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LAGOS-IBADAN EXPRESSWAY AUTO ACCIDENT IN PIXTanker fire razes 24 vehicles

of Oyo State, MrsFlorence Ajimobi, and aformer deputy speaker ofOgun State House ofAssembly, Hon. AyoOdugbesan, were heldfor between five andtwelve hours.

Odugbesan toldSunday Vanguard, lastnight, that he left Lagosaround 5 a.m. heading toAbeokuta but didn’treach his destinationuntil 11 a.m.

Yesterday’s tragedy atDanco village came lessthan 48 hours afteranother fuel-ladenarticulated truck lostcontrol in Ibafo axis ofthe Lagos-Ibadanexpressway, settingseveral vehicles ablazeand killing about fivepersons.

Eye witnesses linkedyesterday ’s incident,which occurred around2a.m., to the Thursdayaccident.

According to them,

traffic had been divertedfrom the side of theexpressway affected bythe Thursday incidentbecause the wreckagewas obstructing the roadwhen the articulatedvehicle fell, spilling itscontents and catchingfire.

The vehicles in thevicinity were said to havebeen set ablaze as thespilled contents flowedto them.

The eye witnessesspoke of chaos as thepassengers scrambled toescape the inferno.

Unconfirmed reportssaid those who could notmake it out of theirvehicles were roasted.

However, the ZonalCommander of theFederal Road SafetyCommission (FRSC) incharge of Lagos andOgun States, MrAdemola Lawal,yesterday, said that onlytwo persons sustainedinjuries in the infernoand that nobody died.

According to Lawal, theinjured persons wererushed to OlabisiOnabanjo UniversityTeaching Hospital,Sagamu where theywere receivingtreatment.

Ogun State governor,Senator IbikunleAmosun, visited theaccident scene,yesterday, andexpressed regrets thatanother accident of suchmagnitude occurred inless than 48 hours.He blamed incessantaccidents on theexpressway on the badstate, noting that since itaccounts for 70% ofmovement of goodsacross the nation, itsreconstruction should behandled by a competentprofessional with provenintegrity and expertise.The governor orderedthat heavy cranes bebrought in to evacuatevehicles obstructingtraffic on the road.

Continued from page 1

Abducted 18-month-old rescued;suspected kidnapper shot deadBY JIMITOTAONOYUME

POLICE in RiversState, yesterday,rescued an 18-

month-old child,identified as Delight,who was kidnapped inPort Harcourt, RiversState capital.

The state Police PublicRelations Officer, DSPBen Uguegbulam, whoconfirmed thedevelopment, said thesuspected kidnapperwas shot when heattempted to escape

World Bank, Lagos govt meet ongender policy

A Nigerian GenderPolicy is capableof highlighting

the potentials ofNigerian women, createroom for economicempowerment in boththe agricultural ande n t r e p r e n e u r s h i psectors. It can also leadto human developmentthrough the reduction offemale mortality rates,increasing educationalattainment andproviding improvedvoice, justice andpolitical force.

This was disclosed inLagos, at the weekend,by Wuinmi Asubiaro-Dada , the author of theNigerian Gender PolicyReport, during ameeting by the WorldBank and Lagos StateGovernment on gender

Policy in Nigeria.The dialogue which

had been ongoing for aweek had series ofgender policies andmulti stakeholdersessions on genderequality anddevelopment earlier inAbuja, Enugu andMinna.

Also speaking, WorldBank director forNigeria, MarieFrancoise Marie-Nelly,said the policy wasneeded for men andwomen. However,Senior SocialDevelopment Adviser,DFID, Katja Jobs saidwhile Nigerian girls andwomen had experiencedworse lives than men,investments in Nigeriangirls and women wereinvestment in thecountry’s future and a

peaceful development.On his part, World

Bank Director forProperty Development,Prem. Marcelo Giugule,said the priority ongender in the Africanregion was to create jobsfor youths and in closingthe proximity gap. .

Present at the Lagossession was the stateattorney-general, Mr.Adeola Ipaye.

after his victim wasrescued. According to thepolice spokesman, copson the trail of thekidnapper had no optionthan to pull the trigger. Hesaid the suspectedkidnapper had demandeda ransom of six hundredthousand naira for therelease of the victim. Thesuspect was allegedlytrailed to the bank wherehe was to cash the money.

“Following discreetinvestigation, operatives inAku, Port Harcourt trailedone Christian, male, whokidnapped one MasterDelight, a year and six

months old child, from hisparents house on 25 May,2012 at about 9:30h o u r s , ” U g u e g b u l a mnarrated.

“He went to a bankbranch where he went tocash the sum of six hundredthousand he demandedfrom the parents of thekidnapped child where hewas arrested. Oninterrogation, he confessedto the crime and ledoperatives to his hideoutat Rumuokwurushi, PortHarcourt to rescuevictim.

“However, soon afterhis victim was rescued,

the suspect jumpedthrough the window andtook to his heels. He waspursued and when itbecame too difficult to re-arrest him, the police firedat him and that resulted tohis death before he couldbe taken to hospital formedical treatment. Oneother member of the gang,Virginia, a female, wasarrested and a Nokia GSMhandset belonging to themother of the victim andstolen items were recoveredfrom their hideout.Meanwhile the rescuedbaby has been handed overto his jubilant parents.Investigation on”.

BY CALEB AYANSINA

Craft expo is catalyst to economic development– Tourism Minister

MINISTER ofT o u r i s m ,Culture and

National Orientation,

Chief Edem Duke, saysthere are abundantpotentials in the culturalindustries for youthempowerment andwealth creation in whichNigeria and the rest of

Africa have comparativeadvantage.

Duke noted thatAfrican Arts and CraftsExpo (AFAC) could be acatalyst that will not onlydrive the economicdiversification efforts ofthe presentadministration, but alsofast track the growth ofour national economy,when properlydeveloped.

The minister, whostated this at a pressbriefing on the 5th AfricanArts and Crafts Expo(AFAC) with the theme:Promoting CraftsIndustry For EconomicTransformation’ in Abuja,urged both local andforeign investors to availthemselves of theopportunities the craftindustry presentsthrough the Expo, whichwill be attended byfourteen countries acrossthe world.

“As through suchinitiative from theNational Council for Artsand Culture much of our

untapped culturalresources of our countrywhich are critical andfundamental elements ofgrowth can be brought tothe fore in our inwardlooking strategy forsustainable economicgrowth and ruraltransformation,”he said.

“The 5th edition ofAFAC therefore isintended to build uponthe successes of theprevious ones towardscoming up with anexhibition bettershowcase elements ofgood product design,finishing, packagingand presentation aimedat global marketstandard.”

The ExecutiveSecretary of NationalCouncil for Arts andCulture, NCAC, Alh.Mwajim Maidugu,called on artisans toimprove on theirhandworks up to theglobal standard, notingthat, there is always apackaging problem withNigeria artifacts.

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SOLUTION

President Goodluck Jonathan (left) with Catholic Bishops' during the visitof the executives of Catholic Bishops' Conference to the president yesterdayat the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The newly consecrated Archbishop West and BishopDiocese of Lagos, First African Church MissionIncorporated, Dr Paul Adekunle Onanuga, with a formerChief of General Staff and Baba Ijo, United AfricanMethodist Evangelical Church, Lt. Gen Oladipo Diya (rtd),at the latter's thanksgiviong service on the Lagos High Courtverdict in favour of his church.Catholic Bishops to Jonathan:

Engage Northern govsBY BEN AGANDE

CATHOLIC Bishops,yesterday, called onPresident Goodluck

Jonathan to engage governors ofthe northern states on the issueof return of missionary schoolsto their original owners as wellas the introduction of religiouseducation at all levels ofeducation.

Addressing State Housecorrespondents, the Most RevIgnatius Kaigama, President,Catholic Bishops Conferenceand Bishop of Jos CatholicDiocese, said the introduction ofreligious instructions in primary,secondary and tertiaryinstitutions as well as state andfederal media houses willentrench the virtue of love andfear of God among Nigerians.

”We have come asrepresentatives of Nigeria’s 69Catholic Bishops from 50Dioceses in response to theworrisome situation of insecurityin our great country, we held apilgrimage of prayer for Nigeriaby all Catholics at diocesan andnational levels seeking God’sintervention in our country,” hes t a t e d .Kaigama also said the fate ofminority Christians in somestates of the north was discussedwith the president.

”The predicament of Christianminorities and the way they aretreated especially with theconstant destruction of places ofworship has given Nigeria a verybad international image. In moststates, except for places ofworship that were secured duringthe colonial period, lands havenot been officially allocated tochurches”, he said..

”Today, in most of the 12northern states, Christians arebeing denied the right of accessto land for the building of placesof worship. We had brought thisanomaly to your kind attentionin our last visit to you last year asa result. Christians are oftentreated as strangers and our faithpresented as if it is an aberration.Burning of churches with nopunishment has led to a climateof impunity.

”The constitutional provisionfor this must be enforced so thatlaw abiding citizens are notattacked, killed, maimed andtheir property vandalized simplybecause they worship Goddifferently. We wish to see morebeing done in prosecuting theculprits of these atrocities againstinnocent Nigerians.”.

On the level of corruption in thecountry, the bishops called for theimmediate implementation ofthe recommendations of theOrosanye panel on therestructuring of the size of thepublic sector particularly with

Extra-judicial killings in the North:We didn’t do it, JTF tells Elders

30 killed in Nasarawa*ACF condemns mayhem, says it is barbaric

BY EMEKA MAMAH ANDJOSEPH ERUNKE

BY NDAHI MARAMA

regard to political appointmentsand offices.”The avoidable overhead cost iscertainly injurious to oureconomy and poor Nigerians arenot able to bear the brunt,” theynoted

THE Joint Task Force(JTF) in Borno StateOperation Restore

Order took on NorthernElders, yesterday, over theclaim that the military outfit,raised to curb insurgency,engaged in extra-judicialkillings.

The JTF denied the allegationas well as claims of genocide,arson, illegal arrest anddetention made against it.

It said in a statement by itsspokesman, Lt. Col. Sagir Musa:“The attention of the JTF,Operation Restore Order,Maiduguri has been drawn to apublication in which NorthernElders accused the JTF of extrajudicial killings, genocide, arson,illegal arrest and detention withparticular reference toMaiduguri, Borno State.”

Sagir said the intention of theresponse was not to trade wordswith the Elders or any person forthat matter “but to put issues incorrect perspectives for the sakeof posterity.”

The release stated that the JTFin Maiduguri “has never had arecorded or established case ofillegal arrest, detention, extra-judicial killings, genocide ora r s o n . ”It added: “Whoever was arrestedor detained was done within thelaw and mandate of the taskforce because they are suspectedterrorists. The task force onlywhere necessary kills in selfdefence or to save lives ofinnocent and law abidingcitizens and properties. It is onrecord that the force has inseveral occasionsunconditionally released severalsuspects that had no case toanswer after diligent andpainstaking investigation hasbeen concluded.”

It said on the allegation “thatin Maiduguri alone, availablerecords indicate the figures of

those that were killed by the JTFto be in thousands, most of whomwere apprehended, arrestedbefore they were extra-judiciallyexecuted: This figure isabsolutely wrong, not true andmisleading as the JTF within thatperiod never killed or executedthe number being peddled.Otherwise the war on terrorwould have ended by now as thegroup would have surrendered ordialogue with the FederalGovernment.”

It went on: “Furthermore,killings of innocent and lawabiding citizens by the BokoHaram terrorists, theircollaborators, hoodlums,bandits, assassins are wellknown to all. We should alsonot forget that several securityoperatives have been killed ormaimed by the terrorists, a lotof police stations and militaryinstallations destroyed. For theavoidance of doubt, the JTF isnot an army of occupation andwe call on our esteemedleaders to assist the JTF andFederal Government to bringthe leadership of the terroristgroup to the dialogue table aswe have the conviction thatthey have the capacity to assistin ending the crisis.”The task force said it has neveracted out of its powersespecially regarding state ofemergency.

“It acted within the mandateand additional powersapproved by appropriateauthority. Some of theadditional powers include; themandate to conduct cordonand search of suspectedpremises/areas used byterrorists without warrant;arrest of suspected terroristsfound committing or planningto commit an act of terror orcriminal act and detention ofsuspected terrorists in militarycustody for more than 24hours,” the security outfitadded.

NO fewer than 30persons were feareddead in Assakyo,

headquaters of Lafia East

Development Area ofNasarawa State, followingrenewed violence betweenAlago and Beromcommunities.

The crisis was said to haveerupted between the twowarring communitiesfollowing a disagreement oversome payment to a traditionalhead in the area.Sunday Vanguard gatheredthat the Eggon peopleobjected to the payment to theAlago traditional head,alleging that the othercommunity was taking undueadvantage of them.

Claims and counter claimsover a piece of land by the twocommunities resulting in asimilar incident had made thestate governor, Alhaji UmaruTanko Al-makura, to intervenefour months back followingwhich the two communitieswere barred from the land.Nasarawa State Police PublicRelations Officer, ASPCornelius Ocholi, whoconfirmed the development ina telephone interview,yesterday, said his commandhad deployed one unit ofMobile Policemen to the areato restore peace just as he saidnormalcy was graduallyreturning to the area.Alarmed by the communalkillings, the ArewaConsultative Forum,yesterday, described it asbarbaric.

ACF, in a statement signedby its National PublicitySecretary, Mr Anthony Sani,regretted that some peopleresort to violence as a way ofsettling disputes.The statement read, ‘’ACFcondemns the communalviolence which occurredbetween the people of Alagoand those of Eggon ethnicextractions-which claimedmany lives and resulted indestruction of properties.’’ACF is not happy with theunfolding practices wherebyviolence is being seen andused by some people to settledisagreements which ought tobe addressed by constructiveengagements and due processof law.’’These practices are barbaricand uncivilizedand,therefore,must not beallowed to become nationalethos.”

PAGE 6 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012

From left: Mr Chima Chukwendu Okoro, contestant; Mr. Sunny Bangera ,LG (GM) IT Sales West Africa, Ijeoma Nnorom, contestant, Mr AshutoshRahul , LG (GM ) Retail West Africa; Mr Chukwu Phillips Contesant, and Mr.Gberikon Lubem, during LG Electronic, Nigeria Organised LG Cinema 3DCompetition at Ikeja, Lagos. Photo By Diran Oshe.

BY CHIOMA OBINNA& TONY NWANKWO

Lagos doctors: ‘Reinstatementletters ready’

FOLLOWING therecalled doctorsdemand for official

letters reinstating themback to the Lagos StateHealth Service, the stategovernment, yesterday, saidthe letters were ready forcollection tomorrow(Monday). Disclosing thisin a telephone chat withSunday Vanguard, the ChiefMedical Director of LagosState University TeachingHospital, LASUTH, Prof.David Oke, said thedecision to give out therecall letters was decidedupon after a long - hourmeeting by governmentofficials on Friday. He saidin LASUTH alone, no lessthan 400 letters were readyfor collection.He said theletters were for all cadresof medical doctorsincluding,House Officers,Medical Officers, ResidentDoctors, Consultants andSenior Consultants as wellas Honourary Consultants.On the content of the letters,he said the letters was onlyto withdraw the sack lettersand acknowledge that theyhad been withdrawn.

Meanwhile, the

Managing Director,Forever Living Products,Nigeria/Benin Republic,Mr. Cornelius Tay, hasadvised medical doctorsintent on making moremoney and contributing tothe development of healthcare delivery in the countryto join the distributorshipnetwork of his company.Speaking in Ibadan, theOyo State capital, wherehis company had feteddistributors, Tay urgeddoctors to use theopportunity provided bytheir training to promotehealthy living for thepeople.

Speaking to newsmen,Tay called on strikingdoctors to make the interestof the people their topmostpriority. “We are making acall to all the strikingdoctors not to allow morepeople to die, but toconsider anything they cando to put the people first.We are also inviting themto come and join ournetwork and have access toour wonderful products.Nigerians should knowthat, as a company, we areconcerned with theprevalence of highmortality and early deathrates in the country, andthat is what we are doing

across the country with thehelp of very importantpersonalities who are nowin our company. Theseinclude wives of veryimportant governmentofficials, professionals,lecturers and ordinaryNigerians. Many of thesepeople are engaged in aprogramme with uswhereby we can help toreduce early deaths. Manyof the products marketedby Forever can help peopleto enjoy better health andeven reduce the incidents ofillnesses and diseases.Anyone of them whochooses to come, we wouldbe very happy to engageinto our network and theywould be far moresuccessful”.

Mr Tay urged Nigeriansto use FLP products toovercome illnesses anddiseases. “People don’tneed to die early in thiscountry. We have productsthat can relieve people ofsome very complexdiseases and help enhanceoverall productivity in ournation. We have solutionsfor many of the world’sillnesses. We would wantpeople to come and be partof what we are doing”, headvised.

Delta doles out N269m to firstclass graduates

BY FESTUS AHON

DELTA StateG o v e r n m e n thas doled out

over N269 million asscholarship to 47university students whobagged first class tofurther their education toPh.D level in anyuniversity in the world.

Presenting cheques tothe beneficiaries, whogot N5 million each,Governor EmmanuelUduaghan said the firstclass scholarshipscheme, which wasintroduced in 2010, hasopened up newpossibilities for theirstudents to strive for thehighest class of degree,adding that the numberof beneficiaries rose from36 in 2010 to 47 in 2011.

Saying that the numberof beneficiaries for thisyear has risen to 52,Uduaghan said thescheme has instilledacademic discipline andgalvanize academiccompetition among theirstudents. He added: “Itis a programme that I am

immensely proud of andpassionate to beassociated with.”

The Governor said thescheme was anotherclear testimony of thestate government’sreadiness andpreparedness to giveeducation its rightfulplace in the scheme ofthings in the state,mindful of the role

education plays in thedevelopment of anynation.

In his welcomeaddress, the stateCommissioner forHigher Education, ProfHope Eghagha, said thefirst set of awardees“have since started theirmasters and Ph.Dprogramme in andoutside the country.”

Why we are honoring Mimiko—Institute of Town Planners

THE NigerianInstitute of TownPlanners(NITP)

has given reasons for itsnomination of the OndoState Governor, DrOlusegun Mimiko, foran honorary fellowshipaward.

The body said itsdecision hinges mainlyon the urban renewalefforts of the Ondo Stategovernment which hastransformed the statecapital Akure to a modelcity.

Mimiko will bedecorated with the awardat an investitureceremony scheduled forthe Nicon Luxury Hotel,Garki Abuja on June 8.

Akure, the Ondo Statecapital, has in recenttime assumed a citystatus as a result of itst r a n s f o r m a t i o noccasioned by theingenuity of thegovernor..

The town plannersremarked that with justthree and a half years inoffice, the Mimikoadministration has beenable to transform thestate capital which hasalso become a touristdelight even as it saidthe template has alreadybeen set for other majortowns in the state toassume the same status.

“Roads in themetropolis are wellasphalted while majorroads in the city arebeing expanded intofour lanes even asbeautiful landscapinghas emerged”, they said.

“Apart from the manybeautification going onat different parts of thestate, a coveredpedestrian bridge hasbeen erected at thepopular Oba Adesidaroad thus giving thepopular area a befittinglook coupled with thewell defined vehicularmarked routes”.

Minister lists gains oftransformation agenda on agric

HONOURABLEMinister ofS t a t e ,

Agriculture and RuralDevelopment, AlhajiBukar Tijani, has toldthe visiting Year 2012Officials of the ADB-funded ProjectSupervision andMonitoring Team thatNigeria’s transformationprogramme in theagricultural sector haspositively impacted onthe lives of all Nigeriancommunities.

The team, comprisingof the director, co-ordinators and officialsof the Community-Based Agriculture andRural DevelopmentProject (CBARDP),National Programme on

Food Security (NPSF)and that of AfricaDevelopment BankADB, was led by theRegional Head of theADB in Tanzania, Mr.Evans Ntagwabira, andpaid a one-day workingvisit to Tijani.

The minister said valueaddition initiatives on ninecrops, livestock, poultry,fishery, horti- and aqua-culture farming were keyperformance indicators ofthe 11 value chainprogramme of theJonathan administration.

He said that theprogramme, which hasmultifaceted objectives toensure food security in thenation, also looks atwealth and jobs creationfor young graduates.

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Cross River State Governor, Senator Liyel Imoke (right) witht he ManagingDirector, BNL Engineering, Mr. Andre Guilou shortly after signing agreementwith the company for the construction of Calabar International ConventionCentre in Calabar.

Bishop Sunday Eze (right), who led a delegation from the MethodistChurch on a courtesy visit to Governor Peter Obi (left) at the Governor’sLodge, Amawbia, recently.

EGYPT’S ex-President Hosni Mubar-

ak was sentenced to lifein prison for his role inthe killing of protestersduring last year’s revo-lution that forced himfrom power, a verdict thatcaps a stunning fall fromgrace for a man whoruled the country as hispersonal fiefdom fornearly three decades.

The 84-year-oldMubarak, the first Arableader to be tried in hisown country, was ferriedby helicopter away fromthe police academywhere the trial was heldto the Torah prison inCairo where his sons andmembers of his regimehave been either servingprison sentences or heldpending trials over a va-riety of corruption charg-es. But the state televi-sion reported that theformer Egyptian leadersuffered a heart attack onthe way to prison.

Mubarak ruled withunchecked power for 29years — an era stainedby allegations of wide-spread corruption, policeabuses and a strong gripon power by the rulingparty.

The harsh sentenceagainst Mubarak, whichcan be appealed, ap-peared aimed at defus-ing tensions ahead of adivisive runoff presiden-tial race that pits Mubar-ak’s last prime ministeragainst the MuslimBrotherhood’s candidate.

Mubarak, wearing sun-glasses and lying in agurney, remained silentinside the defendants’cage, surrounded by hisonce-powerful sons whoappeared nervous andhad dark circles undertheir eyes. His elder sonAlaa whispered versesfrom the Quran.

Lawyers representingfamilies of the slain pro-

Mubarak jailed for life, suffersheart attackBY TONY NWANKWOwith Agency Report

testers expressed dis-may at the ruling afterthe judge described thecase against Mubarak asweak, lacking materialevidence or recordings.They feared that the ac-quittal of six InteriorMinistry officials wouldbe used in the appeal tooverturn the ruling.

Judge Ahmed Rifaatdelivered a stronglyworded statement beforehanding down the sen-tences. Mubarak, whowore sunglasses and alight brown jacket overhis clothes, and his co-defendants were in aniron cage.

‘Years of darkness’

Rifaat describedMubarak’s era as “30years of darkness” and“a darkened nightmare”that ended only whenEgyptians rose up to de-mand change.

The judge, who was pe-siding over his last courtsession before he retires,said Mubarak and el-Adly did not act to stopthe killings during 18-day days of mass proteststhat were met by a dead-ly crackdown of securityforces on unarmed dem-onstrators. More than850 protesters werekilled, most shot todeath, in Cairo and oth-er major cities.

Mubarak and his twosons — Gamal and Alaa— were acquitted on cor-ruption charges, but thesons still faced a separatetrial on charges of insid-er trading. Ex-interiorminister Habib el-Adlyalso was sentenced to lifefor the protester killings.Six other security officialswere acquitted.

As the news of the sen-tence initially camethrough to hundreds ofprotesters and relativesof victims outside thecourt compound, jubila-tion erupted with dozensof anti-Mubarak protest-

ers jumping up and downand waving Egyptianflags and their fists in theair.

Scuffles then betweenMubarak supporters andopponents broke out in-side and outside thecourtroom after the ver-dict was read, reflectingthe deep polarization ofthe country after morethan a year of turmoil.Helmeted riot police alsoclashed with protesters.

Mubarak’s verdictcame just days after pres-idential elections havebeen boiled down to aJune 16-17 contest be-tween Mubarak’s lastprime minister, one-timeprotege Ahmed Shafiq,and Mubarak’s top foe,a Muslim Brotherhoodleader Mohammed Mor-si.

Egypt’s state televisionreported yesterday thatthe former EgyptianPresident had suffered aheart attack while beingtaken to prison.

Since Mubarak was or-dered detained lastApril, he has been heldin several different mili-tary hospitals but neverin a prison hospital.“Hosni Mubarak suf-fered from a surprisehealth crisis when hisaircraft landed in Toraprison,” the officialMENA news agency re-ported. Nile News, astate-owned news chan-nel, said Mubarak suf-fered a heart attack.

Mubarak’s lawyerssaid that they would ap-peal against the sen-tence. But some criti-cised the court, on theoutskirts of Cairo, for be-ing too lenient. Mubar-ak’s two sons Gamal andAlaa both had the charg-es against themdropped. The EgyptianMuslim Brotherhood’spresidential candidatedenounced the verdictsas a “farce” and de-manded a retrial, in astatement on Twitter.

YORUBA Council ofElders (YCE) has

described the protests thatgreeted the re-naming ofthe University of Lagos toMoshood Abiola Univer-sity as uncalled for, say-ing President GoodluckJonathan’s action was “areward of remembrance toour heroes past”.

The Yoruba body saidthis just as it called on theOdua Peoples Congress,OPC, to be on red alert toprevent the violent Islam-ic sect, Boko Haram, frommaking incursion intoYoruba territory.

These were contained ina communique issued atthe end of its National Ex-ecutive Council meeting

UNILAG: Yoruba leaders flayprotests over renaming toMKO Varsity

BY OLA AJAYI, Ibadan

held in Ibadan on Friday. The communique

signed by the NationalTreasurer of the Council,Dr. Dejo Raimi, read, ”our civil defense mech-anism such as OPC in theSouth-West should re-main very alert in case ofunimaginable spill over toany Yoruba nation”.

”We sympathize withthe people that lost theirlives and property in theBoko Haram episode andwe advise our brothers inthe North to tighten uptheir internal security so

as to ensure the menacedoes not do much damageto life and property”.

The council also calledon the Federal Govern-ment to review the secu-rity system in the countryand make lives of peoplemore secure so that inves-tors who would not bedoubtful about investingin the country.

On the deplorable con-dition of Lagos-Ibadanexpressway, YCE made afresh call on the FederalGovernment to give ur-gent attention to the road.

AS one of its objectives - to fight pov-

erty - Chike OkoliFoundation,COF, a non-governmental organisa-tion, has trained about1,600 young people in sci-ence and spirit of entre-preneurial studies even asit announced its annual,the 6th in the series,‘Heart and Gala’.

The theme is “Sustain-ing the momentum andthe beat goes on”.COF, founded by MrsStella Okoli,managingdirection of Emzor Phar-maceutical, after thedeath of her son, Chike,who died of coronary ar-tery disease,five days af-ter his 25th birthday,isaimed at fighting povertyand diseases by encour-aging entrepreneurshipand calling attention tocardio vascular diseases.

In pursuit of reducingpoverty in the society, theFoundation commis-sioned a multi-purposeultra-modern edifice forthe Chike Okoli Centre ofE n t r e p r e n e u r i a lStudies(COCES), located

Why we fight poverty, heart diseases– Stella Okoli, MD, Emzor

in Nnamdi AzikiweUniversity,Awka.

According to Okoli,”The Foundation hasreached out to over fivemillion people across Ni-geria informing them ofthe growing dangers ofcardiovascular diseasesand how to make lifestyleinterventions.

We are convinced how-ever that larger audienc-es have also beenreached through ourheart series booklets, fli-

ers and other informationmaterials distributed invarious hospitals and thenation,and our weeklycolumn in some print me-dia”.

The COF is also, in part-nership with the LagosState Ministry of Educa-tion, plans to organise thismonth the first edition ofGrassroots Cardiovascu-lar Health Campaign inten selected senior sec-ondary schools in thestate.

A governorship aspirant of the Action

Congress of Nigeria inOndo State, Mr SegunAbraham, yesterday, de-nied that the leader of theparty, Asiwaju AhmedTinubu, is out to imposehis business partner as thecandidate in the October20 governorship electionin the state.

Abraham said in Akurethat such idea talk shouldbe consigned to the trash

bin and that issues on de-velopment should be inthe front burner.

He added that Tinubu isa progressive politicianthat would not do such athing, noting that the par-ty leaders are out to seethat the best candidateemerges in the primaries.He described Tinubu as“”an icon after Awolowothat has the genuine in-terest of the Yoruba atheart”.

Ondo 2012: ‘There won’t beimposition on ACN’

Group Managing Director, Diamond Bank Plc, Dr Alex Alex Otti (left)exchanging views with chairman, Diamond Bank Plc, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebeat the 21st Annual General Meeting of Diamond Bank in Lagos.

Seplat Oil explains commitment to theenvironment*As the world celebrates Environment Day

SEPLAT PetroleumD e v e l o p m e n tCompany Limited

has unveiled plans tocelebrate this year’s WorldEnvironmental Day in aunique way on Tuesday,June 5.

SEPLAT stated that it isdevoting time tocommemorating anddrawing attention to theenvironment and issuesconcerning it, as anenvironmentally friendlycorporate entity. Some ofthe activities planned bythe company includeenv i ronment -cen t r i ceducational activities,support for environmentNGO’s and environmentalquiz competition for itsemployees.

This year ’s WorldEnvironment Day issignificant andcomplements the UnitedNations’ vision of

designating 2012 as theInternational Year ofSustainable Energy for All.The theme of this year ’scelebration is – GreenEconomy: Does it includeyou?

According to thecompany ’s GeneralManager, CorporateAffairs and New BusinessDevelopment, Dr. ChiomaNwachuku, preserving theenvironment is one ofSEPLAT’s top prioritiesand core values.

“We are mindful of ourresponsibility to helppreserve the environment;we ensure that ouroperations are in completeharmony with theenvironment..

Nwachukwu said Seplatis organising an essaycompetition entitled,“Challenges to achievinggreen economy in Nigeria,in its host communities”.

The competition open tosecondary school studentswithin the oil firm’s hostcommunities in Delta andEdo States is beingconducted with the supportof the Chief Inspectors ofEducation in the areas.

The award ceremonyholding on Tuesday will bemoderated by Prof AnthonyAgharaugwe Akiri (Head ofDepartment, EducationalAdministration, Faculty ofEducation, Delta StateUniversity, Abraka.

Comment on 2015: Youth leader defends MagegeA youth leader in

Ughelli North, DeltaState, Mr. ChrisEriyamremu, yesterday,noted that Chief OloriMagege, Chairman, DeltaState Waste ManagementBoard, may have beenmisunderstood by somepersons on the Delta State

governorship slot come2015, saying that Magegewas only protecting theinterest of Urhobo nation.

Eriyamremu, who madethe remark, said, “it wastime for Urhob politiciansand the people of DeltaCentral to have a rethinkand be sincere to the

reality come 2015, as beingcanvassed by Magegebefore it is too late”.He pointed out that ChiefMagege may have seen thehandwriting on the walland foresees that eventhough Delta Central hasthe right to also producenext governor come 2015,

relying on its population,but how does that translateto defeating both DeltaSouth and North votingpopulation put together.He further noted thatMagege was right that ifUrhobo can not be king,they should be kingmaker,instead of being irrelevant.

——PAGE 8—SUNDAY VANGUARD,PAGE 8—SUNDAY VANGUARD,PAGE 8—SUNDAY VANGUARD,PAGE 8—SUNDAY VANGUARD,PAGE 8—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012JUNE 3, 2012JUNE 3, 2012JUNE 3, 2012JUNE 3, 2012

THIS SEGMENT PRESENTS INVESTIGATIVE REPORTS, IN A MANNER NEVER BEFORE EXPLORED, ON CRIME AND NATIONAL SECURITY MATTERS. THIS ISDEPARTMENT 'C'

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012, PAGE 9

About 90 per cent ofNigeria’s revenuecomes from the mari-

time environment or coastallandscape that spans the Ni-ger Delta, parts of the SouthEast and South West.

Oil wells, gas flow platformsand pipelines dot the creeksof the Niger Delta.

Nigeria’s coastline of about850 kilometers of exclusiveeconomic zone, and well over300, 000 square kilometers,over 3, 000 kilometers of nav-igable inland waterways, sixmajor seaports, 11 oil termi-nals, over 170 private jetties,4 inland container depots and2 inland freight stations, ispoliced by the navy.

In the 2010/2011 annual re-port of the Organization ofPetroleum Exporting Coun-tries (OPEC), released inJune/July 2011, Nigeria wasranked as the second biggestcrude oil exporter among thecartel’s members by total vol-ume export of about 6. 64mil-lion barrels per day in 2010and earnings of over $70.58billion during the period.

This rise in ranking waspartly due to the success incontaining the agitations ofthe people of the Niger Deltawho demanded recognition oftheir economic rights throughthe Federal Government Am-nesty Programme followingwhich peace was restored tothe oil rich region after yearsof hostilities.

Apart from the oil, Nigeriais estimated to have about 265trillion cubic feet of gas de-posit, making her the 10thhighest in the world.

If we leave out the oil andgas potentials, the maritimeenvironment is also rich inaquatic resources like fish,shrimps and other sea ani-mals that have been acknowl-edged in the continent andabroad hence sea hunters asfar as Asia and the Mediter-ranean come up to the na-tion’s territorial waters to op-erate.

For instance, in 2010,records show that the Nigeri-an fishing industry, less arti-san fishing, was estimated atN44billion in revenue.

In spite of this large amountof aquatic deposits in our ter-ritorial waters, however, it hasemerged that the country hasdifficulty meeting requiredvolume of sea food demands.This has been due to inse-curity in the territorial watersand it has resulted, for in-stance, in the withdrawal ofover 200 fishing trawlers, and20, 000 workers back to shore.

The implication is that thenation has to fall back on im-

ports of between 700, 000 and900, 000 metric tons of fishannually to partially meet theshortfall of 1. 8million metrictons. Again, the navy is thestatutory security organ ofgovernment vested with thepowers to secure and check-mate the threats militating

that the current security chal-lenges, occasioned by bomb-ing attacks and killings, havemade the nation insecure.They even went to the ridicu-lous level of naming hotels astargets of bombers.

It is against the backgroundof the enormity of the securi-

a small naval defence budget,in order to service other sec-tors, will compromise Nige-ria’s continued prosperity”,she added.

Explaining how it is done inother climes, Usoro said, “Giv-en the uncertainties, govern-ments worldwide, workingwith economists, allocate re-sources to the navy using thegrowth model, i. e., as a per-centage to their gross domes-tic product and make substan-tial increase in defencespending in response to cur-rent and emerging threats inthat country.”

Citing examples of someproblems encountered

when navy platforms are in-adequate for policing, shesaid, “Report from NNPCshows an average annual in-come of N11trillion was gen-erated from Nigeria ’s mari-time environment from 2005to 2011. Also, about N1. 02tril-lion was lost annually due toinsecurity. During the year2006, Nigeria lost $4. 4billionin oil revenue due to unlaw-ful activities. Another state-ment credited to the PetroleumMinister said government islosing $7billion annually tocrude oil theft in Nigeria ”.

While observing that thenavy needs just a little frac-tion of these amounts lost toinsecurity to enhance its op-erations which will providesafety and security for ourmaritime interests and ensure

unhindered commerce, themaritime expert said, “esti-mated value of investment inhydrocarbon production inNigeria is $150billion whileaverage annual cost of crudeoil theft is $3.65billion; andestimated annual loss of rev-enue due to illegal fishing is$1billion”.

On the other hand, she saidthe estimated costs of acquir-ing new ships for the NigeriaNavy are as follows, “Gener-al Purpose Frigate-$350mil-lion, Long Endurance Off-shore Patrol Vessel-$120mil-lion, Landing Platform-$350million, Medium Endur-ance Offshore Patrol Vessel-$60million, Submarine-$300million and Landing ShipTank-$90million. All theseplatforms have to be fittedwith weapons, ammunitions,communication gadgets andother sensors.”

Emphasizing that “hugesavings have been made forthe nation as a consequenceof her (Navy’s) defence andpolicing duties”, Usoro posit-ed. “The vastness of the mar-itime environment, inade-quate funding and capacitybuilding of the Nigeria Navy,lack of coordinated strategy tointegrate maritime defencethrough inclusion of the navydirectly with national econom-ic planning, given its crucialroles in that regard, poseschallenges”.

Suggesting the way out, shesaid, “One of the ways of sup-porting the economics of mar-itime defence is through im-proved funding for the navy.Others include establishmentof a national security fundand national security sur-charge tax fund. In addition,the use of lobby groups toproject the need for a well-funded, willing and readynavy that would guaranteethe maritime defence of Nige-ria for economic prosperity”.

“Another veritable tool is thecreation of awareness that willagitate the minds of the peo-ple towards championing thedemands for a navy of the 21stcentury that will indeed be asea power”, she said.

The Nigeria Navy is notsleeping hence the

force, in line with the trans-formation agenda of the Fed-eral Government and the newenvironment provided underdemocracy to express itself inaccordance with its mandate,recently took a bold step in thelocal construction of sea go-ing vessels.

Towards this end, a 31-meter seaward defence boat,constructed locally by thenavy, was commissioning onFriday by President GoodluckJonathan.

against these aquatic econom-ic ventures. Of great impor-tance these days, however, isthe issue of terrorism, whichhas, in a way, held the nationto a standstill considering thefrequency and precision withwhich terrorist groups andgun men strike at nationalassets and security opera-tives; and seem to paint a pic-ture of a nation unsafe forforeign investments.

To make matters worse, for-eign missions in the countryhave regrettably signed on tothe idea of sending messag-es to their countries warn-ing their citizens against vis-iting Nigeria on the grounds

ty challenges in the maritimeenvironment that a maritimelaw expert, Mrs. Mfom EkongUsoro, posited, at a lecture tomark Nigeria’s DemocracyDay, that “unlike other sectorsof government expenditurewhere budgeting could bedone by analyzing trendsbased on statistics, makingprojections and predictions inthe area of defence; govern-ment cannot predict wars andsuch security threats”.

“Military or naval strategistswill therefore have to makebudgetary decisions based onuncertainties, but which mustbe adequate for a strong andwell equipped navy, because

,

,In spite of this large amount ofaquatic deposits in our territo-rial waters, however, it hasemerged that the country hasdifficulty meeting required vol-ume of sea food demands

BY KINGSLEYOMONOBI

Counting the losses

INSECURITY IN NIGERIA’STERRITORIAL WATERS:

The way out, by expert

Insecurity in Nigeria's territorial waters Nigeria Navy is not sleeping on its oars

PAGE 10 — SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 3, 2012

My mind tells me BolaIge’s killers will still becaught—Olu Agunloye

He reveals: What the late minister told methree days before he was murdered

’Why I want to be Ondo governor’

Dr Olu Agunloye has intim-idating credentials. He was alecturer at the Department ofPhysics, University of Ibadan,the chief executive of the Fed-eral Road Safety Commission(FRSC), member of the Consti-tution Review Committee,chairman of the ICT Themat-ic Area of the National Tech-nical Committee for the Vision20:2020, Minister of Powerand Steel as well as Ministerof State for Defence (Navy).Beyond these, he was a closeassociate of the late ChiefBola Ige, the Minister of Jus-tice who was assassinated in2001. Now, Agunloye is aspir-ing to be governor of OndoState via the October 20 poll.In this interview, he speaks onBola Ige’s murder and issuessurrounding his gubernatori-al aspiration.

What was the most challenging episode in

your life?The most challenging thing

in my life is the hostile envi-ronment in which we are. Weare in a society that security isalmost at zero level. Also, theeconomy is not soencouraging. What we usedN50,000 to do before, if youhave N500,000 now, you can-not do it. And people like meare in such society and wework round the clock to makesure we get results from suchhostile environment.

Having spent over three de-cades in the political terrain,what was the most trying pe-riod of your life? What is thatthing that has left indeliblememory in you that you canhadly forget?

The most shocking thingthat has ever happened to methat would take time before for-getting it was the shockingdeath of the late Attorney Gen-

BY OLA AJAYI, Ibadan

Agunloye...Nigeria has more problems than it is solving.

eral of the Federation andMinister of Justice, Uncle BolaIge. We were together on De-cember 19 or 20, 2001 afterwhich we parted. I went toAkoko. I was very shockedwhen I heard of his assassi-nation by some wicked people.The way the gruesome mur-der was committed and the

After ten years of his unre-solved murder, what has keptme is the inspiration that Ihave been able to draw fromhis family members. I have gota lot of inspiration from Mr.Muyiwa Ige, Gbenro and Fun-so. They have inspired me theway they are waiting for jus-tice. Then, I work with Uncle

would be brought to book. Hisspirit would also continue tohaunt them until all of themare exposed.

Scrapping of the FederalRoad Safety Commission

Nigeria has more problemsthan it is solving. This is ex-tremely unfortunate. Nigeriahas the tendency to alwayswant to throw away the babywith the bath water. It also hasthe tendency of having veryweak memory and also jetti-soning history and reports.Incidentally, it is not onlyshameful for Nigeria, it is alsovery ridiculous, laughable that

Nigerian government ap-pears to be in the rhythm ofcoming round to say what theydon’t think is correct and tosay what they would not do.

In 1993, we were on thissame bridge, FRSC to bescrapped, FRSC to be mergedwith the parent body and, af-ter rigorous analysis and con-viction, FRSC to remain. In2003, ten years after, we wentthrough the same process. In1993, it involved the Nation-al Constituent Assembly and,in 2003, the Presidency andthe Ministry of Justice.

In fact, they tried to do itand undid it again. Then,

ten years after, we are in thesame business. It is not onlythe step which is wrong, it isalso a step which is inappro-priate, a step which exposesgovernment as not lookinginto their records or not learn-ing from the previous ones. Itis also a step which showsgovernment as being very in-sensitive to even the good de-velopment within their ownsystem. Incidentally, I was inthe engine room of the FRSCabout two months ago and Isaw the level of developmentwhich has gone up there andthe level at which other coun-tries of the world were actual-ly emulating and copying allthe things that FRSC was do-ing. It is not new, it happenedwhen I was there and I re-member that New York driver’slicense was modeled after Ni-geria’s driver ’s license andI’m also aware that a coupleof African countries modeledtheirs too after Nigeria’s. Andnow, it is even at a higher lev-el where the World Road Safe-ty Organisation is modeling acouple of things after theFRSC. This is not the timethat one report would saymerge it with the parent body.It is a symptom that Nigeria isin a real difficulty.

Many people say GovernorOlusegun Mimiko is doing agood job in Ondo State andyou want to contest the gov-ernorship election with him in2013. Why do you think weshould change a winningteam?

In Ondo State, take a ridethrough the market and youfind out that the Mimiko thatthey know is not the sameMimiko that other peopleknow on AIT, Channels andso on. Some of the indices you

shoddy way the country han-dled it almost made me losehope in the entire judicialsystem in this country. It washandled in such a way that wehad little knowledge of how hedied. It was very disappoint-ing.

How have you been copingwithout him since his deathaffected you so much?

