25062016

2 — SATURDAY Vanguard, JUNE 25, 2016

SATURDAY Vanguard, JUNE 25, 2016 —3

4 — SATURDAY Vanguard, JUNE 25, 2016

SATURDAY Vanguard, JUNE 25, 2016 — 5 

PIPELINE BOMBING: I beg you in 

God’s name, Buhari tells militants 

*I agonise over these destructions 

*Says economy is on its knees 

*How Kachikwu secured interim truce 

*No love lost relationship among militants 

By Emma Amaize, Regional 

Editor, South South, Levinus 

Nwabughiogu 

OBVIOUSLY perturbed 

by the activities of the 

Niger Delta Militants, NDA, 

President Muhammadu Buhari 

last night went spiritual, 

pleading with them in God’s 

name to have a change of 

heart over their destruction 

of oil and gas installations in 

the region. 

The president who stated 

that there were many factions 

of the Niger Delta Militants 

also said that the groups were 

armed with sophisticated 

weapons and that the economy 

was on its knees following 

the bombing of gas pipelines. 

He also pleaded with 

friends and associates of the 

militants to reach out to them, 

stressing that Nigerians do 

not have any other country to 

call their own other than Nigeria. 

The president spoke at the 

breaking-of-fast dinner with 

leaders and chieftains of his 

political party, the All Progressives 

Congress (APC) at 

the Presidential Villa, Abuja. 

He said: “I honestly don’t 

know how many factions of the 

militants there are in the Niger 

Delta compared to the 

north east where you have 

only the Boko Haram 

“The technology being deployed 

by the militants to destroy 

oil installations is high 

tech, the way they can go on 

high sea and international 

waters and target oil installations 

is a national problem. It 

is affecting development. 

“No insurance company will 

want to insure installations 

that will end up being blown 

up and no banks will want to 

finance such installations. 

“Those of you who have 

friends among the leadership 

or even the militants themselves 

should plead with them 

in the name of God Almighty 

to take it easy. 

“We need to stablise to create 

employment, we need to 

stabilise the economy, I agonise 

over these things. We are 

in a very difficult time, so we 

have to organise ourselves. 

Anybody that says he has any 

other country than Nigeria 

should go out and see.” 

Earlier, the national chairman 

of the APC, Chief John 

Oyegun expressed satisfaction 

with the actions of the 

government so far, saying that 

Nigeria needed a dogged 

leader like the president. 

“Any meaningful development 

requires strong and determined 

leader. Things must 

change. Those things don’t 

come easily. Nigeria is clearly 

a difficult nation to govern. 

“Corruption is fighting back 

and change does not come 

easily. The way we do things 

must change. Our prayer is 

for God to give you the courage, 

wisdom and strength to 

set the new standard for the 

country”, he said. 

Apart from Oyegun, other 

party leaders who attended 

the event included former 

Vice-President Atiku Abubakar; 

a former Speaker of the 

House of Representatives, 

Alhaji Ghali Na'Aba; the party’s 

Deputy National Chairman 

(South), Segun Oni; 

former Bayelsa State Governor, 

Timipre Sylva; Tony Momoh 

and Senator Osita Ozinaso. 

Also present were the Secretary 

to the Government of 

the Federation, Babachir David 

Lawal and former Minister 

of Labour, Hassan Lawal. 

Dialogue, ceasefire: Buhari 

baffles militants 

Meanwhile, President Buhari 

was said to have kept the 

Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, 

and other militant groups in 

the Niger Delta region in suspense 

since he returned from 

his short vacation in London, 

last Sunday. 

Findings by Saturday Vanguard 

showed that the militants, 

who agreed to an interim 

ceasefire brokered by the 

Minister of State for Petroleum, 

Dr. Ibe Kachiwu, and his 

top secret negotiators, were 

confused about the game plan 

of President Buhari. 

The two-week ceasefire proclaimed 

by the Federal Government 

on June 6 expired 

June 21, two days after Buhari 

returned from his vacation 

and militants expected 

government to officially announce 

an extension, but it 

has kept mute on the matter 

six days after the expiration. 

Correspondingly, the Federal 

Government has not come 

out with a framework for an 

all-embracing dialogue with 

stakeholders and militants, a 

development that has further 

confounded the situation. 

The scrapping of the Joint 

Task Force, JTF, in the Niger 

Delta, as part of efforts to ensure 

better protection of pipelines 

in the region and tackle 

insecurity and its replacement 

with ‘Operation Delta Safe’, as 

well as planned redeployment 

of police officers in the 

region for their failure to stop 

bombing of oil installations, 

have also sent tongues wagging. 

Militants, who bowed to 

Kachikwu’s logic, are suspecting 

that they may have 

been hoodwinked, while 

those opposed to their antics 

want Buhari to order the military 

to battle them to submission 

as was done to Boko Haram. 

. 

NDA re-organizes 

NDA, which found itself in 

a dilemma over the new tactics 

employed by government 

had come out to distance itself 

from a purported ceasefire 

agreement with government, 

declaring that it would resume 

hostilities any time the state of 

affairs becomes intolerable. 

Its spokesperson, self-styled 

Brig Gen Mudoch Agbinibo, 

said, on June 21, day the twoweek 

ceasefire ran out: “The 

From left: Managing Director, Quad Signal Solutions & Services Limited, Mr. Olusegun Agboola; 

Managing Director/C.E.O, Teqbridge Limited, Mr. Chiemeka Ngwu; Chairman, Quad Signal Solutions 

& Services Limited, Mr. Idowu Iluyomade; Managing Director-Africa, Thomson Reuters, Sneha Shah; 

Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode; Head of Government Relations, Africa Financial Business Lead, 

Thomson Reuters, Aarti Shah; Special Adviser, Office of Overseas Affairs & Investment (Lagos Global), 

Prof. Ademola Abass; Commissioner for the Environment, Dr. Babatunde Adejare and others during 

a courtesy visit to the Governor by Executives of Thomson Reuters, at the Lagos House, Ikeja yesterday. 

50 feared killed in Lagos/Ogun communities 

•Only two died, Police insists 

By Daud Olatunji and 

Bose Adelaja 

BARELY six days after some 

suspected militants killed 

15 persons in Imushin community 

in Ogijo area of Ogun state, 

another 50 people were feared 

dead on Thursday night when 

militants swooped on the 

neighbouring communities in 

Elepete and Igbo Olomu, the 

borderline communities in Lagos/ 

Ogun State. 

Saturday Vanguard reliably 

gathered that a large number of the 

victims were said to be landlords 

in the area, who were reported to 

be keeping security watch over the 

communities, due to incessant 

armed robbery attacks. 

A source who was a landlord but 

pleaded anonymity said his 

colleague landlords made bonfires 

in strategic points with a view to 

checking incessant attacks by 

robbers. But, tragedy struck when 

the militants who were coming from 

where they had gone to perpetrate 

their illegal business, mistook the 

landlords for law enforcement 

agents and went on a shooting 

spree. The source said that 30 dead 

bodies have been accounted for 

from various points, and that many 

residents have fled the 

communities for safety. 

Most residents who spoke with 

our correspondent lamented that 

the militants had threatened to 

attack the communities on reprisal 

attacks over the death of their 

colleagues few weeks ago. 

The residents have therefore 

blamed security operatives for 

alleged negligence resulting to 

loss of lives of residents and 

landlords. 

One for the residents who spoke 

with Saturday Vanguard said that 

only the Nigerian Army, the Navy 

and the Airforce could tackle the 

menace of these criminals. 

“The militants came out from the 

creek and attacked the 

communities around 11p.m on 

Thursday night. We were outside 

keeping vigil over incessant armed 

robbery attacks. We had bonfires 

in some areas and the militants, 

having sighted the bonfires, 

opened fire on anyone on sight. 

“The whole communities have 

already been deserted. We need 

the presence of the Nigerian Army, 

Airforce and Navy to curtail the 

NDA High Command never 

remembers having any 

agreement on ceasefire with 

the Nigeria Government.” 

Many had rumored that Dr 

Kachikwu met with representatives 

of NDA at Government 

House, Asaba, when he 

visited the state on June 15, 

but the militant group clarified 

that it sent no representative 

to the meeting. 

In its reaction 48 hours later, 

the group said: “We condemn 

in its entirety the continuous 

linking of the Niger 

Delta Avengers to any meeting 

in Delta State Government 

in Asaba with Minister 

of State for Petroleum Resources.” 

It added: “ We tell the whole 

listening world that the Niger 

Delta Avengers will not be 

part of any dialogue deal that 

will not only bring about the 

‘peace of our time’ but ‘peace 

with honour’.” 

The next day, June 18, following 

the signals emanating 

from official quarters, the 

group re-echoed: “We once 

again, restate that we are not 

going to be part of any dialogue 

and peace that will 

achieve only ‘the peace of our 

time.’ What the NDA wants 

is ‘peace with honour,’ which 

will enter the genuine frame 

Continues on Page 7 

excesses of these militants,” he 

said. 

Another source told Saturday 

Vanguard that since the first attack 

which led to death of 15 persons in 

the communities, schools in the 

areas have been closed down 

while business activities were 

paralyzed. 

The source who spoke with our 

correspondent on condition of 

anonymity said residents of the 

affected communities were fleeing 

their houses and that the whole 

areas were already deserted. 

However, the Ogun State Police 

Command said only two people 

were killed by suspected militants 

who have been laying siege on the 

community. The command’s image 

maker, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, while 

speaking with our correspondent 

said only two people were killed 

by the militants. He said that the 

militants came from the creek to 

attack innocent residents and fled 

back. Adejobi, a Superintendent of 

Police, said the Police would try and 

fish out the criminals. 

“Two have been confirmed dead. 

The militants came again and 

attacked the community. They came 

yesterday and attacked and went 

back to the creeks. We will only 

continue to try,” he said.

6 — SATURDAY Vanguard, JUNE 25, 2016 

COUP ALLEGATION: Buratai summons 

GOCs, PSOs 

LATE Mrs Oghogho 

Orumwense, has 

been described as a selfless 

mother and great 

daughter of the Benin 

Kingdom, who triumphed 

over the traditional 

gender prejudices 

and poverty that were 

predominant in her environment. 

A lecturer at 

the University of Benin, 

Dr Eddy Akpomera in a 

tribute in honour of late 

Mrs Orumwense said 

amongst the many visible 

positive evidence of 

her triumph in ensuring 

social class mobility for 

her family is her second 

son, Professor Faraday 

Osasere Orumwense, incumbent 

Vice – Chancellor, 

University of Benin, 

Benin City (UNIBEN), 

who is a mechanical engineer. 

She was said to be 

“very caring even to her 

By Kingsley Omonobi- 

Abuja 

THE Chief of Army 

Staff, Lt. General 

Tukur Buratai yesterday 

summoned to Abuja for an 

emergency meeting, the 

General Officers Command 

of all the divisions 

of the army following allegations 

by militant 

groups in the Niger Delta 

that some army officers 

have solicited their support 

to oust the administration 

of President Muhammadu 

Buhari 

through a coup détat. 

Present at the meeting 

were the General Officers 

Commanding (GOCs) 1, 

2, 3, 81, 82, 7 and 8 divisions 

of the Army, as well 

as Principal Staff Officers 

based in Abuja and other 

parts of the country. 

The senior officers consequently 

pledged their 

loyalty to the constitution 

of the country as well as 

to the President and Commander 

in Chief of the 

armed forces of Nigeria 

saying, “Our loyalty, allegiance 

to the constitutional 

authority of this land, 

the three branches of government, 

is unquestionable”. 

Speaking on behalf of 

the GOCs, after the meeting, 

General Officer Commanding 

1 division, Major 

General Adeniyi Oyebade 

said “The Chief of 

Army Staff summoned his 

top Commanders across 

the Army for a quick meeting 

this morning. Essentially, 

the meeting was to 

review the security situation 

in the country and to 

also let us know some of 

the reorganization that 

has taken place over the 

last few days. 

“You are aware that 

there was reorganization 

of the Niger Delta operations; 

it has changed from 

the erstwhile Operation 

Pulo Shield to Operation 

Delta Safe and the Army 

is still very strong and we 

will continue to do everything 

to ensure that issues 

of oil theft and Pipeline 

vandalism will be severely 

curtailed in conjunction 

with our sister services, 

the Nigerian Navy 

and the Air Force and other 

security agencies. 

“We also did a review of 

the operation in the North 

east. It is going reasonably 

well. There are challenges 

here and there but 

we want to assure the nation 

that in no distant future 

we will bring the operation 

to a close, we are 

working very hard on 

that. 

“Also, we want to reiterate 

that in all our operations 

across the length 

and breadth of this country 

the issue of our rules 

of engagement is like our 

Bible; we have had quite 

a number of talks here 

and there but we want to 

assure the public and the 

generality of our citizens 

that the Army will abide 

by the rules of engagement. 

“We also want to commend 

the civilian JTF who 

have also done a tremendous 

job in the North east 

and we will continue to 

solicit their support to finally 

rid the country of 

terrorism. 

“You must have also 

heard in the last few days 

of rumours of coup or no 

coup. We want to assure 

all our citizens that the 

Army remains apolitical. 

Our loyalty, allegiance to 

the constitutional authority 

of this land, the three 

branches of government, 

Mr. President and Commander-in-Chief, 

our loyalty 

is unquestionable. 

Tribute in honour of late Mrs. Oghogho 

Orumwense 

step children, very affectionate 

to her siblings, 

and accommodating to 

many indigent members 

of the community. As the 

leading light in the family 

and community leader, 

she was a great philanthropist, 

selfless, 

open and disciplined. 

Late Mrs Oghogho 

Orumwense added value 

to the lives of many and 

improved on the welfare 

of families, especially 

women and youths, that 

in their adulthood, many 

still saw as their foster 

mother. 

According to the tribute, 

“she was not lettered, 

but she was 

amongst the vanguard of 

wise mothers in the Edo 

region who sold their 

prized wrappers and 

blouses to provide financial 

leverage for their 

children’s education in 

higher institutions at 

home and abroad. In the 

*Late Mrs. Orunmwense 

competitive traditional 

family settings laced with 

poverty, polygamy and 

gender stratification, 

wise mothers realized 

early enough that quality 

education for their 

children, beyond just primary 

and secondary levels, 

was the major doorway 

out of the family’s 

low social class as modernization 

crept into the 

culturally-rigid communities. 

AMCON takes over AfriJet 

Airlines over N10bn debt 

By Babajide Komolafe 

ASSET Management Corporation of Nigeria (AM 

CON) yesterday took over the assets of Afrijet 

Airlines owned by Chief Vitalis Ibe over N10 billion 

unpaid debt. A statement issued by AMCON yesterday 

stated, “Hon. Justice (Prof) Chuka Austine Obiozor 

of The Federal High Court Lagos Division has 

granted an interim injunction against Afrijet Airlines 

Limited, owned by Chief Vitalis Ibe on the application 

of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AM- 

CON). The obligor owes AMCON nearly N10 billion. 

AMCON purchased the Eligible Bank Assets (EBAs) 

sometime in 2011 from the defunct FinBank and Bank 

PHB.The order also affects Chief Ibe’s Continental 

Aviation Services Limited. AMCON has since appointed 

Prof.Gbolahan Elias,SAN as Receiver/Manager. 

“At about 11:00am on Friday June 24, 2016, the Receiver/Manager 

simultaneously took possession of the 

assets of Chief Ibe including Afrijet Plaza, the corporate 

head office of the airlines located on Sheraton- 

Opebi Link Road Ikeja, Opebi, Lagos; his asset at 

Plot 22, JimohOdutola Street, off Eric Moore Road, 

Surulere, Lagos as well as his office at the Airport. 

The Court order mandated the Receiver/Manager to 

also take over on behalf of AMCON and any other 

offices, branches, stores, warehouses, factories of Chief 

Ibe and his companies located and/or traced for the 

purpose of satisfying the indebtedness. 

Ondo PDP accuses APC of 

conducting parallel voters 

registration exercise 

By Dayo Johnson, Akure 

THE Peoples Democratic Party PDP in Ondo state 

weekend alleged that the opposition All Progressives 

Congress APC was involved in a parallel voters 

registration exercise in the state. 

It’s Director of Publicity Ayo Fadaka in a statement 

in Akure called on “INEC and the Security agencies 

to stop the APC from taking actions geared towards 

compromising our elections through the implementation 

of fraudulent projects like this. 

But the opposition Party in a swift reaction said that 

the ruling party in the state was already jittery even 

before the November governorship election. 

Its publicity Secretary, Abayomi Adesanya described 

the allegation as a “figment of imagination “.“What 

APC is doing is the registration of new members not 

voters’ registration. We want to know the numbers of 

our members across the state. 

But the ruling PDP said “we also warn that the APC 

may be unwittingly sowing a seed of discord in this 

State if it continues to design programs that are intended 

to rig elections,”

Power supply: Don’t shut down, don’t 

downsize, Fashola tells industrialists 

•Reiterates roadmap to incremental, steady and uninterrupted power 

•Underscores need for conservation, building for energy efficiency 

MINISTER of Power, 

Works and 

Housing, Mr. Babatunde 

Fashola SAN, Thursday 

in Lagos advised 

industrialists, directors 

and other employers of 

labour in the country not 

to panic or downsize their 

staff in the face of current 

power supply challenges 

saying the Federal 

Government has put a 

roadmap in place that 

would ensure progressive 

power supply from 

incremental to steady and 

then uninterrupted power 

supply nationwide. 

Speaking at two major 

events – the Quarterly 

Business Luncheon of the 

Institute of Directors (IOD) 

and the 13th 

Distinguished Electrical 

and Electronics Engineers 

Annual Lecture, Fashola, 

who was Guest Speaker at 

the IOD Business 

Luncheon, underscored 

his optimism that the 

current challenges facing 

the power sector would be 

over soon, saying the 

present administration 

was committed to ensuring 

a sustainable power supply 

in the country. 

The Minister, who was 

also Guest of Honour at the 

Distinguished Electrical 

and Electronic Engineers 

Annual Lecture of the 

Nigerian Institution of 

Electrical and Electronic 

Engineers (NIEEE), told 

the industrialists, 

entrepreneurs, directors 

and other employers of 

Labour in the Organised 

Private Sector not to panic 

by downsizing, shutting 

down or laying off their 

staff saying that the nation 

would overcome the 

challenges of unsteady 

power supply just as it had 

overcome other critical 

national challenges. 

Establishing the context 

within which to analyse the 

current situation in the 

power sector, Fashola 

traced the evolution of the 

country’s electricity 

industry to the 1950s when 

the nation’s electricity was 

managed by the Electricity 

Corporation of Nigeria 

(ECN) which later gave 

way to the National Electric 

Power Authority (NEPA) 

which finally handed over 

•Most Reverend Adewale Martins, Archbishop Metropolitan See of Lagos with 

receivers of First Holy Communion at St. Gregory’s College in Lagos recently. 

to the Power Holding 

Company of Nigeria 

(PHCN) saying that in all 

those transitions, the 

generation, transmission 

and distribution of power 

was in the hands of the 

government which also 

issued meters. Noting that 

he inherited a privatised 

power sector where 

majority shares of the sector 

was sold to private 

companies, Fashola said 

the majority share was sold 

in 2013, 63 years after, 

when government 

unbundled the PHCN and 

sold the generation, and 

distribution processes to 

private companies adding 

that government only 

retained the transmission 

aspect of power which it 

manages through the 

Transmission Company of 

Nigeria (TCN). 

Money laundering: We’ll soon go 

after bank MDs—Magu, EFCC chair 

•Says commission making progress in Halliburton scam 

•Corruption is fighting back but ready to punch harder 

By Soni Daniel, 

Northern Region Editor 

A BUJA—Despite 

being vilified for 

selective graft war and 

facing possible removal by 

some influential 

presidential aides, 

Chairman of the 

Economic and Financial 

Crimes Commission, 

Ibrahim Magu, has said 

that he is ready to 

prosecute the war to the 

end and give the nation a 

new lease of life. 

Magu has ruled out the 

possibility of sparing any 

corrupt person in the 

fight, claiming that any 

Nigerian who commits an 

economic crime must pay 

for it. 

“There is no sacred cow 

as far as this fight against 

corruption is concerned. 

We will go after anybody 

who has committed an 

offence. We will collect the 

money back, so that it will 

go back to the treasury 

and be used for the 

original purposes. 

“I don’t care whether 

you’re black or white or 

you come from party A or 

Party B; the moment it can 

be established that you 

have stolen from the 

public treasury, we will go 

after you. Even right here 

[in EFCC], if we discover 

that you’re corrupt, we 

will kick you out. And we 

are already doing that. So 

we don’t go after innocent 

people. We are going 

after the thieves of state 

resources. 

The chairman 

expressed concern over 

the activities of banks in 

money laundering 

pointing out that the use 

of what bankers call 

‘private banking’ has 

provided a favourable 

window for top politicians 

to launder huge sums of 

public funds. 

He said he had already 

taken up the matter with 

the Central Bank of 

Nigeria Governor and 

other bankers with a view 

to ending that floodgate 

of looting. 

He said: “We had a 

discussion with the 

governor of the Central 

Bank of Nigeria and I 

insisted that this so-called 

private banking should 

be stopped. It is illegal. 

It is wrong. 

“We are not only going 

after the personnel of the 

banks but also after the 

banks. What happens is 

that when a staff of the 

bank is involved in such 

activities, what the bank 

does is to take the person 

out of the system through 

dismissal. But now, we 

are going to go after the 

banks and the personnel 

used to perpetrate the 

fraud. It takes two to 

tango. In fact, very soon 

you will see us going 

after the Managing 

Directors of the banks. We 

don’t care what happens 

because the right thing 

has to be done. These 

people have given a lot 

of room for the money 

laundering activities to 

thrive. They were used 

to hide all the stolen 

money 

Halliburton 

“The Halliburton 

scandal investigation is 

on. There were some 

arrangements that some 

very senior lawyers were 

involved. We are 

investigating every day.” 


Buhari begs militants 

Continued from Page 5 

work in setting up the short, medium and long term 

action plan to the restoration of the essence of quality 

human life in the Niger Delta.” 

Brewing fury 

Another militant group, the Ultimate Warriors of 

the Niger-Delta, which gave a clear notice of the 

militants’ frustration with Buhari’s approach, in a 

statement, by one of its coordinators, Sibiri Taiowoh, 

June 21, said: “Two weeks of ceasefire had gone 

without any tangible effort by the government. No 

roundtable dialogue has kick started; instead, government 

officials are quarrelling over critical issue 

of national importance.” Pointing that its patience 

was running out, the group said: “The Ultimate 

Warriors of the Niger Delta would only be part of a 

dialogue process that is approached with almost 

transparency and sincerity. These we have not seen 

in the past week of government ceasefire, which we 

wholeheartedly embraced.” 

On former militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, 

alias Tompolo, and calls to defreeze his bank accounts, 

the militant group asserted: “Count us out 

of any claims of de-freezing of corrupt politicians’ 

account or stopping prosecution of some set of people 

under investigation. It is none of our business, 

but serve justice honestly to all men, selective injustice 

will be resisted vehemently.” 

The group, which claimed to have over 10,000 

agitators in its fold and affiliation with a foreign militia, 

said it was waiting for the next line of action to 

strike. 

We are all Avengers 

It warned: “So if you (Buhari) think that Avengers 

and its affiliate groups are Ijaws, you are being 

deceived. We are all Avengers, including some of 

your soldiers and security agents; all those you oppress, 

deprive and exploit in the Niger Delta region 

are the Avengers.” 

“We are of several units in the region and we have 

commanders, willing soldiers across the region, who 

are waiting for the next line of action to strike. Our 

mission is to drive government attention to act fast 

because dialogue-upon- dialogue has failed us. We 

will ruin the Nigerian oil wealth until Nigeria is 

restructured to reflect a true government of the people,” 

it said. 

The group declared: “The Ultimate Warriors of the 

Niger Delta is asking for devolution of powers so 

that the geopolitical zones can become autonomous 

and manage the resources within their territories. 

This is the kind of dialogue that we want for lasting 

peace to reign.” “If you make the peaceful change 

that we seek impossible, we will make you understand 

that violent change is inevitable. If you (Buhari) 

like call all the Tompolos of this world, call all 

the Boyloafs, MEND and other ex-militants leaders 

in your payroll together for dialogue, it will not stop 

us from grounding oil and gas operations in the 

Niger Delta. 

“These people have expired, but we would listen 

to them and the stakeholders anyway when we begin 

to see concrete action on the part of the federal 

government after a tripartite meeting of all agitating 

groups, stakeholders, the IOCs, foreign mediators, 

and the federal government. 

“But when the chips are down, and you make the 

peaceful change that we seek impossible, all those 

in your payroll as ex-militants, our brothers abroad, 

who have acquired expertise in various fields and 

are very much with us now, would join forces to 

make the violent change possible,” it said. 

Sea Commandos threaten to boycott dialogue 

On its part, Niger Delta Sea Commandos, NDSC, 

threatened to shun what it described as government’s 

“kangaroo” peace talks over alleged breach of the 

ceasefire by the military. 

It said in a statement by so-called Major Osama: 

“We gave conditions for foreign participation for 

whatever dialogue the government is proposing, but 

until now, nothing has been done about it. We are 

watching situation with our two eyes open.” 

C 

M 

Y 

K


Biafra: IPOB disowns anti Niger-Delta 

Avengers ...may take up arms and join Avengers if ... 

By Nwabueze 

Okonkwo 

THE Indigenous People 

of Biafra, IPOB under 

the leadership of Nnamdi 

Kanu has stated that it has 

disowned those it identified 

as well-known turncoat who 

are claiming on the pages 

of Nigerian newspapers that 

they do not support their fellow 

freedom fighters, the Niger 

Delta Avengers, NDA 

who IPOB regarded as their 

kith-and-kin. 

IPOB maintained that it is 

solidly behind the Avengers 

who are fighting for the freedom 

of the people of Biafra 

from the enslaving Islamic 

Republic of Nigerian Government, 

adding, “We want 

to place it on record that 

IPOB under the leadership 

of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has 

no connection with those 

groups who are criticizing 

the avengers that are calling 

for the release of Kanu, 

the detained IPOB leader” 

In a press statement issued 

yesterday and jointly 

signed by their spokesmen, 

Emma Nmezu and Dr. Clifford 

Iroanya, IPOB warned 

that should the Nigerian 

government send its troops 

to the oil-rich Niger Delta 

land to fight the Avengers, 

as intelligence report is suggesting, 

it would direct its 

members to join hands with 

the Avengers and confront 

the troops head-on. 

IPOB said it is making a 

reference to a particular 

group which is a wellknown 

turncoat and their 

leader who has been bribed 

with oil blocks allocations in 

the oil-rich areas of Biafraland, 

adding that this same 

compromised group is 

known to have started the 

ugly incidence of kidnapping 

in Biafraland and their 

members often used as 

thugs and hired killers for 

politicians in Nigeria. 

IPOB recalled that the 

Avengers have consistently 

stated that the release of 

Kanu is a precondition for 

any discussion with Nigeria, 

adding that it is quite unfortunate 

and disgraceful 

that the incompetent and intellectually 

challenged Nigerian 

Government has 

swept this demand under 

the carpet while magnifying 

the notion of amnesty payments 

and resource control 

as reasons for the NDA‘s actions. 

“For the avoidance of 

doubt, the Avengers are 

fighting for the freedom of 

the people of Biafra and not 

for amnesty payment or for 

resource control as some 

commentators would like to 

believe. When Biafra is finally 

liberated from the 

bondage called Nigeria, resources 

shall be controlled 

by the owners of the land 

where those resources are 

located. The perennially incompetent 

Nigerian Government 

should stop deceiving 

the entire world into 

believing that what the freedom 

fighters of Avengers are 

demanding is resource control”. 

According to the statement, 

“Amnesty is associated 

with criminality and a 

people who are fighting for 

their freedom should not be 

unjustly termed criminals. 

The notion and talk of amnesty 

for our own freedom 

fighters (the Avengers or 

NDA) is a misnomer and 

should be taken out of any 

discourse. On the contrary, 

amnesty should be granted 

to the Nigerian Government 

especially to those from the 

criminal class masquerading 

as elites who unjustly appropriated 

oil and gas wells and 

other resources in Biafra 

land to themselves and their 

cohorts to the detriment of 

the masses. These robbers 

should be associated with 

amnesty for their economic 

criminality not the Avengers”. 

Edo 2016: Presidency 

wades into APC crisis 

•As Appeal Committee invites forensic 

experts to analyse ballot, says allegation 

weighty 

By Omeiza Ajayi 

DISTURBED by the 

possibility of losing its 

only state in the South-South, 

the Presidency has waded 

into the crisis generated in 

the aftermath of the June 18 

governorship primaries of 

the All Progressives Congress, 

APC. 

The presidency’s intervention 

came as the Appeals 

Committee affirmed that it 

would not blink an eye before 

cancelling the result 

should what it claimed as 

the weighty allegations 

raised against the conduct 

of the exercise be proved. 

Saturday Vanguard gathered 

the Secretary to the 

Government of the Federation; 

Babachir David Lawal 

had Thursday night chaired 

a parley with the aspirants 

and the party’s candidate, 

Godwin Obaseki. 

Among those who attended 

the meeting included the 

APC National Secretary, Alhaji 

Mai Mala Buni, Deputy 

Governor Pius Odubu, 

former Minister of State for 

Works, Chris Ogiemwonyi, 

Blessing Agbomhere, Peter 

Esele as well as a former governor 

of Edo state, Osariehemen 

Osunbor. 

Others were the APC governorship 

candidate, Godwin 

Obaseki, Hon. Emmanuel 

Arigbe-Osula, Hon. 

Samson Osagie, Ken Imasuagbon, 

and Gen. Charles 

Airhiabvere. 

Vanguard learnt that the 

presidency decided to intervene 

in the matter in order 

not to lose the only APC state 

in the South-South to the opposition 

Peoples Democratic 

Party (PDP). 

In a chat with journalists 

at the end of the meeting, 

one of the aspirants, Blessing 

Agbomhere said; “I was 

very critical before the elections 

and anybody will attest 

to the fact that I was a 

very vibrant aspirant during 

the contest, but you see, I am 

a man who is loyal to the 

party and this administration 

run by the APC. 

B-R-I-E-F-S 

Gov. Ikpeazu flags-off 

work on Faulks road 

By Anayo Okoli 

FOLLOWING the lamentations of the residents 

of Aba, the commercial city of Abia State, Governor 

Okezie Ikpeazu has flagged off the reconstruction 

of the busy and strategic 4.6km Faulks 

road in the commercial city with an order to the 

contractor to demolish all illegal structures on the 

way. The reconstruction work would be handled by 

Setraco Construction at the cost of N6.8billion. 

It would also construct the 4.6km Faulks Road, 

Setraco will also construct a 5.6km underground 

water channel that will collect water from Ifeobara 

basin near Ukwu-mango to Aba River (waterside). 

Flagging off the construction work, Governor 

Okezie Ikpeazu noted that he was aware “that previous 

administration in state made several attempts 

to reconstruct this road, but they failed because 

proper attention was never given to the Ifeobara 

basin. 

“Forgive and accommodate 

your political opponents” 

By Anayo Okoli 

A 

prominent traditional ruler in Abia State, Eze 

Bernard Enweremadu, has advised Governor 

Okezie Ikpeazu to forgive his political opponents and 

accommodate them to work with him. 

He warned the Governor against people who would 

try to sow seeds of discord and urged him to see himself 

as the father of every Abian, saying that God 

brought him as governor to rebuild and unite Abia State. 

Eze Enweremadu who spoke at Ahiaba Okpuala in 

Isiala Ngwa North Local Government Area of the state, 

when the governor paid him a visit, said his emergence 

as Governor of the state, “is a proof that God 

answered the prayers of Abians, especially the people 

of Ukwa-Ngwa who have never been Governor and 

has prayed for it”. 

“As Governor of Abia State, you are the father to every 

Abian. If you have not been told, I want to tell you 

that you are a blessing to Abia State and the entire 

Igbo race. And God has brought you to rebuild Abia.” 

“Anybody that will plan evil against you and your government 

will not succeed. Those who are not happy 

that you’re governor will forever remain unhappy unless 

they repent.” 

Don’t lose hope, Kumuyi tells 

Nigerians 

By Gabriel Ewepu 

THE General Superintendent, GS, Deeper Life Bi 

ble Church, Pastor William Kumuyi, yesterday, expressed 

optimism that things will turnaround for good 

in Nigeria very soon. 

Kumuyi spoke at a press conference held at the 

Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, in view 

of the crusade christened ‘Night of Extraordinary Wonders’ 

to hold on Sunday June 26, 2016, at the National 

Stadium, Abuja, being organised by the Deeper Life 

Bible Church. 

He said: “I do not think we (Nigerians) should lose 

hope, there is God in heaven who answer prayers, 

there is Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour who wants 

the best for everyone of us; and there are some of us 

who are praying and we believe that God answers 

prayers and so we are not going to lose hope in our 

country, things are going to turn around.” 

The GS assured people in the Federal Capital Territory, 

FCT, about God’s mighty visitation and touch upon 

their life during the one-day crusade. 

Release my husband 

— Woman begs Military 

By Julius Oweh 

A 

woman, Mrs Beauty Muturu of Bomadi has 

passionately appealed to President Muhammadu 

Buhari and the authority of the Nigerian military 

to release her husband who was abducted by 

some soldiers almost two weeks ago. 

Muturu made the appeal amidst sobs in Bomadi 

while speaking to reporters about the abduction of 

her husband, Mr Francis Muturu, the chief executive 

officer of Framut Hotel, Bomadi in Bomadi local 

government area of Delta State. 

According to Mrs Muturu, “on the 8th of June, 2016, 

some groups of soldiers stormed the hotel about 2am 

and forcefully took away my husband, leaving the 

family in sorrow including our two month old baby.”

Saraki/Ekweremadu forgery case: Ohaneze 

youths vow to mobilize against arraignment 

By Levinus 

Nwabughiogu 

AHEAD of the Monday 

arraignment of the 

Senate President, Dr. 

Bukola Saraki and his 

Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu 

by the federal government 

over Senate Rules forgery 

case, Ohanaze youth 

forum has threatened a 

showdown with the 

Attorney-General of the 

Federation, AGF, Mr. 

Abubakar Malami. 

Specifically, the youths 

stated that they would 

mobilize similar groups to 

scuttle the arraignment, 

stressing that the 

prosecution was 

politically induced. 

In a statement issued in 

Abuja on Friday and 

signed by the cochairman, 

Mazi Okemiri 

Alex, the Youth warned 

the AGF not to prosecute 

the deputy senate 

president, Ekweremadu 

who they said was “their 

son”. 

According to the 

statement, “the Senate as 

an independent body had 

investigated the case in 

question and found the 

presiding officers not 

guilty, the federal 

government should allow 

the national assembly to 

do its job in the spirit and 

letters of the principle of 

separation of powers.” 

The statement read thus: 

“The Ohanaeze Ndigbo 

Get in high gear for 

next 10 nights, days 

AS we enter into the 

last ten days and 

nights, we have to roll up 

our sleeves in order to 

double triple our ibadaah 

especially during the 

nights. We are all aware 

of what the Quran says 

about a night better than 

a thousand nights. We are 

all aware of the power in 

the Night of Majesty and 

of course what the Prophet 

(s.a.w) said about locating 

the blessed night. Now, 

every moment counts. 

Whatever you need to do 

for the next ten days to 

make the most in Ibadah, 

good deeds, reciting 

Quran, dhikr, making 

dua, Qiyamul-lail among 

others; the benefits are in 

multiple folds. 

Al-Bukhari and Muslim 

narrated from ‘Aisha (r.a) 

that when the last ten days 

of Ramadan began, the 

Prophet (s.a.w) would 

From left: Deputy Director, US Military HIV Research Programme, Lieutenant Commander 

Julie Ake; Deputy Chief of Mission Maria Brewer of the U.S. Mission to Nigeria; 

Major General Abimbola Amusu, Commander, Nigerian Army Medical Corps; 

with Brigadier General Hussein Ayoola, Director General of the Nigerian Ministry of 

Defense Health Implementation Programme; during the commissioning of the Joint 

West Africa Research Group and the holding of a Clinical Course in Tropical and Emerging 

Infectious Diseases, held in Lagos, on June 23, 2016. Photo Credit: United States 

Consulate General Lagos. 

