Looters recruited militants against us : Buhari reveals in us

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2 — SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016
Treasury looters recruited N’Delta militants
against us, Buhari reveals in US
*I prayed so hard for God to make me President
*Says Nigeria didn’t save from 1999-2015
*I can’t complain about the enormity of my job
By Soni Daniel
PRESIDENT Muhammadu
Buhari has
lamented that the
resurgence of militancy in the
Niger Delta region was
orchestrated by those who
looted Nigeria’s wealth in
order to frustrate his efforts at
rebuilding the country.
He also regretted that the
present socio-economic crisis
would have been avoided if the
country had saved its oil
revenue from 1999-2015
when oil prices stood at an
average of $100 per barrel.
Buhari further took stock of
the burden of responsibility the
present times placed on him
and submitted that, however,
he would not complain,
having prayed to God for the
job.
He made these known at an
interactive session in New York
with a 15-man group of
Nigerian professionals which
comprised of top-flight
aeronautics engineers,
physicians, Information
Technology experts, a judge,
top policewoman,
entrepreneurs, an import
specialist at Customs and
Border Protection, professors
and two straight-A students
among others.
A statement by the
President’s Special Adviser on
Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi
Adeshina said the forum was
a platform for Buhari to update
the diasporans on his efforts
so far at getting the country
back on its feet soon.
The statement quoted the
President to have said: ‘’I am
very pleased with this
meeting. Wherever you go in
the world, you find highly
competent and outstanding
Nigerians. They not only
make great impact on their
host countries and
communities, their financial
remittances back home also
help our economy, particularly
at a time like this, when things
are down.
“We got into trouble as a
country, because we did not
save for the rainy day. For
example, between 1999 and
2015, when we produced an
average of 2.1 million barrels
of oil per day, and oil prices
stood at an average of $100 per
barrel, we did not save, neither
did we develop infrastructure.
Suddenly, when we came in
2015, oil prices fell to about 30
dollars per barrel.
“I asked, where are the
savings? There were none.
Where are the railways? The
roads? Power? None. I further
asked, what did we do with
billions of dollars that we made
over the years? They said we
bought food. Food with
billions of dollars? I did not
believe, and still, do not
believe.
“In most parts of Nigeria, we
eat what we grow. People in
the South eat tubers, those in
the North eat grains, which
they plant, and they constitute
over 60 percent of what we eat.
So, where did the billions of
dollars go? We did a lot of
damage to ourselves by not
developing infrastructure
when we had the money.
“Talking about our military,
they earned respect serving in
places like Burma, Zaire,
Sudan, Liberia, Sierra-Leone,
and then, suddenly, that same
military could no longer secure
14 out of 774 local
governments in the country.
Insurgents had seized them,
calling them some sorts of
caliphate, and planting their
EFCC operative nabbed for
N15m bribe alleged fraud
By Soni Daniel,
Northern Region
Editor, Abuja
FOR demanding and a
bribe of N15 million from
a Nigerian lawmaker under
investigation for undisclosed
financial crime, the
Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission has
arrested and detained one
of its operatives, whose
name was given as Uzodinma
Kingsley Agbazue.
Agbazue, a Deputy Detective
Superintendent,
DDS, was disarmed and
detained on Thursday following
a complaint lodged
by the Nigerian lawmaker
that he collected the cash
with a promise to kill the
case involving him or at
least, give him a ‘“soft
landing” in his matter with
the anti-graft agency by
compromising the investigation.
According to the complainant,
Agbazue had approached
him, claiming he
From left: Hon. Adedoyin Rojaiye, Sole Administrator, Lagos Mainland Local Government;
Mr. Tunji Bello, Secretary to Lagos State Government representing Governor
Governor Akinwumi Ambode; Chief Lateef Ajose, Opeluwa of Lagos; and Mr.
Olakulehin Oladapo, Director, Community Agriculture, representing Commissioner,
Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs, during the commissioning
of Borno Way, Ebute-Metta in Lagos Mainland Local government, Lagos, yesterday.
Photo: Bunmi Azeez
had been mandated by the
officer handling the case to
discuss and reach an
agreement on how to “kill
the case”.
“Following the approach,
a sum of N15 million was
given to Agbazue whose
game plan collapsed after
the Investigating officer, who
was ignorant of his scheme,
refused to do his bidding.
“With the investigation
gathering momentum after
parting with the hefty sum,
the complainant became
uncomfortable and demanded
a refund.
“The complainant stated
that, when he requested for
the refund of his money,
Agbazue only returned
N5million claiming that the
balance of N10 million had
been given to someone “to
kill the case from the top”.
“The complainant also alleged
that the operative
had earlier collected N1
million at a different time
as assistance for settlement
of his wife’s medical bill.
FG postpones N-Delta summit
indefinitely
By Emma Amaize
THE Federal Gov
ernment, last night,
postponed indefinitely the
2-day stakeholders’ Summit
on Niger -Delta earlier
scheduled to hold
Monday 26 and Tuesday
27 September in Abuja.
Secretary of the Planning
Committee, Mr.
Donald B. Wokoma, said
in a statement: “The summit,
which was expected
to bring participants
carefully drawn from
across various groups of
critical stakeholders
together, will now hold at
a later date.”
No reason was given for
the postponement.
flags till we came, and scattered
them.
“We raised the morale of our
military, changed the
leadership, re-equipped and
retrained them. USA, Britain,
and some other countries
helped us, and today, the pride
of our military is restored.
“Boko Haram ran riot, killing
innocent people in churches,
mosques, markets, schools,
motor parks, and so on. But if
they truly knew Allah, they
would not do such evil.
Neither Islam nor any other
religion I know advocates
hurting the innocent. But they
shed innocent blood, killed
people in their thousands.
Now, we have dealt with that
insurgency and subverted
their recruitment base.
“Those who stole Nigeria dry
are not happy. They recruited
the militants against us in the
Niger Delta and began to
sabotage oil infrastructure. We
lose millions of barrels per day,
at a time when every dollar we
can earn, counts. It is a disgrace
that a minimum of 27 states,
out of 36 that we have in
Nigeria, can’t pay salaries.
“But I prayed so hard for God
to make me President. I ran in
2003, 2007, 2011, and in 2015,
He did. And see what I met
on ground. But I can’t
complain since I prayed for the
job. In the military, I rose from
2nd Lieutenant to Major-
General. I was a military
governor in 1975 over a state
that is now six states. I was
Head of State, got detained for
three years, and headed the
Petroleum Trust Fund ,PTF,
which had N53 billion of that
time in Nigerian banks.
“God has been very good to
me, so I can’t complain. If I
feel hurt by anybody, I ask God
to help me forgive. He has
done so much for me.
“After 16 years of a different
party in government, no party
will come and have things
easy. It’s human. We need
quality hands to run Nigeria,
and we will utilize them. I will
like to welcome you home
when it’s time. But I’ll like you
to be ready.” The Nigerian
professionals also pledged to
contribute their quota towards
fixing their fatherland.
B-R-I-E-F-S
Mitee queries FG’s
N-Delta summit
By Emma Amaize, Asaba
ENVIRONMENTALIST and social activist, Mr Le
dum Mitee, has said that the concept of the summit
on Niger Delta planned to hold Monday and Tuesday,
next week, by the Federal Government, was wrong.
Mitee, who spoke to Vanguard on phone, said: “They
invited me as a participant and I have looked at the concept
and resource materials, but my worry is whether we
are still at the stage of talk shops in Niger Delta.”
“Is it the government and its partners that should be
talking to Niger Delta or Niger Delta is supposed to be
talking to government,” he asked.
Mitee asserted: “In 2008, government wanted to do a
summit on Niger Delta, they named Gambari as chairman,
the people said no and that led to the Niger Delta
Technical Committee, which I headed.”
“We produced a Report and government did not bother
about the report until date. I have looked at the resource
questions and materials and I have not seen anything
they have lined up to tackle the basic issues in the region,”
he said.
Mr Mitee, who said he was invited and would be at the
summit for whatever is is worth, said: “My question still
remain, are they going to talk to us or we are to talk to
them.” He asserted that therewere avalanche of reports
and papers on what government should do to change the
dissent in Niger Delta, but it had always chosen to pay
deaf ears to matters of the region, only to come up with
talk shops.
IBB urges youths to be involved
in national devt
By Chris Ochayi
FORMER military President, General Ibrahim
Babangida, (retd.) yesterday called on Nigerians,
especially the youths to get involve in all policies and
programmes that could improve national development
and growth. Gen. Babangida made the call when a nongovernmental
organisation, NGO, Forward Nigeria
Group, FGN, led by its National Coordinator, Barr. Alex
Edim, presented him the ‘Father of Nation Building award
at his hilltop residence in Minna., the Niger State capital.
The ex-leader noted that national development is a
collective efforts, that must be supported by every
Nigerian irrespective of religious or political affiliation.
IBB, while also appreciating the gesture of the group,
admonished it to collaborate with other progressiveminded
organisations and contribute to the socioeconomic
growth and unity of the country.
He commended the formation of the FNG and promised
to monitor closely the activities of the group in achieving
the desired goal of moving Nigeria forward.
According to him, “I commend you for the laudable
efforts to move Nigeria forward and I promise that I would
closely monitor your activities from now on.”
In his remarks, the National Coordinator of FGN, Barr.
Alex Edim eulogized the former president, enumerating
his various achievements while in office. Edim said,
“Nigerians can not forget your impact on the nation and
the various agencies you established whose impact was
felt all over the nation. From MAMSER, DIFFRI, FRSC,
Peoples Bank, Better Life for Rural Women and others,
the nation is steel feeling their impacts till today.”
MultiChoice reiterates commitment
to greater subscriber satisfaction
L
EADING video entertainment provider, MultiChoice
Nigeria, has reiterated its commitment to better service
delivery to its subscribers.
In a statement released recently, the company said
greater attention would be paid to issues that affect
subscribers’ enjoyment of DStv services. “Notable among
these are signal loss, subscription payment and reconnection,
customer care services, Free-to-Air channels and
hardware related issues.
“We put our customers first at all times and hold them
in very high esteem. We are committed to delivering world
class service to our customers and proud to say we are
the first video entertainment company to implement new
subscriber initiatives requested by the Consumer Protection
Council (CPC),” the company said.
On the issue of customer care services, MultiChoice
explained that the call centre hours have been extended
to accommodate more queries.
“Call centre operating hours are now 8am to 9pm on
Saturdays, Sunday and public holidays. In addition, toll
free numbers have been introduced on major network
providers”. This means that customers’ calls to the call
centre are toll free when they call the corresponding numbers
of their mobile network.
C
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SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016 — 3
Bayelsa First Lady, Rachael Dickson
delivers quadruplets in U.S.
A
day after securing
victory at the Abuja
Division of the Court of
Appeal over his rival,
Timipre Sylva as winner of
the last governorship
election, Bayelsa State
governor, Henry Seriake
Dickson, has been blessed
with quadruplets.
The season of celebrations
continues as his wife, Dr.
Rachael Dickson was
delivered of a a bouncing
baby boy and three
beautiful baby girls in the
United States of America.
Mother and children are
doing well.
A statement by his Chief
Press Secretary, Daniel
Iworiso-Markson, said the
blessing is particularly for
the family and Bayelsans
“because this bundle of joy
is coming after many years
of praying and waiting
upon the Lord.”
Governor Dickson thanks
friends, family members
and Bayelsans for their
prayers and support and
enjoins them to continue to
pray for the family.
Why we took up the cudgel for Mrs
Jonathan —Reformed N-Delta Avengers
By Emma Amaize
AGROUP, Reformed
Niger Delta Avengers,
RNDA, has explained why
it took up the case against
former First Lady, Mrs
Patience Jonathan, by EFCC,
saying it was because the
Commission was clearly
running a campaign of
calumny against her.
In a statement, yesterday,
the group’s spokesperson,
Cynthia Whyte, said:
“Nigerians and the
international community
would recall that, recently, we
had accused certain highprofile
politicians from the
Niger Delta region –
including former President
Goodluck Jonathan – as
sponsors or patrons of the
Niger Delta Avengers (NDA).
“The controversy generated
by the revelation was yet to
abate before the major militant
groups in the region,
including the NDA
unanimously agreed to
ceasefire and recognize the
Chief (Dr) Edwin Clark-led
pan-Niger Delta Peace and
Dialogue Group as the sole
body to represent the region
in the forthcoming dialogue
with the Federal Government.
“Following the
development, all stakeholders
from the region were expected
to close ranks and work for the
peace and development of the
region. And naturally, we
changed our earlier
disposition towards the former
President,” it said.
The group asserted: “It is
an incontrovertible fact that, by
virtue of his current status as
the only Nigerian of Southsouth
extraction to have
assumed the position of
President, Commander-in-
Chief of the Armed Forces of
the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, His Excellency,
former President Goodluck
Ebele Jonathan, GCFR is
automatically, the political
leader of the entire Niger
Delta region. He therefore
deserves our respect.”
By Soni Daniel
ANGERED by the probe
of Dame Patience
Jonathan’s accounts by the
Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission,
thousands of Ijaw youths
on Friday stormed the Port
Harcourt Zonal office of the
commission to protest
against the treatment
meted out to the former First
Lady.
A statement made
available to Saturday
Vanguard by the
Spokesman for the EFCC,
Mr. Wilson Uwujaren,
indicated that the protesters
carrying placards with
various inscriptions, such
as “Patience is Innocent”,
“How Many First Ladies
have Been Tried in
Nigeria,” “Mrs Patience
Jonathan Deserves
Respect, Stop
Embarrassing Her,”
“EFCC Stop Victimizing
Niger Delta People,”
“EFCC How many corrupt
Nigerians have been
prosecuted and jailed,” and
so on were led by one
Sukubo Sara-Igbe Sukubo,
a self acclaimed
ambassador.
Sukubo reportedly told
EFCC officials that they
were in the commission to
protest what they
considered as an
Ijaw youths protest against
Patience Jonathan’s probe
by EFCC
unprecedented ill-treatment
of a former First Lady of
Nigeria.
Sukubo said, “We are here
to express our unhappiness
and submit our letter of
protest over what we
consider as ill-treatment of
the former first Lady.
“We, as coalition of Niger
Delta Civil Rights
Organisatioin, concerned
youths and Ijaw Nation
World Wide, hereby,
demand that the EFCC
should stay off Mrs. Patience
Goodluck Jonathan, as there
is no established legal or
political precedent for what
EFCC is currently doing to
Mrs Patience Jonathan,”
Sukubo said.
But the South South Zonal
Head of the EFCC, Ishaq
Salilu, calmed the protesters,
saying that as a law-abiding
agency of the government,
it was merely doing its duties
without any fear or favour.
Salilu told the protesters
that the EFCC as a creation
of law, discharges its
responsibilities within the
ambit of the law. “EFCC is a
law-abiding organization,
which discharges its duties
not minding whose ox is
gored. We do not shy
away from our
responsibilities. Where
there is a case, we pursue
it to logical conclusion, if
there is no case, there is
none, we move to other
things. The motto of the
Commission is “Nobody
is Above the Law,” he
said.
Ishaq commended the
protesters for the peaceful
manner they conducted
themselves and assured
them that their letter
would be transmitted to
the appropriate
authorities.
Mrs. Jonathan recently
instituted an action
against the EFCC
claiming that the money
placed on “Post-No-Debit
category” in the accounts
of four companies
currently being
prosecuted on money
laundering charge by the
Commission, belong to
her.
Pictures of Mrs.
Jonathan’s supporters
protesting at EFCC office
in Port Harcourt on
Friday
PHOTO AS ART: Celebrating Iconic photographer, Sunmi Smart-Cole who turns 75 tomorrow
(Pixs by Sunmi)
Sunmi Smart-Cole playing musical instrument alongside
Fela Anikulapo-Kuti
‘’Long Time No See, II’’ – 1998 (General Olusegun Obasanjo,
a week after he left prison, left, and Chief Emeka Anyaoku)
Sunmi Smart-Cole giving a hair cut to his Vicar, Venerable
(Dr.) E.A. 'Femi Fatile, on Thursday, September
22, 2016. Photo: Iria Ojeikere
‘’ Holy Ghost Fire’’ – Jerusalem, June 22, 2007
‘’Power!’’ (Head of State General Muhammadu Buhari,
Dodon Barracks) – 1984
‘’The Mobbing of Bill Clinton’’
–1992
‘’The marriage
of The Moon &
The Eiffel
Tower’’– Oct.
2010
‘’Meanwhile In Lagos’’ – 1985 ‘’Don’t Select...Let them Vote’’ – 1979