Ige’s associates like Ayo Afola-bi, Layi, a commissioner inOsun State, Odia Ofeim, Kun-le Famoriyo and many others.

Do you think justice can stilltake its course after manyyears of his death?

Yes, I still believe that soon-er or later, justice will be done.At the end of the day, all thosewho had hands in his killing Continues on page 11

,

,Nigerian government appearsto be in the rhythm of cominground to say what they don’tthink is correct and to saywhat they would not do

SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 3, 2012— PAGE 11

‘Why I want to begovernor of Ondo State’

,

,

Power is epileptic and non-existent not for any other reasonbut corruption. We know whatto do. Uncle Bola Ige andSenator Ahmed Bola Tinubuwere right on what to do

Continued from page 10

can use to measure that is thenumber of awards that Mimi-ko has got. Mimiko has gotmore than 54 awards at a stu-pendous cost to government-over 300million. So, why doyou get the best award as thebest gynecologist of the year,the best governor of the year,the best swagger governor ofthe year when we do not seeany impact in the state.

Ask for what Mimiko hasdone in the state. He can

be described as somebodywho has done wealth cancel-lation, wealth annulment in-stead of wealth creation. Hefound a purse of N420billionand found ways and means tospend it not creating any in-dustry, farm settlement, notemploying the youth. No sta-ble industry that is there. So,instead of wealth creation, weare faced with wealth cancel-lation. There is this anotherthing he has done. This ‘eye,eye thing’ (eye pleasing). Itcan only be “Oju Aye project,”to take a road that ex-Gover-nor Olusegun Agagu hadtarred and put lamp post andpulled all the divider, asphaltonly to be redoing it. It is OjuAye project to take a round-about where one is not re-quired, pulling it down fourtimes. So, it means you pay forits destruction three times andalso pay four times recon-structing and four times de-signing it. When you finish it,all that you now do is put avery beautiful water fountainand, because your state oryour capital has no water, youuse tanker to bring water tothe place. And because youstate capital does not haveelectricity, you then go and putgenerator to run the place. Allthese are not landmarkprojects but ways and meansto spend the money. The samewith mega school, mega hos-

pital, mega this mega that.You now mentioned the word,winning. I don’t know whatyou mean by winning. Mimi-ko himself will not say so be-cause, if he believed he waswinning, he would not goabout tearing and pullingdown billboards and posters ofother aspirants and candi-dates. He would not send hismen to be destroying the cam-paign vehicles of other candi-dates. At a rally in Igbokoda

two weeks ago, on April 27 tobe precise, three of the busestaken there were badly dam-aged. I like this Saka Law-al’s statement that the brain-box of Mimiko has left the par-ty for the Action Congress ofNigeria. So it’s like the harddrive or external drive of La-bour Party has left.

When one looks at yourpolitical antecedents, it is sur-prising that, at differenttimes, you were in the UnityParty of Nigeria, Alliance forDemocracy and it was a com-mon belief then that UPN, ADhad the same ideology. Whydid you suddenly defect to thePDP and now you want to con-test on the platform of theAction Congress of Nigeria?

It is good that you under-stood that ACN is a party thatyou can say is 60 years oldhaving metamorphosed fromAction Group to UPN, toUPGA, SDP, AD, AC and nowto ACN. It was a struggle for

Ondo State. I remember thatthe last conversation I had withUncle Bola Ige before he diedon December 23, 2001. I sawhim last on the 20th becausewe went to Jos together andwe had a long conversation.

Then, we parted ways andI went to Akoko. One of

the things he told me was thatI should not leave AD. He ex-plained that all those issueswould be resolved. And wenoticed that some of those is-sues were not even resolvedeven though he made a trip toAkure and spent several hourstrying to resolve them. AlsoGeneral Alani Akinrinade(rtd)tried to resolve those issuesbut he could not. Crossing tothe PDP was as a result of pow-er struggle in Ondo State andAfenifere at that time. What Itried not to do people havespoken to me about it, they

use it to colour my image to acertain extent and I have triedto resist giving details becauseit may start to open newwounds. People must knowwhere Ige himself stood at thattime, people must know thatwhen Ige wrote his famousletter to the President aboutwhat he planned to do, if thecontents of that letter couldhave allowed people like us tostruggle on the platform of thePDP.

Let that be aside. I’m notready to open that at this stagebecause it may open healedwounds. But moving from oneparty to another, in Nigeria, inthis 21st century, does notmean so much. Like I toldyou, I go from one place toanother changing people fromLabour Party and PDP to ACN.Moving from one place to theother is the only way ACNcould win in this state and wehave been doing that. I amwaiting to celebrate my 200th

decamping session in winningpeople from other parties toACN. The political landscapein Nigeria is so large. Peoplemove from place to place. Youcan also liken that to Mimiko.He has moved more than Ihave. If movement leads youto a good level, they clap foryou and if it does not, theyblame you for moving.

Ondo State governorshipelection is fast approaching.How prepared is the ACN?

ACN is poised to win theelection and we are preparinghard. But, in preparation, youcan never say you have fin-ished. We still have a lot to do.I can talk about my own con-tribution to the preparednessof ACN. I started working onthis project on May 8, 2011.And, by last Wednesday,which is exactly one year, wecommemorated the first anni-versary of the struggle andcontribution to building astronger ACN.

The struggle for the ACNin the last one year has

now been documented in twobooklets. We also strength-ened the structure under thestructure, Omoluabi, andmaking sure that those whocome to the party are properlyregistered.

As at now, we have about 52offices that are running andalso have Omoluabi offices inabout 203 wards and 18 localgovernments. Now, we have adatabase of 157,000 peoplewho have filled the Omoluabiplatform forms.

Then since the beginning ofthe year, we have embarkedon outreach meetings with theelders and elite in the statewho are not necessarily resi-dent in Ondo State. If youlook at the recent harvest ofpeople who moved from the LPand PDP, you would know thatthe steam is gathering.

What do you think givesyou an edge over all theseaspirants?

One, by nature, I ammoderate and I have made alot of gains being moderateand I have also lost a coupleof things being moderate. Iwould modestly say whatgives me an edge over othersare very straight forward andsimple. I have spoken tosome governors and someelders and I have penneddown that there are four ma-

jor things at stake about whobecomes the candidate. Oneis the issue of pedigree. If youlook at that, I would have avery good mark. Second ishow competent is the person,I have my CV, I am eminentlyqualified. Third is what expe-rience does he have inmanaging people and resourc-es or even politicalexperience. As the head ofthe FRSC many years ago,people could not believe thatI was managing about 105formations. Then the FRSCwas rated very high even out-side Nigeria. In the politicalterrain, I’m not new in thisbusiness. I have always beenin the background for long.In 1986, when some peoplewho are contesting now werenot known in the politicalscene, were it not for me,Papa Adekunle Ajasin wouldnot have had a second term.I set up the first electronicdigital collation centre which I did first in Ondo State forPapa Obafemi Awolowoelection. I set up the ones inOyo and Ondo which I ransimultaneously. As forelection, in 1998, I put upmyself to run forgovernorship election inOndo State. Then, I had thebacking of some people fromIjebu-Igbo and other notableYoruba leaders. But, I wasprevailed upon by somepeople to step down forAdefarati. Even, at that, I wentinto the primaries. It was inthat primaries that I was askedto step down for Adefarati andwait for my turn and waitingfor my turn now has become14 years. It shows I’m notnew in this business. And,lastly, the candidate must beable to bridge the gap be-tween the old people andyoung ones. The candidatemust also be on ground andI want to tell you that OluAgunloye is on the ground inand outside the state morethan any other aspirant. Ifthe issue of loyalty is to beconsidered, don’t askanybody if he would be loyal.He would tell you, even swearthat he would be loyal. But,try to measure that bychecking his past. I have heldtwo or three positions in thepast. I headed the FRSC andit is only people who wouldsay whether I was loyal or notand I was at a time theMinister of Power and Steel.

Agunloye

PAGE 12—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012

What I toldPresidentJonathan

ON May 23, 2003, the 500-year history of the Obaship ofLagos was redefined with theselection of a retiredAssistant Inspector General ofPolice (AIG), Rilwanu Akiolu,as the Oba of Lagos. Beingthe first of its kind, hisselection elicited diversereactions, but nine yearsdown the line, Akiolu hasremained a force to reckonwith in the polity. As the 21stOba of Lagos, the lawgraduate of University ofLagos has been instrumentalto the transformation the statehas undergone. In thisencounter, the traditionalruler regrets that Lagos hasremained marginalised by theFederal Government, addingthat the state is in dire needof federal assistance.Contrary to the view thatformer Lagos State GovernorBola Tinubu was instrumentalto the jailing of the PDPchieftain, Chief OlabodeGeorge, Akiolu revealed thatformer President OlusegunObasanjo sent him (George)to jail. He also gives someinsight into what hesuggested to PresidentGoodluck Jonathan, during avisit to the Aso RockPresidential Villa, as the wayout of the country’schallenges in the powersector. Excerpts:

AS one of theinspirational rolemodels in Nigeria,

what message do you havefor the people?

I give thanks to Allah tentimes for the journey so far. Itis God who appoints a leader.He who the builders rejectedhas become the corner stone.Anything anyone wants to do,I advise that you build yourfaith in God and He willsurely favour you.

RILWANU means ‘Favouredby God’; this has been myguiding principle and I cansay that has seen me throughto the position of Oba. Withimpostors who pretend to be

*'Obasanjo, not Tinubu, sent Bode George to jail’

OBA AKIOLU @ NINEON THE THRONE:

friends, I’ve refused to bedistracted. I attribute my beingsuccessful since myappointment as the Oba to thefavour of God.

Challenges andachievements?

From youth, i’ve always hadit at the back of my mind tomake people happy, to assistpeople as much as I can andtell the truth at all times, eventhough I don’t have reservoirof knowledge. As a leader,people are bound to hoveraround you, but you need tobe prayerful to overcome anyform of mischief people mightbe planning against you.According to a Yoruba adage,when the king’s horse isdeclared missing, there arethree categories of searchparties, one has genuineintention to help in locatingthe missing horse, the secondhas a negative mind and notto locate the whereabouts,while the last is with theintention of locating the losthorse and then take it intohiding out of everybody ’svicinity. This means that whenthe king’s horse getsmissing, there are therecategories of people that willbring suggestions as to howto locate the horse. The firstsuggestion, which is genuine,will proffer solution as to howit could be found; the second,which is genuine, will bringsuggestions that will lead tono solution while the third is

for and against..

On the ninth anniversaryof your coronation,

what special appeal do youwant to make to the stategovernment as regards thedevelopment of yourkingdom?

My first appeal goes toLagosians to have patience,be close to God, be self-disciplined, know their rightsand insist on them,and besincere; that is the only waythey can become overcomersin life. And the government,my principal appeal goes tothe Federal Governmentbecause Lagos, to me, hasbeen short changed. TheFederal Government shouldcome to the assistance of thestate. As a retired policeofficer, I always say what I

believe, I don’t fearanybody but I respectpeople. According to aYoruba adage, ‘To obase Oba losan, wa seomo loru’, which meansbeing a monarch doesnot exempt you fromgiving honour to whomit is due. A lot ofNigerians are good atcriticisms. I wish toappeal to the FederalGovernment to putpolitics aside and do morein the area of assistance toLagos as the Lagos Stategovernment caters forother parts of the countryalongside itself.

On Boko Haram.No religion, be it Islam,

Christianity or thetraditional religion,encourages the killing ofinnocent people. If there areproblems which need to besorted out, we should sitdown and do so. That’s whythere’s this saying, that Obasdon’t practice politics. Weshould all sit down and talkon how this country can moveforward; it is necessary,whether you call it sovereignnational conference ornational dialogue, we shouldall sit down and talk for thecorporate existence of thiscountry. I don’t believe weshould separate or divide asa country, we should cometogether. Violence does notsolve problems, it is ungodly.

The power sector is keyto industrial

development, yet we seemnot to be getting it right.

I had the opportunity somefew weeks ago that thenumber one citizen of thiscountry gave me audienceand I gave him mysuggestions on how I think wecan solve this power problemand hope government mustbe working to resolve all theproblems on power, roads,housing, etc. We shouldsupport the government tosucceed. I am a lawyer andconscious of what I say, thegreatest headache and one ofthose that created problemsfor us is former PresidentOlusegun Obasanjo; hebelieves he has reservoir ofknowledge, he knowseverything. In 2000, I wasin the delegation that visitedhim as part of our training atNIPSS (National Institute forPolicy and Strategic Studies)and I made it clear to him thatit is only a bastard Yorubaman who should think he(Obasanjo) should notsucceed, but that the problemwith the man is that hebelieves he has reservoir of

knowledge. That is whyrecently he said there isnothing he asks God that Hewill not give him. As a lawyer,I will not say that he is notcorrect even when he wantedto impose himself as a lifepresident and believednobody should question thethird term bid. That is why Isent a message to my friendBode George that ‘this is theonly opportunity to redeemyour image’ because theywent about telling people inLagos that Bola Tinubu andothers sent him (BodeGeorge) to prison; it wasObasanjo who sent him there.They know what they didtogether and when they weredoing whatever they did, Iadvised Bode George to becareful, that he was on his wayto the lions den (Obasanjo’shouse). Let me go back to thepower problem. I told thepresident that power is notsomething you can do in aday, that it may take us four,five or six years to get steadyand regular power supply; ifwe are going to be ongenerator for the five or sixyears, let us divide the wholecountry into areas; if it ispossible to have 10,000 KVAgenerators, let us go and leasethem for the six years whilewe put the power sector ingood shape. I have been toObasanjo’s place more thenthree times on the powerissue, he refused to listen tome. Now, where are we today?Power is not something youcan just do, he believes heknows everything. My ownprayer now is that Allahshould give those in authoritythe knowledge and showthem the way to go about it,because, without power, therewill be no meaningfuldevelopment. There is nocheap power, Nigerians mustbe prepared to pay for it

We don’t seem to getthings right even in

the democratic setting.It is because we don’t

believe in God, we areimpatient and we don’t loveeach other.

Do you have a special wishYes. First i wish for rapid

development in Nigeria andLagos in particular. I wish forgainful employment for thepeople, good roads, and freemovement. I don’t believe weshould be divided in Nigeria,rather we should all cometogether as one. When I camein as Oba, I had three thingson my agenda, I thank Godalmost all will come to realityby the time I clock ten yearson the throne in 2013 to theglory of Allah. When I becamethe Oba of Lagos in 2003, Imet about N400,000 in thepalace account, but now wecan boast of N200 million. Iadvise that the state governorshould continue with the goodwork he is doing. He is a manof principle, if you get tounderstand him, you could bebest of friends.. He does notbelieve in injustice. Thatdoes not mean he doesn’thave his own faults since heis a human being. He(Fashola) has good intentions,and I know that by the timehe completes his tenure, hewill be a toast of everybody.

BY DOLAPOMAJEKODUNMI

Olashore, ex-First Bank MD, diesat 77*Aregbesola mourns

A formerm a n a g i n gdirector of First

Bank Nigeria, and theparamount ruler of IlokoIjesha, Oba OladeleOlashore, is dead.

Circumstances of themonarch’s death wereunclear at press time.He was aged 77.

In a tribute, yesterday,the governor of the State

of Osun, Ogbeni RaufAregbesola, describedthe passage as a colossalloss.

Olashore, according tothe governor, servedNigeria as a dedicatedprofessional to the bestof his ability beforeretiring to offercommunity service to hispeople in the State ofOsun.

Aregbesola, in astatement signed by hisDirector, Bureau ofCommunications andStrategy, Mr. SemiuOkanlawon, recalledOlashore’s brilliantperformance within theNigerian financial sector;a performance that sawhim to the pinnacle of hiscareer as the ManagingDirector of the First Bankof Nigeria Plc.

Police stop APGA rally*Party vows to sanction dissidents

BY VINCENTUJUMADU

P O L I C E ,y e s t e r d a y,stopped a

rally organized by afaction of AllProgressives GrandAlliance, APGA, led byChief Sylvester NwobuAlor, and chased awaythose already gatheredat the popular Aromajunction in Awka for theevent.

Alor, who is a specialadviser to GovernorPeter Obi of AnambraState, is leading thecampaign for therestructuring of the partyat all levels with the solepurpose of changing theleadership.

As early as 7.00 am, alarge number of policemenwere seen at the junctionand those who tried toassemble in the area weredirected to leave.

Yesterday’s botched rallywas the second attempt bythe group within aforthnight as a similar

attempt could not hold be-cause many of the partymembers backed out.

Meanwhile, the crisis inthe party took anotherdimension with an aide ofGovernor RochasOkorocha, Chief AustinNdigwe, saying, in Awka,that the party would soonset up a disciplinarycommittee to try theformer minister of health,Dr Tim Menakaya, who isthe deputy chairman ofBoard of Trustees of theparty, for anti- partyactivities.

BY CHIOMA OBINNA NMA directs Lagosdoctors to resume work... gives govt 2 weeks to convoke meetingTHE national body

of the NigerianM e d i c a l

Association, NMA,yesterday, directed alldoctors under theumbrella body of theassociation toimmediately resumework including those inLagos State.

Addressing journalistsafter a five-houremergency delegates,EDM, the NationalPresident of the NMA,

Dr Osahan Enabulele,said: “The EDMresolved that thereshould be anunconditional recall byissuance of individualletters of recall to all the788 illegally sackeddoctors in Lagos State,without any punitivemeasures.

“The EDM resolved

that a meeting beconvoked within twoweeks from the EDMbetween NMA LagosState Branch and theLagos State governmentto sort out issues ofwithdrawal of sack lettersand all agreementsearlier freely enteredinto by the Lagos Stategovernment”.

Ekiti, teachers disagree on test

BY GBENGA ARIYIBI

THE face -offbetween EkitiS t a t e

Government andteachers in the state overthe conduct ofcompetence andassessment test slatedfor tomorrow has takena twist, as the umbrellabody of the unions,Nigeria Union ofTeachers and AcademicStaff Union of SecondarySchools (ASUSS) havedirected their membersto stay away from thedesignated centresearmarked for theexams.

The state governmentand the leadership of thetwo unions have beenembroiled in acontroversy over theconduct of what isotherwise tagged as theTeachers DevelopmentNeeds Assessment( TDNA)test, a development thatprompted the stategovernment to shift the testthrice this year.A last-minute attempt topersuade the teachers toparticipate in the examfailed when the stategovernment lobbied someprominent members of thestate traditional rulers toget the teachers to submitthemselves for the exerciseas leaders of the twounions NUT and ASUSS

led by Mr. Sola Adigunfailed to turn in for themeeting.

According to Chief WaleOyeniyi, the PrincipalAssistant Secretary-General of the NUT, thedecision to stay away fromdesignation centres wassaid to have been taken ata special congress of theunion held on Wednesday.

The communique issuedat the end of the congressread in part, “the teachershave declared anindustrial dispute andthere is no going back onour decision against theTeachers DevelopmentNeeds Assessment(TDNA) of the stateg o v e r n m e n t . ”

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012, PAGE 13

PAGE 14—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012

Speaks on those who will not make itKeeps mum on Jonathan’s ambitionNigerian politicians are very selfish, it declares

'How to lay me to rest; for now'

2015: Why I will not go away

Continues on page 15

Why have you become so notorious?

Notorious! That is not afair description.

It is your system, the typical Nige-rian system that has thrown me up inthis manner.

If not that you Nigerians are a very

funny lot, why should anybody betalking about me now?

In a normal society, why should any-body start talking about me whenthere is 2013 that is just around thecorner; or 2014 that comes before me?It is because there is something fun-damentally wrong with this society.Even in the United States wherepresidential election is due inNovember, the race for the primariesof the Republican Party some five tosix months ago kick started the

process.My God, I am still very far away yet

people are already disturbing me. You were supposed to be in the in-

cubator and suddenly you haveforced yourself on a nation of about160million people?

(Cuts in) Please mind the language.I did not force myself on about 160mil-lion people.

Do you want to know the truth abouthow it started?

Let me start from President

Goodluck Jonathan himself. Heshould have learnt some lessons abouthow funny some people can be.

When just a few weeks after inau-guration he went to town to start talk-ing about the need to move Nigeriaaway from the distractions of electionsevery four years, he forgot that theonly job some Nigerians know andhave is electioneering. That is wherethey eat from; that is where they maketheir money; and if elections were tostop holding every four years, thosepeople would die. So, even on thatbasis alone, proposing a single termof four five years or seven years was asubconscious voyage in self-immola-tion.

How do you mean?What I mean is that even if Presi-

dent Jonathan meant well, he forgothistory and those who were alreadywriting history before it happens. Hehad just unwritten a rule, whereby hegot elected overwhelmingly by Nige-rians in spite of a supposed zoningarrangement in the Peoples Demo-cratic Party, PDP. The dust regardingthat was yet to settle when he cameout to propose a single term tenurewhich, one way or the other, could seehim benefiting and he expectedpeople not to jump to conclusions?What manner of proposal was that?Why was he in a hurry? Apart fromthe problem of zoning which wascreated and the way the boys in theHouse of Representativesembarrassed leaders of the PDP byelecting their speaker from the Northwest Zone, the same zone as the VicePresident, creating a preponderantpolitical power base in that singlezone, the next thing Mr. President didwas to come out with that proposal.

In this rare, very rare, futuristic conversation, Sunday Vanguard takes on the now omnipresent2015. Its notoriety is becoming a source of distraction to President Goodluck Jonathan just asthe sphere of space it occupies in political discourse has kept many working on a variety ofpermutations and scenarios.

2015 explains to Sunday Vanguard why it has refused to go away and why it would remainin the consciousness of politicians for as “long as they behave in their typically Nigerianmanner. Mind you, I was far away and very distant, incubating actually, before some peoplehurriedly gave me life. Now that I have been given life, they want to abort and kill me butthat would be very difficult because time is not going to stand still. With every passing dayand with every action of the political leaders, they all gravitate towards me. Therefore, letme stay with you for as long as possible; the inconveniences or distractions not withstanding.”Excerpts:

BY JIDE AJANI

How could it have bode well with thepeople; especially those who were stillsmarting from the loss of politicalpower? People simply jumped to theconclusion that this was a game aboutme, about how I would turn out.

But since then, the overheatingof the polity has not ceased?

That is part of the bad politics goingon.

If you remember, some people actu-ally made it clear that they would makethings difficult for Jonathan. Theyalso said he stole their term and man-date. All they should have waited forwas to start counting the years untilthey get to me. But even as it is now,some people are seeing through thewhole atmosphere of insecurity that itis all about me. Some people wouldrather I arrive today. But even as Ihave been caused to sit and watch andplay at the centre of political affairsnow, there is nothing they can do be-cause they would still have to wait forme and that is some two years fromnow before they can even begin to at-tempt to do anything meaningful withme. For now, having been invited, Iwill simply create maximum confu-sion, distraction and unnecessarillyoverheat the polity because I have alot of time on my hands. I am idle, sothe devil has turned me into itsworkshop. I am idle so I can createmaximum confusion and distraction.They asked for me and I havehonoured their invitation.

Who are the they? Can you be spe-cific?

President Jonathan unknowinglyinvited me when he proposed hissingle term issue.

Some Northern politicians wishedthat I had arrived yesterday becauseof their eagerness to reclaim power.

Some opposition politicians workedsubconsciously to bring me to life.

Are you still asking about the they? But some leaders have come out

to say your ghost should be exor-cised?

Wait! I’m not dead so I don’t evenoperate as a ghost.

Some have said you should be bur-ied?

Those who are saying I should beburied are ignorant. Where will youburry me? Do they know who wouldoutlast the other?

How do you mean?You are asking! Before 1999, some

people had thought, they would be inthe race, they died. Before 2003, somepeople started preparing for the race,they did not get to see the year. Be-fore 2007, some people began schem-ing, all that came to naught – therewas even a presidential candidate whodied just before the elections. Before2011, there were those who were inthe thick of it, but through illness anddeath, they never participated. So,how many of those who are causingproblem now, or those who areclamouring for a particular candidateor those who are threatening fire andbrimstone would be alive to meet me.Mind you, I am not going anywhere.I am waiting for all those who canmeet me. It is all about the folly ofmen. Nobody is immortal. I wait forall of them. And I commiseratwe (inadvance) with families of those whowould not make it. Because it is givenunto man to live and die.

Continued from page 14

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012 , PAGE 15

What about the disintegrationthat they say you have in store

for Nigeria?Far from that! You people have an

option to either make me the year ofturning point or tipping point. It iseither you people sit down and thinkof the possible areas of friction andaddress them; identify possible causesof crises (be they religious, ethnic,political, social or economic) andtackle them; or you people simply con-tinue along the path of folly and in-transigence and see what happens.

Please expatiate on that?Look it is common sense. The way

your President is going and the waythe opposition elements too are goingabout it, I laugh. I laugh because Isee selfishness in the air. As for me, Iwould come and go. I can be verygood or very bad. It is not in myhands, but what they all make of me.

Let me tell you, as for those whoappear to have created insecurity be-cause of what they want of me, theyshould understand that if Jonathan ismade to appear to have been forcedout of office by losing at the polls, theboys in the South South could startoff another round of militancy. Sowhere would that leave Nigeria? Theflipside is that should Jonathan andthe PDP be seen to have rigged toretain power, bad as the attempt initself would be, there would be a

possible upping of insurgency from theNorth.

The mistake people are making, in-cluding Jonathan and those opposedto him, is that they never learn.

Can you imagine if June 12 presidential election had not been

annulled? Moshood Abiola wouldhave done his possible eight years andthat would have been it and Nigeriawould have been spared the years ofSani Abacha with the attendant slowdown in the economic and politicalfortunes of the country. Obasanjospent eight years and it still appearsas if it was yesterday. Can youimagine the glory had he not tried thatnonsense called Third Term? Whenmy time comes, Jonathan’s four yearswould have lapsed. If he gets anotherfour years, my uncle, 2019, wouldarrive and then what. At the end ofthe day won't he vacate office? Or willthe people around him come up witha Doctrine of Necessity for tenureextension?

You people are blind and deaf – thepoliticians I mean.

Just imagine even if Jonathanspends eight years, what does hethink will happen afterwards?Obasanjo spent eight years and im-posed somebody, did that make hisfortunes any better? This is not fic-tion, it is real, documented. What dopoliticians want?

Yes, what do politicians want?We should ask them. Can you imag-

ine the foolishness? I was incubatingas you said but they forced me intoexistence. Now look at what they aretrying to make of me. But it is becausethey do not know me, yet they thinkthey do. They do not know what I havein store for them, yet they think theyare omniscience.

I look at all of them and I laugh. How would you advise President

Jonathan?No comment. What do you think of the PDP?Is that a political party? Look at the

so-called convention they held, it wasabout me. I am not here, yet they aredoing things in my name.

What about CPC and ACN?Are yousure they know what they are doing?Please I don’t want to be uncharitable.Just look at CPC and the confusionwithin it.

On Jonathan, mum is the word

Okay what about Buhari andTinubu?

What about them?

The alliance talks they are tryingto engage?

Do you think it would work? Sincethey made a fool of themselves theother time, why should Nigerians takethem as people who are serious?

Okay, let me even talk aboutJonathan. All he needs to do is sitdown and reflect on what God Al-mighty has done for him in the past.He should not now think he can dothings his way or by himself.

What Jonathan should concentrateon is to govern well and leave the restto God. God's Grace can not abandonhim having taken him this far. Heshould reflect on what God ghas donein his life. That does not in any waymean that people should keepharanguing the man too. They shouldlet him work. The insecurity peopleare talking about, after after me or myuncle, 2019,won't the people of theNorth who want power back presideover a united Nigeria? Or are theyplanning to preside over a balkanisedentity?

What do you think of INEC andyour time?

Eh! Politicians are already schemingof how to deal with INEC. What theydid last year and which was thoughtto be wonderful may be exposed bythe politicians when they unleash theircrookedness on the polity.

Boko Haram and You?What about Boko Haram and I? What do you see happening?Trouble no good. Me I dey kampe.

Ask them! But don’t you think…?Please let me be for now! I would

like to take a nap. You can wait fromnow till I decide on what to do,whether to remain for now or fly aboutor fly away and return at the appro-priate time or….

,,

Look it is commonsense. The way yourPresident isconducting the affairsof state and the way theopposition elementstoo are going about it,I laugh. I laughbecause I seeselfishness in the air.As for me, I wouldcome and go

THE CONVERSATION ENDSABRUPTLY AS A RESULT OFDEAFENING EXPLOSIONSNEARBY, RUMOURS OF APOSSIBLE INVASION BY ARMEDROBBERS ON THE NEXT STREET;AND A SUDDEN POWER OUTAGEALLOWS 2015 TO SNEAK OUT OFYOUR SIGHT. WE'LL TRACK HIMAND CONTINUE LATER

Speaker Aminu TambuwalPresident Goodluck Jonathan Vice President Namadi Sambo

CMYK

NICO & challenge of cultural renaissance& peaceful co-existence in Nigeria (2)

,

,

debbiemoments@gmail.com

PAGE 16—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012

IN addition to all theabove, the Executive Secretary has

consolidated operationsof NICO’s affiliate offic-es in the six geo-politi-cal zones of the country.Ayakoroma is also work-ing tirelessly to strength-en collaboration betweenNICO and other corpo-rate organisations, stategovernments, and inter-national bodies.

One can confidently as-sert that if NICO, as thenumero uno cultural par-astatal of government,continues to march for-ward the way it is doingright now it would be-come a formidable cata-lyst of unprecedentedcultural renaissance inNigeria in a decade orso. In that regard, I wishto celebrate staff ofNICO, past and present,who contributed to itsgrowth. Without their in-defatigable efforts, some-times under trying cir-cumstances, the organi-sation would not havemade any tangible im-pact on the cultural land-scape of Nigeria.

However, like every hu-man institution there areinadequacies in NICO,which implies that thereis room for improvementespecially in terms of up-grading facilities at theTraining School, betterstudents’ accommoda-

tion, in addition to en-hanced incentives thatcan attract competentteaching staff.

It must be remarkedthat, given the low pri-ority a typical Nigeriangives to matters concern-ing culture, it is impor-tant to reiterate how cru-cial cultural developmentis in the quest for nation-al transformation.

As indicated earlier,culture is a power-

ful barometer for measur-ing self-identity. Further-more, development in all

its ramifications – mate-rial, intellectual, moral,spiritual – is mediatedthrough culture.

This means that man isnot just the creator of cul-ture; he is also the crea-tion of culture.Now, inaddition to the deleteri-ous effects of colonisationon indigenous culturesof Nigeria, the parlousstate of the country ’s

economy in recent yearsand corruption havedrastically reduced gov-ernment’s investment inthe culture industry. Thatsaid,the federal and stategovernments are duty-bound to support NICOin order to realise thelofty objectives formula-tedin the Cultural Policyof 1988. The centrality oflanguage in all this can-not be overemphasised.From our previous dis-cussion, our indigenouslanguages might be ex-tinct in the next few dec-ades unless creative

measures are taken toprevent that from hap-pening. Based on the in-digenous language pro-gramme mentioned ear-lier, it is not an exagger-ation to say thatNICO isat the forefront in the ef-fort to promote mother-tongues across the coun-try. However, I recom-mend that the Instituteshould take its endeav-

our in this regard to thenext level by promotingthe idea of using indige-nous languages as themedia of instruction inour educational institu-tions. Specifically, theInstitute can device aprogram to catalyse thefollowing idea: each ofthe six geo-politicalzones in the countryshould establish schoolswhere, apart from thestudy of English, the lan-guage of instruction in allsubjects should be thedominant language spo-ken in that zone.

Obviously, there areformidable difficulties inactualising our sugges-tion – financial, logisticand lack of political willon the part of govern-ment. But consider this:virtually all technologi-cally advanced countriesin the world developedtheir technologies intheir respective languag-es – Germany in Ger-man, Britain and Ameri-ca in English, France inFrench, Russia in Rus-sian, and Japan in Japa-nese.

The major reason forthis situation, ac-

cording to Prof.Nnabuenyi Ugonna, isthat it is natural to thinkmore creatively in one’smother-tongue than in asecond language. Mostignorant Nigerians thinkthat the pure and appliedsciences, includingmathematics, cannot betaught using indigenouslanguages as the mediaof instruction. But re-searches carried out byProf. B. A. Fafunwa andothers on the pedagogicpotentials of selected lo-cal languages have de-

bunked that notion. If thesciences and engineer-ing can be taught in Ger-man, Japaneseand Chi-nese, for instance, thenthere is no insurmounta-ble reason why the samesubjects cannot be taughtin local languages.

What is needed most isa leadership that has thewill to make the neces-sary investment towardsactualising the ideal ofeducation in our indige-nous languages. The tre-mendous technologicaland psychological bene-fits that will be derivedfrom successful imple-mentation of such a pro-gramme are incalculable.Bringing to public aware-ness the home-growntechnological achieve-ments of our technolo-gists and scientiststhrough the media of lo-cal languages will blowto smithereens the falla-cy that Black peoples ofSub-Saharan Africa didnot contribute anything,technology-wise, to thedevelopment of humancivilisation.

In this connection,NICO can play a leadingrole in projecting the sci-entific and technologicalachievements of autoch-thonous Nigerian peo-ples to a wider audience.From another perspec-tive NICO can, throughits enlightenment pro-grammes, discourage thetendency to over-roman-ticise our cultural herit-age. Certainly, like cul-tures in other parts of theworld, indigenous Nige-rian cultures contain thegood, the bad, and thehorrible. Hence NICOshould not focus exclu-sively on the positive as-pects of our local cul-

tures; it should also con-tinuously shine criticalspotlight on the negativeaspects which have sur-vived up till now with aview to eradicating them.Harmful practices suchas female genital mutila-tion, trial-by-ordeal, de-humanising widowhoodrites, expensive funeralceremonies, unfair inher-itance customs that dis-criminate against femalechildren and so on areanachronistic; NICOshould be vigorouslycampaigning for an endto these practices. Thequestion of peaceful co-existence among adher-ents of different religionsis high in the agenda ofNICO.

We believe that theInstitute should

organise, especially atthe primary and second-ary school levels, pro-grammes that stress reli-gious tolerance and so-cial harmony as indis-pensable ingredients inthe arduous enterprise ofnation-building. Sporad-ic eruption of religiousviolence in certain partsof the countrymeans thatNICO still has a lot ofwork to do to make Ni-gerians live-and-let-live.All said and done, thereis no doubt that with wiseleadership, NICO willcontinuously grow fromstrength to strength inyears to come.

Thus, political leaders,corporate organisations,and indeed the general-ity of Nigerians, shouldgive NICO all the nec-essary support it needs tomake Nigeria the cultur-al Mecca of Black peopleacross the world.

CONCLUDED.

Our indigenous languagesmight be extinct in the nextfew decades unless creativemeasures are taken toprevent that from happening

WHEN it rains, itreally pours.Lately it seems

people are getting it fromall sides when it comesto trouble. There is no lifethat is trouble free but theworldwide recession cer-tainly paints a gloomypicture of the new reali-ty. I am all for hope andI certainly exercise myfaith in speaking thingsthat aren't as though theyare but there are times Ifeel like a balloon that isloosing air and gettingsmaller daily. It doesn'thelp that most peoplefeel the same and I won-der how long we can waitfor the much needed res-pite that will bring theeconomic boom back.Comparing one's selfwith the Jones's thesedays means exchanginglamentations and com-paring notes on whoowes more or who needsmore. If i had to choosea colour to describe theworld in its present state

In all thingsI would have to go withgrey. Its not black orwhite, its dull and list-less; no colour or zest.

One of the basictrainings one ac-

quires as a girl child inafrica is the art of hag-gling. Haggling meansnegotiating prices downby all means necessary.It could be consideredbullying as it involvesquite a bit of coercionand even disparaginggoods on sale just to getthe seller to drop theprice. At times it is beg-ging and persuading theseller to sell for even lessthan cost just to get abargain. It is a traditionthat is as old as time inthis part of the world andboth buyers and sellerstake it seriously. Being adescendant of 3 genera-tions of successful trad-ers I am a seasoned hag-gler, I have actually tak-en the skill to an art formand I am known for it.

Lately however, I havehad to restrain myselffrom haggling when Isense the desperationthat people are feelingfrom the hardship that isactually taken a hardertoll on those at the bot-tom rung of the ladder.Times are hard for therich but it is desperate forthe already poor. Thevoice of my conscienceseems to get loudestwhen I am in the marketand it is obvious that get-ting a good deal for my-self by haggling is tak-ing food from the mouthsof those who are alreadyhungry.

"The Rich also cry" wasa popular telenovela inthe 90s and it revolvedaround a rich mexicanfamily that had its shareof heartbreak and wassuffering just like thepoor in their society.Their problems weremostly emotional and so-cial but the new worldorder has added the fi-nancial plague to every-one's woes. There is a

solid argument that therich were mostly affectedas they had the most losebut I say that is relative.Ted Turner losing 13bil-lion is painful, he wasvery depressed under-standably, but he gets byon another 2billion.Compare his loss to thatof an old man robbed ofhis 200000 Nairagratuity(less than $2000),who gives up hope andis dead within days and

40-50% of my pre reces-sion income and I wontlie and say I like it. Likemost people I am alsofinding that my expendi-tures are doubling; itseems it is more expen-sive to live in a recessionthan in the time of boom.Its a catch 22 that we arebeing called to givewhen we don't have a lot;that we have to stretchand struggle to surviveso how do we help oth-

There are no small mira-cles and drawing breathabsolutely free of chargeis one of such things; thedead can not. A wisewoman who had sufferedthe loss of a loved oneonce told me she sur-vived by finding some-thing to thank God foreveryday; she believesthat attitude took her outof despair to peace. Be-ing thankful meant shewas able to give of her-self and her substanceeven she was almost run-ning on empty. Beinggrateful and givingthanks is the catalyst tocompassion.

A grateful heart willsee that even

though she couldn't buythe choicest cut of meatat the market, any meat,any food is a blessing tobe thankful for. In fact,the good health to evenhave an appetite for foodis a blessing. I don'tknow how long this cloudwill hang over us and Ijoin my faith with othersand pray that it is soon.In the interim, we needto look beyond our owndesperation and frustra-tions and reach out toothers; giving of our-selves and our depletedsubstances. Except forgrace it could be worse;whatever the situation;for that I give thanks..

you begin to understandthat the rich may be cry-ing but the poor canteven cry; the poor aredying in body and spirit.

It is not my sole inten-tion to depress everyonebut I feel a strong urgein my spirit to wake com-passion in as many peo-ple as possible. I will bethe first to complainabout the times of eco-nomic hardship we havebeen experiencing forthe past 2-3 years. Peo-ple have lost fortunes bigand small. The last as-sessment confirmed thatI have only been earning

ers? Both very validstances but I have alwaysbelieved that cultivatingan attitude of gratitude isthe best way to find peaceand even joy in any situ-ation.

It is not impossiblethat some readers

may be muttering "thank-ful for what" and whocould blame them? Weare all feeling the pinch.The good book says in allthings we should givethanks and surely wemust realise that meanswe give thanks in timesof harvest and famine.

,

,There are no small miraclesand drawing breath absolutelyfree of charge is one of suchthings; the dead can not

,,

Time for young people to behigh on Govt Agenda

“Our society must makeit right and possible for old people not

to fear the young or be deserted bythem, for the test of a civilization is theway that it cares for its helpless mem-bers”

—Pearl S. Buck

IN the UK, youth crime today is growing steadily into uncontrolla ble gang warfare, so often seen on

TV or in movies. Children, as youngas 11, are joining gangs (crews) andbecoming part of the society that nur-tures violence and street crime.

The phenomenon was not takenseriously until the prominent casesof the likes of Damilola Taylor,Stephen Lawrence and many others.Prior to that, it was assumed that youthon youth crimes was a known per-son crime, which is not. Theseyoung people who attack others forjust venturing into their area orwearing a different colour or disre-specting them. You cannot remon-strate with these children and sad-ly their choices hereafter is predict-able; the police, the morgue , thejails and even the psychiatric wards.The call to curb such criminalitywas to slap an ASBO (anti social

needs to take responsibility for thesechildren rather than wishing themaway and ignoring or temporarilydisposing of them within the penalinstitutions.

When Fashola became the gover-nor, his speech showed the serious-ness to tackle the issue: “It is com-mon knowledge that violent crimein the country generally and LagosState in particular was on the

increase in recent times.We are presently confronted with

a citizenry living in fear as a resultof the wanton and rabid activitiesof armed robbers, and miscreantswho have taken delight in strikingat random throughout Lagos Stateparticularly in the metropolis,”

He continued that: “Our adminis-tration has a mandate from the peo-ple of Lagos State to provide secu-rity and ensure that hoodlums andarmed robbers do not terrorise them.

Perhaps, instead of focussing onthe results and punishments ofyouth crime; the governmentshould be concentrating on causesand solutions to youth crime.

Common statements from theseerring Area boys are: ‘We have noth-ing; others have plenty so we willtake what we want.’ Or “ we don’twant to live like this but wedon’t have jobs or money andso on.

By the looks of things, nothinghas changed. Actually it has

got worse, much more worse. Inthese trying times when thegap between that have- a- lot andthose who have not has widened,it is the duty of the governmentto ensure that those that are lessprivileged are given a lifeline tolive a useful life and have somesemblance of normality.

The government should setout four steps for tackling youthcrime- engaging with young peo-ple, supporting child victims andwitnesses, helping those who mayturn to crime, and responding tooffences. You can’t end a circle ofviolence by punishment – only byproviding the help that wasn’t avail-able in the first place.

There should be a sustainableprogramme that educates, train fora trade, given access to healthcare, adequate housing for theduration of their training. Wecannot stand back and wish thesepeople away. The lack of parentallove makes them hostile and cyni-cal towards the society. They showcontempt for other people, and thetotal lack of any moral sense that itdemonstrates.

When this tendency goes to an ex-treme, problems arise. Some of theyoung want to throw away all thetraditional principles and beliefs,most of which are very good for self-cultivation. They are reluctant to lis-ten to the advice from older gener-ation.

School education plays an impor-tant role to teach traditional beliefs.Secondly, the present situation alsocalls for a control and supervisionon the mass media. Books and pro-grams should be in good quality.

There should be more education-al books and programmes for youngchildren to tell them how to distin-guish the right from the wrong.

Thirdly, mutual understanding be-tween parents and children is alsovery important. Parents can spendmuch time staying with their chil-dren and patiently carry out the dutyof family education.

Behaviour Order) on perpetual trou-ble makers it worked for awhile,until amongst the group it was seenas a badge of honour.

The relevance of this is that of thearea boys, and it’s profiltration into eve-ryday vocabulary. Area boys.