Youth Council is alarmed 

by the sudden resurfacing 

of the arraignment of the 

Senate President Bukola 

Saraki and the Deputy 

Senate President Ike 

157 students bag 1st Class honours at 

Covenant University 

By Dayo Adesulu 

A 

total of 157 students of 

the Covenant University, 

Ota, Ogun, on Friday bagged 

stay up at night, wake his 

family and tie his lower 

garment tight. He would 

strive hard in worship 

during the last ten nights 

of Ramadan as he did not 

do at other times. 

Whoever spends the 

night of Laylat al-Qadr in 

prayer out of faith and in 

the hope of reward, will 

be forgiven his previous 

sins.” 

One of the best dua’s 

that can be recited 

on Laylat al-Qadr 

for the forgiveness 

of sins is that which 

the Prophet (s.a.w) 

taught is “Say: 

Allahumma innaka 

‘afuwwun tuhibb al- 

‘afwa fa’fu ‘anni (O 

Allah, You are All- 

Forgiving and You 

love forgiveness so 

forgive me).” 

Think of all that 

you need to ask 

First Class degrees at its 2015/ 

2016 convocation. 

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. 

Charles Ayo, disclosed this 

during the 11th Convocation 

Ceremony and Conferment 

Allah for and ask Him 

now. If you haven’t 

before, this is the time to 

connect with Him and 

feel closer to Him. And 

when you do during these 

last ten nights and days 

of this Ramadan, you 

would want to do this 

again and again – even 

after the month is over. 

When you are in a state 

of prayers and worship, 

please open your heart 

for others as well and 

please do remember your 

brothers and sisters in 

your prayers. Remember 

what the Prophet said: 

“The supplication that 

gets the quickest answer 

is the one made by one 

Muslim for another in his 

absence.” Reported by 

Abu Daw’ud and 

Tirmidhi. 

Ramadan timing for today 

City Fajr Iftar/Maghrib 

Abuja 4:49am 6:53pm 

Ibadan 5:09am 7:05pm 

Ilesha 5:05am 7:08pm 

Ilorin 5:02am 7:05pm 

Kano 4:38am 6:53pm 

Lagos 5:10am 7:04pm 

Asaba 5:00am 6:55pm 

Zaria 4:45am 6:53pm 

Maiduguri 4:20 6:35pm 

Jalingo 4:35am 6:38pm 

Please, note that at Farj time, 

sahuur ends and Magrib time, 

Iftar begins. 

Ekweremadu over the 

purported forgery of the 

Senate 8th session rules. 

“In as much as we do 

not condone any act of 

illegality,from any quarters, 

we make bold to state 

that the present attempt to 

arraingn Senator Saraki 

and Ekweremadu is ill - 

motivated and politically 

induced. 

of Honorary Doctorate 

Degrees, and presentation of 

prizes in Ota. 

It was gathered that a total 

of 1495 students graduated 

this academic session. 

They comprised 157 first 

class honours, 708 second 

class upper honours, 513 

second class lower, 118 in 

third class and 154 post 

graduate students. 

Ayo said that the university 

has instituted strategic goals 

that distinguished its students 

as clear leaders among the 

comity of universities, not 

only in Nigeria, but in Africa. 

The don identified some 

of the strategic goals as 

compulsory internship for all 

students to gain industry 

SATURDAY Vanguard, JUNE 25, 2016—9 

B-R-I-E-F-S 

Okpamen canvasses support for 

Obaseki 

By Simon Adewale 

THE Executive Director to Governor Adams 

Oshiomhole on Public Affair, Hon. Henry 

Okpamen has congratulated Mr. Godwin Obaseki 

on his victory in the just concluded APC 

governorship primaries; describing it as victory for 

the people of Edo state. 

In his message, Mr. Henry Okpamen said, “I 

felicitate and rejoice with Godwin Obaseki on his 

God given and overwhelming victory at the All 

Progressives Congress(APC), governorship 

primaries in Edo State. Godwin Obaseki is the best 

candidate and remains steadfast and resolute in his 

bid to become the governor of Edo State.” 

He added that Godwin Obaseki is the best 

candidate and more equipped to take over from Gov. 

Adams Oshiomhole and urged all aggrieved persons 

to put aside their grievances in order to move the 

state forward. 

Hon Nwankwo expresses concern 

over ban on Nigerian beans export 

HON. Dozie Nwankwo, who represents Anaocha, 

Dunukofia and Njikoka Constituency in the 

House of Representatives has moved a notion in the 

House calling attention to the one year ban on 

importation of dried beans from Nigeria into 

European countries. The ban was imposed in June 

2015, on the ground that the produce contained high 

level pesticide considered injurious to human health. 

He disclosed that the ban was to last till 30 th June, 

2016, to allow Nigerian authorities time to provide 

an export control plan and assurance that the beans 

exported to European countries comply with the EU 

minimal Risk levels for hazardous substances. 

He further observed that several relevant agencies 

of Government including Standards Organization of 

Nigeria (SON), NAFDAC and Federal Ministry of 

Industry, Trade and Investment claimed to be 

collaborating with each other to resolve the issue 

before the deadline, yet the issue remained 

unresolved. 

Hon. Elekeokwuri dedicates Church 

Hall/ Children Chapel 

THE member representing Ika North East 

Constituency in Delta State House Assembly 

Hon. Anthony Emeka Elekeokwuri will be 

dedicating a church hall/Children Chapel to Christ 

Anglican Church Umunede in Delta State. The 

Dedication/Thanksgiving Service will hold on the 

26 th June 2016 at Christ Church Umunede at 10:00 

and his lordship Rt. Revd. P.I. Onekpe the Bishop of 

Ika Diocese of the Anglican Communion will officiate 

at the service. The Governor of the State Dr. Ifeanyi 

Okowa and other top government functionaries will 

grace the occasion. 

experience, additional 

certifications in ICT, 

leadership, entrepreneurship 

and foreign language. 

Ayo also said that the goals 

include the introduction of 

Mobile Learning System for 

improved external and 

internal efficiency. Also 

speaking, Dr David 

Oyedepo, the Chancellor 

of the Institution, noted 

that in the drive for 

excellence, the university 

has continued to blaze the 

trail and extend the 

frontiers of knowledge 

through research.

10—SATURDAY Vanguard, JUNE 25, 2016 

PROFESSIONALISM WITH TEARS 

The pains of medical 

graduates in Nigeria 

•Medical graduates 

in pains need help 

By Oghene Omonisa 

& Aderonke Adeyeri 

As Chinenye Kalu 

approached the notice 

board last November, 

she felt beads of cold 

sweat on her 

forehead. She was scared and 

tensed up, with hands trembling. 

She was one of the medical 

graduates who sat for the 

University of Benin Teaching 

Hospital (UBTH) internship 

examination six months before, 

and knowing that very limited 

space was available for the tens 

of applicants who sat for the 

examination, she realised it 

would be a major challenge. 

(Chinenye Kalu is not her real 

name as she does not want her 

name mentioned.) 

“My name was not on the list”, 

she recalls with sad nostalgia as 

if it was only yesterday. She says 

she read the list over and over, 

and though she is a dentist, she 

read even the names under 

medicine and surgery and 

optometry to be very sure her 

name had not been included in 

the wrong category. When it 

finally dawned on her that her 

name was certainly not among 

applicants accepted, with 

controlled emotions, she had to 

call her father back in Lagos. The 

man was as heartbroken as the 

daughter. So was her monther 

and younger siblings. 

As Chinenye left the building 

and approached the hospital 

gate, her sadness was similar to 

that of other applicants whose 

names did not come out too. Her 

case is one of many in a rising 

trend of medical graduates not 

having placement for internship 

or housemanship. 

Becoming a doctor 

From time immemorial, “the 

medical doctor has been one of 

the most respected members of 

society”, says Prof. Oluwadiya 

Kehinde Sunday, whose blog, 

Oluwadiya KS Online enjoys 

wide following among fellow 

medical experts and students. 

He adds that for this reason, 

“medicine has been one of the 

most sought after courses in 

UTME examination.” 

However, a large number of 

these candidates never secure 

admission to pursue their dream, 

due to the competitiveness of the 

course. And even a similar 

number does not get to continue 

after admission as they are not 

able to face the rigours the 

course requires. Studying 

medicine, says Prof. Oluwadiya, 

“takes a certain amount of 

intelligence .... However, 

organization and good study 

habits can make the difference 

between an average student who 

succeeds in the medical school 

and a brilliant student who fails 

to make it.” 

And the course definitely takes 

the longest years. “Becoming a 

doctor takes time”, Prof. 

Oluwadiya continues. “After 

secondary education, you will 

spend six years in medical 

school, one year as an intern 

and another year as a NYSC 

member. That’s eight years from 

starting university to practising 

medicine.” 

Clog in the wheel 

This circle must be completed 

to qualify as a practising doctor. 

Alongside his degree 

certificate, the medical 

graduate is issued a provisional 

license by the Medical and 

Dental Council of Nigeria 

(MDCN), which entitles him or 

her to a one-year internship. 

The internship is mandatory for 

the one-year NYCE Certificate 

or NYSC Exemption Certificate 

before a permanent license is 

issued to qualify as a medical 

practitioner. (MDCN is a 

Federal Government parastatal 

which regulates the practice of 

medicine, dentistry and 

alternative medicine.) 

However, with the difficulties 

in securing placement, 

internship is fast emerging a 

clog in the wheel of becoming 

a practising doctor. Though the 

temporary license has 

provision for delay in securing 

internship placement, it was 

learned that there have been 

cases where some medical 

graduates could not secure 

placement in the two years 

stipulated on the license. In 

such instance, the license 

expires, and the medical 

graduate will have to pay and 

sit for another examination, this 

time to be organised by the 

MDCN, whose grading methods 

are said to be more rigid than 

those for the final degree 

examination organised by the 

universities. It was learned that 

most medical graduates who 

got to that stage frequently 

failed the examination, leading 

to resits till they finally passed 

it to qualify for another 

provisional license. This 

explains why every medical 

graduate is intent on getting 

internship space before the 

provisional license expires. 

But why are these medical 

graduates made not only to resit 

for an examination they passed 

Continues on page 11


The pains of medical graduates in Nigeria 

Continues from page 10 

two years before, but also pay for it? 

When Saturday Vanguard sought the 

response of MDCN, we were 

requested to formally write the 

Council for its response. However, a 

source at the Council who wants to be 

anonymous says: “They are required to 

sit for the MDCN refresher 

examination as two years after 

graduation is too long before a medical 

graduate goes for housemanship.” On 

the payment for the resit examination, 

he rhetorically asks if the medical 

graduates did not pay for their final 

examination before graduation, and 

wonders why MDCN refresher 

examination should be free. 

When reminded that not having 

internship placement is not entirely the 

fault of those who could not secure a 

place as it is limited, the source blames 

it on the medical graduates, adding 

that internship placement is simply 

based on merit: performance in the 

examination and the available space. 

This position was interestingly shared 

by sources in some of the teaching 

hospitals and other health institutions 

legally recognised to accept interns: 

Federal Medical Centres, military 

hospitals and state general hospitals. 

However, most medical graduates 

who have had placement challenges 

blame it on the so-called Nigerian 

factor and not merit, insisting that 

medical interns get placement due 

to their connection or financial 

wherewithal as scores are not 

released with the names of interns 

accepted. 

Challenges 

There are 25 fully accredited and 

six partially accredited medical 

schools in Nigeria, which churn out 

medical graduates annually. 

However, it was learned that not 

even the teaching hospitals of these 

medical schools as well as the 

Federal Medical Centres, military 

hospitals and state general 

hospitals can accommodate these 

graduates as interns every year. 

As a solution, the interns are 

taken in batches and even on 

awaiting lists. Investigations 

revealed that by taking them in 

batches, more interns are taken in a 

year, because within a year when a 

batch is having theirs, a previous 

batch could round off, leaving a 

vacuum. It is this vacuum that a 

new batch replaces, to utilise every 

available period, just like NYSC is 

presently operated. For the 

awaiting list, intending interns who 

did not make any of the batches, 

are kept waiting for any available 

space for them to occupy. 

There are 25 fully accredited and 

six partially accredited medical 

schools in Nigeria, which churn 

out medical graduates annually. 

However, it was learned that not 

even the teaching hospitals of 

these medical schools as well as 

the Federal Medical Centres, 

military hospitals and state 

general hospitals can 

accommodate these graduates 

as interns every year 

Ironically, while these 

practices were confirmed by past 

and present interns, most 

teaching hospitals, including 

those of first generation 

medical schools, denied or 

outrightly refused to respond to 

inquiries on these practices. 

Tales of woes 

There are almost as many sad 

stories to tell as there are 

medical interns or intending 

interns. “Presently, I’m not 

being paid salary like other 

interns”, says Oben Taylor, an 

intern at the Lagos State 

University Teaching Hospital 

(LASUTH), who is a medical 

graduate of the Ambrose Alli 

University Medical School. 

“This is because there was no 

•Medical 

graduates 

•Medical students in 

laboratory 

space for me here after 

applying, but because I could 

not remain at home, I had to 

accept internship without pay as 

I would rather have a 

permanent license without 

being paid salary, than risk 

losing this opportunity to 

qualify as doctor.” So, how does 

he cope? He says his parents 

are based in Lagos, and he 

leaves home for the hospital 

every day and returns late. 

“I personally will not say I had 

much problems securing an 

internship placement”, says Dr. 

Boniface Ezeanyagu, a 

qualified medical doctor of the 

University of Port Harcourt 

Medical School. Now practising 

in a private hospital in Lagos, 

the 2010 medical graduate says 

he did his internship at his 

medical school teaching 

hospital. “My problem was 

accommodation. There was no 

enough accommodation. We 

had to be staying four to a 

cubicle. It was like a cell. 

Sanitary, laundry and cooking 

were terrible. It was hell and I 

tell you, it affected both our 

learning process and our total 

output as interns.” 

“Many Nigerian medical 

graduates had terrible 

experiences they will never 

forget”, says Dr. Jude 

Uchedenna, who studied at the 

Delta State University Medical 

School and also practises in a 

private hospital in Lagos. “After 

spending six years at the 

university, I spent two more 

years struggling to get an 

hospital for my 

housemanship.” 

“This is my sixth hospital and 

last bus stop”, says Wale Jacobs, 

an intern at a general hospital in 

Lagos who also reveals that after 

completing his medical degree at 

the University of Jos Medical 

School in 2014, he chose to have 

his internship at the Lagos 

University Teaching Hospital, 

and returned to Lagos, his base. 

Surprisingly for him, he was not 

accepted. From LUTH he went 

to LASUTH, then the Federal 

Medical Centre, Ebute Meta, 

Federal Medical Centre, 

Abeokuta, and the military 

hospital at Ikoyi. “Honestly, I was 

scared my temporary license was 

going to expire on me”, he says, 

relief written all over his face. “It 

was utmost relief for me when I 

was accepted here,” he said. 

Panacea 

It will not be difficult to 

conclude that there is a major 

problem in the medical 

profession when medical 

graduates cannot find placement 

to practise what they had been 

taught as well as qualify as 

practising doctors. “The 

Nigerian Medical Board should 

fight against this maltreatment 

on the part of medical 

graduates”, advises Dr. 

Uchedenna. He said: “This 

situation can discourage some 

students from taking medical 

courses, and it will have 

negative effects on the number 

of doctors the country produces 

annually. More hospitals and 

health facilities should be 

established to accommodate the 

growing number of medical 

graduates.” 

The establishment of more 

medical training facilities 

appears to be the best solution 

from the lips of medical experts. 

“I think the problem actually is 

lack of corresponding number of 

hospitals to accommodate the 

growing number of medical 

graduates”, says Dr. Sunday 

Bulorunduro, Medical Director, 

Talent Specialist Hospital, Ikeja, 

Lagos. The 1980 graduate of the 

University of Nigeria Medical 

School, recalls his days with 

nostalgia saying, “In those days, 

a medical graduate had a 

variety of choice hospitals for 

housemanship.” 

Dr. Bulorunduro’s views tally 

with those of the Lagos State 

Commissioner for Health, Dr. 

Jide Idris, who, while speaking 

on the issue with the News 

Agency of Nigeria (NAN) 

recently, attributed the problem 

to the non-availability of spaces 

compared to the number of 

graduates being churned out 

every year from medical schools: 

“There are more medical 

graduates than the available 

spaces and resources. We are 

churning out more doctors, 

pharmacists and other medical 

personnel every year because 

everyone wants to study 

medicine and the universities are 

admitting students excessively. 

The case is peculiar to Lagos 

because it is saturated.” 

The non-availability of spaces 

for internship poses a serious 

problem not only to the medical 

graduates but also to effective 

healthcare delivery as this 

challenge has the potential of 

reducing the number of medical 

students and eventually medical 

graduates in a country fast 

growing in population and 

lacking in the provision of 

amenities and social 

infrastructure, including health.


Our emergency departments 

are overwhelmed —LASUTH CMD 

Prof David Adewale Oke, the Chief 

Medical Director of the Lagos 

University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, 

a renowned professor of cardiology, in an 

interview with Saturday Vanguard, maintained 

that LASUTH is the most busiest hospital in 

Lagos and the hospital is again disadvantaged 

due to its location. He said although the 

emergency departments are overwhelmed on 

a daily basis, it will not only be irresponsible 

for the hospital to treat patients on bare floor 

but worst to turn patients back without 

resuscitation before referral. 

His words: “LASUTH is the busiest hospital in 

Lagos and it is worst when there is industrial 

action going on in Federal hospitals like 

Lagos University Teaching Hospital, 

LUTH and Orthopaedic Hospital, 

Igbobi. And right now, we are 

suffering the same fate 

because these hospitals are 

currently on strike. There is 

no way we can turn patients 

back even if we can’t admit 

them. It is the responsibility 

of the doctors to resuscitate 

them and that explains why 

you saw some patients sitting 

in wheel chairs. 

Sometimes, when we 

identify patients that we feel 

cannot get to where we are 

referring them to, we tried to 

scout all the wards to find a 

bed to move a patient who is 

fairly stable so that we can 

take the new patient in. It is 

unfortunate that this hospital 

is probably the busiest 

hospital and the state owes a 

lot of obligation to the people 

in terms of free health. A lot 

of those who come here 

cannot even afford to go elsewhere. So as harsh 

as I have been that nobody should be on the 

floor, sometimes we buy time to look for a place 

to put a patient. Otherwise if a patient comes 

and you send him or her back without 

resuscitation, the patient may die before he or 

she gets to the next centre. 

Lack of bed syndrome 

“We have about 600 bed space in the whole of 

LASUTH. In the medical emergency we have 

four wards with 25 beds and in surgical 

emergency we have three wards and an 

extension in BT wards. In each ward, we have 

typical specialist for each ward, like 

ophthalmologists for eye, and neuro-surgeons 

that serve patients with neurological problems. 

In case of dire emergency we admit on any bed. 

However, 

we cannot really move a patient if he or she is 

not stable and this leaves doctors in these areas 

with a lot of challenges on how to decide which 

patient should be moved to the main hospital 

wards. 

Patient’s relations attitude 

“Relatives have not made our jobs easy. For 

instance, two days ago there was a drama in 

paediatrics emergency. A patient was brought 

in and the patient needed oxygen to be 

•Prof David 

Adewale Oke 

LASUTH is the busiest hospital 

in Lagos and it is worst 

when there is industrial action 

going on in Federal hospitals 

like Lagos University Teaching 

Hospital, LUTH and Orthopaedic 

Hospital, Igbobi 

resuscitated. We did all of these and 

arrangement was made to transfer patient to 

Mercy Street Children Hospital in Lagos 

because there was no bed. The father was 

informed that this patient can go there since 

there was no bed space. He went bizarre, 

broke glasses and some hospital’s 

properties. And this happens often here. 

In a system that works, there should be 

communication between all hospitals. When 

you go abroad, once the bed is full it is full. 

But because you have communication with 

all hospitals you can easily phone and the ambulance can easily 

divert to another hospital. It is even worst when you have an 

industrial action like now. 

The issue of bed space is not a problem that can easily be solved 

by LASUTH except the bed capacity is increased. That is really a 

capital project. What the State Ministry of Health is doing is to 

improve communication link between all the hospitals in the state. 

In LASUTH, we have a monitoring group comprising of senior 

nurses trained to solve problems. 

Each hospital has and the state is trying to engage a system that 

will put us on. We now have Central phone lines. Like in LASUTH 

we have 0805, provided by GLO and most people working here 

have it. 

Sometimes we have problems of sincerity of patients because 

this is a Tertiary institution. Sometimes the patient is so bad 

that their problem may only be solved here. And when 

that happens, it becomes a problem. You have to 

resuscitate and to see if you can get the patient 

in. As much as possible you want to save the 

patient’s life. Another challenge is the fact that 

there are only a few hospitals that can offer 

same services like LASUTH in Lagos. 

We are close to the airport. Patients come in 

from everywhere. It is a problem we have to 

solve but as much as possible except it is 

essential we tried not to admit a patient if 

there is no bed but that rule cannot be 

followed every time. 

Holding areas 

“We do not allow relations inside the 

Accident and Emergency but we have 

holding areas where relations are allowed to 

stay. The patients holding area of Surgical 

Emergency is being moved because of the 

heliport the government is building. In an 

ideal situation, relations should not stay in 

the hospital but we have a peculiar situation 

in Nigeria even if the relation does not need 

to do anything for a patient they still feel it 

is necessary and it helps sometimes because 

you may need something extra which the 

relation will get but they are supposed to 

stay within the holding areas and come in 

from time to time. 

Quality of nurses in emergency areas 

“Nurses are very essential in making sure 

a patient gets out of hospital. We have 

enough nurses but no hospital will claim to 

have enough. We want as much as possible 

to replace the number of nurses that have 

left. We had an interview last week to 

replace them. In emergency departments, 

we run shifts. We are managing the number 

we have effectively. 

Heliport 

“The new heliport under construction will 

open up our operations. We have a critical 

care unit, an ultra modern centre that will 

soon be opened. Again, Ayinke House which 

is almost completed will be ready by 

December. Equipments are already on 

ground but we may have issues with the 

equipments when they are finally installed 

because they have been lying unused for a 

while but that will be sorted out. 

We are also looking at expanding the 

hospital to meet the needs of our people and 

the only way is to move it. There are plans to 

build a 10-storey building for resident 

doctors and house officers so that our doctors 

will be on ground to easily see patients.


24- Hours @ LASUTH 

Accident & Emergency 

•Emergency departments overwhelmed with patients 

•It will be irresponsible to treat patients on bare floor —CMD 

By Chioma Obinna 

Lagos State University Teaching 

Hospital, LASUTH, is a facility that 

records over 200 emergencies in two 

of its Accident & Emergency, A&E, 

units on a daily basis. 

Situated few kilometres away from the 

domestic terminal and Murtala Mohammed 

International Airport, Ikeja, LASUTH, is open 

to patients from all parts of the country and 

neighbouring African countries and is prone 

to unavoidable emergency cases at all times. 

The 600-bed tertiary hospital, adjudged to be 

the busiest in Lagos, has also obtained global 

relevance as a place where people with various 

illnesses including terminal ones seek help. 

Unfortunately, the non functional primary 

healthcare system across the country has not 

helped the facility to function effectively as a 

referral and research centre. 

From the gate of the hospital, it was obvious 

that the ongoing industrial action in some 

Federal Government hospitals in the state was 

actually taking its toll on the facility with a 

large crowd of patients in the premises. 

It was exactly 12:00 noon when our 

correspondent arrived at the Surgical and 

Emergency unit of the hospital, one of its 

A&E. Ambulances were strategically 

stationed in front of the emergency 

department. The running around of patients’ 

relations, brisk walking of medical staff within 

the tidy compound that exude a hospitable 

ambience was not absent. Just opposite the 

LASEM was the ongoing construction of the 

Heliport as part of the new projects to improve 

You could find some of these 

patients in an ambulance coach 

or wheel chairs because often 

times, the beds are full and most 

of the patients will require 

resuscitation before they are 

finally referred to other hospitals 

or moved to the wards 

services at the centre. The entrance into the two 

emergency departments, Medical Emergency 

and the Surgical Emergency departments were 

fully manned by neat security men. The triage 

nurse welcomes patients into the emergency and 

admission wards. The triage is where the 

process of determining the priority of patients’ 

treatments takes place. A first time visitor to the 

A&E needs no soothsayer to tell that the section 

defines fate of patients in emergencies. There, 

you find relatives of patients either hallucinating, 

wandering around the entrance, praying or 

shedding tears. Some are found in groups 

discussing in low tones. 

Once a patient is done with the triage nurse 

and record officers and proper diagnoses done, 

treatment is initiated free of charge in the first 24- 

hours even when the patient is billed for referral 

to other hospitals. You could find some of 

these patients in an ambulance coach or wheel 

chairs because often times, the beds are full 

and most of the patients will require 

resuscitation before they are finally referred to 

other hospitals or moved to the wards. 

One striking thing that was observed during 

this visit was that unlike some other hospitals, 

health workers including the medical doctors in 

the department carry out their responsibilities 

with special care and passion. 

Saturday Vanguard witnessed an instance 

when a young boy diagnosed with 

hydrocephalus which resulted to blindness 

urinated on the bed as a female doctor started 

the process of cleaning up before a nurse 

arrived. 

Another instance Saturday Vanguard 

witnessed was the visit of two officials from 

NEMA who came to make arrangement for 

admission of three Nigerian deportees from 

Libya that will require immediate treatment 

from the airport. Although, there was no bed 

space at the time, they were encouraged to 

bring them straight from the airport at least for 

resuscitation. 

Our Correspondent also observed that some 

patients even after resuscitation are not eager to 

be referred to other hospitals without 

persuasion. 

Immediately a patient is brought in, a nurse 

and a doctor including the record officer attend 

to the patient. The next day after the patient 

must have been stabilised, the patient’s overall 

health is assessed. Basic tests like blood 




pressure, pulse, body temperature, etc., are 

taken. Medications are strictly dispensed and 

adherence to treatment closely monitored by 

nurses. The first 24 hours are free of charge 

irrespective of the kind of care given to the 

patient. Patients who require urgent 

interventions are kept in the A&E for a maximum 

of 72 hours depending on the severity of their 

injuries. 

However, not all cases are admitted in the 

emergency wards. At the triage point, once it is 

discovered that a patient does not require 

emergency care, such patient is sent to the ward 

while those who come in with injuries have 

their bleeding controlled. Those who require 

oxygen are also given just as those with fractures 

are mobilised even if they will be referred. All 

these services are given free within 24 hours. 

However, contrary to reports that patients sleep 

on the floor, the four wards and 75 beds in both 

the Medical and Surgical Emergency were neatly 

kept and patients were seen lying on a well kept 

bed with neat bed spread. 

The five beds in the Intensive Care Unit, ICU, 

of the department were fully occupied with 

patients being monitored with functional modern 

monitors and six nurses strategically stationed in 

the room. 

But even as strict as the management of the 

hospital is regarding admitting patients once the 

beds are full, Saturday Vanguard gathered that 

There were patients from 

all over the country 

including some from 

neighbouring countries like 

Ghana and Republic of 

Benin 

relations of patients even begged to be admitted 

on a wheelchair hoping that a patient would 

eventually be moved to the ward any moment. 

Countless cases of patients ‘relations becoming 

violent have been recorded at the unit. 

Just last week, a father of a sick baby was 

arrested after he resorted to violence and 

damaged the hospital properties. 

However, a patient who has been in the 

department for four days and have regained 

consciousness confirmed to Saturday Vanguard 

that: “There is no need going outside the country 

to spend so much money when a centre like this 

is here.” 

The patient, who gave his name as Mr. Uche 

Daniels, said: “I have been here for about four 

days now. The doctors and nurses are very kind 

here. I am being given drugs three times a day. 

Unlike what we hear about government hospitals, 

the doctors usually come from time to time to 

check on us here. They are trying but we want 

them to do more. 

Emergency services 

One of the medical doctors in the Surgical 

Emergency unit, Dr. Olufunmi Babalola hinted 

Saturday Vanguard that not less than 60 to 70 

emergency cases are attended to in the centre on 

a daily basis. 

“This place is like a transient area. Most 

patients here are usually unconscious. We have 

monitors and machines that record their vitals. 

*A patient receiving treatment at the emergency ward 

‘It will be 

irresponsible to 

treat patients 

on bare floor’ 

Everyone in the ICU is on oxygen and nurses 

are on standby to monitor them. We also have 

couches in the ICU and whoever requires 

suturing we have a room like a mini-theatre. 

We don’t treat patients on the floor. Once the 

beds are full they are full. Although, when there 

is no bed we stabilize all our patients, we 

resuscitate with fluids, pain killers, antibiotics 

and even if a patient requires oxygen we give 

but once a patient is stabilised we refer to 

another centre. 

“One thing about this centre is that we have 

enough doctors, nurses and the bed space here 

in the surgical ward are over 30 beds including 

couches. About 12 to 15 doctors work in here. 

“We have about 40 nurses and they run shift. 

Rules are observed in this place. Food vendors 

are not allowed here. We have eateries and the 

hospital’s kitchen also serves foods for the 

patients.” 

At the Medical Emergency department of 

LASUTH, there were patients from all over 

the country including some from 

neighbouring countries like Ghana and 

Republic of Benin. In this unit, female and 

male patients are kept in separate wards. 

There are two resuscitation rooms with two 

beds, 11 beds for female wards and 12 beds 

for males. There also a number of couches to 

support the beds before patients are moved to 

the wards. There is also a separate room for 

tetanus patients. These special patients are 

not managed with others for medical 

reasons. Also, about 70 patients are seen in 

this unit on a daily basis out of which about 

60 will be admitted. 

The admission starts from the triage point, 

where a senior nurse identifies the nature 

of the illness and the record officer will be 

there to take information from the relatives 

while a doctor goes back to complete 

documentation and hand over to the team on 

call on that day. Patients who are not 

critically ill are taken in, all vital signs taken 

and they are moved to the consulting rooms 

where doctors are waiting to attend to them. 

Each morning, a nurse goes round the 

wards to find out how many bed spaces are 

available and record it on the notice board. At 

this point, patients brought over night who 

are stable will be moved out. 

The Head of Department, LASUTH 

Medical Emergency, Dr. Adekunle Taiwo 

says patients sometimes are referred to other 

hospitals because there is no way they can 

admit between 50 and 60 patient on a daily 

basis. “In as much as we would have loved to 

do so, we can’t, due to lack of beds. We refer 

to other hospitals. But we must resuscitate 

before we refer to other government 

hospitals. 

“This place is usually crowded because 

people have refused to patronise primary 

Healthcare Centres and once they are here it 

is difficult to send them back. Many people 

do not know that they can access help in 

those health centres. We need media 

assistants in the area of creating awareness 

that PHCs also function like a hospital. This 

place is supposed to be a referral centre, 

where patients are referred from secondary 

care level or from another Teaching hospitals.


Emma Amaize, 

Regional Editor, South-South 

DELTA State Governor, 

Senator Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, 

spoke plainly in an interview 

with this reporter, some months ago, 

that former Minister of Information, 

Prof Sam Oyovbaire, is his political 

godfather. 

Getting the academic and political 

strategist, who the governor respects 

his mental power to share his 

perspective on Okowa took some time 

because of his schedule, but when 

Saturday Vanguard met Oyovabaire, 

the reasons were palpable. 

The professor once tried to rule the 

state and battled for the ticket of the 

Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in 

1999 or thereabout with former 

governor, Chief James Ibori, who 

incidentally tutored Okowa 

politically. However, what he lost in 

Ibori, he gained in Okowa. Excerpts: 

Delta overcoming 

biggest challenge 

Delta state originally ought to 

have taken the form of the old Delta 

province, which would have excluded 

the Ika, Aniocha, Oshimili because 

these areas used to be part of old 

Benin province, not Delta province, 

but the politics of the time and the 

compromise gave us the Delta state 

that we have today. 

Air Commodore Luke Ochulor kick 

started the interim administration of 

the state from 1991 to 1992 and the 

late Olorogun Felix Ibru was the first 

semi-elected civilian ruler, because at 

that time, the military was still at the 

centre. That carried us for 18 months 

or so, and then, the whole process of 

June 12 after which the military came 

on board and dismantled the Felix 

Ibru administration. 

In addition, from then until 1999, 

we were again under military rule and 

of course, in 1999, James Ibori took 

over as the governor of the place. 

I think the greatest challenge we 

have always had, which started with 

Ibori is how to blend Delta state with 

part of it that was in the Benin 

province. It was an undercurrent, 

really, one of the early challenges. 

Ibori did what he could and thank 

God, that kind of challenge is not too 

prominent today because sometimes 

if you blow up the issue of Anioma too 

much, the tendency is to remind 

people about such challenges. But in 

recent time when the irredentist Biafra 

are shouting all over the place, they 

somehow still think that the Anioma 

part of the state is automatically part 

of the Biafra agitation, which if we are 

not careful could disturb the 

arrangement we are having now. 

Therefore, Ibori tried what he could 

do. 

You know that even the day Ibori 

took over; there was bombing and 

destruction in Warri area, which is 

among Ijaw, Urhobo and Itsekiri 

ethnic groups. Therefore, we have 

come a long way and Uduaghan 

came on board and tried to manage 

the situation as best as he could and 

today, we have my good young friend, 

Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, in charge. 

Nevertheless, so far so good, we 

have come a long way. And that is 

what I want people to know that for 

somebody like me, I am not bothered 

about the ethnic group you come from 

in the state, what I am bothered about 

is the quality of the person, no matter 

the part of the state. That is one way of 

blending the state. 

Avengers reacting to Jonathan’s 

misrule 

It is unfortunate in many ways that 

•Sam-Oyovbaire 

EDO APC GUBER PRIMARIES: 

Gov Okowa’s 

political father, 

Oyovbaire opens up 

•Urhobo leaders who opposed Okowa emergence were tactless 

•I don’t care if deputy gov is Tompolo’s friend 

•My support neither to please him (gov) nor Anioma 

after six years of the administration of 

former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, 

forces reacting to the post-Jonathan 

experience are giving us the challenge that 

we have today, governance is not easy and I 

am not trying to undermine the forces, but I 

believe very strongly that Dr. Jonathan had 

no grasp of the history that we went through, 

if he had, then he did not care as to how to 

use the knowledge to develop the region. 

I cannot see anything in Niger Delta that 

I can associate concretely with Jonathan for 

those years. However, any other person, 

whether it is Olusegun Obasanjo, Yar’Adua 

or Muhammadu Buhari would have been 

here in these years of Jonathan. 

I would have loved a situation where he 

did a few things, now Buhari is even 

claiming that he wants to clean up Ogoni 

land. Of course, that of Ogoni had been there 

of a long time, but here in Delta state and 

Oloibiri in Bayelsa state, where oil 

exploration actually started, we have a lot of 

spillage and wastage of our environment. 

One would have expected that Jonathan 

should have started the cleaning up in 

Oloibiri and these other places, but I did not 

see the articulation. 

Jonathan did not do much and we are 

face to face with the Avengers, which may be 

avenging something. What is it that they are 

avenging; they are avenging the inability of 

Jonathan to do what he ought to have done 

and there is very strong fear, genuine fear 

that with President Muahammadu Buhari 

on the saddle, the area would continue to 

have the short stick. 

Creating more problem for tomorrow 

This is the anger, yes, but we need to be 

careful, you could go on and say okay, let 

the country go to pieces, if you have missiles, 

let us blow up Abuja, Nigeria National 

Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Aso Villa 

and all that, those are very shortsighted ideas 

because you believe that nothing has 

happened in your area. You also need to 

know that you are creating more damage to 

our environment. 

If it is only now that Ogoni through the 

UNEP is about to be cleaned, what about the 

damage done all these years. Those who are 

bombing and destroying today, their 

grandchildren would have no place to stay, 

so while you can have good reason for the 

anger for avenging, you should also ask 

yourself the problem you are creating. And 

for the immediate time, you would have less 

money, Delta state is highly impoverished 

with what the avengers are doing today 

because our share from the Federation 

Account has collapsed from N19 billion to 

N3billion and yet we are one of the highest 

paying bureaucracies in this country. What 

the Avengers are doing today, no matter how 

you want to sympathize with them, we would 

face difficult time very soon. 