4 — SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016
Funeral mass for Pa Patrick Oluwole Orimoloye
The funeral service for Late Pa Patrick Oluwole Orimoloye was held at the
Sacred Heart Catholic Cathedral Church Akure yesterday. From left: Mr
Micheal Olugboyega Orimoloye (son) Mrs Florence Oseragbaje, Mr Babajide
Orimoloye (son) and Mrs Olusola Awosika (daughter)
The funeral service for late Pa Patrick Oluwole Orimoloye was held at the
Sacred Heart Catholic Cathedral Church Akure yesterday. From left: Mrs
Abioye Orimoloye (wife) Mr Micheal Olugboyega Orimoloye (son) and Mr
Ibukunoluwa Awosika (son-inlaw)
Bama indigenes deploy 5,000 men to
secure town under reconstruction
BY NDAHI
MARAMA, Maiduguri
THE indigenes of
Bama have
deployed 5,000 men to
secure the town against
any form of aggression.
The indigenes also revealed
that fund have
been pulled together to
support the state government
financing the ongoing
reconstruction of the
town.
Bama, the second largest
town in Borno State was
the worst hit by the Boko
Haram insurgency as
barely all structures were
razed to the earth by the
insurgents during the
push by the military.
Addressing newsmen in
Bama, the indigenes under
the auspices of Bama
Elders Forum led by Hon.
Al-Amin Kamsalem said
they (the indigenes) have
keyed into the ongoing reconstruction
plan of Bama
by the Borno State Government
and willing to do
everything to ensure they
get rehabilitated back to
their beloved town.
Kamsalem, who was a
former commissioner in
the state and erstwhile
chairman of Bama local
government, leading other
prominent indigenes to
the press conference said:
“All the professionals indigenes
of Bama especially
in the building and construction
industry are going
to render free service
towards the rebuilding of
Bama.
“We are going to definitely
contribute financially,
morally and spiritually
towards the rebuilding
of Bama and the continued
peace of the town. We are
completely behind the governor.”
“The Bama elders and
the people of the
community have equally
mobilized our people to
secure the town, we have
Civilian JTF, local hunters
and vigilantes already willing
to protect the town
against aggressors. All
these people are ready to
complement the efforts of
security agencies.
“We are spiritual people
and we will continue to
pray for God’s continued
protection on the town.”
He said: “We have
ddeployed 5,000 men to
guard against any form of
aggression on Bama; these
are local hunters and Civilian
JTF.”
IYC faults Buhari’s call on UN
to negotiate Chibok girls
freedom with Boko Haram
By Emma Am aize
IJAW Youth Council,
IYC, Friday, criticised
President Muhammadu
Buhari over his call on the
United Nations to broker
the release of the Chibok
girls with Boko Haram terrorists.
Spokesperson of the
council, Mr Eric Omare, in
a statement, said: “Our attention
has just been drawn
to the call by President Buhari
on the United Nations
to mediate with Boko
Haram terrorists in order to
free the Chibok girls.”
“The IYC states that the
Niger Delta situation calls
for more urgent international
intervention, rather than
the senseless Boko Haram
agitation.
“The IYC had expected
President Buhari to make
such a call on the United
Nations in relation to finding
a lasting solution to the
recurrent Niger Delta agitation,
especially now that
stakeholders in the region
no longer have confidence
in the sincerity of government
to resolve the issues,”
he said.
His words: “The IYC,
therefore, calls on President
Buhari to use his stay in the
United Nations conference
to seek for international
support towards the resolution
of the Niger Delta
agitation.” Peaceful and
lasting solution to the Niger
Delta situation demands
the intervention of
the international community,”
the group added.

SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016 — 5
Recession: We will sell some national
•Govt should prepare for war — NUPENG
assets — FG •Importation of petroleum products to end in 2018
By Victor
Ahiuma-Young &
Peter Egwuatu
AGAINST
the
backdrop of
oppositions to plans by the
Federal Government to sell
its assets to tackle the
economic recession in the
country, the Minister of
Budget and National
Planning, Senator Udoma
Udo Udoma, yesterday
confirmed that the Federal
Government would go
ahead to sell some of the
national assets to generate
immediate cash that would
help it meet the short fall in
revenue.
He also stated that the
country will stop
importation of petroleum
products in the next two
years as the government
would provide incentives to
attract private sector to
invest in the refining of
petroleum products.
The Nigerian Union of
Petroleum and Natural Gas
Workers, NUPENG in its
reaction however vowed to
make the country
ungovernable if the
government goes ahead to
sell some of the national
assets.
The minister of National
Planning who spoke at a
press briefing in Lagos on
the forthcoming 22nd
Nigerian Economic Summit,
NES scheduled to hold in
Abuja from October 10-12,
2016, said that the Federal
Government has started
addressing some of the
recommendations of the
summit held last year in the
areas of competitiveness,
improving the business
environment as well as job
creation and inclusive
growth.
While commenting on sale
of national assets, he said
“Government does not plan
to sell all of the national
assets, but will only sell
some of the assets to
generate immediate cash
that will be pumped into the
economy as revenue from oil
cannot meet our
infrastructural needs. A
committee has been set up
to determine the assets to
dispose off and once it is
through we should be able
to announce it. The 2017
budget was carefully drafted
as it was based on $38 per
barrel benchmark and will
be able to fund the critical
needs of the people based
on our diversification
strategy. Our current
economic challenges are
rooted in our reliance on
single commodity-crude oilwhose
price has fallen as
has production, leading to
a drastic fall in our revenues.
“ We would also partner
with the private sector to
fund the economy. We can
no longer borrow but to look
at other options, like
concessioning. We want to
implement our budget with
the revenue we earn so that
we can fund the
infrastructural needs of the
country. But the revenue in
oil cannot fund all we
needed so we have to
prioritise. So we are looking
at public private sector
collaboration. We want to get
private sector funding and
one of the ways to get it is
by concessioning. If we
concession the rail road, it
will be a big relief to the
Government.”
He further assured that
Government is committed to
addressing the current
economic recession in the
country as its goal is to
unlock the economic
potentials of the non-oil
and high employment
sectors so as to achieve a
sustainable inclusive
growth that will ensure that
majority of Nigerians
become more productive
and thus reduce poverty.
According to him, “We
are working towards
diversifying the Nigerian
economy by ensuring that
non-oil sector drives the
economy because this is the
sector that contributes the
most Gross Domestic
Product, GDP and has more
capacity to employ. We will
stop the importation of
petroleum products in two
years time, say 2018 as
Government will provide
incentives that will attract
private sector into refining.
“Our basic strategy is to
reflate the economy through
fiscal stimulus and strategic
implementation of annual
budgets. What this means is
that we are geared to
strategically spend our way
out of recession.
Unfortunately, we have not
met all our planned
expenditures for 2016 due to
low revenue out turns.
However, we have ensured
that the resources that we
release are targeted at
priorities that will stimulate
activities in the economy. We
are also developing a more
robust monitoring and
evaluation framework to track
performance.”
We ‘ll make Nigeria
ungovernable if NNPC,
others are sold——
NUPENG
Opposing government
decision to sell national assets,
NUPENG yesterday advised
the Federal Government to
ignore calls in certain quarters
to sell the four public refineries
and its shares in Nigeria
Liquefied National Gas
Company, NLNGC, to avoid
pushing the country into
depression and civil unrest.
The union frowned at the
idea being propagated by the
Senate President, Dr. Bukola
Saraki, former Governor of
CBN and Emir of Kano,
Alhaji Sanusi Lamido
Sanusi and business mogul,
Aliko Dangote, describing
their calls as unpatriotic,
selfish and against national
interest.
NUPENG in a statement
by its President, Igwe
Achese, threatened to make
the country ungovernable
should the Federal
government go ahead to sell
the Nation’s oil assets,
contending that it would
lead to massive job losses
and endanger national
security. According to the
union, “for security and
strategic reasons, the
Nation’s four refineries
should not be sold but restreamed
for efficient
performance.
Recession: Ekweremadu seeks
Chinese cooperation on way out
By Henry Umoru & Joseph Erunke
DEPUTY Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu,
has appealed to the Chinese Government to assist
Nigeria to get out of its current economic recession.
He also appealed to the Chinese Government to transfer
its technology to Africa just as he sought the assistance of
China in the area of direct foreign investment, saying such
were needed to take the continent to the next level of
development.
Ekweremadu, however, warned Chinese nationals against
illegal mining in the solid minerals sector in Africa, asking
those already neck-deep in the activities to desist forthwith.
The Senator, who spoke in Abuja, yesterday, when he
played host to a delegation of the Chinese-African People’s
Friendship Association, CAPFA, led by its President and
former Vice Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political
Consultative Conference, Abulaiti Abudurexiti, said China
could play significant friendly roles in getting Nigeria out
of its current economic woes, having also passed through
difficult times in their match to economic prosperity.
He said: “We will like to seek China’s support to Nigeria’s
economy particularly and the rest of Africa, especially now
that we have found ourselves in recession. We expect that
China will support our initiatives aimed at getting out of
the recession as quickly as possible. We also expect to see
the transfer of technology from China to Africa and more
of direct investment in Africa”.
He lauded the economic policies of China on Africa, saying
it had significantly helped to improve air, rail and road
transport systems on the continent and appealed to Chinese
authorities not to rest on their oars.
Senator Ekweremadu, who represents Enugu West
Senatorial District, also commended the government of
China for supporting Africa’s development through soft
loans, but asking that more should be done for Africa to
overcome its economic challenges.
“We are also aware that China has extended loan facilities
to Africa broad-based in very soft terms; we are very grateful
for all these. But we believe that you can do more for Africa,
especially now that we are experiencing economy downturn
in Africa. A friend in need, they say is a friend indeed, “he
added.
While noting that Nigeria’s relationship with China had
improved greatly, he said the development had led to
increase in marriages between citizens of both countries.
Speaking on the alleged involvement of Chinese nationals
in illegal mining of solid minerals in Africa, he appealed to
the leader of the delegation and government of China in
general to intervene with a view to curbing the development.
Nigeria crude production to
rise over Forcados oil export in
October
By Ediri Ejoh with Agency report
T
HERE are indications that the country’s crude
production may see further growth, as exports of
Forcados crude stream oil (of about 400,000 barrels
a day) is set to resume at the end of September for the
first time since February with a loading programme
issued for October.
The Forcados terminal normally has capacity for about
400,000 barrels a day. This came as the Organization of
the Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC) has frowned
at the continuous drop of investment in the oil and gas
sector, saying such development posses serious threat
for future supplies.
According to Reuters, trade sources, had revealed that
the first cargo is expected to load on September 28.
October exports are expected to be around 230,000
barrels per day, a preliminary loading list showed.
SPDC, a local affiliate of Shell, operates the terminal
and declared force majeure on exports on Feb. 22 after
a sub-sea pipeline was hit by militant group the Niger
Delta Avengers.
It will be recalled that exports of crude from the country
have been impacted to the lowest in almost 30 years,
following incessant production disruptions caused by
militant attacks on oil facilities in the Niger Delta but
the country’s oil production has remained resilient.
But repairs of vandalised oil facilities in the country is
set to help boost the volume of the country’s crude oil
exports by 575,000 barrels, per day, in the last quarter
of 2016. It will also be recalled that Shell, had last week,
lifted force majeure on Bonny Light, the country’s
benchmark crude oil grade, following the repair and
reopening of the Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL) by
the pipeline’s operator, Aiteo.