The name is not cute nor is it harm-less. In the week that Nigeria markedChildren’s day, it is about time thatyoung people should be high on theagenda. What it is very clear, is thatyoung people are falling throughthe net. These “boys and girls” haveinadequate education, no health andsocial care, lack of direction in termsof their stake in the future. This isdismal. None of the grandstanding bysuccessive administrations has made apositive shift since the passage of theChild Right Bill (CRB) that was passedinto law by the National Assembly, inMay 2003.

Area boys (some are hardly children!)are unemployed, delinquents, schooldropouts, drug users, petty thieveswhose one raison d’être is to causechaos, fear and instability in the livesof others. It is common knowledgethat they are also used as musclefor local politicians. Living this lowlife is now an alternative lifestylethat the government cannot be ig-nored, if they do so it will at theirperil.

No one knows for sure how manyarea boys are there but, conservativecounts put them as much as 100,000.

In other societies, young offendersare seen as the product of the govern-ment’s negligence towards the parentsor the children themselves; someone

Jonathan’s oilgate: Greasing theexit gate

“I am not a crook”. Richard Nixon, Presidentof the United States, 1969-1974.

PRESIDENT Nixon succeeded LyndonJohnson, who voluntarily rejected thesecond term bid once he found his

country sharply divided, and, he, the Presi-dent was the centre of all the raging and vio-lent controversies. Nixon was later consumedby a crime called the Watergate Affair. Soalthough he was overwhelmingly re-electedin 1972 by a wide margin, he resigned in ig-nominy. Nixon was later to say about the Wa-tergate that it “was worse than a crime; itwas a blunder”, according to the Observer onDecember 3, 1978 – approximately four yearsafter losing the presidency. The recent alle-gations of a N155 billion fraud involvingvarious individuals contrary to the Senate,cannot be conducted in camera because it is,according to reports, already a subject ofopen litigation in the US. Any attempt at cov-er-up, by the PDP-dominated national assem-bly, can only back-fire and result in unprece-dented civil protest which will make the Jan-uary occupation exercises look like child’splay. This is the stuff of which revolutions aremade and the sooner Jonathan got more hon-est and wiser advisers on this one the better.The “Yes-men” will not do for this one.

As usual, I have deliberately brought inthe Nixon analogy, just as Johnson was usedto conduct what Plutarch, c46-120 AD, thegreatest Greek Historian, called Parallel His-tory. The uproar against Johnson’s policiesfirst started as a whimper of “disgruntled el-ements” and was promptly disregarded. John-son’s Vice-President Hubert Humphrey, 1911-1978, left the world with the cocky observa-tion, “the right to speak does not include the

Police in the minds of Nigerians for in-famy. It would amount to asking ShinaRambo, the infamous armed robber ofthe 1990s and Co, to sit in camera on acase of grand larceny. Their judgmentsare suspect, even when they sit in public.There is probably no single member ofthe National Assembly since 1999 (andthis is just a personal opinion) who canstep forward and state categoricallythat: “I can account for every kobo ofmy earnings since being in the NASS”.None, not even the members of opposi-tion parties – how many individuals canin today’s world; not many. To expectjustice from that bunch sitting in cam-era amounts to the triumph of hope overexperience. It will not happen; some areinvolved in the crude theft as well.

When Nixon declared “I am not acrook”, he did not hide behind the ma-jority Republicans in the Congress of theUnited States; he challenged everybodyto prove that he was a crook. Nigeriansneed such an affirmative statement fromtheir President. And, we don’t want tolisten to any “echo”, that is Reuben Aba-ti or the Minister for Justice, who spokefor him recently. We want to listen toGEJ’s voice when that declaration ismade because his honour is at stake. Hemust do to protect his integrity. The rea-son is obvious, the message and the mes-senger are often inseparable. Our dearReuben, whose words we read with greatdelight, and stored in our hearts withcare, until last year, has succumbed tothe Aso Rock disease. He speaks now toears closed to his utterances. So he can-not be of help; not on this matter andperhaps not on any other one for thatmatter. The Attorney General might evenbe worse. His explanation regardinggovernment’s involvement in what hecalled a private affair left too many ques-tions unanswered. So, that leaves thePresident to take the public witnessstand in his own defence. Nobody, so farhas said anything worthy of our respect.

Unfortunately, the President of Niger-ia starts out with a huge handicap inthis regard. Two episodes should serveto make this point clear. First, the Codeof Conduct Bureau, CCB, said some ofgovernors they looked into their activi-ties have since “made restitutions” –Jonathan was alleged to be one of them.So, why should we trust him now? Sec-ond, the newly elected President ofFrance, declared his assets within aweek of his election and before swear-ing in. That was not only what the lawdemanded; it was the kind of ethicalleadership expected of trustworthy lead-ers. To the best of my knowledge, Presi-dent Jonathan has failed to declare hisassets – one full year after election, let’ssay publicly. Where is the moral leader-ship? Still let him declare with his ownmouth that “I am not involved and hewill receive the benefit of doubt fromme.

Oil Thieves: The biggestand the worst

“200,000 barrels of crude stolen every-day from Nigeria” – Mallam Nuhu Rib-adu.

Mallam Ribadu is a professionalpoliceman and also an amateur

lawyer – not an economist trained in Un-ijankara. Otherwise, he would have in-terpreted that statement in the languagethe ordinary person can understand. Inplain language, 200,000 barrels ofcrude oil – even at the most conserva-tive estimates – comes to N1.3 trillionper annum or one quarter of our annualbudget. Take it from me, probably, nosingle barrel is stolen without a conspir-acy of BIG MEN with Abuja connec-tions. No Dele, Haruna, Emeka or Ogh-ene can march to the creeks and startstealing crude without being caughtwithin twenty four hours and sacrificesto fish.

DENRELE ANIMASAUN FROMLONDON

right to be taken seriously”. In the end he andJohnson were consumed by those who exer-cised their right to speak. When the first sto-ries about Watergate first surfaced, Nixon andhis advisers, instead of owning up to the sim-ple crime of breaking and entry, decided tocover up. Nixon took their advice and becamethe second President forced to resign in Amer-ican history. The story of N155 billion oilscam, allegedly involving the President, willeventually combine elements of Johnson andNixon – if Jonathan mishandles this one.

Whereas, I had canvassed that we shouldmanage the President, protect him from harmand carefully escort him back to Otuoke in2015, any false move from him could resultin consequences worse than escorting himback to Otuoke. The gathering storm ofevents, some totally out of the President’s con-trol and others being foisted on him by hisMinisters (Finance, Power, Petroleum, Agri-culture, to name the leading candidates) willdefinitely ignite a thunderstorm of protest andcivil unrest, which will be escalated as longas Jonathan cannot like Nixon say to Nigeri-ans: “I am not a crook and I have no hand inthe N155 billion scam”. Anything short ofthat will amount to inviting certain disasterfor himself. In that connection, let me adviseGEJ that he should reject any National As-sembly offer to conduct hearings about thisOil-Gate affair in camera. It will only height-en tension and lead to unintended but calam-itous results.

The reasons are not hard to discover. TheNational Assembly, which former PresidentObasanjo allegedly labeled a gang of “roguesand armed robbers”, are among the most dis-reputable groups of individuals in Nigeriatoday; they barely rank above the Nigeria

,

,

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2011, PAGE17

Any attempt at cover-up, by the PDP-dominated nationalassembly, can onlyback-fire and result inunprecedented civilprotest

In these trying timeswhen the gap betweenthat have- a- lot andthose who have not haswidened, it is the dutyof the government toensure that those thatare less privileged aregiven a lifeline

PAGE 18—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012

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Honour for Abiola: RenamingUnilag is not enough

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Unilag: The outrage of arenaming

ONE of my greatestfears is somedayto wake up and to

hear that the University ofJos, my beloved almamater, has ceased to be, andhas been renamed theYakubu Gowon University.Or that the University ofIbadan would come to beknown as Olusegun Obas-anjo University; and sincethe inimitable NnamdiAzikiwe in his lifetime vig-orously rejected the movesby Jubril Aminu as minis-ter for education to renamethe University of Nigeria,Nsukka after him, perhaps,then it might become AlexEkwueme University.

Because the University ofSokoto has already beennamed after Usmanu DanFodio, may be soon, incompensation, the federalgovernment would renamethe University of Abuja af-ter Shehu Shagari, andthus the university we nowknow as the University ofAbuja will become ShehuShagari university. Some-day, too, even the Universi-ty of Port-Harcourt may becalled Ken Saro-Wiwa Uni-versity or even GoodluckJonathan University. Thefederal University of Tech-nology Abeokuta will soon

also become the ErnestShonekan University ofTechnology. Fellow Nigeri-ans, listen to these names,and the implications ofthese acts of re-naming: itis called diminution. Theserenamings will further re-duce the grace and the sym-bolic agency of these insti-tutions; it does reflect thedecline of the Nigerian ide-al too, this crass celebrationof the individual, eventhose who may be anti-he-roes in the Nigerian realityover a common place.

This is what sparked theoutrage this past week withthe president’s ex-cathedralact, renaming the Univer-sity of Lagos into the Mo-shood Abiola University,after the winner of the June12, 1993 elections who wasmurdered in federal careunder Abdulsalami Abu-bakar, who himself maysoon have a University – theFederal University of Tech-nology Minna, renamedafter him. These are actsthat make Nigeria seem ex-tremely primitive and me-dieval in comparison toother nations here and nowin the 21st century. There isa feudal undercurrent in theconsciousness of govern-ment. This is why on a day

which celebrates democra-cy – the so called NigerianDemocracy day – the elect-ed president of this federa-tion acts in the most un-democratic of ways. Nam-ing a national institutionwithout proper consulta-tion and protocol after anindividual, whose prove-nances are by all indica-tions very divisive. It is di-visive politics.

It is myopic action. AndI think it is time to test

the limits of executive au-thority in the courts overthis act by President Good-luck Jonathan. Since 1999the PDP government in Ni-geria has engaged in theproject of revisionism. Itrenames, re brands, and re-adjusts Nigeria’s nationalcalendars to suit the limit-ed and personal visions ofthe PDP and its interests ir-respective of the Nigerianreality, starting with the dayMay 29 as Democracy Day.

In my mind as an Igbo inNigeria, May 29 is a day ofinfamy. It is the day thatsymbolizes the massacre ofthe Igbo across the landleading to events that spi-raled into one of the costli-est wars of the 20th century.But the PDP government

under Olusegun Obasanjochose that day, I think spe-cifically, to insult collectiveIgbo psyche and sensibilit-yin a very insensitive way.If Nigeria wishes to enact ademocracy day, it should beclearly marked by the dayNigeria assumed her re-publican status – November16, which also marks thebirthday of Nigeria’s na-tionalist hero and greatestfighter for freedom and de-mocracy and independence– Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe. Thatis what other nations wouldhave done for symbolic ef-fect. Nigeria’s Republicancharter of 1963 clearlymarks its day of democra-cy.

It was the day, by the actof the parliament of its first

Take note of the acronym,for it indeed is a MAULingof history and the erasureof pedigree. Imagine your-self training as a doctor atMAULTH. There is also thequestion of whether thepresident can by a singlewave of his hand changethe name of a national in-stitution such as the Univer-sity of Lagos.

The University of Lagoswas established by an

act of parliament in 1962with a bill introduced by thehonourable Aja Nwachuk-wu, as minister for educa-tion and under the Vice-chancellorship of Dr. EniNjoku – one of Africa’s fin-est scientists and adminis-trators in the 20th century.

thority, by acting with suchextreme executive authori-ty. It is presidential over-reach. Perhaps Dr. Jonath-an still imagines Nigeria tobe under military rule,where without the oversightof parliamentary or judi-cial authority, the militaryhead could act with abso-lute and unquestioning fi-nality. This is not so. This isa democracy and the presi-dent must be reined-in andreminded that in a democ-racy, there are limits to pres-idential power and author-ity.

The president cannot justwake up and announce achange of the name of theUniversity of Lagos withoutclear proceduralintegrity.However, moredisturbing for me besidesthe president’s fiat thatclosed down the Universityof Lagos following studentsprotest of the change of thename of their University, isthe statement that the Fed-eral Government wouldback down on this matterof renaming the Universityof Lagos after KashimawoAbiola. I do not know whatthe president knows butthis is what I know: in a de-mocracy, the president’sword is by no means final.Nigeria is no longer run bya military junta eventhough it feels so on occa-sions. And on this matter ofrenaming the University ofLagos, I think the presidentgot a terrible advise.Thestudents, the council, alum-ni, and parents of the Uni-versity of Lagos, should testthe president’s power in lawby taking the current feder-al authority to court andseeking a restraining orderagainst this arbitrary exec-utive order.

republic, it broke free of theBritish Commonwealth.Nigeria started on the roadof its republican restorationin 1999 after years of mili-tary tyranny. We cannotsweep the facts of our his-tory under the rug on thewhims and caprice of just afew individuals.But let mego to the specific questionof the current presidentGoodluck Jonathan’s rath-er antidemocratic actionthis week in renaming theUniversity of Lagos intoMAUL – the Moshood Abi-ola University, Lagos.

The University charter isclear on the governanceand mission of the Univer-sity. As a public institution,any changes to that charter– including its change ofname and mission – oughtto be made by the Govern-ing Council, which is basi-cally, the Trustees of theUniversity, and by the actof parliament under whichthe University of Lagos wasestablished.

The president thus actedoutside of his authority, andbasically usurped the func-tions of an established au-

The president cannot justwake up and announce achange of the name of theUniversity of Lagos withoutclear procedural integrity

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STUDENTS of theUniversity of Lagos(UNILAG) and oth-

er interest groups who somedays ago vehemently ob-jected to the renaming ofthat University after the latestatesman and democrat,Moshood Abiola (MKO)may have their reasons. Their action can howevernot be described as new be-cause when the Universityof Ife was similarly re-named Obafemi AwolowoUniversity also in themonth of May, 25 yearsago, the decision did not godown well with some peo-ple especially the alumni ofthe University. In earnest,the problem has nothing todo with the name used;rather it has to do with theinability of some people toaccept change. Indeed, ifUNILAG was from its in-ception named MKO Uni-versity, the opposition to itsbeing renamed the Univer-sity of Lagos that many ap-pear to like now could prob-ably have been more acid-ic. It thus makes sense toallow those opposed to therenaming of the Universityto vent their grievances pro-vided they donot violentlycompel the rest of us to seethe issue from their ownperspective only.

For me, the renaming ofUNILAG in honour ofMKO is not a bad idea butgovernment should not stopat that because it is too lit-tle an honour for Nigeria’sgreatest politician. Sincesome other great Nigerianshave more than one nation-al monument named afterthem, Abiola, the only Ni-gerian Presidential candi-date who was killed simplybecause he won an interna-tionally recognized freeand fair election should notbe honoured less. Naming

one institution after himeven if it were to be my ownrevered University ofIbadan is not enough. TheAbuja National Stadiumand indeed the NationalAssembly Complex whichhave been suggested asmore befitting can be add-ed but they are, to me, stillinadequate. Abiola didnot die because he wanted

a University or a SportsComplex or a Parliamentbuilding named after him.The man did not die whileseeking to own any univer-sity and as such it is not auniversity that would re-mind posterity about him.Again he did not die be-cause he wanted to be a leg-islator; instead, he died be-cause he contested and wonan election to be President.Those who say the electionwas inconclusive are onlyin tune with the boobyscheme of an ambitious

military elite. Abiola didnot only win in the pollingbooths in military barracksacross the nation as re-vealed by the NigerianElection MonitoringGroup (NEMG), he alsodefeated his opponent in thelatter ’s home base. ThusMKO met all the legiti-mate requirements for be-coming President. Accord-

ingly, what should benamed after him is the Pres-idential Villa. The Nation-al Assembly should feel freeto once again invoke its fa-mous strategy of the doc-trine of necessity to formal-ly proclaim the late elderstatesman President fromJune 22 1993 when his elec-tions was annulled till July07 1998 when he died.Thereafter, MKO should bepost-humously decoratedby President Jonathan withthe award of the GrandCommander of the Feder-al Republic (GCFR).

One of the positive effects of all of these is

that it would ensure that theabsurd annulment of anelection does not recur inour history. More impor-tantly, it would encouragethe political class of todayto imbibe the traits of self-lessness - a virtue whoseabsence in our polity islargely responsible for thenation’s stunted politicalgrowth. Oh yes, on this sub-ject no other Nigeriangroup has a greater blamethan our political class. Itis true that Abiola’s ordealwas formally executed bythe military but the latterwas aided by his competi-tors and associates. First,the National RepublicanConvention (NRC) andtheir candidate defeated byAbiola in the June 12 1993election greedily refused toaccept defeat as is usualwith the average Nigerianpolitician. Second, the So-cial Democratic Party(SDP), Abiola’s own politi-cal party, his campaignmanagers and even his run-ning mate ditched their flagbearer as Nigerian politi-cians always do. Third,some of the chieftains who

formed the National Dem-ocratic Coalition (NA-DECO) ostensibly to fightAbiola’s cause and whoeveryone thought would onthe basis of activism or eth-nic sentiments take thefight to a logical end latercapitulated so as to serve asMinisters in the govern-ment of the usurpers of ourcollective mandate. Againstthis backdrop, nothing istoo much for MKO if thegovernment of the day be-comes humane and decidesto give honour to whom isdue.

The other honour whichAbiola deserves is for thegovernment to, for his sake,show greater commitmentto democracy. In all thatthey do, our politiciansshould for the sake of Abio-la remember that democra-cy is premised on the sover-eignty of the people, therule of law, majority ruleand minority rights as wellas free and fair elections. Itis the people who shouldmatter the most in a democ-racy but not in our clime.Whether the Nigerian peo-ple are happy or not doesnot matter for as long as ourpoliticians can materiallyinduce opinion moulders toengage the rest of us in thefutile debate of what to ex-pect in the 2015 electionsthat are due in three year’stime. When shall we discusswhat is due to the peoplenow? Meanwhile, one ob-vious difference betweenmilitary rule and democra-cy is the mode of gettingpeople into political offic-es .While the former hand-picks, the latter elects. InNigeria however, there isdoubt if we have genuinedemocrats. Otherwise whyfor example, would somepoliticians elected into the

office of state governor sub-vert democracy at localgovernment level by impos-ing their party stalwartsrather than have the peopleelect their own councilors?

Next month, Governorship elections

will hold in Edo State withan obsolete voters registerbecause claims and coun-ter-claims by politicianshave stopped INEC fromupdating the register there-by disenfranchising manycitizens. Whereas Electoralbodies are equipped to han-dle such logistical issues inother parts of the world, Ni-gerian politicians deliber-ately heat up the polity whenelections are drawing nearonly for INEC to invitethem to a meeting where itwould then be agreed by allthat best practices in elec-tion management be put onhold to avoid bloodshed.With the unending decamp-ing from one party to theother, each political partynow has its own riggingprofessionals hence theyare all united in thwartingany effort to computerizeour election process. Weare told now and again thatbecause of the low literacyrate in our nation, it is pre-mature to use technology toredress our electoral laps-es. Yet the same illiteratesare made to follow sometechnological devices toobtain international pass-ports for travels; use theelectronic telecommunica-tion system popularlyknown as GSM and trans-act banking businesses. Ifthe same technology isbarred from our electionprocess, how then can wehave free and fair electionwhich is a prerequisite forsustainable democracy?

The renaming of UNILAG inhonour of MKO is not a bad ideabut government should not stopat that because it is too little anhonour for Nigeria’s greatestpolitician

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

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012, PAGE 19

Dear Rebecca

Dear Rebecca

She now avoids me!

So lonely in the university!

I AM 16 years old inmy first year in theuniversity. I feel

lonely in school andsome campus guys withcars have been puttingpressure on me to go outwith them.

I know what they reallywant is sex and I am notready to go into all that.My mum always stressesthe need for a girl to re-main a virgin until mar-riage. I have not beenable to tell my friends ofmy loneliness for fear ofwrong advice; not thatthey are bad.

Please advise me.Kate,Bayelsa

REPLREPLREPLREPLREPLYYYYY

YOU are sensible toremember yourmother’s advice

about boys. Keep this upso that you too can passthe same advice to yourdaughter in future, tell-ing her how you keptyourself pure for her fa-ther.

Now, it is normal to belonely when one leaveshome for an adult insti-tution like the university.If you are a boarder in asecondary school, thingsare not so bad becauseyou have house mis-tresses and matrons, andare under the supervisionof teachers. Friends areeasier to have too be-cause you are still chil-dren, if not in age, atheart, and can play andquarrel. In the universityyou are expected to be an

adult, and treated assuch, so, if you are notsomeone who mixes eas-ily, you are left in a cor-ner, especially by thegirls. Even where youhave made friends, thereis competition about onething or the other, andthey may not be the rightsort of friends for you,unless you are matureand disciplined in yourattitude, and are not eas-ily influenced by them.

Having a boyfriend isnot the true solution toyour loneliness. At yourage, you should haveboth boys and girls asfriends. Study your matescarefully and choose re-sponsible ones who taketheir studies seriously.Friendship with boysshould only involve ex-changing books, cas-settes, etc, discussingyour studies and othergeneral issues, and chat-ting. You may chat withthe car owner students,but make it plain youdon’t want romance. So,don’t accept lifts or meetin isolated corners. Greetpolitely when you meetand move on. Apart fromyour studies, take up hob-bies you enjoy, join fel-lowships, the reading ordrama club, etc. Don’twait for other students tocome and talk to you,greet people around youcheerfully and you willnot feel lonely.

Later when you aremore mature emotionally,say as from 18, you maystart having boyfriends,but there should be nosex, and your parentsshould know them orabout them.

I AM a 32 years oldbusinessman. Mygirlfriend of seven

years is 26 years old andis doing her Youth Serv-ice. We met while shewas in secondary school.Midway into her highschool, I left Enugu to goto work in Lagos. Be-cause my mission to La-gos was not successful, Icould cut off communica-tion with her for 2 years.When we were togetherI avoided a strong rela-tionship with her becauseI was not financiallystrong. When I cameback, I found out she isnow serving. I invitedher and formally pro-posed to her. She told methat when she was seri-ous with me I was not,but promised to thinkabout it. After this, shestarted to avoid me. I amreliably informed thatshe has had proposalsfrom two other men. Whatdo I do?

Kenny,Rivers State

I know how you feelbut two years canmake a big differ-

ence in a romantic rela-tionship when there hasbeen no contact. Sinceyou were not locked up,

My girl got laid by mybrother!

I am a sixteen year oldboy in love with a girlwho has been friends forwith me for 6 years. Sheonly allows me to kissand touch her breasts. Asfor sex, she says she issaving herself for the fu-ture.

Once she set eyes onmy brother, who’s anundergraduate and agood dresser,for the firsttime, her attitude to-wards me changed. Inoticed that she avoidsme when I visit herhome. Unknown to me,she had written to mybrother and they had be-come friends. While Iwas at school, they madelove. My brother con-fessed to me and apolo-gized.

I feel hurt. What do Ido to this girl?

A.O.,Benin-City

thing for you. Explain toher your lack of warmthin the past. Give hertime to think things overand don’t harass her

REPLREPLREPLREPLREPLYYYYY

I see no justification foryour not contacting herin any way for two years.Failed business or nothaving a job is no ex-cuse. If you had seriousintentions towards her,you would have beenwarm in your relation-ship during the fiveyears you dated. Whenyou got to Lagos, youwould have written to herto let her know how youwere getting on. Notevery girl is after a manwith money or a top job.Some would settle for anice man who is respon-sible, kind and warm,even if he has no car.

I am afraid you seeminsensitive. The ladymust have been heart-broken when she failedto hear from you at all.It opened her eyes intorealizing that you werenot truly fond of her, con-sidering the fact that youwere not warm towardsher in the past. You can’tjust walk back into herlife like that and expecther to accept you imme-diately. Naturally, othermen must have ap-proached her in your ab-sence, particularly asshe had been makingprogress in her educa-tion.

I advise you sit downto assess your real feel-ings towards her, andask yourself if she is re-ally your ideal woman.If she is, tell her, and askher if she still feels any-

with letters or visits. If‘No’ is her decision, ac-cept it and leave heralone. You will meet an-other lady of your choice.

Dear Rebecca

REPLREPLREPLREPLREPLYYYYY

I know it hurts, but donothing to her. She ownsher body and she has theright to give it to whoevershe likes. It is painful thatshe chose your own

brother, and he in hisweakness, allowed him-self to be seduced. It isgood that he apologizedto you. Forgive him; veryfew men, young or old,can resist making love togirls who fling them-selves at them. Theygrab the opportunity, andmove on.

Chalk the whole thingup to experience. Youand this girl becamefriends when you wereonly ten years of age. Iassume she is the sameage as you are or evenyounger. Both of you aretoo young for sex eventhough I know that thisis jet age. Irresponsiblesex can bring unwantedpregnancy which candisrupt your educationand cause trouble in thefamilies, and venerealdiseases which cancause sterility in bothmale and female if nottreated early and prop-erly. Your brother has tobe careful too. There’sthe dreaded AIDS whichhas no cure yet, and canbe contracted by anyone-old, young, rich or poor.

You should have girlsas friends now, and post-pone sex until you aremuch older. Leave thisgirl alone.

Having aboyfriend is notthe true solution

to your loneliness.At your age, youshould have both

boys and girlsas friends

0808 066 0660(Texts only!)

PAGE 20 — SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 3, 2012

Some men actually like them fat!

INBOX

INBOX

LARA had oftenmoaned thatsomeone else

had got the life she wassupposed to have. Wewere mates at the second-ary school and have re-mained close decades af-ter we left. A fairly bril-liant student, we were allmildly surprised whenshe opted for matrimony.Within the spate of a dec-ade, she’d not only hadfour children, she’d be-come fat and frumpy. Itdidn’t help that her hus-band’s clerical job didn’tpay much to keep the fam-ily above the breadline. Inthe end Lara resignedher low-paid job andtrained as a caterer.

“It was the best moveI’d made so far,” Lara hadsaid. “After running amodest canteen, I wasextremely lucky whenone of our mates in schoolhelped me get the job ofrunning the canteen inher office. It was a big onetoo and the responsibili-ties were challenging.But there were perks too- it meant the differencebetween paying theschool fees and puttingdecent meals on the ta-ble.

You wowould thinkLere my husbandwould appreciate

the extra money. The

business centre he set upwhen he was retrenchedwasn’t bringing in muchand that really frustratedhim. When we argued,he said lots of things -that I didn’t know whento shut up, that I lookedlike the back of an el-ephant. He even com-plained I came homereeking of kitchen fume.

“Thanks to his criti-cism, I spruced myselfup a bit. I got some newclothes I could affordand tried applying make-up. The staff teased mebut I enjoyed the atten-tion. . But the day thatreally changed my lifefor the better happenedsome nine months ago.We were already pack-ing up for the day whenone of the top officialssent for me. He was go-ing to work late and won-dered if I couId rustle upsomething for him to eat.I told him I would try mybest. The rest of the can-teen staff were all set toleave, so I told them notto bother, I would han-dle things.

When I later tookthe tray to theman, we shall

call him Leo, he was al-ready on the settee in hisoffice with a lot of fileson the coffee table. Icleared a portion of the

table and set the fooddown. I gave him drinksfrom his fridge and toldhim I would wait at thereception when he wasthrough. He shook hishead and told me to sitwith him as he ate. Hetold me to help myself toa drink and I took a bot-tle of stout . He raised hisbrow slightly and gig-gled. When I sat next tohim again, I noticed aphoto of three smilingchildren – all boys andthey looked just like him.He chatted as he had hismeal and realied whatfriendly man he was.

“The setting was sodomesticated then I sud-denly realised I missed

proper sex and felt sexu-ally drawn to Leo. I don’tknow where the couragecame from but as heraised his glass for moredrinks, I leant forwardand kissed him. Leo’seyes widened in sur-prise. I thought he mightrecoil, embarrassed, andorder me out of his office.Instead, he pulled mecloser and franticallykissed me back. As hepushed my top up, Itugged at his trousers.His fingers were all overmy boobs. I was wearingan old, grey bra, but hedidn’t mind. He pushedit up, wanting skin toskin. Some of the fileslaid scattered on the floor

but we took no notice. Iended up with some ofthem under my buttocksas we made frantic love.I felt I was that ‘someoneelse’ ) that I had finallytaken my life back.

When it was over,Leo seemed

happy with himself as hegave me a cuddle.‘You’re one sexy big girl!’he whispered. In thatmoment, I knew it wouldhappen again. And ithas. Sex with my hus-band had become some-thing that happened ona Saturday night whenhe rolled in from his beerparlour to wake me up. Imissed proper sex and

thank goodness, Leo isproviding that .

“I suppose you couldsay we’re having an af-fair - except that Leo andI never meet anywherebut at the office. Yet it’senough for me. Lere andI are still arguing. A fewnights ago, I evenblurted out in the heat oftemper: ‘I’m sleepingwith one of my bosses!’He looked at me as if I’dgone off my senses.‘Don’t be daft,’ hesnorted. ‘Who’d want afat slob like you?’ Well,Leo does. And that’s whyI won’t stop what I’mdoing. I can face life andmy husband’s callousindifference as long asLeo wants me. He’s avery generous man too.. Come to think of it, Imust be a lot cheaperthan those oity-toityhigh-maintenance girlsin the office - and I’m nothreat

“Thanks to hisgenerousity, I’m able toafford small luxuries forthe family – includingmy husband! I’ve sheda bit of weight too – notthat much as I enjoy myfood. If Lere notices any-thing, he hasn’t said aword. He should reallybe gratefulthat anotherman is helping himshoulder his responsi-bilities.

Forward, backward bends & the spinal twist

,

,

THE ability to bendforward andbackward and

twist the spine laterallyensure flexibility to thespinal column and rest ofthe torso. This supple-ness, according to theadvanced practitioners ofyoga, spells great healthand youthfulness.

A very fit upper bodyguarantees you atboundless energy andwell-being and sincemost of our vital organsare encased there. Itmakes sense to devotesufficient time exercisingit. There are many for-ward and backwardbending postures inyoga. But we shall fornow restrict ourselves toa variation of the trian-gle and the camel.

The triangle:Technique:Stand with the feet

about a yard apart. Claspyour hands at your backand turn the fingers up-ward while pushing thehands as high as they’ll

go. Turn the trunk to theleft and lower it till theforehead is resting on theleft knee or your levelbest. Retain the posturefor, say 10 seconds andrepeat on the other side.

Benefits:The triangle improves

the forward bending of

the spinal column. Itmassages the abdominalincreasing the digestivefire and banishing indi-gestion and constipation.

It helps with stretchingtaut, the hamstrings andstrengthening of theshoulders.

The Camel.

Technique:Sit on the heels and ar-

range the hands next tothe feet with the fingerspointing away from thebody. Inhale deeply andraise the body off theheels humping up thechest and throwing backthe head. The elbowsmust be fully extended.Breathe normally onceyou are in the postureand retain the position for10 seconds. Rest a bit

* The Carmel Pose

and repeat.Benefits:The Camel instills back-

ward flexibility to thespine. It stretches themuscles of the front of thetrunk from the pelvic re-gion to the chin. Itstrengthens the arms andexpands the chest allow-ing for more intake ofoxygen.

The Spinal Twist.Technique:

After the practise of thebending postures of theTriangle and the Camel,it’s very refreshing toperform the Spinal Twist.Sit with both legs stretch-ing in front of you. Bendthe right knee and placethe right foot across theleft knee. Bring the lefthand to clutch the left legpassing it on the outsideof the right knee. Placethe right hand at thewaistline and turn thetrunk neck and head tothe right. Breathe deeplyinto the lower abdomen.Retain the position for 10or 15 seconds and repeaton the other side.

Benefits:The squeezing move-

ments improves the cir-culation and stops stag-nation in the vital organsridding body of poison-ous wastes and breakingdown fatty tissue. It al-lows the spinal area tocome more alive withlife-force giving youadded strength and men-tal focus.* Spinal Twist

The Camelinstills backwardflexibility to thespine

YOUR column to express your loving thoughts inwords to your sweetheart. Don’t be shy. Let itflow and let him or her know how dearly you feel.

Write now in not more than 75 words to: The Editor,Sunday Vanguard, P.M.B. 1007, Apapa, Lagos. E.mail:sunlovenotes@yahoo.com Please mark your envelope:“LOVE NOTES"

My sample of beautyMy idea of an ideal love,you are the sample of

beauty to the world around me. To me, there willnever be someone like you,ROSEMARY UDOKA

ONWUSONYE, for you are special and unique. Andif there is anybody I will give out my heart for safekeeping and still find the heart pulsating and undi-vided with passionate love,it is you, oh my Rose.Akachukwu Ferdinand,

aka5forever@yahoo.com08063819314

You gave me hopeIt is so good meeting you at the first place. You

gave me hope, you gave me life. You gave me lovewhich is the greatest. Above all, you are my love, myinspiration and my best friend. Thanks for being therefor me.

Chinedu Aniegbokaaniex2k@yahoo.com 08037704235Love offers security

Love fosters peace,rather than war,humility ratherthan pride,it builds up broken-down relationship,andoffers security in time of adversity,true love keepson loving.because,it fire is simply inextinguishable!

Chris Onunaku08032988826/08052757049.My womanDo you know why I always title you "my woman".

There are billions of women in this world, every otherwoman is their woman. You are the only one thatunderstands me, the only one I can trust and lovefor eternity. You're my everlasting property, my bestfriend, my blood. Don't assume the strength of mylove, because it is greater and larger than your im-agination. Believe me my love, nothing in this worldcan stop me from loving you...... sweet dreams!!!

Kelechi Ndubiusi (KC)kconeofafrica@gmail.com,08032900530

SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 3, 2012, PAGE 21

08056180152, SMS only bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk

What kind of mother walks out on her young children?

STEPHANIE wasjust six years old,and her brother

19 months when theirmother walked out onthem - and her marriage.“She left us with our nextdoor neighbour as sheoften did when she hadto go out after work , butthis time, she never re-turned,” she recalled.“To this day, I’m not re-ally sure what precipi-tated her decision,though the marriage hadclearly been in trouble.Her leaving was a veryhumiliating experience -I was too young to copewith the pitying looks ofthe neighbours. Somewere outright nasty intheir comments.

“My dad went topieces. He obviouslycouldn’t cope with twokids and a full-time job,so he packed us off to hisparents who were every-thing good parentsshould be. I know mydad will always be therefor us, but because ofMum leaving, we didn’tspend so much time to-gether. I have some e-mail contact with mymother’s half sister herein Nigeria, so I do heara little of what she’s upto. I know she’s inGhana, her native coun-try, and I apparentlyhave a half-sister whomshe’d dumped at hermother ’s. Though I’mcurious about my half-sister, I have no desire tomeet her.

I have very faintmemory of myMum and when I

see photographs of us to-gether when I was ababy, it is very odd be-cause I don’t feel anyemotional connection toher. While it is easy toassume that I must bedesperate to learn whyMum walked out on twosmall children, nothing

could be further from thetruth. I have no desire forany contact with her orany interest in findingout why she left us likeshe did. She means noth-ing to me.”

According to clinicalpsychologist Linda Blair,there are particular im-plications if the mother-daughter bond is brokentoo early. “The mother-daughter relationship isthe hardest and mostcomplicated relationshipthere is because yourmother is your role modeland care-giver,” she said“Most importantly, she isthe person a woman hasto break away from tobecome an adult herself.Men may go on to bemothered by wives andgirlfriends, but womenhave to learn to motherthemselves. When a girlloses her mother tooyoung, she often has togrow up too fast and takeup responsibility for her-self too soon. The resultis while she may be verycapable and fiercely in-dependent, she can alsobe full of anxieties andfmd it difficult to adapt tonew situations.”

Aminat had justentered secondary school when

her mother walked out onthe family to live with herlover. Almost 30 yearslater, she still bears thescars of her mother’s de-cision to leave her fam-ily for another man. “Anabandonment thatshaped my life,” shesaid. “I grew up with noconfidence. If you thinkyour own mother doesn’tlove you, why shouldanyone else like you?And even at the age of11, I knew this wasn’tsomething most mothersdid. Mums are supposedto put their children first,but with me and my twobrothers, there was no

mother fighting to haveaccess. She was more thanhappy to leave us with ourfather. There were otherchildren at school who haddivorced parents, but theyall lived with their mums,so I always felt the oddone out.

While many fathers walk outon their fami-

lies, it is still unusual fora mother to leave a mar-riage without wanting cus-tody of her children, letalone to have little or nocontact with them. Even inthis age of high divorcerates, it’s seen by many asgoing against nature. Af-ter Mum left, even thoughher own mother, ourgrandmother, was won-derful and Dad did hisbest, he was having towork hard to provide forus. I had to look after my-self. I was the one whomade sure my uniformwas ironed and my booksready for the next day - allthe things a mum wouldnormally do. Nobody eversat us down to explainwhat was going on. As aresult, I thought that myparents had split up be-

cause we were too muchto handle.

“My mother was nevermaternal, but there hadbeen good times beforeshe left. She alwaysmade a fuss on ourbirthdays and Christ-mases were wonderful.She would make a spe-cial effort to find exactlythe toys we asked for. Inspite of maintainingsome contact with her,there was still a hugesense of rejection. Wewere supposed to spendthe last weekend of themonth with her, but shealways made it clear wegot in the way of hernew life. She even madeDad give her money tobuy us food when wewere with her. I remem-ber the day I had myfirst period and rangher. Her reaction wasthat it was no big deal.I had hoped that shewould make a fuss ofme as my friends’ moth-ers did of their daugh-ters, but she didn’t.

To this day, Ihaven’t got tothe bottom of

why our Mum didn’t

want much to do with us.I don’t see that much ofher now. I feel it’s too latefor her to be my motherand there’s no point indelving into it further.She seems to haveblocked out what shedid. She’ll talk abutevents in my life as if shehad been there when shecouldn’t have been. Hav-ing children of my own,I just can’t understandhow any mum couldleave, especially whenher kids are so youngand need her so much.It’s incomprehensible tome.

Some have suggested she mighthave depression

or couldn’t cope becauseshe was young when shemarried, but every ques-tion brings up morequestions. There wereclose relatives around ifshe needed emotionalsupport, and she couldhave fought for access toher children, but shedidn’t.

What happened to memade me determined tobe the best mother I can,and though I’m a bit

over-protective of mychildren, I’m proud of theway I turned out.”

Cunning ManDie CunningMan Bury Am!(Humour)

A man is walkingdown the streetwhen he spots a

woman with perfectbreasts. “Would you letme nibble your breastsfor N5,000?” he asks.“Are you crazy?” she re-plies furiously and walksaway. He runs after her.“Would you let me nibbleyour breasts for NlO,OOO?” he pleads. “Noway,” the woman replies.The man persists.“Would you let me nibbleyour breasts forN25,OOO?” he asks.

The woman thinksabout it and says: “Hmm,N25,OOO is a lot ofmoney. Ok, just once,mind you. But not here -let’s go down that darkalley.” There she takes offher blouse and bra. Hecaresses her perfectbreasts, fondles themslowly, kisses them andburies his head betweenthem, but doesn’t nibblethem. “Well,” the womansays impatiently, “areyou going to nibble themor not?” “No way!” theman replies. ‘’Not at thatprice.”

Special Diet!(Humour)

A woman makes an ap-pointment with her doc-tor for the second time ina fortnight. “You lookpaler and more ex-hausted than the lasttime I saw you,” the doc-tor frowns. “Are you hav-ing three meals in a dayas I advised?”

“What?” the ladygasps. “Didn’t you saythree males a day?”

PAGE 22—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012

ACCORDING to research, more than50% of people ac-

tually think themselves asshy, but is the feeling shy-ness or social phobia? Shy-ness in children could benormal to an extent, butwhen that shyness is un-checked and grows into asituation of extreme fear ina social phobic adult, it be-comes abnormal with aninhibiting feeling thatcould hinder the adult fromreaching new heights andachievements.

From infancy, many chil-dren naturally show signsof shyness which includefear of strangers and newsituation, or avoiding eyecontact.

Parents ought to en-courage assertiveness intheir children until theyoutgrow the shy feelingand become more confi-dent. Children should beencouraged to speaktheir minds and sharetheir opinions on issuesat home, school, e.t.c.

Cognitive or environ-mental factors cause shy-ness in children in laterchildhood while the fearof embarrassment whenfacing new situation ismore noticeable in chil-dren between age 4-5and then again at age 12.Extreme shyness leads toa withdrawn and some-times moody personality.Although the person en-joys watching others, he/she would not want toassert himself in a group.This inhibiting feelingcould become a hin-drance in exploring andachieving so much infuture. Therefore theonus is on the parents toconsistently walk theirchildren through theirfears into freedom. Thereis reprieve for the shyand the social phobic forat the junction betweenfear and the desire tojoin-in lays the opportu-nity for them to be taughtto be assertive.

The good news is thatshyness can be success-fully overcome. Expertssuggest that parentsshould understand thereason the child is overt-ly shy and then try theremedies patiently and

continuously until theyfind the strategies thatwork for them.

Causes of shy-

ness in childrenShyness in children may

arise from a variety of ‘na-ture’ and ‘nurture’ factors.Majority of causes are re-lated to how these childrenare nurtured while growingup. Here are some of thereasons for extreme shynessin children.Extreme Emotional Sensi-tivity

Some children are born tobe much more sensitive andvulnerable than others.They need to be handleddelicately. Insensitivity totheir feelings makes themgo in to a shell. They aretoo scared to subject them-selves to new things for fearof getting hurt.

Imitation of Parental Be-havior

Children learn everything through imita-

tion. If parents themselvesare not that outgoing andshy by nature, then shynessin their children is high-ly probable. That is be-cause parents are rolemodels.

InsecurityInsecurity can lead to

shyness in children.Children who have abu-sive parents tend to beinsecure and shy by na-ture.

Harshly Criticizingand Dominating ParentsAnother reason might beover critical and domi-nating parents. Childrenare pushed into a shellwhen they are criticizedso much, that they fearmaking mistakes! Thisfear of making mistakesleads to shyness, as theywant to shield them-selves from criticism.

Low ConfidenceAn overall low confi-

dence in personality canbe the reason for shynessin children. This lowconfidence may havebeen induced by peerpressure, comparisonwith siblings or even bul-lying in school.

Prolonged Isolation

When a child is subject-ed to prolonged isolationfrom society, he/she nevergets an opportunity to learnsocial cues and develop so-cial interaction skills. Whensuch a child is subjected toa social interaction sudden-ly, it makes him/her veryuncomfortable and shy.That bad experience furtherdiminishes their confidenceof interaction, which iso-lates them even more.

How to overcomeshyness in chil-dren

Here are some ways ofovercoming shyness in chil-dren.

Encourage Social Inter-action

Encourage your childto meet new people

and make friends. Give himan opportunity to know oth-er people in family andschool. Encourage partici-pation is sports and othera c t i v i t i e s .Reach Out and Let Him/Her Open Up To YouA shy child needs to be del-icately coaxed into openingup. Be a friend to your childand don’t mock his insecu-rities. Nudge him into open-ing up to you by bondingwith him/her first. Do somegreat fun activities togeth-er.