•Gov Okowa 

Short-range leaders 

Well, you might call it a risk, but I did and 

will continue to do what I am convinced 

about, I did not do what I did to please Dr. 

Okowa or this part (Northern senatorial 

district) of the state. I believe very strongly 

in him, as you know I had my own intention 

when I struggled in the distant past when I 

wanted to rule the state. Some of my plans 

are being realized today through Okowa 

and Okowa does not even know that. We sat 

down and I was very much involved in the 

document, which became his manifesto and 

a lot of my ideas were there. So 

unfortunately, my people, let us use that 

word, my Urhobo compatriots with due 

respect to all of them, from the youngest to 

the oldest to the wealthy and the wealthiest, 

with due respect to all of them, they were 

shortsighted, really, shortsighted. I mean 

that because if you cannot rule, you should 

be able to have control of who rules. If you 

argue that if it is not me, there is no state, 

then you are wrong. In every community 

today, here in Asaba where we are, in Agbor, 

Ughelli, Orerokpe, everywhere, you have the 

good ones and the bad ones. How would say 

that there are no good people in the North 

senatorial district. 

I am trying not to use the name 

Anioma. If they were, why would you shut 

the door against a segment of the state 

because there is an assumed utilization of 

population? We have had Ibru rule us for 18 

months, Ibori ruled us for eight years, then 

we had a deputy governor for eight years, 

there are challenges and I cannot regret the 

challenges. 

I will not say nothing happened in the 

Central Senatorial district, many things 

happened. Perhaps not enough, but if you 

are to fight to continue to have a Central 

Senatorial district person as governor, are 

you saying that your administration will 

focus on only Central Senatorial district to 

the detriment of the North and South 

Senatorial districts. Therefore, I was 



EDO APC GUBER PRIMARIES: 

Factors that led to 

Obaseki’s emergence 

•As Oshiomhole consolidates 

as political leader 

By Simon Ebegbulem, 

Benin City 

Only those who 

underrated Governor 

Adams Oshiomhole’s 

political capacity in the past 

seven and half years were 

deceived that he would lose the 

battle to produce the All 

Progressives Congress, APC 

governorship candidate. 

Like every other governor, 

Oshiomhole had a preferred 

candidate in the person of 

Godwin Obaseki, chairman of 

the State Economic Management 

Team. He was deligent in selling 

him first to the party delegates 

who had the responsibility of 

choosing the APC candidate, 

and then to the Edo public. 

Ahead of the battle, he re-oiled 

his two political groups, the Edo 

Solidarity Movement (ESM) led 

by his Political Adviser, Charles 

Idahosa and the Edo in Safe 

Hands led by Osarodion Ogie, 

his political son, to deliver 

Obaseki. In fact, few days to the 

primaries, 930 members of the 

Edo in Safe Hands who are 

delegates in the APC, endorsed 

Obaseki at a meeting chaired by 

their state leader, Washington 

Osifo. Apart from these groups, 

the governor equally deployed 

most of his foot soldiers such as 

his chief of staff, Patrick 

Obahiagbon, Henry Idahagbon, 

Rasaq Bello-Osagie, Lawrence 

Orka, Harrison Omagbon, 

Osakpanwa Eriyo, Theo Okoh, 

Francis Inegbeneki, Malik 

Afegbua, Prince Joe Okojie, Lucy 

Omagbon and many others in 

the various Local Governments 

to get delegates for Obaseki. 

While the key aspirants were 

raising alarm over alleged 

purchase of Permanent Voters 

Card (PVCs), Oshiomhole sat in 

his office plotting the downfall of 

the key aspirants who were bent 

on inflicting defeat on Obaseki. 

Twelve governorship 

aspirants, Deputy Governor, Dr 

Pius Odubu (Okakuo), former 

Minister of state Works, Dr Chris 

Ogienwonyi, the chairman Edo 

state Economic and Strategic 

Team, Godwin Obaseki, former 

governor of the state, Prof. 

Osarhiemien Osunbor, former 

Commander Army Finance 

Corps, Gen. Charles 

Airhiavbere, Blessing 

Agbomhere, Prof. Federick 

Amadasun, Emmanuel Arigbe- 

Osula, Arch. Austin Ilenre 

Emuan, Comrade Peter Esele, 

Kenneth Imasuagbon and Mrs. 

Agbarha Justina all went to the 

battle for the APC guber ticket 

last Saturday. It would have 

been fourteen, but both Don 

Pedro Obaseki and Omo Irabor who 

were earlier in the race pulled out few 

days to the primaries. There was so 

much tension in the state before the 

primaries and the individuals 

involved in the contest were probably 

the reason. 

However, several factors gave 

Obaseki victory. One was the fact that 

Oshiomhole, having performed 

galvanised his political machinery for 

Obaseki and unleashed it on the other 

big aspirants. Secondly, the name 

Obaseki rings a bell in Benin 

Kingdom, it’s one of the biggest 

families in the Kingdom and this 

Godwin, though not a 

politician, has equally 

excelled in his career as a 

financial expert. And that 

is why he has friends like 

Aliko Dangote, Femi 

Otedola, Hakeem Bello- 

Osagie and others. 

Such a person can not 

be taken for granted. 

And in this contest, the 

way and manner he 

It was not surprising that 

Odubu turned out to be 

the greatest challenge to 

Obaseki, though 

Ogienwonyi had the 

financial muscle and had 

some Benin elders behind 

him, but he was locked 

out in the struggle for the 

delegates 

was taken for granted because he is 

not a politician gave him the upper 

hand as it provided him the 

opportunity to embark on a one-onone 

campaign with the delegates 

while some of the established 

politicians dealt with the leaders. As 

Oshiomhole described him, Obaseki 

has been the brain box of the 

Oshiomhole administration even 

though he is not heard but the masses 

of Edo state had felt his presence 

indirectly due to his strategic planning 

and advise on economic matters to the 

state government. Of course, it has 

helped positively, because Edo state 

remains one of the few states that has 

always paid salaries to their workers 

as at when due. 

In September 2015, the governor met 

with his Deputy, Dr. Odubu and the 

Commissioner for Works, Osarodion 

Ogie, head of the Edo in Safe Hands, 

•Gov Adams 

Oshiomhole 

one of the pro-Oshiomhole groups, 

and informed them that he believed 

one of them would be able to 

understand their struggle in Edo 

State, therefore it was his wish that 

one of them should succeed him. His 

argument was that those aspirants who 

came from the PDP were only in the 

party to actualize their governorship 

ambitions and not for the general 

interest of the people of the state. 

But how Governor Oshiomhole 

dropped Odubu and Ogie out of his 

plans remains one of the topical 

mysteries in Edo State today. Instead, 

he opted for Obaseki. 

While Ogie reluctantly pulled back 

after realising that there was no way or 

the will to fight his principal, Odubu 

rather, soldiered on and along the way 

festered one of the most sordid 

relationships ever between a governor 

and his deputy in Edo State. 

It was not surprising that Odubu 

turned out to be the greatest challenge 

to Obaseki, though Ogienwonyi had 

the financial muscle and had some 

Benin elders behind him, but he was 

locked out in the struggle for the 

delegates. 

He did not have the grip of the 

delegates because he came from the 

PDP. In an interview with one of the 

aspirants, Gen. Airhiavbere, before the 

primaries, he lamented that one of the 

problems which some of them who 

came from the PDP faced was that it 

was difficult to meet with the 

delegates. 

And the result of the primaries 

confirmed Airhiavbere’s fears. 

Obaseki, who has been with 

Oshiomhole since the inception of this 

administration, polled 1,618 votes; 

Odubu came second with 471 votes, 

Imasuagbon 247, Ogienwonyi 137 

votes, Airhiavbere 11 votes, Arigbe 

•Godwin Obaseki 

Osula 10 votes, Amadasun 8 

votes, Esele 8 votes while 

Tina, the only woman in the 

race got 3 votes. 

However, after the exercise, 

Ogienwonyi and Imasuagbon 

kicked, protesting that the 

exercised was rigged by 

Obaseki. 

They called on the National 

leadership of the party to 

investigate the matter. They 

also called for forensic 

auditing of the ballot papers. 

But while these two protested, 

Osunbor, Airhiavbere, Osula, Esele 

and five other aspirants 

congratulated Obaseki and punctured 

the claim of the duo. 

Obaseki and other leaders of the 

party including Ogie, immediately 

visited Odubu to seek his support. 

And Odubu a loyal party man as he 

has always been pledged his loyalty 

to the party and assured of his 

support for Obaseki. But while 

puncturing the claim by 

Ogienwonyi and Imasuagbon that 

the exercise was rigged, 

Airhiavbere recalled that “when 

twelve of us went to Abuja, we 

signed an agreement to support 

whoever wins the primaries. And 

now a winner has emerged, and we 

are bound to obey that agreement. I 

do not see any rigging in this 

matter; the delegates have spoken 

loud and clear, and I think we 

should respect them. This is not the 

time to apportion blames. We should 

all focus on how to defeat the PDP in 

the coming election, though we are 

glad about the emergence of Pastor 

Osagie Ize-Iyamu as their 

candidate. Obaseki is going to beat 

him silly because he has a lot of 

questions to answer Edo people 

when the time comes. 

Oshiomhole, who reacted shortly 

after Obaseki’s victory, asserted 

that APC will commence campaigns 

for the general election in earnest. 

The governor said he would not 

lose sleep over the PDP. 

In his acceptance speech, Obaseki 

disclosed plans to bring other 

contestants on board, saying that the 

task to consolidate on the 

developmental efforts of the 

Oshiomhole administration must be a 

collective one


PDP: How 

Ize-Iyamu got 

the crown 

BY GABRIEL ENOGHOLASE 

Obviously, the Samuel Ogbemudia 

Stadium was the natural choice of 

venue for the governorship primaries 

of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. 

In choosing the stadium, the party kept 

faith with tradition as the place had played 

host to such activities in the past. 

Members of the ruling All Progressives 

Congress (APC) had completed their 

governorship primaries inside the 

football pitch only 24 hours earlier. 

With about three courts collapsed into 

a stage to accommodate about 750 

delegates and other stakeholders, 

the venue proved to be a smart 

choice. 

The Congress started with 

accreditation of delegates, a 

task that was decentralized 

to save time. 

The process, which 

was supervised by 

officials of the 

Independent 

Electoral 

Commission 

(INEC) 

was 

done at 

three 

centres 

in Benin, 

namely 

Emporium 

Hall for Edo North 

delegates, Edo State secretariat of the PDP for 

Edo Central delegates and Okada House for 

Edo South delegates. 

As early as 9:00 a.m, the process had started 

and by 12 noon the delegates had started 

trooping to the stadium. 

Ebonyi State governor, Mr. Dave Umahi, who 

was the chairman of the election committee, 

raised the curtains with his remarks. 

The governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi 

Okowa, who was also present, gave a brief 

remark. 

Umahi commended the conduct of the 

accreditation exercise, informing everyone 

present that the only mandate given to his 

committee was to conduct a free and fair 

primary election. 

Okowa in his goodwill message assured that 

he would always be with the Edo PDP at all 

times, urging them not to capitulate in the face 

of intimidation by the ruling party. 

Unlike in the past, the exercise was done in 

two hours to the admiration of the attendees. 

Voting commenced at 1:45 p.m while sorting of 

votes ended at about 3:45 pm. Results were 

declared immediately. 

A former governorship candidate in Lagos 

State Mr. Jimi Agbaje at the end announced 

Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu as the winner. 

He garnered 584 votes, representing about 82 

percent of valid votes, defeating Mr. Matthew 

Uduoriyekemwen, who scored 91 votes and 

Chief Solomon Edebiri, who polled 38 votes. 

Though the show was a day for Ize-Iyamu, 

Edo State chairman of the PDP, Mr. Dan Orbih, 

was generally commended for the peace in Edo 

PDP. 

Speaking in that regard, Gombe State 

governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Dankwambo said: “I 

congratulate the very good people of Edo State 

for this wonderful 

exercise, I have 

never seen an election 

so transparent. There 

was no invalid vote in this 

exercise, and I hereby call on our 

party men and women to support whoever is 

declared the winner of the primaries.” 

On his part, Okowa said: “I thank God that I 

witnessed this primary today, and we promised 

our brothers in the race that we are going to 

conduct a free and fair primary, and I believe 

that is what we have done today. For our people 

and me in Delta State, we promise our support; 

we promise our prayers. We will be on your 

campaign grounds, and I want to congratulate 

you ahead of time because I know that with 

what we see today, the oneness in us, we will 

win the election.” 

Umahi commended Orbih, the governorship 

aspirants, their agents and for the successful 

conduct of the primaries. 

He added that in every process of the 

primaries, they were all carried along just as he 

thanked the governors of Gombe, Delta and 

Rivers states for their support during the 

exercise. 

He pleaded with the aspirants and their 

supporters to work with whoever emerged as 

the winner. 

In his acceptance speech, Ize-Iyamu 

commended the leaders and other party 

members for lifting the PDP up at a very critical 

time. 

He noted that the PDP under Orbih was able 

to expose the alleged corrupt practices of the 

state government. 

Also, Ize-Iyamu noted that the state chapter of 

the PDP is deepening democracy, adding that 

Orbih never went out to campaign with any of 

the aspirants. 

How Ize-Iyamu won 

For those, who had keenly observed the 

•Ize-Iyamu 

gubernatorial race in the PDP, 

Ize-Iyamu’s victory did not come as a 

surprise. 

When the former South-south Vice-Chairman of 

the now defunct Action Congress of Nigeria 

(ACN) defected in 2014 from the PDP, there was a 

political tremor in Edo State. 

The reason was that four lawmakers of the 

ruling APC defected with him, thereby increasing 

the number of PDP lawmakers in the House of 

Assembly from five to nine. 

The APC had alleged that the PDP lawmakers 

wanted to impeach Oshiomhole and an impasse 

between the APC and PDP lawmakers followed. 

With the array and calibre of politicians backing 

Ize-Iyamu, many argued that he actually got the 

ticket before the primaries. 

Drawn from the three senatorial districts, his 

supporters included but were not limited to the 

following; Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, Senator Yisa 

Braimah, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, former 

Governor Lucky Igbinedion and Prince Tony 

Omoaghe. Ize-Iyamu’s preparation for the 

exercise also outshined others. 

He is reputed as the only politician in the state 

with a house dedicated to politicking. The 

building otherwise called Ize-Iyamu Campaign 

Office had long existed years before the race to 

occupy Edo State Government House started. 

That was why many believed that Ize-Iyamu was 

already looking ahead of the primaries to the 

general election even before the primary. 

Even more, many PDP chieftains had over time 

convinced themselves of the fact that if they must 

takeover the government from the APC that Ize- 

Iyamu was the most credible and entrenched 

person to lead the onslaught and hence it was not 

difficult that many party chieftains supported him.


Militants 

sack Lagos, 

Ogun communities, 

scores feared dead 

•Ogun govt did’nt come to our rescue—Residents 

By Bose Adelaja 

T 

wo communities in Lagos and 

Ogun states have been 

deserted following attacks 

by some suspected militants. 

The adjourning communities 

Elepete and Muti both in Igbo- 

Olomu, Ikorodu and Ita-Oluwo, 

Ifo local government of Ogun 

State have been deserted for days 

after about 18 of the residents 

were killed by the suspected 

militants. 

Scores of the residents have fled 

for safety for fear of attacks 


that the attacks started last 

weekend at Muti where 15 people 

were feared dead but later 

degenerated and spread to 

Elepete and its environs claiming 

the lives of three people in the 

process. 

The suspected militants who are 

mostly Ijaws were said to have 

invaded the communities at about 

4am through the creeks using 

sophisticated weapons. 

Worse hit areas were Elepete 

Phases 1 and 2, Kajola Phases A to 

F and Muti. It was gathered that 

shops, schools, churches and 

mosques were closed down during 

the attacks. 

The communities comprised of 

migrants from Majidun-Ikorodu 

and Arepo, Ikorodu and Ogun 

State who settled in the 

coomunities after they were 

dislodged by the ask force on 

Petroleum/vandalisation of 

pipelines. The Federal 

Government war against pipeline 

vandalisation was said to have 

checkmated some of the militants 

who then took to robbery, and 

other crimes to make ends meet. 

They robbed one of the hotels 

located in Muti. 

The problem started when 

some militants robbed a hotel 

last Friday in a hotel in Elepete. 

Unfortunately for them, their 

faces were captured by CCTV 

cameras at the hotel while the 

hotelier intimated Special Antirobbery 

Squad SARS operatives 

who commenced investigations. 

After a tip off, two of the 

suspects were traced to another 

hotel located in Kajola area of 

Elepete but they were said to 

have resisted arrest and made 

phone calls to their colleagues 

who mobilised and rushed to the 

scene. 

However, two of the suspects 

were killed while the hotelier 

was arrested The militants then 

invaded Muti with sophisticated 

weapons in a reprisal attack 

killing 15 innocent residents. 

According to eye-witnesses, 

people were seen scamparing for 

safety just as they took refuge in 

Elepete and neighbouring 

communities. 

A few days ago, the militants 

reinforced and launched another 

attack on Elepete. Saturday 

Vanguard gathered that they 

first barricaded all entrances to 

the town to prevent movement 

and later unleashed terror on 

residents. Vehicles and 

properties were vandalised as 

they succeeded in looting shops, 

houses, mosques and churches 

carting away valuable items and 

cash. 

Saturday Vanguard also 

gathered that three of those who 

resisted the militants were killed 

Investigation revealed that 

due to the Federal 

Government war against 

pipeline vandalisation, 

some of the militants have 

taken to robbery, burglar 

theft and other crimes to 

make ends meet and in the 

process, they robbed one 

of the hotels located in Muti 

while others were injured as scores 

of the residents fled the town for fear 

of the unknown. 

When Saturday Vanguard visited 

to the communities they were 

deserted. Vehicular and commercial 

activities were grounded and there 

was tension all over the areas. 

At the entrance of Oke-Ayo in 

Elepete, some youths were seen 

appealing to people to return to 

their homes. One of them Abdul 

Gafaru said the attacks have 

paralysed the communities. He said, 

“no community can exist without 

people, we are the indigenes of this 

town and all we want is peace. We 

cannot operate successfully unless 

people return to the homes.” 

The Olumushin of Imushin, Oba 

Taiwo Bamgbose, has since appealed 

for calm while both Lagos and Ogun 

Police Public Relations Officers Dolapo 

Badmus and Muyiwa Adejobi said they 

were on top of the situation. 

A survivour of the attacks who is a 

Policeman spoke to Saturday 

Vanguard on condition of anonymity 

said he escaped death by whiskers. He 

said, “I narrowly escaped death in the 

hands of the militants who siezed 

somebody elsewhere and slaughtered 

him behind my house. In the process, 

the blood splashed and stained the wall 

of my house. On sighting the blood, 

people thought I have been murdered 

and started calling me.” 

One of the residents Madam Rabiu 

Amina who spoke with Saturday 

Vanguard said she narrowly escaped 

the attacks, “I had leg pains and was 

indoor for days with my grand 

daughter. I never knew my community 

had been deserted until Tuesday when 

I got a call from my younger sister who 

lives in PortHacourt. She said she read 

it in newspapers and decided to know 

my whereabout and that was when I 

opened the door only to discover 

there’s nobody in the community. I 

managed to trek a long distance before 

a motorcyclist helped me.” 

At Ola Imam bus-stop, only two 

commercial motorcyclists were 

available but they complained of low 

patronage since people have fled the 

communities. 

Saturday Vanguard succeeded in 

getting the telephone numbers of 

some of those who fled. Some Kajola 

residents blamed Ogun State 

government for not answering their 

distress calls. According to them, Ogun 

State government has been insensitive 

to their plight since the invasion of the 

militants. A resident who pleaded 

anonymity said only Lagos 

government has shown concern.


Does Kachikwu have a plan for Niger Delta? 

By Fred Ojiegbe 

The evolving peaceful stance of both 

government and militant agitators 

that torment the petroleum industry 

amplifies the need for the rule of 

engagement in restoring lasting peace to 

the region and building a new bridge of 

trust that would reposition the Niger Delta, 

and indeed Nigeria, as the prime 

destination for petroleum business 

investment. 

The shift in position comes after attempts 

by the government failed to stifle the 

militants with massive military 

campaigns that showed early signs of high 

handedness. However, that angered 

community leaders and earned the 

militants greater local support and more 

volunteers. With reports of human right 

abuses coming with troop movement, 

continued attacks on petroleum industry 

installations began to gain justification. 

Besides, the deployment of government 

troops in the region did not offer any relief 

to the industry but rather worsened the 

fate of operators as proportionate defiance 

from the underground groups rose against 

military deployment, leading to intensified 

sabotage on key industry facilities. 

Thus, despite the enhanced military 

presence in the area attacks on pipelines 

and key production facilities worsened, 

leading to acute fall in oil and gas output 

and associated revenue to the government. 

The move to reach peace with the 

militants also scores some political points 

for the ruling party which has been 

branded in some quarters as divisive, 

sectional and repressive to dissenting 

political cleavages. These political 

sentiments have stoked strong demand for 

greater petroleum industry dividends 

which is expressed in forms of peaceful 

and militant agitations. 

Whereas the past administrations of the 

federal government had provided 

packages of incentives to persuade the 

militants allow peaceful petroleum 

industry operations, the new government 

is yet to unfold any new plans for the youths 

who were obviously laid off from security 

By Soni Daniel 

T 

here 

are many of them 

stranded out there. And, it 

seems clear that it is difficult for 

them to be able to keep themselves afloat 

or to return to the classroom after missing 

the first opportunity. They are found 

everywhere across the length and breadth 

of Nigeria. They are young. Some are 

strikingly beautiful and others are awful. 

But they have one thing in common: 

frustration, arising from unwanted 

pregnancy that has put a wedge between 

them and their parents on one hand and 

their future on the other hand. These are 

young mothers who took in while in school 

or did so even before they had the chance to 

go to school. Some of them have one child, 

others have two but they all lack the means 

of livelihood to take care of themselves and 

•Ibe Kachukwu 

companies whose contracts were terminated 

by the new government. 

Thus, resurgence of militancy at the onset of 

petroleum industry reforms by the new 

government is not totally unexpected following 

myriad of issues, fears and suspicions that trail 

shake ups in ministries, departments and 

parastatals that oversee activities in the 

petroleum industry. 

Investors in the industry are distraught. Most 

of them have called for resolution of the security 

situation in the Niger Delta as basis for 

resumption of operations and further 

investments in facility repairs and 

environmental remediation, pointing at the 

futility of mopping the floor while the tap is still 

running. 

But evolving an enduring solution to Niger 

Delta crisis is as complicated as the problem 

itself. From initial demands for environmental 

responsibility by operating companies in 

the country, consistent mishandling of the 

crisis has led to expanded list of demands 

to include accelerated development of the 

region, right to industry jobs and contracts, 

resource control and political self 

determination. 

In the days of Ken Saro Wiwa, it was 

all about the environmental damages and 

its impact on the lives of the people in the 

region. The militant groups that followed 

led by Dokubo Asari, Ateke Tom, 

Henry Okah and others like Tompolo 

were all sorted with security contracts 

covering maritime and pipelines. 

The current group of militants including 

those behind them are more interested in 

more financial stakes in the oil assets in 

their lands: local control of oil revenues. 

Without doubt, the people in the region 

will like such development. 

Thus, resolving the conflict which has 

built huge risk premium on the Nigerian 

petroleum industry environment, forced 

multinational players to divest vulnerable 

assets and imposed huge commercial 

losses on operations requires more 

sophisticated approach and engagement 

strategies that amplify inclusive 

orientation. 

Clearly, the old methods of resolving 

issues in the region, like awarding juicy 

security contracts to the militants will no 

longer work, not even with full military 

intervention involving warships, gunboats, 

fighter jets and boots on the ground. 

Traditionally, resolution of militant 

hostilities to the oil and gas industry 

operations in the Niger Delta is the 

toughest performance appraisal challenge 

that faces every in-coming Minister of 

Petroleum Resources; and it remains the 

biggest impediment to the reform process 

of the current minister, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, 

who is currently seen as stretching between 

the tough stance of the government on 

corruption and inevitable base-touching 

engagement with the angry agitators 

widely seen as enemies of government. 

Managing this complicated situation 

tends to pitch the minister in conflict with 

other minsters that advance sledge 

hammer strategies in dealing with Niger 

SBF: Fresh hope for frustrated teenage mothers 

•SBF return to school project in Ekiti 

their children. While some are still 

willing and ready to return to school, 

others have lost the support of their 

aggrieved parents, who have in many 

cases disowned them for bringing 

shame and reproach to their families. 

As it is, they have been left on their own 

to be buffeted by the vicissitudes of life, 

troubled on all sides, and left at the 

mercy of cruel fate. Fear, hopelessness 

and uncertainty now dog their lives as a 

timeless mirage. Their future is bleak 

and tainted with sorrow and regrets. 

This is the fate that has befallen young 

schoolgirls who were lured into the 

family way and they suddenly became 

mothers overnight, putting themselves 

on harm’s way and halting their 

education. 

SBF intervention programme 

But last week, a non-governmental 

organization, Sephamid Bridge 

Foundation, SBF, came out in full swing to 

give succor to the young mothers. The group 

rolled out a plan to return the girls to school 

and reintegrate them into the society. The 

project known as ‘Back to School 

Initiative’, BSi, is aimed at equipping the 

mothers with the necessary tools to return 

to school and to guide them to be gainfully 

employed at the end of their studies. It is 

also aimed enhancing human development 

through encouraging the young mothers 

to embrace education and have access to 

job opportunities. The first phase of the 

programme was launched at a rural 

community of Ewu-Ekiti in Ilejemeje Local 

Government of Ekiti State with fanfare. 

There, old, young and middle-aged women 

and youths turned out in large numbers to witness the 

take-off of the pilot scheme. Some came to ascertain if 

indeed, it was real while others, with a sense of curiosity, 

thronged the venue to see if the young mothers had really 

turned a new leaf. 

At the event, the National Coordinator of SBD, Mr. 

Dayo Ayeni, described the foundation as an all-inclusive, 

people-oriented and development-conscious agency out 

to tackle societal ills and give succor to the weak and 

vulnerable but with specific focus on the adolescent and 

teenage mothers. 

According to Ayeni, the SBF will provide opportunities 

for both teenage mothers in and out of school in a bid to 

arrest the growing population of such persons in the 

society and provide a better future for them. 

“The in-school programme is where adolescent are 

educated and sensitized on the right health services and 

practices. It is our strong belief that lack of such health 

information places them at the risk of getting unwanted 

pregnancy, abortion, Sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/ 

AIDS and the likes,” Ayeni said. 

Delta agitation. 

However, the minister has articulated most 

of the industry proposals into policy 

programmes that will translate to 

comprehensive application of investible 

funds and operational budgets in sustainable 

and structured development of Niger Delta. 

Part of the plans is the programme for 

rehabilitation of the nation’s existing 

refineries two of which are located in the 

Niger Delta. This is expected to reactivate 

local community participation in the 

operations of the refineries through the full 

supply chain effect. From supplies to support 

services and ancillary businesses, the 

reactivation of the refineries promises huge 

business and job opportunities for the local 

environment. 

Next in plan is the rolling programme for 

clustered refinery investments that would 

continuously expand crude oil and 

petrochemical processing and 

manufacturing capacity, a measure that is 

envisaged to create industrial corridors 

along the refinery clusters. 

“I believe really strongly that, like the 

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, 

Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has stated severally, they 

are working on it. They are looking at 

alternative means of funding. They are also 

looking at being able to draw some funds 

from Middle East, China and from other 

sources.” 

Given the disposition of the minister 

towards accelerated development of the 

Niger Delta, a key demand of the 

stakeholders in the region, good conscience 

dictates that the militants embrace the 

federal government’s olive branch by 

sheathing their sword and allowing for 

peaceful negotiations. As things stand, to 

continue to pursue a hard line posture, 

with the single objective of financially 

castrating the federal government, is like 

shooting oneself in the hip. In the end, 

everybody suffers. Besides, the Niger Delta 

militants could end up playing into the hands 

of detractors of Kachikwu whose sin appears 

to be that he is treating the militants with kid 

gloves. 

•Fred Ojiegbe, an energy analyst, is a 

member of the Federal Insignia. 

With songs and dances to cheer up the 

young mothers and others, the community 

roared into a carnival-like momentum, 

thanking the agency for its pro-people 

agenda. We will stand with you all the way 

to bring help to these young women, a 

community leader, Chief Joseph Ademola, 

assured them group. 

Like the community leader, the Assistant 

Director in Public Health in the State 

Ministry of Health, Mrs Adewemimo, 

expressed the appreciation of the ministry to 

the vision of the group and promised to work 

with it to achieve the aim of the project of 

taking teenage mothers out of penury back 

to school. 

Adewemimo said “What you have done 

today in this area is a laudable programme 

worthy of support by all stakeholders in the 

health and education sectors and should be 

extended to all parts of this country.” 

Also speaking at the event, the Ilejemeje 

Local Government School Health Officer, 

Mrs. Ajiboye, praised the work being done 

by SBF and prayed for its success in the years 

ahead. 

Highpoint of the event was the distribution 

of gift items to babies of the teenage mothers 

for participating in the programme and to 

encourage them to keep hope alive for a 

brighter future. 

Responding on behalf of the young 

mothers, Miss Faseluka Yemisi said that they 

were encouraged by the benevolence spirit 

of SBF and would return to school to start 

their lives all over again. She said they had 

realized the mistake they all made and were 

willing to turn a new leaf in the light 

of the new information brought to 

their doorsteps by the foundation.


Kachikwu has one leg in Amaechi’st rousers 

Anywhere else, a junior 

minister would be wary of a 

spat with a senior minister in 

public. But this is Nigeria, where 

decorum is scarce even in very 

high places. Defiance often attracts 

applause that should belong to 

reason. Ordinarily, President 

Buhari should be left to sort out 

his kitchen. But conducts that 

border on rascality have a way of 

reinforcing the tendency 

towards general lawlessness in 

the polity. It is good to have 

opinionated ministers. Lackeys 

have left our politics thoroughly 

insipid. Public policy is an 

enriched broth when it issues from 

a crucible of diverse, competing 

and healthy opinions. But no 

good government is run 

rancorously. A government 

struggling with an imminent 

recession , a costly insurgency in 

the north and a crippling 

resurgence of Niger delta 

militancy must exhibit internal 

cohesion and fluency. Cabinet 

collective responsibility entails 

cabinet solidarity. A government 

should always provide clear 

authoritative directions. Open 

disagreements are corrosive, 

poisonous. The perception that the 

core of the government lacks unity 

doesn’t help any government. 

The clearest symptom of a 

government afflicted by lack of 

firm leadership is the eruption of 

acrimony and rebelliousness. If 

the egos of cabinet members are 

whipped into firm lines, the public 

will be spared the sort of spectacle 

it was fed with at the Calabar 

town hall meeting. This government 

cannot afford incoherence in the 

handling of corruption and the 

Niger Delta crisis. The Nigerian 

Maritime University is at the 

epicenter of storm in the Niger 

delta. The government shouldn’t let 

ministers guess its position on 

that university. Calabar revealed 

a worrying deficiency in the 

internal decision making 

•Kachukwu 

A decision on that 

university is a 

decision any 

reasonable 

government will 

take with great 

deliberation and 

caution. But that 

is the decision 

that Amaechi 

and Kachikwu 

were discussing 

like jealous, 

combative 

co-wives of 

apolygynous man 

who has ceased 

to be a unifying 

and controlling 

authority 

•Amechi 

mechanism of this government. 

Thirteen billion naira to procure the temporary 

site of any university in Nigeria must raise a 

multitude of eye brows. The principal suspect 

has evaded a bench warrant. He believes his 

prosecution is politically motivated. And the 

fact that the transactions passed through 

necessary due process procedures must lend 

some credence to his lamentations. The gods 

who approved the transaction have retained 

their claim of deity. The Avengers have blown 

pipelines and won’t stop until the probes are 

aborted. And the university reopened. The 

opposition party has labeled all attempts to 

force accountability as selective, vindictive, 

tyrannical. It has stoked ethnic anger and 

separatist feelings. The economy cannot bear 

the strain of the crude oil production 

shutdowns inflicted by the Avengers. The 

military appears clueless. What is prudent in 

the circumstance? 

The oil rich Gbaramatu Kingdom and many 

Niger delta activists see the university as 

part of a long term peace process to restore 

and develop the exploited region.Some others 

think that university is the epitome of the 

sort of tokenism that characterized the previous 

administration’s culture of lip service to the 

developmentof the Niger delta. That 

university, they insist, was merely a conduit 

pipe to siphon funds meant to develop the 

Niger delta. The apotheosis of the 

collaboration between political charlatanism 

and mercantilist militancy . But the others will 

counter, arguing, that corruption pervades 

Nigeria. Niger delta militancy and politics , 

not spared. To that extent and in 

recognition of the importance of 

the Niger Delta, its pains and its 

volatility,the university should be 

completed at all costs. And 

regardless of whether it amounts to 

a duplication of the Maritime 

Academy in Oron or anything in 

Zaria. 

A decision on that university is a 

decision any reasonable 

government will take with great 

deliberation and caution. But that 

is the decision that Amaechi 

and Kachikwu were discussing 

like jealous , combative cowives 

of apolygynous man who 

has ceased to be a unifying and 

controlling authority. 

So much money has been spent. 

Benefits should be reaped. 

That’s Kachikwu’s pragmatism. 

The university will calm some 

restiveness in Gbaramatu. And let 

chevron operate. Corruption is not 

his immediate priority. Having a 

first class educational institution to 

engage the youths in the swamps 

of the delta cannot be a superfluity 

in the circumstance. He is 

positioning himself well for the 

peacemaker role he has assumed 

in the region. But he 

overstepped bounds. He 

diminished Gov Amaechi. He 

didn’t need to brag he would take 

over and complete the project if 

Amaechi and the transport 

ministry aren’t interested in the 

project. If he had paused and 

weighed the potential 

consequences of that statement on 

Amaechi’s political reputation, he 

would not have made it in public. 

We all thought the days when 

the NNPC GMD could do as 

he pleased with our money was 

over. 

Amaechi wants the university 

to tarry for the investigations. He 

thinks the prudent and effective 

thing to do in the circumstance is to 

finance the existing, degree – 

awarding, Maritime academy in 

Oron, Akwa Ibom state. This will 

save costs, avoid needless 

duplication and should satisfy 

the Niger Delta. This 

seemingly objective inclination 

may be politically motivated. He 

was once understood to have 

called for a cancellation of the 

university which he claimed 

existed only at the level of 

feasibility plans. He is now of 

the opinion that since the 

government is broke and can’t 

meet its capital budget needs, it 

must insist on the recovery of the 

proceeds of corruption to complete 

that project. If Nigeria were one 

united country where equity 

reigned and rationality and 

prudence alone governed the 

citing of government projects 

then Amaechi would have made 

a lot of sense. 

In the context of the present day 

Nigeria where states and ethnic 

groups are in a perpetual scramble 

for the‘national cake’, Amaechi 

seems out of touch, too idealistic 

. But he is a veteran of our kind 

of politics. Is he then blinded 

by political bitterness? Is he 

getting back at those who filled 

Rivers state with violence and 

denied his men a chance during the 

last elections? Some say he has a 

reputation for such single-minded 

idealism. In any case the best 

results are sometimes obtained 

when things are pushed to the 

limits. That’s brinksmanship. 

Kachikwu is keen to appease 

the militants destroying oil 

infrastructure. He has been 

accused of sympathizing with the 

Avengers. Rewarding violence 

could spell anarchy.He may have 

altruistic motives. Militancy 

stands between him and success 

in his job. But that university is not 

within his purview. There are times 

when cockiness and brashness must 

be tucked away, hidden. To put 

down another minister from the 

Niger delta is bad politics. That 

is why the opposition is excited. To 

make statements capable of 

portraying Rotimi Amaechi as an 

enemy of the region is uncharitable. 

Anyone who has followed the 

politics of the region closely would 

understand the opposition’s 

particular dislike for Amaechi. It 

was so gross they wanted his 

ministerial appointment blocked. 

He earned their venom. 