6 — SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016
Drama as Court convicts Ogun Monarch
for contempt
By Daud Olatunji,
Abeokuta
THE Ogun State
High Court sitting in
Isabo, Abeokuta has
convicted a traditional ruler
in the state, Najeem
Aromaye, the Oniro of Iro in
Obafemi-Owode Local
Government area of the state
for contempt.
The embattled monarch
had been restrained by the
state High Court from
parading himself as an Oba
since 2014, following a suit
filed by Oleyo ruling house
in Iro.
Justice Olugboyega
Ogunfowora had in
September 15, 2014 granted
an interlocutory injunction
restraining the embattled
monarch from parading
himself as the Oba pending
the determination of the
substantive suit against his
emergence.
Justice Ogunfowora had
also restrained the state
government and the
kingmakers from engaging
in any activity that would lead
to the Aromaye’s emergence
as an oba.
Counsel for the claimants ,
Salih Bakare had told the
court that the embattled
monarch had presented
himself for installation on
September 16, 2014,aday
after the court gave an order
of interlocutory injunction .
While convicting him for
contempt, Justice Mobolaji
Ojo in her judgement said,
“having examined the
submissions of both learned
counsel, I am satisfied that
the claimants have proved the
allegation of contempt of court
against the respondent
beyond reasonable doubt.
“The evidence before me is
so overwhelming that the
respondent deliberately chose
to disobey the order of this
court. This conduct must not
be allowed to go unpunished.
“I hold that the claimants
have proved beyond
reasonable doubt that the
respondent deliberately
disobeyed the order of the
court per Ogunfowora dated
September 15,2014
restraining the respondent
from parading himself as the
Oniro of Iro, pending the
determination of this suit.
“Accordingly, I found the
respondent guilty of contempt
of this court”.
Meanwhile, the counsel for
the respondent, Mr. Sanusi
urged the court to suspend
the order of committal
pursuant to Order 42 rule 15
, saying, the respondent
would cease from parading
himself as the Oniro of Iro.
“Accordingly, I make the
following orders; the
contemn or is hereby
sentenced to fine of N5,000
(five thousand naira ). The
contemnor shall file a
personal written undertaking
in this court to purge himself
of his contempt before the
close of business today”.
The contemnor , however,
signed an undertaking
pledging to comply with the
order of the court.
Lagos to link inner roads to
smart city project
•Plans deployment of surveillance
cameras next month
LAGOS State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode
yesterday said there were plans to link inner roads
in the state to the Lagos Smart City Project, just as he
expressed readiness to commence deployment of Close
Circuit Television (CCTv) Cameras in October across the
state. Governor Ambode, who disclosed this in Coker-
Aguda area of the state at the commissioning of some of
the 114 roads, newly constructed in the 20 Local
Government areas (LGs) and 37 Local Council
Development Areas (LCDAs), said government will
complement the project with strategic security
management driven by technology.
The governor, who was represented by the Commissioner
for Science and Technology, Mr. Olufemi Odubiyi at the
commissioning of 500meters Bolaji Banwo Street in Coker
-Aguda LCDA, said security remained one of the cardinal
objectives of his administration, and that technology will
play a key role in securing residents.
Also in Coker-Aguda LCDA, Governor Ambode
commissioned 580 meters Opere Street through a member
of the Lagos State House of Assembly representing
Surulere Constituency 1, Desmond Elliot.
Residents in fear over harassment by thugs
•Accuse Police of compromise
By Evelyn Usman
RESIDENTS
of
Green Field estate in
Amuwo Odofin Local
Government Area of Lagos,
are presently gripped with
fear, following invasion by
thugs allegedly hired by an
aggrieved resident to harass
some of them.
This is coming on the heels
of a resolution reportedly
passed three weeks ago, by
the estate’s Landlord/
Tenants association, to
relieve its chairman of his
position, over issues
bothering on alleged
financial misappropriation..
However, Saturday
Vanguard gathered that the
decision was reached while
the chairman, Mr Nixon
Okwara, was away in the
United States of America.
A caretaker committee was
thereafter, set up with a
charge to oversee the affairs
of the estate for six months
and also to conduct an
election that will herald a new
chairman and executive
members.
But since the decision for
Okwara to leave was
reached, residents alleged
that he had been hiring
some thugs to harass some
of them.
Speaking with Saturday
Vanguard’, the Chairman,
Caretaker committee, Mr
Emmanuel Okeke who
confirmed the harassment
by thugs said, “ Our estate
comprises the Yorubas,
Hausas, Igbos and other
tribes. For the past six years
he has been the chairman,
he has no account. Each
time he is asked to render
account to the general
house, it would result into a
fight. He was asked to
allow another person
assume the position of the
chairman last year but he
refused. Landlords therefore
came together on September
3, 2016 and passed a vote
of no confidence on him,
following allegations
levelled against him.
Since then, he has been
fomenting trouble by trying
to instigate quarrel between
landlords and has also sent
thugs to beat up landlords.
in the estate. He said
nobody can do anything to
him. It is obvious that
policemen at the Ago
division have compromised
because when incident of
the attack by the thugs he
personally led occurred, I
ran to the police station to
report but no decisive action
was taken”.
Saturday Vanguard was
informed that a near clash
was averted Wednesday
after a group of thugs
invaded the estate to attack
some of the landlords.
However when Saturday
Vanguard contacted Okwara,
he described the allegation
as false and a calculated
attempt to smear his name,
insisting that he was still the
Community Development
Association ‘s chairman of
estate.
He said : “What they have
said is totally not true.
Sincerely speaking, the
matter in question is before
the court. And I think that a
matter in court should not be
spoken about anyhow. It
has nothing to do about
thugs. Okeke is the one
fomenting trouble .
Meanwhile, Saturday
Vanguard learned that the
case was presently being
handled at the Zone 2
command , Onikan. Police
sources at the zone,
informed that investigation
was still ongoing.

C
M
YK
Ikpoba Okha, Egor Youths endorse
Obaseki for Governor
By SIMON
EBEGBULEM
C Youth OMMUNITY
Chairmen
in Ikpoba Okha and
Egor Local Government
Areas of Edo State and
their members have endorsed
the governorship
candidate of the All Progressives
Congress
(APC), Mr Godwin
Obaseki ahead of the
September 28, governorship
election holding in
the state.
Secretary of the Community
Youth Chairmen
in Ikpoba Okha Local
Government Area, Mr
Osaro Eboigbe who
spoke on behalf of the
hundreds of youths said,
“it is obvious even to the
blind that the Comrade
Governor has done well
for the good of the people
of the state. We say,
well done, Mr Governor.
“Today is a great day,
the reason being that we
the Community Youth
Chairmen G.25 are officially
declaring and
adopting Mr Godwin
Obaseki and Comrade
Philip Shaibu for Edo
From left: Colins Eselemo, Ijaw leader; Hon John Osakue,Deputy
Director; Godwin Obaseki campaign office; and Mr Joe Okojie at a
press conference accusing PDP of importing militants to Edo
Staste. Photo:Barnabas Uzosike
governorship race
come September 28,
2016. We indeed
declare our support for
this project 2016. I am
congratulating Mr Godwin
Obaseki in advance
as the next Governor of
Edo State.”
Similarly, the President
of the Association of
Community Chairmen in
Egor Local Government
Area, Prince Uyi Amegor
said, “We the association
of Community
Chairmen’s Forum in
Egor Local Government
Area, hereby in
recognition of your
development strides so
far, endorse Mr Godwin
Enogheghase Obaseki
as the governor of Edo
No amount of intimidation will stop
me from campaigning for my husband
— Mrs Ize Iyamu
BY GABRIEL
ENOGHOLASE
WIFE of the PDP
governorship
candidate in Edo State,
Dr. Idia Ize-Iyamu has
declared that no
amount of intimidation
or deliberate manipulation
by the APC would
deter her from complementing
the vigorous
campaigns of her husband
towards the September
28 Edo state gubernatorial
election.
She spoke while campaigning
in some markets
in Owan West and
Uhunmwonde Local
Government Areas in
veiled reference to the
attack on her convoy
few days ago, saying
that would only
strengthen her and her
enthusiastic followers.
She urged women to
come out en masse to
vote for Pastor Osagie
Ize-Iyamu who she
stressed was full of passion
for development in
the state.
She also charged Edo
women to be fearless
and focused as they cast
their vote on election
day.
Describing Edo women
as the most hardworking
and industrious
in Nigeria from ancient
time to modern
times, Idia Ize-Iyamu
advised them to summon
enough courage to
exercise their franchise
“Do not be afraid. By
the grace of God, all
would be well. Come out
in your large numbers to
vote. We women should
not be reluctant or feel
unsafe to exercise our
rights”,she said.
Idia noted that Edo
women, like their male
counterparts, have
been very bold and
courageous in history.
The PDP women campaign
witnessed a colourful
carnival procession
marked with pomp
and pageantry.
SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016 — 7
State. The Association of
Community Chairmen,
Egor consists of twentyfour
communities in the
local government. We
are here appealing to
you, sir, Mr Godwin
Obaseki, when you assume
office in Osadebe
Avenue, you should
continue from where
the Comrade Governor
stops. I will rest my case
here because we are
waiting for the
celebration day, come
28th September 2016.”
Court remands PDP chieftain, INEC
officer in prison over alleged kidnapping
By SIMON
EBEGBULEM
THE Magistrate
Court in Fugar,
Etsako Central Local
Government Area of Edo
State has remanded one
Alhaji Nakowa
Suleiman, a chieftain of
the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) and Mr
Effong Akpan, an
Electoral Officer
attached to the
Independent National
Electoral Commission
(INEC), to Auchi prison
for alleged abduction of
two Youth Corpers
during the recent Voters
Registration Exercise.
The duo were alleged
to have abducted two
Youth Corps members
Matthew Omaji and
Grace Adah, Confiscated
the registration machine
to the residence of the
PDP leader where the
Corpers were coerced to
register people illegally.
The three count charge
against the defendants
read: “ that on the 25th
of June, 2016, at Ofukpo,
in the Fugar Magistrate
District did abduct one
Mathew Omaji and
compelled him against
his will to carry out
unlawful activities and
thereby committed an
offence contrary to section
1 and punishable
under section 3 (2) of the
Edo state kidnapping
prohibition law 2009 as
amended in 2013.
Edo youths endorse
Obaseki
BY GABRIEL
ENOGHOLASE
AHEAD of the Edo
state governorship election
slated for Wednesday
next week, a group
Edo Youth Progressives
Parliament, has endorsed
the APC governorship
candidate,Mr.
Godwin Obaseki for the
election
A statement in Benin
weekend by the spokesman
for the group, Mr.
Okojie Ehichioya said
the youths took the decision
at the meeting of
its members from the
18 local government areas
of the state and
called on youths to
vote for Obaseki.
He said “ We have decided
to support the
APC governorship candidate
because Governor
Adams Oshiomhole
has performed wellin
the state.
B-R-I-E-F-S
PDP govt diverted N4bn
loan — Oshiomhole
By SIMON EBEGBULEM
EDO State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiom
hole, has accused the administration of former
Governor of Edo State, Mr Lucky Igbinedion of diverting
N4 billion bank loan
Oshiomhole, in a statement issued by his Chief
Press Secretary, Mr Peter Okhiria responding to
comments made by Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, the
governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) on the debt profile of Edo State, said,
“We make bold to state, and the facts are clear, that
in spite of earning the highest revenues from the
Federation Account, the PDP states in the South-
South region are the most indebted in the region
and not Edo State.
“The domestic debt profile released by the DMO
as at December 31, 2015, the last time it was issued,
lists Delta State as having a debt profile of N320,605
billion; Akwa Ibom had N147,575 billion; Cross River:
N115,522 billion; Rivers, N134,9566 billion;
Bayelsa N103,374 billion as against Edo which had
a far lower profile. While the other South-South PDP
States have continued to amass domestic debts with
high-interest rates, Edo is close to completely liquidating
its domestic debt.
“While Ize-Iyamu continues to peddle his falsehood,
we have the record of the N4 billion borrowed
by the PDP government of Mr Lucky Igbinedion,
with the knowledge of Osagie Ize-Iyamu as Secretary
to State Government from Guaranty Trust Bank
and Equitorial Trust Bank and paid to an address in
Lagos.
“Edo people are not deceived. They know that the
PDP and its sympathisers have a record of borrowing
to steal and not the APC government led by
Comrade Adams Oshiomhole. “Our records are open
and we run a transparent government. No amount
of planted or concocted stories by hack writers will
distort the facts.”
Ndokwa/Ukwuani community
drags FG to court over NDDC
appointment
By Julius Oweh
THE Ndokwa/Ukwuani ethnic nationality of Del
ta State has dragged the Federal Government
and the leadership of the National Assembly to a
federal high court sitting in Asaba over the non-appointment
of their citizens into the board of the Niger
Delta Development Commission.
In the suit filed by Mr Okwuepusu Victor and three
others, the ethnic nationality are praying the court
to prevail on the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki
and the speaker of the House of Representatives,
Honourable Dogara to put on hold the screening of
members of NDDC board submitted by the executive
arm of government, saying that ‘indigenes of
Ndokwa/Ukwuani community in Delta State being
an oil producing area are entitled to be appointed
into the board of the NDDC‘ and ‘that the non-appointment
of indigenes of Ndokwa/Ukwuani ethnic
group into the NDDC board since the inception of
the NDDC is an injustice to the indigenes of Ndokwa/Ukwuani
ethnic group in Delta State‘.
In the suit which is filed by their solicitor, A. C
Oluiji Esq., the ethnic nationality also prayed for
the order of the court directing President
Muhammadu Buhari to appoint as a matter of
urgency any qualified Ndokwa son or daughter into
the board of NDDC.
Tompolo’s father lived for Ijaw
Greatness— Evah
THE coordinator of Ijaw monitoring group,
Comrade Joseph Evah, said he regretted that
the patriach of the Ekpemupolo Dynasty, Chief
Thomas Ekpemupolo did not live to witness the
transformation of the Niger Delta to a world class
region of his dreams.
According to the Niger Delta activist in his tribute,
“we are mourning with great regret that the father
of Chief Tompolo did not live long enough to feel
the transformation of our region.
I am sure the old man did not die as a happy man
because Niger Delta in general is still in darkness
at this point in time.