Make Them Feel Secure

Let them feel secureand know that you are

there for them. Teach him/her that it’s okay to makemistakes. Make them un-derstand that everybodyfails at the start and it isokay if they take their owntime in learning things.

Lead By ExampleBe outgoing yourself. Thechild will naturally learn toshed its shyness by seeingyou open up. You are theirrole models.

Give Him/Her Opportu-nities to GrowEncourage them to dothings on their own. Letthem build confidencethrough small victories. Bethrifty in criticism but gen-erous in lauding their smallachievements.

Experts disagree on a re-lation between shyness andsocial phobia but the pri-mary difference is in theseverity and extremity ofthe fear exhibited

M A I L B A GM A I L B A GM A I L B A GM A I L B A GM A I L B A G All letters bearing writers' names and full addresses should be typedand forwarded to: The Editor, Sunday Vanguard, Kirikiri Canal, P.M. B. 1007, Apapa, Lagos. E-mail: sunvanguardmail@yahoo.com

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012, PAGE 23

Dear Sir,

Dear Sir

Oshiomhole: Keeping his electoral promises

Indecent dressing: A menace among youths

Dear Sir,

Nigeria: A nation adrift in corruption & debt

WHEN he was preparing tocontest governorshipelections what he had

uppermost on his mind was how tomake Edo State better than he met it.Right from when he was NLCPresident, Adams Oshiomholedemonstrated that he had somethingspectacular for his generation. And weare witnesses to it today.

The style of Oshiomhole’s roadconstruction is unique and nonpareil.What about the buses which havemade transportation of the generalpublic a lot easier.

From the enormous work he is doingat the Central Hospital in Benin City,there is no gainsaying the fact thatCentral Hospital will be wearing a newlook when this work reachescompletion. And it is a good omen forhealth care in Edo State.

Oshiomhole has not betrayedhis manifestoes in any ramification.

He has turned the NationalMuseum, Benin City to a tourist centre.Besides visiting National Museum’sgallery to behold our ancient art, youcan now visit National Museum as atourist centre to watch the resplendentwater fall fountains which have stolenthe hearts of Edo residents.

Since his secondary school days untilnow, Oshiomhole has never changedhis style of frugal dressing. His styleof dressing reminds us about our dear

Tai Solarin of the blessed memory whodressed in pairs of shorts for decadeseven until his demise withoutbothering himself about who likes it ornot.

Tai Solarin as an adept administratorin his Mayflower School producedprofessors and top academicians whotreasure his memory today.

Our dear Adams Aliu Oshiomhole isthe only governor of Edo State thatparleys much with the grassroots. Canyou imagine a Nigerian governoreating fruits in the market placealongside market women? Do we need

a prophet to tell us that this man isGod sent? It will do his adversaries aworld of good if they commend thegovernor rather than cast aspersionson him.

In spite of the enemies’ strategies,the heavens know that the amiable andhard working governor is going backto Edo State Government House. Youdon’t win elections on the pages ofnewspapers.

A word is enough for the wise.

Ikhaghe is an author and analyst,based in Lagos.

MODESTY, decency, virtueand sincerity are terms thatparents have employed in

child training/up bringing but today,modernity in dressing seems to haveswept all these away. In most higherinstitutions across the country,indecent dressing among the youthshas become a menace.

This has been a topical issue inNigerian institution due to thechallenges posed by indecent dressingof students.

Dressing indecently is said to bedressing in a way that is likely toseduce, surprise or offend people.Dress the way you want to beaddressed is a popular saying oneverybody’s lips used in buttressingthe fact that your dressing tells a wholelot about you. Ladies in higherinstitutions have become the mainvictims of this because their mode ofdressing does not portray them of beingresponsible.

Hardly will you see any higherinstitution of learning that is not facedwith this challenge as most femalestudents dress indecently orseductively.

Guys also dress indecently whentheir boxers show above their trousersor there is no underwear and theirtrousers barely stay on their waist.

Nudity is now the order of the day inour higher institutions and societywhereby values, customs, culture andmorals are neglected all in the nameof latest trend in fashion. Those partsof the body that are supposed to becovered are open freely to public gaze.

The dressing pattern associated withfemale students are skimpy and tightdresses, transparent or revealingdresses, bump shorts, low waist, offshoulder, spaghetti, armless, e.t.c.

Education serves as the bedrock ofany developing society, it isfundamental to the development of anynation. This is why government at alllevels give it high premium in orderto train students both intellectuallyand character-wise. However, it ispertinent that more emphasis has beenplaced on mental education while themoral aspect is completely ignored andthis has led to all forms of immorality,

including indecent dressing in higherinstitution of learning.

Well, it is now evident that culturaland media imperialism of the westernworld serves as the major reason forstudents indulging in indecentdressing. Also, poor parenting, peergroup, pressure, wrong use of theinternet and fading cultural valves andnorms are contributing factors.

It is agreed that immoral dressing isdoubtlessly a foreign idea that isimposed on the Nigerian culture in thename of modernization or civilization.Nigerians are identified with their

beautiful and marvelous attire like Iroand buba, agbada and sokoto (loose –neck, long- sleeve blouse), zani, Riga,Mayati etc.

The multiple effect posed by indecentdressing include: exposure to sexualassault(rape), prostitution, diseaseslike HIV/AIDS, loss of respect,misrepresentation, poor academicperformance that have plagued ourinstitutions of higher learning.

Parents should be good moralexamples to their children. Theyshould also give attention and regulatethe films they watch at home. The mass

media should promote good moralvalues while religious leaders shouldpreach against evil counsels anddeliver those under demonic influence.Higher institution should introducestandard mode of dressing for students

Also the legislators (Senate andHouse of Representatives) shouldenact laws condemning this actimmediately, as it undermines themoral fabric of Nigerian society.

*Atoba Oluwaseun AdeniyiDept. of Mass Communication,The Federal Polytechnic, Bida,Niger State.

IT is very annoying that while ourpoliticians have once more spentmoney unnecessarily to celebrate the

so-called Democracy Day, they are notworried that due to the expensivepresidential system of government we arepractising whereby our over-bloatedelected and appointed politicians, are thehighest paid in the world and the massivecorruption in all facets of our nationallife, our internal and external debts nowstand at $44b and the presidency is aboutto get a foreign loan of $7.9b to whet thegluttonous appetite of our ruling class!

No wonder due to this ugly scenario,there are no ready funds to complete theEast-West road and other numerous roadprojects, to build a 2nd Niger bridge (asthe existing one might collapse at anymoment), to create jobs for our youths that

would dissuade them from indulging incriminal activities, to complete thevarious electricity projects, like the one atAwka that would have curtailed dailypower outages, the railway project andother projects that would have made thelives of the masses comfortable.

Is it not a big shame that the federalgovernment wants to concession theApapa-Oshodi road?

As a country adrift, the three tiers ofgovernment spend over 70% of therevenues accruing to them on recurrentexpenditure. After that, there is little leftfor capital development and that is whyour country is in such a mess and we themasses are suffering in the midst of plenty.

*Ifeka OkonkwoAhocol Housing Estate,Phase II, GRA,Awka.

News : Why I wept openlyfor Nigeria - Buhari

"It was tears and tears, then followed by bloodbath. Oh Allah! don't forsake thy orphans come 2015.

PAGE 24—SUNDAY VANGUARD,JUNE 3, 2012

Nigeria’s increasing population: Problems arising

LANA DEL REY MULBERRY LONDON FASHION

derstand the need to have just thenumber of children they can con-veniently offer a meaningful life to.Awareness campaigns on thisshould be intensified by the gov-ernment, the media and the rel-evant NGOs, especially at grassroot level. With almost a hundreduniversities in the country, gradu-ates are poured into the streetsevery year to chase jobs that arenot just available. Any wonder that,unwanted pregnancies, death fromabortion, abandoned babies, crimi-nal activities, militancy, violence athome and on the streets, are on theincrease? Frustration from povertyand unemployment can trigger offany negative emotion. We all areat the receiving end of this night-mare as increased violence/crimi-nal activities are robbing us ofpeace. Due to the bulging popu-lation, many parents on the lowersocial level, often in overcrowdedaccommodation and unemployed,are no longer able to care for theirchildren, nor control them and raisethem to become law-abiding citi-zens. These ones become law unto

View-Point

Helen OvbiageleWoman Editor

zimbio.com

themselves, and some have becomea terror to their own families.

Ms Rosenthal’s piece, with somepictures, showed a few appalling as-pects of living conditions in Nigeria,- ‘..whole families squeeze into 7 by11 feet rooms along a narrow corri-dor. Up to 50 people share a kitchen,toilet and sink, though the pipes inthe neighborhood often no longercarry water’ ; ‘In Ketu, Nigeria, anewborn boy is attended to by thelight of cellphones; the power hav-ing gone out.’ ; ‘at Alapere PrimarySchool, more than 100 students craminto most classrooms, two to a desk.’

Well, I don’t know why that familywith the baby chose to use light fromcellphones, instead of the cheap re-chargeable torches from China whichabound all over the place, but thepoint there is the dismal electricitysupply in the country.

The piece says that ‘Internationally,the African population boom meansmore illegal immigration, already ata high, according to Frontex, the Eu-ropean border agency. There are upto 400.000 undocumented Africans inthe United States.’

Nigeria, already theworld’s sixth mostpopulous nation with167 million people, isa crucial test case,since its success orfailure at bringingdown birthrates willhave outsizeinfluence on theworld’s population

THERE’S a proverb which says‘when you’re dancing in the village square, it’s onlookers who

can judge whether you’re dancing wellor not.’

This applies very well to Nigeria’s situ-ation as portrayed in the article ‘NigeriaTested by Rapid Rise in Population’ byElisabeth Rosenthal, which was pub-lished in the New York Times on April14th, 2012.

The piece was about world populationand the consequences of overpopulation,but with special emphasis on the increasein sub-Saharan Africa. It says ‘Last Oc-tober, the United Nations announced theglobal population had breached sevenbillion and would expand rapidly for dec-ades, taxing natural resources, if coun-tries cannot better manage the growth.Nearly all of the increase is in sub-Saha-ran Africa, where the population rise faroutstrips economic expansion. Of theroughly 20 countries where women av-erage more than five children each, al-most all are in the region.’ It went on tosay that elsewhere in the developingworld, in Asia and Latin America, fertil-ity rates have fallen sharply in recentgenerations and now resemble those inthe United States – just above two chil-dren per woman. ‘That transformationwas driven in each country by a mix ofeducational and employment opportuni-ties for women, access to contraception,urbanization and an evolving middleclass. Whether similar forces will defusethe population bomb in sub-Saharan Af-rica is unclear.’

‘The pace of growth in Africa is unlikeanything else ever in history, and a criti-cal problem,’ Joel E. Cohen, a professorof population at Rockefeller University inNewYork, was quoted as saying.

The writer then focused on Nigeria. Shemust have researched her subject verywell, because she was able to give a fairlybalanced state of our nation, and our liv-ing conditions.

According to Ms. Rosenthal, ‘Acrosssub-Saharan Africa, alarmed gov-

ernments have begun to act, often revers-ing longstanding policies that encour-aged or accepted large families. Nigeriamade contraceptives free last year, andofficials are promoting smaller familiesas a key to economic salvation, holdingup the financial gains in nations likeThailand as inspiration. Nigeria, alreadythe world’s sixth most populous nationwith 167 million people, is a crucial testcase, since its success or failure at bring-ing down birthrates will have outsize in-fluence on the world’s population. If thislarge nation rich with oil cannot controlits growth, what hope is there for the manysmaller poorer countries?’

It was a relief to read something aboutmy country which didn’t have to do di-rectly with financial scams, prostitution,rowdiness and drug issues. The piecewas informative too. I didn’t know thatNigeria has become the world’s sixthmost populous nation with 167 millionpeople. Isn’t it interesting that it is a for-eigner who can quote how many we are?All censuses so far in this country havealways been inconclusive, as some inter-est groups protest inflation of figures insome areas of the country, and there areaccusations of other nationals comingacross the borders to be counted. Appar-ently, high populations attract moremoney from the centre purse, and are alsouseful for election results. It is impossi-ble to strike an accurate figure each time,given the migratory habits of some eth-nic groups, however, it’s nice to know thatoutsiders, at least, have a rough idea of

how many we are.A knowledge of the population of any

area – country, state, local governmentarea, ward, village, hamlet, etc. is veryimportant at any given time, because it iswhat will aid growth and development andadequate provision of social services. Itgoes much beyond the desire to scramblefor money and political power. If we don’tknow what the nation’s population is, thegovernment cannot budget properly andeffectively for provision of services. Therewould always be a shortage of everything– electricity, water, transport, roads, edu-cation and health services – if demandsare higher than what the government canprovide.

Peter Ogunjuyigbe, a demographer atObafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife,

was quoted in the article as saying, ‘Popu-lation is key. If you don’t take care of popu-lation, schools can’t cope, hospitals can’tcope, there’s not enough housing – there’snothing you can do to have economic de-velopment.’

Population explosion or not, the truth isthat in Africa, we do love having children;whether we have the means to love andlook after them well or not. It is a statussymbol. No-one is against anyone havingchildren, but it is wise for people to un-

For those who diedwhen a church building under construc-

tion in Ibadan, the Oyo Statecapital, collapsed, they wokeup on Wednesday, just likeany other day but little did theyknow that the day would betheir last and a painful one forothers to remember.

About 13 of them went withenthusiasm to the site of theNew Covenant Church, Sag-be, Ojoo, Ibadan where theyworked with all their strengththinking that at the end of theday, they would pocket theirwages to fend for their fami-lies. They actually worked, butas they were waiting to re-ceive their wages, it was deaththat came in such a suddenand painful way.

After cleaning up whenwork was over, there wasdownpour and they had totake shelter in the churchunder construction. Sudden-ly, the deck gave way andheavy concrete fell on them.

The collapse of the buildingwas so deafening that peopleliving opposite the church ran

ing, three persons werebrought out dead.

The pastor of the church,Pastor Olaoluwa Oluwasegun,and his wife betrayed emo-tions when they got to thescene.

According to an agedwoman living opposite

the church, the pastor’s wifefainted when she discoveredsome people were still trappedunder the rubbles. His hus-band stood motionless andhad to be led by the hand away

allowances from pastor, theforeman. We suddenly heardthe collapse of the building.Only the pastor, myself andone of the women fetchingwater for us survived”.

However, many other peopleclaimed that only five peopledied. Governor Abiola Ajimo-bi, after getting the report ofthe collapse around 1 a.m.,denied himself of sleep. Hecame to the place with hiswife, Mrs. Florence Ajimobi,who did not believe her sight.

His Special Adviser on Me-

dia, Dr. Festus Adedayo, said,in a statement: “Governor Aji-mobi, in the early hours ofThursday, led other top mem-bers of his administration ona rescue mission to a churchbuilding under constructionwhich collapsed at Sagbe inAkinyele Local GovernmentArea of Ibadan.

“Four of the constructionworkers were said to havedied instantly while two oth-ers who were trapped insidethe building were in coma andhad been rushed to an undis-closed hospital in the city.

“Gov. Ajimobi, who arrivedat the scene around 1 a.m., onThursday, in company of hiswife, Florence, the state Com-missioner for Works and Trans-port, Alhaji Yunus Akintundeand other top government of-ficials, described the incidentas terrible and disheartening.”

Ajimobi heaped the blameon the contractor han-

dling the church building, say-ing he failed to use qualitymaterials with the intentionto cut cost.

“If the contractor had notcompromised quality, this in-cident would not have hap-pened,” the governor said.

He further lamented that theugly incident happened de-spite repeated warnings thatpeople should ensure qualityin everything they were doing,including building construc-tion. Ajimobi then orderedthorough investigation intothe circumstances surround-

,

,Four of the construction workerswere said to have died instantlywhile two others who were trappedinside the building were in comaand had been rushed to an un-disclosed hospital in the city

Death in the church!Death in the church!Death in the church!Death in the church!Death in the church!out thinking it was an autocrash on the ever busyIbadan-Oyo Road.

By the time they came out,cloud of dust had envelopedthe whole area and they sawtwo survivors struggling tocome out of the rubbles withtheir legs trapped. Otherswere under the heavy con-crete. Before help could cometheir way, they were dead.

An eyewitness told SundayVanguard that immediatelyafter the collapse of the build-

from the spot.There were conflicting re-

ports about the casualty at thesite. While some claimed thatfive people died and two oth-ers were injured, a survivorsaid thirteen of them wereworking in the church and thatonly three survived.

The survivor, Mr. WoleSokunbi, said, “We were 13people working on the build-ing when the rain started andwe were waiting under thisbuilding to collect our daily

SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 3, 2012, PAGE 25

ing the collapse of the build-ing.

A woman narrated how it allhappened. “They had finishedworking for the day. They hadcleaned up and were waitingfor the contractor. Then, therain started. It was then theytook shelter under the deck.

Then, suddenly, we hearda loud bang. Two of them

who are Hausas tried to escapebut the iron rod held theirlegs. But, they were quicklyrescued and taken to the hos-pital.”

A member of the church, Mr.Oyegoke Francis, describedthe incident as unfortunate.He prayed that God shouldgive those injured quick recov-ery.

Residents of the area com-mended Ajimobi, FederalRoad Safety Corps, policemenand other security agents fortheir prompt response. As aresult, it was gathered that oth-ers who could have died wererescued.

Those injured were said tohave been taken to an undis-closed hospital in the areawhile five corpses were evac-uated to the morgue. Two ofthem were women while theremaining three were men.

When Sunday Vanguard gotto the scene, the bricklayingequipment were scattered allover. Items found at the siteincluded head pans, bricklay-er ’s knife, pairs of shoes,women wrappers, and shovels.

STORY IN BRIEFSurvivor and eyewitness accounts ofthe Ibadan buildingcollapse

Rubbles unlimited at the site of the collapsed church building, claiming lives

BY OLA AJAYI, IBADAN

Scars everywhere inAkwa Ibom villages fouryears after pogrom

Country News

PAGE 26—SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 3, 2012

area, who survived the shock,are still recounting their woes.

At press time, aborigines ofIkot Akpan Udo can only pointat the rubbles of their burntbuildings, shops, churches andmarket stalls to show that theywere once proud owners of con-crete houses in the kingdom.Poverty is palpable and almostvisible among the people.

Ikot Akpan Udo people lost 13of their kinsmen, homes, valu-ables and economy to the inva-sion.

They want justice; they wantto be compensated. They wantto know why the federal and thestate governments should ig-nore them and their call for at-tention. They want to know whythose who were instigators ofthe pogrom and hoodlums de-clared wanted by the police aretoday not only walking freely,but also benefiting from appoint-ments by government.

They claim that those whowere responsible for the car-nage are members of the cur-rent government, and they toldthe state police commissioner atUyo during a recent meetingthat government should heedtheir call to rebuild the kingdom.

Secretary to the Village Coun-cil, Edem Alexander, told Sun-day Vanguard at Uyo that gov-ernment has not bothered aboutthe plight of the people who arewallowing in abject poverty.

He said: “Government bythe very action and po-

sition taken is setting a stage foranother blood bath that may con-sume the entire people andwipe out the whole generation.Those who fled the village inthe wake of the infraction areafraid of returning home to in-vest, just as goods worth mil-lions of naira were lost to theconflict.”

Life has not been the sameafter the incident as another cit-izen, Pastor Emmanuel James,said he was still in pains fol-lowing the destruction of theprivate school he had estab-

Victims relive experience, seek compensation

BY TONY NYONG

THE ruins allegedly brought about by the fighters of Andoni people of Eastern Obolo and their Western Andoni of

Rivers State on Ikot Akpan Udo villages in Ukpum Ete clan inIkot Abasi Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State on April28, 2008 are still visible almost four years after.

Though a few youths have managed to erect make-shift struc-tures on the rubbles left behind by the barbaric attack on theirlands, many, particularly traders, farmers and fishermen in the

lished in the community and allthe computer sets looted evenwhen the school principal wasfrom Eastern Obolo.

Like many others who fledinto the bush during the inci-dent, Angela Idim has not re-covered from the trauma shesuffered. She said she was inprimary six when the allegedAndoni raid forced them into thebush.

For Akpan Udo Ukpong, hecould not come to terms withwhy government would grantamnesty to the alleged perpe-trators of such heinous crimeafter they pulled down a wholecommunity while victims of theinvasion were abandoned.

He said: “I am a retired teach-er. When the perpetratorscame, we all fled and they de-stroyed everywhere. We havetried to get help from govern-ment after the incident but noth-ing has come. The painful thingis that those the governmentknew created the trouble in thearea are the ones they are tak-ing care of now and leaving usto suffer. Many of us died of allsorts of ailments. We buried alot of people in the bush. Everyfamily has one bitter experienceor the other to tell.”

Many other victims of theraid and devastation spoke to

Sunday Vanguard in Ikot Ak-pan Udo with so much emotion.They said four years after; thestate government was yet tocome up with anything as whitepaper on the report of the pan-el of enquiry that was set up.

Chief Oscar Abel, actingVillage Head of Ikot Ak-

pan Udo, who also spoke,blinked several times whiletears rolled down his chin ashe relived the incident. Hesaid: “My life was very close todeath. I could not return to mybeloved town for many weeks.For the whole period, I havelived in exile. Terror was un-

leashed on my community. Lookat the remains of my building,”pointing at the rubbles of abuilding that had been over-grown by weeds directly in frontof where he sat down with thereporter.

Queried over what was thecause of the fight, he said:“Eastern Obolo accused us ofbeing responsible for the deathof their chief, but this is a liefrom the pit of hell. They want-ed to take our land by force.In1967, they killed two of ouryoung men, Udo Etok Akpanand Akpan Edward Akpaka. In1975, they burnt Itak Abasi Vil-lage and, in1989, they alsokilled one of our own, EtukudoUkwa, and macheted five oth-ers. They destroyed churchesand after we forgave them andaccepted to live in harmonywith them following a peacepanel headed by one PastorOffong of the Apostolic Churchin the area they wreaked thishavoc on us again.

“We were tricked by them tocome for a peace meeting. Achurch was chosen as venuefor the peace talk, and, whilewe were all assembled in thechurch, they raided the vil-lage, destroyed all the hous-es, vandalized and looted thewhole community. This 2008attack was the last straw thatbroke the camel’s back.”

Eteidung Akpan Urua Oton,the Village Head of Itak Aba-si, also spoke. He said: “I wasnot in the village, I had goneto the farm when the aggres-sors invaded my village,killed 13 people and burnt allthe houses. When I came back,I saw that my house was de-stroyed. All my valuables weregone. We are suffering. Gov-ernment should come to ouraid.”

Chairman of Ikot Akpan UdoTown Council, Elder SylvesterUbak, said the Akwa Ibom po-lice commissioner, Umar Gwad-abe, had, on Friday, May 4,

sent a letter to the village, in-viting the chiefs to report at hisoffice in Uyo, on Wednesday,May 9, 2012.

He said: “Maybe the Amaza-ba Andoni people of EasternObolo LGA had expected thepolice commissioner to per-suade us to embrace peace andaccept to go back and live withthem. This cannot work be-cause it would amount to an-other unholy alliance.”

He urged government to re-locate the Amazaba Andoni peo-ple to the area known asOtunene and Ememen, stress-ing: “Government should alsoestablish a boundary to makesure they no longer come closeto where we live. Even thoughthat part of the land still be-longs to us, but we are ready togive it to them provided theylive far away from us.”

Like many others who escaped death by the whis-

kers, the youth president, Com-rade Abasiokon Etukudo, al-leged that the Amazaba Ando-nis of Eastern Obolo LGA des-ecrated ancient traditionalnorms. He said: “Even with thefree and compulsory educationof Governor Godswill Akpabio,children in this community arenot going to school.

There is no electricity astransformers have been van-dalized.

The only health centre wasdestroyed, and there is no mar-ket in the community becausethe market was burnt by theAmazaba Andonis. The pota-ble water provided by the Ni-ger Delta Development Com-mission, NDDC, has beendamaged. The state govern-ment does not care about thewelfare of the citizenry hencethey should not force us to livetogether. A gang leader whowas indicted by security reportat that time is today a memberof the Andoni Transition Com-mittee.”

,

,

I was very close todeath. I could notreturn to my belovedtown for many weeks.For the whole period, Ihave lived in exile

...villages in ruins

...we are all victims

Country News

SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 3, 2012, PAGE 27

AAAAAgainst all odds, I fgainst all odds, I fgainst all odds, I fgainst all odds, I fgainst all odds, I foundoundoundoundoundmmmmmyself in poyself in poyself in poyself in poyself in powwwwwer in Londoner in Londoner in Londoner in Londoner in London—Nigerian Citizen Adedamola Aminu

Since assumption of her husband as the governor of Ogun State, Mrs. Olufunso Amosun has demonstrated enough capacities by

showing compassion to the needy. She is of theview that a little care to the needy in any societycan make a lot of difference. Thus, to her, the taskof UPLIFTing the downtrodden in the society is amust.

Mrs. Amosun has therefore used her position tocomplement and support the Senator IbikunleAmosun-led administration’s five-cardinal pointsin enriching family lives and ensuring the well-being of the people of Ogun State. In the last oneyear, she has made indelible marks, built bridgesacross the 20 local government areas of the stateand impacted positively on the lives of the less priv-ileged in the society, particularly women and chil-dren through her various programmes. This made her to adopt a brand name, “UPLIFT-ing”, to champion her utmost desire to help theneedy. The word UPLIFTing can be interpreted tomean Unprosperous People for Life-saving Initia-tives by First Teammate (in government).

UPLIFTing the NeedyIn her determination to encourage secondary schoolstudents writing their final examination, the FirstLady initiated a programme titled: UPLIFTing SS3Students. Students with the best results in the 2012May/June West African School Certificate Examina-tions (WASCE) in each of the 20 local governmentareas in Ogun State would have cause to smile, cour-tesy of an all expenses-paid reward trip sponsor-ship to the United Arab Emirate that the wife of thegovernor has put in place. Arab Emirate.

The overall best student of the 20 would be furtherrewarded with a cash gift towards aiding him or herin the payment of the already subsidised tuition intertiary institutions in the state.

Another initiative by the Office of the Wife of theGovernor is: UPLIFTing the Aged. The programmecontinues to give a sense of belonging to the olderpeople in the state.

The First Lady, in an elaborate ceremony at theCultural Centre Abeokuta on January 25, 2012,brought together 50 aged people from each of the20 local government areas totalling 1,000 with theaim of celebrating our senior citizens. Health tips

were given to the agedpeople, while free medi-cal screening was alsoadministered on them.The programme gave theolder people the oppor-tunity to interact with thegovernor and his wife.Sequel to this event, 100needy aged were identi-fied and were placed onmonthly stipend.

Mrs. Amosun has alsotaken a step further inher campaign to makelife more comfortable forthe less privileged. On February 27, 2012, her of-fice, in conjunction with Tulsi Chanrai Foundationand Enpee Group, organised Free Eye Camp for morethan 4,000 people from the 20 local government ar-eas of the state with impaired sights at the GeneralHospital Ijebu-Ode.

BY YEMISI SULEIMAN

Councillor AdedamolaAminu, a Labour Party member in the UK,

is the Deputy Cabinet Mem-ber for Children and YoungPeople for London Borough ofLambeth. He is also the chair-man of British-Nigerian Coun-cillors in the UK and Presi-dent of Association of Nigeri-an Academics. A lecturer,school governor and Trusteeof a charitable organisation,he sits on Joint Meeting of theAppointments, Overview andScrutiny Committees, SchoolOrganisation Advisory Boardfor the London Borough ofLambeth and other outsidebodies such as London Coun-cils - Children and Young Peo-ples Forum, Reserve Forcesand Cadets Association forGreater London. He holdsbachelor honour degrees inBusiness Studies from LondonSouthbank University, Diplo-ma in Marketing from Char-tered Institute of Marketing,Masters Degree in Marketingfrom Greenwich Universityand Post Graduate Certificatein Education (PGCE cantab).

An encounter with him atthe Lambeth Town Hall Brix-ton Hill London reveals hislove for politics, love for hiscountry and his passion foreducation…

So what exactly is your jobas councillor?

My job as a councillor is towork with our community, tomake sure we provide variedservices for them, such ashousing, education, fightingcrime, roads and to make surethe environment is clean. Wealso make sure that everything the people need likeroads are provided. I am re-sponsible for the social serviceand education of children andyoung persons.

How long have you held theposition?

I have been in the positionsince 2006, and I have been adeputy cabinet member. Thisis my second year as a cabinetmember.

How well would you sayyou have done or rep-

resented your ward, what isyour achievement so far? I think we are so lucky thatour borough is one of the mostimproved in the whole of Lon-don and all the local authori-ties are actually looking up tous, in terms of how we havebeen able to manage things,how we have done things bet-ter, the school result which isthe main area I am responsi-ble for, for the past five to sixyears, education in Lampardhas been improving. In fact, itis above the national average,which means that we are do-ing something right in theschools. Most of the schoolsthat we have now are ad-judged either as good or out-

standing by up stead, and thatis the body that inspectschools to make sure they areof standard. No school is un-der special measure in Lam-beth. So that means we havemade a difference. And wehave managed to reducecrime in the borough as well.

We are doing everything tomake sure that those peoplewho are vulnerable in our com-munity are given priority.

The ward you represent, arethey basically Nigerians?

I think the ward is about 70%white and 30% mixed; African-Caribbean, other nationalities,so it is mixed, but majoritiesof them are whites.

What are the challenges ofthe job, being an African, par-ticularly a Nigerian?The challenge is being some-

one from the black ethnic mi-nority (BEM), it is always abarrier because some peoplestill see you as a foreigner, sothat will always be a chal-lenge. But I think that we havebeen able to overcome that inour own borough because weare diversified and multicul-tural. And UK is also a multi-cultural country as well. So thathelps as well.

I don’t think that should bea barrier for people to put

themselves forward. If peoplethink like that I won’t be thereand also some of my col-leagues. Because I representthe Nigerian-British council astheir chairman and we haveabout 37 Nigerian origin coun-cilors at the moment. So if wethink like that, that it is a bar-rier, and none of us put our-selves out, we won’t be therebecause we represent every-body.

How did you get into poli-tics and how did you becomea councilor?

It started when I was actual-ly looking for a secondaryschool for my son really; thatwas many years ago, he is nowin Chile. I couldn’t find goodschools within our borough soI had to send him to anotherborough where I knew that theschool is very good. I am a lec-turer myself so I thought ofwhat I could do to make a dif-ference in the borough whereI lived and that was one of thereasons I decided to go intopolitics. The other reason isthat I have been a party mem-ber since about 1997 and mostof the time when I did attendcouncil or committee meet-ings, I found out that there aresome people in that commit-tee that probably don’t under-stand what it takes or havegood knowledge of the area

where they are responsible forand these are people that makedecisions that affect every-body’s life. I mean they set thecouncil tags, how much rentthe people pay, the school yourchildren attend, so if we leavepeople who haven’t got theexperience to be responsiblefor all those things on our be-half, then we are not doingourselves any justice. If youknow you have something tocontribute, get involved sothat you can do somethingabout it, but if you don’t, don’tcomplain.

What impact would yousay this has really had

on Nigerians here and gen-erally?

I think that it has helped a lotof Nigerians; personally, in mycase anyway, being the chair-man of Nigerian- British coun-cil, when people have issues,they don’t have to live in Lam-pard before I can help them. AllI need to ask them is which bor-ough do they live in. If I knowwe have a colleague there I willask them to ‘go and see coun-cilor so, so, so and tell him youare from me’ and he will attendto that person. But if it is a bor-ough that we don’t have some-body, I can take up the casemyself and just send email towards in that area and I can say‘this person lives in your area,this is the problem he has, canyou please assist?, and they willdo it. We are all colleagues andI have done it for people out-side London. That way, we areable to reach a wider audience,but the problem is that our com-munities are not coming forwardwhen they have problems at anearly stage, so that we can solvethem before they go to court,because when they go to court,there is nothing much we cando.

Mrs Olufunsomosun

Adedamola Aminu

CMYK

PAGE 28—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012

Life Is A Tragedy For Those Who Feel, And A Comedy For Those Who Think —JEAN DE LA BRUYERE

BY BASHIR ADEFAKA

Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife is a political icon and most of the things people know about himrevolve around politics. He was a civilian governor of Anambra State, a presidential aspiranton the platform of Alliance for Democracy (AD) and presidential adviser on political matters,during the Obasanjo presidency. Before his foray into politics, he was a permanent secretaryin the Federal Civil Service. But the preoccupation here is to get him to speak about his lifeoutside politics. And we succeeded largely in doing that.

‘I fabricated the car pin in the spare parts business’On Third Term: Obasanjo dealt with me for opposing him

I defied religioussentiment tobecome Anambragov — Ezeife

There is no how anachiever is discussedwithout delving into

his past. How did you startout in life?

First of all, the grace of Godwas surplus to me. I camefrom a family that was well todo in terms of situation ofthose days having manyfactories and a lot of parcelsof land. There was aSalvation Army School nearmy house and I attended thatschool, for my primaryeducation and there I didwell. I then went to AnglicanSchool where I did StandardFive and Six. I took entranceexamination into a secondaryschool, but my father was notready to take me to secondaryschool. Then I went forapprenticeship, first of all inmedicine (selling) andthereafter in motor spare partsat Aba.

There I was successful and,as I told you, the grace of Godwas surplus to me that whenI was about 13 years old, Ifabricated something calledpinion shaft. It was just likea pin; something you put inthe differential in car. My own

was not as good as the whiteman’s. Do you know why?Because it never got spoilt.The white man would do itsown in a way that it got spoiltso that you could come andbuy again. My own was Igbo-made and so it was alwaysthere.

At that point in time, I wasenjoying life with my masterand I learnt many householdthings, but it didn’t appear tome that it was my calling. SoI said I was going back to thevillage to teach. And it justoccurred to me and I tookpermission from my master toallow me go for Easter and heallowed me to go. Igboukwuis my village, which issupposedly one of the oldesttowns in the world, whereNoah’s Ark landed after theflood. When I reached homeat Igboukwu, I was servingwith a ‘major ’ and weanswered military ranks. The‘officer’, ‘Major Opiah’ toldme to go and ‘escort’ a whiteman who was living inAgunleri, but coming to ourtown. I went. On our waycoming with the white man inhis car, I told him that I wanted

to be a teacher and so, Iwanted to go back to school.We got to Igboukwu and I hadalready told the ‘officer’ I wasworking with. So it was; Ididn’t really have to go backto Aba. I was instantly given

said, “Officer, please allow meto go.” He said, “Okay, youcan go. You won’t passanyway.” I went but againsthis insinuation, and by thegrace of God, I passed verywell and then I went toteachers’ training college. Itwas a two yearscorrespondence programme.So it was while at theteachers’ training college thatGod really was merciful to mebecause I sauntered into thepower of God.

How do you mean?I went to one teacher who

was a friend of mine. I sawsome papers on his table andon some of them was written

you get to Ordinary Level andif you pass Ordinary Levelyou go to Advanced Level.”

Therefore, in January 1959,I took GCE qualifying test andI passed and went toOrdinary Level. In 1960January, I took GCE OrdinaryLevel; you know, it was doneyear by year, I passed and Iwas very grateful to God. In1961 January, I took GCEAdvanced Level, I passed inthree papers and I waswalking in the air. As I toldyou, I sauntered into powersthat I didn’t know.

Now because those powerswere guiding me, when Ireceived the envelopecontaining the three results ofthe GCE Advanced Level, Iwent to church. I knew whatwas there was already there,but I just went to church andknelt down and said, “God, ifwhat is inside here is bad,give me the courage to goback to do it again.” When Iopened the envelopes, theresults were fantastic and Iwas like a drunken man; veryhappy! My father and motherwere happy about it.

In 19060/61, I washeadmaster. Then, inregular practice in the

evening, even during thenight, what I did was to takemy lamp, go into the bush toread my correspondencebooks. What that meant wasthat in the Christmas of 1960,I was left alone in Onitshawhile my people had gonehome for Christmas. That isthe background of how I gotto UCI, University College,Ibadan in October 1961.

If you look back at the erayou were doing all that, whichcould best be described asyour formative period inlife?; it was the period ofindependence. How did thatplay out in that part of yourlife?

Well, I had no directrelationship, but I wasinvolved in the jubilationswelcoming Nigeria’sindependence as a youngman. So, at independence, Iwas in a neighbouring townand, on the night of theindependence, I led a Carol,moving from place to place inthe night celebrating thearrival of independentNigeria. I was full of hopebecause, as a black person,we, early in life, realised asblack people that Nigeria wasgoing to teach the whitepeople sense.

And has Nigeria even beenwell positioned to teach thewhite people any sense?

Well, contrary toexpectation, Nigeria became

,

,At that point in time, I was enjoy-ing life with my master and Ilearnt many household things,but it didn’t appear to me that itwas my calling

a teaching appointment withmy Standard Six. That was1954, 55. So, I became apublic teacher and I enjoyedevery bit of it. But if you hadto be a teacher, you neededto go for training for twoyears.

There was anexamination forteachers’ training

college and I had to completethree years before going. I

‘Rapid Result College,London’. I asked him: “Whatare these things for?” Hesaid, “Rapid Result Collegeteaches you bycorrespondence to take GCEfrom preliminary to AdvancedLevel.” Then I asked whatGCE was and he explained tome that GCE meant GeneralCertificate in Education. Isaid how would I go about itand he said, “First, you takepreliminary level, if you pass, Continues on page 29

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012, PAGE 29

,

,Even when I became governor,it was just a month and peoplethought I had performed magicin Anambra State

Life Is A Tragedy For Those Who Feel, And A Comedy For Those Who Think —JEAN DE LA BRUYERE

‘I fabricated the car pin inthe spare parts business’

a .... for black people insteadof teaching the white peoplesense. In the long, long past,the wise saying was that “Outof Africa comes everythingnew and good.” So Africa wason top.

I remember, in the world ofancient, it was the Egyptianswho were more on top; like meand you. Then the rest of usin the median and at thebottom were the blue-eyedbarbarians, which were thewhite people by then. At theancient of days they were atthe bottom of the whole ofdevelopment.

How were they thenable to turn thetable upside down

against Nigeria or do I sayAfrica?

It was our ingenuity, ourdevelopment, our books, ourscience that they read. Andbecause nature was hostile tothem, they were fighting thenature. Our gun powder theyused to fight ..., ourtrigonometry, which wasinvented in the Nile of black.When the Nile flooded, theonly way to know where theland began and ended was touse trigonometry and thatthey did.

St. Augustine was a verycelebrated academic,intellectual person. Whatthey don’t tell you is that St.Augustine was black and theydon’t tell you that many booksattributed to Aristotle weretaken from Alexandria afterdefeating Egypt.

What they call democracy isthe system of the Igbo. I’mIgbo and have not knownanything else since I was bornbut selection, election: oneman equal to one man. Butthese people claim that theybrought democracy to us butthe political and socialtheories that were credited tothe Greeks were taken fromAfrica. There is a book called,“The Stolen Legacy.” It is ablack writing about how theWest took over our knowledgeand refined it in their ownway.

You know in this country ofours, Nigeria, you can stayoutside for 365 days in theyear and not die. So ourenvironment is good to us.You can go to the bush roundthe year and pluck fruits andeat, it’s just a matter ofdifferent types of fruitsthroughout the year and theyare available. So we werepampered by nature and thathas its own consequence. Asfor the white, they were at warwith nature using Africantechnology to fight nature.But, eventually, when you arefighting and advancing, youwould overtake even thepeople from whom you tookall those things.

This has always lived in me.My politics is motivated bymy blackness and the fact thatwe should be doing whatnature dictated to us asrallying point, big brother, toall blacks in the world. Wecan no longer say we are too

Continued from page 28

comfortable. You can seewhite people enjoying aircondition and we are sayingthat we are now the frontiersof technology. Yes, the whiteman went to the moon but theblack man built theprogramme that took the whiteman to the moon. We are thefrontiers of technologyeverywhere find the blackpeople.

In what way have you as aperson made effort inactualising or helping torestore the lost glory of theblack person?

When I wanted to becomethe president of Nigeria, therewere so many things I wantedto do to build the country.

Even when I becamegovernor, it was just a monthand people thought I hadperformed magic in AnambraState. And the Kano manwould say, “Ah that ayenmerehas done it in Anambra, lethim do it for Nigeria.” And Ireally know that change wasnot always in the interest ofevery being. Where I comefrom, change is alwaysthought of, but change is notalways in the interest ofeverybody in Nigeria.

You were the lastgovernor of oldAnambra with

Enugu as capital city and firstgovernor of new Anambrathe capital now in Awka. Howdid you feel when the statewas split, and how did youemerge as governor in the

first place, during thetransition period of GeneralIbrahim Babangida militaryregime?

The moment Enugu becamea state I was very worriedbecause, in the old Anambra,the part I come from, is muchdenominationally conscious.They would ask what churchare you? I’m a Salvation Armyand not up to one percent ofpeople of the place wasSalvation Army. But as ithappened, things worked out

very well and that was anothershow of power of God.Somebody called in the twoand said we should sign anagreement that whoever wasbrought out from amongst usto run for governor, they wouldsupport. I was the person thatwas brought out and then thesame person who initiated thatbrilliant truce said I wouldbecome governor over hisdead body. He said so.

And then I met him later on,at Federal Palace Hotel inLagos and said to him, “Come,come, come! Let’s go to therestaurant. What do I offer

you?” He said tea. I got himtea and, as that was going on,I called his name and I said,“You are not going to die andI will be governor and you willcome to lunch in mygovernor’s lodge.”

The man said to me,“Everybody knows that you arethe best but everybody knowsalso that Anambra votes byreligious denomination. Youare Salvation Army; who willvote for you?” I said, “All theAngels in heaven will come

down, they will vote andprotect my votes.”

That was the kind ofmanifestation of God’s powerin how I became governor ofAnambra State.

What do you make ofthe current BokoHaram menace: I

mean do you belong to thegroup that says governmentshould dialogue with them?

That question you haveasked is a very difficultquestion. But because I’m anationalist, anything to bringpeace is welcome. Therefore,

from the patriotic, nationalisticpoint of view, I supportdialogue with Boko Haram.But let me tell you from ShehuSani’s interview, it is clear thatthe principal compelling forceof Boko Haram is Islamisationof Nigeria, which isimpossible. How do youbargain with a group that hasIslamisation as its principalagenda? But notwithstandingthe reservation that anybodymay have, I am persuading theentire Nigerians to join thetrain in dialoguing with them.