He helped enthrone this 

government. Nobody in this 

government,who was outside of 

the fray of the politics that brought 

that victory, should undermine 

him. To dabble into the muddy 

waters of regional politics 

without a consideration for such 

political historical realities is 

ingratitude. Kachikwu should not 

do to the lion of Ubima what he 

cannot do to the lion of Bourdillon. 

Respect, like charity, should start 

from home. 

The town hall meeting was to 

communicate the government to 

the people. A town hall should 

be the last place for such a spat. 

But this conflict would be wasted 

if nothing is learnt from it. And 

Amaechi may have lessons in it 

too. We, quite often, don’t 

recognize when have left too much 

room for bitterness. Peace is 

sometimes bought at the expense 

of justice. Igbos say leaders must 

swallow indignation. 

Gov Okowa’s political father, Oyovbaire opens up 


convinced in what I was doing and 

I think that Okowa later realized that 

I did not just believe in him but was 

sincere about it because he is very 

organized. 

My first love for Okowa 

In fact, if he were an intellectual, a 

university lecturer, he would have 

been quite exceptional. I enjoy 

organized people with ideas. I tell 

you a little story. The year he moved 

from being Secretary to the State 

Government, SSG, to begin the 

struggle to go the Senate, I sent him a 

text saying something like that with 

the little I have heard about his 

performance as SSG, I wished him 

well and hoped he would continue to 

have a grasp of whatever he did. I 

also said in the text that I could see 

the strength in his character and all 

that and frankly, I had forgotten that I 

sent such a text to him. 

I really did not know him much 

as I said, but some of them, who are 

younger than me, would know me. I 

think two and half years later when 

he made up his mind, he called me 

one day from Abuja and was seeking 

information as to where he could 

meet me. I did not know why he 

wanted to come, I said okay, since he 

wanted to come to Benin, I will be in 

my little bungalow in Benin, so he 

came straight from the Airport to my 

house, my library in particular, knelt 

down and said sir, I want to try to be 

governor. 

He told me the story of how he 

tried to succeed Ibori, how Uduaghan 

took over and so on. I said very well, I 

think you have every reason to be, the 

little I know about you, you are highly 

organized. Do you know what he did, 

he brought out his phone and showed 

me the text I sent him the year he left 

as SSG, I do not know whether he 

had it in mind that many years later 

he was going to show me that text, 

and believe you me, I was highly 

impressed, 

For me I delete a lot, but even if 

he had planned it, keeping it for 

almost three years was something 

thorough to me I enjoy people like 

that. That was the first love I had from 

him. 

Urhobo people didn’t know where 

I was going 

And of course we started, and as I 

said earlier with due respect to my 

fellow Urhobo compatriots, they 

failed to know where I was going. But 

like I said, it was not a favour to 

Okowa, it was not a favour to Anioma 

because I believe that he fits into it 

and you would see that during his 

campaign, he was careful not to over 

blow Anioma. I know those who 

were with him, the Asagba of Asaba 

was very close to him, but he did not 

carry Anioma on his forehead, which 

was very good. Moreover, he tells 

them wherever he goes that he is the 

son of every senatorial district in the 

state. 

My kind of politics 

Well, I am a teacher of politics and 

beyond that, anything I do in life, I try 

to practice it. Sometime, my wife will 

say that I have turned the family into 

a classroom. It is part of my 

problem with Christian leaders, and 

pastors you say one thing in the 

morning, you tell your parishioners 

something, but what you do in the 

afternoon is different.. I try as much as 

possible to see that what I believe in, I 

take it seriously. So far, I want to 

thank God that I have not handled a 

situation that we failed. I handled 

Babaginda, the moment I saw that 

things were going somehow, I made 

my point clear, I am not sure that you 

know how my now late friend, 

Senator Chukuwmerije took over 

from me as Minister of Information. 

You see, at a point in the Babaginda 

regime, we lost steam; we took off 

and were in the air, governed very 

well and in trying to land, we lost 

steam. Therefore, we had difficulty of 

landing, that is not finishing well and 

I was not going to be part of not 

admitting that we had a difficulty in 

landing, which was how 

Chukwumerije took over from me. 

Our little secret 

What I am saying is that people did 

not know how seriously we took the 

Okowa project; they did not know 

that we meet three times in a week 

and were working. Some of the 

aspirants, who did not care about 

delegates, thought that Jonathan will 

influence certain things and PDP at 

the centre will do this and that. So 

even when noise was being made 

against Okowa from the top, we were 

in control of the delegates. People did 

not know because every night we 

meet to know who is still with us and 

who is not with us. Now, those with us, 

we consolidate them, those we know 

were veering away, we try to get them 

back. So the game was one and like 

every ruler and of course my good 

friend, somersaulted here and there, 

We did a fundraising activity and 

believe you me, I, Sam Oyovbaire, do 

not know how much we got. I learnt 

from my service in the military 

administration that I have a 

boundary and I keep to it. I believe 

very strongly that how Dr. Okowa 

funded the campaign is not my 

business, I did not get involved 

because I had money to contribute, 

but once or twice that he had some 

difficulties, he did not tell me, but he 

kept on struggling because he is a 

very highly strong-willed person and 

very strong faith based individual. 

He has very strong faith in 

himself and in the powers of God and 

so. Once, in our little meeting, I 

wanted to have an account because I 

was the chairman of this and 

chairman of that, but on a second 

thought, I felt it was wrong, 

particularly because of the group we 

were in. so I dropped the idea of 

having an account. So really, I do not 

know the key players in terms of those 

bringing money into it. 

I also know that in the case of my 

younger good fellow, Barrister 

Kingsley Otuaro emerging as deputy 

governor that Kingsley Otuaro was a 

friend of Tompolo and so on. 

However, I will tell you that I also 

shared this with Okowa that we 

needed somebody from the Ijaw stock 

as his deputy. You may ask, why is it 

that it is Otuaro knowing that Otuaro 

is close to Tompolo, and that if 

Otuaro becomes our deputy, people 

would say Tompolo is his patron. 

I tell you honestly such a thing did 

not bother me, but put it on record 

that I do not know whether Tompolo 

donated one naira or one dollar to 

Okowa’s campaign. He probably did, 

I do not know.

My column last week was on 

Mexico, a country I visited 

last month. I tried in the 

article, to point out how Mexico which 

might become a major economic power 

in less than a decade, had benefited 

from its close proximity to the US 

through tourism. In fact, Mexico 

receives one of the world’s largest 

numbers of tourists in a year according 

to statistics. Yet, its tourism strengths 

—weather, historic sights and the seas 

—are not greater than ours. If anything, 

Nigeria has a more diverse weather. The 

major differences are in our cost of 

living, our infrastructural development 

and our attitude to service. Last week’s 

article was not my first on our tourism 

potential. And each time I tried to 

emphasise on the advantages of our 

coastal towns. There is something about 

nature and the ocean that frees the 

minds and attracts tourists in droves. 

Badagry in my mind, has always 

seemed a good example of how a coastal 

town can feed off an industrial city while 

boosting the revenue of both. 

I hadn’t been to Badagry in years 

despite the fact that I lived in Festac 

Town for almost 30 years. But there was 

a time, especially during my bachelor 

years that I visited the historic town 

often. It took about an hour from Mile 

Two and less from Festac to get to 

Badagry and we enjoyed many picnics 

and a lot of sea food in the rustic town. 

There was Hotel De James which 

sprang up after the dual carriage road 

was constructed by Brigadier Mobolaji 

Johnson during the Gowon regime. It 

provided good food and accommodation 

—although being young, we took more 

advantage of the former — and was a 

pointer to the future direction of 

Badagry as a hospitality centre. The 

trips became less often as the journey 

became less enjoyable due to emerging 

pot holes and traffic—vehicular and 

human. But I still had fond memories 

of those carefree days. As they say, 

memories are usually the last to go. 

Last Sunday, I had cause to visit 

Badagry again. Late Babatunde Amusu, 

a former Managing Director of Flour 

Mills Plc, and a native of Badagry, had 

given some land to the Catholic Church 

One news item caught my attention in the Saturday 

Vanguard of April 16, 2016; a photo of a drunken 

young lady peeing in public in Newcastle, England. 

She was sitting on a bridge railing with her trousers 

pulled down to her knees, baring everything for the 

whole of humanity. 

That was very odd behaviour by the British standard, 

so it made its way into Vanguard’s Odd News page. 

But Nigerians pee in public every day. We pee in gutters, 

on pillars of bridges, on the median of major roads and 

a “conductor” has been seen in the past 

urinating from a moving bus (Molue) 

on Ikorodu Road, Lagos. About 99.9 per 

cent of Nigerians have at one time or 

the other urinated indiscriminately in 

public places; it is still a regular habit 

of most Nigerians. If it is odd for the 

British, why is it normal for us? Are they 

super humans while we are subhumans? 

I stopped a young man from peeing 

in the gutter by my house and he could 

not understand what the fuss was all 

about. “Na gutter I wan piss put,” he 

“educated” me, but I stood my ground. 

He then moved to my neighbour’s part 

of the gutter. I told him there was a 

mobile toilet nearby, but it fell on deaf 

ears. 

But our people say you should remove 

the ants biting your privates before 

paying attention to the ones at your feet, 

so let us face a more serious and 

hazardous menace. According to the 

United Nations Children’s Fund, 

UNICEF, over 50 million Nigerians do 

not have access to toilets and so resort 

to open defecation. UNICEF also 

revealed that Nigeria is among the top 

five countries in the world with the 

greatest rates of open defecation. 

Open defecation goes with a lot of 

health hazards, so it is not surprising 

that “Nigeria loses over 150,000 

children to diarrhea annually” and 88 

per cent of these diarrhea cases are 

attributed to unsafe water and 

sanitation. Only pneumonia kills more 

children under-five years in Nigeria. 

Shame of Lagos State 

for development and shortly before 

he passed on, had promised to 

print a combined hymn and prayer 

book in his native ‘egun’ language 

for the church community. His wife 

had fulfilled the promise on his 

behalf and last Sunday, fortuitously 

ten years after his death, was 

picked for the launch. A small 

group, made up of close family 

It is not only the 

roads that are 

deplorable. The 

sights and 

sounds are 

members and friends were invited 

to the simple ceremony. I was not 

exactly looking forward to the trip 

as I had heard so much about the 

deplorable condition of the road. 

But declining was not even an 

option. It was the least I could do 

for somebody I considered ‘a 

favourite uncle’. Nothing I had 

heard however, prepared me for 

what I met. 

There was a time my Festac 

friends advised me not to come 

visiting because of the heavy traffic 


to have misplaced his priorities. But I 

still wonder if that level of filth was 

not inherited. Then the setback which 

should have been used to beautify the 

road has become a home for shacks and 

shops. We passed Agbara Estate and I 

remember the greens and flowers that 

used to be outside its fence. They have 

been replaced again by shacks and 

shops and filth. 

titbits2012@yahoo.com 

I tried to put myself in the shoes of 

those living here or those who have to 

come here to work because if the main 

road is like this, then the connecting 

roads must be terrible. I pity their cars 

caused by trailers and bad roads. But 

almost as much as I pity them. The 

believe me, the better part of our 

Lagos State Government earns about 

journey last week, was the Festac part. 

40 billion naira a month. Its staff, 

Everything went downhill from there. It 

especially the upper echelon, and its 

could be the rains which had flooded 

political office holders are among the 

the road and had made it difficult for 

best remunerated in the country. Yet, 

the driver to gauge the depth of some 

the vast majority of its people live in 

of the pot holes, but it seemed we had 

this kind of condition in various parts 

more pot holes than level spots and I 

of the state. These are your tax payers; 

winced each time we entered what 

these are the people that voted you to 

turned out to be a crater. And there were 

power; these are your strength. I tried 

many. They made the journey tortuous 

to put myself in the shoes of a tourist 

and uncomfortable. Then there was the 

who wants to revisit the ancient town 

lawlessness and impunity of the drivers 

where slaves were kept before being 

on the road—one trailer driver stopped 

shipped abroad. What goes through 

in the middle of the road to offload some 

his mind as he leaves the airport and 

vegetables. You can imagine the traffic 

heads this way and he is made to 

that would cause on an already bad 

confront these offensive sights and 

road. 

sounds? Does he feel safe or 

I tried to imagine what would happen 

threatened? Does he feel expansive or 

during the week, or during the rush 

claustrophobic? More importantly, will 

hour, if a Sunday morning could be like 

he encourage others to take this trip? 

this. But it is not hard to imagine. People 

I think commissioners for Works and 

who live in the area say they have to 

Environment must both visit the 

leave home by 5am to have any chance 

Government Forgotten Areas of the 

of making it to work on the island on 

state at least once a month to see how 

time. I also tried to imagine what kind 

the people really live. The Governor 

of affection those who live in this area 

too should endeavour to pay regular 

would have for their government. It 

visits to these areas. And while we are 

obviously can’t be much. 

at it, how about someone visiting Ize 

It is not only the roads that are 

Iyamu Street in Oregun which is next 

deplorable. The sights and sounds are. 

door to Alausa. This street which has 

There are these large fields of waste and 

not been tarred since the Jakande era, 

filth between Festac and the Trade Fair 

has become an eyesore with illegal 

Complex. I know Ambode’s record in 

diesel sellers and mechanics taking 

terms of waste management has been 

over the place. 

less than acceptable. I also know that 

There is money to be made in tourism; 

he made matters worse by putting a 

just as there is money to be made from 

square peg in the LAWMA round hole 

improved communities. Like I said 

when he installed a head who seemed 

elsewhere, government has to sew 

more to reap more. 

Open defecation:Our shame,our nemesis 

“Intestinal parasites such as 

roundworm, whipworm and 

hookworm are transmitted through 

contaminated soil in areas where 

open defecation is practised. 

Hookworm is a major cause of 

anaemia in pregnant women; 

About 99.9 per cent of 

Nigerians have at one 

time or the other urinated 

indiscriminately in 

public places 

leading to malnourished, 

underweight babies,” according to 

the report. In spite of the damning 

report, very little effort has been 

made to redress the situation. 

Until a few years ago, human 

waste disposal vehicles emptied 

the waste into the waters by the 

foot of Carter Bridge, Lagos, on 

the Iddo side. Till date, when 

approaching Carter Bridge from 

Ikoyi, the median on that entire stretch 

is an open toilet for miscreants, street 

traders and others. The water around that 

area looks like something from a sewage 

pit. And yet people fish in that water. Like 

many people from the Niger Delta, I love 

fish, but anytime I remember the Carter 

Bridge area, my love for fish evaporates. 

How the Lagos State Government could 

have allowed this to continue over time beats 

my imagination. 

Unfortunately, even in highbrow Ikoyi, 

Victoria Island and Lekki, street traders and 

others without access to toilets defecate in 

unoccupied and unkempt buildings and 

surroundings. My most recent encounter was 

on Aboyade Cole, Victoria Island, where one 

of the young men who sell fruits at the 

junction by Ademola Adetokunbo defecated 

by the fence of an unoccupied building with 

over-grown weeds. When he finished, he 

washed his backside with water and resumed 

selling fruits. (May God deliver us from 

eating fruits contaminated with human 

faeces.) 

They say old habits die hard, but this 

obnoxious and hazardous habit should die 

very fast. In this day and age, there should 

be no place for open defecation and on major 

roads of a mega city. Each time I see people 

defecating openly, I look around me to see if 

there are foreigners around. Until 200, that 

was how miscreants turned the outer Marina 

into a massive toilet. The beautification of 

the outer Marina put an end to this 

unhealthy and shameful habit. The Ambode 

government should as a matter of urgency 

sort out that stretch before Carter Bridge. 

In Yobe State, the Canadian government 

has constructed 120 toilets in nine schools 

to help check open defecation. The report 

said the Japanese government is about 

constructing 100 ventilated improved pit 

toilets in schools, markets, hospitals and 

other public places in other parts of the 

state. Foreigners feel strongly about the 

ugly situation and are intervening; what 

are we doing about it? 

I must admit painfully that many public 

toilets in Nigeria are in poor state of 

hygiene. They are dirty, smelly and often 

have no water to flush down the waste. It 

is the unhygienic state of toilets that forced 

many of us to openly defecate in nearby 

bushes in secondary school. But some 

people defecate openly even where there 

are clean public toilets because they do 

not want to pay between N20 to N100 to 

use the toilet. How do you want the 

workers who keep the toilets clean to be 

paid? Yet Nigerians pay equivalent of 

N500 or more abroad to use public toilets. 

For three years at the University of 

Nigeria, we endured the usage of toilets 

that never had water. Each student simply 

offloaded on top of what the last user 

deposited. It stayed that way until the next 

morning when the cleaners would come 

to clean the toilets. The cleaners were off 

on weekends, so the human waste stayed 

from Friday morning to Monday morning. 

Looking back, I do not know how we 

managed. Yet, I cannot remember students 

protesting over the poor sanitary condition 

of Eni Njoku and Alvan Ikoku Halls in 

those three years I spent there. But we did 

protest over less serious issues. 

May be that is the way many of us are 

constituted, but that constitution is 

archaic, unhealthy and untenable in the 

21 st century. Open defecation is impunity 

and lawlessness taken too far and it is not 

helping us as a people. Nigeria must be 

saved from this health hazard and 

national shame. The responsibility is 

everybody’s. 

C 

M 

Y 

K


One of the first 

statements made by 

Dr. Bukola Saraki, the 

Senate President, as he sat 

before the Code of Conduct 

Tribunal a few months back, 

was that he would not have 

been in the dock if he had not 

been the Senate President. He 

wanted the point to be very 

clear, though unnecessarily. 

The truth is actually that he 

would not have been there but 

for the way in which he became 

the Senate President, not just 

for being the Senate 

President... . 

He had gone against the wish 

of his party, the All 

Progressives Congress, APC, 

by colluding with members of 

the other party, the Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP, to 

obtain the votes that gave him 

the position, whilst also making 

a member of the PDP his 

deputy. He had not thus only 

disobeyed but also disgraced 

the party under whose auspices 

he had won a seat in the 

Senate, in the first place. Any 

self-respecting political party 

would resent such an action 

and would naturally order 

reprisals, especially if it was in 

power and not just in 

government, as the Senate 

President’s slap on the face of 

his party would seem to 

indicate. 

The train of issues that have 

dogged his tenure could be 

freely attributed to the reaction 

of his peers who naturally feel 

slighted and betrayed. He may 

be forced to suspend his 

appearances at the Senate 

along with his deputy who is 

now also arraigned with him. 

The support he has garnered 

from the number of senators 

who plotted him into office has 

been comical to some degree. 

They trooped after him to the 

tribunal in an open attempt to 

*Witch-hunting 

intimidate the court. Now they have 

also resorted to making inflammatory 

statements totally unbecoming of men 

and women who consider themselves, 

and would also wish to be considered 

by others, as “distinguished”. Their 

intransigence may only see an increase 

in their discomfort. 

Call that a case of witch-hunting. 

Olisa Metuh was very good at his job. 

He was a spokesman of the PDP, and 

adept at the use of the virulent 

understatement. He never lost his cool 

even when his party was thrust out of 

power. He had stepped on many toes 

in the past and there was no hope that 

he would relent. He was, of course, 

actively involved in the last elections 

but was still gathering himself together 

from the set-back when he became the 

subject of an allegation that he was 

involved in what has become the cause 

celebre of the season—the Dasukigate. 

He was duly arrested and granted his 

day—his days—in court. 

That could also pass for witchhunting. 

Femi Fani-Kayode could have 

acquired the honour and fame of a legal 

luminary, as his father, the late Remi 

Fani-Kayode did before him. His 

forebear was actually reckoned as the 

leading word on constitutional law 

among his peers. But Femi chose 

politics instead. As a matter of fact, his 

dad combined both and was the 

mouthpiece of the Action Group, AG, 

much like Olisa Metuh was to the PDP, 

when this country was still young and 

honour had meaning. Just as Femi 

would do after him, Remi Fani-Kayode 

also had cause to defect from the AG, but 

on matters of principle. He was publicly 

probed down to his underwear, but 

emerged clean and free to pursue his 

course to a glorious end. 

Femi plunged into the pond of party 

politics in Nigeria as if he invented it. 

He made sure that very few people 

trusted him, even among his associates. 

He ended up hardly knowing who his 

associates were, anyway. His offerings of 

views on national issues met with 

lukewarm reception, even when they 

seemed to make sense, because they were 

Femi plunged into 

the pond of party 

politics in Nigeria as 

if he invented it 

devoid of a clear direction. He did not help 

his personality by being involved in a 

muddy indictment about his conduct as a 

one-time Minister of Aviation and, indeed, 

sensed no dent in his public image. And 

so when he too seemed to have dipped 

his finger into the cauldron of Dasukigate 

and got himself tainted, he was called 

upon, like several others, to clear his good 

name. He had thus been doing so in 

detention as it is deemed fit by those 

whose profession it is. 

Call it witch-hunting. 

Ayodele Fayose became the 

Governor of Ekiti State by twice 

displacing incumbent governors. He 

will not let us forget the fact. That, 

to him, makes him an outstanding 

politician, although there have been 

question marks about his second 

victory. But be that as ever it may, he 

strains himself to be as offensive as 

possible in his utterances, especially 

about and against President 

Muhammadu Buhari. Since he 

seems to find the APC somewhat low 

for his full attention, he goes right 

to the top. 

Fayose seems to have totally forgotten 

the despicable record he left behind in 

his first coming. Not only he, but quite 

a number of his supporters appear to 

have a leaky memory about a governor 

who got himself so mingled with poultry 

matters that he lost his position. He is 

now up against it again. Workers in the 

state are on the verge of suspending 

their services because their salaries are 

not duly paid, but Fayose is so enmeshed 

in his preoccupation with Buhari that 

all the answer he can give is that Ekiti 

is not the only state in that predicament. 

Meanwhile, his personal account at 

one of the banks mentioned in 

connection with massive cash 

laundering has been frozen. Fayose 

says it cannot happen to anyone 

protected under the immunity provided 

by the constitution to state governors, 

among others. The immunity, however, 

is against arrest and prosecution—not 

investigation, and the EFCC had the 

mandate, with the support of a court 

order, to cause any bank account to be 

suspended if it was connected with an 

on-going investigation. 

However, to be fair, his mention of 

Madam Aisha Buhari, the wife of 

President Buhari, as being connected 

with the muted Halliburton affair needs 

to be summarily clarified by the 

presidency. Of course, that really has 

nothing to do with his self-imposed 

predicament. 

That is all a matter of witch-hunting, 

anyway. 

Time out. 

Political Editor 

emmanuelaziken@vanguardngr.com 

08052201189 

The controver 

versial conference materials 

The salacious story of the three 

members of the House of 

Representatives who ALLEGEDLY 

deviated from their leadership training 

conference in America to solicit for 

prostitutes has fascinated many. In 

local parlance, women are usually 

described as conference materials who 

have over time become standard 

protocol for visiting government 

officials. 

Not surprisingly, many Nigerians 

have been quick to rush to judgment; 

pronouncing the legislators guilty. One 

basis for the guilty judgment is the fact 

that the accusation came from the 

United States ambassador, and as such, 

it could not have been tainted by the 

nuances that characterise the Nigerian 

legal system. 

Another reason why some were also 

quick to pronounce the three lawmakers 

guilty was the sordid chronicle of 

debauchery that has been exhibited by 

many former and serving lawmakers. 

That inclination to licentiousness is 

easily demonstrated by the case of one 

former senator who won the unpopular 

reputation of designating a personal 

assistant to handle the bevy of beauties 

who took turns with him night and day 

whenever he was in town. 

Of course, that senator did not have his 

family in Abuja. Indeed, until quite 

recently many legislators saw Abuja as a 

passing phase with many keeping their 

families in their constituencies. 

If any male legislator came to Abuja 

with straight morals, more often than not, 

many of them were bound to be tempted 

by the horde of often sleazy women 

within and outside the chambers. 

Many reputations have been shattered 

on account of shady activities committed 

with women in the National Assembly. 

One senator from the North, who came 

to the National Assembly with a 

glistening Ph.D. after one term, easily 

won a reputation for infamy on account 

of several sexual trysts allegedly in his 

White House Building office. 

The impiety was not restricted to the 

male legislators. Though most of the 

female senators came polished and 

carried themselves with dignity, a couple, 

however, deviated from the path of 

feminine grace. There was one female 

legislator who would wear low neck 

blouses that whenever she bent to lay a 

report before the presiding officer would 

inevitably be prompting the 

presiding officer sitting on the 

dais with a full view of her 

breasts. 

For many spouses of the 

legislators, the best defence was 

often to resort to prayers to keep 

their spouses from temptations. 

One was even alleged to have 

even gone further. The wife of 

Senator Erhiawarie Efekeraya 

took matters on a more practical 

way when her husband served 

in the Senate between 2007 and 

2011. Mrs. Efekeraya took a 

position in her husband’s office 

as one of his SAs, putting to flight 

any woman with seamy desires 

for her husband. 

Of course, the narrative is not 

universal. In the same 

legislature, a number of men and 

women have also acquitted 

themselves with grace. It is in 

this light that the allegations 

against the three members of the 

House have to be interrogated to 

the purpose of ensuring that the 

guiltless are not unnecessarily 

punished. 

The case of Rep. Mark Gbillah 

whose wife, he claims travels 

with him and was with him in the 

United States, on the surface 

needs to be further interrogated. 

With his wife in the hotel room, 

Mr. Gbillah would be a pervert 

to have been looking for a 

prostitute in America. 

It is unfortunate that the 

salacious slant of many 

legislators have put the legislators 

at a disadvantage in the court of 

public opinion, but they are entitled 

to a defence before condemnation. 

Saraki, Ekweremadu 

in the dock 

The unprecedented trial of the 

President of the Senate, Senator 

Bukola Saraki and his deputy, 

Senator Ike Ekweremadu before a 

Federal High Court on the 

allegation of forging the Senate 

Standing Order, 2015 is sure to 

stretch the country’s constitutional 

boundaries. Instructively, the 

foundation of the case is laid in 

many controversies, especially 

given the initial crisis that attended 

the Senate leadership contest. 

Many who have studied the case 

are yet to counter the argument that 

a new standing rule is provided for 

each Senate. Reference is made to 

the 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011 and now, 

2015 Standing Orders of the 

Senate. The further argument that 

the rule is drafted by the 

management has also not been 

disputed. 

Even more remarkable is the fact 

that the two presiding officers 

about to be tried were not 

mentioned or questioned in the 

investigation. 

The worry in many quarters is 

that those who were not able to 

achieve the ambition of appointing 

their protégées as presiding officers 

are now using the courts to achieve 

their aim. It need not be so.


BY IYABO AINA 

How did your journey into 

music begin? 

My journey into music began 

since I was a little boy singing 

in my church choir. I developed 

interest in music since then 

because I love singing; I was 

always trying to compose 

songs for our choirmaster, so 

that was how I fell in love 

with music. 

At what stage did 

you decide to go 

professional? 

I decided to make it 

professional when I 

realized my passion 

for music was greater 

than anything else, 

also Boss L.a 

Kashmire was another 

reason I decided to go 

pro because of the way 

he believed in me, he 

encouraged me to 

believe in myself. Boss 

L.a kashmire is my 

boss and the C.E.O of 

Kashmire Records, the 

label I’m signed to. 

What were your 

parents’ reactions when 

they knew you were 

going into music? 

My parents were really 

sceptical about it at first 

because I was in the 

university then and they felt it 

was going to affect my studies, 

but when they saw the effort I 

was putting into my music and 

how good my grades were, 

they relaxed. 

They realized music was my 

passion and they didn’t want to 

discourage me especially when 

it was not affecting my grades, 

so they became very 

supportive. I remember 

sometimes my dad would give 

me money for recording and 

after studio session I’d bring 

the song home and we would 

all listen - they became really 

supportive. 

How do you see music, a 

passion or a means to make 

money? 

To me, music is passion, 

music is love, it has absolutely 

nothing to do with money. 

When I’m in the studio, there 

is this certain feeling of 

fulfilment I have, music 

comforts me, I write all the 

time, I write about everything, 

I don’t see music as a means to 

I’m the new king of music 

from Abia State – Lil Ashh 

By TOFARATI IGE 

Upcoming singer, Elisha 

Ebube Munoye aka Lil 

Ashh is one who has his 

eyes set at the very top of 

the music industry. 

The Abia State-born rapper 

who delivers his craft in 

Igbo language and pidgin 

English believes he’s the 

new king on the block, and 

it’s only a matter of time 

before he is officially 

crowned. 

Lil Ashh started his career at 

the age of seven, and he has 

consistently been putting in 

his best ever since. 

Speaking on his latest effort, 

‘Tell Them Something’ he 

said, “I’m looking forward to 

doing something different 

now by releasing a rap 

•Bonkwe 

single; I’m an indigenous 

rapper…I mix Igbo with 

pidgin English. ‘Tell Them 

Something’ is about the 

glory of my state of origin, 

which is Abia. I want people 

to know that it’s a great 

place that has produced lots 

of great people, and I’m the 

new king from Abia State.’ 

Recalling his incursion 

into the industry, he 

reminisced, “I started as a 

drummer in church, and I 

usually get inspiration from 

there. I’ve done songs with 

some big artistes such as 

‘Nwanyi’oma’ with T-Spize 

and ‘Shoddies’ with 

Runtown.” 

On the notion that rap isn’t 

a big money-spinner in 

Nigeria, Lil Ashh said, “A lot 

of people say rap doesn’t 

sell in Nigeria, but I’m 

passionate about it. I also 

look up to people like 

Kendrick Lamar. I’m 

different from the rest, and 

that’s one unique thing 

about me. I talk about reality 

and life experiences to 

educate people.” 

Sharing some of the 

challenges he’s facing, he 

quipped, “I’m not signed to 

any record label for now, so 

accessing funds is very 

difficult. Another challenge I 

have is seeing people who I 

started with who are now on 

top. However, people like 

that motivate me. I really 

want to go global with my 

career, and I will not rest till 

I achieve my aim.” 

Chidinma has 

been my crush 

for a very long 

time —Bonkwe 

Since Bonkwe released the single ‘Na you I go 

marry’ his fortune in the music industry has 

greatly improved as he has become a known voice on 

the streets. The budding Afro-pop star shares his story 

with Star Tracker and tells us what makes him tick. 

I am true to myself, 

I’m me, I want to be 

me, I don’t want to be 

any other person, I 

want to be real and 

stay real in this game 

make money because as we all 

know, it is difficult to make 

money from music in Nigeria 

due to piracy. I see music only 

as a means of expressing 

myself, and reaching out to 

people. Music is more of love 

and passion to me. I am music. 

•Lil Ashh 

Which artist inspired you? 

I am a very huge fan of P- 

square, I’ve been in love with 

them since I was a kid. I love 

their music, I look up to them, 

when I was younger I used to 

learn their songs and perform 

them to my family members, 

so I’ll say they inspired my 

music. 

How do you intend to 

promote your brand to 

compete with already 

established stars? 

The truth is that most of the 

artists out there now want to 

be like other successful artists, 

this is not right, in this game, 

being real is everything, artists 

lie a lot, they live fake lives. I 

am true to myself, I’m me, I 

want to be me, I don’t want to 

be any other person, I want to 

be real and stay real in this 

game, and I also want to put 

out real materials, that’s how I 

intend to stay relevant in this 

game. The moment you try to 

be someone else you lose your 

place in the industry. That’s 

the truth. 

What inspired your new 

song, “Na you I go marry”? 

‘Na you I go marry’ was a 

song I just came up with 

randomly. It wasn’t inspired by 

anything; the melody just came 

to me one day at home, so I 

took my pen and paper and 

wrote it down. I wrote the 

whole song under 30 minutes. 

And when I was done writing I 

went to see T Spice and he 

cooked up the beat for me. 

Does it have anything to do 

with your wedding plans? 

No, I’m not planning to get 

married. I want to focus on my 

music for now. 

Who is your female celebrity 

crush and why? 

I have always had a crush on 

Chidimma. I think I’m in love 

with her; I love her because 

she is very simple and very 

talented. She is also beautiful 

and one of the most honest 

female entertainers we have in 

the industry today. She has 

been my crush for a very long 

time now.

24—SATURDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 25, 2016 

Rotimi Agbana 

08137741609 

The New African 

Shrine (Femi’s 

Shrine) which is known 

for its high octane 

grooving and partying 

surprised its regular 

visitors last week Saturday, 

18thJune, 2016, as 

it played host to Gig 

Time Expressions gospel 

show titled Encounter. 

It was a gospel 

music and dance competition 

staged to showcase 

gospel talents and 

to equally bring the 

gospel of Christ closer 

to the world. Guests 

were skeptical on the 

choice of venue for the show. But 

when the show eventually kicked 

off, everyone came to terms with 

why the New African Shrine was 

chosen as the venue for the show. 

Speaking on the objectives of the 

show and choice of venue, awardwinning 

gospel artiste, Sammy 

Okposo, who was a guest artiste 

and performer, said, “I’m here in 

the capacity of a guest artiste to 

support what the organisers are 

doing because I’ve always been 

unconventional. The bible that I 

Wazobia FM didn’t 

employ me with 

fake CV — Yaw 

Dexterous Wazobia Fm OAP, 

actor, dramatist and comedian, 

Steve Onu a.k.a Yaw, has debunked 

the lingering rumor that he secured a 

job at Wazobia FM using a fake 

Curriculum Vitae (CV). Yaw, who 

graduated from the English 

department of the Lagos State 

University with a diploma in Radio, 

TV and film production, before 

bagging a degree in Theatre Arts, 

said he did not secure his current job 

as an On-Air-Personality at Wazobia 

FM with a fake CV, but that he used a 

close friend’s CV as a template to 

design his own CV. “I wasn’t 

employed at Wazobia FM with a fake 

CV. I had this friend of mine who we 

went to school together; he had a very 

good CV, so what I did was to use his 

CV as a template to design mine. I 

did not use a fake CV to secure my 

job at Wazobia FM o,” he stated 

equivocally. 

I’m not ready for marriage 

— Adesua Etomi 

•Pastor Ituah Ighodalo 

making altar call 

Femi’s Shrine 

hosts gospel show 

read and believe in says the earth is 

the Lord’s (not just the church), so as 

long as there are human beings there, 

I don’t have a problem going there. 

It’s just that a tag has been given to 

the New African Shrine on the kind 

of events that take place there, so taking 

a gospel event there would shock 

people. For the management of 

Shrine to agree for a gospel show to 

take place there is a miracle.” 

•Yaw 

Inspirational screen diva and winner of 2016 AMVCA’s Best Actress 

category, Adesua Etomi, has declared that she is not ready for 

marriage now, just as she has been advised to make it her top most 

priority. The talented Nollywood role interpreter was advised by a fan 

of hers who stormed her twitter handle to comment on a tweet posted 

by the actress. “My mum thought she was being sleek when she slid 

the marriage talk into our convo this morning. I was like ‘Nah Fam’, she 

laughed,” Adesua posted. A concerned fan of the actress then 

commented “But you are over ripe now! Settle soon please.” Adesua 

wasted no time in responding, “Over ripe based on what? I serve the 

author of time, who’s not subject to time and I’m subject to him.” Adesua 

later posted a munched photo of her earlier tweet on Instagram and 

wrote, “My mum cracks me up, was asking her if she’d seen my friend’s 

‘save the date’ video with his fiancée. Next thing she uses style to start 

a marriage conversation saying ‘iwo nko, how far?’ Then she starts 

laughing. If only she knows I’m not ready yet.” 

•Adesua 

•Yemi 

Alade 

Sultry afro-pop singing 

sensation, Yemi Eberechi 

Alade, aka Yemi Alade, 

has revealed she 

will give acting a 

trial whenever 

and if the 

opportunity 

presents itself. 

Yemi Alade who 

won the first ever Peak 

Talent Show in 2009, 

popularly known for her hit 

single Johnny, told e-news in a brief chat 

that acting will not be a difficult task for her if the 

opportunity comes, stressing the fact that acting 

is something she engages in regularly in all her 

music videos, so it won’t be a new thing to her. “I 

love acting; I act in all my music videos already. 

I’m just waiting for the right script. If the 

opportunity comes, then why not? I will, 100 

percent,” she said. The top-rated nightingale also 

revealed that she has lots of projects she is working 

on and would be unveiling anytime soon. 

