things are not getting done,or being done in accordance witha clear vision or a well-articulatedgrand plan for the Nigerian future.The nation's insecurity challengeseems insurmountable. The wholeatmosphere stinks of corruption.The president is not showingleadership, and appears clueless asregards many of the issues andchallenges confronting us. And acabal, narrow in its worldview andtotally lacking in grace in the wayit thinks, acts and relates withothers, seems to have taken overin Aso Villa.

There is clearly a real causefor alarm. Maybe this is largelywhy OBJ has resigned hischairmanship of the PDP Board ofTrustees and is now out in the openwarning the nation. And, maybe,this is also why, as we hear, he,and some other concerned elders,have decided not to be mereonlookers, but to be proactive.

There is talk that OBJ is alreadyleading some other party elders toshop for a replacement for Jonathanin 2015. It is said that the eldersare looking northward, in order toavoid a situation in which anorthern candidate will berunning against a southerncandidate in a country that hasalready become highly polarizedpolitically. A sensible move in suchtrying times for Nigeria, many willsay.

But are we really reading OBJ'smessage correctly, and are wegoing to heed his timely warning?

FOR THEFOR THEFOR THEFOR THEFOR THEMASSESMASSESMASSESMASSESMASSES

ruf585@hotmail.com

By Rufa’i Ibrahim

Chief Olusegun Obasanjo

Vincent Enyeama