When Prophet Muhammedcame to Madinah and hadfounded Islam and wanted tomove back to Maccah, he metwith military resistance;forceful resistance! Therefore,in order to go back to Maccah,he had to fight and that iswhere it is allowed to give inthe cause of Allah to fight.Because Muhammed was socomprehensive and so goodthat he made it clear to themthat the religion cannot beforced on people and that youcannot force people to beconverted.

And that you can fight untilreligion is freely practised andthat the moment you areallowed to practise yourreligion and nobody is, withforce or arms, resisting yourpractice of the religion, youdon’t have a right to carry gunto fight again.

There can be no jihadwhere there is nomilitary resistance

against the practice of yourreligion. So, this is thescripture of Qur’an. We haveno (sharp) difference betweenthe Bible and the Qur’an.

You were said to have quitpolitics. How true?

Partisan politics. After Icelebrated my 70th birthdaysome years ago, I decided toquit partisan politics. I playmore politics now than before,but I play non-partisan politics:statesmanship type of politicsthat I do. I don’t take sides onissues; I look at themobjectively because I want myconscience set me free in thepath that I choose and I followit.

Some people say I have quitpolitics, but nobody quitspolitics. We are all born into itand we will play itcontinuously. But partypolitics, I really believe thereis certain stage for one to leaveparty politics.

I heard a report today(Wednesday April 4, 2012) thatObasanjo has resigned aschairman Board of Trustees ofPDP. I praised him for that,although I don’t know themotive. But if the motive isarising from the feeling that “Ihave done enough and thereare other people who can dothis thing and so let me takemy leave”, then I praise him.

And I have always praisedhim for many things he diddespite that he did somethings and spoilt them byhimself. Because much of thefoundations he laid for Nigeriawas spoilt by his politics ofthird term.

Ezeife..

CMYK

PAGE 30—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012

CMYK

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012, PAGE 31

PAGE 32—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 27, 2012

When airline brands fly too lowFROM my experience

with the servicedelivery quality, brand

support and management ef-forts and car, anyway, the airtravel brands need to learn somuch about brands manage-ment. To mention in a hurry,the first and most importantlesson they need to internal-ize is the fact that customerexperience is the single mosteffective contact between anybrand and its target market.Put in another way, consumerexperience remains the mostefficient and effective way tosell any brand. Unfortunately,this all-important formula ismost often taken for granted.

Plenty has been said aboutour local airline industry withspecial mention of their qual-ity of service delivery, custom-er service, competitivenessand all such marketing indi-ces, over the years, but moreand more it all seems thedownward decline is ordained,perhaps by some divine pow-ers. The other very importantlesson players in this sectorneed to know is that the mar-ket place is so dynamic, it isnear impossible to safely makelong term permutation – nomatter the near exact natureof market research. Otherwise,our local stock market wouldnot have taken even those whoprided themselves expertstock market traders, invest-ment managers and asset man-agement experts as furiouslyand as sudden as it did(though some of us lesser mor-tals did warn from our uncele-brated corners that the doomwas sure to come). Even in theso-called developed econo-mies, permutations and stra-tegic plans are being upturnedalmost quarterly.

Put clearly, no market con-dition is eternal or enduresforever. The cliché goes thus“change is constant”. It maytarry for a long while. Other-wise, the LEHMAN BROTH-ERS would still have beenalive and well today. Worldleading news magazinebrands did not see the threatposed by digital media andsocial media platforms com-ing, until the new trend innews consumption, newssource re-evaluation, appreci-ation and market engagementhappened on them.

In our local market environ-ment, who anticipated thechanges that happened on thebanks and financial intuitionsmarket before Sanusi’s tsuna-mi came sweeping? So,change at the market place, isalso constant. It could be un-derstood, how far away airtravel operators are from thistruism, on the basis of theirsmall mindedness towards thecritical but seemingly smallissues of brand personality

appreciation. They carry on insimilar manner with artisans.I can put hazard a hypothesisto say that 80 to 85% of humanresource within the air travelindustry see taking air passen-gers across destinations as thebeginning and end of theirbusiness. Little wonder theyare not known to expresslyengage in other related serviceofferings such as hotels, en-tertainment, tourism and evenindustry personnel training.So, all that concerns theground staff is to painstakinglyload-in passengers’ luggage(even without the passenger– if e like make e miss im flight,n aim sabi), hurriedly closethe manifest and manage towait for the Pilot to just go withhis/her ‘cargo’.

operators do not demonstrateenough reasons for one tothink they receive training oncourteous behavior, customerrelationship management,brand representation and sell-ing. A few tips on brand man-agement at this point will do.

A BRAND IS NAMEDVALUE-OFFER. Talk-

ing about differentiation, itgoes beyond mere identity. Itis about expressing an identi-ty that tells a story and makesa promise, unique, differentand primarily identified withthe given brand. We shouldbegin to look at the name ele-ment in branding as a mereidentification for the purposeof identification (though thatis the primary reason, ordi-

target customers.

That is exactly whathappens in the airline

travel market. None of our lo-cal airline industry playerspost sign of appreciation of thebasic elements of customer-fo-cused brand ownership andmanagement. That explainswhy Arik Air will not bother toannounce altered flight sched-ule, Aero will just wake up tosay passengers lucky to flywith them should be ready tobuy even water airborne orremain quiet – in a socio-cul-tural environment built ongood neighborliness, friendli-ness and hospitality. That isthe most daring and damningmove I have ever seen anybrand taken in developingeconomy.

It is unimaginable the dif-ficulty Arik Air passengerspass through to buy flightticket; the unfortunate pro-spective passengers will takeposition in a long and con-fused queue obstructed bytouts, for so very long. At thehead of the queue he/shemeets with unfriendly twotired people (one the bankrep who collects monies orpay-ins without care whathappens after and then-afterthe ticket issuer who some-times behave as if the pay-ment teller written right be-side her or him is question-able, reluctant to write out theticket. Because of the inap-propriate conduct on the part

of these staff and touts, ittakes so long to finish withone customer, that one can onthat same queue and miss aplanned flight if the ticket isfor same-day travel. I thinkit is partly in providing forsuch wastages that so muchemphasis is given to day-be-fore ticket purchase.

We cannot exhaust theanomalies bothering on poorcustomer service put up bythese airlines, in one edition,but we must establish the factthat the market is taking note.Perhaps the required initialinvestment and cost of oper-ations is checking the speedpossibility of new market en-trants, but see what Air Ni-geria is already doing tothose who up till only amonth ago assumed the po-sition of the almighty.Change will definitely comethe way of this aviation/airtravel market.

RELIABILITY. There isn o

way any brand will toywith the character element ofreliability, if survival at themarket place is the market-ing objective. Reliability asan expression of responsibil-ity and commitment to cus-tomer satisfaction for anybrand’s own interest, is sac-rosanct.

To be continued next week

,

,

The ticketing officers aresomething else. I was

badly molested by one ticket-ing officer in one of the air-lines in Margaret Ekpo Inter-national Airport, Calabar, twoweeks back, just because I dis-turbed her by asking her theairline’s flight schedule forthat day. God! She took hertime to waste my time, undermind my presence, provokedme to anger by all sorts of girl-ish mannerisms, before askingme Oga any problem? Hmm!I ill rather that I skip moredetails of the sad encounter atthis point. But the crux of thematter is that the most staffpersonnel of our local airline

narily). So, the import and es-sence of their different namesof two-same market brandsshould not just be about theirdistinct manifest identity, butgreatly involving of psycho-logical import of their differ-ent personalities, desired im-age, outreach and character.

Following from the above,there from, in a situationwhere competing brands arenot readily distinctively iden-tifiable along the lines of dif-ferentiation, following fromtheir individual names in anindustry operating in an en-vironment of free and compet-itive market, there are badmarketing, compromisedbranding and disrespect for

The crux of the matter is that themost staff personnel of our localairline operators do notdemonstrate enough reasons forone to think they receive trainingon courteous behavior, customerrelationship management, brandrepresentation and selling

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012, PAGE 33

,

,

By SAM EYOBOKA

Our vision at Little Saints was for just25 children (1)—Rev. Dele George

How do you ensure that items do-nated to the orphanage get to the chil-dren?

THEY definitely get to them. Wehave over 100 children in threebranches with administrators

and assistant administrators who en-sure that everything donated is usedby the children. As the founder I makesure that I monitor what goes on. Weare all very accountable; we are mis-sionaries who are called for this par-ticular work. We are care givers. Whenyou look at our children, you can seethat they lack nothing. They all lookwell and attend good schools. I cantell you that we are very accountableand all the items, even above what isdonated, get to the children. I am adonor to the orphanage and from thedocumentary you could see that myhusband donated one of the housesthat they occupy.

What has been the greatest chal-lenge so far?

The greatest challenge remains thefact that we never expected to have somany children. Our vision was to havejust 25 kids that we can look after. Itwas a personal vow that my husbandand I made with God that we are go-ing to look after 25 children in our life-time, but we found out that the issueof abandonment was a very seriousproblem in Nigeria especially in La-gos. So, instead of 25 children, we hadover 60 children within a year and thatwas what inspired us to collaboratewith the Social Welfare of Lagos Stateto encourage Nigerians to adopt chil-dren. Adoption took off, and I can as-sure you that the first set of children

that were brought to the home haveall been adopted and they are doingwell in their various families. Some ofthem are abroad. In short it has beena long journey, but it’s been fruitful.

How do you ensure that these chil-dren are properly brought up by thosewho adopt them?

The Ministry of Youths and SocialDevelopment are very strict and theycarry out independent inquiry con-cerning the family wishing to adoptbefore approving adoption. They havevery strict conditions and withoutmeeting the conditions, you cannotadopt a baby. One of such conditionsis that such family must have a goodaccommodation that is conducive, andwhere the child would be shielded from

AFTER some years in the banking industry, Reverend ChristinaBamidele George (nee Ogbemudia) resigned in 1985 and wentinto business with her husband. In 1990, she became born againand almost immediately felt a leading to a unique mission todedicate her life to the cause of saving abused, abandoned andorphaned children in the society.

Rev. (Mrs.) George founded Strong Tower Mission which isthe parent body of Little Saints Orphanage, which became thefirst licensed orphanage in Lagos State, and since its inceptionit has rehabilitated hundreds of children, including babies. Theorphanage, which was founded in June 1994, has also providednew families for some of the children via adoption and recon-ciled some of the children with their original families. The Lit-tle Saints Orphanage now has branches in Akowonjo area ofLagos which is for boys, Abule Egba for younger girls and chil-dren with special needs and the Ogudu branch which is forgrown up girls, who are in higher institutions. It is a specialhouse for them so that they will be able to focus on their stud-ies. The orphanage has a documentary, Cry for Mercy, whichchronicles the heart rending stories of different abandoned chil-dren and how they were rescued sometimes in very delicateconditions. After a visit by a delegation from Pastor Eskor MfonFoundation to mark the fifth anniversary of the death of PastorMfon to the orphanage a day after the April 29, 2012 Joy Nightprogramme, our reporter had a chat with the founder/presi-dent of Strong Tower Mission, proprietors of Little Saints Or-phanage. Excerpts

child abuse, kidnapping and such so-cial vices. They have good conditionsaimed at protecting the child.

Adoption is still done in a very se-cretive manner in the country, obvi-ously because of stigmatization. Isthere anything the government is do-ing to make adoption an open affair?

The reason why adoption is a closed

affair is because of stigmatization. ButLagos State government is trying toencourage adopters to do open adop-tion, because it has to start from some-

Rev.Dele George...Fostering is more like being a guardian or a custodianover that child on behalf of government

ing?Right now, Nigerians are only inter-

ested in adoption because adoption is apermanent thing; permanent in the sensethat the child can not be taken away fromthem; he or she remains their child per-manently as a blood child. On the otherhand, fostering is more like being aguardian or a custodian over that childon behalf of government. That meansthat a child that is fostered could haveparents who are interested in his devel-opment but might not have the where-withal to take care of the child. What weare saying now, is that Nigerians shouldcome out to foster children even whentheir biological parents are still alive, sothat such children can have access togood home, education and good thingsof life as long as the foster parents canafford it. Like me, for instance, there arelots of children that are with me, whohave grown up in the orphanage; theyare not my biological children but I amtheir spiritual mother while my husbandis their spiritual father. We are like guard-ians over them. We are there for them asparents.

where. If it is made open and peoplesee how adopters take care of suchchildren, I think eventually adoptionwill be seen as an admirable thingrather than something that will leadto stigmatization. It is a process and Ibelieve that we will get there.

You also talked about fostering achild. What do you mean by foster-

The reason why adoption is a closedaffair is because of stigmatization.But Lagos State government istrying to encourage adopters to doopen adoption, because it has tostart from somewhere

PAGE 34— SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012

House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee probe of thenear collapse of the CapitalMarket has turned out to beintriguing and quiterevealing.

Blames and counter blameshave continued to pour in asthe probe panel got more thanit bargained for but evenappears more determined tounravel the mystery behindthe crash of the NigerianStock Market. So far, some ofthe findings of the panelrevealed that the unhealthypractices of some of the banksin the country were largelyresponsible for the problems inthe market as theymanipulated their share pricesusing depositors’ money. Mr.John Chukwu, the managingdirector/founder, Cowry AssetManagement Limited, is aleading investment bankerand a multi-dealing operatorin the capital market. In thisinterview, he speaks on howsound government policies canrevive the dwindling sectorand unlock Nigeria’s economypotentials. Excerpts:

How would rate the state ofNigeria’s stock marke?

THE past four weeks orthereabout has actuallywitnessed some level of

recovery in the market. Themarket at some pointappreciated by 9. 4 percentyear-to-date. That was asignificant improvement towhat we have seen so far . So,I would say the market is onthe recovery path particularlybecause some of thefundamentals have actuallychanged positively as to drivea market recovery. One of thesefactors is the kind of return thatcompanies are reporting . Wehave seen that the banks areleaving their industry crisisbehind them. We have seen alot of credible results by thebanks. If you look at the 2011Financials of the banks,despite the heir cut suffered bymost of them from their sale ofnon-performing loans toAMCON, many of the banksreported significantimprovements in earnings andprofitability. Aside from that,their first quarter results haveshowed that the banks are onrecovery trajectory . So, if theearnings of the companies onthe exchange are improving,their market prices would alsoimprove. Beyond that, we havealso seen high dividend yield,in some instances as high as17 percent. These yields arecomparable or even better thanwhat obtains in the moneymarket . So there is enoughincentives for investors tocome back to the market andthat’s why the market has beenon the recovery path. So Ithink one can safely say thatthe past one or two monthshave witnessed some level ofmarket recovery and that theNigerian equity market is on

the verge of coming back .What measures do you think

the market regulators andoperators should adopt inother to sustain the littlesuccess recorded so far?

On the part of the regulators,I think among the things theyneed to do is to make sure thatthe integrity of public accountsare maintained and time limitsfor rendition of reports areadhered to . Right now theNSE is insisting that quotedcompanies must adoptInternational FinancialReporting Standard . It’sadoption would lead to animprovement in the level ofregulatory compliance as wellas transparency of financialstatements. On the part oflisted companies, it would leadto higher level of managementintegrity and efficiency. As formarket operators, they have aduty to bring opportunities inthe market to the knowledgeof investors. For instance, ifyou look at the investor thattook position in Okomu Oil,their brokers must havebrought the prospects of thestock to their knowledgebecause Okomu Oil wasactually outside the radar ofmost investors . So, the marketoperators really have a majorpart to play by creating thenecessary awarenessparticularly to their clients(investors) on marketopportunities that have strongprobability of crystallizing suchas projections of strongdividend yields. If suchprojections are realizedconsistently, investors wouldnaturally want to come backfor more opportunities.

What do you consider asa threat to the much

expected bounce back andgrowth of the market ?

The biggest threat we havein the market is the monetarypolicy direction of thegovernment. If the authoritiesdecide to drive a restrictivemonetary policy so as to keepinflation down, this would leadto increase in the interest rates.If interest rates continue to goup, fixed income instrumentwould become more attractiveto investors. Conversely, ifinterest rates go down,investors would see equitymarket as of better attractionthan the fixed income market.

‘Monetary policy remains the greatestthreat to stock market recovery’

would now prefer to put theirmoney in necessity supplies.Those are some of the domesticthreats although there areother threats from the externalenvironment. For instance ifthe crisis in Europe snowballedto other parts of the world. Itcould lead to a drop incommodity prices which wouldput our foreign exchangeearnings and reserves at risk.If our foreign exchangereserve is eroded, foreign fund

to list on the Exchange. Whatincentives do think you wouldhelp to lure them in to revivethe ailing stock market?

My position is that theregulators and the governmentshould create enoughincentives to encourage listingon the floor by the telecomscompanies, oil and gas firmsas well as other multinationalsoperating in the country. Weshould ask ourselves what dowe need to do to lure theTelecoms majors and Oil & Gasmajors to come to the market.Among the things I havealways advocated is the use offiscal instruments such as taxincentives to attract thesecompanies to list on theNigerian Stock Exchange. Forinstance, the government canoffer lower corporate tax rate topublicly quoted companies –instead of a tax rate of 30 percent,government can grant quotedcompanies concessionary taxrate of anything between 15 and25 percent. If this is done,shareholders on unquotedcompanies will compel them toseek listing. The government canalso consider exemptingdividends of quoted companiesfrom tax. This will encouragemore people to invest in thesecondary market as the effectivedividend yield of quotedcompanies would be higher thanthose of non quoted companies(though they may be paying thesame amount of cash dividendand have the same market value).I believe that if you waive tax ondividend and have a differentialcorporate tax rate for quotedcompanies, the telecomscompanies, the Oil & Gascompanies and othermultinationals will havecompelling reasons to list onthe Exchange.

,

,

BY AKOMA CHINWEOKE

THE volume of investmentsin Apapa terminal, whichis said to be the largest

container terminal in sub-Saharan Africa, is estimated atabout $330million.

The APM Terminals chiefexecutive officer, Kim Fejfer,made this disclosure during aworking visit to Nigeria,explaining that his company hadinvested N31 billion ($200

million) in upgrading andmodernising the ApapaContainer Terminal in the last sixyears, with N20 billion ($130million) additional investmentover the next three years.

He said, “The largest containerterminal in sub-Saharan Africa,the Apapa Container Terminal,operated by APM Terminals cannow measure with the bestcontainer terminal in Europe .Now we see a modern containerterminal performing at par withthe best in Europe and this hasimportant impact on trade in and

Investments in Apapa terminal hit $330million

BY UDEME CLEMENT

So, the greatest threat tocontinued equity marketrecovery is the monetary policydirections of the Central Bank.Of course, there are otherthreats including the fiscalpolicy disposition of the federalgovernment. If the Federalgovernment fiscal stance isexpansionary, this will triggeran inflationary pressure,which may compel themonetary authorities torespond with a contractionary

Mr. John Chukwu

Regulators and the government shouldcreate enough incentives to encouragelisting on the floor by the telecomscompanies, oil and gas firms as well asother multinationals operating in thecountry

monetary fiscal policy. Anotherfactor that may affect themarket negatively is theremoval of the remaining fuelsubsidy. Should thegovernment adjust upwardsthe pump price of petrol, theimplication would be that thediscretionary income of theinvestors would be drasticallyreduced as basic necessitieswould take up a greater shareof their income leaving outlittle for investment. So, if thegovernment does increase thefuel subsidy it would erode thecapacity of retail investors tocome back to the marketbecause such retail investors

managers who currentlyaccount for more than 70percentage of the marketactivities would want to winddown their portfolios becausethey would not be so sure thatNigeria would be able toprovide the exchangeresources that would enablethem convert the proceeds ofthe investment into foreigncurrency. There will also beheightened risk of devaluationof the Naira, which will erodethe value of the proceeds oftheir investments.

That brings us to the call thatmajor oil firms and telecomsindustry should be compelled

out of Nigeria”.Fejfer disclosed that he was in

Nigeria to thank the leadingglobal terminal operators’customers, partners, governmentauthorities, management andemployees for their cooperation.

APM Terminals Apapa Limitedtook over operation of the ApapaContainer Terminal in March2006 after emerging the preferredbidder in a keenly contestedbidding process under theNigerian government’s portconcession programme.

From left; The Zonal Coordinator Unity Bank Plc Aim & Win Promo, Mrs. Yemi Adeyinka,the Regional Manager, Victoria Island, Mr. Umar Adabara and the Executive Director, Lagos& West, Mr. Lanre Fagbohun during the 1st zonal draw of the bank's Aim, Save & Win promoheld at Ikeja Office Allen, Lagos.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012, PAGE 35

ECOWAS needs financial data —Prof. Ekpo‘Adoption of IFRS ends by 2015’

BY UDEME CLEMENT

THE countries withinECOWAS sub-regionhave been advised to

fast track migration into theInternational FinancialReporting Standards (IFRS),which are globally acceptablesystems with specificationsand framework developed byInternational AccountingStandards Board (ISAB), anindependent accountingstandards development body.

The Director General, WestAfrican Institute for Financialand Economic Management(WAIFEM), Prof. Akpan Ekpo,gave this advice, whiledelivering his keynoteaddress, at the openingceremony of the regionalcourse on IFRS, organised byWAIFEM in Lagos.

“IFRS technique wouldenable businesses to followglobally acceptable standardsto facilitate national businessoperations and impart transparency in financial datadisclosure. One of thedestabilising factors of theglobal financial crisis was theprocyclical amplification offinancial shocks and bankingsystem, financial markets andthe broader economy. Therewas widespread criticism thatthe accounting standards andin particular fair valueaccounting significantlycontributed to the financialcrisis in view of its failure todeal with illiquid markets anddistressed sales”, Ekpo said.

He continued, “Banks mustupgrade their infrastructure,including InformationTechnology and humanresources to face thecomplexities and challenges ofthe IFRS. A key aspect of theWest African Monetary Zone(WAMZ) project is theharmonisation of standards,processes and procedures ofthe operational modalities ofthe member countries to ensuresmooth establishment of thesecond monetary zone by 2015.Adoption of IFRS by WAMZmember countries will not onlyreaffirm its leadership role inthe integration process, but willensure a seamlessharmonisation of accountingpractices among countries inthe zone. It is imperative forAfrican countries to beintegrated into the globalfinancial system and at the

extreme not considered to bea failed state, policy makersmust endeavour to have a passmark for our countries bysetting higher standards oftransparency, accountabilityand probity in the use of publicresources, by converging toglobal accounting standards.Over 100 countries mainly inthe European Union haveadopted IFRS. In the sub-region, the adoption of IFRSwas launched in 2007, whileNigeria commenced thegradual adoption of IFRS in

January 2012. Worldwideadoption of IFRS is expectedto be completed by 2015.

“The benefits IFRS includeforming basis for comparabilitybetween enterprises operatingin different jurisdictions andconstitute a search light thatinternational investors will useto make investments decisionsin different countries. Itpromotes transparency andengenders greater financialcredibility. This reduces cost ofraising foreign capital and costof compliance to a single

standard for financialreporting purposes forenterprises operating acrossseveral countries.Globalisation has necessitatedthe need to have a universalaccounting standardsapplicable to all jurisdictions,as such standards willengender harmonisaton ofaccounting practices globally.This will allow evaluation ofperformance, adherence tobest practices and comparisonamong similar players.

“Given the fact that the

Making the agric policy workBY JOHN CHRISTOPHER

Prof. Akpan Ekpo

economies in our sub-regionare linked to the rest of theworld, it is crucial that globalaccounting standards such asIFRS form the basis forfinancial managementpractices within the region. Itis against this backdrop andconsidering the amount ofwork involved in theconvergence process, thatcapacity building and skilldevelopment on the successfulimplementation of IFRSprovisions becomesimperative”.

THE need for thediversification of theNigerian economy is

fast becoming a vital issue dueto the deepening challenges ofhunger and poverty.

For several years, theeconomy had gone mono-product following thedependence on oil accountingfor 90 percent of the nation’srevenue.

The agricultural sectoremploys an appreciablepercentage of the populace inall its sub-sectors withoutmuch to tell on the dividendsthat the farmers get. This isbecause sector has notreceived adequate support interms of policy formulation andimplementation.

The agricultural policy thatwas adopted in 2001 is a truestatement of purpose by thegovernment. This wasprimarily an effort towards re-positioning the once viablesector, a redirection that, ifwell- driven, remains aprincipal tool in minimizingthe level of poverty andstarvation in the country. Thepolicy, which retains most ofthe features of the agriculturalpolicy of 1988, tends to bemore articulating consideringthe new challenges beingfaced by farmers and marketersof agricultural produce and thestrategic plans to solving them.

The major goal of the currentpolicy is to attain self-sufficiency in basic food supplyand ensure food security inNigeria. Others goals includeincreased production ofagricultural raw materials forindustries, improvedproduction and processing ofexport crops like cocoa,cassava, palm produce, ginger,rubber, etc through the use oftechnology. There are alsogoals like generatingemployment opportunities forNigeria’s teeming population,practical and rational usage ofagricultural resources,enhanced protection ofagricultural land against

drought, soil erosion, desertencroachment, soil erosion andflood in order to maintain agood agricultural producewhile preserving the naturalenvironment amongst others.

Redirecting the sector willnot only make Nigerians tohave a sustainable means ofgenerating employment on alarger scale but also contributemeaningfully to the nationalincome and provideopportunity for the longawaited private investors tocome in: since it (the policy)embodies the provision of aconducive environment for all.The policy also contains thegoal of articulating andimproving integrated rural

development programs inorder to raise the standard ofliving of the rural dwellers.

However, a simple buteffective storage facilities andagro-processing technologywill definitely add value tofarm commodities and increasetheir shelf life. Furthermore,the strategic grain reservescheme, if modernized andproperly implemented, willstrengthen the national foodreserve program to betterhandle all staple and essentialfood products. Hence, self-sufficiency and improvementin the level of technical andeconomic efficiency at homewill be ensured.

Meanwhile, we should

encourage ecologicalspecialization and recognitionof the role and potentials ofsmall scale farmers as themajor producers of food in thecountry. This has the capacityto attract our teemingunemployed youths toagriculture.

Finally, a strategicagricultural credit loan will aidfarmers, raise the standard offarm yields, reduceimportation of agriculturalcommodities and guarantee asteady economic growth whileensuring food security andreducing health andenvironmental hazards.

*Christopher is of FederalPolytechnic, Bida.

Career summit: Ships & Ports partners Benue Govt

BY UDEME CLEMENT

SHIPS & PortsC o m m u n i c a t i o nCompany Limited has

announced plans to host theseventh in the series of itsAnnual Shipping CareerSummit in Makurdi, the BenueState capital.

Tagged Makurdi 2012, theone-day event will hold inpartnership with the BenueState Government onThursday, July 12 at theBenue Hotel, Makurdi.Coordinator of the annualevent, Ms. Eucharia Okoli,said the Governor of BenueState, Gabriel Suswam, asChief Host, will declare thesummit open while theRegistrar of the Council of theRegulation of FreightForwarding in Nigeria(CRFFN), Sir Mike Jukwe,will be the Special Guest.

“The Annual ShippingCareer Summit is a programmedeveloped by Ships & Ports tohelp Nigerians tap into careerand investment opportunitiesin the nation’s vast maritimesector. As Nigeria moves todiversify its revenue sourcefrom being solely dependenton oil and gas, there is theneed to harness all availableopportunities in all sectors ofthe economy particularly themaritime sector to realise this

dream. Analysts over the yearspointed out that revenue fromthe maritime industry cansurpass the current revenuethat accrues to governmentfrom oil and gas, if the industryis fully galvanised. It istowards this end that weorganise the Annual ShippingCareer Summit”, Okoli said.

She went on,“With anestimated 300 participantsparticularly youths, expectedto attend the forthcomingsummit, professionals invarious fields in the maritimesector will be present to sharetheir experiences and providementorship toparticipants.Career and

investment opportunities to bediscussed at this year ’ssummit include: EngineeringCareer at Sea: Developing arewarding Seafaring Career;Building a Successful Careerin Maritime Law and How toBecome an Effective Importer/Exporter.

“The sector is endowed withenormous natural resources,which provide great potentialsand opportunities necessary toachieve sustainable growthand development. The countryis equally blessed with a vastcoastline of about 850kilometres and an ExclusiveZone of well over 300,000square kilometres”.

L-R: Dr. Stella Okoli, OON, (Founder) makes a point at abress briefing organized by the Chike Okoli foundation. Sheis flanked left and right by board members Mazi SamOhuabunwa and Chief Taiwo Taiwo.

PAGE 36—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012

instance in places like banksand private organisations, andwe ask ‘where does nationalservice come into this if theyare sent to banks’?. Therefore,I said it is necessary to bringback the actual concept of na-tional service into the NYSCto build on the concept of na-tional unity.

If corps members are postedto the rural communities torender services in education,primary healthcare centres,among others, these commu-nities will not only benefit fromthe core manpower, but theywill begin to appreciate theneed for national unity. It isnot just the corps memberswho will be preaching nationalunity, but also the host com-munities that will receiveyoung men and women fromvarious other communities torender services in their do-mains. Through this, they willagree that national unity issomething that is a worth-while venture.

Then, we came up with apositive policy design to

address top key areas likeeducation, primary healthcaredelivery, agriculture and in-frastructure development. Ourbelief is that if corps membersare deployed to these four keyareas, they will be able to ren-der services directed and fo-cused on national develop-ment with the attendant effectson the population. Throughthis process, of course, the hostcommunities will be better forthis, because we have been tocommunities where educationand healthcare deliveryprogrammes survive purely onthe corps members.

It is rather unfortunate thatsome of these communities areregarded in Nigeria of todayas volatile and insecure. But

the truth is that a lot of thesecommunities depend solely onthe corps members to run theireducation and primaryhealthcare deliveryprogrammes.

One other thing we are try-ing to address is the issue ofunemployment. Because of thehigh numbers of corps mem-bers, we have three batches forthe service year, that is , Batch‘A’, Batch ‘B’ and Batch ‘C’. Alot of organizations are ea-gerly waiting for these corps

members to come on board asreplacement for the outgoingones. A lot of organisationsdid not bother to go to thelabour market to employ Ni-gerians, and we think that ifwe deprive them of this cheapsubsidised labour, they will becompelled to meet their man-power needs by employingNigerians.

This is one important areawe want to address un-

der the new administration.We have commenced theimplementation with the Batch‘A’ of 2012 and so far, even withthe expected opposition andresistance, we are makingprogress.

Another area we felt is due

for review is the concept oforientation courseprogrammes. These havebeen affected by manual ac-tivities and a few lectures onthe culture, tradition and his-tory of the host communities.We thought that corps mem-bers needed something extra,because government jobs areno longer there for the peopleto come and choose.

Therefore, we felt it is nec-essary to introduce a skills ac-quisition programme for thecorps members to equip themand thereafter have somethingto build on at the end of theirservice year. We all know thatthe labour market is alreadysaturated and the jobs are notthere. We are skilled in the

areas of animal husbandry,fish and grasscutter farming,snailery, beekeeping. Allthese are very good busi-nesses with available markets,especially if you are very goodin raising snails andgrasscutters. Though thesemay have nothing to do withwhat the corps members readin their various schools, surelythey are alternative means oflivelihood.

The safety of corps mem-bers has become a big issue,especially in some parts of thecountry. How are you man-aging the posting to such ar-eas?

We have introduced someelements of martial arts train-ing in our orientationprogramme, targeted prima-rily at our female corps mem-bers. Prior to my coming onboard, we had issues of femalecorps members being molestedby okada riders, some by thetraditional rulers. The think-ing is that if these young la-dies have some forms of self-defence training, they wouldbe able to say no in more waysthan one. The main aim is togive these young ladies afighting chance so that theywould be able to defend them-selves before the deed isdone. They will probably notbe helpless victims, but ableto fight for themselves ratherthan crying for help.

At the just-concludedorientation for Batch‘A’ 2012, I was actu-

ally amazed at the positiveresponse to martial art train-ing for the female corps mem-bers. It was interesting to seesome level of enthusiasm wit-nessed and we are building onit.

Like I always tell my corpsmembers, sometimes it is bet-ter to possess a skill and re-ally not need it than to des-perately need it and not haveit. We have also taken somesteps in addressing securityconcerns of corps members,parents and guardians, espe-cially with the level of insecu-rity in some parts of the coun-try, and building on the sadevent of March or April, 2011.

Also, we set up a distress callcentre at the national head-quarters in Abuja here. Theway it is configured to work isthat every corps member whois mobilized is required toprovide a functional GSMnumber registered to him orher. When that corps membercompletes orientation and isdeployed for primary assign-ment, the place of that assign-ment is captured and detailsof security agencies in thatlocality are all captured. If anycorps member calls the centre

Continues on page 38

Corps members nowposted to only where theyare secure—NYSC D-G

BY Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief

Brig-Gen. Nnamdi Okore-Affia is indeed an army of-ficer who says it the way he sees it. When he spokewith journalists in Abuja on Thursday, he was blunt on

the contentious issue of posting corps members to volatile ar-eas where several of them were killed by insurgents last year.According to him, female corps members now receive marshalarts training and members will no longer be posted to areaswhere their lives could be threatened. Excerpts:

After 38 years, what is the relevance of the NYSC to Nige-ria?

Thirty-eight years is long enough to pursue the agenda ofunity. I joined the service 31 years ago and when I was ap-pointed as the DG of NYSC, I discovered that the NYSC wasstill running the same programmes that were in place when Iwas a corps member and I asked why we have not been stick-ing to the goal of fostering unity.

There was the need for a paradigm shift to reposition theNYSC to attain modern day realities. One area that we view asvery important is the posting of corps members. People thinkthat corps members should be posted to every available placewhere they need the services of cheap and subsidized labour,but this is not correct. If NYSC was established to foster na-tional unity, then corps members should be able to render ser-vice to the nation first, before service to self and privateorganisations or individuals.

What is the current posting policy of the scheme?We have taken a critical look at corps members serving, for

,

,

We have taken a criti-cal look at corpsmembers serving, forinstance in placeslike banks and pri-vate organisations,and we ask ‘wheredoes national servicecome into this if theyare sent to banks?’

B r i g - G e n .N n a m d iOkore-Affia

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012, PAGE 37

Following his uncannyrole in the continuedsuspension of the

President of the Court of Ap-peal, Justice Isa Ayo Salami,the Nigerian Bar Association,NBA, penultimate week, tooka swipe at the Attorney-Gen-eral of the Federation andMinister of Justice,Mohammed Bello Adoke,SAN.

Except for his advice, Presi-dent Goodluck Jonathanwould have acceded to therecommendation of the Na-tional Judicial Council, NJC,that the embattled PCA whowas axed from office on Au-gust 18, be recalled to office.

Specifically, section 150(1) ofthe 1999 Constitution asamended, provides that“there shall be an Attorney-General of the Federationwho shall be the Chief LawOfficer of the Federation anda Minister of the Governmentof the Federation.”

Section 150(2) on the otherhand, stipulates that “a per-son shall not be qualified tohold or perform the functionsof the office of the Attorney-General of the Federationunless he is qualified to prac-tice as a legal practitioner inNigeria and has been soqualified for not less than tenyears.”

Thus, by virtue of his posi-tion, the AGF is expected toserve as a legal compass tothe President on issues of na-tional importance.

However, the role he hasplayed on the case of Salamiso far, has raised doubts onthe minds of judicial punditswho have began to query thepropriety of allowing one per-son to hold the powers of boththe AGF and Minister of Jus-tice.

It is argued in some legalcircles that splitting the twooffices would help in curbingthe flagrant abuse of judicialpowers by some of those thathave manned the position inrecent times.

Remarkably, though theAGF wields enormous

judicial powers, yet, the CJNremains the number one ju-dicial officer in the country.

Could it then be said theAGF, Adoke, is more knowl-edgeable in law than the CJN,Justice Dahiru Musdapherand several other judicialegg-heads that met and rec-ommended Salami’s rein-statement?

Who determines when amatter is subjudice? Or couldit be said that all the membersof the NJC that took the deci-sion on Salami failed to takecognizance of the pending

Why Adoke chose toplay “the black sheep”

Jonathan Vs Salami:

Snubs plea by the CJN, NJCReceives knocks from NBA

,

,Having taken the decision, it beats theimaginations why the AGF who is a mem-ber of the NBA, decided to play the pro-verbial black sheep by waving the word‘subjudice’ as a magic wand capable ofscarring away a perceived enemy of thegovernment in power

BY IKECHUKWUNNOCHIRI

litigations before arriving at aconsensus on May 10?

Statutorily, the NJC cameinto existence by virtue of sec-tion 153 of the Constitution.Section 158(1), states that inexercising its powers to makeappointments or to exercisedisciplinary control over per-sons, it shall not be subject tothe direction or control of anyother authority or person.

Having taken the decision,it beats the imaginations whythe AGF who is a member ofthe NBA, decided to play theproverbial black sheep bywaving the word ‘subjudice’as a magic wand capable ofscaring away a perceived en-emy of the government inpower.

According to Adoke, until allthe pending litigations aredisposed of, PresidentJonathan will not reinstate thesuspended PCA; “no respon-sible government will over-reach the powers of the court,

this government is deter-mined to do the right thing,”he argued

However, flaying the role ofthe AGF in the Salami saga,the NBA which is umbrellabody of legal practitioners inthe country, after a conferenceof its National ExecutiveCommittee, NEC, held atLokoja, Kogi State, noted thatthe decision was made in bad

faith.In a communiqué signed by

the NBA National President,Mr J.B Daudu, SAN, the le-gal body said: “NEC consid-ered the recent National Ju-dicial Council recommenda-tion to the President of theFederal Republic of Nigeriato recall the Hon. Justice IsaAyo Salami back to the officeof the President of the Courtof Appeal of Nigeria and con-demned the refusal of thepresident to do so on the pre-text of pendency of litigationin court.

“NBA/NEC considered thedecision was made in badfaith as there was pending liti-gation when the original de-cision to suspend him wastaken.

“NBA/NEC reiterates itsdecision reached at the 2011Annual Conference of theNBA at Port Harcourt callingfor the reinstatement of thePCA on the ground that thesuspension was done whilstthere was litigation on thecorrectness or otherwise of thedisciplinary action of the Na-tional Judicial Council,” TheNBA statement read in part.

“The NBA/NEC viewed thedecision as capable of erod-ing the confidence reposed inthe judiciary by Nigerians.

“NEC took another look atthe disturbing image problemof the judiciary in particularand the justice sector in gen-eral with the resultant effectof public odium and ridiculeand advised all stakeholders,particularly serving Attor-neys-General of the Federa-tion who arrogate to them-selves the right of interpret-ing judicial decisions and leg-islation in such manner thatstrictly suits the governmentof the day, regardless of theiroath of office, the truth andthe lofty standards expectedof occupants of such high of-fice, and further advised suchfunctionaries to desist fromdoing so, in view of the incal-

culable damage such unpro-fessional conduct isoccasioning on the system.”

Meanwhile, on May 30, aFederal High Court in Abujastruck out one of the suits theAGF hinged upon to kickagainst Salami’s recall bid.

Justice Abdul Kafarati whodismissed the suit as grosslylacking in merit, maintainedthat the plaintiff, one Mr NoahAjare, lacked the locus-standito institute the action, sayinghe failed to establish the per-sonal injury he would sufferif Salami is reinstated.

Besides the issue of locus,the court held that the plain-tiff rendered his suit incom-petent by joining the JudicialReform Committee that ab-ini-tio recommended Salami’s re-call, as a party to the suit, not-ing that it is not a legal per-son that could sue or be sued.

Stressing that the committeewas already dissolved havingconcluded its assignment, Jus-tice Kafarati said the 2nd de-fendant, not being a creationof the law, cannot be draggedto court.

“The fact that the plaintiff isa member of the NBA is notenough to confer locus on him.He has failed to show a spe-cial legal right or prove to thiscourt that he has greater in-terest in the matter, over andabove every other Nigerian.

“Moreover, the issue of re-moval or reinstatement ofSalami as President of theCourt of Appeal can be effec-tively decided without theappearance of the plaintiff.Having gone through the pro-cesses before this court, it ap-pears to me that the plaintiffdoes not have any work to do.The plaintiff cannot be said tohave established any courseof action against the defen-dants, the case lacks meritand it is accordingly dis-missed,” the court held.

The plaintiff had urged thecourt to invoke its powers andabort any move by PresidentJonathan to recall Salami onthe basis of the NJC recom-mendation.

He contended that any ac-tion taken by PresidentJonathan on the matter wouldnot only amount to subjudicebut equally constitute a delib-erate affront on the statutoryduties of the judiciary.

Listed as defendants in thesuit were the NJC and theJudicial Reform Committeewhich was constituted by theCJN with a view to resolvingall the crises trailing the sus-pension of Justice Salami vis-à-vis the impasse that hadexisted between the PCA andthe erstwhile CJN, JusticeAloysius Katsina-Alu.

In an originating summons

Continues on page 38

Justice Isa Ayo SalamiPresident Goodluck Jonathan

PAGE 38—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012

Corps members now posted to onlywhere they are secure—NYSC D-G

with the registered number,every detail of that person willbe displayed on the screen forits operator to relay back to anysecurity agency within thearea of primary assignment ofthe corps member making thedistress call for prompt rescueoperation.

The aim of this is primarilyto reduce as much as possiblethe reaction time betweenwhen a corps member orgroups are in some forms ofdistress and when they gethelp. We are assuring the gen-eral public that as long as theyare with their registered GSMnumber within the service ar-eas, corps members can reach

the call centre and tell us whatis amiss if any. So far, we havenot received call for any helpunder distress other than callfor financial help.

Also in addressing the se-curity concerns, we have

intensified and increased ourcollaborations with the secu-rity agencies. As it is known,the National Youth ServiceCorps is not a security agencyand that is why we need col-laboration with those that areempowered to provide physi-cal security, since we careabout the security of our corpsmembers. We have reachedout to the Nigeria Police, StateSecurity Service, SSS and theNigeria Security and CivilDefence Corps, NSCDC, andthey have been very respon-sive.

At the last orientation, wehad increased deployment ofmanpower from theseorganisations and of course,also from the Nigerian Army,all which provided security forthe corps members. Thereaf-ter, when they were deployedfor their primary assignments,

we have also compiled ad-dresses of all existing lodgeswhere the corps members usu-ally reside while serving andgiven the same to securityagencies within those areasfor them to know the directionof the corps members in timeof need for help whenever theneed arises.

Let us understand onething, Nigeria has 36

states plus one federal capitalterritory; by our mandate, wemust post corps members toevery state of the federationgood or bad. However, be-cause some areas have beendescribed as volatile for onereason or the other, we havereduced the number of corpsmembers posted to thosestates such that at the end oforientation, they aredeployable within the statecapitals and maybe one or twolocal government areas wherethey can be easily reached bythe state coordinator, the Com-missioner of Police or state di-rector of SSS so that you don’thave them in far-flung areaswhere help will not get to them

but the truth is that each stateis deserving of whatever num-ber of corps members thatshould be sent to them. Like Isaid earlier, there are 36 statesand the FCT that make up theFederal Republic of Nigeria.We will not deliberately sendpeople to violence-prone ar-eas but at least to state capi-tals.