DJs' association pardon Terry G, 

lifts embargo on his songs 

The National Executive of the 

D J s 

Association of Nigeria have 

finally buried the hatchet 

against Sangolo rapper, Terry G, 

for slapping a DJ under the tutelage 

of DJ Jimmy Jatt at MC Bash’s 

recent comedy show at the MUSON 

Centre, Onikan, Lagos. After the 

ugly incident, the National 

Executives of the DJs association 

met and unanimously placed an 

embargo on all Terry G’s songs, 

including the ones he featured in. 

Terry G has since tendered an 

unreserved apology to Nigerian DJs 

and the association for his action. 

I will venture into 

Nollywood if... 

— Yemi Alade 

The press release reads “The National 

Executives of the DJs Association of 

Nigeria (DJAN) humbly appreciate the 

support and cooperation of Nigerian 

DJs for full participation on said 

subject, we are most grateful for 

acknowledging the fact that ‘an injury 

to one is injury to all’, one beat, one 

voice. Terry G has shown a very 

reasonable level of remorse and had 

apologized to all parties concerned 

including apologizing to the leadership 

of the association at all levels. After 

due consultations and deliberations, 

the DJs Association of Nigeria hereby 

lifts the EMBARGO on all song of 

Terry G.” 

Ali Baba, AY, Seyi Law, 

Yemi Alade, others 

for Pencil Unbroken 

Multi-talented comedian, and AY Open Mic Comedy 

Challenge winner, Ogechi Nwanevu Cyril, a.k.a Pencil, 

is set to stage the maiden edition of his highly anticipated comedy 

show tagged, Pencil Unbroken (The First Assignment). 

The show scheduled to hold next week at the Muson Centre, 

Onikan, will witness an impressive lineup of comedians and 

musicians who will be thrilling guest with rib-cracking jokes and 

mind-blowing musical performances. According to Pencil, 

“I can’t wait to reveal the surprises I have lined up for the night. 

Looking at the rich lineup of comedians and artistes billed to thrill, 

you can tell guests are in for an evening of undiluted entertainment. 

Also don’t forget it’s my debut show, so I’m pulling all strings to 

make it the biggest comedy/music show in recent times”. 

Entertainers set to thrill include Ali Baba, AY, Reekado Banks, Ice 

Prince, Gordons, Ushbebe, Teju Babyface, Kcee, Oritsefemi, Kenny 

Blaq, Iyanya, Ajebo, MC Shakara, Funnybone, Yemi Alade, Seyi 

Law, and others. Caroline Hutchings will be the host for the night.


Edited by Ayo Onikoyi 

08052201215 

My Testimonies as Miss 

Nigeria – Lessi Peter-Vigboro 

By JULIET EBIRIM and 

KEHINDE AJOSE 

In November of 2015 Lessi Pe 

ter-Vigboro had her childhood 

fantasy staring her in the face 

and waking her up from the 

dream land to reality when she was 

crowned the 39th Miss Nigeria. For 

the 23 years old, Rivers State-born, 

University of Port Harcourt’s 

computer science graduate, it was an 

opportunity to reach out to other 

people, and make a difference. 

But Before winning the Miss Nigeria 

pageant, she had participated in two 

pageants earlier which sort of prepared 

her for the big one. She won 

the Miss Ogoni pageant and was third 

runner-up for Miss Niger Delta. Winning 

Miss Nigeria came with some 

testimonies and she shares them with 

us: 

What was it like being part of Miss 

Nigeria? 

The contest was one of the best I 

have ever been part of. I had to 

challenge myself and put up the right 

kind of mindset. That was one of the 

best moments of my life because I 

pushed myself and I like the result 

that came out of it. 

What is your motive for being part 

of beauty pageants? 

I think every little girl has this 

dream or fantasy of being a princess. 

As a little girl I have always been fascinated 

by the glamour. But growing 

up I became part of a lot of volunteering 

works and I felt that 

pageantry will give me a bigger 

platform to make impact. 

Do you think without pageants you 

won’t have the reach and the impact? 

Without pageants you can definitely 

make impact. You can make an 

impact even without having an NGO 

but it’s more about you wanting to 

do it. You don’t necessarily have to 

be a beauty queen before you make 

an impact. That said, pageants give 

you a very wide platform. I didn’t take 

it serious when I was in school 

because I had my studies to focus on. 

I had to find time to balance school 

and modeling. It was so challenging, 

but because it’s something I enjoy, I 

was able to juggle both. 

Why did you keep trying after being 

part of other beauty pageants? 

What happened was that I had 

bought the form for Miss Nigeria in 

2014 and it didn’t hold that year. I 

rounded off school and went for youth 

service and I found out that they 

were doing audition, but because I 

had bought the form I decided to be 

part of it, because I didn’t want to 

waste the money I used to purchase 

the form. Going in there, I decided 

to give it my best shot mentally and 

if it doesn’t work it won’t be because 

I didn’t try. I guess God rewarded 

my efforts 

What gave you an edge over the 

other contestants? 

Truth is, there were other pretty, 

smart girls. I kept a positive mindset 

and God is also a factor in it. During 

the point of selecting a winner, we had 

a tie between the first runner-up and 

me. I was asked a question during 

the tie about my business. I was 

asked to talk about my business’s 

unique selling proposition and I had 

learnt something about that during 

the business plan competition we had 

in camp. I had to talk about what will 

make my business stand out. I think 

that also gave me an edge. 

What were your plans when you 

won the pageant and how far have 

you gone with it? 

Well, in as much as I know that 

beauty pageants are fun and glamourous, 

my plan is to give back to the 

society and learn from the experience. 

I hope to come out a better, stronger 

and wiser woman. 

I have been working with some 

organizations. For now. I don’t have 

an NGO of my own but it doesn’t stop 

me from being involved in some activities. 

Right now, I am working with 

an organization to raise awareness on 

breast cancer. We just concluded a 

charity marathon with Edo State, 

where we tested women and were 

able to raise some funds. I also 

engage in some programmes 

involving orphanages. I made it a 

point to use my platform to advocate 

for peace and non-violence agitation 

because it’s important to me as well. 

I am from Ogoni in the Niger-Delta 

region and a lot of cases of violence 

go on there. I try to use my platform 

I think every little 

girl has this dream or 

fantasy of being a 

princess. As a little girl 

I have always been 

fascinated by the 

glamour. But growing 

up I became part of a 

lot of volunteering 

works and I felt that 

pageantry will give me 

a bigger platform to 

make impact 

to advocate for peace and non-violence 

resolution of issues. We’ve also 

had some environmental issues in 

that region, so I also use my platform 

to promote the environment in a good 

way to see how we can have a healthy 

environment. 

What would you have been if you 

weren’t a beauty queen? 

I love to write, so I hope to be an 

author someday. I’ll definitely pursue 

that. I’m sure that I would have been 

in a company taking a regular job, 

but my passion is writing. 

So what has changed about you 

since you became Miss Nigeria? 

I’m not a very dressy person, I 

like to be simple a lot, but a whole 

lot of glamour comes with my 

position, so my dressing has changed. 

This experience has also made me 

think properly about the decisions I 

make. I think I’m a more responsible 

person because I have a brand and 

image to uphold. 

There have been cases of exploitation 

in pageants, what has been your 

experience in that regard? 

I’ve not had such an experience. 

Maybe by intuition or perception, I 

think that’s probably why I went for 

Miss Nigeria, because right from the 

onset, the brand has been synonymous 

with the right kind of values. It 

tries to portray the Nigerian woman 

in a good light and also brings out 

the potential of the Nigerian woman. 

Lessi Peter-Vigboro 

It’s a very transparent, free and fair 

pageant. The experience so far has 

been good and what my handlers do 

is push me to bring out the best in 

me. 

What has being a beauty queen 

taught you? 

I’ve learnt that I have to be held 

responsible for the decisions I make 

and that I should always find a way 

to give back to the society. I’ve learnt 

to be more interactive with people to 

build relationships because it is required. 

My communication skills are 

getting better. Generally, I’ve learnt 

to improve on myself. People expect 

a lot from a beauty queen, so it has 

pushed me to invest a lot in myself 

so I can be better prepared. 

Can you tell us about your love 

life? 

Before I got into this, I wasn’t in a 

relationship. And when I got into this 

I was told that I need to be focused. 

So it wasn’t much of a challenge to 

me because I wasn’t already in a relationship. 

Being in the public eye now, you 

get a lot male attention, how do you 

handle that? 

Being a beautiful woman, whether 

you’re a beauty queen or not, you’ll 

always get male attention. It’s something 

that happens in every girl’s life. 

As a grown up young girl, I’ve been 

able to manage that, so I still apply 

the same strategies. 

What strategies do you apply? 

I just try not to do whatever I’m not 

comfortable with. I stick to my values 

basically and whatever resonates 

with me.


By KEHINDE AJOSE 

08054680266 

Is YBNL’s Viktoh 

rejected stone of 

the label? 

In terms of hits churned 

out by artistes, YBNL 

may well be one of the 

foremost record labels in the 

country at the moment. 

Many of its signees are 

currently topping charts. As 

a matter of fact, it would be 

safe to say that when YBNL 

sneezes, the whole music 

industry catches cold; a case 

in reference is the Headies 

saga of January 2016 when 

Olamide practically shut 

down the event when his 

Come Friday, July 1, 

2016, all roads will lead 

to The Church of the Lord 

(Prayer Fellowship), 

Alimosho, for the 22nd 

edition of the highly 

impactful annual music 

concert, Music Ministration. 

Music Ministration, which 

is organised by Praise 

Echoers Ministry, one of the 

best gospel choir,drama 

ministers and 

choreographers in the land, 

is one of the most highly 

rated gospel concerts which 

draws attendees from 

various parts of the world. 

protégé, Lil Kesh, lost out on 

the Next Rated category of 

the awards. 

However, while some of 

YBNL’s acts are soaring and 

shining, the same cannot be 

said of one of the label’s first 

signees, Viktoh. 

An avid observer would 

note that Viktoh doesn’t 

have a respectable hit to his 

name. Meanwhile, Lil Kesh 

who he introduced to his 

label boss, Olamide, is 

already regarded as a 

heavyweight of sorts in the 

industry. 

Some of Viktoh’s songs 

which failed to attract 

mainstream attention 

include ‘Skibbii That,’ 

‘Instagram Police,’ ‘Say 

Them Say’ among others. 

However, some people 

have attributed Viktoh’s 

slow career growth to 

Olamide. According to this 

school of thought, Olamide 

doesn’t give Viktoh the 

desired attention unlike Lil 

Top rated gospel acts to storm Church of the 

Lord music concert 

This year’s edition will 

feature gospel acts such as 

Boiz Olorun, Heritage 

Brothers, Yinka Alayesori, 

Oderah, Odunayo Aboderin, 

among others. A surprise 

international act is also 

billed to make a guest 

appearance at the event 

which has the theme ‘The 

Most High God (Atobiju).’ 

Speaking on what guests 

should expect at the event, 

the Choir Director of the 

Praise Echoers, Olakunle 

Owolana said, “This year’s 

edition of Music 

Ministration (MM) is really 

High-rising rapper and movie 

actor, Adeniyi Akanni, 

Neyoswaggz is carving a niche for 

himself in the entertainment industry, 

with several singles and having featured 

in over 40 movies like Aiye Foreign, 

Abami Eda, Iyawo Igbo among others. 

He recently added another feather to 

his cap with a celebrity get-together 

party tagged “ Neyoswaggz and friends” 

with many celebrities in attendance at 

the Presidential wing of the Olusegun 

Obansanjo Presidential Library, 

Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. 

According to him, “‘Neyoswaggz and 

friends’ is a platform to network, say 

thank you to my colleagues who had 

supported my dreams and also unwind 

loaded. Guests who come 

around will undoubtedly feel 

the hands of God in their 

lives, and they wouldn’t go 

back the way they came. We 

have an array of talented 

and spirit-filled acts who will 

minister in songs, drama, 

poetry and choreography. It 

is an event that shouldn’t be 

missed.” 

Meanwhile, awards will 

also be presented to 

individuals who have 

contributed immensely to 

the growth of music in The 

Church of the Lord (Prayer 

Fellowship). 

Kesh and Adekunle Gold. 

According to a source who 

is close to the YBNL crew, 

even though Olamide is a 

liberal boss who gives all his 

artistes the chance to fly, he 

seems to have a softer spot 

for Gold, Lil Kesh and the 

new YBNL princess, Temmie 

Ovwasa. 

Speaking on the condition 

of anonymity, the source 

opined, “To be sincere with 

you, Olamide is a very 

liberal boss who is after the 

success of all his artistes. 

But if you consider the way 

Olamide is always shouting 

the name of Lil Kesh, 

Adekunle Gold and Temmie 

in his songs and Instagram 

posts, you will realize it 

seems he doesn’t give the 

same attention to Viktoh. 

Though Viktoh should also 

I cannot quit music for acting — Neyoswaggz 

BY ADERONKE ADEYERI 

after traveling here and there to shoot 

movies”. He added that he will and 

cannot quit music for movies as 

speculated recently. ‘’I will and cannot 

quit music, I have only been out of the 

country on a project which got me so 

busy ‘’. 

The handsome dude and graduate of 

Civil Engineering also disclosed that he 

is currently working on his multimillion 

naira project called ‘Exodus project’. 

‘Exodus Project’ brings to fore his 

movie, musical and documentary 

production that will soon hit the 

entertainment industry. 

Saidi Balogun, Segun Ogungbe, 

Bukky fagbuyi, Yomi Gold, Bukola Ojo, 

Dolapo Orisajobi among others graced 

the well attended event. 

up his game in terms of the 

kind of songs he puts out, 

YBNL should also pay more 

attention to him.” 

Meanwhile, another artiste 

that isn’t getting the desired 

attention in YBNL is Chinco 

Ekun, but sources claim that 

his education is what is 

taking the front burner in his 

life right now, and that’s why 

he’s not so visible on the 

music scene. 

With Lil Kesh and 

Adekunle Gold hinting that 

they would soon be floating 

their own record labels, 

perhaps, Viktoh’s ‘condition’ 

will improve. Remember, 

former YBNL signee, Zino 

also complained of neglect. 

It should be noted that Lil 

Kesh has left YBNL but he is 

still under their 

management. 

Agoha to drop 

video for 

‘Jehovah’ 

Secular artiste-turned- 

Gospel singer, Agoha, is 

priming up to release the 

video for his hit song, 

‘Jehovah.’ 

The video which is 

directed by Mattmax will 

be out next week. 

Meanwhile, Agoha has 

been having a filled day 

performing at shows such 

as AY Live, Yaw’s 

‘Shalanga’ stage drama, 

Chronicles of Ushbebe, 

Igos Live, among others 

to standing ovation. 

C 

M 

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By TOFARATI 

IGE 08068792241 


OJB was an 

untapped gold 

— Adasounds 

It is no longer news 

that the legendary 

Nigerian music 

producer, Babatunde 

Jezreel Okungbowa a.k.a 

OJB has passed away. The 

revered entertainment icon 

died following a prolonged 

battle with kidney condition. 

While he was alive, OJB 

signed Adasounds, an 

Afropop artiste to his label. 

The light-skinned artiste 

released a highlife song 

called 50-50 under the 

imprint of his label. Before 

his death, they were 

planning to release a duet 

titled Chinedu. In a chat 

with Showtime the visibly 

dejected Adasounds opens 

up on the kind of 

relationship she had with the 

music production maestro, 

OJB. 

“OJB was a true icon, a 

rare gem and at 49 going to 

50, he was an untapped 

gold, one of the best things 

that ever happened to the 

Nigerian music sector. He 

was my manager; producer 

and mentor, he was always 

advising me on the right 

path to follow. I called him 

my backbone in the industry. 

He taught me to have the 

fear of God and never to look 

for help through any other 

means aside from the right 

way. We were working on a 

lot of projects like the birth 

I can’t quit music for my 

education — Lil Kesh 

Former YBNL signee, Lil Kesh has asserted that 

it is okay to drop out of school to pursue music, 

if it a passion one really desires. Speaking in an 

interview with an Online YouTube Channel, the 

sensational performer said he is not ready to quit 

music for his education. 

“I studied Linguistics at University of Lagos. I had 

to quit because it was difficult combining school with 

music. Now, I do an online course. If I quit music for 

my education, where will I get the money to pay my 

school fees? Everything goes hand in hand. I pay my 

school fees through the money I earn from playing 

music. I don’t think I want to quit music now for any 

reason,” he said. 

He also revealed that he writes songs in the church 

occasionally. “I was more of a church boy growing 

up. I was pretty much around the choir. I played the 

drums most of the time. At times, I wrote songs in 

the church.” 

Britain’s Got Talent 

winner unveils new song 

The name Ike Chuks may 

not be a big deal in the 

entertainment industry yet 

but the budding entertainer 

can thump his chest for his 

modest achievement beyond 

the shores of the 

country. He is a 

member of Diversity, 

the dance group that 

won Britain’s Got 

Talent in 2009. The 

talented rapper cum 

singer ventured into 

music in 2011 when he 

released his debut 

single Play like play. For 

his new tune, he 

collaborates with the 

Jagagban sensation Ycee 

to deliver a brilliant music 

presentation. I dey hail is a 

song of gratitude that talks 

about his good, bad and 

ugly life experiences. The 

song is gradually enjoying 

airplays and downloads. It 

is produced by TwoSeven 

of his foundation, OJB 

Next Rated competition, 

a carnival-like 50th 

birthday celebration and 

songs like Sampori, The 

Night and Chinedu 

were already 

completed. The 

song, Chinedu 

happens to be a 

duet done by 

both of us. If I 

am not 

mistaken, 

Chinedu 

was the 

last 

song 

he 

did 

before 

his death” 

Seyi Shay and 

her many 

goofs 

Nigerian singer, Seyi Shay 

has been in the news not 

only for her music exploits but also 

for her many blunders. It’s either 

she cannot mask her ignorance or 

she makes those blunders as a means 

to gaining attention. She got people 

laughing when she was asked to 

pronounce a word and pronounced it the 

wrong way. The Murda star in another 

interview was asked to mention the meaning 

of E.P which she called Electric Package. Her 

ability to make absurd statements came to the 

fore recently when her interview with Onstage TV 

surfaced online. In the viral interview, she 

credited Drake’s One Dance to Wizkid saying he 

wrote the song. 

“It’s actually Wizkid’s song, its not Drake’s 

song. I don’t know if I can talk about this, but 

Wizkid wrote it, Legendary Beatz did the beat and 

some other Nigerian producers produced it as an 

Afrobeats song and they stripped a lot of the 

music away and just left the rhythm” she said in 

the interview. 

Though she has since apologised to Wizkid 

saying she was wrongly informed, but industry 

observers are analysing the effect of these 

goofs on her brand. 

C 

M 

Y 

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AGN crisis deepens 

as Ibinabo’s loyalists 

disown caretaker 

committee 

•We can’t be held to ransom by anybody —Stakeholders 

•Disregard any caretaker committee —Emeka Ike 

There may not be an end in 

sight following the crisis 

rocking the Actors Guild 

of Nigeria (AGN) as the 

National Secretary of the guild 

under leadership of Ibinabo 

Fiberesima, Abubakar Yakub, 

has disowned the recently set 

up caretaker committee by a 

group better known as AGN 

stakeholders, insisting that 

Ibinabo remains the incumbent 

president of the guild. 

Recall that the stakeholders 

at a recent congress in Awka, 

the Anambra State capital, set 

up a caretaker committee to be 

headed by Steve Eboh with 

notable actors as members. 

They are Hakeem Rhaman 

(Vice Chairman), Renell Badejo 

(Secretary), Bob Emmanuel 

Udokwu (Adviser), Ochendo 

Mc Smith (PRO), Rita Tony 

Edochie (Member), Ernest Obi 

(Member), Vitalis Ndubisi 

(Member),a Zenith Abubarka 

(Member), Rita Daniels 

(Member) and Edith Irabor 

(member).The caretaker 

committee among other things 

is to supervise the affairs of the 

troubled guild and conduct 

fresh elections within three 

months. 

But reacting in a statement he 

sent to HVP, Yakub disowned 

the Caretaker Committee. 

According to him, the National 

Executive Committee of AGN 

received the news of setting up a 

Caretaker Committee to take 

over the Guild as a shock, 

adding that no group or 

stakeholders approached the 

guild’s NEC on the purported 

meeting. He frowned at the 

claims of the stakeholders, 

insisting that Ibinabo is still the 

incumbent president of the 

guild. 

“Also our State Executive 

Committees were not aware of 

the purported meeting. Much 

as we would not like to respond 

to the resolution of the said 

stakeholders meeting which 

looks like a child’s play to us, 

we need to set the records 

straight for avoidance of doubt 

by our teeming members and 

the general public,” he added. 

Yakub maintained that 

Ibinabo remains the only 

elected President of AGN. “The 

matter between St. Maradona 

Mclive Johnson and AGN 

which judgement was 

pronounced by the Justice T.S 

Tshoho of the Federal High 

Court Lagos on March 16, 

March 2015 is a subject of 

•Steve 

The National and 

States’ Executive 

Committees as well 

as committed 

members of AGN 

are not deterred, in 

the face of all these 

provocations coming 

from one particular 

section of the Actors 

Guild of Nigeria 

appeal at the Federal Court of 

Appeal Lagos, no: Ca/l/498/16. 

Until final judgement is given 

by the Supreme Court, if it 

takes us there, it will ever 

remain like that. Examples 

abound of how state governors 

were sacked by tribunals and 

even appeal courts but were 

never removed from office until 

Supreme Court gives it’s final 

judgment. Our States’ 

Executive Committees were 

not aware of the meeting 

including over 85% of State 

Chairmen across the country so 

the Chairmen that attended the 

said meeting did so on their 

individual capacity and not on 

behalf of their State AGN 

Chapters.” 

“The National and States’ 

•Emeka 

Executive Committees as well as 

committed members are not 

deterred, in the face of all these 

provocations coming from one 

particular section of the Actors 

Guild of Nigeria. The National 

President is not also moved by 

all these distractions as she 

remains focused and 

committed to the welfare and 

well being of our members.” 

“She cannot be cowed out of 

office. We have respect for the 

rule of law and shall abide by 

the legal and constitutional 

process in order to entrench a 

lasting peace in our noble 

Guild. We urged our 

members to equally 

disregard the so 

called resolution 

which is aimed at 

satisfying the 

inordinate ambitions 

of disgruntled few in 

the guild.” 

Meanwhile, the 

concerned 

stakeholders have 

reiterated their resolve 

to end the crisis rocking 

the guild, having 

directed all warring 

factions to withdraw all 

cases pending in court 

before 20 th of July. “AGN 

cannot be held to ransom by 

anybody. All warring factions 

should withdraw all matters in 

court before 20 th of July,” the 

stakeholders ordered. 

On the other hand, Emeka Ike 

has called on all members of AGN 

to disregard any peace committee 

set up by the stakeholders, 

declaring, “I have never set up or 

constituted any such 

body as the only 

‘National President’ 

now, nor have I any 

boisterous relationship 

with the said 

stakeholders. AGN 

has no more crisis. 

Stop crying bereaved to start 

another crises, it has been 

properly resolved by a court of 

competent jurisdiction. Appeal 

•Ibinabo 

does not have anything to do with 

the given órder’ until revoked. The 

judgement remains sacrosanct 

and the only expendable currency 

as it were in AGN right now. We 

have you all in mind and are 

working with other associations 

such as PMAN to bring structure 

and accountability to the industry,” 

Emeka Ike said. 

STAR SPOT 

My critics are 

worst than me 

– Iheme Nancy 

Weeks after photos of Nollywood 

burgeoning actress, Iheme Nancy, 

popularly known as Paragon Beauty, 

went viral online, the delectable 

actress has come after her critics 

in a comment in which she said 

they are worst than what she had 

displayed through the photo. 

To mark her birthday, Paragon 

Beauty had released slaying photos 

of herself, and it ended up having a 

trend online with so much criticism and 

admiration from her fans and haters. 

Since the release of those sexy and 

stunning photos, tongues had been let loose 

doing what it is known best for: wagging, 

even after the weird actress had issued a 

“send-nobody” reaction to her critics. 

Describing the comments made by her critics 

as an empty rant of “a pot calling kettle black,” 

she went further to urge them to be original 

with their lives than living in the shadows of 

“what people would say.” 

Interestingly, while some of her fans and followers 

condemned the slaying photos, her ardent admirers 

who, however, understand her style, appreciated her 

uniqueness and originality towards life affairs. 

•Nancy 

C 

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True acting is fading 

away in Nollywood, 

laments Majid Michel 

By Juliet Ebirim 

Top Ghanaian actor, Majid Michel, is arguably one of the 

most talented actors in Africa. From his good boy roles 

t 

o 

his bad boy roles in movies, Michel is always an 

entertaining character to watch on screen. The movie 

star recently bemoaned the dearth of the good of acting in 

Nollywood. He attributed the ugly trend to the current focus of 

film makers on equipment than talent. The actor revealed this 

at a movie release party held last week in Lagos. 

While speaking about his experience featuring in Nollywood 

movies, the movie star bemoaned the fact that the Nigerian 

movie industry is fast losing its art due to its focus on 

equipment. 

“What I really don’t like that’s happening in the industry 

is that they are putting more focus on equipment, lighting 

and cameras than the act of acting itself. So, they are 

losing their art and focusing on putting more passion on 

the technical part. Therefore, true acting is fading away 

in Nollywood,” he lamented. 

The award-winning actor has starred in a lot of 

Nollywood movies including Being Mrs Elliot, Knocking 

on Heaven’s Door, Bursting Out, Forgetting June, 30 Days 

in Atlanta,The Department, among others. 

•Majid 


Juliet 

Ibrahim 

ups the ante! 

GHANAIAN actress, Juliet 

Ibrahim is about to up the 

ante. The curvy actress, who is known 

for her head-turning red carpet looks is 

set to unveil her very own lashes and 

lipstick line. 

Those in the know confirmed that 

while this is her first make up line, it is 

not the first beauty venture for the 

entrepreneur who already runs a 

fashion house, House of Glamour. 

*Juliet Ibrahim 

Juliet will be launching two products; 

the Juliet Ibrahim’s Moda Lipstick line 

and Shades by Juliet Ibrahim lashes line. 

T h e eyelash extensions, according to Juliet’s 

publicist, will feature three different versions; Mink fur, 

3D lashes and Horse hair lashes. “It’s reusable, very 

comfortable even with extended wear and feels 100 per 

cent natural,” said Juliet’s publicist. 

“While the hotly lashes line is already selling, the 

lipsticks which will be in different shades will hit the 

shelves soon and you will get to experience all the 

beautiful hues she loves wearing and more,” the reps 

added. 

Why I’m fighting ‘fibroids’ 

with film – Leilani 

By Chioma Obinna 

E 

xecutive 

Director 

and host of 

Conversation 

with NK- 

Molina 

healthcare 

in the 

United 

States, 

Leilani 

Ifeoma 

Ogujiofor, is 

championing 

a cause that will 

bring smile to the 

faces of many 

women. The media 

personality was recently in 

the country to shoot her 

upcoming film, 

Overcoming Fibroids”, a 

film which she wants to use to bring greater 

awareness of treatment options for women suffering 

from the debilitating symptoms of fibroid. 

She’s producing the film which she explained will 

•Leilani 

My Breathless Experience – Uti Nwachukwu 

Star actor, Uti Nwachukwu, has disclosed that he enjoyed every moment 

he spent on locations where the soon-to-be released movie, Breathless, 

was shot. The ex-Big Brother Africa winner and Jara co-anchor said he 

chose to feature in the movie because of its remarkable storyline and the 

brains behind it.The movie, which has the potential of a blockbuster, has 

already earned nominations at two prestigious African movie awards. 

Breathless, through Mike Ezuruonye’s role, got a nomination for Best 

Actor Drama (TV/Series) at the 2016 Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards 

(AMVCA), while Nwachukwu, was nominated for the Africa Movie 

Academy Awards (AMAA) for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. 

“I like to keep a reputation that when people see me in a movie, they 

will just have an instant feeling that it’s worth it. So I am very selective to 

give my fans the best. From the first day I saw the script, I fell in love with 

it. I love scripts that are not conventional; Breathless is in that class,” he 

said. The actor added that he was thrilled when he saw the cast and crew 

of the movie. Breathless, which also stars Bimbo Manuel, Mike 

Ezuruonye, Brycee Bassey, Bobby Michaels and John Njamah, tells a 

story of the murder of an asthmatic lady in the beach house of her boss. 

be in two parts, in partnership with a film 

maker, Ike Nnabue. The two parts, a film 

on her experience with Fibroids and a 

documentary which will focus on the 

plights of over 70 percent of African women 

suffering fibroids. 

Speaking at a recent press parley, Ifeoma 

said she wants to use her own experience 

to empower women and talk to the 

government and corporate world in Nigeria 

about the adverse effects of Fibroids. 

“We are very pleased to be partnering 

with The Fibroids Project to aid its mission 

to educate and empower women to make 

informed decisions about treating their 

fibroids,” said Ifeoma, the convener of 

Overcoming Fibroid. 

“Many women may not be aware that 

there are other, less invasive treatment 

options that do not involve damaging or 

removing the uterus, as is the case with 

hysterectomy,” she continued. 

Hysterectomy is the most common surgical 

procedure for fibroids, but many women 

would prefer to avoid the long recovery 

times and body-changing effect of such 

surgery. 

•Uti 

Nwachukwu 

* Actress Ufuoma dancing along with 

Kcee, Harrysong at the event at the event 

Night of stars as 

‘Bloodlines’ hits 

the cinemas 

By Juliet Ebirim 

THE highly anticipated release party of the 

blockbuster movie ‘Bloodlines’ held last 

Thursday at the prestigious Civic Centre, Lagos, 

amidst pomp and glamour. The event had a host 

of Nollywood stars in attendance including 

Stephanie Linus and her husband Linus 

Idahosa, Omoni Oboli, Ufuoma McDermott, 

Majid Michel, Frank Artus, Iyabo Ojo, Paul 

Obazele, Nuella Njubigbo, Ruth Kadiri, Yvonne 

Jegede, to mention a few. 

‘Bloodlines’ Release Party was anchored by 

the pioneer of Nigerian comedy, Ali Baba. 

Nigerian music superstars Phyno, Kcee and 

Harrisong treated guests to scintillating 

performances. Top comedian, AY and fast rising 

comedian Mr Hilarious, formerly known as 

SkooBoi also thrilled the audience to ribcracking 

jokes. Sen. Ben Murray Bruce was the 

special guest of honour at the event. Speaking 

at the event, the Executive Producer of the 

movie, Engr Walter Ojimba said “Our goal is to 

use African stories to produce films for the 

international market. Films that can compete 

worldwide and place African cinema positively 

in the global film market”. The Director of the 

movie, Pascal Atuma added “This is just a 

rehearsal party, we are still warming up, the 

real game will start soon by God’s grace. 

Craigwal Group and The Atuma Brothers 

International Company (TABIC) will continue 

to do our best with our partners till we bridge 

the gap between Hollywood and Nollywood 

completely”. A Pascal Atuma Film, “Blood 

Lines” is about a mid-level African American 

gangster, Stanley, whose chance meeting with 

the beautiful Lily, causes him to risk everything 

just to be with her. Instantly smitten with Lily, 

Stanley pursues this woman who has captivated 

his imagination.


Personalized virtual 

heart predicts risk of 

sudden cardiac death 

An interdisciplinary Johns 

Hopkins University team has 

developed a non-invasive 3- 

D virtual heart assessment tool to 

help doctors determine whether a 

particular patient faces the highest 

risk of a life-threatening arrhythmia 

and would benefit most from a 

defibrillator implant. In a proof-ofconcept 

study published in the 

online journal Nature 

Communications, the team reported 

that its new digital approach 

yielded more accurate predictions 

than the blood pumping 

measurement now used by most 

physicians. 

“Our virtual heart test 

significantly outperformed several 

existing clinical metrics in 

predicting future arrhythmic 

events,” said Natalia Trayanova, the 

university’s inaugural Murray B. 

Sachs Professor of Biomedical 

Engineering. “This non-invasive 

and personalized virtual heart-risk 

assessment could help prevent 

sudden cardiac deaths and allow 

patients who are not at risk to avoid 

unnecessary defibrillator 

implantations.” 

For this landmark study, 

Trayanova’s team formed its 

predictions by using the distinctive 

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) 

records of patients who had 

survived a heart attack but were left 

with damaged cardiac tissue that 

predisposes the heart to deadly 

arrhythmias. The research was a 

blinded study, meaning that the 

team members did not know until 

afterward how closely their forecasts 

matched what happened to the 

patients in real life. This study 

involved data from 41 patients who 

had survived a heart attack and had 

an ejection fraction—a measure of 

how much blood is being pumped out 

of the heart—of less than 35 percent. 

The Johns Hopkins team used preimplant 

MRI scans of the recipients’ 

hearts to build patient-specific digital 

replicas of the organs. Using 

computer-modeling techniques 

developed in Trayanova’s lab, the 

geometrical replica of each patient’s 

heart was brought to life by 

incorporating representations of the 

electrical processes in the cardiac cells 

and the communication among cells. 

Alandmark study has given the 

most detailed picture yet of the 

genetics of bowel cancer. Five 

new potential genes which appear to 

cause the disease when mutated have 

been discovered by experts. 

Despite happening in a very low 

number of cases, scientists from The 

Institute of Cancer Research, London, 

believe the findings may help them 

find new treatments for the cancer. 

The disease is the third most 

common cancer in the world, with 

around 1.4 million new cases 

diagnosed globally each year. 

In some cases, the 

virtual heart developed an arrhythmia, and 

in others it did not. 

The result, a non-invasive way to gauge 

the risk of sudden cardiac death due to 

arrhythmia, was dubbed VARP, short for 

virtual-heart arrhythmia risk predictor. The 

method allowed the researchers to factor in 

the geometry of the patient’s heart, the way 

electrical waves move through it and the 

impact of scar tissue left by the earlier heart 

attack. 

Patients who tested positive for arrhythmia 

The new research examined all the 

genes from more than 1,000 people 

with bowel cancer and is the largest of 

its type ever conducted. 

Further research is needed to 

confirm these links as the mutations 

were very rare - each being linked to 

only a handful of cases. 

The study, largely funded by Cancer 

Research UK, also concluded the 

major genes which greatly increase 

the risk of bowel cancer have now 

almost certainly been found. 

Researchers found that added 

together, all the discovered variants in 

risk by VARP were 

four times more 

likely to develop 

arrhythmia than 

those who tested 

negative. 

Furthermore, VARP 

predicted arrhythmia 

occurrence in 

patients four-to-five 

times better than the 

ejection fraction and 

other existing clinical 

risk predictors, both 

non-invasive and 

invasive. 

“We demonstrated 

that VARP is better than 

any other arrhythmia 

prediction method that 

is out there,” Trayanova said. “By 

accurately predicting which 

patients are at risk of sudden 

cardiac death, the VARP 

approach will provide the doctors 

with a tool to identify those 

patients who truly need the 

costly implantable device, and 

those for whom the device 

would not provide any lifesaving 

benefits.” 

Five new bowel cancer genes identified 

the known bowel cancer genes 

accounted for less than a third of 

familial cases. 

The rest of the familial cases must 

therefore be caused largely by minor 

DNA variations that in combination 

add up to increase risk, with 

environmental factors also 

contributing, the study found. 

For an individual person, the risk 

of developing bowel cancer comes 

from a mix of inherited risks through 

their genes and environment, often 

caused by non-genetic factors such 

as lifestyle. 

Drinking coffee protects the liver against a 

number of diseases, a major report has 

concluded. Until recently, experts warned against 

having more than a few cups of coffee a day for fear it 

might cause cancer, but its medical rehabilitation is 

well under way. Last week the World Health 

Organisation withdrew its previous warnings on the 

Drinking coffee 

protects the liver 

from deadly disease 

link between coffee and bladder cancer, and instead said 

the drink could, in fact, help protect against certain 

cancers that affect the womb and liver. 

The British Liver Trust adds to the growing weight of 

evidence around the health benefits of drinking coffee, 

publishing an 83-page report summarising all existing 

research on the subject. 

It concludes that coffee protects against fatty liver 

disease, liver fibrosis and liver cirrhosis – all severe 

conditions which can be fatal. 

And for those who already 

have liver disease, drinking 

coffee can slow its progression. 

Professor Graeme Alexander, 

a liver expert at Cambridge 

University Hospitals, said: ‘At 

last, physicians have found a 

lifestyle habit that is good for 

your liver. 

‘The evidence in this report 

shows that drinking coffee can 

protect you from developing 

liver disease and, in addition, 

reduces the risk of progressive 

disease for those already 

affected. ‘We have an epidemic 

of liver disease in the UK and the numbers affected are 

growing at an alarming rate.’ Liver disease is the third 

biggest cause of premature death in the UK, and one of 

the fastest growing – the rate of death has increased by 

almost 500 per cent since 1970. 

Many cases of liver disease are caused by alcohol, 

but Britain’s growing obesity crisis means increasing 

numbers are at risk of developing potentially fatal fatty 

liver disease. 

Herbs help reduce menopause symptoms 

Some plant-based therapies, 

including supplements 

with compounds found in 

soybeans, may help reduce 

symptoms of menopause, 

according to a new review of 

relevant research. 

The researchers analyzed 

information from 62 previous 

studies that together included 

more than 6,600 women. In 

these studies, the women took 

either a planted-based therapy, 

such as a supplement or herbal 

remedy, or a placebo to treat 

symptoms of menopause. The 

plant-based therapies included 

a class of compounds called 

phytoestrogens, which are 

found in certain foods, like 

soybeans. 

They looked to see whether 

the plant-based therapies 

reduced symptoms of 

menopause, including hot 

flashes, vaginal dryness and 

night sweats. 

Overall, women who took 

phytoestrogens had about one 

fewer hot flash per day, and 

also had lower scores on a 

measure of vaginal dryness, 

compared with women who 

took a placebo. This benefit 

was seen regardless of whether 

the phytoestrogens were found 

in foods, like soy protein, or 

supplements, like those with 

extracts from soy, the 

researchers said. However, 

phytoestrogens did not 

reduce the number of night 

sweats that women 

experienced. 

Phytoestrogens may help 

with symptoms of 

menopause because these 

compounds are similar in 

structure to the hormone 

estrogen. The researchers 

also found that some herbal 

remedies were linked with a 

reduced number of daily hot 

flashes. 

These remedies include ERr 

731, an extract from the plant 

species Rheum rhaponticum, 

and pycnogenol, an extract from 

pine bark. However, not many 

studies tested these particular 

remedies, so more research is 

needed to better determine how 

well they work in reducing 

menopausal symptoms, the 

researchers said.


Lifeline 

Donor eggs and sperms are a vital aspect of Assisted 

Reproductive Technology(ART), particularly Invitro 

Fertilisation(IVF). In this piece by Dr Emmanuel Owie, a 

consultant gynaecologist and fertility physician with The Bridge 

Clinic, Lagos, gives insight into immediate and long term issues 

related to egg and sperm donation in infertility treatment. 

•The doctor and 

the medical team 

at work 

Once delivered a paper on the issue of egg and sperm donation 

at a forum where I posited that it is the summit of love sharing 

between the living. At the end of my presentation, a few members 

of the audience asked the usual questions how safe and prevalent 

this practice is and how God will view the practice. I answered 

their questions as they are more routine than not and once I got 

down from the podium, I thought that was the end of my 

presentation. I also thought I sold the audience on the issue. I was 

utterly wrong. 

At the social networking event that followed the presentation, a 

mammoth crowd formed around me, challenging my call for egg 

and sperm donation. What is interesting is that the issues they 

raised at the networking event were not raised during the actual 

presentation event. From their positions, I saw some misconception 

and misunderstanding of the issues, especially as it borders around 

social, health, religious, ethical concerns. Another interesting thing 

the experience showed me is that people do not always want to 

discuss the issue in public. When they do discuss, they give what is 

generally regarded as ‘official 

positions’ and not what they really 

feel. 

A major concern that was 

recurrent in this discussion was 

that of genetics: who owns the 

baby? An elderly man who first 

came to me asked me straight 

away whose baby will it be if he 

donates his sperm to a woman 

and she gets pregnant and 

eventually delivers a baby? 

Whose child would he see the 

baby as—his or the ‘foster’ 

father’s? This line of questioning 

was extended to the level of the 

society—how will the society 

see and treat the child born 

with a donated egg or 

sperm? 

I must confess this is one 

of the most potent 

challenges people have in 

donating or receiving eggs 

and sperms in the treatment 

of fertility challenges. It is 

not difficult to understand 

these concerns in this part 

of the world where 

succession is not based on 

acknowledgement of, but on 

biological relationship with, the child. 

The issue is compounded by 

inheritance issues and the increasing 

deployment of DNA testing in settling 

paternity claims. 

This DNA deployment is one reason 

donor sperms are less readily accepted 

than donor eggs. Maternity 

controversies are less common than 

paternity cases because inheritance is 

mostly done along patrilineal lines and 

the proof of pregnancy almost always 

settles maternity doubts. It is ironical 

that such concerns persist here where 

there has been no known case in 

Nigeria that someone born with a 

donor sperm has been denied 

inheritance or succession. 

On the health grounds, egg or sperm 

donation is medically safe. Medicine 

has shown that a woman is born with 

approximately two million immature 

eggs and a vast majority of these eggs 

will die through a process known as 

atresia. Of this number, only about 

400 eggs will ever mature naturally. 

Egg donation does not impact this 

number. Men, on the other hand 

•Egg or sperm donation is 

medically safe... 

Answering a distress 

call through egg and 

sperm donation 

produce sperms daily and sperm 

donation does not hamper this 

production process or inhibit the 

man’s sexual experience. 

The biggest religious and ethical 

issues with egg and sperm donation, 

as with the donation of other human 

tissues, border around the issues of 

compensation, human dignity, free 

and informed consent, and adequate 

post-procedure care for both the 

donor and the recipient. 

Responsible egg and sperm donation 

process fully provides for these 

concerns to the extent that ethicists, 

not only recommend, but also extol, 

the practice. 

Generally, egg and sperm donation 

is no different from blood donation, 

apart from the differences in the 

donation process. Of the three 

tissues, egg donation has the more 

robust process, requiring a regimen 

of injections over a period of time. 

Sperm donation, on the other hand, 

has the simplest process that could 

last less than five minutes to 

conclude. 

Maternity 

controversies 

are less 

common than 

paternity 

cases 

Just like blood donation, egg and 

sperm donation is an expression of 

our very human nature, being our 

‘brother’s keeper’. We are encouraged 

to assist others who are in need in 

ways we can and egg and sperm 

donation could be a way of assisting 

our infertile brothers and sisters who 

are in need of having their own 

children. In the same way we donate 

blood to our relatives, friends, 

accident victims we hardly knew, and 

to even blood banks for use by people 

we may never know, are all part of our 

social expectations as members of the 

human society, egg and sperm 

donation is also a response to societal 

call and a commendable activity. 

While blood donation helps maintain 

the lives of people in dire need of it, 

egg and sperm donation not only 

enlivens the lives of people weighed 

down by the burden of infertility, it 

also helps in the creation of new 

lives—God’s greatest gifts to humanity. 

If one takes a look at the joy that flows 

into families that have battled infertility 

for a long time at the birth of their own 

child, he or she would 

understand the full import of the 

gift of children. While 

technology and drugs could 

assist couples with fertility 

challenges have their own 

children, some couples cannot 

achieve conception unless with 

donor eggs and/or sperms. 

These are the couples who make 

the distress calls for egg and 

sperm donations. 

Our society has defined 

childbearing as the first and 

foremost charge of God and the 

raison d’être for marriage, 

unfortunately. Childbearing has 

been elevated to be the 

biggest measure of 

success of couples in 

this clime, and any 

childless couple are 

looked with pity 

irrespective of their 

material or other 

successes. It is this 

culture that places 

childless couples in 

distress situation, a call 

you will not make to 

your enemy. If you have 

experienced infertility or 

has seen someone going through 

this challenge, you will understand 

how egg and sperm donation is a 

humanitarian response to the 

distress call of our neighbours and 

the summit of our contribution to 

humanity. 

In this World Infertility Month, a 

period to move the issues that 

pertain to infertility to the front 

burner of the world’s discourse, it 

would be good for us as individuals 

and as a nation to adopt the 

practice of egg and sperm donation. 

We should promote sperm and egg 

banks, in the same manner we 

promote blood banks, so couples in 

need of these gametes could have 

ready access to them as and when 

they need them. Luckily, a fertility 

clinic in Nigeria recently 

announced the birth of a baby from 

a frozen egg, a feat that never 

happened in Nigeria before now; 

and is now offering the egg 

freezing service to Nigerians. 

Please answer the distress call.


Lions Club 404B1 opens eye e care centre in 

Badagry 

Nigerian 

Patricia 

hooks English Dean 

The International 

Association of 

Lions Club, district 

404 B1, Nigeria, led by 

Lion Omolola Anobili, 

the District Governor 

has fulfilled its promise 

of building an eye care 

centre in Badagry. The 

commissioning of the 

centre held last 

Saturday at the Badagry 

General Hospital. Dr.( 

Mrs) Olufunmilayo 

Shokunbi, the Director, 

Blindness Prevention 

Programme, Lagos State 

Ministry of Health, who 

r e p r e s e n t e d 

commissioner of 

Health, Dr Olawale 

Idriscommissioned the 

centre.Photos by 

Diran Oshe 

L- R: Lion Yeye Stella Agbogun , Multiple Council Chairperson 

(MD 404. Nig), Dr ( Mrs) Olufunmilayo Shokunbi, the Director, 

Blindness Prevention Programme, Lagos State Ministry of Health, 

representing Commissioner of Health, the Chief Host, LIon Idowu 

Omolola Anobili , District Governor ( District 404B1 Nigeria), High 

Chief Mobee of Badagry Kingdom, representing Oba Akran of 

Badagry, Alhaji Abdulganiu Adediji, Past DG, 404B1 Lion Club, 

Chief (Dr) Olusola Dada and Dr. (Mrs) Funke Adebajo, District. 

Governor, 404B2 

Patricia Ngozi Ashiedu, daughter of late Patrick 

Okonpu Ashiedu of Idumu Nwaoji Ogbenkenu 

Quarters, Onicha-Olona, Aniocha North of 

Delta State has been swept off her feet by Dean 

Joseph Barber, an Englishman from Gosforth, 

Seascale Cumbria, England into matrimonial bliss. 

Before their families and friends, the couple 

exchanged their nuptial vows on May 21, 2016 at 

St Dominic Catholic Church, Yaba, Lagos. 

The couple, Dean and Patricia Barber with 

Rev. Fr. Felix Onemheghie. 

Dr ( Mrs) Olufunmilayo Shokunbi; 

commisioning the Eye Care Centre, with 

Lion Idowu Omolola Anobili , District 

Governor, District 404B1 Nigeria (L) and 

Dr. Aihonsu Opeyemi, Chief Medicial 

Director, Badagry General Hospital (R) 

L- R: Dr ( Mrs) Olufunmilayo Shokunbi, 

LIon Idowu Omolola Anobili , Hon. 

Ibrahim Olarewaju, and High Chief Mobee 

of Badagry Kingdom 

The couple, Dean and Patricia Barber in 

traditional attires. 

L- R: LIon Idowu Omolola Anobili, Dr 

Olusola Dada and Lion Yeye Stella 

Agbogun. 

L- R: Dr. Aihonsu Opeyemi, Engr. Lion 

Jaye Balogun and High Chief Mobee of 

Badagry Kingdom. 

DESOPADEC’s boss gives daughter in wedloc 

edlock 

Chief William Makinde, Managing Director of Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development 

Commission (DESOPADEC) has given out his daughter in marriage. The traditional marriage held at 

Oghara, Delta State recently. Photos by Nath Onojake . L-R: Bride’s mother, Victoria Ashiedu, the 

couple and bride’s uncle, Mr Nsaka 

L-R: Funsho Bello, groom, Winnie 

Makinde, bride, Gov Ifeanyi Okowa, 

Olorogun William Makinde, bride's father 

and Rt. Hon. Monday Igbuya, Speaker, 

Delta State House of Assembly. 

L-R: Mr. Norbert Chiazor, NUJ 

Chairman,Delta State, Chief Askia Ogieh, 

Chief Amos Itiwhe, Hon.Erhatake Ibori and 

Hon. Chris Ochor Ochor 

L-R: Carmen L. Barber, Olwen F. Barrow, 

the couple and Paul Campbell

SATURDAY Vanguard, JUNE 25, 2016—33

34 —SATURDAY Vanguard, JUNE 25, 2016

Bizzare: Mother of three flee over 

circumcision threat 

•Family says it may cause sudden death 

BY BOSE ADELAJA 

For refusing to get her 

children circumcised, a 

mother of three, Mrs 

Victoria Ijeoma Akinsanya has 

been forced to abscond her Festac 

town, Lagos residence to an 

unknown destination. 

Not only that, her younger 

brother Njoku Ifeanyi was beaten 

by hoodlums while their aged 

mother Mrs Celestina Njoku now 

lives in fear. 

Victoria hails from Imo State 

but her in-laws are from Itoko in 

Abeokuta, Ogun State. It is the 

custom of the family of Akinsanya 

to initiate their male child and 

circumcise the female child. 

Family source told Saturday 

Vanguard that failure to carry out 

these rites may cause deaths and 

premature deaths in the family. 

Unknown to Victoria, some old 

women suspected to be members of 

Akinsanya visited to carry out the 

rites but met the ire of Victoria. 

Family members at various times 

visited and appealed to the Njokus 

who lived at Akinbami area of 

Festac town, to get Victoria and her 

children circumcised according to 

their tradition. 

But the appeal fell on deaf ears 

as Victoria and her children took 

to their heels for safety. 

By Olasunkanmi 

Akoni 

As part of 

measures to 

prevent 

building collapse, 

Lagos State 

Government through its 

agency, Lagos State 

Planning and 

Environmental 

Monitoring Authority, 

LASPEMA, has issued 

contravention notices to 

owners and occupants 

of 13 identified 

distressed buildings in 

Ajegunle and some 

other parts of Ifelodun 

Local Council 

Development Area of 

the state to vacate the 

buildings. 

LASPEMA, led by its 

Acting General 

Manager, Engineer 

Olanrewaju Kazeem, 

gave out the 

contravention notices 

during an inspection 

tour of the affected 

•Mrs Victoria Ijeoma 

Akinsanya 

It was gathered that the 

Akinsanya family said it is a 

taboo for any member of their 

family to remain uncircumcised 

and as a result, Victoria and her 

children risk ancestral 

problems for disobeying their 

deity. 

Presently Victoria’s 

whereaabout is unknown while 

her mother was unhappy about 

the development. 

When Saturday Vanguard 

visited the family, Madam 

Celestina said she was not in 

support of the tradition and had 

reported the matter to 

appropriate authorities. 

Also, speaking, Ifeanyi said 

problem started on April 2nd, 

when some elderly women in 

the family visited their home 

over circumcision but they 

were warned by Celestina to 

stop further process and this 

generated a heated argument. 

He said, “The visiting family 

members left in annoyance, and 

on the same day when I was 

going out, I was attacked by 

some hoodlums but I retaliated 

and it took the efforts of some 

passers-by to quell the 

incident,” 

Mrs Celestina said she was 

of the opinion that the culprits 

were from her in-laws because 

there had been several attacks 

on her daughter Mrs Victoria 

Ijeoma Akinsanya before she 

absconded, “but the husband’s 

family has denied this. “ 

Confirmed the incident but 

added that Ojo Police Station 

and they said the matter is still 

under investigation. 

Building collapse: Lagos serves quit notices 

to owners of 13 distressed buildings in 

Ajegunle, others 

Buildings like this are likely to collapse any time 

council area. Kazeem 

decried the inhabitable 

state of the marked 

buildings in the area 

which are already 

structurally unstable. 

According to him, 

such buildings are not 

befitting of the status 

of the state in addition 

to the dangers they 

pose to their 

inhabitants and 

neighbours. He added 

that the defaulters of 

such buildings had 

been issued 48 hours 

contravention notices 

to comply, while 

further compliance 

monitoring was 

recommended in 

some other cases. 


BRIEFS 

Residents hail Ambode over 

repair of Oshodi-Apapa 

Expressway 

Stories by Olasunkanmi Akoni 

As respite seems to come the way of residents and 

motorists along Oshodi-Apapa Expressway and the 

Odunlade and Fadipe Streets, Somolu, Local Government 

Area, which were always prone to flooding during rainy 

encomiums have started pouring in for Lagos State 

Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode for his swift action. 

The residents hailed the governor for keeping to his 

promise of repairing the failed portions of Oshodi-Apapa 

Expressway, saying that the development has transformed 

the economic landscape of the axis. 

Ambode, had about five weeks ago, made an unscheduled 

inspection of the road while returning from a function, 

where he expressed dissatisfaction at the deplorable state 

of some portions of the road. 

The governor not only directed officials of the Ministry 

of Works to immediately move to site, but also ordered 

that an immediate palliative measure be put in place to 

alleviate the sufferings of motorists who have been 

complaining about the deplorable state of the road through 

various means. The governor had specifically stressed that 

he could not afford to ignore the road due to its strategic 

importance to the economy of the state. 

A total of 4klm was repaired on the long stretch of the 

Oshodi-Apapa Expressway between Berlett, Ilasa and Cele 

Bus stops inward Oshodi. The blocked drainage which 

caused damage to the road was repaired while work is 

currently ongoing on the service lane of the road. 

Flood abatement: Clean your 

water channels, govt orders 

...as state holds sanitation exercise today 

Worried by the level of flooding in some parts of 

the state, Lagos State Government has stressed the 

need for residents to cultivate the habit of cleaning the 

drainage and water channels in their areas to allow for 

free flow of water, thereby, preventing flooding as the 

rainfall intensifies. 

Commissioner for the Environment, Dr. Babatunde 

Adejare, made the remark, while announcing enforcement 

of restriction of movement order for this Saturday, end of 

the month Environmental Sanitation Exercise, often 

observed state-wide between the usual hours of 7:00am- 

10.00am. 

Adejare, who declared that today’s exercise would be 

dedicated to cleaning of drains and canals across the state, 

implored residents to participate actively, during the 

exercise in order to continually prevent flooding in the 

state. Adejare who warned that the period of environmental 

sanitation should not be used for any social engagement 

or sporting activities, but for serious cleaning and 

sanitation exercises, stressed, “As we are all aware, Lagos 

is a Coastal City that has high water table levels and prone 

to flash-floods whenever it rains. We must therefore imbibe 

habits which will reduce to the barest minimum the 

incidence of flooding in the state.” 

He said that the target of the state this year was to sustain 

past record of flood abatement, thus, making it possible 

for the state not to experience flooding as in the past years, 

adding that, “this can only be achieved through effective 

collaboration of the people.” 

The commissioner therefore, advised residents to desist 

from dumping waste arbitrarily into the drainage and 

other water channels in order to maintain a flood-free 

Lagos. 

Water regulations is 

necessary to save lives 

—LASWA 

O 

perational regulations and standard being introduced 

for operators is to further ensure safety of lives as well 

as improve quality of water transportation on the state 

waterways, Lagos State Government has said. 

It will be recalled that some water transport operators 

recently, protested over what they called “over-charge” on 

operational levies by an agency of the state government. 

Managing Director, Lagos State Waterways Authority, 

LASWA, Engr. Abisola Kamson, while reacting to the 

allegation yesterday, explained that efforts are ongoing to 

effectively regulate operational activities with a view to 

ensuring safety of lives and strict adherence to guidelines on 

waterways. Kamson stressed that the state jetties would soon 

undergo upgrading. Her words: “While taking stock of 

operational activities at Jetties, breaches were identified and 

needed to be addressed. Concerned parties have been 

communicated with and directed to comply.” 

Kamson while emphasizing that it is the responsibility of 

government to ensure compliance through enforcement, said, 

“Subsequently, rehabilitation and improvements of jetties 

will be carried out where necessary. We therefore take 

exception to any attempt by individuals serving their personal 

interest in their attempt to blackmail government.”


By Esther Onyegbula 

When 39-year-old Chike 

Jesse Nwankwo 

secured a job with 

Addax Petroleum Development 

(Nig.) Ltd, as a protocol officer 

14 years ago, his joy knew no 

bounds. However, he did not 

know that fate had other things 

in stock for him. 

His promising life took a 

different turn on March 13, 

2013 at Murtala Muhammed 

International Airport, Ikeja, 

Lagos, after he was shot by a 

gang of armed robbers while on 

official duty. The daredevils 

were operating in a bureau de 

change near the airport. 

Narrating how his life 

changed in a twinkle of an eye, 

Mr Nwankwo told Crime 

Guard: “I was immediately 

rushed to Reddington Hospital, 

Lagos Island where they 

performed the first surgery on 

my broken left thigh. The 

hospital did an implant on my 

thigh. After spending about 10 

days at the hospital, I was 

discharged. Addax Petroleum 

Development (Nig.) Ltd took 

care of the medical bills. The 

company spent about N3 million 

for the initial surgery. 

Experience at the hospital 

“Two days after I was 

discharged from the hospital, I 

started having severe pains and 

I had to go back to the hospital. 

That was when the issue of 

contract staff cropped up. Addax 

Petroleum, my primary 

employer said that Lington and 

Bernie (secondary employer) 

should be responsible for my 

medical treatment from then on. 

When I got to the hospital, I 

was abandoned till late in the 

night when Lington and Bernie 

sent an ambulance that took me 

to Eko Hospital in Ikeja. When I 

got there, there was no room, no 

bed. I was laid on a stretcher till 

5am when they made a room 

available for me. That morning 

before the doctor came, they did 

X-ray on my leg to find out 

what was causing me so much 

pain. The company said that a 

doctor in Eko Hospital will 

follow up on my leg till I got 

well. Unfortunately, I started 

putting on weight when it 

wasn’t yet time. Even when I 

was complaining that I was 

feeling so much pain, the doctor 

said it was one of the issues 

associated with my kind of 

surgery, and normal treatment 

continued. 

Back to work but ... 

“As God would have it, I 

resumed work in October 2013. 

I stopped using clutches and 

started using walking stick. I 

worked from October till June 

2014. On that fateful day, I was 

okay when I went to work but 

later in the day, I started feeling 

severe pain different from the 

usual pain. The pain got so bad 

that when I closed for the day, I 

couldn’t help myself to the staff 

bus. My colleagues had to help 

me into the staff bus. The next 

day, I couldn’t go to work 

because of the pains. I called 

my supervisor and explained to 

him and then went to Eko 

Hospital for X-ray to know what 

the problem was. The result of 

the X-ray revealed that the bone 

had been fractured again, and 

the implant broken. It was at 

that point that I went to 

National Orthopaedic Hospital, 

Lamentations of 

robbery victim 

•I was abandoned by my employers 

•We did our best and ready to do 

more –Employer 

•Jesse Nwankwo 

Igbobi, Lagos. I carried the 

company management along in 

every step of the way. After due 

consultations with the company, 

they agreed that one of the 

consultants at Igbobi (name with 

held) should carry out the second 

surgery which was done on June 

20, 2014. A month after the second 

surgery, there was no relief and the 

screw of the implant on my thigh 

were pulling out and affecting my 

flesh. When I complained about the 

development to the doctors, they 

did casting, put POP, yet the 

problem continued. At a point, the 

doctor said I would have to undergo 

another surgery. I wept bitterly, as 

two surgeries had failed. And, how 

would I raise money for the third 

surgery and what were the chances 

of the third one being successful? 

Throughout this period, the 

company was still paying my 

basic salary and also footing the 

medical bills. 

Retrenchment 

“As if fate had not dealt me 

enough hard punches, in Febuary 

2015, I was retrenched alongside 

some other staff members. I was 

paid one month basic salary and 

laid off while still searching for 

how to raise money for the third 

surgery. After the retrenchment, I 

put up a letter of appeal to Addax 

Petroleum and Lington and 

Bernie to enable them assist me 

with funds to travel outside the 

country for the third surgery, 

considering the fact that the 

previous two surgeries done in 

Nigeria failed and I was sacked 

while I was on sick bed. Neither of 

the companies responded to the 

first and second letters. 

Medical trip to India 

“It was family members, friends, 

and colleagues who came to my 

rescue, contributing their widow’s 

mite to assist me travel to India for 

the third surgery, which was carried 

out in August 2015. During the 

period I was soliciting for $10,000 

for the surgery in Fortis Hospital in 

India, the Head of Department 

(HOD), Addax Petroleum called to 

inform me that the company has 

decided to assist with two business 

flight tickets and $5,000 which they 

never fulfilled after collecting bank 

details of the hospital and writing to 

the management of Fortis Hospital 

behind my back to verify my claims. 

Contact with my lawyer 

“They asked my lawyer to write a 

letter acknowledging their efforts so 

far and what they intend to do in 

the future. After going through their 

letter, my lawyer declined because 

its intent weren’t clear. They 

refused to assist even with the 

initial $5,000 they promised. After 

several correspondences to both 

Addax Petroleum and Lington and 

Bernie, Lington and Bernie called 

seven months after I returned from 

India to say that the company was 

working on modalities on how to 

assist me. But they ended up 

doing nothing. Sincerely, I am tired 

of the company’s attitude towards 

me. I served the company to the 

best of my ability for 11 years, yet 

they have abandoned me in my 

hour of need. With my present 

condition, no company will employ 

me. I can’t pay my children’s school 

fees. I can’t pay my house rent. 

Worst is the fact that in a few years’ 

time, I will have to undergo another 

surgery to remove the implant, and 

that is another cause to worry. 

In the past 

“Before the robbery incident, one 

of my bosses rammed into a vehicle 

and the accident affected the female 

occupant’s spinal cord. The 

company flew the victim and a 

family member overseas for her 

surgery, took care of her medical 

bills and accommodation for six 

months and when she returned, 

they bought her a brand new car 

after fixing the damaged one, 

which was also returned to her. 

How come my life has no value to 

them after working diligently for 11 

years? I am, therefore, demanding 

that the company pay N100 million 

compensation for all that I have 

been subjected to,” he stated. 

Company reacts 

Reacting to Chike Jesse 

Nwankwo’s claims, the 

Administrative Manager, Lington 

and Bernie, Mrs Olufolake 

Fawehinmi said that the company 

paid for two surgeries and is 

working out modalities to assist 

him. According to her, “my 

concern is that Jesse went to the 

press. What is he trying to do? 

Right now, as I am speaking with 

you, his case is still on my system. 

There are conversations going on 

between the company and him, so 

what is he talking about? Right 

now, I am on it. We have not 

abandoned him; we have assisted 

him in the past and we approved 

some millions of naira for him, 

which he refused to collect. We 

asked him to come to the office to 

sign some documents, but he 

declined. And now, he is 

complaining here and there. 

Thanks for reaching out to us and 

getting our own side of the story.”


•Adanna...Missing child 

•Kansimyochukwu...Missing child 

•Vanguard staff, Tochukwu Ihieme ( with matchet cut ) 

Unknown gun men attack family, 

disappear with 2 kids in Imo State 

By Evelyn Usman 

The serenity of the sleepy 

Ezeohan village in Owerri- 

Nworji community of 

Nkwere Local Government Area of 

Imo state was truncated Thursday 

by the squeaky voice of Mrs 

Queen Ihieme, following the 

invasion of her home by some 

gunmen. 

Time was 1.35am. At first, no one 

dared to come out to ascertain the 

cause of the frantic cry. 

But when the dust settled, the 

mother of two was found 

unconscious in the pool of her 

blood. Another man with her later 

discovered to be her brother in-law, 

Tochukwu Ihieme, a member of 

staff of Vanguard Media limited, 

was also soaked with blood. They 

were too stunned to tell bewildered 

sympathisers what transpired. 

After some interminable minutes, 

Tochukwu Ihieme regained 

consciousness and revealed to the 

astonishment of all that some 

gunmen stormed the apartment 

and went away with his brother’s 

two children of ages one and two 

respectively. 

How they struck 

The gunmen suspected to be 

kidnappers, were three. They were 

said to have forced their way in 

through the back door. By then, 

Tochukwu Ihieme, who came 

visiting the previous day, woke up 

*Police in frantic search for missing kids 

following the disturbing sounds, 

only to be hit with a matchete 

by one of the intruders. 

Narrating his ordeal to Crime 

Guard, the Vanguard staff said: 

“I am from Anambra state but my 

younger brother , Nnamdi 

Ihieme, resides in Imo state with 

his family. My aged parents were 

with him. I travelled to his place 

to enable me take my parents 

who were sick to the hospital in 

Imo state and then go back to my 

base in Anambra. That fateful 

day, I went to the bank to 

withdraw N20, 000 with which I 

bought food stuff which my 

parents were to take back to 

Anambra state. We intended 

travelling the next day. 

Our ordeal 

“But the planned journey was 

foiled following the invasion of 

the house by three men. One of 

them held a gun; another was 

with an axe while the third one 

was with cutlass. Immediately I 

woke up to ascertain where the 

disturbing noise was coming 

from, they pointed their 

torchlight at me and at the same 

time hit me with a machete and 

asked ‘where is the money?’ 

They did not even give me any 

room to respond. Rather, they 

started beating me with the 

machete and axe. The third one 

even threatened to shoot me if I 

made any effort to fight them. 

They even matcheted my 

brother’s wife . At the end, they 

went away with my brother’s 

two children...” at this juncture, 

he held his head groaning in 

pain.. 

While Tochukwu was discharged 

from the hospital after receiving 

treatment, same could not be said 

of Mrs Queen Ihieme who was still 

on admission a week after the 

incident. Her distraught 

husband, who was at work when 

the incident happened, rushed 

home after a concerned 

neighbour broke the sad news 

to him. 

Husband laments 

Speaking with Crime Guard, 

he said: “I don’t know why this 

kind of fate has befallen me. I 

do not have problem with 

anyone that could have 

warranted such ill treatment on 

my innocent children. I do not 

know where they are at the 

moment. We have combed the 

entire neighbourhood and 

beyond without luck. This is 

the first time an incident of such 

would happen in my 

community. It was even after it 

occurred that I was informed 

that a child was beheaded three 

days before this incident at 

Umudi community. 

“My work usually takes me 

away for a week or more. I had 

to rush back after spending 

three days because of this heartrending 

news. My wife is still 

on admission owing to the deep 

machete cuts on her head. It is 

more disturbing because no one 

has called to demand for ransom 

for their release. Please, 

whoever is with my two-year 

and six months old Adanna and 

one year, six months old 

Kansimyochukwu , should have 

mercy on them and bring them 

back to us. We are not rich, we are 

barely managing to survive,” he 

said, calling on the Police to come 

to their rescue. 

Police arrest some suspects 

Meanwhile, Crime Guard 

gathered that policemen had 

arrested owner of a local drinking 

joint where Tochukwu stopped to 

buy recharge card. In the process, 

a conversation ensued between 

him and some villagers who were 

unwinding at the joint, at the end 

of which he was said to have 

disclosed who he came to visit. 

It was gathered that the owner 

of the place and his wife were 

later released . As at yesterday, 

Police sources hinted that 

investigation into the matter was 

still ongoing.


An ex-police corporal, 

Christ Oboko, who is 

also a pastor and leader 

of a notorious robbery gang 

terrorizing Port Harcourt 

City, Rivers State, for a long 

time, has been arrested by 

operatives of the Inspector 

General of Police Special 

Intelligence Response Team, 

IRT. The suspect who was 

attached to a special criminal 

squad code named C4I, in 

Rivers State, was arrested 

alongside three others. 

They were said to have 

confessed during 

interrogations of having stolen 

several vehicles, within Port 

Harcourt city, which they sold 

to buyers in Owerri, Imo 

State. Oboko who resides at 

Police Barack in Borokiri area 

of the city was said to be the 

gang’s armorer who provided 

the guns which the gang used 

in its operations. He also 

provided cover for them while 

moving the stolen vehicles to 

the buyers 

Police sources disclosed that 

members of his gang while 

terrorizing Porthcourt city 

enjoyed full protection from 

Oboko, who normally secured 

bail for them and defended 

them whenever they were 

arrested be the police. A 

police source disclosed that 

Oboko normally produced fake 

vehicle documents for each 

vehicle that was snatched and 

he also changed the vehicle 

engine and chassis numbers 

before transporting it to the 

buyer. 

When Crime Guard 

interviewed Oboko, he 

confessed snatching eight 

vehicles and selling them to one 

Victor based in Owerri. 35- 

year-old Oboko, who is a native 

of Onitcha Ugbo in Delta state 

lamented that his informant 

lured him into crime; “I am 

married with children and I 

reside at Police Barracks on 

Iche Street, Borokiri, 

Portharcourt. I joined the 

Nigeria Police Force in April 

2003 and I have served at 

Boroki Police Division. From 

there I went to Special Anti- 

Robbery Squad SARS before 

joining C4I. I started the 

business of car snatching in 

2015 when I meet Amandi. He 

was he our informant and he 

lured me into robbery. It all 

started when Amandi 

brought two vehicles and gave 

them to Victor Nwogu to sell. I 

met them during the negotiation 

and from there I offered to 

join them. 

Our exploits 

I robbed a Toyota Camry car at 

D-line area of Portharcourt 

we took the car to Victor in 

Owerri. I sold the car to victor 

for N200,000. Three of us 

were involved and I took 

N70,000 and gave Amandi and 

Kelvin the balance to share. 

On the second operation, the 

three of us also went for it at 

D-line and we stole three 

Camry cars from the park. we 

took the vehicles to Victor in 

Owerri who he paid us N360, 

000. I got N150, 000 as my 

share. We also snatched 

a Toyota Corolla, from 

Elelanwan area with a gun 

and took the car to victor who 

paid N250,000. I took N80,000 

as my share and I gave the rest 

to Amandi and Kelvin to share. 

We also snatched a Toyota 

•Victor 

Ex-police corporal 

reveals exploits of 

his robbery gang 

Spider at GRA, from its owner at 

gun point andvparked it inside 

Borokiri sand field. But before we 

arrived in the morning the car had 

been removed. 

Aiding, abetting criminals 

I was always going to secure the 

release my gang members 

whenever they were arrested by the 

police and I don’t know what came 

over me. I am the resident 

Pastor of Battle Axe Assembly 

church at chuba Allo area of 

Portharcourt and I have a calling. 

I just don’t know what pushed me 

to go and join Amandi in his evil 

business. 

On his part, his partner in crime, 

Amandi, a 27-year-old native of 

Bayelsa State, opened up on their 

exploits too. He said; “I was a 

commercial bus driver before I went 

into robbery and I started by 

snatching cars. One of my friends, 

Kelvin, who we normally call Side- 

Mirror, a fellow commercial bus 

driver led me into my first gang 

headed by one Okute, who is from 

Edo State. 

Side-Mirror and I were both 

drivers but he was always looking 

better and spending more money 

than me. When my wife became 

pregnant and I needed money to 

arrange for her delivery, and things 

were not working well for me, I 

approached Side-Mirror for 

assistance and he revealed that bus 

driving wasn’t the only job he did 

He took me to his boss, one Okute 

•Oboko 

•Says I don’t know what came over me 

•I’m resident pastor of Battle Axe Assembly 

at Diop area of Port harcourt area 

and since I was a good driver, I 

was accepted into the gang. 

When I joined I discovered that 

Okute hasd several boys working 

for him . Whenever my boss 

wanted to go for an operation, he 

would come to our base at Market 

Junction in Portharcourt, and pick 

anyone he wanted to work with. 

We stole five cars in 

one night operation 

“I went to five operations with 

him and in our first operation we 

stole a Toyota Camry at Market 

Junction. My boss saw the car 

where it was parked and liked it, 

he then stole it in the night and 

took it to Owerri and gave it to 

one Kabiru a uniformed man. In 

my second operation, we stole 

five cars in one night. Three of 

us were involved in that 

operation and we first stole a 

white colored Toyota Corolla 

from Elekoyo Estate, Port 

Harcourt. We also stole two 

Nissan Sunny vehicles from 

Artillery area of Port harcourt as 

well as two Toyota Camry cars 

from D-line area of 

Portharcourt. We parked all 

the cars at Diop and on the 

next day, we called Ifeanyi, 

an ex-policeman to assist us 

drive the cars to Owerri, and 

hand it over to Kabiru, who paid 

N500,000 for the two Camrys 

while Okute alone went and 

collected the balance of the money 

He gave me N60, 000 as my 

share. Side-Mirror and I 

became angry with Okute. Two 

weeks later he came to 

Portharcourt with a Totota Corrolla 

and he asked us to watch over it 

but Side-Mirror made away with it 

and appealed to give him the 

balance from the five cars we 

took to Owerri, but he lied that he 

had not been paid. 