Would you say that theskills acquisition programmeof the NYSC is actually mak-ing any difference in job cre-ation in the country, giventhe large number of gradu-ates churned out of our ter-tiary institutions yearly?

We are building on ourskills acquisition programme.We also have what we callWar Against Poverty Initiative.This was derived from theMillennium DevelopmentGoals, MDGs which centre onthe eradication of poverty.Corps members who partakein our skills acquisition train-ing, and who at the end oftheir service year, are desir-ous of establishing their busi-nesses, are given interest-free loans to start such busi-

nesses.

The main requirement isto have a workable

memorandum of understand-ing, MoU with a guarantorand the only collateral re-quired is the certificate of na-tional service, which will bereleased to the corps memberat the end of completion of theloan facility.

So far, about 2, 000 to 3, 000corps members have accessedthe facility. The loan rangesfrom N150, 000 to N250, 000per individual for small scaleenterprises.

That these loans are beingrepaid by the first set of ben-eficiaries is an indication thattheir businesses are thriving.It is not only the corps mem-bers that are building success-ful businesses, but also thelabour market is beginning tofind answers to the large scaleunemployment in the country,because for every businessthat succeeds, one or twomembers of the communitieswhere the business is locatedwill also gain employmentfrom the corps members.

It is our hope that for every10 corps members, if nine suc-ceed and each employs fivelocal hands, it will go a longway in addressing the issueof youth unemployment in thecountry.

Continued from page 36

he filed before the court,Ajare, specifically sought adeclaration that all the meet-ings, discussions and recom-mendations for the reinstate-ment of Salami by the Presi-dent, on the recommendationsof the NJC, was illegal, uncon-stitutional, null and void, asthe matter is subjudice.

Even as he beseeched thecourt for an order of per-

petual injunction restrainingthe defendants, their servants,agents or privies from imple-menting, discussing and or rec-tifying the recommendations ofthe NJC in respect of JusticeSalami pending the hearingand determination of pendingcourt actions so as not to createa wrong precedent.

The plaintiff who identifiedhimself as a member of the Ni-gerian Bar Association, NBA,maintained that he was notagainst the reinstatement ofSalami, but wanted the dueprocess of the law to be fol-lowed in order not to set anunhealthy precedent capable ofsustaining such uncanny con-

troversies in the future.He argued that the matter

was no longer personal for theoriginal parties involved, say-ing it has assumed a nationaldimension with global attentionand as such, entails that cau-tion must be observed.

The plaintiff had insistedthat if there was no extant or-der of the court, the 1st de-fendant, Jonathan, may pre-empt the due process of thecourt.

According to him, the face-off between the former CJN,Justice Katsina-Alu and the

PCA, shook the entire judi-ciary to its very foundationand climaxed when the PCAinstituted a court actionagainst the then CJN at theFederal High Court, sayingthere was a grave concernamong Nigerians particularlyat the Bar, concerning the in-tegrity of the judiciary.

Describing the judiciary asthe most sacred arm of

the three arms of government,the plaintiff, contended that asthe last hope of the commonman, its sacredness ought to bepreserved through the instru-mentality of the law and dueprocess.

Those were exactly the samearguments that were canvassedby Adoke, thus, raising ques-tions as per the real sponsor ofthe said litigation.

Besides, another legal prac-titioner, Mr Wilfred Okoli, hasalso gone to court to seek adeclaration that PresidentJonathan is not under any con-stitutional obligation to actupon the recommendation onthe NJC on the issue of Salami.

Joined as defendants in thesuit were the NJC, the AGF,

Justice Salami himself, andPresident Jonathan.

Other reliefs sought by theplaintiff includes a declarationthat the NJC cannot deliberateon an issue which is a subjectof litigation.

A declaration that the 4thDefendant’s right to act or notto act upon any recommenda-tion made to him by the 1stDefendant is uninhibited.

A declaration that it is only acourt of law duly created by the1999 Constitution of the Fed-eral Republic of Nigeria (AsAmended) that has the powerto hear and determine mattersbetween parties.

A declaration that judicialpowers are vested in the courtsby virtue of section 6 of the1999 Constitution of the Fed-eral Republic of Nigeria (AsAmended).

An injunction restraining the4th Defendant whether by him-self, agents, servants, assigns,privies, or whosoever purport-ing to act on his behalf fromacting on the recommendation/advice given by the 1st Defen-dant as it relates to the rein-statement of the 2ndDefendant.

As well as an injunction re-

straining the 1st Defendantwhether by themselves,agents, servants, assigns, priv-ies or whosoever purporting toact on their behalf from delib-erating on issues that are sub-ject of litigation.

He urged the court to de-termine whether presi-

dent Goodluck is constitution-ally bound to accept and actupon the advice/recommenda-tion of the NJC in respect ofany judicial officer.

“Whether the 1st Defendantcan deliberate on an issuewhich is a subject of litigationhaving regards to the extantprovisions of section 6 of the1999 Constitution of the Fed-eral Republic of Nigeria (AsAmended)? and if the answeris NO: “Whether the delibera-tion and the decision reachedin respect of the reinstatementof the 2nd Defendant is not ul-tra vires the statutory power ofthe 1st Defendant having re-gards to the extant provisionsof Section 6 of the 1999 Con-stitution of the Federal Repub-lic of Nigeria (As Amended)?and if the answer is Yes:

“Whether the 4th Defendant

Why Adoke chose to play “the black sheep”Continued from page 37

*Brig-Gen. Nnamdi Okore-Affia

Justice Mohammed Adoke

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012, PAGE 39

The history of air showsand expositions hasbeen traced to Reims,

France, in August 1909 whensome of the then world's lead-ing aviators met at a racetrackon the Bethany Plain outsideReims, France, to compete inthe first organized interna-tional air meet.

The Reims Air Meet featuredmany prestigious contests,including those for the bestflights of distance, altitude,and speed. Lucrative cashprizes and impressive tro-phies enticed the competitorsto set new records in nearlyevery category. As the firstcompetition of its kind, themeet attracted the attention ofnumerous political and mili-tary leaders as well as thepublic.

Spectators who watched thevarious contests experienceda wide range of emotions fromsheer exuberance when theirheroes won, to utter horrorwhen their favourites crashed.The Reims Air Show almostexclusively established aerialcompetitions as a leadingform of entertainment in theearly 20th Century while atthe same time setting prece-dence for all future air shows.

The organisers of the ReimsAir Show faced the challengeof converting the region'sgrape fields into a place thatcould accommodate the ex-pected crowd, not to mention

Significance of Air Expo 2012

the pilots and their airplanes.To meet the challenge, theybuilt special grandstands, arestaurant, a barbershop, andeven press facilities. Overall,the entire Reims meet was ahuge success and helped es-tablish air shows as a majorspectator sport.

Historically, spectatorshave attended air

shows and expos for manyreasons. Apart from beinghighly entertaining, peopleenjoy watching pilots fly va-riety of stunts. Others havefound themselves drawn to airshows due to the sheer speed

of aircraft. Patriotism and na-tional pride have also helpeddraw people to air expos,while others have enjoyedcheering their own country'spilots and air forces.

Some air shows are held asa business venture or as atrade event where aircraft,avionics and other servicesare promoted to potential cus-tomers.

The Farnborough AirShow held biennially in

the United Kingdom is a goodexample of such shows wheremulti-million dollar deals arestruck on yearly basis. Otherair shows are held in supportof local, national or militarycharities. Some military estab-lishments often organise airshows at military airfields asa public relations exercise tothank the local community,promote military careers andraise the profile of the mili-tary.

For instance, the Royal In-ternational Air Tattoo which isheld annually each July atRoyal Air Force (RAF)Fairford, GloucestershireUnited Kingdom, and toutedas the world's largest militaryair show, is staged to supportthe RAF Charity Trust, a char-ity set up in 2005 to supportthe wider RAF family as wellas develop a spirit of airmindedness of youngsters.The show also aims at promot-ing excellence within the RAF.

For the Nigerian Air Force,the maiden edition of its airexpo tagged, ‘NAF Air Expo’was held in 2010 at NAF BaseKaduna to herald NAF’s re-vival and provide a stage forthe NAF to showcase its lat-est hardware. The first of itskind on the shores of Nigeriaand indeed the West Africansub-region, the Expo also af-forded both foreign and localvendors the opportunity toshowcase their products and

services to the general pub-lic.

It is on record that over 10foreign aviation-related com-panies like Aermacchi, Au-gusta Westland, Alenia Aero-nautical and Selex Galileo allfrom Italy graced the three-day event to display theirproducts to interested buyers.Pilotus of Switzerland, CATICof China and some other lo-cal companies like El-Jahaband MENDS Aviation Medi-cal Company were also in at-tendance.

The second edition of theAir Expo was held from

15-19 May, 2012 at the samevenue. This year ’s event,which coincided with the 48thAnniversary of the NAF, wasa crowd thriller. Consideringthe preparations that were putin place, the second editionof the Air Expo was a clear in-dication of the metamorphictransformation of an economicresurgent West Africa in gen-eral and the Nigerian nationin particular.

Besides, with over a tripleincrement in the number ofparticipating companies, theAir Expo is moving towardsbecoming the fastest growingAir Show in Africa bringingtogether players in the globalaerospace industry irrespec-tive of their sizes.

Even more important is the

To many young Nigeri-ans, the end of thecompulsory one-year

National Youth Service Corps(NYSC) comes with fear ofthe unknown. With the highunemployment rate in thecountry and the employmentopportunities getting fewer,many of those rounding offtheir service year cannot butbe anxious of what the futureholds. But for OlaseniAdewole, who recently con-cluded her youth service inPlateau State, while she de-sires to pick up a job as soonas possible, she is not jobless.

According to her, she hasfrom her student days takenentrepreneurship seriously

and had therefore learnt toengage in money-yieldingventures to make ends meet.While in school at Yaba Col-lege of Technology, Lagoswhere she studied BusinessAdministration, 'Seni as she isfondly called, got the Entre-preneur of the Year Awardfrom her department becauseof her exploits in business.

"Back in school, I was wellknown for making snacks sopeople would call me andmake their bookings. I madedeliveries to fast food shops,students and lecturers whilein school", she told SundayVanguard. All through herservice year in Jos, she alsomade extra money throughcake baking and production ofsnacks despite her busyschedule in the bank where

she did her primary assign-ment.

According to her, "it was notdifficult combining the bankjob and my business becausemost of the big events areusually during the weekends.I hate idleness and God hasalways given me the strengthto carry on, so as I work, Icarry my business along. It isjust like people working andat the same time managing acafe, boutique or even a su-per market. "What I do is to

plan my schedule well so thatmy business does not clashwith my other commitments.For instance, how I copedduring the service year wasthat after my CD (communitydevelopment) meetings onThursdays, I use the remain-ing hours of the day to makemy cakes and snacks which inmost cases were booked in ad-vance by colleagues and othercustomers. On Fridays, I wouldwake up early to deliver thembefore going to the office. I willcontinue with my businesswhile still searching for a job."

On what her driving force is,'Seni said being an orphan wasno excuse for not struggling toachieve her dreams and con-tributing her quota to makingsociety better. She believes thatsuch disadvantages shouldrather serve as a springboardand motivation to attain heightsand become a star. In line withher dream, 'Seni who had livedall her life in Lagos said shehas fallen in love with Jos andwas planning to set up a cater-ing business in the city.

"I have seen the potentials for

growth here. Plateau State iseconomically viable for startersand even established entrepre-neurs", she said. As Vice-Presi-dent of the Federal Road SafetyCorps CD Group whichmounted a sign post stressingthe importance of using seatbelt at a strategic part of thestate capital, 'Seni said shefound the opportunity satisfy-ing because it tallied with herpassion of seeking avenues toserve humanity.

She explained that theidea of mounting sign

posts to warn motorists was ini-tially her personal project butshe gave it up for the group asa team player. As a parting shotshe has this advice for incom-ing youth corps members: "ifyou are posted to a 'desert'please make it a fertile land;live a life worthy of emulation,be dedicated and loyal, giveyourself to the service of hu-manity, and always rememberthat a good name is betterthan many riches."

Ex-youth corps member,Olaseni Adewole

By Edward Gabkwet(Wing Commander)

The applicant who saysshe is not jobless

BY TAYE OBATERU &GRATEFUL DAKAT

Olaseni Adewole

Gabkwet sent this piecefrom Abuja

Air Marshal MohammedDikko

PAGE 40—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012

Game over for Ondo Rep?

The Labour Party memberrepresenting Akure South/

Akure North in the House ofRepresentatives, Mr. IfedayoAbegunde, was sacked by aFederal High Court sitting inAkure on Wednesday fordefecting to another party. Isthis a journey to politicalo b l i v i o n ?

The decision by Mr. IfedayoAbegunde, who was electedto represent the people ofAkure North/Akure South

F e d e r a lConstituency at theNational Assemblyon the platform of theLabour Party, todump the party andjoin the ActionCongress of Nigeria(ACN) was notstrange to keenwatchers of politicaldevelopments in thestate going by theantecedents of thefederal lawmaker.Abegunde, a two-term member of theHouse, was first

elected on the platform of thePeoples Democratic Party(PDP) in 2003, shortly after herelocated to the country fromthe United States (US). Hisparty did not field him againwhen his four-year termexpired in 2007 because of hisalleged anti-party activities.He sought solace in the LPwhere he was offered a ticketto return to the House in2 0 1 1 .Few months after he securedhis seat, Abegunde droppedthe bombshell by resigning hismembership of the LP, citing

an imaginary crisis in theparty. He immediately joinedthe ACN and indicated hisinterest in the October 20governorship election on theplatform of his new party.However, the LP leaders in hisconstituency immediatelyconveyed an emergencymeeting where they faultedhis action and resolve to recallh i m .The party chieftains whoattended the meetingincluded political appointees,local government executivesand ward executives.They described the defectionof Abegunde as a blessing indisguise to the party.Notable among the peoplewho attended the meeting,which lasted several hours,were: the lawmakerrepresenting Akure North

State Constituency in theHouse of Assembly, Mr.Akindele Adeniyi; theCommissioner for CultureTourism, Mr. Deji Falae; andthe Chairman of the StateScholarship Board, Mr.Oluremi Edu.Others were; the Chief ofProtocol to the Governor, Mr.Dayo Awude; formerChairman of the state WaterCorporation, Mr. Dapo Filani;and the Chairman of AkureNorth Local Government, Mr.Femi Ofakurin.Adeniyi noted that, contraryto the insinuations byAbegunde and his associates,LP remained indivisible inAkure North localgovernment area.Adeniyi, who had earliermoved the motion for therecall of Abegunde on the

,

,

floor of the Ondo State Houseof Assembly, said the actionof the federal lawmaker wasmorally wrong.

Falae and Awude urgedmembers of the party toremain focused and unitedahead of the governorshipelection.

Swiftly, members of the stateHouse of Assembly passed aresolution asking theleadership of the House ofRepresentatives to stop furtherrecognition of Abegunde.

The legislators, at a specialsiting early in the year,specifically sought the recallof Abegunde, popularlyknown as ‘Àbena’ because hehad dumped the LP anddefected to the ACN.

Three lawmakers from eachof the three senatorial districtsof the state spoke on thedevelopment andunanimously submitted thatthe leadership of the Houseof Representatives shouldsend Abegunde packing fromthe National Assembly withimmediate effect.

The Speaker of the stateHouse of Assembly, Mr.Samuel Adesina, subjectedthe motion to a vote andmajority of the lawmakersvoted in support of the recall

•Olusegun Mimiko

Few months after he secured hisseat, Abegunde dropped thebombshell by resigning hismembership of the LP, citing animaginary crisis in the party

As Nigerians continue to as-sess President GoodluckJonathan one year after hecame into office, High ChiefEfe Odeh, a Warri-based pol-itician, asks the people to beobjective.

IT is a year since President Goodluck Jonathan assumed office; has

he justified the support thepeople of the South Southgave to him during the elec-tions?

The president has just spentone year in office and it willbe unfair for people to say heis not performing because oneyear cannot be enough for himto do all the magic the peopleare expecting. Nigeriansshould be patient and watch

out for better things to comebecause the president will notdisappoint them, and he willsurely justify the reason forsupporting him, which isgood governance for Nigeria.

Don’t you think insecurityin the nation, especially in theNorth, is overwhelming thepresident in his transforma-tion quest?

NO, I don’t think so, be-cause Nigeria is a very com-plex state and for a man fromthe minority to become a pres-ident is an act of God. And so,I’m appealing to Nigerians tocooperate with Mr. Preside ntso that he can be more fo-cused in the area of infra-structural development that ismore important to the peopleinstead of disturbing theman’s attention with insecu-rity problem. You see, themoment we discipline our-selves politically, and we playour politics with the fear ofGod, Nigeria will experience

DEMOCRACY DAY:Nigerians should be objectiveNigerians should be objectiveNigerians should be objectiveNigerians should be objectiveNigerians should be objectivein assessing Jonathanin assessing Jonathanin assessing Jonathanin assessing Jonathanin assessing Jonathan — Odeh•’Uduaghan is on track’

rapid transformation.

What is your view particu-larly on power supply in thenation with regard to the ex-pected increase in tariff?

I will appeal to Mr. Presi-dent to please dump this ideaof increment of PHCN tariff.Presently we are experienc-ing epileptic power supplysystem which is making us tospend a lot of money in buy-ing diesel and acquiring gen-erators set and maintenanceof same.

Therefore, the increment atthis material time is uncalledfor. If I may ask, is it the cartbefore the horse or the horsebefore the horse? Equally, Iwant to appeal to the presi-dent not to allow bad econom-ic advisers to derail his goodprograms as most of the downfall of some of our good lead-ers is as a result of bad eco-nomic advisers. So, let therebe steady power supply be-

advise the governor to see theentire Delta State as his con-stituency and one indivisibleentity and should not denyany community or persons thedividends of democracywhether they voted for him ornot, because he is now thefather of all Deltans and notof one political party. Thoughthere must be opposition, thatshould not distract him fromperforming his legitimate du-ties because the oppositionat times gives room for moreperformance and action. Itherefore advice the governorto focus in his developmentalstride.

During the last governor-ship election, the governormade a promise to makesome changes particularly inthe area of infrastructure; hasanything really changed?

Yes, so many things havechanged in terms of infra-structure and otherwise. But,I must tell you that Delta Stateis not like Lagos State whereeverything is put in one placelike mirror for people to lookat. So, one needs to go round

the whole state before one canactually ascertain the level ofdevelopment. Imagine thestate with so many tribes andmany demand from each tribe;every reasonable governmentmust be careful before certaindecisions are taken, and so,it will take time for people tounderstand what is happen-ing in the state. So, on a moreserious note, I must tell youthat a lot of things are chang-ing for better in the state.

Do we really had reason tocelebrate May 29 as Democ-racy Day in the state?

Yes! There is every reason tocelebrate May 29th as Democ-racy Day, because the worstcivilian government is betterthan the best military govern-ment in any nation or state.And so, Nigerians shouldgive room for democracy to

•Chief Moses Efe Odeh

fore increase in tar-iff can be talkedabout since we arestill battling withthe effect of the fuelsubsidy removal.

Governor Em-manuel Uduaghanis doing his bestand his perform-ance is all over thestate for the peopleto see. But I must

BY DUROJAIYE ALFRED

BY FESTUS AHON

Continues on page 47

Continues on page 47

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012, PAGE 41

Edo voters are the philosopherkings not Abuja —Obahiagbon

Mr Patrick Obahiagbonis a former memberrepresenting Oredo FederalConstituency of Edo Statein the House ofR e p r e s e n t a t i v e s .Igodomigodo, as he isfondly called, is currentlythe Director incharge ofRallies, in the CampaignOrganization of GovernorAdams Oshiomhole. Hisuse of grammar has beenvery entertaining and hasindeed added spice towhatever messageOshiomhole has beendishing out to the people ofthe state ahead of the July14 governorship election inthe state. In this interview,Igodomigodo declares thatit would be a Herculeantask for the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) inEdo State to win theforthcoming governorshipelection, asserting thatO s h i o m h o l e ’ sdevelopmental projects willwin the election for him.

Excerpts:

HOW has it beenbeing theD i r e c t o r

incharge of Rallies in theOshiomhole CampaignOrganization?

For us in the ACN, it hasbeen a jolly political ridethus far against thebackdrop of the fact thatin less than four years ofGovernor AdamsOshiomole in the saddleof governance, Edo Statehas witnessedu n p r e c e d e n t e ddevelopmental and, fromthis point of view, therefore,the campaign has beenfundamentally issue-basedand the people have noproblem relating with theComrade Governor. Ourpeople are sincerelyappreciative of hisSpartan simplicity anddogged determination totransform Edo State intoa place where happinessis optimized. They aretherefore determined tooverwhelmingly returnhim back to OsadebeyAvenue for the sole purposeof taking Edo State to thenext level. Whilst we aredemocratically engagingthe people of Edo State, itappears to me that the PDPis placing so muchpremium on Abuja as ifAbuja would come andvote come July 14th.Wemust, however, warn thatthe people of Edo State arenow politically consciousand are prepared todefend their votes.How do you feel whenpeople express their lovefor you each time you arein rallies?

Nice to hear and knowthat people are positivelyreacting to my deep

involvement in thecampaign process.I amhappy doing what I amdoing and that is theirreducible minimum weowe Edo and our ComradeGovernor who has done somuch to retrieve thepolitical economy of thestate from politicians whowere solely propelled byselfish interests. I pray Godgives me life and goodhealth to see this through.

You can see for yourselfthat the ComradeGovernor has completelydemystified governance byhis modus operandi whichhe has also broughtdelightfully into hiscampaigns. He does notfind it difficult to relate inpractical terms with thepeople. Little wonder thatour campaigns are usuallycharged with affectiontowards him. His entryand exit at everycampaign ground is likethe triumphant entry intoJerusalem. How do youtamper with electionresults with this kind of

BY SIMONEBEGBULEM

,

,The sheer force of ComradeAdams Oshiomole's meteoricand solid achievements hasredefined the issues at stake.Edo people are no moreinterested in politics ofatavism

Mr Patrick Obahiagbon

'Oshiomhole should stop raisingfalse alarm’

Following allegations and counter allegations overplans to rig the forthcoming election by both thePDP and the ACN, a leader of the PDP in the state,Owere Dickson Imasogie, advised Governor AdamsOshiomhole to remember that he is the governor ofthe state and stop raising false alarm. Imasogie said:“How can a governor lead a protest to INEC officeand has been running about and accusing the PDPof every evil? That is not how to govern the statebecause he is creating tension every where”.

Drama as police avert fightbetween PDP, ACN youths

Like people who have suffered for some time nowafter the Governor Adams Oshiomhole-led ActionCongress of Nigeria took over power in Edo Statein 2008, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gotsome relief, last week, when an Ekpoma High Courtdeclared the current Transition Chairmen in the 18Local Government Councils in the state as illegal.Consequently, in order to, at least, get hold of somecouncils before the election, PDP youths stormedSeme council headquarters, last Wednesday, totake over. They started from Edo Central, the domainof Chief Tomy Anenih. However, their hopes weredashed when they found out that they were yet toget the right of execution for the judgment. Thepolice told them that their action was illegal sincethere was no right of execution yet. PDP leadersare eagerly awaiting that execution order.

PDP lose members to ACNThe battle for Osadebey Avenue is becoming too

difficult for the PDP in Edo State as over twothousand of their members dumped the party forthe ACN last week. The latest decampee, thoughhe had a brief stay at the Labour Party before comingto the ACN, was the former Chief of Staff to Prof.Osarhiemen Osunbor, Mr Isaiah Osifo. Before Osifocame, on Tuesday, a former Deputy Governor ofthe state, Rev Peter Obadan, and a former Governor,Chief John Odigie Oyegun, had all joinedOshiomhole’s ACN. PDP leaders toiled in vain toget Osifo back to the party by even making seriouscontributions during the burial of his late mother,but Osifo said he had settled for the ACN due toOshiomhole’s developmental strides.

EDO CP in troubleThe Edo State Police Commissioner Olayinka

Balogun only resumed in the state two months ago,but any one who knows him very well will observethat he has aged overnight. The reason is not far-fetched. The man will either be lambasted by Gov.Oshiomhole or Chief Tony Anenih, a PDP leaderover the July poll in the state. Balogun, who hasbeen doing all he could to ensure peace in the land,raised the alarm to newsmen last Monday aboutplans by politicians to unleash mayhem onthemselves ahead of the election. He lamented:“Even in Kano where they have more localgovernments, it is never like this in an election butthe trouble in two local governments here is morethan ten in other areas. It is sad but we are ready tostop them”.

Politics truly a dirty gameOnly few people in Edo State know the relationship

between the chairman of the PDP in Edo State ChiefOrbih, and Governor Oshiomhole. Orbih has beena close family friend of the Oshiomholes even whenOshiomhole was in the NLC. Orbih’s children visitthe Oshiomholes home in Kaduna to spend theirholidays while Oshiomhole’s kids would also visitPort Harcourt then. These two people shared a lotin common. But today due to the murky waters ofpolitics they no longer see. Their patriachs abusethemselves on the pages of newspapers. Oshiomholehad on one occasion described Orbih as a cementseller while Orbih replied by calling him a tailorwho is opportune to be where he is.

would say res ipsaloquitur, meaning the factsspeak for themselves. Idon’t think it is a questionof joining thebandwagon.It’s rather agenuine appreciation of aman whose dauntlessefforts in transforming thestate in all it’s facets arevisible, from massive roadconstruction efforts acrossthe state, to the provisionof durable drainageceramics, provision ofemployment, rebuildingour public schoolinfrastructure, provision ofhealth facilities, provisionof potable water, ruraltransformation and urbanrenewal to mention a few.Everybody wants to be partof the ComradeGovernor ’s efforts togenuinely transform EdoState into an eldorado. Ashas been rightly observed,there are only threecandidates to beat in thiselection and they are:(1)Adams(2)Aliu and(3)Oshiomole.So you cansee that Comrade Adams

Bini man, humbled theirgovernorship candidate(Gen.Charles Airhiavbere)in his Bini speakingsenatorial district. The far-reaching politicalimplication of the“Imasuagbon treatment”is that even at their micro-pedestal of partyprimaries, the people ofEdo State had made abold statement that thiselection is not about tribeor ethnicity. The sheerforce of Comrade AdamsOshiomoles meteoric andsolid achievements hasredefined the issues atstake. Edo people are nomore interested in politicsof atavism. They are nowkeen on bigger issues ofpolitical economy,d e v e l o p m e n t a l i s m ,government as aninstrument of socialengineering. May be Ishould say here that theComrade Governor hasbeen endorsed byprominent Bini palacechiefs and also by theBenin Forum and TheBenin Heritage Centre,being respectable bodiescommitted to maintainingand defending the essenceand well-being of the Biniman.I can confidentlypontificate that, to theextent that the Bini agendais all about thedevelopment of Benin andbeyond, Comrade AdamsOshiomole is indeed theBini, Esan and Afemaicandidate.He is the EdoState candidate.

But the PDP hasboasted that they willapply the federal might toensure that they sackOshiomhole from theOsadebe Avenue. Are younot worried over that?

I have continuouslyheard that sophistry fromPDP megaphones and Ihumbly and respectfullysubmit that to tread thatpath is stretching theirirrationality too far. Thepeople of Edo State arehyper conscious andpolitically sensitive to giveroom for any FederalGovernment abracadabra.It is in the public domainthat the leadership of PDPhad a late night meetingwith Mr President someweeks ago with a view topossibly railroading himinto unleashing unto EdoState the much vauntedfederal might. If that worksin other states,it wouldcertainly not work in EdoState. I am reluctant tobelieve that Mr Presidentwould want to provokeunnecessary crisis in EdoState not when he himselfhas purportedly keyed intothe ‘one man, one vote’mathra, originated by theComrade Governor. Ifthere is one state where thepeople are going to insiston a transparent electoralprocess, it is in Edo State.

Edo guberelection.

Leadersof the

PDP aremoving tothe ACNevery day,but somepeople feelthey are notpr inc ip ledpoliticians.How do youfeel?

T h el a w y e r s

people’s resolve andconsciousness. As theDirector in charge ofRallies of the OshiomoleCampaign Organization, Isee a people who areresolved to fight on theland, I see a people who areready to fight on the seas, Isee a people who aredetermined to fight on themountain tops, I see apeople who are committedto fight on the beaches, Isee a people who are readyto fight inside the forestsand I see a people whowon’t harbor anyreservations in fightinginside the inner recesses ofthe Presidential Villa ifthey are provoked to so doby any misuse of the so-called federal might on the

Aliu Oshiomole is the onlycandidate roaring in thepolitical jungle of EdoState.

Many people thinkthe introduction of

ethnic politics may affectthe chances ofOshiomhole in Edo South?

It is maniacallybewildering that the PDPhas introduced ethnicityand tribalism into EdoState governorshipelectioneering process andthe point must be madethat they started this rightfrom their primaries for theelection or is it selectionnow of their governorshipcandidate and you knowwhat? One of their fineaspirants,Mr KennethImasuagbon, who is not a

TIT-BITS

CMYK

PA PA PA PA PAGE 42---SUNDGE 42---SUNDGE 42---SUNDGE 42---SUNDGE 42---SUNDAAAAAY VY VY VY VY VANGUANGUANGUANGUANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012ARD, JUNE 3, 2012ARD, JUNE 3, 2012ARD, JUNE 3, 2012ARD, JUNE 3, 2012

WITH pompa n dpageantry

Nigerian children, invery colourful attires,trooped out last Sundayto various churches andother fun places wherethey joyfully showcasedtheir potentials underthe watchful eyes ofparents or guardians asthey joined their count-erparts the world over tomark this year’s Child-ren’s Day.

They displayed theirskills at the differentconcerts and carnivals asthey children ate, drankand danced to melodiousmusic either in theirchurches or the differentconcert spots across thecountry.

At the St. Joseph’sChosen Church of God,Osapa London, Lekki inLagos, the ChosenChildren Ministry org-anised a musical concerttagged “Catch ThemYoung” in commemora-tion of the day and it wasaimed at bringing outthe hidden talents inchildren.

As expected, thechildren captivated their

OritsejaforOritsejaforOritsejaforOritsejaforOritsejafor, Alile, others task, Alile, others task, Alile, others task, Alile, others task, Alile, others taskparparparparparents on child upbringingents on child upbringingents on child upbringingents on child upbringingents on child upbringingBy Sam EYOBOKAand Olayinka LATONA

WHILE otherwell placedNigerians are

mouthing their dissatis-faction about dwindlingbudgetary allocations tothe Nigerian educationsector, the quintessentialGeneral Overseer of theRedeemed ChristianChurch of God, RCCG,Pastor Enoch Adeboye is

Adeboye boostsAdeboye boostsAdeboye boostsAdeboye boostsAdeboye boostsscience education withscience education withscience education withscience education withscience education withN50m endowmentN50m endowmentN50m endowmentN50m endowmentN50m endowment

quietly and steadily pro-moting scholarship thro-ugh the sponsorship ofresearch in the nation'suniversities.Despite the controversycurrently trailing therechristening of his almamater, that has led to theclosure of the Universityof Lagos, Pastor Adeboyewill today hand over acheque worth N50 mill-ion to the vice chan-

cellor of the ObafemiAwolowo University, IleIfe, Professor IdowuBamitale Omole.The donation representsan endowment of a pro-fessorial chair for mathe-matics in that tertiaryinstitution at the fifthedition of Excel 2012Conference---a baby ofthe Apapa Family of thechurch.Endowment gifts offer an

extraordinary opportun-ity for benefactors tosupport research into thebig questions of our timeand beyond.This brings to four thenumber of chairs he hasendowed as part of hiscontribution to excellen-ce in tertiary educationin Nigeria.Adeboye had doled outsimilar amounts to theUniversity of Nigeria,Nsukka, the Universityof Ibadan, Ibadan andthe University of Lagos,Akoka, Lagos.Pastor Adeboye, 70, hasa PhD in applied mathe-matics from the Univer-sity of Lagos, and work-ed as a lecturer in math-ematics at the universi-ties of Lagos and Ilorinbefore he was divinelyelected to become theGeneral Overseer ofRCCG in 1981 after thedeath of the founder theprevious year.Like biblical Peter, afisherman who was call-ed to be a fisher of men,Pastor Adeboye could besaid to have been called,at a time when being apastor was not attractiveto professionals, to be ateacher of men with amandate to lead them toHeaven; take as manypeople with him; have amember of RCCG inevery family of all nat-ions through holinessand planting of churcheswithin five minuteswalking distance inevery city and town ofdeveloping countriesand within five minutesdriving distance in everycity and town of devel-oped countries.Today at the TafewaBalewa Square in Lagos,where Nigeria’s inde-

Continues on Page 43

audience with variousmusic forms includingclassical, local songsaccompanied with localand classical instrum-ents. The children did anorchestral presentat-iontitled I surrender all, Iam thine oh Lordamongst others.

Beyond the fun fare of

the Children’s Day cele-brations, Nigerian par-ents both in the ruraland urban centres, wereurged to take particularattention of the nutritionof their children, just asthey were enjoined toclosely monitor theiractivities against thegrowing rate of cultism

and other social vices inNigeria.

Stating the importan-ce of nutrition in thelives of young lads, theNational President ofCAN, Pastor Ayo Oritse-jafor, Spiritual Leader ofSt. Joseph’s ChosenChurch of God, SJCCG,Apostle Hayford Alile

and the pastor in chargeof the Redeemed Christ-ian Church of God,RCCG, Glory Chapel inAbule Egba, Lagos,Pastor Ladi Akinsanyaopined that every childis a product of what theyeat.

Preaching a sermon

Govt shouldaccept theycan't runNigeria---Alile

.......Pages 44-45

No peace untilblack manreturns to God....Page 43Continued on Page 45

By Sam EYOBOKA

FUTURE MUSICIANS: Children of St. Joseph's Chosen Church of God displaying their talents withmusical instruments.

CMYK

TWELVE priestswere about to beordained. The fi-

nal test was for them toline up in a straight row,totally nude, in a gardenwhile a sexy, beautiful,big breasted, nude modeldanced before them.Each priest had a small

TwelveTwelveTwelveTwelveTwelvepriestspriestspriestspriestspriests

bell attached to hisweenie, and they weretold that anyone whosebell rang when shedanced in front of themwould not be ordainedbecause he had notreached a state of spirit-ual purity.The beautiful modeldanced before the firstcandidate with no react-ion. She proceeded downthe line with the sameresponse from all the

priests until she got tothe final priest, Carlos.Poor Carlos.As she danced, his bellbegan to ring so loudlythat it flew off, clatteringacross the ground andlaid to rest in nearby fo-liage.Embarrassed, Carlosquickly scrambled towhere the bell came torest. When he bent overto pick it up, all the oth-er bells started to ring.

LOGICAL CHRISTIANITYLOGICAL CHRISTIANITYLOGICAL CHRISTIANITYLOGICAL CHRISTIANITYLOGICAL CHRISTIANITY

PETER says toChristians: “Always be ready to

give a logical defence toanyone who asks you toaccount for the hope thatis in you.” (I Peter 3:15).However, most Chris-tians cannot do this be-cause our understandingof the faith does notmake logical sense. Webelieve things that arecontradictory and pre-eminently illogical. Thismakes our faith ration-ally indefensible. Seatmost Christians in a dis-cussion-panel with athe-ists or agnostics and wewould easily become alaughing-stock.

Unreasonable faith

For example, someChristians maintain Jesus has

taken away our sins. Ifso, why are we still sosinful? We say Jesuspaid for our sins and atthe same time insist oursins are forgiven. But ifour sins are paid for, thatmeans they are not for-given. If our sins are for-given, no one needs topay for them. We say Je-sus paid the penalty forour sins and maintainthe penalty is eternaldamnation. However,Jesus did not die eter-nally: he only died forthree days.When we point out suchanomalies to fellow-

Christians, they insistthe problem is that weare devoid of the inspi-ration of the Holy Spirit.But how does the HolySpirit become the exclu-sive preserve of theillogical? Indeed, whocan be more logical thanGod? What can be morelogical than the universehe created? Everythingabout the kingdom ofGod makes logical sen-se. Therefore Jesus says:“If anyone chooses to doGod's will, he will findout whether my teachingcomes from God or whe-ther I speak on my own.”(John 7:17).

Some insist that, inmatters of faith,the application of

reason is ill-advised.Paul says: “It is written:‘I will destroy the wis-dom of the wise, andbring to nothing the un-derstanding of the pru-dent.’” (I Corinth-ians1:19). But, as usual,Paul’s quote is a distor-tion of Isaiah. Isaiah’sstatement is addressedspecifically to the proph-ets and seers of biblicalIsrael. He says: “Thewisdom of THEIR WISEMEN shall perish, andthe understanding ofTHEIR PRUDENT MENshall be hidden.” (Isaiah29:14). This is a far cryfrom God destroying thewisdom of the wise ingeneral.

Paul says: “NOT MANYWISE according to theflesh, not many mighty,not many noble, arecalled.” (I Corinthians1:26). But Jesus says dif-ferent. He says: “In-deed, I send you proph-ets, WISE MEN, andscribes.” (Matthew 23:34). God is reasonable.He gave us brains andexpects us to use them.He is not opposed towisdom. Indeed, Solom-on says in matters offaith wisdom is essen-tial: “Wisdom is the prin-cipal thing; therefore getwisdom. And in all yourgetting, get understand-ing.” (Proverbs 4:7).Luke observes that, as achild: “Jesus increasedin wisdom.” (Luke 2:52).James counsels: “If anyof you lacks wisdom, lethim ask of God, whogives to all liberally andwithout reproach, and itwill be given to him.”(James 1:5). Jesus alsosays we should love theLord “with all our mind.”(Mark 12:30). Thatmeans we should loveGod with our mental fac-ulties.

Reasonable God

let, they shall be as whiteas snow.” (Isa 1:18-19).When God determined todestroy the Israelites,Moses reasoned withhim. He queried him:“Why should the Egyp-tians speak, and say, ‘Hebrought them out toharm them, to kill themin the mountains, and toconsume them from theface of the earth’? Turnfrom Your fierce wrath,and relent from this harmto Your people.” (Exodus32:12). Indeed, Mosessucceeded in dissuadingGod: “So the LORD re-lented from the harmwhich He said He woulddo to His people.” (Exo-dus 32:14).

It is bankrupt Christian faith that is illogical. When faith is

phony, it seeks refuge inillogicality. When Chris-tian doctrine is built onsand as opposed to therock, it becomes inter-nally inconsistent andfalls apart. Jesus is al-ways logical. He is a me-ticulous, punctilious andsystematic teacher. Eve-rything about his teach-ings on the kingdom ofGod is logically consist-ent. Isaiah foretells this:

“Precept must be uponprecept, precept uponprecept, line upon line,line upon line, here a lit-tle, there a little.” (Isai-ah 28:10).Jesus is contemptuous ofhypocrites essentiallybecause their actions areillogical. He warns usnot to emulate them: “Donot do according to theirworks; for they say, anddo not do.” (Matthew23:3). Liars and cheatsare incoherent. Soonerthan later, their decep-tions reveal inconsisten-cies between their wordsand their conduct.

Luke testifies about“all that Jesus began to do and to

teach.” (Acts 1:1). Thisshows there is no disso-nance in Jesus. He doeswhat he teaches: he doesnot teach what he doesnot do. According-ly, Je-sus declares he is thebread of life and thenmultiplies five loavesand two fishes to feed5,000 people. He de-clares he is the light ofthe world and then opensthe eyes of the blind. Hedeclares he is the resur-rection and the life, andthen raises Lazarus fromthe dead.

Jesus the logician

Jesus is a masterful lo-gician. He demolishedthe position of theSadducees that there isno resurrection by point-ing out that: “God saidto Moses, ‘I am the Godof Abraham, and I amthe God of Isaac, and Iam the God of Jacob.’God was telling Mosesthat these men, thoughdead for hundreds ofyears, were still verymuch alive, for he wouldnot have said, 'I am the

God' of those who don'texist!” (Mark 12:26-27).When his authority waschallenged, Jesus re-plied: “‘I also will askyou one thing, and an-swer Me: The baptism ofJohn-was it from heavenor from men?’ And theyreasoned among them-selves, saying, ‘If wesay, “from heaven,” Hewill say, ‘Why then didyou not believe him?’But if we say, “Frommen,” all the people willstone us, for they arepersuaded that John wasa prophet.’ So they an-swered that they did notknow where it was from.”(Luke 20:3-7).Thus, Jesus’ logic con-founds unbelief. He asksthe Pharisees who insistthe Messiah is the sonof David: “If David thencalls Him ‘Lord,’ how isHe his Son?” (Matthew22:45). Matthew reportsthat: “No one was ableto answer Him a word,nor from that day on didanyone dare questionHim anymore.” (Mat-thew 22:46).

Postscript

I was holding lunch-hour fellowships in Vic-toria Island, Lagos butsoon ran out of space. Allmy extensions could notgo beyond seating 120people. Suddenly, theLord said to me: “Femi,do you know you can in-crease the capacity ofthis hall by 50 per cent?”“How is that possible?”I asked. He replied:“Build pews.” When Idid, the hall was able toaccommodate 180.Beware of Christianswho insist you must notuse your brains in orderto walk by faith. Theyare all preachers of afalse gospel.

As a matter of fact, Godopenly invites us to rea-son with him. He says:“Present your case; bringforth your strong rea-sons.” (Isaiah 41:21).“Let us contend to-gether; state your case,that you may be acquit-ted.” (Isaiah 43:26).“Come now, and let usreason together, thoughyour sins are like scar-

run this country bythemselves. They needthe assistance of peoplewho will provide the foodand orderliness for thespirit, body and the soulof man and that is notwhat government cando. They should concernitself with how we canset up proper education-al policy that any volun-teer who wants to set upprimary and secondaryschools will settle with-in these educ-ationalpolicies and its the dutyof government to go andinspect the schools and

ensure mon-itoring com-pliance. It is criminal,abomination, and insulton God and their par-ents to take a knife andcut their fellow humanbeings. Today, some ofthese children are doingit but they don’t knowthe implicat-ion. I knowwhat I am saying, atleast I run a church;some even think takingdrug is a routine thingand nobody is correctingthem. They don’t seeanything bad in doing it.Parents give their chil-dren school fees and thechildren gamble with themoney. It is such a seri-ous problem.

Is there any hope for

the Nigerian children?There is hope for them.