My encounter with 

Corporal Oboko 

Two of my friends, who 

kidnapped a former local 

government Chairman in Bayelsa 

State brought two of the man’s 

cars to me to sell in Portharcourt, 

and when I was checking the cars 

in Nembe Waterside, Corporal 

Oboko and one of his colleagues 

confronted us and took the cars 

away from us. He didn’t take 

the cars to the station but 

converted the cars to his own 

use. Three months after, he saw 

me on the road and asked me to 

forgive him saying that he would 

like me to work with him. He 

took me to his boss at C4I and told 

him that I was highly resourceful 

and I can give them information 

about armed robbers operating 

within rivers state. His boss 

promised to reward me 

handsomely if I assisted them and 

I accepted. I gave them 

information that led to the arrest 

of big armed robbers and they 

recovered assorted arms and 

ammunition. I was rewarded as 

promised but after some month, 

Coporal Oboko called me and said 

that the car he took from him was 

giving him trouble and he needed 

another car and wanted me to get 

him a new car. I told him that I 

had stopped stealing cars since I 

started working with them, but 

he insisted and said that he would 

follow me to wherever I wanted to 

steal the car and would ensure 

that I was successful. 

Robbery operations 

with Oboko 

We both went out on the first 

operation and we stole a Honda 

end of discussion. He then gave 

his father the old car and started 

riding the new one. He then he 

suggested that we should go for 

more robberies. He also 

established contact with a stolen 

vehicle receiver in Owerri, and we 

started stealing cars from their 

parks around Port harcourt at 

night. We stole several cars 

and took them to the receiver in 

Owerri and we shared the 

proceeds equally. We were very 

close to the extent that when ever 

I was arrested my people would 

call him and he would come to the 

police station and tell them that I 

was his boy and I worked for C4I 

and the policemen would release 

me. At a point, Oboko said he 

was tired of operating at the dead 

of the night and he wanted to start 

using guns to snatch cars 

whenever he needed them. I 

thought he was joking but few 

days after he said this, he brought 

two pistols, which he claimed he 

bought. We did several operations 

together around Portharcourt, but 

at a point, Oboko started cheating 

me. After snatching a car he 

would take it to the receiver, sell it 

and refused to give me my share. 

He also stopped carrying me 

along and was working with some 

other boys he knew through me. 

Not long after then, I was arrested 

and I led the police to apprehend 

him.

Dear Aunty Julie, 

I am a 23-year-old lady with an 

issue that bothers me a lot. I feel 

invisible to most people and it has 

made me really suicidal and 

depressed. I feel that no one really 

wants to be friends with me and no 

one cares about me. 

Recently, I went out with my 

friends and we took pictures but 

when I checked Instagram , I 

realized that they have posted the 

pictures of three of them without me! 

It made me question our 

friendship in my mind. But I also 

feel like no one else cares either. It 

is always me who texts/call people 

for special occasions and when I 

don’t do it, people forget about me! 

It made me think that I might have 

some mental problem, like social 

anxiety, depression, or something 

else! I’m really shy and get anxious 

in most social situations. To the 

point that I lose my energy so fast. 

So I sometimes avoid social 

situations. 

I was much better as a kid. I was 

still shy around some not-so-close 

relatives. But I was okay in most 

other places and sometimes, I was 

shy at first, but not so shy when 

people started to know me. I think 

it started getting worse after 

secondary school to the point that I 

can’t even look into people’s eyes 

when talking to them. I’m painfully 

shy and socially anxious, even 

around old friends that I sometimes 

meet on the street and usually, I 

don’t know how to start 

juliecoker100@yahoo.com 

Why do I seem 

invisible to people? 

conversations, how to hold a 

conversation and what to talk 

about. 

I really feel jealous of loud and 

popular people who have lots of 

friends who care about them. But 

when I go to a social situation, I 

can’t be the real me. I can’t 

emotionally open up to people , I 

can’t be loud. Also, I’m really afraid 

of conflict, and I always try to be 

careful and not to do things that 

“might” bother people or make 

them uncomfortable. 

What should I do about this? 

Nneoma, Jos 

My parents fight a lot 

Aunty Julie, 

I grew up to meet my parents 

fighting a lot . I think my dad beats 

my mum for no reason. 

My mum cries everyday and I hate 

seeing her like that. It also affects 

me and my siblings 

psychologically. Sometimes, I feel 

like we are not like normal children 

or our family is different from other 

families. My social life is suffering 

and I fear I will grow up to be like 

my dad and a wife beater. 

I feel so helpless. 

Fabian, Lagos 

Dear Fabian, 

That’s a terrible situation to be in. 

You clearly worry about your mother 

a great deal, and it’s not easy 

knowing what to do. It also sounds 

like you’re quite angry about how 

they fight. Sometimes, in 

relationships, issues come up which 

couples find difficult to agree on. 

There may not be easy answers, 

and sometimes, a compromise can’t 

be reached. Some couples find it 

helpful to get counselling together, 

to help sort out differences. You 

haven’t mentioned whether this is 

Dear Nneoma, 

There is nothing “wrong” with you! 

When we are feeling depressed or 

anxious, we tend to spend a lot of 

time caught up in negative thoughts. 

Our brains tend to latch onto the 

negative and sometimes we 

misinterpret different things that 

people do and say. 

When you have the thought that 

“no one cares” or “other people are 

better than me,” try to catch these 

thoughts and ask yourself if they are 

true and helpful. If you do some 

detective thinking, you may find that 

the thoughts that go around in your 

head aren’t actually completely 

something your parents have done. If 

they haven’t, it’s really difficult as a child 

to suggest such things. I wonder though, 

if your parents know how upset you are 

over them fighting? If this is a 

conversation you are able to have with 

either of them, it may be helpful as a 

starting point to look at getting further 

help. 

I do understand that you might not 

necessarily be able to talk to your 

parents about these things. If so, you 

may find it helpful to get advice from 

someone you trust, like a family member 

or close friend. Sometimes, such people 

may have a different perspective on 

things, which could help you understand 

the situation, or they might be in a better 

position to talk to your parents. 

We are both itchy y in our genital areas after sex 

Aunty Julie, 

A few weeks after my boyfriend and 

I had sex, we discovered we were 

both itchy in our genital areas. 

We postponed sex thinking it was 

just a yeast infection, his symptoms 

being redness and a bit of bumps, 

mine being itchy redness. 

Two weeks later, we had sex again 

thinking it was cleared, because we 

were symptom free and then it came 

back again. He has multiple bumps 

on and under his foreskin along with 

itchiness and redness. I feel slight 

itchiness and a little redness. What 

might this be? 

Jessica, Port- Harcourt 

Getting married 

Getting married is like going to a restaurant with 

friends. You order what you want, then when you see 

what the other fellow has, you wish you had ordered 

that. 

Wedding ring 

At the cocktail party, one woman said to another, 

“Aren’t you wearing your wedding ring on the wrong 

finger?” 

The other replied, “Yes, I am. I marriedthe wrong 

man.” 

Cost of marriage 

A little boy asked his father, “Daddy, how much 

does it cost to get married?” 

And the father replied, “I don’t know son, I’m still 

paying for it.” 

Dear Jessica, 

You may have been right in the first 

instance. It does sound a bit like a yeast 

infection but you need to treat it to make 

C O C K - T A L E S 

it get better. You’ll need to see a doctor 

and explain your symptoms, which is a 

bit embarrassing but the best way for 

them to know what to suggest. 

If you try this and it gets better, that’s 

Women are not crazy about me 

Aunty Julie, 

I’m a guy of 32 years who can’t seem to 

find the right person. I’m not unattractive 

or a louse, but for the longest time, I’ve 

had trouble starting a relationship with 

anyone. The problem is that when I meet 

a woman, I can’t seem to progress past 

the friendship stage. Many of these women become 

my good friends, but they just don’t seem 

interested in starting a physical relationship. My 

bad luck has left me feeling unattractive and 

unconfident. I get frustrated when I hear about 

my friends falling in and out of relationships. 

How can I improve my relationship status? I 

What it takes 

Young son : “Is it true, Dad, I heard that in some parts of 

Africa, a man doesn’t know his wife until 

he marries her?” 

Dad : “That happens in most countries, son.” 

True marriage 

Married life is very frustrating. 

In the first year of marriage, the man speaks and the woman 

listens. 

In the second year, the woman speaks and the man listens. 

In the third year, they both speak and the neighbours listen. 

Fools for love 

After a quarrel, a wife said to her husband, “You know, I 

was a fool when I married you.” And the Husband replied, 

“Yes, dear, but I was in love and didn’t notice it.” 

SATURDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 25, 2016—39 

correct. 

You said that you went out with 

friends and took photos but they didn’t 

post the photo with you in it. There 

could be many reasons why - maybe 

they didn’t like how they looked in the 

photo with you, maybe they didn’t even 

realise that you would feel left out by 

that! Our negative brain can be quick 

to jump to conclusions, which aren’t 

actually true at all. 

You are very shy and so you aren’t 

spending a lot time talking to others, 

which then “confirms” the negative 

thought that you don’t have friends 

and no one likes you. Therefore, you 

continue to be shy and avoid talking 

to others. 

But the good news is that once you 

realise you are in this cycle, you can 

start to make a few changes that will 

help you get out of it. 

Learn forcing yourself to smile at 

someone or ask a question to someone 

sitting next to you in a bus or public 

places. It might not be instant, but keep 

persisting as you’ll start to notice 

people positively responding to you. 

This will increase your confidence in 

talking to others and hopefully, will 

help form stronger friendships. Don’t 

pressure yourself to jump straight into 

long conversations, a smile is a good 

start! Also, try to keep yourself busy 

with things you enjoy . Staying at home 

not doing anything can lead to getting 

caught up in all the negative thoughts 

and feeling more and more helpless. 

The important thing to know is that you 

are never alone and there are always 

people who care. 

You said something about you 

turning out to be a wife beater like 

your father. That is why you also need 

counselling so as to live a separate 

life different from your father. 

You’ve talked about feeling helpless 

and having thoughts of killing 

yourself. It’s understandable to feel 

hopeless when faced with such a 

difficult situation. It might be a good 

idea to see a professional on your own 

to get some support. 

And do you ever get caught up in 

the fighting? The most important thing 

right now is safety. If you’re worried 

that anyone, you or either of your 

parents are physically threatened in 

anyway, it’s important to call the police. 

probably what it was . 

I recommend going to see a doctor 

anyway as you two should get a routine 

test for STIs, especially chlamydia, as 

well as make sure you’re using a 

reliable form of birth control. 

know it’s vague, but it’s been troubling me 

for a long time. 

Donald, Auchi 

Dear Donald, 

Luck often doesn’t have a lot to do with romantic 

relationships. It seems you must know 

that because of the strong feelings you’re having 

about not being in a physical relationship. 

When potential intimate relationships 

are not progressing as anticipated, someone’s 

frustration with this may cause her/him to just 

give up rather than spend time fostering that 

potential connection with a possible partner. 

If you feel romantic about someone, flirt and 

clearly communicate that you are interested 

in pursuing the relationship past friendship 

so that the other person knows of your interest. 

Take it slow, but not too slow, so the initial 

excitement and momentum do not diminish. 

And then your next steps will be determined 

from there.It sounds as if you need to start defining 

yourself for who you are, not by who 

you’re with. Men and women alike are attracted 

to confident people with high self-esteem. 

Your lack of confidence may be detectable to 

potential partners and give off the vibe that 

you aren’t ready to fully enjoy a new relationship 

with someone because you aren’t yet content 

with yourself. 

C 

M 

Y 

K


bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk 

Are you prepared for ever 

ery y cold season? 

THE rainy season is 

fast upon us. A few of 

us might skip through 

the season; but most of us 

will succumb, enduring 

between two and five bouts of 

sniffing and sneezing each 

year—each lasting an 

average of nine days. Experts 

believe we spend around five 

years of our lives sneezing, 

coughing and feeling 

generally rather under the 

weather. According to reports 

from experts on colds and 

nasal allergies, there are tips 

to prevent the viruses and 

how to minimise the 

symptoms with the latest 

treatments available to help 

you get back to normal life as 

fast as possible. 

COLDS: With more than 20 

subtly different types of cold 

virus variants around, it is 

hardly surprising that we 

succumb. The virus is 

transmitted either by direct 

inhalation (when someone 

sneezes, a microscopic 

droplet finds its way into your 

mouth or nose), or touch. A 

good strong sneeze can send 

100,000 virus—containing 

droplets around 3.5 metres 

into the air, and just one of 

those droplets can survive for 

up to 48 hours on a doorknob, 

TV remote control or a 

handrail, to be picked up 

when you touch it. If you put 

your hands close to your 

There are tips 

to prevent the 

viruses and 

how to 

minimise the 

symptoms 

with the latest 

treatments 

available to 

help you get 

back to 

normal life as 

fast as 

possible 

nose, eyes or mouth, the 

virus can swiftly enter 

your body, using your 

cells as hosts to make 

thousands of copies of 

itself. This rapid 

replication—or more 

specifically our body’s 

reaction to it—is what 

triggers classic cold 

symptoms. 

“During the first few days of 

a cold, you are very unlikely 

to know you’ve been 

What to do if you do get iII 

There is no strong evidence that anything 

works to shorten a cold symptom, says 

Professor Barclay, but “treating symptoms with 

over-the-counter remedies like decongestants 

or pain-killers will make you feel better. 

Stop it in its track: An itchy nose and sore 

throat are the early signs that a cold is coming 

on—try Vicks First Defence. There is some 

science behind this product. It lowers the pH 

of the nose, making it more acidic, and 

viruses don’t like a low pH environment. The 

herb pelargonium also helps when cold 

symptoms strike .”Trials indicate that it stops 

some types of cold and flu virus, replicating 

and improves the immune system’s response 

to the viruses,” she says. Another herb, black 

elderberry, has been shown to stop cold virus 

replication within the cell. It’s one of the 

remedies with more robust evidence around. 

For a sore throat: Try some reputable 

Lozenges. Antiseptic throat sprays can ease 

sore throats, but they apply a mist to the back 

of the throat, whereas an anti-inflammatory 

Iozenges coats the throat, so relieving more 

pain. Hot water, lemon and honey can also be 

helpful. Non-medicated hot drinks are a 

hugely underrated soother. In a study it was 

discovered that people who drank 

Blackcurrant cordial made with hot water 

experienced a relief of cold symptoms (runny 

nose, sore throats and cough) within 15 

minutes. 

For a stuffed nose: Try Benadryl Plus—it 

combines a decongestant and an 

antihistamine, says the expert. Alternatively, 

squirting salty water through your nasal 

passages—can dislodge irritants and virus 

particles which may help. 

Use paracetamol not Ibuprofen: Studies 

have shown that Paracetamol can work better 

on cold symptoms than Ibuprofen as people 

taking Ibuprofen are more likely to go back to 

infected,” says Professor 

Wendy Barclays, a 

virologist—although this 

is the time that you are 

most infectious. As the 

virus replicates, it will 

gradually damage the 

their doctor with unresolved symptoms than 

those taking Paracetamol. This could be 

because Ibuprofen dampens the inflammatory 

reaction the body actually needs to fight the 

cold virus. 

Don’t blow your nose too much: Infectious 

diseases specialists believe continually 

blowing your nose can push mucus back into 

sinuses and cause secondary infection. Either 

sniff (mucus goes to the back of the throat and 

ultimately to the stomach, not the lungs) or 

blow a nostril at a time to reduce pressure in 

the nasal cavity so you don’t push so much 

mucus back. 

Does cough medicine actually work?: There’s 

much debate about whether cough mixtures 

work. Many doctors believe they’re a waste of 

money. 

As an authoritative report from Professor Ron 

Eccles of the Common Cold Centre at Cardiff 

University concluded: In clinical trials on cough 

medicines, up to 85 per cent of the reduction in 

coughs is associated with the placebo treatment; 

and the active pharmacological component of 

the medicine only contributes 15 per cent of the 

reduction. 

However, Professor Morice, a respiratory 

consultant disagrees. He says although overthe-counter 

cough syrups cannot treat the cause 

or reduce the duration, he’s convinced that 

some—those 

containing 

dextromethorphan,menthol or gualfenesin— 

actually calm the nerves that cause a cough, so 

reducing the coughing. 

Gualfenesin, an ‘expectorant’ originally 

derived from a tree bark extract, works by 

drawing water into the air passages; the water 

thins the mucus and lubricates the airway, 

making it easier for cough to shift excess mucus. 

It works best if you drink plenty of water at the 

same time. Try Robitussin, Benylin Mucus 

Cough or Boots chesty cough syrup. 

naturally protective 

mucus sheet inside the 

nose. This allows 

access for irritants 

which make you start 

sneezing. Next, dead 

cells (killed by the cold 

virus) start to collect in 

the nose and lungs, 

becoming trapped by 

mucus, making it 

thicker, darker and 

more likely to clog the 

lungs, which makes it 

harder for you to 

breath. This triggers 

your immune system to 

leap into action. 

“Your body is 

compelled to try to 

limit the rate at which 

the virus replicates and 

so releases immune 

cells and chemicals to 

do this,” explains 

Professor 

Barclay. It’s these 

chemicals, produced by 

your own body, that 

cause many of the 

worst cold symptoms. 

They raise your 

temperature, in a bid to 

kill the virus (which 

prefers cold 

environments), and 

they also dilate the 

blood vessels to allow 

immune cells to travel 

swiftly to the affected 

areas—this causes 

swelling which blocks 

your nose and congests 

your lungs. They also 

trigger intensified 

sneezing in a bid to 

clear the virus out of 

your system. 

The intensity of the 

body’s virus attacking 

mechanism varies from 

one person to the next, 

so no one will react to 

the same cold virus in 

the same way. 

Genetic factors also 

play a part—you might 

have an inherited gene 

which triggers high 

temperatures or 

intense sneezing, for 

instance. Experts 

believe the people who 

claim to never get colds 

are probably lucky in 

that they do not get 

infected, but their body 

mounts a less 

noticeable reaction to 

the virus. 

And gender does 

play a part. Research 

has found that men 

tend to react more 

strongly to the same 

virus than women.

SATURDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 25, 2016—41 

A resilient economy is 

one governed by best 

brains—Prof. Onalo 

P 

rofessor Chris Onalo, FICA, is the Registrar, Chief Executive Officer, Institute of Credit 

Administration. He is one Nigerian who believes in adding values to your environment by 

seeking the necessary and relevant knowledge for greater achievement. As a credit management 

professional he has contributed immensely to nation building, helping young credit professionals 

improve their profession as well as entrepreneurs in the country to grow through knowledge 

seeking. 

In this interview with Moses Nosike, he x-rays why the country is where we are today. Excerpts: 

Blending our educational system, self 

employment and Nigeria development... 

In my opinion, the Nigerian economy is very 

big and massive, looking to have qualified 

people to man the various productive activities 

of the stakeholders, government and other 

institutions. The level of manpower needs to 

keep a serious minded economy going is still 

inadequate. Where we have problem is these 

job seekers, I mean those who have graduated 

from the universities waiting to be engaged by 

labour market into productive activities so that 

they can earn income and start contributing to 

national GDP. Many of the them, almost 95% 

of them are not employable. The reason we all 

know - weak university system arising from 

poor government regulations of the universities. 

Of course, regulations and lack of care for the 

tertiary institutions especially those owned by 

federal and state governments, even the private 

universities are beginning to take cue from the 

influences generated by the federal and state 

universities. So that at the end of the day, the by 

product of that weak policies and failure is 

that products of the universities are not 

employable, which tend to portray negative 

impression that there are no jobs. And the 

consequential effect is because there are no 

good brains. The brains we have are weak and 

in most cases empty. We therefore have no 

innovation or creativity which are critical 

elements that drive economy and making it 

sustainable. 

A resilient economy is the type of economy 

that is governed by best brains with innovative 

thinkers looking to think out best ideas and as 

well creating new ideas. In the absence of that, 

the economy becomes comatose, lazy and dull. 

That is the type of economy we now have. And 

then, it goes further to close the opportunity 

market. As a matter of fact, industries spring 

up as a result of creating possibilities of people. 

People from science, business, medical, legal 

world and all sorts creating new ways that meet 

the needs of the modern man. We don’t have 

that. Assuming there is a sudden wake up for a 

vibrant economic activity in this country, you 

would discover that existing opportunities 

requesting competent brains is larger, richer 

than available manpower. But what we have is 

typically defined as dead wood, knowing how 

to eat food only. While divine books of authority 

say, ‘there is no food for a lazy man’. And this 

man that is now lazy is half baked. That will 

now take us to the beginning of beginnings, 

when you were born, and I was born; we were 

little children. Nobody is marked with a 

particular gift to say go, this is what you are 

going to become. Everybody comes as an 

innocent child with empty brain waiting for 

parents and human government system to fuse 

something into us. But in Nigeria, the system 

that should load the citizenry or the nationals 

with culture of work, culture of performance 

with a view to feeding yourself is weak. Those 

systems are weak. Those institutions are weak. 

All tertiary institutions are weak. They failed 

because government has long ago abandoned 

the universities. The United Kingdom has not 

abandoned their educational system despite 

the years of existence because they believe that 

a society is nugget because the people are 

nugget. And what makes people react to the 

need of the society is what government has 

offered; policies, laws and implementing them 

so that it would affect the thinking of their 

people. We don’t have that in Nigeria. 

Consequently, they have a non performing 

economy. Education system is porous, and I’m 

looking to see President Buhari laying the 

biggest emphasis apart from corruption on 

education. We must go back to the drawing 

board and redefine our national agenda for 

reasonable and responsible educational 

system. 

So, that is my thinking. Assuming that 

educational system is in good shape I see 

manpower supply in short form. I see it grossly 

inadequate. I therefore foreseen springing of 

universities with a view to cope with the 

demand of the labour market, because 

opportunities are in every corner in this 

country requiring discovery an investment. And 

when institutions have made those discovery 

and launch out to get loanable funds to finance 

their project ideas, it throws up employment. 

It creates wealth and the nation is in its best 

form. 

How do we resuscitate the industrial life 

of Nigeria? 

We have born and unborn industries. The 

ones that are existing or have been existing 

and the ones in incubation are there because 

the brains that would understand where those 

industries are hidden and what those industries 

are capable of doing into the human society 

are not yet in place. Again, the university 

graduates who should in their various 

knowledge sectors discover these 

opportunities are weak in their capacity level 

The brains we have are 

weak and in most cases 

empty, we therefore have 

no innovation or creativity 

which are critical elements 

that drive economy and 

making it sustainable 

to be able to come up with such project ideas. 

So, those industries are lying fallow, 

undiscovered. Now the existing ones, for 

instance, the textile industries in the 80s in 

Lagos. That time, you can move from one 

corner to the other seeing many of textile 

companies. But today, Afprint is dead, Aswani 

is struggling and so many of them. So, what 

are we talking about. Are you saying that those 

industries are dead with their owners. There 

must be remnant looking to see those 

industries come back again because they were 

making huge money at that time and they 

could make more money today because of 

the world of fashion that has become the gold 

business all over the world. If the government 

is serious, they could resuscitate those 

dead industries. In the 80s in Kano, they 

were close to 400 industries of which 50 

or thereabout were textiles industries. Go 

there now you cannot see anyone there. 

It is a pathetic history for this country. 

And the leaders that contributed to this 

downfall, I don’t know why Nigerians 

are quick to forgive them. Some of them 

are living fat today and we are respecting, 

giving them all sorts of awards but they 

plunged us into this problem. 

Industries are what drive the economy. 

The policies to resuscitate them should 

be put in place and it should not exist in 

the lips. We should avoid self-centred 

people that go to lobby for ministerial 

positions and thereafter begin to steal. 

So if they have a national agenda that 

this country must be indeed giant of 

Africa, you will see industries everywhere 

and with our massive production we 

could circulate in the local market and 

go further to export to neighbouring 

markets and to the larger global market. 

Government appointing unqualified 

people to key positions, what does that 

entail to our developmental system? 

That is the first symptom of failure. 

When government is appointing a 

minister into a portfolio that has no 

relationship with that person’s 

fundamental knowledge set up, what do 

you expect the person to do, to be groping 

in the dark, 

swimming 

from one river 

to the other 

spending the 

money all the 

way. Why 

would a 

serious leader 

put people 

into a position 

they knew 

nothing 

about? We 

have to be 

realistic, come 

to the national 

project and I 

expect that 

President 

Buhari should 

sustain the 

momentum. 

Do not employ 

or appoint 

p e o p l e 

politically 

because you 

want to 

appease the 

party or 

appease those 

who cast their 

votes for you 

or those who 

sat with you 

and draw the 

Onalo 

strategy for winning election. If they are not 

relevant to your government don’t create an office 

for them. If you are to be appointed a minister for 

industry is because you have field experience in 

industrial management so that when you come 

into that office new ideas will flow. You will be 

able to see areas that didn’t work and you set system 

that will make it work. 

Again politically speaking, government must 

release herself from being the biggest spender. Let 

there be policy that transfers economic power to 

the people and not the government. Let there be a 

system that makes political government 

unattractive to many people. Remove a lot of 

bottle neck of taxes, levies that discourage 

indigenous people from going into businesses. You 

have to remove them to yield massive incentives 

even if it is for certain period say 10 to 15 or 

maximum 20 years incentives. Pull certain cost 

because the cost of running business here is too 

expensive. We don’t have a legend economy. 

Nigeria is not yet attractive destination because 

of these deluges of problem. Remove those things 

as a determinant that we want to concentrate 

economic power in the hands of the indigenes of 

the citizens and then you see some of these things 

working. 

Government should not make that mistake of 

putting wrong people in certain positions that they 

have no experience, qualification and anything 

about. Don’t sacrifice the future of this country at 

the altar of political patronage or god-fatherism 

any more. 

MainOne, Intel, Whogohost 

partnership to boost SMEs IT needs 

In line with the National Broadband Strategy to enable local 

content and increase job creation in Nigeria, West Africa’s leading 

connectivity and data centre solutions company, MainOne has 

entered into partnership with Whogohost, Nigeria’s premier hosting 

domain provider, and Intel, the world’s leading technology company 

to provide Cloud hosted Servers for Small and Medium Enterprises 

(SME) in Nigeria. 

This service is delivered through the cloud platform of MainOne’s 

data centre company, MDX-i, which is powered by the Intel Cloud 

Processors and is aimed at bringing the advantages of in-country 

cloud services to Nigerian businesses. 

Speaking during the press launch of the service, Senior Marketing 

Manager, Tayo Ashiru highlighted the revolutionary impact of cloud 

solutions on businesses in terms of efficiency, cost savings and 

flexibility. According to him, the service provided by this partnership 

is a welcome development for Nigeria’s start-ups and small 

businesses. He said: “There are many obstacles for businesses in 

Nigeria which impact their ability to scale up and maintain an online 

presence within the country”. “Our partnership with Whogohost, a 

leading web solutions company provides domain registration, web 

hosting and cloud services out of our Tier III certified data centre, 

MDX-i allowing businesses to scale up on their IT needs on an ondemand 

basis. 

The Chief Executive Officer of Whogohost, Toba Obaniyi who 

expressed delight at the partnership, stressed that the joint partnership 

with MainOne and Intel was the realization of his company’s vision 

to be the leading provider of scalable solutions for Nigeria’s startups 

and small businesses. “With the rising cost of the dollar, and the 

increase of local consumption, local hosting is definitely the future. 

This partnership couldn’t have come at a better time”, he said.


UK WITHDRAWAL FROM EU 

Uncertainty looms over Europe 

By Oghene Omonisa, 

Levinus Nwabughiogu 

& Vera Anyagafu with 

agency reports 

Implications of the outcome of 

the Thursday, June 23 

referendum have continued to 

resonate worldwide less than 48 

hours after the United Kingdom 

voted in a referendum to exit the 

European Union. As the outcome of 

the vote distilled yesterday morning, 

Prime Minister David Cameron 

following a meeting with the Queen 

served notice of his resignation with 

effect from October. 

Britain’s exit from the EU is 

undoubtedly the biggest blow since 

the European Union project 

commenced in 1951. 

Britain’s withdrawal from the 28 

member European Union, often 

shortened to Brexit (a portmanteau 

of “British exit”) is a political goal 

that has been pursued by various 

individuals, advocacy groups, and 

political parties since the country 

was admitted into the precursor of 

the EU in 1973. 

The final result of the referendum 

showed that those in support of 

exiting the EU won by 52% to 48%. 

While England with the exception 

of London, voted overwhelmingly for 

Brexit, Scotland and Northern 

Ireland backed Remain. The turnout 

was 71.8%, with more than 30 

million people voting. It was the 

highest turnout in a UK-wide vote 

since the 1992 general election. 

Implications 

UK, Europe 

The consequences will be huge for 

the British people. Britain’s economy 

and legal system have become 

deeply integrated with the European 

continent. Unravelling those 

relationships is likely to be 

economically and socially 

disruptive. Yesterday the British 

currency, the pound sank to its lowest 

value against the dollar since 1985 

reflecting economic concerns on the 

exit. 

On the other side, Brexit advocates 

have argued that Britain will be 

better off in the long run outside the 

EU, with full sovereignty and 

unfettered control over immigration 

and economic regulations. 

On its own, exit from the EU could 

be disruptive but not calamitous for 

other EU countries. The larger threat 

to other EU members is that the 

development could become the first 

step towards unravelling the EU. The 

2008 financial crisis and the ongoing 

Syrian refugee crisis have put the 

EU’s rickety political institutions 

under strain. A British exit could 

further shake peoples’ confidence 

that the EU project can endure over 

the long run, causing other countries 

to eye the exits. 

In the short run, uncertainty about 

Britain’s future relationship with the 

EU, its largest trading partner, could 

push the UK into a recession. 

In the long run, the situation could 

be worse. With Cameron’s 

resignation, Britain’s prospects of 

negotiating a favourable deal with 

the EU could be weakened. The EU 

may decide to strike a hard bargain 

to discourage other countries from 

leaving the EU. 

Critics say the economic effects 

could be significant; for example, 

automobile manufacturers with 

major production plants in the UK 

are presently bound by the same 

•Cameron resigns •Scotland plans another referendum 

•Implications for migrants 

•Buhari regrets Cameron's resignation, hails his courage 

•RESIGNED:British Prime Minister David Cameron 

European safety and environmental 

standards. But with Britain out of the 

EU, British-based automobile plants 

will be compelled to go through 

another set of safety certifications. 

This kind of thing would be repeated 

in every industry. 

One of the most important and 

controversial achievements of the 

EU was the establishment of the 

principle of free movement among 

EU countries. A citizen of one EU 

country has an unfettered right to live 

and work anywhere in the EU. Both 

Britons and foreigners have taken 

advantage of this opportunity. 

There currently are about 1.2 

million Britons living in other EU 

countries, while about 3 million non- 

British EU nationals live in Britain. 

Due to EU rules, they were able to 

move across the English Channel 

with a minimum of paperwork. 

Britain’s exit from the EU could 

change that profoundly. 

At a minimum, that would mean 

that people moving to or from Britain 

would need to worry about passports 

and residency rules. And it could 

mean that some British immigrants 

may lose their right to continue 

living and working in the UK, and 

may be deported. 

A major consequence is the 

resignation of Cameron as Prime 

Minister on Friday. In an emotionladen 

speech outside 10 Downing 

Street, Cameron said: “I do not think 

it would be right for me to be the 

captain that steers our country to its 

next destination.” He said he would 

leave in October. A successor as party 

leader and thus, prime minister, is to 

emerge at the Conservative Party 

conference. 

Meanwhile, Scotland’s First 

Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said 

the Scottish government would 

prepare for a second independence 

referendum, and she will take “all 

possible steps” to remain a part of 

the E.U. after the referendum. 

Speaking at a press conference in 

Edinburgh, Sturgeon said the U.K. 

is taking Scotland out of the EU 

against the will of the Scots and is 

“democratically unacceptable.” 

Responding to the referendum, the 

President of the European Council, 

Donald Tusk, said it was not a 

moment for hysterical reaction. But 

speaking on behalf of the leaders of 

the other 27 EU countries, he said 

they were all determined to maintain 

their unity. 

Top EU officials tried to put on a 

brave face as the European enterprise 

received the biggest blow ever. 

As the British pound lost value and 

with markets, jittery, EU leaders 

underlined that the UK must 

negotiate its exit quickly and warned 

that it would remain a member, with 

all the obligations that entails, until 

the talks are over. Under EU rules 

Britain would have at least two years 

to negotiate its way out of the union. 

Rest of the world 

One of the key global concerns 

bothering the world markets is that 

Britain could be just the first of more 

EU countries to leave the union. On 

Friday, French right-wing leader 

Maine Le Pen called for France’s 

referendum vote. Concerns have 

been raised about referenda in Italy 

and The Netherlands too. 

The European Union is one of the 

world’s largest trading blocs, and it’s 

a major trade partner with China 

and the United States. If it breaks, it 

could lead to a lot of global 

uncertainty and many trade deals 

would need to be restructured. 

Experts, however, have cautioned 

that fears of the EU falling apart are 

overblown. After all, the UK always 

used the pound as its currency. Other 

countries like France would have to 

ditch the euro and reintroduce their 

old currencies. That’s a much more 

difficult transition than what the UK 

must navigate now. 

Also, the high expectation of a 

looming recession in the UK may 

give other countries pause, especially 

if they see an economic storm that 

Britain may endure after Brexit. 

Cameron respected 

democracy, peoples will 

– Buhari 

Responding to Cameron’s decision 

to resign in October, President 

Muhammadu Buhari expressed his 

regrets. The President however hailed 

the courage and statesmanship of 

Cameron, saying the PM in taking 

the decision respected the people’s 

will. 

A statement by the senior Special 

Assistant on Media and Publicity, 

Mallam Garba Shehu quoted 

President Buhari as saying that 

“Nigeria has enjoyed remarkable 

goodwill, support and 

understanding under the capable 

leadership of the outgoing Prime 

Minister over the years.” 

Britain’s exit portends 

negative consequences for 

Nigeria – Prof. Akinterinwa 

Britain’s decision to leave the 

European Union (EU) will have 

negative consequences on Nigeria, 

Prof. Bola Akinterinwa, Director 

General, Nigerian Institute of 

International Affairs (NIIA), has said 

in his reaction. Akinterinwa, a 

professor of international affairs, on 

Friday said that the negative impact 

of Britain’s exit from the union would 

be bilaterally and multilaterally. 

According to him, it is at the level of 

multilateral configuration that 

Nigeria may be slightly affected. 

“Britain is a member of the EU and 

Nigeria is a member of 

Commonwealth and in this case, 

Britain is both an active member of 

the EU and Commonwealth.” 

The future 

It is uncertain what the future holds 

for the socio-economy of the world, 

considering the pivotal role of the 

EU, now without Britain, and Britain 

without the EU. Those wishing to go 

to Britain in the future, either on 

investment, education or tourism will 

experience a new system imposed. 

The strengths of Europe in relation 

to human, workplace and family 

rights and the benefits of diversity 

will be affected. 

HIGHLIGHTS 

•German Chancellor Angela 

Merkel expressed “great regret” at 

the British decision, saying: “This 

is a blow to Europe and to the 

European unification process” 

•Mrs Merkel said she would meet 

Mr Tusk, French President 

Francois Hollande and Italian PM 

Matteo Renzi in Berlin on Monday 

•Mr Hollande said the vote 

“seriously puts Europe to the test”, 

adding: “I respect this painful choice. 

France will continue to work with 

this friendly country” 

•Russian President Vladimir 

Putin said the decision showed the 

UK’s unhappiness with migration 

and security 

Polish President Andrzej Duda 

said everything possible must be 

done to prevent other countries 

leaving. 

•Estonian Prime Minister Taavi 

Roivas said: “We must... work hard 

so that we do not lose the unity of 

the European Union” 

•Portuguese President Marcelo 

Rebelo de Sousa said “the 

European project remains valid to 

defend the values that mark our 

common identity” 

•Czech PM Bohuslav Sobotka 

said: “Despite the disappointment 

many of us feel... we must realise 

that this is not the end of the world 

and it’s absolutely not the end of 

the EU” 

•Greek PM Alexis Tsipras said 

the vote was “either a wake-up call 

or the beginning of a dangerous 

path”, adding: “We urgently need a 

new vision and beginning for a united 

Europe”

Wife beats lecturer husband to death 

over extra marital affairs 

*His body dumped in River Katsina/Ala 

BY PETER DURU 

A 

lecturer in the The 

atre Arts Department of 

the College of Education Oju 

in Benue state, Godwin Abuul, 

has been allegedly murdered 

by his wife, name withheld, 

in connivance with her 

siblings over alleged extra 

marital affairs. 


that Abuul who went 

missing about two weeks ago 

in Gboko was killed by his 

murderers who also dumped 

his remains in River Katsina/Ala. 

According to a family 

source who craved anonymity, 

the deceased two weeks 

ago went missing in Gboko 

after returning from Oju 

where he lectured at the state 

owned College of Education. 

Narrating the story he said, 

“Goddy used to lecture at the 

College of Education in Oju. 

He travels weekly from here 

in Gboko to Oju to lecture 

after which he returns to 

Gboko to spend his weekend 

with his wife and two children. 

“Unfortunately, two weeks 

ago he returned from Oju 

and said he was traveling to 

Katsina/Ala on a private visit, 

that was the last we heard 

of him. 

“His disappearance was 

reported to the Police who 

since then have been combing 

the entire state in search 

of his whereabouts. 

“Luckily, just two days ago, 

the cloth he wore the last day 

anybody saw him was found 

with a young man who was 

immediately arrested by the 

Police in Gboko. 

“Upon interrogation the 

young man confessed to the 

Police how the missing lecturer 

was allegedly killed by 

his wife in connivance with 

her siblings. 

“His confession triggered 

the arrest of several persons 

including the wife of the deceased 

and mother of his two 

children and all those mentioned 

in the saga, by the 

Police in Gboko, though the 

matter has been transferred 

to the Command Headquarters 

in Makurdi for further 

investigations.” 

From left: Executive Director, Commercial and Retail Banking, Skye Bank Plc, Bayo 

Sanni; Winner in the N250, 000 Category (Civil Servant), Gazal Fatimat; winner in the 

N1, 000, 000 category, (Pensioneer), Bashiru Adeyemi Lasisi and Head, Retail Banking, 

Skye Bank Plc, Nkolika Okoli during one year anniversary of ‘Reach for the Skye’ 

Millionaire Reward Scheme held in Lagos recently. 

Continuing, the source 

said, “already his wife has 

confessed all she new about 

the matter to the Police. We 

learned that she alleged that 

her brothers beat her husband 

up because he was 

involved in extra marital affairs, 

but not with the intention 

to kill him. 

“After killing him, they allegedly 

dumped his body in 

River Katsina/Ala and also 

went ahead to sell his Honda 

car to an innocent buyer 

CBN forex policy: Customs loses 

N138.9bn in 5 months 

By Joseph Erunke 

C ONTROLLER 

General of the 

Nigeria Customs Service, 

Col. Hameed Ali, retd, 

yesterday, said Nigeria lost 

a total of 138.9 billion, 

representing 35.5% in 

income generation 

expected from the agency 

between January and 

May, 2016. 

The development came 

as the Senate Committee 

on Finance directed all the 

revenue generating 

agencies in the country to 

for the sum of N650,000 and 

of that sum, the wife of the 

murdered lecturer was given 

the sum of N400, 000 as 

her share of the proceed.” 

“As I speak with you, the 

Police and local divers are 

still combing River Katsina/ 

Ala to locate the remains of 

the Goddy (the deceased) 

but we very much doubt if 

his remains would be seen 

because the fishes must have 

feasted on it.” 

When contacted, the Police 

Public Relations Officer, 

henceforth prepare and 

submit reports of their 

performances on quarterly 

basis to the committee for 

assessment. 

But he said the agency 

generated the sum total of 

N312. 9bn for the country 

within the period under 

review. The amount 

generated, according to 

him, was from the Valued 

Added Tax, VAT and the 

Negotiable Duty Credit 

Certificate, NDCC. 

Ali, who spoke while 

briefing the Senator John 

Enoh-led Senate 

Committee on Finance, on 

the performance of his 

organization, also 

disclosed that within the 

period, the Nigeria 

Customs Service lost a 

total of N138.9bn out of the 

N390.6bn it was expected 

to generate within the 

period. 

He further disclosed that 

the agency was able to 

generate the sum of 

N251.8bn out of which the 

sum 

of 

N211.124,434,386.60 was 

generated for the 

federation Account with the 

sum of N40,591,872,059.41 

generated for Non 

federation Account. 

Giving breakdown of 

revenue generation within 

PPRO, Assistant Superintendent, 

ASP, Moses Yamu 

who confirmed the incident 

said he was yet to get full 

details of the matter. 

Yamu said, “yes I know of 

the matter but I’m yet to get 

the full details of the matter 

from the Divisional Police 

Officer, DPO, because the 

suspects are yet to arrive 

Makurdi. At this moment I 

cannot confirm that the wife 

of the deceased was behind 

his murder until the details 

are made available to me.” 

the period, the Customs 

boss said “compared to last 

year or what we are 

expected to generate, we 

are in deficit of 

18,406,949,135.55 as 

against the sum of 

NN78,110,936,416.67 

expected to be generated 

in the month of January.” 

For the month of 

February, the customs, 

according to Ali, lost 

N27,176,737,878.21 

instead 

of 

N78,110,936.416.67 just as 

the sum of 

N28,910,737,844.24 could 

not be realized from 

N78,110,936,416.67 

expected in the month. 

The agency equally lost 

the sum of 

N32,304,439,625.98 from 

N78,110,936,416.67 in 

April just as it lost 

N32,039,511,153.56 from 

the expected generation of 

the sum of 

N78,110,936,416.67 in the 

month of May. 

“With this, it means we 

have 35% less than what 

we are supposed to have 

generated, “he said. 

He attributed the loss to 

three variables among 

which according to him, 

included the Central Bank 

of Nigeria, CBN’s new 

forex policy and increase 

in volume of credit. 


B-R-I-E-F-S 

PDP Rep, Agbonayinma 

joins Edo guber race 

*Backs Sheriff as PDP chair 

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru 

AS controversy continues to trail the Edo State Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate in the 

September 2016 governorship election, a member of the 

House of Representatives, Ehizouwa Johnson Agbonayinma 

yesterday, joined the governorship race on the platform of 

the PDP. 

Agbonayinma who represents Egor Ikpoba Okha Federal 

Constituency of Edo State in the House of Representatives 

and Chairman, Ad-hoc Committee investigating the contracts 

awarded by the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) 

between 2010-2014, has also aligned with Senator Ali Modu 

Sheriff as the authentic national chairman of the PDP. 

Addressing journalists in Abuja, the lawmaker said that 

his decision to recognize Sheriff as the PDP national 

chairman and pick the party’s governorship ticket to contest 

the primaries to be organized by his faction was based on 

the ruling delivered by the Federal High Court, Lagos, as 

well as the undemocratic events that took place at the 

primaries held by the Sen. Ahmed Makarfi faction. 

‘Pay-as-you-go solar energy, solution 

to epileptic power supply’ 


PAY-as-you-go solar energy has emerged as the 

solution to the hydra-headed energy problems 

bedevilling the country’s power supply system. 

This revelation was made in Lagos this week by Kunle 

Odebunmi, co-founder of Arnergy Solar Ltd, at a media 

parley while unveiling the solar energy apps developed 

by the company. 

The apps, according to him, are a revolutionary 

technology that allows subscribers to buy recharge pin 

usingRANA (Arnergy’s Mobile Electricity App) or via 

agents in several rural communities yet to connect with 

mobile network. The apps synchronize with 

Arnergy’s cloud-based server infrastructure to unlock 

the Solar Power System and supply solar electricity 

whenever the pin is keyed into the solar kit, and 

subscribers enjoy electricity 24 hours a day, seven days 

a week. Highlighting the advantages of the apps, Mr. 

Odebunmi added that they are easy to install with 

minimal technical know-how. 

Tourism, hospitality industry the 

next biggest career – NTDC boss 


THE Director General of the Nigerian Tourism 

Development Corporation (NTDC), Sally Mbanefo 

has advocated for inclusion of tourism and hospitality 

courses in Nigeria education curriculum. This she said 

would go a long way to create needed awareness of the 

huge potentials and easy job after school for the country’s 

teeming unemployed youths who clamour for jobs in 

other highly saturated sectors. 

Speaking at the hospitality workshop organised by the 

Swiss Education Group recently in Lagos, tagged, “The 

Hospitality Workshop Africa 2016”, Mbanefo averred that 

tourism and hospitality industry is one sector that has 

not been fully explored by many Nigerians who seek 

job in other sectors. She said that there was an initial 

misconception about making a career in hospitality sector, 

stemming from stigma that the industry is an alternative 

job for employment seekers. 

Don’t link Okowa with thuggery, 

Onuesoke tells APC 

DELTA State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief 

tain, Sunny Onuesoke has declared that nobody 

should link Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa 

with activities of political thuggery as being peddled by 

members of the All Progressive Congress (APC). 

Onuesoke who was reacting to allegations levelled 

against Okowa which include hiring and training 

of thugs for Edo State PDP towards the upcoming Edo 

State governorship election said it was disappointing 

that APC is making irresponsible, unsubstantiated and 

wild allegations against the gentle, peace-loving and very 

educated Governor of Delta state. 

Speaking to journalists in Benin-City,Edo State during 

a courtesy call on the Edo State PDP Secretariat, he 

argued that there was no truth in the different allegations 

levelled against Okowa by APC loyalists, with 

respect to the coming Edo State Governorship election.


City stop 

Iheanacho from 

Rio Olympics 

Kelechi Iheanacho will not compete in the Olympics 

- despite Nigeria announcing that he is part of 

their provisional squad. 

Manchester City have already informed the 

Nigerian Football Federation that their teenage 

striker will not be allowed to compete in Rio - and 

have even had a letter acknowledging their 

decision. Despite that, the NFF still named the 

19-year-old in their 35-man squad for the 

Games. It is understood City have no 

intention of going back on their initial 

decision, which was exclusively 

revealed by MEN Sport this week. 

They are under no obligation to 

make Iheanacho available and 

have already spoken to him about 

the issue. 

City want the striker to be available 

for incoming manager Pep 

Guardiola’s first pre-season at the 

club. Iheanacho enjoyed an outstanding 

breakthrough season at the Etihad and is set to be 

handed more first team opportunities under the new 

manager. 

With Wilfried Bony expected to leave the club, he looks 

set to be elevated to Sergio Aguero’s understudy. 

City’s summer preparations will already be impacted 

by players returning late from Euro 2016 and the 

Copa America, such as Aguero, Nicolas Otamendi, 

Raheem Sterling, Kevin de Bruyne and David Silva. 

Fury postpones Klitschko rematch 

British world heavyweight 

champion Tyson Fury has 

postponed next month's 

rematch with Wladimir 

Klitschko after injuring an 

ankle in training. 

The bout had been scheduled 

to take place in Manchester on 

9 July. 

•Fury battles Klitschko 

Undefeated Fury, 27, posted 

on Instagram that he had been 

forced to cancel the fight after 

injuring himself while running 

in the Lake District. 

"They've said it's not broken but 

it's badly sprained and to keep 

off it for six to seven weeks," he 

said. 

How to stop Djokovic, by Alexander 

AVULNERABLE Novak Djokovic is a prime candidate for breaking 

down with the “yips” at Wimbledon. 

That’s the strong opinion of former Australian star John Alexander, who 

believes there lurks a weakness in Djokovic’s serve that if exploited 

could unravel his game. 

Djokovic currently holds all major single titles and his infallible form this 

year suggests he’s well on track to achieving history by becoming the 

first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to clinch a calendar-year grand slam. 

“He won’t collapse, he’s too good a player, but I think there will appear 

some cracks in his game,” Liberal MP Alexander told The Daily 

Telegraph. 

“At the Australian Open I think there was a little bit of a hint of what’s 

going on in his mind because he’d slowed his first 

serve down to about 185km/h. He was getting a very 

high percentage of first serves in but at one point he 

served two double faults in a row. 

“I got the feeling that he’s lost confidence in his second 

serve and that’s why he’s slowing his first serve down. 

Whether he’s lost confidence … or he has a little bit of 

the yips I don’t know – but it looked edgy. It’s 

happened to other great players, they get the yips in 

their second serve and it’s the beginning of the end. 

Under pressure over five sets on a surface where 

serving is very important, maybe that will surface?” 

•Iheanacho 

Peter Fury, his uncle and trainer, 

said on Twitter: "Fight date will 

be postponed with new date 

released very soon, probably 

today." 

Tyson Fury took the WBA and 

WBO heavyweight titles from 

Klitschko in their first bout in 

November. 

"Of course, I am currently totally 

disappointed about the cancellation," 

Klitschko said. 

"As well as for my fans, I´m very 

sorry, they were all very excited 

for this rematch. But one thing is 

also clear, this just means I'll get 

my belt a few weeks later." 

Earlier this week, the Ukrainian 

said Fury should be banned 

from boxing after comments that 

made him sound "like Hitler". 

Fury apologised last month for a 

video he posted online containing 

homophobic, sexist and anti- 

Semitic comments. 

O’jez fans’ night pays tribute to 

Keshi, Amodu 

THIS month’s edition 

of the O’jez Soccer 

Fans Nite Out holding 

tonight at the open air 

section of O’jez celebrity 

restaurant, National 

Stadium Complex, 

Surulere, Lagos, at 7pm 

has been dedicated to 

two fallen national soccer 

•Djokovix 

CAF throw Setif out of 

Champions League 

Algeria's Entente Setif have been ejected from the 

African Champions League after trouble marred their 

match with Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa. 

The game on 18 June was abandoned by the referee with 

Sundowns 2-0 up when violence broke out in the stands. 

The Confederation of African Football (Caf) said "missiles, 

stones, bottles and firecrackers" were thrown onto the pitch 

during the game . 

There was also a pitch invasion as fans reacted angrily to 

the defeat. Caf have thrown Setif out of the tournament and 

annulled the result of the match - which could damage 

Sundowns' chances of making it out of the group. 

They lose the points and the goals which they had gained 

in the victory. 

Caf also left open the possibility of further sanctions against 

Setif. The other teams in the group are Enyimba of Nigeria 

and Egypt's Zamalek - who top the now three-team group 

after a 1-0 away win in the first round of matches. 

Azarenka pulls out 

of Wimbledon 

Belarus number one Victoria Azarenka, ranked 6th in 

the world, has been forced to withdraw from the 

Wimbledon tournament with a knee injury, BelTA learnt 

from the Twitter account of the sport event. As was earlier 

reported, Victoria Azarenka was preparing for the 

Wimbledon on the courts of the Belarusian Olympic Tennis 

Center in Minsk. She was closely watched by her team 

and did not complain about the knee she injured at Roland 

Garros in Paris. There the Belarusian had to withdraw in 

the first round. The Wimbledon man draw in London starts 

on 27 June. Victoria Azarenka lost to Serena Williams of 

the United States in the quarterfinals last year.“ 

heroes; Stephen Keshi and 

Shaibu Amodu 

Even in the middle of 

mourning two great 

coaches of the Eagles, the 

organisers will also present 

the O’jez Lifetime 

Achievements Awards to a 

1980 AFCON winner, 

Henry Nwosu and sports 

buff, Dudu Orumen. 

Veteran sports journalist, 

Mr. Effiong Uyo, one of the 

coordinators of the monthly 

event said the choice of 

Nwosu and Orumen was a 

perfect one “just like last 

month’s combination of 

Peter Rufai, Mumuni Alao 

and Gbenga Adeyinka. I 

must say that last month’s 

event which was the 

maiden edition was a huge 

•Azarenka 

success not only in the area 

of attendance alone but with 

the quality of the show. We 

will however improve on that 

success this month and in 

consequent editions.” 

He described the death of 

Keshi and Amodu as a big 

blow to “not only Nigerian 

football but Africa in general. 

We just witnessed the 

sudden demise of an era in 

football coaching and this 

should make any football 

loving Nigerian sad. 

However, we are not God, so 

we cannot question His 

decision to take from us two 

rare gems. But as humans, 

we will and must continue to 

celebrate them even in 

death. That is why the May 

25 show is dedicated to the 

duo.”

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

The Super Eagles will play 

Zambia’s Chipolopolo, 

Cameroon’s Indomitable 

Lions and Algeria’s Fennecs in 

the final round of qualification 

series for the 2018 FIFA World 

Cup finals. 

In what is already dubbed the 

group of death by pundits, the 

three-time African champions, 

who will not play in next year’s 

Africa Cup of Nations in 

Gabon, face a tough route to 

qualify for Russia 2018 given 

the high quality of their 

opponents in the group. 

The draw conducted at the 

Cairo Marriott Hotel put all 

former African champions in 

the same Group B, with 

reigning continental 

champions Cote d’Ivoire to 

tackle Gabon, Mali and 

Morocco in Group C. 

Tunisia’s Carthage Eagles 

head Group A that also 

includes Libya, Democratic 

Republic of Congo and Guinea, 

and Ghana’s Black Stars will 

do battle with the Pharaohs of 

Egypt, Congo’s Red Devils and 

Uganda’s Cranes in Group E. 

Senegal’s Teranga Lions, 

which reached the World Cup 

quarter –finals in its debut in 

2002, head Group D that also 

includes South Africa’s Bafana 

Bafana, Burkina Faso’s Etalons 

and Cape Verde’s Blue Sharks. 

“It is a tough draw, but then I 

have always said that you have 

to beat the best to get to the 

World Cup. Now we have the 

draw, we know how to prepare. 

The preparation has to start 

right now and we must make 

good use of every single day 

leading to the kick –off of the 

series. “The other pools are 

tough as well, because for me, 

you can never afford to under – 

rate any team these days. Now 

we must quickly sort out the 

issue of Head Coach and his 

assistants and put every other 

thing in place in good time,” 

Cristiano Ronaldo has been 

backed to provide the 

difference for Portugal against 

Croatia in their Euro 2016 last 16 

clash torday in Lens. Ronaldo, 31, 

rediscovered his form against 

Hungary on Wednesday after a 

slow start to the tournament, his 

two goals and an assist saving 

his side from a surprising 

group-stage exit in a thrilling 

3-3 draw. 

Nani believes his team-mate 

Ronaldo will increase his 

goal tally and can guide 

his side to the quarterfinals 

of the 

competition in 

France.“Everyone 

knows 

Cristiano 

and what 

he can do at any 

time, in any minute in a game. I 

am 100 per cent sure he will go on 

and score more goals now,” Nani said. 

Croatia’s 2-1 win over Spain on 

Tuesday meant they avoided a last 16 

clash with Italy, and are now looking to 

repeat or improve on their performance 

in the 2008 competition, where they 

reached the quarter-finals. 

Croatia coach Ante Cacic feels his team 

could not have faced much tougher 

opposition but is confident they can 

handle Ronaldo and co. 

NFF president Amaju Pinnick 

said. 

Algeria knocked Nigeria out 

of the race to the 1982 FIFA 

World Cup, but Nigeria also 

overpowered Algeria to qualify 

for the 1994 finals in USA. 

Nigeria beat Algeria 3-0 to lift 

her first –ever Africa Cup of 

Portugal bank on 

Ronaldo to stop Croatia 

•Ronaldo 

•Mikel 

•Iwobi 

SATURDAY Vanguard, JUNE 25, 2016 —45 

Eagles in Group of death 

.battle Algeria, Cameroon, Zambia 

•Bale 

•Aboubakar 

Nations title, on home soil in 

1980, but the Fennecs avenged 

by beating the Eagles 1-0 to also 

nick their first African title, on 

home soil, ten years later. 

Cameroon stopped Nigeria 

from reaching the 1990 FIFA 

World Cup finals, winning 1-0 

in Yaounde in a group contest 

Nigeria’s Olympic team off to USA next week 

. NFF releases 35-man list 

The Nigeria Football Federation has said the 

Olympic football team will depart the country 

next week for a final training camp in the United 

States of America ahead of this year’s Olympics 

in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 

Head Coach Samson Siasia opted for a final 

training camp in Atlanta, venue of Nigeria’s 

historic triumph 20 years ago, in order to 

“psychologically prepare my boys for victory in 

Brazil.” Earlier in the week, the NFF confirmed 

that there would be a friendly match between the 

Nigeria Olympic team and the U23 National 

Team of Mexico in Mexico on Saturday, 2 nd 

July. The match will take place at the 

Aguascalientes Stadium, home ground of newly 

promoted top tier club, Necaxa FC, and is 

scheduled to start at 8.30pm Mexican time. 

The NFF also announced that after the friendly, 

the Nigeria U23 squad will continue its training 

Bale set to send 

N/ Ireland 

packing 

even though Nigeria won the 

home leg 2-0 in Ibadan. In 

Yaounde, only weeks after the 

Gareth Bale insists his side are 

thrilled to have 

progressed to 

the knockout stage of Euro 2016 

as Group B winners. 

Chris Coleman’s crew is set to take 

on Northern Ireland in the last 16 of 

UEFA Euro 2016and Wales’ ace Bale is 

looking forward to the match, telling 

Sky Sports News: 

“We know it’s going to be 

difficult, we obviously know a 

lot about Northern Ireland “A 

lot of their players play in 

England, so they are going to know us also. “It 

will be a very British type game, and if we can match the 

performance of Russia, we have a very good chance. “Confidence is 

high after a great performance and victory against Russia. We’re all 

excited again. It’s another new challenge and experience and one 

I’m sure everyone will relish.” 

The 26-year-old Real Madrid striker added: 

“It’s an amazing feeling we’ve got in the camp, it’s not just been 

the last two years we’ve been working towards, but since we all 

started, young boys growing into men. 

“We’ve all been together and come through a massive journey, and 

we’ve been to some bad places. We’ve been ranked 112 in the world 

and now we’re in the last 16 of the Euros, so these days are to be 

enjoyed, and we’re taking it all in our stride.” 

•Mahrez 

GROUP A: Tunisia, Libya, DR Congo, Guinea 

GROUP B: Zambia, Cameroon, Algeria, Nigeria 

GROUP C: Gabon, Mali, Cote d’Ivoire, Morocco 

GROUP D: Senegal, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde 

GROUP E: Ghana, Egypt, Congo, Uganda 

camp in the United States of America and will 

play Charleston Battery FC in Atlanta on 

Saturday, 16 th July. A game against the 

Honduras U23 team is also being planned for 

27 th July. 

Meanwhile, players who have had experience 

playing in the Nigeria senior team constitute half 

of those listed in Coach Siasia’s provisional 

squad of 35, who will train in the USA before a 

final list of 18 is drawn up just before the trip to 

Brazil. Super Eagles’ captain John Mikel Obi, 

South Africa –based goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi, 

defenders William Troost Ekong, Musa 

Muhammed, Stanley Amuzie, Kingsley Madu, 

Kenneth Omeruo and Godfrey Oboabona, 

midfielders Oghenekaro Etebo, Okechukwu 

Azubuike, Imoh Ezekiel, Usman Mohammed 

and Abdullahi Shehu, and forwards Alex Iwobi, 

Jude Ighalo, Kelechi Iheanacho and Aminu 

Umar are on the list. 

The EURO 2016 

knockout stages begin 

today,with Robert 

Lewandowski of Poland 

facing Switzerland. 

Lewandowski, the 

top scorer in the 

Bundesliga last 

term with 30 

goals, has 

yet to find 

the net in 

three 

matches at the European 

championship. “You can’t play 

60 games a season and score in 

every match,” the 27-year-old said prior 

to the clash with the Swiss in Saint- 

Étienne. 

Poland assistant coach Bogdan Zajac 

feels there is “no problem” with 

Lewandowski’s eight-month goal 

drought for his country, although the 

Swiss have only conceded one goal so 

far, a penalty converted by Romania’s 

Bogdan Stancu. “Switzerland are a top 

team and clear favourites,” 

Lewandowski declared. 

•Lewandowski 

•Kabala 

death of Samuel Okwaraji, 

Nigeria needed a draw to 

shove aside the Lions but lost 

1-0. In a friendly in Belgium in 

October last year, the Super 

Eagles steamrolled the Lions 3- 

0. 

Lewandowski 

eyes 

q/final

46— SATURDAY Vanguard, JUNE 25, 2016 

TRANSFER...TRANSFER...T 

Payet, Martial to be put 

off EPL over Brexit 

Atop investment banker has warned the 

Premier League’s ability to attract 

footballers such as West Ham’s Dimitri 

Payetcould be affected by the “shock” EU 

referendum result on Friday. Britain 

voted to quit the EU following an historic 

vote on Thursday, which saw Prime 

Minister David Cameron subsequently 

resign from his post on Friday morning. 

While it remains uncertain how the decision to leave 

could impact other areas of British life, footballers from EU 

countries could now have to apply for a work permit before 

signing for an English club in the coming years. 

Investment banker Keith Harris, who has overseen the sale 

of several clubs including Chelsea and Manchester City to 

foreign owners, believes France internationals Payet - who 

signed for West Ham from Marseille last summer - N’Golo 

Kante and Anthony Martial along with Belgium forward 

Romeulu Lukaku may not have been allowed to complete 

transfers to English clubs had Britain already left the EU. “It 

was a shock result,” Harris told Sky Sports. “There are four 

players that we can reflect on and the impact they had on 

their clubs last year, who may not have been able to come 

in. “Kante, who had a huge impact at Leicester, Martial at 

Manchester United, Lukaku at Everton and Payet at West 

Ham. “I wonder how attractive the Premier League would 

have been and how well those clubs would have done 

without those specific players, and that’s the kind of thing we 

are now speculating about.” 

Nolito: I’m close 

to City switch 

Nolito confirms he is closing in on a move to 

Manchester City as he has not signed with the 

English club “for now”. 

City have reportedly activated Nolito’s •18m 

release clause and offered him a three-year 

contract, and the Celta Vigo star indirectly 

made it clear the Etihad Stadium would be his 

likeliest destination after Spain’s involvement 

at Euro 2016.“We’re calm and we depend on 

ourselves. We have to respect every 

opponent, but we’re not afraid of anyone,” 

the attacker told Radio 

Marca. “David de 

Gea was frustrated, 

Sergio Ramos too, 

but we stand together. 

We’re a close-knit unit.“When we win, we 

win together and when we lose, we lose 

together. We’re the only ones who can change 

things.“We’ll see what happens with my 

future, but I won’t complain about how things 

are going for me sportingly. 

“For now, I haven’t signed with Manchester 

City, but I won’t lie so we’ll see. I haven’t spoken 

to [Pep] Guardiola. 

“Maybe [Pedro’s] been misunderstood, but we all 

support him. I honestly don’t mind coming to the 

national team and not playing.” 

•Nolito 

•Payet 

Man U battle City for Jesus 

Manchester United and Manchester City are going head to head for 

one of the most exciting emerging talents in Brazil, according to reports. 

O Estadio de Sao Paulo claims the Reds have launched a £15million bid for 

Palmeiras teen sensation Gabriel Jesus. It follows reports this week from One 

World Sports that City are interested and ready to shell out £17.6million, 

with Juventus and Barcelona also in the hunt. Those reports remain 

unconfirmed, but it is a fact that the 19-year-old 

attacker is making waves in his home country. 

He was named newcomer of the year in Brazil’s 

top flight last year and his performances have 

earned him comparisons to Barca superstar 

Neymar. Jesus has hit 20 goals in 60 games for 

Palmeiras and Barcelona 

sporting director Raul 

Sanllehi is said to have 

watched him in person 

with the Spaniards viewed 

as favourites to land him. 

But Palmeiras boss Cuca 

believes the young 

prodigy should reject a 

move to the Nou Camp. 

•Pogba 

•Jesus 

Man Utd m 

Pogba top t 

Jose Mourinho has drawn up his summer 

shopping list at Manchester United and 

Juventus star Paul Pogba is his priority 

signing. According to the Manchester 

Evening News, Mourinho wants to land at least 

three more players during this transfer 

window. 

Mourinho is said to have vetoed a 

move for Roma ace Miralem Pjanic, 

who has since joined Juve, to 

focus on signing Pogba. The 

France ace left Old Trafford 

in 2012 and has since gone 

on to become one of 

Europe’s finest 

players. 

Arsenal 

want 

Icardi 

Mauro Icardi is 

reportedly 

Arsenal’s top transfer 

target. 

The Gunners missed out 

on Jamie Vardy this week 

but Arsene Wenger is 

determined to land a 

striker this summer. 

TalkSPORT claim the 

Inter Milan skipper is 

now top of Wenger’s 

wish-list. 

The 23-year-old, 

capped once by 

Argentina, scored 16 

goals in 33 games 

for Inter last season. 

•Icardi


RANSFER... 

ke 

arget 

Liverpool 

target 

£30m 

Mane 

Liverpool have made 

Southampton striker 

Sadio Mane a prime 

transfer target this summer and 

are willing to pay £30m. 

Reds boss Jurgen Klopp wants 

to boost his attacking options 

and is willing to make Mane 

one of the biggest signings 

in the club’s history to do 

it. 

Liverpool and 

Southampton will 

continue to hold 

talks over the 24- 

year-old, with the 

fee a possible 

sticking point. 

The Saints are 

likely to want 

around £40m for a 

player who scored 11 

goals in 37 Premier 

League games last 

season. 

This is around £10m 

more than the top end of 

Liverpool’s price range, 

so there is still more 

negotiating to be done 

before any deal can be 

concluded. 

The process might also be delayed by the fact 

that Southampton are still without a manager 

following the departure of Ronald Koeman to 

Everton. 

Klopp was impressed by Mane, heavily linked 

with Manchester United during Louis van Gaal’s 

time at Old Trafford, when he scored twice as 

Southamptoncame from 2-0 down to beat 

Liverpool 3-2 at St Mary’s on 20 March. 

Alongside England striker Daniel Sturridge and 

Belgium youngster Divock Origi, Mane would 

add pace and a goalscoring threat. 

Liverpool would seek to recoup much of the 

money they spend on the Senegal international 

by selling striker Christian Benteke, who has 

struggled after his £32m switch from Aston 

Villa. 

If he makes the move, Mane will be treading 

a well-worn path between Southampton and 

Liverpool. 

•Mane 

•Vardy 

Napoli 

offer 

Higuain 

• 6.5m per 

season. 

Napoli will reportedly 

hand Gonzalo 

Higuain a new contract 

worth •6.5m per season. 

The Argentinian striker 

was Serie A’s top-scorer 

last season, but has been 

linked with a move away 

this summer. 

Partenopei President 

Aurelio De Laurentiis 

wants Pipita to “stay 

forever”, and has talked of 

an improved contract. 

Now Corriere dello Sport 

reports that an offer is on 

the table to extend 

Higuain’s contract until 

2020, a two-year extension. 

In addition, it’s thought 

the Vesuviani are offering 

wages of •6.5m per season. 

Given that wages are 

reported as net in Serie A, 

that would mean a total 

outlay from the club of 

more than •50m over the 

next four years. 

Vardy shuns 

Arsenal because 

of Wenger’s style 

JAMIE VARDY snubbed a move to Arsenal 

because he was worried he would not fit in 

with the way they play, according to reports. 

The England striker scored 24 Premier 

League as Leicester City won the title last 

season, thriving in Claudio Ranieri’s 

thrilling counter-attacking system. 

The 29-year-old agreed a four-year deal to stay at 

Leicester despite being offered a more lucrative move 

to join Arsenal earlier this week. 

According to Sky Sports, Vardy believes that his 

style of play – on the last shoulder, exploiting 

through balls – does not mesh with Arsene 

Wenger’s possession based game. 

The Foxes averaged just 43.7 per cent 

possession in their 38 Premier League 

matches last season – more than just TWO 

other clubs. 

Arsenal on the other hand had more of 

the ball than any other team in the 

division, averaging 58.4 per cent of 

possession in their matches. 

At the Emirates that increased to 61.6 per cent – the 

Gunners were the only team to break the 60 per cent barrier. 

Leicester also completed only 9,137 passes over the season, 

almost half of the Arsenal total of 17,382. 

Vardy is also said to believe that this current Leicester 

squad can mount a serious defence of their title, as well as 

bloody a few noses in the Champions League. 

Arsenal boss Wenger also refused 

to rule out the possibility of Vardy 

playing out of position if needed. 

The striker met with his agent 

after Monday’s 0-0 draw. 

The pair agreed to announce 

his decision in the hope of 

avoiding any unwanted 

distractions with 

England now in the 

knockout stages of 

Euro 2016. 

•Higuain 

•Witsel 

Juve, Inter , 

Napoli 

battle over 

Witsel 

Napoli, Juventus and Inter 

are now in a three-horse 

race for Zenit St Petersburg’s 

Axel Witsel, say reports. 

The Belgian international 

had already been targeted by 

Milan, and Roma are 

believed to have a concrete 

interest in the player too. 

Tuttosport, however, claims that the 

three Italian clubs who are in the best 

position to pick up Witsel at the moment 

are Napoli, Juventus and Inter. 

There appears to be no clear favourite 

between the three, not least because the 

27-year-old appears to be an expensive 

option both in terms of his price and his 

prospective salary.

SATURDAY Vanguard, JUNE 25, 2016 

Eagles 

•Mahrez 

in Group 

•Mikel 

•Pogba 

•Aboubakar 

Portugal bank 

on Ronaldo to 

stop Croatia 

>>45 

of death 

>>45 

.Battle Algeria, 

Cameroon, Zambia 

City stop 

Iheanacho 

from Rio 

Olympics 

>>44 

•Kalaba 

Man Utd 

make Pogba 

top target 

>>46 

Today’s Euro round of 16 Fixtures 

Switzerland v Poland 2pm 

Wales v N/Ireland 5pm 

Croatia v Portugal 8pm 

CROSS WORD PUZZLE 

ACROSS 

1 L.G.A in Gombe State – (5) 

4 Bayelsa State Governor, 

Mr. Seriake – (7) 

7 Wildebeest – (3) 

8 Solar Planet – (7) 

9 FC Porto Coach, Jose – (7) 

10 Kaduna State 

Commissioner for 

Agriculture, Dr. Daniel 

Manzo – (7) 

13 Brazilian Currency – (4) 

15 L.G.A in Benue State – (6) 

18 Greek Alphabet – (6) 

22 Egyptian God – (4) 

24 L.G.A in Katsina State – 

(7) 

25 Swaziland’s Capital City 

– (7) 

26 Country in Africa – (7) 

27 Collection – (3) 

28 Former Managing 

Director, Lags Waterways 

Authority (LASWA), Mr. 

Olayinka – (7) 

29 Super Falcons Defender, 

Faith – (5) 

DOWN 

1 Ugandan Capital City – (7) 

2 Special Adviser to the 

Presidency o9n Media & 

Publicity, Mr. Femi – (7) 

3 Ethnic Group in Nigeria – (7) 

4 MD/CEO, Federal Airports 

Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), 

Mr. Saleh – (6) 

5 L.G.A in Bauchi State – (7) 

6 Vice Chairman, Senate 

Committee on Banking, 

Insurance & Other Financial 

Institutions, Senator Achonu – 

(5) 

11 England & Tottenham 

Hotspurs Midfielder, Dele – (4) 

12 Colour – (3) 

14 Traditional Ruler of Kano – 

(4) 

16 Venomous Snake – (3) 

17 Tunisia “Carthage Eagles” 

Goalkeeper, Atef – (7) 

19 Ethnic Group in Ghana – (7) 

20 Chief of Army Staff, 

Lieutenant-General Tukur – (7) 

21 Juventus Coach, 

Massimillano – (7) 

23 Malian Capital City – (6) 

24 L.G.A in Plateau State – (5) 

Solution on page 43 

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Website: www.vanguardngr.com (ISSN 0794-652X) ACTING EDITOR: KAYODE MATTHEW. Phone: 01-7742861, All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos. 

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25062016

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