The whole thing muststart with you; in thesense that you know thewhole problems and thereason why you know allthese problem is becauseof your exposure. A lotof Nigerians are veryexposed but unfortuna-tely, like what you see indemocracy; democracydoesn’t tolerate the best,for leadership. The waywe are going in thscountry, it will take us along time before we canproduce the right lead-ership that propel thiscountry to its promisedland, but certainly wewill get there.

Recently the NationalAssembly rejected a Billon same sex marriage.What is your take on it?

The question I kept

asking the western lead-ers who believe in suchstupid thing is; 'if theirfathers married theirbrothers would they havebeen born? And that is to

Govt should accept they can't run Nigeria----Apostle Alile

When faith is phony,it seeks refuge in

illogicality

show you that atimesthere can be some mis-takes in human mentali-ty and I really clap myhands for Senator DavidMark who stood againstit. Our prayers go to him.He is the kind of leaderwe are looking for in thiscountry.

Continued from Page42

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JEST THE MINUTE *Send jokes to:sameyoboka@yahoo.com

PPPPPAAAAAGE 44 — SUNDGE 44 — SUNDGE 44 — SUNDGE 44 — SUNDGE 44 — SUNDAAAAAY VY VY VY VY VANGUANGUANGUANGUANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012ARD, JUNE 3, 2012ARD, JUNE 3, 2012ARD, JUNE 3, 2012ARD, JUNE 3, 2012

CHRISTIAN FESTIVALS for June 2012

03: Trinity Sunday07: Corpus Christi29: Saints Peter and Paul

pendence celebration tookplace on October 1, 1960 withthe Prime Minister, TafawaBalewa, delivering hisindependence speech, Adebo-ye besides preaching a mess-age specially targeted at theyouths, will hand over thecheque to the vice chancellorto boost the study of ma-thematics in OAU, Ile Ife.He is also expected to dedi-cate a Youth Academy spons-ored by the Apapa Family inline with the church’s socialcorporate responsibility. Tounderscore the emphasis thechurch places on youths aschange catalysts, it had

perfected plans to establishExcel Academy—a mentoringand leadership training insti-tution for youths.According to Pastor Morganan investment on the nation'syouths would positively infl-uence their thinking, theirorientation and actions willchange for the betterment ofour country, "that is why weare focusing on the youths."According to the organizers ofthe programme there will befood enough for about 100,000persons at the venue of thespiritual fiesta while musicministration would be byyouthful musicians like TimGodfrey, Eben and JO Blue.

ABUJA---THE international president of Center for theAdvancement of Christians in Politics, Barrister VictorDan-Jumbo has declared that it would be extremely dif-

ficult for the black race to reach its potentials until it reconnectswith its spiritual root which is in the Lord.Dan-Jumbo made this frightening declosure while speaking atthe 2012 breakfast retreat of the Centre titled; 'OperationRehoboth' in Abuja. He also challenged Christians to embracepolitics as people enjoy when the righteous rules.According to him, all Africans nations are endangered becausetheir roots are found in idolatry, noting “when the black racewalks with God, they are blessed by God, when they walk awayfrom God, they walk into destructive lifestyles”.Dan-Jumbo pointed out African Union and ECOWAS have mademade numerous deliberate efforts to solve the problems facingAfrica, but Jesus said that "without Him, we can do nothing”;emphasasing that the major problem of Nigeria and indeedAfrica has to do with leadership failure. He argued that suchsignifies divine anger and punishment from the Almighty God,therefore, we must return to Him.“The major trouble that Africa is facing is leadership. Oncethose in leadership are babies, this is what would happen. Onceyou find that there is no leadership, it is an evidence that thereis anger from the Almighty. African nations are undergoingthis challenge, and we must make a difference. God is expect-ing much from Christians. God wants His children to do andchange things as Christians in this world," he added.Also speaking, a former parliamentarian, Senator EbenezerChukwuemeka said that things would continue to go wrong aslong as people who have what it takes to turn the nation aroundfor good are exhibiting ‘I don’t care attitude’.

By Caleb AYANSINA

No peace until blackman returns to God

JUNE 3, 1083: Henry IV of Germany storms Rome,capturing St. Peter’s Cathedral.JUNE 3, 1620: Construction of the oldest stone church inFrench North America, Notre-Dame-des-Anges, begins atQuebec City, Quebec, Canada.JUNE 3, 1658: Pope Alexander VII appoints François deLaval vicar apostolic in New France.JUNE 3, 1752: Moscow houses & churches destroyed byfire.JUNE 3, 1886: 24 Christians burn to death in NamgongoUganda.JUNE 3, 1963: Pope John XXIII the 261st Pope of the RomanCatholic Church died at age 81 less than five years afterbecoming Pope.JUNE 3, 1981: Pope John Paul II released from hospitalafter assassination attempt.

TODAY IN CHRISTIAN HISTORY

Adeboye boosts educationContinued from Page 42

The title of the revelation toyour church this year is FearNot! If we place that side byside with the current state ofinsecurity in the country es-pecially in a nation whereBoko Haram have given analtimatum to Christians tovacate the North. How canChristians live withot fear?

I believe that God has a cov-enant with this country. Wewill make mistakes and suchmistakes will cost us some lvesbut His message is Fear Not,because what goes up mustcome down. The group haveadmitted and believe that Godcreated them. God also creat-ed the people they are askingto vacate the North, otherwisethey kill them. There is a limitto all these things and ourprayer is for their eyes to be

opened and their ears to beopened to what God is saying.You cannot just wake up andstart killing innocent people.You will have to account for itand the price they will pay forit may not be too far away.

Sir, has the governmenthandled the security issues asit should be?

Yes and no! In an evolvingdemocratic environment likethis, I think they are justifiedto tread softly and adopt dueprocess because we are stilllearning the ropes. Democra-cy is a learning process andthat process can be very ex-pensi-ve. The security arm ofthe government should get upand do their work. Nigeria isnot a foolish country. We arenot a foolish people. On thecontrary the few people who

run the affairs of this nationare very intelligent people.The security people mustwake to their responsibility. Ifthere is no cooperation fromthe se-curity people, the gov-ernment knows what to do andit should do it fast. If certainpersons are not responsible,the governm-ent should putthem on their toes.

How do you assess the per-formance of Mr. Presidentthus far?

President Jonathan inherit-ed a very bad situation and heis managing within the coop-erat-ion he has been able toget from our brothers and sis-ters from the North. I don’tthink we can assess his per-forman-ce, good or bad, usingthe time available. If we lookat all ma-thematical modelsfor political system, democra-cy is still the best but the as-sumptions like high literacylevel, common-ality of lan-guage and distribu-tion ofwealth and resources; Nige-ria cannot qualify to be calleda democratic nation. Democ-racy is not a one point action,but rather a process. Just lookaround us and see who elsewill replace him. If you bringa non-minority to be presidentright now, there will be a lotof hue and cry. So, let's toler-ate what we have for the timebeing. I have said it again andagain that left for human rea-soning or calculations, therewill be questions as to how Dr.Jonathan got there. What is inthe mind of God, is not whatis the mind of man. Jonathanis the will of God and weshould not fight it. Thank Godfour years is just a short timein a life cycle.

Nigerians got a very un-pleasant New Year gift onJanuary 1 when the presidentremoved fuel subsidy. Whatwas your reaction?

I was shocked myself becau-se of the timing. I believe indue cause the presidentshould be able to tell the nat-ion why he took that decision.He really had to have consult-ed widely among the stake-holders before that move. Withthe little we have been able toread sure enough; if smallcountries like Ghana can re-move fuel subsidy why not Ni-geria? The amount of mon-eywe are borrowing to spon-sor

Govt should accerun Nigeria — AliApostle Hayford Alile, the pioneer Director-General of the N

great contributions to the Exchange, is a household name. decades of financial management experience and expertise

several blue chip companies in the country. He is the Spiritual Leadspoke with our SAM EYOBOKA on the state of the nation. Excerpt

In a predominantly agricultural country,we are pretending to be a post-industrialcountry; we have to pay a price for it or

else it will collapse

CMYK

SUNDSUNDSUNDSUNDSUNDAAAAAY VY VY VY VY VANGUANGUANGUANGUANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012--- PARD, JUNE 3, 2012--- PARD, JUNE 3, 2012--- PARD, JUNE 3, 2012--- PARD, JUNE 3, 2012--- PAAAAAGE 45GE 45GE 45GE 45GE 45

titled, Family Altar, inhis church, Word of LifeBible Church, Warri, De-lta State, Pastor Oritsej-afor stressed the needfor parents to place val-ue on their children be-cause every child isborn to solve a problem.He enjoined parents notto neglect their youngones; “don’t kill theirtalents,” even as headvised them to set upa family altar.

As parents, he said,“we must try as much aspossible to actualise thechildren’s potentials”,noting that the child’sspiritual destiny beginsin Heaven; while his/her physical destinybegins with the spousewe marry and how wejointly raise the child inthe fear and nurture ofour Maker.

To the children,he also had aword of adm-

onition, saying theymust listen to their par-ents and respect them;not forgetting to stressthat the father is thephysical head of thefamily.

Speaking at the Child-ren’s Day service, theSpiritual Leader ofSJCCG, Apostle Hay-ford Alile charged pa-rents not to hide theirchildren’s talents but,rather encourage themto develop their God-given potentials.

Speaking throughApostle EmmanuelNmalagu, the spiritualleader said gone are thedays when parents tieddown their children’stalents; charging minist-ers of God to encouragethe leaders of tomorrowto nurture their talents.

His words: “In the old-en days our gifts weretied down but now thosegifts are being stirredup. I was pleasantlyshocked to see thesechildren displayingdifferent kinds of giftsand talents. Our child-ren have diverse talentsembedded in them byGod”.

Similarly, then a t i o n a lcoordinator of

the Chosen ChildrenMinistry, Mrs. StarAbache told our reporterthat the objective of theprogramme was to sea-rch and discover thehidden gifts and talents

in the children at earlyage with a view to dev-eloping such gifts forthe benefit of the entirecountry.

She therefore urgedparents, guardians andstakeholders to invest intheir children’s develop-ment and help to impro-ve their in-built talents;noting that Nigerianchildren will not be luredinto evil practices or illi-cit habits if they arerightfully engaged indoing the right things.

Drawing inspirationfrom various biblicalpassages, Pastor Akins-anya enjoined parents togive their children closemarking and monitorwhatever they do or whothey associate with. Thatway, he said, the youngminds will imbibe godlyprinciples and will not

go astray.

According to him,in these days ofn e g a t i v e

spiritual influences pa-rents must spend qualitytime with their childrenand bring them up asfriends, praying withthem, giving them opp-ortunities to expressthemselves in their usualinnocence while the dutyof the parents is to cor-rect them in love.

The RCCG pastor advi-sed parents not to sparethe rode in the oneroustask of bringing up thechild in the way of theLord, adding “some tim-es there is the need toapply the rode. Par-entsmust desist from threat-ening teachers who helpto shape our children byapplying the whip.”

OritsejaforOritsejaforOritsejaforOritsejaforOritsejafor, Alile, others task, Alile, others task, Alile, others task, Alile, others task, Alile, others taskparparparparparents on child upbringingents on child upbringingents on child upbringingents on child upbringingents on child upbringing

Continued from Pg 42

fuel subsidy is enormousand we are creating avery heavy liability forour children. A lot of theyouths who are fightingtoday, will not under-stand the implication ofthe move. If they knowthe implic-ations, theywill be first to kickagainst it, by saying 'nowe don’t want our fa-thers to leave such hugeliability for us.' Therefore,it is a serious matter andwe have to reflect prop-er-ly before we take side.

Sir, is the huge liabili-ty not as a result of cor-ruption in the system?

Yes, it is. There are il-lusions in the minds ofpeople that the price offuel in Lagos should bethe same in every part ofthe nation. If you go toAmerica, even within astate you will find differ-ent prices because of thecost of moving the com-modity. If you want aluxury movement fromone place to another, youhave to pay a price forit. If government decis-es to fix our rail-lines tocarry goods and servic-es across the country, wehave to pay, becausethere is no free lunch. itspart of human relationand existence. What weare told is that Nigeriaspends almost N3 trillionfor fuel subsidy per year.Who is providing suchmoney? If we continue toprint naira notes, infla-tion will take us over.What we are hearing isthat they have been bor-rowing the money. Thatis how we have man-aged our economy in thepast. In a predominant-ly agricult-ural country,we are pretending to bea post-industrial coun-try; we have to pay aprice for it or else it willcollapse. So, we musthold back a little; en-courage our farmers andthe young people whoare crying for employ-ments should go to thefarms. The entrepreneu-ral spirit of the Nigerianwill, out of this confus-ion, explode. When got

political independenceon a plat-ter of gold; sowe don't know the valueof it. If we want econom-ic ind-ependence wehave to pay some price.There is a lot of endow-ments that God has giv-en to this country, butyou don't plant yam to-day and hope to harvestit tomo-rrow. Neither doyou go to the Saharadesert and say you areexpecting a good har-vest. There are lots ofthings that need-ed to bedone nationally.

But the tragedy of theNigerian situation is thatwe pontificate withoutimplementaion. We'vehad all the models in thepast---Green Revolut-ion, Operation Feed thenation and what haveyou....

Well, everything has itsgood morning. If youwake up by 2.00 p.m. it'sgood morning; but nowthat we are seeing dang-ers ahead and I hope thatrascality and foolishnesswill not push us to dang-erous things. Many atim-es, we were at the brinkof falling over but Godcarried us on His shoul-der and He will contin-ue to do that, becauseGod has a purpose forthis country.

How do we addressthe economy withouttackling corruption? To-day, we still have leg-is-lators who earn morethan the American pres-ident. The budget forour president's feedingruns into millions ofnaira per day...

Well, that is a tell tale.Left to me and my wife,our food budget will notbe up to 10 per cent ofwhat it is today. Why isit like that; people unin-vited, brothers, sisters,church members arehungry and they eatfrom the kitchen. We maynot be able to come tojudgement on PresidentJonathan and the vicepresident, but they haveheard the hue and cry ofthe people, I am quitesure, they would do som-

ething. What are theyeating? There are sever-al ways of tackling cor-rupt-ion. I have said thatour government of 30 or40 years ago made a mis-ta-ke. The military gov-ern-ment thought theycould legislate moralityand decided to take overpri-mary and secondarysch-ools from the missio-nar-ies. I started school-ing in a Muslim schoolbefo-re proceeding to aCatholic school and theman in me was broughtout before I finished mysecondary school. But to-day, some of the stategovern-ments now real-izing that they cannotlegislate morality andtwo they don’t reallyknow how to manage theschools. Some of them arenow handing the schoolsover to missionarieswhich established theschools.

I can’t never allow mychildren to go and takesome other person'sthing; what do not be-long to me---something Idid not work for. Never!Because my consciencetells me no. But, todaythere is nobody bringingup these children. Some-times I drive down herearound 8:30 a.m. to 9.00a.m and I still see pri-mary school pupils walk-ing down the street. Itnever happened in ourdays. We have to go backand accept the fact thatwe are a rural agricult-ural society and our eco-nomy must take the na-tural curve after agri-cul-tural self sufficiency infood production. ThatNigeria is importing cas-sava, rice amongst othersis an abomina-tion. Whatwe are telling God is thatHe made a mistake andHe never made a mistakeby creat-ing us and put-ting us in this land. Samething go-es for our pri-mary, secon-dary and ter-ritory institut-ions. Gov-ernment should acceptthe fact that they cannot

*Children's Day at the RCCG, Glory Chapel, AbuleEgba, Lagos.

THAT Eckankar means "Co-worker with God."It offers ways to explore your own unique andnatural relationship with the Divine.

With the personalized study that is a part ofEckankar, you get divine guidance to apply in youreveryday life and on your journey home to God. Thefull experience of God is possible in this lifetime!

Spiritual Study GroupsEckankar is mainly about your daily, personal con-nection with Divine Spirit. You'll also find people oflike mind and experience in Eckankar who shareyour desire for truth.Your spiritual experiences reach welcoming earsamong ECKists, those who study the ECK teach-ings.

DO YOU KNOW?

ept they can'tlile

Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, who for many years madeHe is a financial expert and analyst who has over three

e. A well known technocrat, Alile is still on the Board ofder of Saint Joseph's Chosen Church of God. Recently, hets...

The children department of Mountain Of Fire AndMiracle Ministries, Region 13, Mushin Lagos,performing during the children's day celebrationat the church auditorium.

Continued on Page 45

CMYK

PAGE 46—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012

,VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF

VIEWPOINTVIEWPOINTVIEWPOINTVIEWPOINTVIEWPOINT

BY KAREEM MAYOWA

Unease in the oppositionparty barely six weeks to gu-bernatorial poll in the state.

I’M in high spirit todaybecause I have marriedthe woman of my choice

virtually at no cost becausegovernment shouldered thecost”. These were the words of55- year-old Sule Alaramma,one of the 100 beneficiaries ofthe recent bride bonanza ini-tiative of Kano State govern-ment in conjunction with thestate’s sharia police known asHisbah and Voice of Orphans,Widows And Divorcees, VOW-AD, an NGO.

This development in itself isnot bad. After all, nobody canfault the Kano government,Hisbah and VOWAD for help-ing to remove these men andwomen from the stigmatizationof divorce and widowhood ina country like Nigeria but theresult will be a massive in-crease in Almajiris which willfurther swell the ranks of ex-tremists and fanatics who re-cruit hungry boys as agentsof destruction, violence andsuicide bombings.

Almajiris emanated from theArabic word, Al-muhajirin.The concept came as a resultof Prophet Muhammed (SAW)

Government and its misplaced prioritymigration from Mecca to Me-dina due to the problems ofidol worshipping in Mecca.Al-muhajirin therefore meansthe immigrant, but here inNigeria, especially in theNorth, Almajiris could meanone of the following: childrenbetween the ages of 5 and 11who attend an informal reli-gious school and who equallyroam about with the purposeof getting assistance or arms;a child who engages in someform of menial labor to earn aliving; or any person irrespec-tive of gender who begs forassistance on the street or fromhouse to house as a result ofdeformity or disability.

Usually a child becomes anAlmajiri when there is pover-ty in his family and is unableto take care of his essentialneeds. Some children areforced to become Almajirissimply when they lose theirparents and their relatives orguardians cannot keep them.Most of such children alsobecome victims when theirparents send them to Quranicschools outside their home-towns. At the end of the day,the children will learn lessabout the Qur’an and moreabout mischievous acts.

From the aforementioned,one can deduce that the ini-tial idea behind an Almajiribeing someone that follows theprophet in order to gain Qu-ranic knowledge has been bas-tardized by Nigerians espe-cially those across the North.One begins to wonder how

many more Almajiri schoolswill the government be expect-ed to build to cater for the chil-dren that will besiege thecountry after the one hundredof brides and grooms begin tofulfill their matrimonial dutiesof reproduction or has the gov-ernment of Kano State madeprovision to feed and clothethese gifts that will surface af-ter nine months as a result ofthese unions?

Some may say the benefici-aries were given 20,000 naira

ed such as eradication of ex-treme poverty and hunger, in-security, affordable healthcare, infrastructural develop-ment, creation of job opportu-nities and others too many tomention, the government ofKano State ought to havepicked from those guaranteedto bring more good to the peo-ple which brings us to anoth-er case of misplaced prioritieswhich is the so-called estab-lishment of modern boardingschool for Almajiris with the

is, teachers, do rather thanchurn out miscreants, vaga-bonds, street urchins, etc. likeit has always done?

Moreover, this is not the firstgovernment has tried to ad-dress the problems posed bythe Almajiri syndrome; wehave had examples like thenomadic education, educationof the children of migrant fish-ermen, education of the girl-child in the North and the boy-child drop-out syndrome in theSouth-East. These projectsapparently failed becausetheir impact has not been feltby the nation. Billions of Nairawere sunk into the projects inthe past yet they yielded nofruit. The Almajiri schoolproject is, therefore, in myopinion, an elephant project,because it is the ‘mallams’ thatshould be educated before thechildren.

The president has promisedsimilar projects in all 36 statesof Nigeria. Apart from the factthat this is an insult to statesin the eastern and westernparts of Nigeria that have noAlmajiris, one is forced towonder what measures havebeen put in place to ensure thesustainability of the project.What are the states and localgovernments contributing to itapart from land for the schoolsand their pictures in the press?There is a high possibility thatthe project will end up aban-doned like most projects inNigeria.

*Mayowa is of FederalPolytechnic, Bida.

Man of Peace, Edward Akenzua, Enogie of Ologbo, turns 80

HIS Royal Highness,Prince EdwardEkighawogho Aken-

zua, the Enogie of Ologbo, inEdo State, was 80 years oldyesterday. His many years onthe throne since he was in-stalled as the 1st Enogie ofOlogbo Dukedom in 1988 byOba Erediauwa, Omo N’ ObaN’ Edo Uku Akpolo Kpolo,Oba of Benin, has broughtprogress, peace and tranquil-lity to his people.

Described as a gentle andnoble prince, Akenzua, likehis elder brother, the Oba, andother siblings, had educationin the colonial era at Edo Col-lege, Benin City, from 1946-1951. He first qualified as aneconomist in 1958 and from1966-1973 was at the Univer-sity of Mainz, Germany, wherehe qualified as a medical doc-tor.

Having worked as a civilservant in the old WesternRegion Civil Service, in theMinistry of Local Governmentand the Ministry of Health, aswell as the Federal Civil Serv-ice before proceeding to Ger-many for his medical training,

Akenzua gained a lot of earlyadministrative and manageri-al experiences a strengthwhich he strongly built on andhave been an asset to him allhis life, preparing him for thetask ahead, as a great manag-er of people and leader.

His life as a medical doctorhas seen him serve and ex-celled in various hospitals inboth Germany and Nigeria,where he has brought hiswealth of experience as a sur-geon to deliver health serviceto the society. He worked inEvangelisches Krankenhaus,Gelsenkirehen, St. Josef-Hos-pital, Oberhausen, St. MarienHospital, Gelsenkirchen-Buer,all in Germany amongst oth-

ers, and later at the Universi-ty of Benin, where he retiredas the Director of Health Serv-ice in 1992. He has continuedto enjoy his calling of commit-ment to humanity, in savinglife and delivering health serv-ice as a medical practitioner tilldate, as the Medical Directorof Western Polyclinic, BeninCity.

Akenzua is a great leader of

Ocean Oil Company, and theNigerian Petroleum Develop-ment Company (NPDC), asubsidiary of the NigerianNational Petroleum Company(NNPC). The Enogie, in hiscapacity as the Chairman ofthe Edo State Chapter of Tra-ditional Rulers of Oil MineralProducing Communities ofNigeria (TROMPCON), hascontinued to initiate moves to

the great Oba Ovonramwenand Oba Eweka the Great,Akenzua, like his elder broth-er, the Oba of Benin, Oba Ere-diauwa, is a man who believesin justice, peace and tranquil-lity. A profound academic anda firm believer in education asthe bedrock and foundation ofgrowth, he has continued toencourage youths of Ologbo,Edo and the larger society onthe need for educational ex-cellence as a pointer to a greatfuture. This he has also donethrough his philanthropic sup-port and scholarship awards.He helps his people to secureemployment and has been apivot in job creation for hiscommunity through the indig-enous oil firms and other or-ganisations in and around hisdomain and beyond.

He is married to his heart-throb, Fe Didima.. They havetwo wonderful children: Ai-yevbekpen Helen and Owen-vbiugie Jason.

A recipient of many awardsand patron of several organi-zations within and outsideEdo, Akenzua is also a cor-porate player and business-man who sits on the boards ofmany companies and has con-tributed immensely to the eco-nomic development of EdoState and Nigeria at large.

TRIBUTETRIBUTETRIBUTETRIBUTETRIBUTE

BY LAJA THOMAS

each to start businesses thatwill help sustain their familiesbut what skills have they ac-quired to help them properlyutilize the money? What hasthe government put in placeto ensure that the beneficiar-ies do not squander this mon-ey in an effort to keep body andsoul together, after all, someof them are second or thirdwives as allowed by Islam.

This is simply a case of agovernment that has lost itspriority and purpose. Withthousands of projects and pol-icies begging to be implement-

commissioning of one in Gabilocal government area of Soko-to State by President GoodluckJonathan..

The president described thisdevelopment as a fulfillmentof his campaign promises, but,as a friend aptly put it, “ thepresident is laying the foun-dation for 2015”. I think whatthe president has simply doneis to address the problem ofAlmajiris and sectarian vio-lence from the branches rath-er than the roots because whatgood will an organized schoolwith the same ‘mallams’, that

HRH Prince EdwardEkighawogho Akenzua

Ologbo, a once predominant-ly agricultural town in Ikpoba/ Okha Local GovernmentArea, but now, a major oil pro-ducing community, one ofwhich has placed Edo State onthe map of the oil producingregions of the country.

Oil companies operating inOlogbo include the ObaxWorldwide Limited, Pan

see how oil companies andtheir host communities willcontinue to work in peace toachieve meaningful develop-ment, a move which has notonly endeared him to his peo-ple, but has also made Edo thestate with the least oil commu-nity crisis in the Niger Delta.

As a son of the great ObaAkenzua and a descendant of

,A profound academic and a firmbeliever in education as the bedrockand foundation of growth, he hascontinued to encourage youths ofOlogbo, Edo and the larger society onthe need for educational excellence asa pointer to a great future

,

,I think what the president hassimply done is to address the

problem of Almajiris and sectarianviolence from the branches rather

than the roots

CMYK

VIEWPOINTVIEWPOINTVIEWPOINTVIEWPOINTVIEWPOINT

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012, PAGE 47

of Abegunde from theNational Assembly.

But the embattled law-maker, through his coun-sel, Mr. Kola Olawoye,on 25 January, 2012,sought the protection ofthe court against the re-call move. The suit hasas defendants, the OndoState House of Assembly,the State LP Chairman,Independent NationalElectoral Commission,Speaker of the House ofRepresentatives, LP Na-tional Chairman andCouncil Chairmen inAkure South and NorthFederal Constituencies.

Abegunde prayed thecourt to stop his beingrecalled from the Nation-al Assembly. Specifical-ly, he asked the court todetermine whether bythe provisions of Section68(1) (g) of the 1999Constitution of the Fed-eral Republic of Nigeriaand the imbroglio, divi-sion and factionalizationbedeviling the LP, he isnot entitled to dump theparty.

However, the counterclaim by the defendantsposited that since theapplicant had dumpedthe platform through hewas elected into the Na-tional Assembly and hadnot proved any divisionwithin the LP, Abegundehad automatically vacat-ed his seat as a memberof the National Assem-bly.

The defendants askedthe court to pronouncethat by the reason of hisdefection, he has ceasedto be a member of theHouse of Representa-tives. Apart from askinghim the vacate the seat,the counter-claimant alsoprayed the Speaker ofthe National Assembly todeclare the seat vacantand INEC conduct byeelection to fill the seat.The court thereafter fixedApril 26 for the hearingof the substantive suit.At the resumed hearing,the defence counsel, whois also the Attorney Gen-eral and Commissionerfor Justice in the state,Mr. Eyitayo Jegede(SAN), submitted thatsince Abegunde haddumped LP and had notproved any divisionwithin party, he had au-tomatically vacated hisseat as a federal law-m a k e r .In her judgment, onWednesday, Justice Glo-

ria Okeke said that with-out a political party, nocandidate can contest anelection since there is noprovision for independ-ent candidacy in Nige-rian elections.Citing a Supreme Courtdecision in Amaechi vsINEC (2008) 5 NWLR Pt.1080, she added: “If it

that produced the elect-ed and recognized StateChairman of the party.As far as INEC was con-cerned, there was no cri-sis or factionalization inLP in Ondo State.”According to her, the is-sue raised by Abegundewas not a dispute thatshould warrant his de-fection to the can. “It isa constitutional matterthat a parliamentarianwho defects in this man-ner “shall (mandatoryand not a mere directive,not a matter of opinion)vacate his seat”.“Since it is the 9th de-fendant, Labour Party,that sponsored the plain-tiff (Abegunde) in theelection into the Houseof Representatives torepresent Akure North/Akure South FederalConstituency and de-fected on account of un-proven imbroglio, crisis,dispute and factionali-zation in the party, theplaintiff has lost the seatand should therefore va-cate the seat and I sohold” Okeke ruled.The state Attorney Gen-eral commended thejudgment as a landmarkin the annals of the Ni-gerian legal history.The plaintiff ’s counsel,Olawoye, who describedthe judgment as unac-ceptable, said his clientwill appeal.Whether the plaintiff ap-pealed the verdict or not,observers are of the opin-ion that Abegunde mightbe on his way to politi-cal oblivion with his un-popular decision todump the LP and contestthe forthcoming gover-norship election on theplatform of the ACN.

Game over for Ondo Rep?Game over for Ondo Rep?Game over for Ondo Rep?Game over for Ondo Rep?Game over for Ondo Rep?Continued from page40

grow and stop black-mailing leaders.

Let us try and devel-op the spirit of encour-aging our leaders andthose in government ifwe must grow democrat-ically.

Are you satisfied withthe state of infrastruc-ture in the state espe-cially the ongoingUghelly/Asaba road du-alization project?

Of course; I am satis-fied with the level of in-frastructural develop-ment in the state. Somany things are hap-

pening in terms of infra-structural development.But the remaining threeyears of Governor Udu-aghan, he should pleasethink of awarding con-tracts or projects to rep-utable companies likeJulius Berger, RCC,Stra-bag and other firmsthat have made names interms of construction.

Some of these compa-nies presently workingin the state are not giv-ing the governmentgood name with theirperformance. And so,the governor should bemindful of the type ofthese contractors.

Continued from page40

’Uduaghan is on track’’Uduaghan is on track’’Uduaghan is on track’’Uduaghan is on track’’Uduaghan is on track’

is only a party that can-vasses for votes, it fol-lows that it is a party thatwins an election. A goodor bad candidate mayenhance or diminish theprospect of his party inwinning, but, at the endof the day, it is the partythat wins or loses anelection”.

Okeke held further thatAbegunde could notprove the alleged divi-sion and crisis in LP bythe virtue of the lettersigned by the State Res-ident Electoral Commis-sioner, Mr. Akin Orebiyithat “we are not aware ofany crisis or issue con-cerning dispute in LP.”She quoted Orebiyi assaying, “We were alsopresent at the Congress

,

,

As far asINEC wasconcerned,there was nocrisis orfactionalizationin LP in OndoState

Event show storms Port Harcourt

THE Garden city oth-erwise known as Port

Harcourt will come aliveagain this month with aprogramme tagged Eventshow.

According to Tres Bien,organisers of the two dayshow, billed for the middleof the month, it would

showcase the tourism po-tentials of the Niger Delta. “ The programme willshowcase the best vendorsin the industry giving talksin various sessions aimedat giving tips on starting anevents business, businessethics, event planning,style, make up, etiquette,

etc”. The organisers saidthe event will also raisefund for some charityhomes in Port Harcourt,adding that there will bewine tasting session, artisteperformance, auctionsales, food tasting with in-ternational chef on groundand free massage.

VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF

BY JOHN AINOFENOKHAI

A state governor andthe opposition challenge

Edo 2012: Between the PDPand Osunbor

PROFESSOR Oserhiemen Aigberaodion Osunbor, who

ruled Edo State as gover-nor from May 29, 2007 toNovember 14, 2008 whenhe was sacked from officeby the Court of Appeal,which awarded victory inthe April 14, 2007 gover-norship election to Com-rade Adams Oshiomhole, isnow deeply engrossed in apolitical macabre dance(dance of death). And,who will save Osunborfrom himself.

But it will appear his caseis beyond redemption! After days of dissemblingover whether or not he wasstill a bona fide member ofthe Peoples DemocraticParty (PDP), that was afterOshiomhole, who is des-perate for re-election, vis-ited him in his Iruekpencountry home following hisdefeat in the PDP governor-ship primaries, Osunborhas now taken the finalplunge, openly urgingmembers of his Iruekpencommunity to vote for Os-hiomhole in the July 14governorship election.

Osunbor, who came last(in fact, a dismal fifth posi-tion) in the February 25,2012 Edo State PDP gov-ernorship primaries, hadobviously felt so humiliat-ed by the outcome of theexercise that he has beenlooking for ways of repu-diating his defeat. He hadfirst accepted the outcomeof the primaries and urgedsupport for the winner onlyfor him to recant and en-gage in a fruitless exerciseof targeting the integrity ofthe exercise.

Those who are very familiar with the poli-

tics of Edo PDP and theemergence of Osunbor asthe party’s governorshipcandidate know that hewas gratuitously handedthe party’s governorshipticket in 2007 becauseformer President OlusegunObasanjo, who was then inthe saddle, insisted he begiven the ticket. Other-wise, Odion Ugbesia (nowa senator) would haveemerged as the party’s can-didate; and, even if Ugbe-sia were not to be in therace, Professor Julius Ihon-

vbere looked good totrounce Osunbor as he didin the February 25, 2012primaries (Ihonvberecame fourth).

After he emerged as can-didate in 2007, other aspir-ants campaigned for him. Ihonvbere played a lead-ing role in his campaign,tending to the reputation ofhis campaigns in the me-dia. Osunbor has greatlybenefitted from the large-heartedness of the partyand its leadership thatlaunched him into politi-cal limelight by sponsor-ing him to the Senate in

1999 and 2003 as well asthe governorship outing in2007. I had expected thathe should have been verygrateful to the party.

But his decision toabandon the party by

supporting Oshiomhole ismorally indefensible. For,indeed, he is unarguablyone of the greatest benefi-ciaries of the PDP in thestate. He was a two-termsenator and governor foreighteen months. If not forthe court that invalidatedhis victory at the poll, hewould have served out hisfour-year term and, per-haps, would have beenserving his second term inoffice.

It is on record that his at-titude in office as governorwas not salutary to thewell-being and unity of theparty in the state. Ratherthan build harmony, Osun-bor’s desperate attempt tobuild a new structure in theparty, which would bolsterhis re-election, precipitat-ed turmoil. He used theinstrumentality of his po-sition as governor to desta-bilize the party. He was socommitted to the processof wrestling the control ofthe party from the leadersso that he would becomethe de-facto leader.

The PDP and Osunborhave not fully recoveredfrom the outcome of thatdisastrous enterprise. Having squandered theopportunity of acting as abinding force for the PDPby allowing unbridled as-piration for a second termin office and desperation to

control the party machin-ery to consume him, I hadexpected Osunbor to lielow still to allow the pas-sage of time to heal thewounds he had inflicted onhimself and the party in-stead of rushing out in abid to contest the gover-norship on the party plat-form.

He was no doubt deluded into believing

that he is still popular andthat his little achievementsin office would speak forhim. But Oshiomhole hadsaid consequent upon tak-

ing over from him (Osun-bor) that he did not leavebehind any legacy. Thecomrade governor has al-ways claimed that the PDPyears in the governance ofthe state were years of thelocusts. The records are allthere.

But today, because Oshi-omhole is in trouble andneeds the support of any-body that he thinks cancontribute to his re-elec-tion, he has gone cap-in-hand to Osunbor to enlisthis support. And surpris-ingly, Osunbor, a professorof law and one-time leaderof the PDP, would, perhaps,without the slightest prickof conscience, dump a par-ty that has made him allthat he is today in the po-litical sphere. It is quitesad!

I would have expectedOsunbor to engage in aconversation with himself(monologue), with the par-ty (dialogue) and seek toretrace where the rains be-gan to fall on him with aview to working towardsreconciliation with the el-ements that he wrongedwhen he was in the saddle.This attitude would haveprojected him as a greatpolitician with his eyes onposterity. But unfortunate-ly, he has allowed Oshiom-hole to rubbish him irrevo-cably. This is indeed sad!With his obvious anti-par-ty dispositions, if he has notleft the PDP, the party lead-ership should take step toshow him the way out.

· Ainofenokhai lives inBenin City, Edo State cap-ital.

,

,

VIEWPOINTVIEWPOINTVIEWPOINTVIEWPOINTVIEWPOINT

It is on record that his attitudein office as governor was notsalutary to the well-being andunity of the party in the state

CMYK

PAGE 48—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012

chimeena@yahoo.com

Liyel Imoke…. star unveiledat Kolanut Centre

BY MCPHILIPS NWACHUKWU& EBELE ORAKPO

That evening at the KolanutConference and Event Centre,

Barrack’s Road , Calabar, was blessedwith heavy downpour. But it didn’tdampen the spirit. The spirit ofconviviality, of recognition andappreciation, which the people’sparadise city of Calabar wanted toshower on its governor. That wasexactly what the evening representedas quality citizens and admirers ofLiyel Imoke, Governor of Cross RiverState, was being honoured.

The occasion was the publicpresentation of a book titled, Born toServe, a biographical inroad into theshort but eventful political life of Imoke.The book, written by two eminentjournalists, Enuma Chigbo and BarretEjiro, is a befitting birthday gift to theGovernor, who turned 50 last year.

The previous day, it had rainedheavily and the soothing wind hadwhetted the appetite of the hugeadmirers of Cross River StateGovernor, Liyel Imoke, who dared therain to witness the planned publicpresentation of the book.

Before the commencement of theprogramme, the well decorated eventcentre, venue for the programme, waslit up with soft caressing poetry incan-tation accompanied by an equally softmusical tune:

Kings and Stars are born and today,we celebrate a Star born to serve.

This poetic rendering was immediately followed with a brief re-

mark by the chairman of the event,Senator Ndoma-Egba, who said thatpoliticians live paradoxical life. In hisview, the politician is seen to repre-sent most times, what and who he isnot.

He, therefore, commended the effortof the writers for writing the book,adding that biographical interventionis very important for politicians as , “it helps them to balance the realitybefore them.”

Continuing, he said, “the politicianlives a life of a paradox and goesthrough many temptations.”

Ndoma- Egba’s remark was followedby a very dramatic rehearsal of theprocess of writing the book. Tagged,The making of Born to Serve, thissegment of the presentation featureda hot seat engagement of popularformer NTA diva, Blossom Ubani andSmart Usan, Cross River State HouseCorrespondent, who as theinterviewers that sourced responsesused for the writing of the book,shared their experiences about thewhole engagement.

The five minutes chat was a kind ofrecap of the essential novel techniquewhich the writers employed in writingthe book. The two interviewers told thefun-filled audience how theirprincipal, Imoke was tried by all thepeople spoken to from the Peoplesparadise city of Calabar through theEmir of Borgu’s palace near the KainjiDam, down to the Canaan land of

re-emphasised the need formentorship inculcation among theyouths.

While thanking those who attended the book-signing cer-

emony, he said that all the money re-alised from the sale will go into theBridge Leadership Foundation, afoundation founded by the governorfor the purpose of mentoring the youthsof Cross River State.

“I was very excited that thefoundation was beginning to takeshape and help impact the youths,providing them with opportunities andan appreciation of what leadership isall about and a lot of mentoring.”

He also thanked those who havesigned up as mentors to the foundationand have been assigned mentees, andappealed for more people to join.

“I will appreciate it if more of us signup to mentor these young peoplebecause I have the privilege ofinteracting with young people andyoung people of today are not exactlythe same as we were when we wereyoung so a lot of mentoring needs tobe done. They are sharper, moreintelligent, sometimes they are moreexposed but there are some issues thatrelate to values which I think we stillhave an edge over them. It isimportant that we mentor these youngmen and women so that we can providethem with an opportunity to do betterthan we are doing. It is important tome that the foundation achieves theobjectives and that is why the proceedsfrom the sale of the book will go tosupport the work of the foundation.”Imoke said.

Also speaking at the event, the Emirof Borgu Kingdom, Senator HaliruDantoro represented by the Galadimaof Borgu Kingdom noted that Gov.Imoke has the capacity to make andkeep loyal friendships from far andnear.

Abeokuta.”In his own sharp and condensed re-

view of the book, Senator Anietie Okondescribed the book’s subject, Imoke as“a promise keeper,” adding that,“Imoke’s early marriage singled thefirst element of Liyel as a promisekeeper.” About the book, he said, “it isa book written from the middle.”

“The book celebrates the man notbecause of who he is, not because ofhis service to his people. No. but thebook must be seen as an important con-tribution to political biography inNigeria,” he said

Presented under the able Chairmanship of Senate leader, Sena-

tor Victor Ndoma-Egba, the event hadin attendance former Governor ofCross River State and his wife, Donaldand Onari Duke, Senator AnietieOkon, State Chairman of PDP, CrossRiver State, Ntufam John Okon , Sena-tor Segun Bamigbetan, Senator BasseyEwa Henshaw and Emir of BorguKingdom who was represented by theGaladima of Borgu Kingdom, amongstothers.

In his response, the Governor ofCross River State, Senator Liyel Imoke

,

,The book celebrates the man notbecause of who he is, not becauseof his service to his people, but thebook must be seen as an impor-tant contribution to political biogra-phy in Nigeria

Drama sketch by the Scarlet Trail

*Gov. Liyel Imoke autographing a book for Donald Duke

BOOK PRESENTATION

CMYK

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012, PAGE 49

chimeena@yahoo.com

IN advancing the slogan of“Language, Literature and the

decolonization of Nigeria’spolitical culture,” we are merelysaying that we don’t wish anylonger to adapt ourselves to thespecial features of white colonialand post-colonial rule. One ofthese special features is thenotion and slogan of democracy,which actually is the oppressiverule of the majority, in most cases,a demonically selfish majoritythat swamp a meritoriousminority that are hostilely foot-matted and persecuted. We needthe kind of literature that candraw the right attention to theiniquities of the dominant groupthat we must fight in the spirit ofequity, fairness and justice. Theeagle and the tiniest bird mustfly to wherever heights they canget to, and perch wherever andwhenever it pleases them to doso without the dominant oneimpeding the smaller one. Weneed the kind of literature whoseslogan and preoccupancy mustbe the culture of just democracyin which all in love and in laware equals, regardless of status,ethnical affiliation and one’sworldview and standpoint.We want the kind of literaturethat can say so in the correctmanner of saying so; in the kindof language that can say sosignificantly. We want the kind ofliterature that will compel thelandlords of our politicaldestinies to de-colonize theirattitudes and minds. We want thekind of literature that willcompel us tenants of exploitationand of discrimination to fight thelandlords of our pains andsorrows. And in so fighting, we

Language, Literature andDecolonization of Nigeria’sPolitical Culture(2)BYTONY E. AFEJUKUBYTONY E. AFEJUKUBYTONY E. AFEJUKUBYTONY E. AFEJUKUBYTONY E. AFEJUKU

DISCOURSEDISCOURSEDISCOURSEDISCOURSEDISCOURSE

will create the Nigerian cultureof our dream and imagination;a Nigerian culture that will steerus a-right to the shores of anational culture that we canrightly call a national culture onthe platform of efficientpatriotism and nationalism. But this performance must endwith a quotation from the latepoet Ezenwa-Ohaeto’s “A Songfor Nigeria (25th Anniversary”):

On a platter of fraudIntellectual stimulus is

suppressed,It may be difficult to speakIt is impossible to be silent,For ripples turn into a tideIn a cloud of fear bred by terror.Nigeria’s political culture of

disillusionment must give wayfor the necessary change that willpropel the country and peoplefrom the court of disorder anddisaster to the Olympian heightsof our genuine feelings of re-kindled patriotism andnationalism devoid of colonialand post-colonial influence orcoloration. The political classand mis-rulers must change theirattitudes to one another andtowards Nigeria. This isimperative if we must avoidharbouring “memories livid withpain.”

Some books can simplyoverwhelm one. Iguess I do have a well-

earned reputation as adevourer of books and thewritten word, but I have toconfess from the verybeginning that ChuksIloegbunam’s General of thePeople’s Army was quite over-powering to me. It is a bookthat contains multitudes. Thewell-annotated volume de-serves a dissertation for duejustice to be done to it, not ashort newspaper review!

Be that as it may,Iloegbunam understands thatthe man adored in his lifetimeas Eze-Igbo Gburugburu wasakin to a big masquerade thatcannot be fully appreciatedwhist standing on one spot,whence this take from theblurb: “ChukwuemekaOdumegwu-Ojukwu was am u l t i - d i m e n s i o n a lphenomenon. Becauseindividual effort is incapableof adequately interpreting thelegend, an amalgamation oflocal and international voiceshas assembled a compositepronouncement on the manwho declared the Republic ofBiafra. Given the centrality ofOjukwu in the history ofNigeria, General of the Peo-ple’s Army is at once the storyof a courageous soldier, arecord of the African conti-nent’s bloodiest attempt at se-cession and a statement on thetexture of relations betweenformer Biafrans and the restof their countrymen andwomen.”

General of the People’sArmy is divided into six

bold chapters that should beactually seen as sections thus:1. The Masquerade ChangesRealm…; 2. ObituariesAbroad; 3. NigerianEditorials; 4. Interviews; 5.Tributes; 6. Biafra andAftermath. Three appendices:11 Casualties of the January1966 Coup; 40 Casualties ofthe July 1966 Counter-Coup(Officers); and 128 Casualtiesof the July 1966 Counter-Coup (NCOs and otherRanks) round up the book.Iloegbunam is meticulousenough to point out that thelist does not include victimslike Majors Christian Anuforoand Donatus Okafor who wereactive participants in theJanuary 1966 coup. Althoughthe book is divided into the sixbroad chapters or sections, itcan be read quite seamlessly.The inclusion of the epochal“Ahiara Declaration” in Gen-eral of the People’s Army is a

The QuintessentialOjukwuBY Uzor Maxim Uzoatu

REVIEWREVIEWREVIEWREVIEWREVIEW

coup, a book on its own, or abook embedded in anotherbook!

Iloegbunam gives Ojukwuhis due with the followingwords of the Ikemba: “It seemsrather odd that people find itdifficult to know how toaddress me. They didn’t knowwhether to say lieutenant-colonel or to say general. Andthen on that basis, I indicatedthat that was still one of thethings that bedevilled oureffort at coming together. Wehave not been able to cometogether because, you see,when you strip a man ofeverything, be careful, don’tstrip him of his plans… Howcan I contribute fully to theWar College when you, infront of me and in front ofMajor-General Philip Effiong,call him Colonel, or when youcannot even call him anyrank? The American civil war

Ojukwu’s credit that he neverposted his conscience, norwas he ever enticed by filthylucre; he continued to the veryend with the insistence that noethnic group deserved to becannon fodder in the Nigerianpolity; no Nigerian deservedto be a second-class citizen inhis own country.”

Saturday, November 26,2011 was the red-letter

day on which EmekaOdumegwu-Ojukwu passedon in London, as evinced bythe testimony of his son,Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu Jr, published in thisbook wherein he thankedPresident Goodluck Jonathan,and of course Anambra StateGovernor, “Mr. Peter Obi whowent above the call of duty tolook after him (Ojukwu snr.)Besides paying the hospitalbills, he visited London onmonthly basis to see him. Hewas there yesterday and onlycame back this morning toreceive the news, whereuponhe entered the next availableflight back to London.”

Governor Obi in his lament,written in Igbo, mourns that“lightning and thunderboltare silenced” with the passingof Ojukwu. Chinua Achebecelebrates the giant who livedfor others. For PresidentJonathan, “Ojukwu’s place inNigerian history remainsassured.” Senate PresidentDavid Mark celebratesOjukwu’s “metamorphosisfrom military leadership to atrue democrat.” DeputySenate President IkeEkweremadu reveals in theIkemba’s courage andfearlessness. For SenatorUche Chukwumerije, Ojukwuwas “the man who sawtomorrow.” Brigadier-GeneralSamuel Ogbemudia whofought against Ojukwu in thewar stresses that “Biafrawould have been the toast ofAfrica” if it had succeeded.The inimitable emitter ofvocabulary, Hon PatrickObahiagbon insists that “thefundamental issues whichIkemba confronted have noweven coagulated and ossifiedinto gorgon medusa.”Professor Herbert Ekwe-Ekwesees Ojukwu as one of thegreatest Igbo of all time whosedeath should lead to the goalsof doing justice to the Igbogenocide and the restorationof Igbo sovereignty.

General OlusegunObasanjo sees

Ojukwu’s death as the end ofan era while General IbrahimBabangida argues thatOjukwu’s understanding ofthe political dynamics ofNigeria was extraordinary.

Ojukwu was indeed a globalphenomenon as showcased bythe obituaries of The Econo-mist, Associated Press, TimeWorld, Washington Post, TheGuardian of London etc. TheNigerian newspapers countedtoo with their editorials.

was fought very bitterly, but inpersonal relationship, all theother officers on the other sidebear their ranks. I will alwaysbe a four-star general. Generalof the Biafran Army. I havenever claimed to be a Generalof the Nigerian Army.”

Dedicated “to the cause of anegotiated Nigeria”, Generalof the People’s Army kicks offwith a robust preface fromIloegbunam thusly: “There aremany like Ojukwu in the Igbocountry – including ChinuaAchebe, and Mbonu Ojikewho died in his prime. Theyare the true measure of theIgbo spirit which Ojukwuexemplified in 1966. Today,people will be hard put to findsterling characters like them.Today, the dangling of an oilblock or the waving of a fatdollar denominated cheque ora ministerial appointmentwould send many a pretenderto Igbo leadership intoswearing that the anti-Igbopogrom of 1966 had not takenplace. It is eternally to

General of the People’sArmy, compiled and editedby Chuks Iloegbunam;Press Alliance NetworkLimited, Lagos; 2012; 373 pp

AFTER his last solo exhibition titled Sublime at Quin-

tessence Gallery, Falomo, IkoyiLagos, Lagos based artist, AlimiAdewale is back to the same gal-lery not just for the usual exhibi-tion but a special charity exhibi-tion titled Anonymous, a charityart exhibition for EbunomuwaFoundation. The exhibitionwhich opened on the 2nd of Junewill run till the 9th . The exhibi-tion which is unique is like ac-cording to the artist giving backto the gallery for what they have

Alimi Adewale's charity show opens atQuintessence gallery

done for him as the proceeds willgo to EbunOluwa Foundation.Adewale stated that it is part ofhis way of assisting the founda-tion towards giving hope to thechildren and he believes thatthrough the show it will help torecreate awareness for the foun-dation and at the same time helpthem meet some of their needs.

According to the artist, it willfeature 18 works in acrylic oncanvass and oil on canvass andthe works will focus on Lagosand its happenings.

Prof. Tony Afejuku

A Nigerian teenager,Adonai Toluwalope

Gideon, is set to launch hisbook on poetry, even as he alsobags the certificate of apublished author soon.

The Association of NigerianAuthors, (ANA), Lagos branchwith the presence of ProfessorAkachi Ezeigbo, professor ofEnglish, University of Lagos;Amos Onileagbon, amongothers, will grace the eventcoming up this month, at theNational Arts Theatre, Lagos,

having approved of thecollection of poems.

The young bard’s anthologycontains about 300 poems oflyrics, countytesque verses,elegies and others, allcomposed by him.Also, the multiple winner ofthe BBC poetry award, Mr.Folu Agoi, had beenscrutinizing the poems andhas giving his nod.

The title of the anthology isThe Torments, Lunacy andExploits.

Nigerian teenager launches book

CMYK

PAGE 50—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012

Poor infrastructure is a product of govtinefficiency — Kester IfeadiKester Ifeadi, architect,

CEO of ContemporaryGroup, President of

the Organisation for the Ad-vancement of Anioma Cul-ture, OFAAC, in this interviewdiscusses professional prac-tices and how to stem the col-lapse of infrastructure…

How do you view profes-sional practice in Nigeria?

The biggest challenge wehave in Nigeria today is pro-fessionalism. Anything that isnot professionally done can-not endure. As a nation, wedo not encourage profession-als through recognition, remu-neration and in terms of gen-eral capacity building. We donot invest in research and de-velopment of professionalism.

If you do not invest moneyin professionalism, you do nothave a future because theworld is a competitive villageand to be on a cutting edge,to be relevant, you have todevelop your professionalskills. You have to developyour entire context to competewith the outside world. Con-tributions to aspects of profes-sionalism that through educa-tional system is very low. Re-sources governments to edu-cation are low and much lowerthan the United Nations rec-ommended average. If we donot build internal capacitybased on professionalism, thenation cannot progress and wewill continuously depend onthe outside world. Of courseit translates into handling ofprofessional practice ishandled.

It is only now that we arebeginning to look at the localcontent law. It is difficult forme to get a consultancy job inSouth Africa today no matterhow good I am. There are lawsin South Africa to protect in-digenous professionals, we donot have such laws in Nigeria.

Nigeria has turned to adumping ground. Nigeria isa place where anybody comesanywhere and gets a job. Howthen can do we develop indig-enous capacity? Even whenthe capacity is not there forother country, you are re-quired to partner withinternationals to build the lo-cal capacity. It is a policy is-sue really. As a nation we donot have a proper policyframework to deal with inter-nal capacity building in pro-fessional practice. The conse-quences of the neglect areeverywhere. The roads arebadly built, buildings are nowcollapsing on regular basis, we

do not have indigenous ca-pacity, practically everythingin Nigeria, we bring peoplefrom abroad to come and doit.

The way forward is forgovernment to look in-

wards, through enabling lawsto protect the local profession-als and regulate the practiceas well as building the prac-tice so that it will be able toserve the nation.

What are the challengesarchitecture the profession inNigeria?

Obviously, a similar re-sponse I have given you ear-lier about professional prac-tice, it is practically the samething that is hindering ourprofession. For example, thelaws that regulate the archi-tectural practice are there butthe implementation is another

issue. Does government en-sure the implementation ofregulatory laws of architec-ture? The challenges architec-tural practice face are huge,right from lack of governmentpatronage to lack of researchinstitutes to help the practice.Architects in Nigeria are en-dangered species. They arenot protected and there is noincentives as a Nigerian topractice as an architect, so youare left to battle against theinflux of foreign professionalswhom most time cannot offerwhat most Nigerians can of-fer, but they are paid more. Sothe challenges are huge butwe who are in the businessfeel that there is no othercountry like ours. We havemade it a point of duty thatdespite all huge challenges,we will continue to build todevelop the profession be-

cause our own future genera-tions.

You are involved inmostly upscale projects,

which include the design ofthe Asaba International Air-port, the ongoing NigerianLaw School project inYenagoa, and Gombe Govern-ment State House and otherfederal government institu-tions. Is it a matter of delib-erate policy?

It cannot be a policy by ourorganisation. We are lucky andif you look at it, we are a multi-dimensional company. Fortu-nately, most of these projectsthat are well known areprojects done by an arm of ourgroup but we look at everysingle project as a specialone, we do not believe that aproject has to be an upscalebefore we embark on it. Welook at our profession basedon purely service to the soci-ety. Ours is a multi-dimen-sional company, we have theconsultancy arm, the budgetdevelopment arm. We renderservice in a multi-dimensionalway to the society, apart fromthese major up-scale projects,we have done quite a numberof other projects for corporate

organisations, for individualsand our project developmentarm is very active in the realsectors of the economy.

We have estates in bothLagos and Asaba. Our activi-ties span across the economy.Some of the jobs we have donehave to do with the public, sowe are quite popular but a lotof our activities are projectsyou do not even hear about buttouch the society. So we do notfocus on up-scale projects, wehave many projects going onin the real sectors of theeconomy.

How can we stem the decline in infrastructure

in Nigeria?This question also has to do

with professionalism in Nige-ria. Governments do not layemphasis on quality. The big-gest problem we have is cor-ruption; it has eaten into allthe facets of life. What are theprocesses for awarding con-tracts? What is outcome if youdo not follow professional pro-cess? The decline of publicinfrastructure is linked to in-efficiency in government, ithas direct link to corruption inthe larger society and linkstretches to lack of profession-alism. It is a multi-dimen-sional issue and the only wayto get out of it is for govern-ment to set up an agency thatwill oversee such projects.There is the maintenanceagency but we really need togo beyond this and go intoaction in regulating profes-sional practice in all spheres.Government should take pub-lic works as key projects fromconception to execution. Howare the roads built? How willthey be maintained? Are con-tracts being awarded withclauses for maintenance?Without maintenance clausesin contracts, we have situa-tions where the amount spenton maintaining a road is morethan the cost of constructingit. Who are supervisingprojects? Are they mainte-nance-minded? If we takeelectricity as an example, wecan see the importance of in-frastructure in any nation’sdevelopment.

What do you think canbe done to set the

economy back on a track?The problems in Nigeria are

bare faced. The biggest crisiswe have in Nigeria is security.You do not need a soothsayerto tell you that is it as a resultof lack of adequate infrastruc-ture and jobs.

,

,If you do not invest money in profes-sionalism, you do not have a futurebecause the world is a competitivevillage and to be on a cutting edge,to be relevant, you have to developyour professional skills

Ifeadi...If we do not build internal capacity based on professionalism, the nation cannotprogress and we will continuously depend on the outside world.

CMYK

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012 — PAGE 51

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PAGE 52—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012

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SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 3, 2012 — 53

•Oduamadi Nnamdi (R) challenged by Peru´s Jef-ferson Farfan (L) during last month’s friendlymatch in Lima. Photo by AFP

BY IME BASSEY withAgency Report

ON loan Torino attacking winger,

Nnamdi Oduamadi willmiss today’s 2014 FIFAWorld Cup qualifieragainst Namibia in Cal-abar.

Oduamadi suffered amuscle strain in traininglast Friday while practis-ing long range shots withhis teammates causedhim to sat out in thetraining sessions.

According to headcoach, Stephen Keshiwho told Supersport.comthat “Nnamdi Oduama-di is out of the matchagainst Namibia. Hepulled a muscle duringa practice session ofshooting, so he didn’ttrain with the team.

World Cup qualifier: Oduamadimisses Eagles, Warriors tie

BY IME BASSEY withAgency Report

N A M I B I A Nhead coach, Ber-

We’ll capitalize on Eagles’ poorform — Namibian Coach

nard Kaanjuka is upbeatthat his lads will end uppicking 2014 World Cupticket when they tradetackle with the Super Ea-gles at the U J EsueneStadium in Calabar to-day.

The coach who only hadbeen on the bench fornine months said thatNigeria’s failure to qual-ify for the 2012 AfricaCup of Nations in Gabonand Equatorial Guineaand the recent strings ofpoor form in friendly tiesagainst Egypt and Peruwill serve as a boost forhis team going into thegame.

The team is also takingstrength from the factthat they drew 0-0 withreigning African champi-ons Zambia earlier in theyear.

He told Goal.com. that,“We drew against a teamthat won the Africa Cupof Nations, we don’tmind about Nigeria.Sunday will tell. “I’mnot comparing my teamto the Super Eagles but

we’re here to qualify forthe World Cup.

“We’re going to playagainst 12 players, theteam plus the spectators.It’s a small stadium sotheir voices will be loud-er and hotter than a bigstadium. But my playersdon’t fear this anymorebecause they have beenplaying under a lot ofbig spectators too in oth-er countries.

“As you can see they’revery young but theydon’t fear anybody any-more. Their fear stage isover, this is competitionstage, Kaanjuka said.

Drogba’s Shanghaideal still on — Batista

THE striker, 34,helped Chelsea

win the ChampionsLeague in Munich ear-lier this month to bringthe curtain down on a tro-phy-laden spell in westLondon.

Ivory Coast star Drog-ba, signed fromMarseille for £24millionin 2004, is now expectedto join up with formerBlues team-mate NicolasAnelka at the ChineseSuper League club onwhat would be a lucrativefree transfer.

New Shanghai Shen-hua boss Sergio Batistasaid: “The people fromthe club are doing theirbest to get Drogba here.

“Every coach in theworld wants to get Drog-ba on the team and I hopeeverything is okay.”

Ex-Argentina managerBatista maintained therewas no issue with Anel-ka, who had taken tempo-rary charge as player-coach after former bossJean Tigana was axed inApril.

Batista, 49, added: “I’mopen to hear Anelka andall the players on the teamspeak about what’s hap-

pening on the field.“But the final decision is

from the coach.“Anelka is one of the

best players in the worldand I want to keep him onthe pitch.” INTER Milan’s Wes

ley Sneijder has stat-

“He is so unhappy be-cause he was looking for-ward to play in thegame. Of course anyplayer won’t be happy tomiss national teamgames due to injury,”Keshi said.

Keshi, however as-sured that the team willplay enterprising footballeven without the wing-er. More so, he disclosedthat the former U-23 starwill be fit the other tiesslated in the month.

“Injury is part of thegame. Unfortunately wewill have to play onwithout him. The doctorhas told me that hestands a very goodchance of recovering intime and should be fit forour next game againstMalawi,” the Nigerianmanager remarked.

Euros harder than WorldCup — Sneijder

ed that Euro 2012 willbe harder to win thanthe World Cup becausethe quality of the teamsinvolved is better.

The Dutch playmakerfinished second to Spainin the South Africa 2010tournament but believesHolland will find theEuropean Champion-ship harder.

Germany, Portgual andDenmark lie await forSneijder and his col-leagues, compared to Ja-pan, Cameroon and theDanes again two yearsearlier.

‘It will be very difficult,because for me, the Eu-ros is more difficult thanthe World Cup becauseyou don’t have the teamsfrom Africa or whereverwhen you know you aregoing to take threepoints,’ said ManchesterCity and Man United tar-get Sneijder.

‘Now it’s more difficultbecause there are onlystrong teams, but we willsee.’

ENGLAND completedtheir preparations

for the start of Euro 2012with a gritty but uncon-vincing 1-0 winover Belgium in their fi-nal warm-up match atWembley.

Danny Welbeck pushedhis claim to start up frontagainst France in Do-netsk on June 11 as theManchester Unitedstriker scored the onlygoal with a delightful fin-ish in the 36th minute.

Roy Hodgson will bepleased to have record-ed a victory on his firsthome game in charge ofthe Three Lions - and asecond clean sheet in asmany matches - but En-gland’s age-old defi-ciencies were on show asBelgium controlled muchof the game.

In front of a packedhouse at Wembley, therewas something of a car-

•Sneijder•Drogba

Welbeck sends Englandinto Euros with victoryover Belgium

nival atmosphere beforethe England squad flyout to Euro 2012, wherethey face France, Swe-den and co-hostsUkraine in the groupstages.

Hodgson made sevenchanges from the sidethat beat Norway a weekearlier, starting with JoeHart in goal and his firstchoice back four of GlenJohnson, Gary Cahill,John Terry and AshleyCole. Most intriguingwas the decision to handa first England start toArsenal midfielder AlexOxlade-Chamberlain.

Belgium, for their part,arrived with familiar fac-es in the form of PremierLeague stars ThomasVermaelen, MarouaneFellaini and MoussaDembele, while Chelsea-bound Eden Hazardplayed in a free role.

•Kaanjuka, NamibiaCoach

54— SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 3, 2012

the opportunity to score and Iscored. And we won thatmatch. Do you know after thatmatch, my team-mates ganged-up against me. Because, itwasn’t the regular players thatscored for the team. However,in subsequent matches whenthey got the ball they madesure they didn’t pass the ballto me. So, I won’t be surprisedif they did same to him(Yekini),because Nigerian players arelike that. Really when a playerscores, he has to take the gloryas he was the one that scoredthe goal.

In all, whatever his attitudewas then, he was a topfootballer. I think they shouldlearn from this and also look forthose ex-players who are alsodying away, whatever state theyare in now, the state FA shouldget them involved in football orany sporting activity.

Yekini’s lifestyleI do not know much about him

rather I admired his footballability. I heard after his deaththat a woman testified abouthim. She said that while he wasalive, when he earned his

gets you depressed, frustratedand also affect you mentality. Ithink all these affected him.

His death should be a lessonto all those who are involved inlooking after sports men inNigeria especially when peopleretire from active football. Toobad he died at a very young ageof 48. By now, he should havebeen given the opportunity tocoach junior players orsomething that would keep himbusy and also make him feelthat his contribution to theNation was not lost. Neglect ofa person is a very bad thing andI think our administrators andthe government should betterthink again.

Was Nigeria fair to Yekini ?I want to say without any

apologies that we (Nigerians)were not fair to him. If he didnot die, nobody would haveknown where he was . A manlike that should be at everyfootball or sporting event, beinvited. Just like us, nobodyinvites us to any event butthank God I’m a very active manand I don’t need them. But thepoint is, when you look atpeople who have contributed tothe development of sports inthis country, we shouldn’tabandoned them. In Nigeria,people think everything is allabout money especially invitingthese ex-players for sportingevents. No! Nobody needsanybody’s money, the mostimportant thing is to keep theseindividuals active because by sodoing, it prolongs life but whensomebody is dead, we begin toshout, and talk . The questionis, while he was alive, what didyou do for him?

So, I think they neglected himand I want to blame the sportsadministrators and thegovernment (ministry of sports)for not remembering yesterday.

Do you think ill-feelingsfrom his team-mates duringhis active days contributed tohis early demise?

This is very true. I tell you alive experience as a formerplayer then in Plateau . I playedfor the Plateau 11 and we wereone of the best teams in Nigeriathen. There was a very crucialmatch we were playing then, Ican’t remember the team weplayed against. In that match,we could not score in the firsthalf, so in the second half, Iplayed at the left wing.Somehow in the match, I had

money, he used to share it topeople. May God bless himbecause he was doing that foreternity. And a man like thatneeded support. How I wish I

knew him better. Now all Nige-rians would remember him be-cause he scored goals andplayed good football but theywon’t even remember his gen-erosity to the poor. We arein a terrible country, we don’tremember people when they arealive but when they have gone.

The late Samuel Okwaraji isan example, all the promisesthey made to his mother thenhave not been fulfilled, only theSports Writers Association ofNigeria (SWAN, LagosChapter)) keeps rememberinghim. Why should ourgovernment lie? Let Nigerianleaders and those who runsports remember that they also

would be dead someday. Forthose of us who are also living,we should always do the rightthing and live a legacyespecially by rememberingpeople who have done goodworks.

How best do you think he canbe immortalize

For people who died afterserving their fatherland, whatis normally done for them is toname a stadium after them. ButI think the best way Nigeriashould do it is to donate a Cupcalled ‘Rashidi Yekini Cup’ andthen let the Falcons or femaleteams, not the male teams,compete for it every year.Because that is one angle thatneeds focus. And that wouldmake us look at female footballthe more and I think people cansponsor it. The female teamsare doing well but they are notgiven attention, so this kind ofcompetition might lead us tofocus a little more on the femaleteams rather than the maleteams.

Also if he has children, theyshould try to sponsor them andalso look after his family. But thequestion is, why didn’t sportsadministrators help him whilehe was alive?

To the governmentThey should always learn to

fulfil their promises to sports-men and women and alsoknow that there is the need forintegrity. I have had so manypromises made to sportsmenand woman and none ful-filled. After promising, itshould not be off the cuff. It isa shame that we have govern-ments that have no integrityand I don’t think it is a goodthing. After promising them,which they deserved, you lat-er begin to think that suchpromise was too big for them.The most important thing nowis for the government to fulfilevery promises made to himand other players.

here and this would not be aone off thing because we wouldbe glad to come back again andagain,” he added.

At the end of the tournament,Tunde Oremule, one of the bestplayers in the club, smiledhome with the tournamenttrophy beating M. Amolegbe oncount back. Oremule,handicapper 14, had net scoreof 74. The gross event trophywent to 10 handicap, S.Majoroh, who shot 84 grosswhile S. Ogunbiyi was secondwith 86 gross while the ladiesevent was won by M. Swanpoel,a 10 handicap, who shot 72 netand beat E.Anukwuem on countback also.

Golf: VMOG boss impressed with Ikoyi turnout“I’m quite happy with the or-

ganisation aspect of this tour-nament. Even though it is ourfirst outing, the standard of or-ganisation and participationwas very high and I am verysatisfied. I am also happy withthe condition of the course, theway it is handled and havingplayed in different parts of thecountry, I can conveniently saythat Ikoyi club has one of thebest courses in the country andit is a delight to play here,” hesaid. Fogli, who has beenplaying the game for about 10years, informed that VMOGGolf Tournament would not bea one off thing. “I can assureyou that we are warmly welcome

By IME BASSEY

THE inaugural VMOGGolf Tournament whichtook place last Saturday

at the 18-hole course of the IkoyiClub 1938 has been describedas satisfactory by Eugene Fogli,boss of Vallourec MannesmannOil & Gas, sponsor of the one-day tournament.

In a chat with SundayVanguard Sports after his shots,the handicap 28 golfer notedthat the organisation of thetournament was near perfect,adding that he was also happywith the turnout of golfers,friends and business partnersto the tournament.

Iloh blames sports administratorsfor abandoning Yekini•Wants a female tourney named after him•Urges govt to always fulfil promises to sportsmen & women

By KATE OBODO

Following the death of legendary footballer Rashidi Yekini,Rev. (Dr.) Moses Iloh. has urged sports administrators not toneglect retired sportsmen and women who have served theirfatherland even as he blamed administrators and the sportsministry for not showing enough concern to Yekini. Excerpts:

WHAT’S your feelings on Rashidi Yekini’s death?I don’t know what the physical problems were but I think having

been neglected also caused his death. Once you have been avery active fellow, people who loved you should be able to giveyou the opportunity to remain as active as you would like to be.

But solitude is a dangerous thing, it makes you an introvert, it

admiration of the trainers andscouts but also drew theattention of passers-by andregular spectators to the event.

The crowd at the pitch rightlyconfirmed the unequaledpassion Nigerian youths havefor the game. The participantswho came from all over Lagosand neighbouring cities ofSagamu, Ijebu-ode andAbeokuta, turned the event to acarnival of soccer talents andskills as they tried to outdo oneanother in soccer artistry.

American soccer trainer andMTN Football soccer projectcoordinator, Tom DeMaio, whowas elated by the array oftalented youngsters that turnedup for the tryout, applauded theboys for their ingenuity, addingthat it will take only a blindman not to notice theexceptional qualities of theboys:

“The level of theirunderstanding of the game isvery encouraging. Despite theirtender age, they displayedgood knowledge of soccer andpossess football talents that noreasonable scout could ignore”,he said.

attended the tryout displayeddistinctive football skills andtalents.

Lagos zone proved punditsright as the major center ofattraction. The inherent soccerskills and abilities displayed bythe kids not only attracted the

THE tryouts for tickets intoMTN Football Scholar

season 2 camp came to an endlast week at the Legacy pitch ofthe National Stadium Lagos.The two-day trial process endedon a very promising note ashundreds of young boys that

MTN Football: Show of talents as tryouts end in Lagos

•Rev. Iloh

•Yekini

CMYK

SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 3, 2012 — 55

THE ascension of Stephen Okechukwu Keshi as SuperEagles coach gave Nigerian football lovers some hope that

after the darkness created by the fall of their darling team, theSuper Eagles from grace to grass, light could appear again atthe end of the tunnel.Not since the team failed to qualify for the 1986 Africa Cup ofNations in Egypt have the fans been disappointed with theteam’s performance in the run to the 2012 Nations Cup underan indigenous coach, Samson Siasia they so much placed theirhope on.

Their love for the team was rekindled with Keshi’s idea ofthrowing open the team’s camp to every Nigerian playerirrespective of he plays, at home, Europe or even the moon,the only criteria being that you are a Nigeria who knows therudiment of the game.

Keshi played under Dutchman, Clemens Westerhof, who reliedon home-based players whom he gave exposure to and mouldedthem into world beaters that only lost the 1994 World Cup quarterfinal ticket to naivity after after taking the lead against WorldChampions, Italy.

Since Keshi took up the mantle of the Eagles coach, he hasexperimented with a mixture of home-based and foreign-basedplayers in a couple of matches, the most recent being the lossesto Egypt (2-3) and Peru (0-1).

Despite these losses, the former national coach of both Togoand Mali believes the local boys have something to offer ifgiven the necessary exposure like he is currently doing andhas made it clear to the supposed big boys in Europe that thereis no automatic shirt for any player irrespective of his status.

As the team begins another march to qualifying for the 2013Nations Cup and 2014 World Cup, the Ilah-born coach hasmade good his vow to build his team around the home-basedplayers who will for the fulcrum of the future Super Eagles heis trying to mould.

Twelve of them were called to camp in Calabar where theyhave been strategising for today’s World Cup opener againstNamibia at the U.J. Esuene Stadium today as well as othermatches slated for later this month.

After today’s encounter, the Eagles are expected to fly out toBlantyre to battle Malawi in the second group match and returnhome to Calabar, their new home, to face Rwanda, who heldthem to a barren draw in Kigali in a qualifier for South Africa2013 on June 17.

Nigerians are waiting with bathed breath to see whether willagain fail to qualify for the Nations Cup made up mainly ofseeming weak teams like it was in the run up to the 2012edition in Equatorial Guinea/Gabon early this year and struggleas usual, with permutations along the line, to pick a World Cupticket again.

Keshi is not new to both the Nations Cup and World Cupqualifications. With his former boss, Shaibu Amodu, thequalified the Eagles for the 2002 Nations Cup in Mali in 2002and the World Cup in Japan that same year.

Altercation between the technical crew and the sportsauthorities didn’t allow Nigerians know whether Amodu andKeshi would have lifted the Nations Cup trophy in 2002 asthey crashed in the semi final and managed to scoop the nowusual ‘golden’ bronze. They also couldn’t lead the Eagles tothe Japan/Korea World Cup.

Not deterred, Keshi gathered his loins and went to Togo. Withlittle known players propelled by a lone ranger in EmmanuelAdebayor, Keshi qualified little Togo for their first and onlyWorld Cup till date, the same year the Super Eagles could notqualify for the world party in Germany in 2006. Again like in2002, Keshi could not lead the team to the World Cup afterqualifying.

He returned to the bench as Mali’s coach to the Nations Cupin South Africa in 2010 but was not successful with them. Sothe 2013 event is another test for Keshi and he believes hisexperiment with the locals will yield dividend at the end of theday.

Will he succeed, will he not, questions begging for answersfrom the ever victory-thirsty Nigerian football fans. To start,Keshi, in the absence of injured captain, Joseph Yobo, hashanded the Eagles captain’s band to goalkeeper, VincentEnyeama, the one the mercurial Argentine star, Lionel Messicould not put the ball past when they met at the 2010 WorldCup in South Africa.

The task to restore hope in Nigerian fans that the Eagles areon the march again to regain their Africa and world respect arethese bunch of players, home and abroad namely ChigozieAgbim, Azubuike Egwueke, Sunday Mba, Ejike Uzoenyi,Juwon Oshaniwa, Izu Azuka, Godfrey Oboabona, Henry Uche,Kalu Uche, Papa Idris, Gabriel Rueben and ObinnaNwachukwu.

The foreign legion includes Enyeama, Ekigho Ehiosun, JohnUtaka, Joel Obi, Nnamdi Oduamadi, Gege Soriola, RaheemLawal, Obiorah Nwankwo, Ahmed Musa, Wigan’s wonder boy,Victor Moses and Elderson Echiejile.

Eagles on the marEagles on the marEagles on the marEagles on the marEagles on the marccccch againh againh againh againh againWWWWWe can’t afe can’t afe can’t afe can’t afe can’t affffffororororord td td td td to misso misso misso misso missNations Cup againNations Cup againNations Cup againNations Cup againNations Cup again—Ike Uche

By JOHNBOSCOAGBAKWURU

C A L A B A R — S U P E REagles striker,

Ikechukwu Uche has said itwas painful the national teamwas absent in the last NationsCup in Equatorial Guinea/

Gabon and cannot afford tomiss the 2013 edition holdingin South Africa.

Uche who stated this in aninterview in Calabar howeversaid that, “Playing for theSuper Eagles have alwaysbeen joy. There is that pressurerepresenting your country. Ithink we just have to put whathappened last year behind us.”

He said, “It was a big blowfor everyone. We just have tolearn from that and try not tolet it happen again because itis very important for all of usand not just one person, for thefans, players and the wholenation.

“It is difficult now becauseknowing that we didn’t makeit in the last edition, it will bedifficult but we ask the peopleto support us, we needsupport, with your supporteverything will go the way wewant it.

“I think like any other player,I just have to give my best onSunday, and hope with thesupport we will get frompeople of Cross River State, Ithink we will be able to comeout victorious.”

AS the Super Eagle battlethe Brave Warriors of Na-

mibia in a 2014 World Cupqualifier today in Calabar,former Super Eagles assist-ant coach, Lawrence Akpoko-na has advised the team notto underrate their opponentsas there are no more minnowsin football.

“At this point, pressure is thename of the game and onecannot take it away becausethe expectations are high,”Akpokuna said in a telephoneinterview.

“Every Nigerian wants theteam to win and also want con-vincing results, so the pres-sure is both on the coach andhis players. But then, I mustsay that the days of smallercountries in football are gone.”

Continuing he said,“ In thelast six matches they (Na-mibia) have played, they werevery good. That is why ourplayers should be more care-ful with their game and alsobe offensive in their attack.

Don’t underrateNamibia,Akpokonaadvises Eagles

By KATE OBODO

PACING … Super Eagles forward, Ike Uche is still ruing theabsence from the 2012 Nations Cup. He has assured Nigeriansit won’t happen again.

Eagles’ll fEagles’ll fEagles’ll fEagles’ll fEagles’ll find her find her find her find her find her footings againsootings againsootings againsootings againsootings against Namibia - Irt Namibia - Irt Namibia - Irt Namibia - Irt Namibia - IrohaohaohaohaohaBy IME BASSEY

TUNISIA ’94 Nations Cupwinner, Ben Iroha has

affirmed that the StephenKeshi-led Super Eagles willfind their footing in today’sWorld Cup qualifier againstthe Brave Warriors of Namibia.

Iroha, who had 50 caps forNigeria, stated that the boyswill be relaxed, given the factthey are playing in front offootball loving Calabar fans butadded that they will onlystruggle if the goals fail tocome early as they know how

important the game is toNigerians.

He expressed confidencethat the Eagles will win the tiebut with intense fight from theBrave Warriors.

“I am sure about victory butwant to stress here that, thegame will be difficult for theEagles, bearing in mind thelittle knowledge about theNamibians.“The boys know that the tie isas important as their careerbecause victory will push themcloser to a flourishing height.I believe the players will be

relaxed following the fact thatthey are playing at home,”Iroha said.The former U-23 Eaglesassistant coach noted that theunavailability of creativemidfielder, Raheem Lawal willonly allow Keshi to display histactical ability to Nigerians.“I want to believe that Keshiknows what to do in theabsence of Raheem Lawal. Heunderstands the weight of thematch so he will either adopta formation that would suit theplayers he has on ground,”Iroha added.

CMYK

SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 3, 2012

2014 World Cup:Eagles on redemptionEagles on redemptionEagles on redemptionEagles on redemptionEagles on redemptionffffflight againslight againslight againslight againslight against Namibiat Namibiat Namibiat Namibiat NamibiaVenue: U.J. Esuene Stadium, CalabarTime: 4 pm

Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa.Advert Dept: :01- 7924470; Hotline: 01- 4707189; Abuja: 09-2341102, 09-2342704. E-mail website: sundayvanguard@yahoo.com, editor@vanguardngr.com, news@vanguardngr.com,

sunvanguardmail@yahoo.com. Advert:advert@vanguardngr.com. Internet: www.vanguardngr.com (ISSN 0794-652X) Editor: JIDE AJANI. All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos.

By PATRICKOMORODION

Before StephenOkechukwu Keshi

mounted the saddle asSuper Eagles ChiefCoach, the team’s ratingin the eyes of ardentNigerian footballfollowers was nothing towrite home about. Thiswas especially after hispredecessor, SamsonSiasia committed theunforgettable, failing toqualify the team for the2012 Africa NationsCup, the first time in 25years.

Not even the Eagles’poor performance at the2008 Nations Cup inGhana which earnedthem the nickname,Super Chickens, fromthe Ghanaian press,

elicited such dislike fromtheir Nigerian fans likethey received after theSyli Nationale of Guineadenied them the 2012ticket on home soil at theAbuja National Stadium.

It is with this poorrating on his mind thatKeshi started arebuilding process withhome-based players anda sprinkle of foreign-based players. Thisprocess also gave thefans some hope that allis not lost afterall,especially after the newteam posted somerespectable resultswhere the locals provedthat they were not allbrawn and no brain butskillful and determined.

Even in the twofriendly matches theylost to Nations Cup

record holders, Pharoahsof Egypt and Peru, thehome-based lads provedthat with more exposureslike they are gettingalready, they coulddisplace some of theformer regulars in theteam and form thefulcrum of Keshi’s mainteam.

Though Keshi had notmade public his startingline-up as at the time ofthis report, the home-based players are sure tomake up a sizeablepercentage of the teamto battle the Namibianswho are already boastingthey will pick a vitalpoint or the maximumpoints against theirsupposedly strongeropponents today.

On their way toCalabar aboard aNigerian airliner, theNamibian coach,Bernhard Kaanjukawould not subscribe tothe confidence talk ofWigan goal-getter, VictorMoses that the Eagleswill overrun his side. Hetold Vanguard’s GroupSports Editor, OnochieAnibeze that “You havea bigger team but I cantell you one thing,Nigeria will feel us onthe field.We are notafraid of Nigeria. Werespect them but willmake them feel us on thefield.”

In another interviewwith Sports radio, Brila

SEE SOLUTION ON PAGE 5

FM monitored in Lagos,Namibia’s TechnicalDirector, Klaus Starckwas not as optimistic asKaanjuka when he saidthey were not expectingto qualify for the 2014World Cup but to put upa respectableperformance in thegroup.

He described Namibiaas a young team who arestill learning from bigteams like Nigeria andhoping to mature and beable to qualify for theWorld Cup in future.

“Nigeria is a big teamwith big players playingin Europe. We are nothere to beat Nigeria butwe want to ensure wedon’t lose by a widemargin. We are going toput in our best but youknow in footballanything can happen,”he said.

No matter theopposition today, theEagles must assure their

fans that they are on theirway to full recovery fromthe low level they havesunk both in Africa andthe world that has madethem fall out of the top10 teams in the continentfor the first time and adisgraceful 63rd positionin the world, behind theLeone Stars of SierraLeone, of all teams.

Goal-keeper trainer, IkeShorumnu has assuredthat the goalkeepers arein top shape to denyNamibia any chance ofgetting a goal inCalabar. In the midfieldhowever, with theabsence of Chelsea ofLondon hero, JohnMikel Obi, Keshi mustwork on the home-ladswho are likely to workwith Norway-basedFengor Ogude to ensurethey reduce the pressurefrom the Namibiansagainst the Eaglesdefence.

As a product of the

Clemens Westerhof ’sschool, Keshi isexpected to adopt thewing play from wherepacer, Ahmed Musacould float crosses forVictor Moses, Ike Ucheor returnee, John Utaka,who are likely to startagainst the locals, to dothe damage.

Keshi himself knowsthe task at hand and hascalled on Nigerians, notonly to support and prayfor the team, but exercisepatience with them if thegoals don’t come earlyin the game as theyexpect. Nigerians likeretired Brigadier-General EmmanuelOkaro, Austin Izagboand former Green Eagleswinger, Dr FelixOwolabi have equallycalled on the fans to bepatient with Keshi as hecontinues the rebuildingprocess to give them aformidable squad in thenearest future.

We won’t underrateNamibia– Enyeama

By JOHNBOSCOAGBAKWURU,Calabar

Super Eagles captainfor today ’s match

against the BraveWarriors of Namibia,Vincent Enyeama, hassaid that he does notlike to talk ofexpectations in anymatch because such willput the team inpressure.The goalkeeper toldSunday Vanguardsports in an interviewthat there are no smallteams again in the gameof football, so no teamshould be under rated.“I’m one of the guys whodon’t talk ofexpectations becausewhen you haveexpectations, you arepromising what you arenot so sure of. Nigeriansshould pray for usbecause it is a new teamwe are trying to build,it’s not going to be easy.

“There is no push overnow in football, we aregoing to try but the mostimportant thing is to getthe three points neededto push through.“We have to try with thehelp of God to get thatthree points and try atthe same time to giveNigerians the footballthey are craving for. Weare not so sure of that butthe important thing is toget the three points andkeep re-building.“The rebuilding processis amazing, the coach isdoing what Nigeriansreally want. We are hereto build a strong nationalteam for the country. Thecoaches are doing theirbest and a very goodwork by bringing in amix of home-based andforeign-based players atthe same time.“I guess it’s going to bea perfect match but it’snot going to come byeasily and I think it’sgoing to be perfect andamazing at the end.”

CHECKMATED.... Super Eagles duo, Henry Uche (L) and Obiora Nwankwo (R)check Peru’s Claudio Pizarro (C) from getting the ball during their friendlyfootball match in Lima which the homers won 1-0. Photo: AFP

ACROSS1. Nigeria’s neighbour (8)4. Nigerian tribe (4)6. Bird of prey (5)7. Geometrical shape (8)8. Shaft (4)9. Tidy (4)10. Turncoat (8)11. One (4)12. Within (2)13. Boxes in training (5)15. Tub (4)18. Looked at (4)21. Nigerian state (4)23. Notion (4)25. Sports field (5)27. Above (2)28. Image (4)29. Lowers (8)30. Emblem (4)31. Hausa boy’s name (4)32. Dared (8)34. Barrier (5)35. Friend (4)

36. Gently (8)

DOWN1.Bed (3)2. Enugu soccer team (7)3. Maiden name (3)4. Planet (7)5. Chosen by vote (7)9. After this (4)10. Knock (3)14. Nigerian GrammyLaureate (3)16. Hatchet (3)17. Hello (2)19. Still (3)20. Mathematical constant (2)21. Anambra city (7)22. Cancel (7)24. Extinct flightless bird (4)25. Sowed (7)26. Lettuce (3)32. Animal doctor (3)33. Twelve hours (3)

CMYK