8 — SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016
IPOB sit-at-home order records
partial compliance
By Emeka Mamah,
Vincent Ujumadu,
Anayo Okoli, Chidi
Nkwopara Festus
Ahon, Peter Okutu,
Francis Igata,
Chinonso Alozie and
Chimaobi Nwaiwu.
THE sit-at-home order
by the Indigenous
People of Biafra, IPOB, to
protest the continued
detention of Nnamdi Kanu,
Director, Radio Biafra who has
been in detention since
October 10, last year and other
pro-Biafra activists recorded
partial compliance yesterday
in some states in the South
East of the country.
Anambra
Markets and some commercial
banks were closed as
at 11am in Onitsha, while
there was no movement of vehicles
in the early hours of the
morning. In Awka, however,
banks and markets were open
for customers. Government offices
were also open and civil
servants were on their duty
posts. Some schools were also
open, while students and pupils
were asked to go home in
others. Traffic was generally
light in all the major cities in
the state and movement was
not restricted in any way. In
effect, some people chose to
obey the order merely for the
fear of the unknown and the
expectation was that businesses
would open later.
Abia
In Umuahia and Aba, normal
commercial and social activities
went on smoothly in
defiance of the sit-at-home order.
Banks, schools and other
businesses opened for normal
business activities.
Banks, schools and other
businesses opened for normal
business activities with Keke
operators who usually are the
greatest sympathizers of the
group going about their normal
business.
However, police started patrolling
the streets of Umuahia
and Aba as early as 6am.
Enugu
In Enugu State, the sit-athome
order was partially
complied with. Although markets,
businesses, and banks,
were open for daily activities,
most schools,especially private
From left: A Consultant, Rev. Victor Akwuodike; Proprietress, Mrs. Susan
Iluno;Principal, Mr. Festus Mokwunye and Bursar, Mr. Chike Iluno; during
the 10th Anniversary press briefing of Kingsfield College, Ijede Ikorodu in
Lagos yesterday.
schools shut their doors to
teaching and learning.
Saturday Vanguard’’s visit
to some private schools within
Independent layout axis
showed that the entrance
gates were shut even as some
of them had earlier sent text
messages to parents,warning
them not to bring their wards.
A parent,Mrs. Ifeoma Ogbodo
brandished a text message
received from one of the
private schools at Liberty Estate,
Independent Layout,
Enugu
which
read:”Please,due to the threat
of possible clash between
MASSOB and security
agencies,we will not open today.”
At the Ogbete main market,
which is the biggest in Enugu,
the usual beehive of activities
was absent while very
few cars plied the roads.
At the Okpara Square,a detachment
of Mobile Policemen
numbering over 200 who had
rehearsed crowd and combat
techniques were still stationed
there at the time of filing this
report.
Policemen patrolled the
streets in the early hours of the
morning before some of them
were dropped at strategic areas
of the city. The policemen
later dispersed following the
heavy rain which started at
7.30 am and lasted for over
two hours.
Imo
Also, in Imo State, the sit-athome
order was not observed
in Owerri, the state capital.
Saturday Vanguard’ visited
the major streets in the metropolis
and discovered that the
people were going about their
normal businesses. It was also
observed that markets in the
state were open for businesses
just as artisans opened their
shops and the keke operators
were engaged in their daily
businesses. Banks, schools
among others were also open,
although, there were heavy
security personnel positioned
strategically in and around the
city possibly to forestall any
breakdown of law and order.
Ebonyi
In Ebonyi State, the sit-athome
order recorded total
non-compliance as there were
normal activities and vehicular
movements across the
State. Speaking to Saturday
Vanguard from his base in
Ebonyi Local Government
area of the state, the state coordinator
of IPOB, Mr Ugochukwu
Nweke who was observing
the sit-at-home order
alongside other members of
the group described the people
of the state as myopic in
the Biafra struggle.
“Ebonyi People are myopic
but we the Indigenous People
of Biafra are resolute, we
cannot succumb to all manner
of threats, intimidations
and harassments by security
agents and the Nigeria government.
We are unstoppable
and we cannot be discouraged
by Ebonyi people who
are not concerned about the
Biafra cause, they have never
behaved like Igbos”, he said.
When Saturday Vanguard’
visited some major markets
and motor parks, normal activities
were going on. Public
and civil servants were also
at their duty posts. There was
however heavy police presence
in strategic locations including
the popular Nkaliki
where MASSOB office is located
as Policemen took over
the area.
However, at Water Works
and Ogoja roads, there was
report of tear gas thrown by
security agents to disperse
some groups suspected to be
members of IPOB and MAS-
SOB in the state.
Asaba
Similarly in Delta State, residents
of Asaba, and its environs
defied the sit at home ordered.
Our correspondent who
drove round the state capital
between 8am and 12 noon,
observed that the police stationed
one armoured carrier, 12
Hilux patrol pick ups with
heavily armed mobile men at
the Onitsha head bridge to stop
IPOB members from moving
into Asaba.
While other armed mobile
and regular policemen were
seen patrolling the major
streets, others were stationed
in strategic junctions to maintain
peace and order.
Government offices, banks,
schools, markets and other
business premises opened for
normal businesses.
However, bank workers
dressed casually to work perhaps
to disguise while some
shops in Ogbogonogo market
and streets were under lock
and key at press time.
Also the ever busy Benin/
Onitsha expressway, Nnebisi
road, Summit road, Traffic
Light, Cable Point and other
streets were devoid of the usual
heavy traffic flow.
Some parents who were
afraid of the unknown, stopped
their children and wards from
going to school. As at the time
of filing the report, the Asaba
metropolis was calm and devoid
of any violence.
MASSOB hails pro-Biafra
groups for compliance
Meanwhile, MASSOB has
hailed pro-Biafrans for complying
with the sit-at-home order
and demanded a civil disobedience
against the Federal
Government to press for the
unconditional release of Nnamdi
Kanu and others.
A statement signed and
made available to Saturday
Vanguard’ by Uchenna
Madu,MASSOB Leader
read:”We gladly salute the
people of Biafra for their love,
confidence and trust bestowed
on IPOB, MASSOB and other
Biafra agitating groups, the
effect of today’s civil disobedience
further proved that MAS-
SOB and IPOB are major factors
to be reckoned with in the
affairs of Ndigbo and Nigeria
in general.
B-R-I-E-F-S
Okorocha sponsors bill to
move Owerri market
By Chidi Nkwopara & Chinonso Alozie,
OWERRI.
APPARENTLY determined to relocate
Ekeukwu Owerri market, Governor Rochas Okorocha
has sent an executive bill to the State House of
Assembly to enact a law for this purpose.
The bill, which was brought before the lawmakers by
the member for Aboh Mbaise State Constituency, Chief
Mike Iheanaetu, is cited as, “A Bill for a law to further
enhance the status of Owerri Capital City, otherwise to
be known as Imo my pride law of 2016, and for other
related purposes”.
The Bill, “provides for the abolishing of the establishment
of any form of motor park at any spot, less than
four kilometres from the Government House of Imo
State”. It is also the intention of the state government
that, “all markets, as defined in this law, shall be sited
at least, at a location four kilometres from the Government
House of Imo State.” While a provision was canvassed
for the constitution of a mobile court to be manned
by a magistrate, penalties were equally prescribed in
the proposed law.
Man killed attempting to cut
down tree in Ebonyi
By Peter Okutu, Abakaliki
EFFIUM community in Ohaukwu Local Govern
ment area of Ebonyi State, was yesterday thrown
into confusion, following the killing of one Ndubuisi
Nwali by forest guards over alleged attempt to cut
down economic trees in the area.
Saturday Vanguard gathered that squabble started
when some forest guards allegedly killed the victim
who hailed from Nwekendiagu village for merely attempting
to cut down economic tree at a forest reserve
in the area.
According to a source, the youths of Nwekendiagu
village as a result of the killing decided to launch a
reprisal attack on another community which was immediately
foiled by the police and the prompt intervention
of the Chairman, Caretaker Committee of Ohaukwu
Local Government area, Barr. Clement Odah.
Contacted, the Council Chairman, Odah who confirmed
the incident stated that the police had established
their presence sufficiently in the area as investigations
were on to ascertain the true cause of the ugly
incident.
Female prison officer arrested as
kidnappers’ accomplice
By Egufe Yafugborhi, Warri
POLICE in Delta State have arrested a female As
sistant Inspector of Prisons of the Federal Prisons,
Ogwashi-Uku as an accomplice to organized kidnapping
by a syndicate in the state.
A statement yesterday by SP Celestina Kalu, Police
Public Relations Officer, Delta Command, noted that
the prison official was arrested among other suspects
following police trail of a kidnap kingpin who turned
out to be an inmate at the Ogwashi-Uku Prisons, Aniocha
South council Headquarters.
Kalu narrated that, “On 14/8/2016 one Roseline Okathe
was kidnapped at PTI Junction, Effurun and released
19/8/2016 after payment of N.5Million ransom by her
family. On 15/9/2016, a team of investigators arrested
one Nnoma John, a native of Imo State resident at an
Asaba hotel and Joy Simon from Mbiri town but resident
at Agbor as accomplices to the kidnap gang.
Union blasts Ebonyi Govt over
mass exodus of lecturers from
EBSU
*Gears up for industrial action
By Peter Okutu
A
CADEMIC Staff Union of Universities, ASUU of Eb
onyi State University, EBSU, yesterday lambasted the
Ebonyi State Government over the mass exodus of lecturers
from the institution to other universities across the country to
seek greener pastures.
The union which cited the state government’s unfriendly
educational policies as being responsible for the development
faulted its embargo on employment and promotion,
non-payment of pensions, arrears, gratuity to staff of the
institution, casualization of staff and unwillingness to gazette
them as staff of EBSU.
ASUU-EBSU further agreed that any administration that
did not support the promotion of academics in any citadel of
learning was not interested in the growth and development
of the institution adding that the institution had suffered
poor funding under the Governor David Umahi-led administration.

SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016—9

10—SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016
By Evelyn Usman
T
here is no gainsaying the
fact that Nigeria is
presently on the grip of
alarming social vices,
notable among which is cultism,
following screaming headlines on
activities of cultists which have led
to loss of lives and wanton
destruction of property, almost on
daily basis.
There is rarely no academic
session without reported incidents
of cult related violent clashes in
most schools in country, which
usually result in the loss of lives of
promising youths.
Cultism in Nigeria could be
traced to pre-colonization when a
group of people with the main aim
of seeking protection from their
ancestors conducted rituals. Secret
cults have always existed in many
parts of the country, with the
Ogboni secret cult notable among
the Yorubas, the Ekpe secret cult
among the Efiks, Ekine cult in the
Delta region and Owegbe cult
among the Edos.
Cultism in higher institutions
But cultism in Nigerian tertiary
institutions was introduced in 1952
by a group of seven students from
the University College, Ibadan,
who addressed themselves as the
Magnificent Seven. They formed
the Pirates Confraternity, following
their observation that the
university was populated by
wealthy students who were
associated with colonial powers
which left the poor students who
were in minority to struggle to be
accepted by the rich students.
Between 1952 and 1972, the
Pirates, who later registered
themselves as the National
Association of Sea Dogs were
virtually the only confraternity on
Nigerian campuses. However,
another brotherhood known as
Cultism:
The
increasing
menace
Buccaneers Confraternity was
registered as National Association
of Sea Lords, with its membership
extended off campus and spread
beyond the shores of the country.
Today, almost all tertiary
institutions across the country has
confraternities otherwise known as
secret cults, some of which include
Supreme Eiye Confraternity, also
referred to as Air Lords. Records
have it that this confraternity which
broke out from Black Axe emerged
from the University of Benin and its
symbol of identification is the skull
and cross bones.
Another known confraternity is
Black Axe otherwise known as Neo
Black Movement of Nigeria.
Report also has it that it emerged
from the University of Benin and
has an upright axe with a wide
blade fixed to a short handle as its
symbol.
University of Calabar
and has "KKK" as its
symbol, and the Two-
Two or Black Beret,
which was founded at
the Enugu State
University of Science
and Technology
There is also the Supreme Vikings
Confraternity said to have been
founded by a former member of the
Buccaneer Confraternity and it has
the inscription SVC as its symbol.
Again, there is the Klansmen
Confraternity also known as Eternal
Fraternal Order of the Region
Consortium. It was founded by
students of University of Calabar
and has "KKK" as its symbol, and
the Two-Two or Black Beret, which
was founded at the Enugu State
University of Science and
Technology.
Other confraternities include
Second Son of Satan, Red Sea
Horse, Fraternity of Friends, Mgba
Mgba Brothers, Night Cadet
Sonmen,Theme of Eden,
Executioners, Dreaded Friend of
Friends, Eagle Club, Black Scorpion
among others. Aside these were also
female cult groups which came to
limelight in the 1990s in Nigerian
campuses. Notable among them are
the Damsels, Viqueens, Daughters
of Jezebel, Black Braziers among
several others.
Artisans as cultists
The major reason for forming cult
group at the earlier stage was to
break the barrier created by
the advantaged students. But sadly,
there is now a yawning shift from its
original purpose as it tends to strive
more on intimidation, oppression
and brutalization of rival cult groups
leading violence many of which
proved fatal.
Not only has cultism witnessed a
shift from its original purpose
membership now cuts across
artisans, farmers, traders and so
many illiterates across the country!
From the North to the South and
East to the West, cultism strives
everywhere!
In Edo State for instance, being a
member of a confraternity group
accords some people respect.
Investigation showed that some
homes with no member as a cultist
are subjected to intimidation,
exploitation and oppression. These
cultists are majorly behind several
Continues on page 11

SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016—11
Rape as part of initiation
into cult groups
Continues from page 10
kidnapping, armed robbery and
murder cases in the state: Recently,
a young man was ambushed around
Emuhi Road and hacked to death.
The Edo State Police Command
succeeded in arresting the alleged
assailant who turned out to be a
musician in the same community.
However, during investigation, it
was discovered that the deceased
was mistaken for a member of a
rival cult group.
Another instance around that axis
was the burial ceremony of late
Agatha Amuze of Ewuhimi
Community in Emuhi, Ekpoma,
Edo State which was almost
marred, no thanks to activities of
cultists. Surprisingly, it was learned
that members of this act were no
other than children and grandson of
the deceased.
But for the prompt intervention of
policemen from Ekpoma Division,
the occasion would have witnessed
blood bath, as these cultists who
were bent on distorting the
ceremony had converged in a bush
waiting for the right time to strike.
Checks by Saturday
Vanguard showed that even
commercial motorbikes, commercial
bus drivers, bus conductors are also
members of various cult groups
spread across the state.
The situation is not different from
Obosi Town in Anambra State,
where these cultists are used to
foment trouble by some selfacclaimed
'big men'. They terrorize,
invade and shoot at their victims
without batting an eye lid. The
home of a senior police officer was
not spared in one of the invasions by
these cultists last year. Also in one of
the attacks, the life of a young man
was cut short.
Until recently, nobody dared to
challenge sponsors of these cultists
in Obosi Town as any attempt would
cost them their lives.
Lagos State is another example
with activities of cultists, majority of
whom are artisans too numerous to
count. Areas such as Mushin, Yaba,
Amukoko, Ajegunle, Ikorodu,
Odogunyan, Okokomaiko, LASU
Road, Ajangbadi, Ojo, Festac, Lagos
Island and Ijora Badia, Ilasamaja,
Idia-Araba, are prone to violent and
reprisal attacks which leave in their
trail colossal loss of lives. In some
cases, innocent residents were killed
and houses burnt.
Why artisans join cult groups
Investigation on why artisans take
to this unwholesome and dreadful
secret cults showed that while some
of them are used as errands boys by
some politicians, particularly during
elections, others joined confraternity
groups for protection against other
rival cult members, and to gain
financial assistance from politicians
and some members of the elite who
want to attack their opponents.
Another crazy reason some
artisans join cult groups is to
have easy access to rape
prominent girls or women within
their locality. While some of them
see rape as a means to have their
pound of flesh particularly on
ladies who have turn down their
love advances, others just derive
pleasure from it.
For those who rape for
pleasure, they record such acts
and threaten to upload it on the
internet if their victims revealed
the act to the police or their
parents.
An example was the case of six
boys who confessed to be
members of one of the new
confraternities – Blue Angel.
They allegedly raped a 16-yearold
secondary school girl in
Akure, Ondo State capital
recently. But in their case, they
recorded the act in their phone
while taking turns to have the
helpless girl. Thereafter, they
threatened to shoot their victim if
she screamed, unknown to her
that it was a toy gun. At the end,
they further threatened to upload
the recordings if she reported to
anyone.
Unfortunately, she confided in
a' friend who blew the whole
thing open, consequent upon
which two of the boys were
rounded up by officials of the
Ondo State Command of the
Nigeria Security and Civil
Defence Corps, NSCDC, while
four others managed to escape.
Rape as part of initiation into
cult groups
Another startling discovery is
They terrorize,
invade and shoot at
their victims without
batting an eye lid.
The home of a
senior police officer
was not spared in
one of the invasions
by these cultists last
year
that some cult groups rape any
new member as part of initiation
into the confraternity. One
incident occurred in Anambra
State, in July last year. In this
scenario, one Ifechukwu was
among. 75 suspected cult
members who were nabbed by
policemen attached to Anambra
State Police Command on July 3,
2015. They were alleged to be
members of the Supreme
Vikings Confraternity and were
all arrested in a bush in Awka
during initiation of new
members. Part of their ritual, as
gathered, included sleeping with
intending female members. This
they do in order to seal their
oath of secrecy.
16-year-old Ifechukwu, a
secondary school drop out, who
claimed to have travelled from
Abuja just to witness the initiation
of new members, revealed that
she joined the confraternity three
months earlier. She explained that
she was lured into the secret cult
by her friend who assured her
that she could get all the needed
connections, adding however, that
she was never informed that
sleeping with all male members
was part of the initiation process.
Hear her:"During my initiation,
I was forced to have sex with
every registered member of the
cult present that night. I was
given sedative so as not to feel
what they were doing. It was not
easy but I bore the pain", she
said.
Also, some cultists are paid to
rape women and girls as a way of
vengeance. Information at the
disposal of Saturday
Vanguard showed cultists are
paid between NI0,000 and more
to rape victims.
Last November, a 20-year-old
lady confessed to have hired some
cultists to gang rape one of her
friends after a minor
misunderstanding.
The victim (name withheld) was
ambushed by six suspected
cultists at about 8pm, around
Olaosebikan Street in Somolu
area of Lagos, from where she
was taken to one Elewure's house
where they took turns to rape her
for four hours.
Recently, it was discovered that
cultists have a particular day
when they avenge killings of their
members by rival cultists. The
months of July (7/7) and August
(8/8) were allegedly slated for this
purpose this year, particularly in
Lagos.
But the intelligence-led police
command frustrated their efforts
following the arrest of some of
Continues on page 12

12—SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016
Continues from page 11
them in Ilasamaja, Ikorodu and
Odogunyan areas of the state.
Forceful initiation of children
Another worrisome dimension to
this social vices is the forceful
initiation of children into different
confraternities. These children are
made to swear oaths of secrecy
with a threat to their lives if they
dared reveal name of the cult
group.
These children, as gathered, are
used to fight rival cult groups, as
their frail frame would never give
them away as cultists.
In January this year, a 16-yearold
boy who was arrested by the
Lagos State Police Command,
confirmed that their ages or calm
looks could be deceptive, following
his admittance to belonging to a
dreaded cult group that has been
terrorising Satellite Town, in
Amuwo Odofin Local Government
Area of Lagos. He further exposed
activities of members of various
cult groups in the area of the state.
Most startling was the revelation
that children as young as ten years
old are initiated into the various
cult groups in Satellite Town.
In an interaction with Akiola, a
Secondary School Certificate
holder, he revealed to Saturday
Vanguard that primary school
pupils and secondary school
students and artisans in the area
were forced into cultism. Attempt
by anyone approached to put up
resistance, according to him,
meant the out right relocation of
the child's parent from the area.
He further disclosed that children
between 10 and 13 years who were
initiated into major confraternity
groups such as Arrow Baga
popularly known as Arrow, were
sent as spies on their rivals. The
children as gathered were also
sent to survey places like the
massive Navy Barracks before
their 'masters' would strike.
How I was forced into Eiye
Confraternity
Giving an instance with his case,
he revealed that he was
approached right from the age of
10 to join the Eiye Confraternity
group. According to him,"When
the pressure was too much, I had
no choice than to give in. My
father was an okada rider
(motorcyclist). He was never at
home. There“was no one I could
approach when the pressure to
join Eiye was much on me. Even
if I had approached my father, he
would not have done anything
because everyone is afraid of the
cult guys. He would be forced to
pack out of the area if he tried to
stop me. And he didn't have the
financial strength to do so. In one
of the occasions, one of them,
Samuel seized my phone and my
shoe. I went home barefooted. As
if that was not enough, I was
beaten to a pulp by members of
the cult group, for committing no
offence. I eventually joined Eiye
Confraternity in 2013, shortly after
I finished my secondary school
education."
His account showed that most
robbery operations in Lagos and
some other states were
perpetrated by cultists. For him,
he usually got between N1,500
and N3,000 at the end of any
How I was forced into Eiye Confraternity
operation.
This teenager further
disclosed that killings earned
members promotion, revealing
that hit-men were referred to
as flyers and Adaba. A tenyear-old
boy according to him,
can head any unit in a cult
depending on his ability to kill.
At the moment in Lagos
State, the trending cult group
is known as Awawa, with its
members spread across
densely populated areas like
Ikorodu, Ajegunle, Old Ojo
Road, Agege, Ikorodu among
other places. Symbol of this
cult group is a rain-like incision
by the side of their left eye.
But Police are not resting on
their oars to ensure that
activities of cultists are
curtailed. Information
at Saturday
Vanguard disposal showed
that over 200 suspected cultists
have been arrested in Rivers
State . In July 2, 2015, about
127 suspected cultists were
arrested by the anti-cultism
section of the Rivers State
Police command, while about
100 others were arrested in
Port Harcourt, Rivers State
Cultism among Nigerian students
By Elizabeth Uwandu’s
Contribution
Speaking on the issue of
cultism among Nigerian
students, President of National
Association of Nigeria Students,
NANS, Comrade Taiwo
Bamigbade EGALITARIAN,
listed the following reasons
students join fraternities in
school.
According to him, students join
cult group for so many reasons
which include but not limited to :
Peer group influence, poor
parental upbringing; course
curriculum in school which
makes students less busy in
school; oppression from lecturers
There“was no one
I could approach
when the
pressure to join
Eiye was much on
me. Even if I had
approached my
father, he would
not have done
anything because
everyone is afraid
of the cult guys
and poor
security system in and outside the
campuses and poor institution
management.
Bamigbade added that cult and
cult related activities are spreading
like wild fire across Nigerian
campuses and urgent steps need to
be taken to stop this ugly trend.
His words, " Curbing cultism on
campuses requires a collective
approach which ranges from
parental efforts, higher institutions
inputs and government. Parent
should bring their children up in
God-fearing ways. Also,
management of institutions across
Nigeria should enact strict punitive
measures to discourage students
from joining cult or other anti-social
capital, with the recovery of arms
and ammunition.
In Edo State, the Police
Command has made arrests too
numerous to count. In fact,
activities of cultists in the state have
witnessed a down turn with the
introduction of anti-cultism squad
by the Commissioner of Police, Mr
Chris Ezike.
Lagos State Police Command is
another state that has witnessed
several arrests of suspected cultists,
during raids on flash points. The
Command has succeeded in
dousing the tension created by
cultists in Mushin area of the state
which used to be always on weekly
basis. The Command under the
leadership of Fatai Owoseni, has
also succeeded in nipping activities
of the rising Awawa cult groups in
the bud. Only recently, operatives
of the Lagos State Task Force
arrested 15 notorious cultists
popularly known as 'Awawa Boys'
who have been dispossessing
members of the public of their
valuables, as well as raping young
girls around Aluminium Village,
Valley Estate and the entire
Dopemu community in Agege area
of Lagos.
groups.
Mr Maxwell John
from the Department of
State Security Service,
DSS Lagos Command
spoke recently in Lagos
at a Summit organised
by the National Union
of Lagos State Student
NULASS tagged, "
Cultism and drug abuse
among Nigerian
Youth:A Threat to
National Peace and
National Security."
The DDS
representative defined
cultism as any
organisation that is kept
away from the public
whose activities can
cause threat and dangers
to the peace of the
community.
According to Mr John,
the following can be traits that a youth
belongs to a fraternity. When a youth
become a heavy driver and smoker,
moves in groups, has no definite
home address, lives in constant fear,
uses charm, suspicious dress sense
and most times a fighter.
For Chimobi, 300 level of Structural
Engineering, University of Benin
lamented that lack of principle and not
peer pressure is the reason students
join cult organisations in school." For
me lack of values and principles are
the reasons majority of youths join
fraternities. As you will know, before
peer pressure there is principle, peer
pressure may not influence one if we
have the right people around us."

SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016—13
Buhari’s only agenda
mischievous for anyone to say that
we were not prepared for
governance. They created the
atmosphere for what we are passing
through today and should at least
own up for God’s sake.
is to make life better
Many well-meaning Nigerians
were worried that the government
was more concerned with
launching ‘Change Begins with Me’
than fixing the economy first? And
for Nigerians
is this campaign only going to run
in the media without any
enforcement agency like what we
had during the WAI campaign?
If you were at the launch of the
CBWM campaign, you would have
– Lai Mohammed
realized that I was allotted only 20
minutes to give excerpts of our
multi-media campaign. As I speak
to you now, we have more than 102
TV commercials, radio jingles, bill
boards and press materials ready to
•Insists ‘Change Begins
go. It is a campaign which is going
to last the entire life of this
administration and hopefully
with Me’ is his brainchild
beyond because the concept of the
campaign is simply that we need
everybody from the leadership to the
governed to change the way they
By Soni Daniel, Northern Region Editor
behave; it is about behavioral and
attitudinal change. It is based on
Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed is respected for
persuasion and appealing to the
his calmness, humility and ability to pay attention to all. With a
patriotic and nationalistic instinct in
calm mien and listening ear, Mohammed, has been able to
us. It is a campaign that you will
serve at different levels.
begin to appreciate better when it
A few weeks back, Mohammed, earned accolades right in front
rolls out because it is going to affect
of his boss, President Muhammadu Buhari and other prominent
every stratum of the society and it is
Nigerians when he presented for about 20 minutes the multimedia
campaign, tagged “Change Begins With Me”,
Some people have asked us why
going to be a daily thing.
which he created to change the attitude of Nigerians
we are bringing this campaign
and stamp out indiscipline from the polity
without even fulfilling our own
without using horse whip or setting
promise of change. And our
up any enforcement body to drive the
answer is very simple: If for
campaign like the previous “War
instance, this campaign had been on
Against Indiscipline” WAI. However,
before now and the tenet of the
campaign had been imbibed we
since the campaign launch, some
would not be where we are today. If
have emerged to claim that the
Nigerians had imbibed the spirit of
campaign idea originated from them
the campaign, I am sure the kind of
and not Muhammed. But in this
corruption, stealing, mindless
interview, Mohammed describes as
destruction of assets, and the huge
liars those who are laying claim to
appetite for imported goods would
the fact that the ‘CBWM’ idea was not
have been checked and we would
mooted by him and speaks on other
have probably had a healthier
burning national issues.
balance sheet than we have today.
Excerpts:
Two, without this campaign and
the tenet of the campaign being
assimilated by Nigerians, it would
be impossible to end corruption and
Let us start by clearing the air on
•Lai Mohammed
revive the economy even if oil rises
the allegation that President
to $110 per barrel a day and we
Muhammadu Buhari and his party,
produce up to 3 million barrels per
the APC, were not prepared for
day and miraculously come out of
leadership given the challenges that
the recession which mindless
are currently confronting Nigerians
corruption had pushed us into.
since he came on board and that
Without ending corruption via this
PDP could have even done better.
transition team. We met twice or thrice
campaign, our growth would still be
Your comment, please.
ceremonially and we never sat down to
artificial because it would be based
Those saying that are just being
say this is the team of the out-going
on consumption not on production.
mischievous. If we were not prepared
government and this is the team of the
Corruption will still loom large,
for leadership, would we have been
in-coming government, let’s look at
embezzlement will still loom large
able to free no fewer than 14 Local
power and see what has been done and
and within a short time we would
Governments Areas in the North East
what is needed to be done when the We never had the
come back to the sad story. So there
from the hands of Boko Haram?
next government comes in and so on.
is no better time than now to launch
There are more questions to put to
We never had the opportunity to look
opportunity to look at
the campaign.
those who are making such malicious
at Nigeria’s debt or the state of the Nigeria’s debt or the state Thirdly, to the critics who say why
claim. You need to ask them: If we
economy they are now talking about.
not wait till you have delivered on
were not prepared for good
We were not given the opportunity to
of the economy they are
your promise; we ask them if you
governance and transparent
see how much Nigeria had in the now talking about. We
take this country to be a small
leadership, how are we able to
reserve and so on.
family, would you say that you
stabilize what could have been a
were not given the
It never happened. It is like you want
would not counsel your son to be of
runaway economy and creating and
to buy a house and you are not allowed opportunity to see how
good behavior simply because you
sustaining a Treasury Single Account,
to even inspect the house and you then
much Nigeria had in the don’t have money to buy him a
TSA, and instilling fiscal discipline
entered the house and found out that
bicycle you promised him? Would a
that has prevented massive looting of
the whole ceiling is down. But again reserve and so on
good father not counsel his children
public funds with impunity, which was
we have moved away from there.
not to steal or lie just because he
the case with the previous
Like I explained some weeks ago, in
does not have money to buy them
government?
2007 this government had $62 billion
the luxury they need? This is the
Yes, we were not aware of the extent
in its Reserve but by 2015 it had been most disturbing is the fact that when situation we find ourselves today
of the rot in the system and that was
depleted to $30 billion. In 2007/2008 oil was selling at $110 a barrel, they and we must rise above our
simply because the handover notes
this government had over $9 billion in refused to pay contractors from 2012 challenges and think ahead in the
were not given to this government
its Excess Crude Account but by 2015 till they left office.
direction that will bring progress
until four days to handover. I want to
it was less than $3 billion. We inherited However, since governance is a and stability. In any case, it is good
remind Nigerians that we shouted, we
$88 billion domestic debt within the continuum, we inherited both assets that this campaign is beginning at
never sat down once with the out-gone
same period but by the time they and liabilities and we are working the moment of adversity so that
government to work on transition. Let
handed over to us in 2015, domestic with that. So, you see why it is
me tell you that I was a member of the
debt had ballooned to $2.1trillion. But annoying and completely
Continues on pg 14
C
M
YK

14—SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016
EDO GUBER:
The Option Before Edo People
i
By Osadolor Omoregie
D
eliberately,
the APC
governorship candidate
n
the Edo State election,
Mr.Godwin Obaseki, is being
positioned as a ‘’technocrat” by
some political elite, who had
consistently made attempts to sell
him to the electorate for the coming
election.
By the tag ‘’technocrat”, they
assume that Obaseki is cerebrate,
hard-head, determined, deep,
detail-oriented, uncompromising
and no-nonsense in approach.
Even Obaseki himself bragged
with the technocrat’s tag recently.
‘’As an investment banker of 30
years standing, I have helped
create wealth and jobs for many
organisations, and with the
experience I have garnered in the
last eight years of working with the
governor, I believe that I have all
it takes to be the driver of Edo’s
economic revolution”, Obaseki
stated recently.
But, what really qualifies Obaseki
as a technocrat? In spite of the fact
that his academic qualification is
still doubtful, Obaseki had claimed
he graduated from University of
Ibadan with a Bachelor Degree in
Classic Studies; served as
Managing Director of Afrinvest
(West Africa) Limited, and served
as its Chairman of the Board until
June 2016.
Mr. Obaseki also claimed he
founded SecTrust, the predecessor
company to Afrinvest; and a Fellow
of the Nigerian Chartered Institute
of Stockbrokers.
But, the question is not about
‘Insists ‘Change Begins with Me’ is his brainchild’
Continues from pg 13
when prosperity comes they will be able to
manage.
Is the campaign only media-based?
Yes, it is media-based but let me say that
by the time this campaign is full blown
and becomes part of our lives-when people
are orderly, time-conscious, diligent and
are patriotic enough to patronize made-in-
Nigeria goods, there will be no need to
persuade them anymore. But the easiest
way to persuade them is by leading by
example and this is why I believed that this
campaign will succeed because already
there is discipline within the leadership of
this government.
Unlike many other governments, this is a
government that is very disciplined; there
is no flamboyance in governance because
ministers and other top government
officials queue up at airports and other
public places to be served just like any
other ordinary citizen. That is good for
Nigeria and its people. When you look at
the example being given by the President
himself, it is difficult for any minister not
to fall in line and I am sure that those who
cover the State House know that every
Wednesday meeting starts on time and I
can assure you that the financial discipline
introduced by this government, is
exemplary. So we have no problem that
this campaign will succeed. We don’t have
to flog anyone to comply because we are
appealing to the innate goodness in every
whether he served in those
companies or not, but how
successfully did he manage those
companies.
As Head of Economic Team of
Edo State Government for over
seven and a half years, Obaseki
was seen as the brain box of Adams
Aliyu Oshiomhole-led
government. The governor himself
had admitted that many times.
When the government was sworn
in nearly eight years ago, the hope
of the average Edo people was
justifiably raised to the zenith. As
former President of the Nigeria
Labour Congress, many had
believed that one of their own—
—Oshiomhole, who knows exactly
how things should work, had been
thrown up by providence as
governor.
Obaseki has been bragging that
his role as the Head of Economic
Team under Oshiomhole-led
administration had repositioned
the state for economic growth; but
experts have always agreed that
some characteristics, which are
typically associated with economic
development include, low levels
of poverty, of hunger and
malnutrition, of serious infectious
diseases, of homelessness, of
crime, of corruption and high
levels of income, of consumption,
of saving and investment, of
employment universal access to
social safety nets for the
unemployed and people on low
incomes, to primary and secondary
education, to healthcare services,
to good public services etc. So,
what informs Obaseki’s bragging?
In fact, a recent report by the
Nigerian.
Nigerian Bureau of Statistics
(NBS) said that more than 3.6
million Nigerians had been
rendered unemployed since APC
assumed office over a year ago,
with Edo State occupying a very
high position. When Governor
Oshiomhole assumed office in
2008 — with APC governorship
candidate, Obaseki as the Head
of Economic Team, he promised to
create 100,000 jobs in each year of
his administration, meaning that
800,000 new jobs would have
been created over eight years. Has
Oshiomhole kept his promise?
With self-styled technocrat as
Head of Edo State Economic
Team, youths unemployment
and under-employment remain a
huge horrendous—at the state,
with eight out of 10 qualified
youths unable to find jobs.
The technocrat’s tag does not fit
Obaseki. One of the shinning
features of a good technocrat is that
he intellectualises and
concentrates on finding the facts
and the right way of doing things.
Nothing punctures the
technocrat’s tag of Obaseki than
the recent lawsuit of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) against
the APC’s candidate. The PDP
recently approached a Federal
High Court, sitting in Benin City,
to disqualify Obaseki, from
contesting the governorship
election. The Edo State Chairman
of the PDP, Chief Dan Orbih,
alleged that Obaseki made false
claims and provided false
information on oath to the
Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC).
The party is asking the court for
But do you really believe that
this government is sincere with
Nigerians?
I don’t know why you ask this
question but my reading of this
government of which I am a member,
is that we have only one agenda
which is how to improve the lot of
Nigerians. We are concerned about
how to improve the battered image of
Nigeria, how to return the country to
its lost glory and place it properly
among the comity of nations.
Are you worried that a few days
after the birth of the ‘Change Begins
With Me’ campaign someone has
accused you of copying the idea
from the concept he presented as
proposals to you. How do you react
to these claims?
Look, let me tell you that once you
are in leadership position in life,
especially public office, you should
expect these kinds of allegations. But
you see once people accuse me of any
wrong doing, I ask myself just two
questions; one, is it true? Two, would
people believe it? Now once it is not
true, 80% of my problem is solved,
20% is to provide proof that it is not
true.
I am going to give you proof that
anybody that says that CBWM is his
own idea, is lying and he is being very
We are concerned
about how to
improve the
battered image of
Nigeria, how to
return the country
to its lost glory and
place it properly
among the comity
of nations
dishonest.
The truth is that the day I was
nominated as a minister, I
conceived of this idea of change
begins with me. And by the 14th
of October, 2015 when I was
confirmed as a minster, I had
already completed every work for
change begins with me. So how
could anybody claim that this
a declaration that Obaseki’s
statement that he graduated from
the University of Ibadan with a
B.A. in Classical Studies in 1976,
made under oath in INEC form
CF001 at Part B, paragraph C
dated 11 July, 2016 was false.
The choice before Edo people
is between a pseudo technocrat
and a true, trusted, sincere,
accessible and humane leader—
—represented by Pastor Osagie
Ize-Iyamu. Having served in the
past as Chief of Staff to the Edo
State government and later the
Secretary to the State
Government (SSG), Ize-Iyamu
had piloted the engine of
governance and would therefore
need no induction course to
swing into action from day one,
just as no one can bamboozle him
to derail good governance as can
be done to a typical green horn,
like his main opponent, Obaseki.
Perhaps, the most popular but
outlandish criticism has been that
Pastor Ize Iyamu served in Chief
Lucky
Igbinedion
Administration——a government
in which all the critics themselves
served or harvested enormous
advantage anyway. And like
many right-thinking persons
have asked: is it coherent for
instance, for us to blame the
current Chief of Staff, Mr. Patrick
Obahiagbon and the SSG,
Professor Julius Ihionvare, for the
financial bleeding of the state in
almost eight years by
Oshiomhole-led government?
Surely no.
•Omoregie writes from Upper
Sakpoba, Benin-City
idea was his own idea?
By 31st of October 2015, I had
also completed the first draft of
theme songs. Don’t forget that
ministers were sworn in on the
11th of November 2015. So if
anybody claims he saw me with
any proposal, it was after I had
become a minister and at that
time I had completed the whole
concept.
No fewer than four persons are
claiming this thing and I just
laugh at them. I have enough
proof to show that the campaign
is my brainchild and not taken
from anybody else. I started
working on this campaign the day
I heard my name had been
submitted to the Senate for
confirmation as a minister. From
that moment, I called my team
and I said we must hit the ground
running.
It is so sad to see people trying
to run down another person and
take the credit for what they did
not create. It is true that since I
came here there have been over
20 proposals on a matter that I
had already concluded before
being made a minister. But I am
looking at the new proposals to
see if any of them fits into what
we are doing, we try to work with
them for the interest and success
of the campaign.

SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016—15
•Governor Adams
Oshiomhole and Mr Godwin
Obaseki, APC governorship
candidate in Edo State and
some Chief Priests during
the endorsement of the APC
gubernatorial candidate by
Chief Priests in Edo State,
BY SIMON EBEGBULEM,
BENIN CITY
The last Wednesday
a n n o u n c e m e n t
by the Benin Traditional Council
(BTC), shifting the expected
coronation of the new Oba of Benin, His
Royal Highness, Crown Prince Ehenede
Erediauwa, Edaiken N’Uselu, from 26th
September 2016 to October 20th 2016,
has cleared the stage for political actors
in Edo state to deliver their
governorship candidates come
September 28th. Prior to last
Wednesday, the was still confusion about
whether the coronation would still go
ahead in the midst of the election.
However, Chairman of the Coronation
Planning Committee, HRH, Prof.
Gregory Akenzua, who addressed
journalists at the palace ground, Benin
City, doused the tension, saying the
earlier date for the coronation, Monday,
26th September, 2016, was changed due
to the announcement by the
Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) that the date for
the governorship election in Edo state
which was originally scheduled for
Saturday, September, 10, 2016, was now
moved to Wednesday 28th September,
2016. But prior to the announcement,
there appeared to be tension in the circle
of traditional rulers. The tension
heightened after it was reported that the
Eghaevbo-N’ore, a powerful group in
the palace made up of the top Benin
Chiefs including the Iyase of Benin
Kingdom, Chief Sam Igbe and the
Esogban of Benin, Chief David Edebiri
have endorsed the candidate of the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Pastor
Osagie Ize-Iyamu. This was after two
chiefs, the Eson of Benin Kingdom,
Chief Amos Osunbor and Odobaiwu of
Benin, who are members of the
Eghaevbo-N’ore and also leaders of the
PDP endorsed their candidate Ize-
Iyamu.
However reports that Eghaevbo-N’ore
did the endorsement angered most
Benin Chiefs and that elicited reactions.
Saturday Vanguard learnt that this
group is too powerful in the palace and
may risk rubbishing what it represents
if it decides to back any particular
candidate. Therefore, like the Oba of
Benin, they remain neutral in politics.
Reacting swiftly to the purported
endorsement, the Obazelu of Benin
Kingdom, Chief Osaro Idah who also is
the state secretary of the APC in the state,
argued that the chiefs who purportedly
endorsed Ize-Iyamu did so in their own
capacity as PDP members and not
members of the Eghaevbo-N’ore.
According to him, ”Chief Amos Osunbor
and the Odobaiwu of Benin, are both
PDP leaders in the state and not
Royal rumble as Obaseki,
Ize-Iyamu seek support
of Benin royal fathers
•Why we are backing Obaseki-Benin Chief Priests
•Why y we shifted coronation onation to Oct. 20
spokesmen for the council of chiefs in
Benin. If they cannot identify
themselves as PDP members I think
that is unfortunate. I am an APC card
carrying member and proud to identify
with my party.
Again, the so called adoption of Ize-
Iyamu by the Eghaevbo-ore palace
Chiefs is for me a declaration of a body
of friends. The Eghaevbo-Ore palace
groups is one of the many arms of the
palace.
This group is headed by the Iyase of
Benin followed by the Esogban of
Benin and for anyone to make
pronouncement on behalf of this
group without the Iyase or Esogban
could be reckless. Rightly they should
have addressed themselves as friends
of Esama of Benin in his residence
which they have right to do. There are
many APC members even within their
ranks who they cannot drag into their
membership coven in the PDP. It is
nefarious for anyone to make claims
on behalf of any society in the palace
when there was no prior discussion or
agreement within the rank of chiefs.
We know those chiefs who are subjects
of the Esama and the man in his
generous nature looks after their
personal welfare. So one will not
quarrel with them if they do his
bidding. But any attempt to drag the
palace into politics is taking the joke
too far.
The public should please note that
this group are Esama’s personal
friends. At no time did palace chiefs
meet to discuss which party or
candidate to adopt because the palace
of his Majesty frowns at partisanship.
Even the so called Igieohen, they claim
was with them are unknown to me. I
am in a better position to know who
the Igiehons in Benin are because I
am the Obazelu of Benin Kingdom,
Again, the so
called
adoption of
Ize-Iyamu by
the Eghaevboore
palace
Chiefs is for
me a
declaration of
a body of
friends. The
Eghaevbo-Ore
palace groups
is one of the
many arms of
the palace
with that rank I am an inner palace chief
that deals with the Igiehens. So they are not
in good position to know who the Igiehons
are even as chiefs”.
Following the war within the Benin Chiefs,
the top hierarchy of the Eghaevbo summoned
an emergency meeting last Wednesday where
the Esogban of Benin, Chief Edebiri who
presided in the absence of the Iyase, declared
shortly after the meeting that the group never
endorsed Ize-Iyamu. Interestingly, Chief
Osunbor and the Esama of Benin, Chief
Gabriel Igbinedion were equally at the
meeting. According to Esogban, “from all the
evidence we have from everybody who was at
the Sundays meeting, which we hold once a
month on rotational basis, it was obvious that
the Eghaevbo-N’ore group did not take any
decision to adopt and endorse the
candidature of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu as
candidate of PDP. What we do in our group is
that anybody who is contesting is free to come
to our group and ask for our prayers and we
freely offer the prayers. The first candidate to
come was that of the APC, Godwin Obaseki.
The day he came we held a meeting at the
residence of the Eson of Benin. He came with
his retinue of supporters. What we pray is that
the best candidate among all of them,
somebody who will do better than
Oshiomhole should emerge. That was why
when we saw the headline yesterday, people
started calling from everywhere to find out
when Eghaevbo-N’ore started endorsing
candidates. The decision that this house came
to now, is that that report was untrue and I
was mandated to refute it, that we did not
endorse Ize-Iyamu. Our people said when
Pastor came, they prayed for him in the usual
manner like other candidates and that was
not an endorsement”.
However, while this was resolved, the
candidature of Mr Godwin Obaseki received
a serious boost after chief priests in the seven
Local Government Areas in Edo South
endorsed him. The chief priests under the
Continues on page 16

16—SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016
EDO GUBER SHIFT:
My party, APC was not
prepared — Orobosa
•Why y I apologised to Tonie Iredia on behalf of Oshiomhole
•OMO-
OJO
BY GABRIEL ENOGHOLASE, BENIN
OROBOSA OMO-OJO,
journalist, publisher and
member of the All
Progressives Congress, APC, served
in the Adams Oshiomhole
administration first as Commissioner
for Oil and Gas, and later, held the
Transport portfolio.
In this interview he expresses his
disaffection with the way the party has
approached next Wednesday’s
election and faults the conduct of the
party leader and governor of the state,
Comrade Oshiomhole.
Excerpts:
What is your reaction to the
postponement of the governorship
election?
It is largely a loss to the state and to
the country because INEC had come out
to say for each day that the election is
postponed the nation is losing about N8
million.
If I’m correct and in terms of logistics
again, we have to spend more money to
mobilise everyone back to the state
again.
But by and large I think the sociocultural
shock that this created in the
land is more important to me because
it’s going to take a lot of effort, a lot of
marketing for us to convince the
international community, international
investors, local investors, in
neighbouring states to tell them after
the exit of Governor Adams Oshiomhole
that we are not actually a terrorist state.
Do you agree with those who say
that Governor Oshiomhole caused this?
The truth is that it was obvious that
the state as at today and I’m very sure
that in the near future our state is not in
any danger of Boko Haram attack or
militant attack, very obvious what was
said was an obstruction by my party,
the APC and the governor; it is very
clear that may be we were not just
ready for the election. I was at the
stakeholders’ meeting in Ikpoba Hill
when the news broke out that one of
the TV networks had a scroll on the
screen that the election had been
postponed. And about the same time,
the governor had a stakeholders’
meeting in Government House and
was anticipating that the election
would be shifted and he openly
castigated the chairman of INEC for
not accepting the security advice and
went on to say if anything happens in
the state, the INEC chairman would
be held responsible. For me those were
open threats to force the hands of the
INEC chairman to submission.
What is your reaction to the face-off
between former NTA directorgeneral,
Dr. Tony Iredia and the
Government House over his claim
that the GRA in Benin has been
abandoned?
Sadly again I have already
apologised in private to our elder
statesman, Elder Tony Iredia. He is a
PhD holder in two disciplines. When
the attacks from Adams Oshiomhole
became unbearable I travelled to
Abuja and I was at his residence to
apologise to him and identify with
him and sympathise with him. On
what happened to Tony Iredia, I told
him I said, sir as much as I will
sympathise with you, I will equally
blame you and he said why? I said you
people left us for too long in the
trenches in Edo State. I said it took
you eight years for you to realise that
we had a Pharaoh that was in a China
The truth is that it
was obvious that
the state as at
today and I’m very
sure that in the
near future our
state is not in any
danger of Boko
Haram attack or
militant attack,
very obvious what
was said was an
obstruction by my
party, the APC and
the governor; it is
very clear that
may be we were
not just ready for
the election
Shop and I said sir, where were you when
Oshiomhole took on every leading light in
the state who was bold to tell him the truth
both the old and the young.
One thing I shared with Tony Iredia which I
also share with people, if a governor who
assumed office from a tenement building in
Benin City can have the courage, lack the
fear of God to call another man poor, the
man that served the nation and retired as DG
of the NTA and to say ‘Tony Iredia is a poor
man’ that poverty is what is bothering him,
and I said it happens only in our clime.
These are people that have served this nation,
that helped to build the state that he came to
govern. So it is very appalling, it’s
condemnable and every sane man whether
Etsako man, Esan man, Benin man, Urhobo
man, Igbo man living in Edo State ought to
say this is an abomination on our land.
And how do you react to the constant
condemnations of Chief Lucky Igbinedion,
former governor of Edo state by one of his
friends Mr. Charles Idahosa?
When Lucky was sworn in as the governor
of the state, Charles Idahosa was the first
appointee, first, as Director of Protocol
Government House, Protocol and Press. He
was replaced by Lucky Wasa as CPS because
the media people then said that he was
authoritative.
There after we all went on our knees begging
Chief Lucky Igbinedion to please reabsorb
him, he later came back as Commissioner
for Information.
Was this not the same government you were
defending and the same government that
gave you roof over your head, was not this
the same man you told everybody that he
stayed with you in London when the father
sent him to London. This is the same man
you said two of you grew up together and
now because you have a new pay master does
that make you to destroy your friendship with
this man that has been your benefactor?
Royal rumble as Obaseki, Ize-Iyamu seek support of Benin royal fathers
Continues from page 15
Association of Igie-Ohen in
Benin Kingdom who described
Obaseki and his running-mate,
Hon. Philip Shaibu, as perfect
replacements for the incumbent
Governor, described the APC
candidates as square pegs in
square holes. Secretary of the
Igie-Ohen, High Priest
Osarumwense Amayo, in an
address delivered during a
meeting to endorse Obaseki said
“on the calibre of your party’s
governorship candidate and his
running-mate, they are seen to
be square pegs in square holes.
To us members of Igie-Ohen we
have absolute confidence that
they can equally achieve
greatness to the level you have
embedded in the state or even
surpass the achievements that
have been laid down by you if
they eventually become the
governor and deputy after the
election. Your Excellency sir, we
have a common adage in Benin
which says if a child achieves
greatness above his or her
parents, it is not a curse or better
still not a taboo. We as a body
are totally convinced that these
children of yours are well
nurtured by your articulate and
a good sense of leadership,
selfless service, sincerity, honesty
and purpose of adherence to the
rule of law. Sir, though we are
not politicians, we are totally
overwhelmed with the rate of
development visible throughout
the entire state. In addition,
allowing the people to lead is to
your credit, being the advocate.
The slogan is now a household
song in the entire country,
Nigeria. Your Excellency sir, we
pray Almighty Allah to guide,
protect you and your entire
family and by extension lead
you to all future
endeavours.On the
forthcoming governorship
election, he said, “as for the
election coming in a few days
time, we want to assure you
that all will be well in the
entire state.”
Responding, Governor
Adams Oshimhole thanked
members of Association for
their continued support for
his government. “I am very
grateful to you, Chairman of
the Igie-Ohen Association. I
want to thank you for your
support for my person, for my
family and for the government
and for your prayers over the
eight years. Every year you
have come to offer prayers
and it is obvious that God has
answered your prayers
otherwise I will not be here.
You have been consistent in
your prayers for good
governance, for the
development of this kingdom
and for my good health and
wellbeing.
I also want to thank you for
endorsing our candidate,
Godwin Nogheghase
Obaseki and you said it all.
What I believe I owe Edo
people is to ensure that having
supported me in the fight to
reposition our state and rescue
it from those who were sucking
it dry and with your prayers all
their evil machinations have not
succeeded.
May the Almighty God and our
ancestors accept your prayers
for me, for the government and
our candidate and may your
declaration of support translate
to victory on September 28; it’s
just a few days away and I know
that when you pronounce like
that, the gods and the ancestors
will ensure that it comes to pass.
This one again by the special
grace of God will again come to
pass and Godwin knows he has
to perform above my level so that
our dream for a greater Edo will
be realized. Thank you very
much”

SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016—17
BY Sonny Daniel
HAD ex-First Lady, Mrs.
Patience Jonathan not
claimed ownership of
$31.4 million found in the bank
account of a former presidential
aide, Mr. Waripome Dudafa, the
issue may not have been made
public by the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission,
EFCC.
This was the outcome of an
investigation by Saturday
Vanguard into the matter that had
elicited calls in the polity for the
prosecution of the former First
Lady.
Her decision to claim ownership
of the money through a suit filed
against Skye Bank at a Federal
High Court in Lagos, it was
learnt, easily made the
commission to quit keeping the
issue in the dark.
The EFCC, it was learnt, got
wind of the account more than
three months ago, but decided to
keep mute in order not to be
accused of singling her out for
prosecution out of former first
ladies’’.
A source told Saturday
Vanguard that the operatives of
the EFCC actually ran into the
accounts in the course of
investigating Dudafa over alleged
diversion of N10 billion meant for
Peoples Democratic Party,PDP,
delegates.
The source said: “It was the
former first lady who put herself
in a tight corner by going to court
to sue Skye Bank, where the
money was traced to and also
asked the court to compel the
EFCC to defreeze her account.
“Indeed, I can tell you that the
EFCC was working actively on
the Dudafa case without any letter
of invitation or oral invitation to
the woman but she went to court
to expose everything and we had
no choice but to respond to her
challenge.
“It might interest you to note
that these findings on these
accounts were made since July
this year but the details were yet
to be made public when the
former first lady slammed a
fundamental rights enforcement
suit on us and we were taken
aback.’’
It will be recalled that a letter
written by her lawyers on the
matter, Granville Abibo ,SAN, and
Co, stated thus: “It is noteworthy
to emphasise that the said
accounts, which were in US dollar
denomination, were card-based
accounts and our client is the sole
signatory of these accounts.
“The said bank officials also
assured our client that they will
change the account names
accordingly and issue to our
client new credit cards for the
said accounts which were not
done despite repeated demands.
“However, our client has been
operating the said accounts using
the cards for her medical bill
payments and purchases for her
private purposes without any let
or hindrance.
“Our client was therefore
surprised when the said cards
stopped functioning on July 7,
2016, or thereabout. Our client
immediately thereupon contacted
Skye Bank Plc through our
solicitors. It was only then that
the bank officials informed our
client that the said accounts were
placed on a ‘No Debit Order’
$31.4 MILLION CASH DEPOSIT:
How Patience
Jonathan forced
EFCC to expose
matter
•EFFC had knowledge of fund since July
•Why action was not taken earlier
following investigations and
instructions from your commission
and this is without notice to our
client by either the bank or the
commission.
“It is in the light of the foregoing
that we urge you to use your good
offices to vacate the ‘No Debit/
Freezing Order’ placed on the
said accounts.”
Mrs. Jonathan had, in the
meantime, given the EFCC 14
days to defreeze her account and
tender an unreserved apology.
The ultimatum, which took
effect on September 18, was
contained in an open letter to the
Chairman of the commission,
Mr. Ibrahim Magu.
The letter which was written by
Mr. Timipa Okponipere urged
the Commission to leave Mrs.
Jonathan alone, just as it
cautioned thus: “We shall file an
action at the African
Commission on Human Rights
at the Gambia demanding N5
billion in exemplary and
punitive damages.”
The letter said: “There is no
established legal or political
precedent for what the EFCC
is currently doing to our client.
How many former First Ladies
in Nigeria have received the
Patience Goodluck Jonathan
Treatment (PGJT) to have
warranted the EFCC to
engage in the effrontery to
freeze our client’s accounts
and subject her to public
opprobrium, ridicule, and
disgrace? This must stop
forthwith.
“Our client is a respected
senior citizen of international
repute, a retired Permanent
Secretary and the immediate
past First Lady of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria. Our
Client is a law-abiding citizen
who has never or at all been
the subject of any criminal or
financial investigation,
whether at home or abroad.
Accordingly, she has not been
found guilty of any criminal
conduct throughout a
sparkling public service career
spanning over 35 years.
“During the 5 years our
client served as First Lady of
the Federal Republic of
Nigeria between May 2010
and May 2015; she was the
Initiator of the Aruera Women
Foundation and Women For
Change Initiative.
“Our client is the recipient of
numerous local and
international awards in
recognition of her untiring
commitment towards uplifting
the living standard of women,
children and the aged in
Nigeria.
“Sir, it is against this sterling
and meritorious background of
our client that we most
respectfully, write to draw your
attention to the numerous
breaches of the 1999
Constitution (as amended)
and the African Charter on
Human and Peoples Rights
(Ratification and Enforcement)
Act 2004 committed by the
Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC)
in cause of the Commission’s
illegal and unlawful
investigation of our client for
alleged money laundering.
“The EFCC must realize that
the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission
(Establishment) Act 2004 is
inferior in content and quality
to both the 1999 Constitution
of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria (as amended) and the
African Charter on Human
and Peoples Rights, 2004.”
It could not be ascertained
yesterday whether the EFCC
would summon the former
First Lady to appear before it.
The commission appears to
be restrained by public
opinion that doing so might
give the impression that it is
trying to get at the husband.
But our source said the
commission was determined to
carry out its job and may
commence an investigation
into assets worth billions of
Naira allegedly owned by the
former First Lady.

18—SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016
By Tony Eluemunor.
After the rain comes sunshine”,
so the saying goes. Samuel
Rutherford (1600 – 29 March
1661), a Scottish Presbyterian pastor,
theologian and author, and one of the
Scottish Commissioners to the
Westminster Assembly) put even in
better perspective: “After winter comes
the summer. After night comes the
dawn. After every storm, there comes
clear, open skies”.Yet, like in
everything else, the Bible has the last
word: There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under
the heavens: a time to weep and a
time to laugh, a time to mourn and a
time to dance”. Of course, you know
that came from the Book of
Ecclesiastes.
These sayings came true in Ubulu-
Uku, Aniocha LGA of Delta State from
Saturday the 3 rd to Friday the 9 th of
September 2016; thefigurative
sunshine burst forth with boundless
splendor as the people cast off their
mourning clothes which were forced
on them with the kidnapping and
killing of their king, the late HRH Obi
Agbogidi, Edward AkaeziOfulue 111
(may his gentle soul rest in perfect
peace).
This time, there was a celebration, a
veritable carnival really, as a new
monarch, Obi Chukwuka Noah
Akaeze 1, received the Staff of Office
from the Delta State Government,
showing irrefutably that he had
succeeded his late father on the throne.
He was, in effect, taking his place in
the circle of life.
Obi Akaeze’s story is the stuff of
legends. This young lad who was born
on the 8 th of July 1998 in London,
England, became a king of one of the
largest towns in the entire Delta State
even when, as a newspaper Editor
pointed out to me, he was a minor and
so hardly even qualified to have a
driver’s licence. I told that Editor that
the people of Ubulu-Uku have given
him every licence to be King of his
town! The licence came at his birth;
he was just waiting for the dice to roll.
The veritable EzeNwata (Igbo for
youthful king) had his primary school
education at the aptly named (at least
for him) Kings School, Rochester, and
attended Rochester Grammar School
for his Secondary School education …
up to his Higher School certificate
Sixth forms.
When last the Obi was in Nigeria,
he was still studying for his Higher
School Certificate, and he had come
to bury his father. Then, the entire
country was mourning with him as the
entire Nigeria was scandalized by the
kidnapping of his father that ended in
his being murdered. Up till now, the
Police still owe it a duty to Nigerians
to produce those kidnappers and
murderers so that justice would be
seen to have been done. During that
visit, even as the tears flowed, the Obi
was traditionally enthroned King
according to Ubulu-Uku custom on
the 18 th of February, 2016.
Yet, it was not until on June 28 th 2016
that the Delta State Executive Council,
on its 18 th meeting, approved the
enthronement of Obi Chukwuka Noah
Akaeze 1 as the undisputed monarch
of Ubulu-Uku Kingdom, and
communicated same to him vide a
letter, No. CH. 202/Vol 111/48 of July
28 th , 2016. That recognition enabled
the the government to present the Staff
of Office to him on Monday, 5 th
September 2016. That day, Asaba, the
Delta State capital was emptied of its
executive, legislative and judicial
officers including even the top echelon
of the Civil Service as well as the
private sector. His Excellency, Dr.
Arthur IfeanyiOkowa, as represented
by Deputy Governor
KingsleyBurutuOtuaro, presented the
Staff of Office.
To receive them, Ubulu sons and
daughters, including this reporter, had
poured into the town from every corner
of the globe. It was not only to register
their disgust at the way the late Obi
met his end, or to show solidarity
with the new Obi, or to thank the
Delta State Government for the
prompt handing over of the Staff of
Office, though it was all of the above,
yet that unprecedented rally for a
common cause meant much more
that those listed reasons. There was
something else in the air; something
intangible, something magical,
something not easily put into words.
It was as though they were defying
death itself, including the angels of
death who had mocked their own
being a part of the human family by
suggesting in anyway, their lack of
sensitivity at the dastardly manner
the late Obi had died. Such people
shunned the light of public
discourse in the mainstream media
and hugged the nether world of the
hate-filled outer regions of the
unregulated social media where
hurling unbridled was a source of
misguided pride. But if such people
never read John Donne (If a clod be
washed away by the sea, Europe is
the less, as well as if a promontory
were, as well as if a manor of thy
friend’s or of thine own were: any man’s
death diminishes me, because I am
involved in mankind, and therefore
never send to know for whom the bells
tolls; it tolls for thee.” From the Poem,
“For whom the bell tolls”).
Such people showed the tyranny of
the stupid and misguided mob. Who
will tell them that even TIME
magazine dwelt on this in a June 2016
cover story entitled “why we are losing
the internet to the culture of hate”.
TIME was worried that some people
“are turning the web into a cesspool
of aggression and violence”, and
hatred plus lies, I must add.
The Monday presentation of the
Staff of Office by the Deputy
Governor, His Excellency Barr.
Kingsley BurutuOtuaro, was
supposed to be the highlight of the
activities, but it was just the
beginning. On Tuesday, there was an
outpouring of persons and affection
as the people came to the palace
grounds to pay homage to their new
king. It was a chance for many to have
their first glance of him, because their
nasty events that led to his coronation
did not allow his being presented in
public or a public jubilation for that
matter.
Wednesday, 7 th September,
witnessed a well-attended standing
room only interdenominational
service.
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
were three days of carnivals at the
palace grounds. The youths refused
to leave the palace grounds as
though they were saying to all and
sundry; Ubulu-Uku is our town, Obi
Akaeze 1 is our king. Even as
laughter abounded, many were still,
once in a while, teary-eyed as they
remembered the late immediate
king. This reporter was guilty of this
sin; as he greeted the late Obi’s
brothers, his eyes would often mist
up; when it happened again on
Thursday evening, he knew it was
time to withdraw – for no one really
had the right to allow the wrong
emotion to have the better of him on
such a resplendently momentous
occasion.
In February, Obi Akaeze 1 was in
•Obi Akaeze 1 of
Ubulu-Uku
UBULU-UKU:
Boundless joy as new King
receives Staff of office
secondary school, but he received
the Staff of Office as a London
University Law student, while a
regent, his father’s immediate
younger brother, Anthony, acts for
him as a regent. Prince Donald
NzekwueOfulue had asked me to
come meet the “EzeNwata” that
Thursday evening. I declined,
knowing it would be inexcusable
to fail to control my emotions, for
at that very moment, my mind had
had a flash back: when the
immediate past Obi’s father, Obi
Ofulue the 11 was asking me to
take care of Akaeze( who died as
Obi Ofulue 11), in school as he had
just been admitted into St.
Anthoniy’s College Ubulu-Uku, I
was in form three or form four then.
The Prince and I were beside an
enlarged picture of the immediate
past king. I was thinking of both
Akaeze and his father; there was
something unforgettable about Obi
OOfulue 11’s voice – his baritone
was more engaging than that of
James Earl Jones intoning “This Is
CNN”.
Hey, is there not supposed to be a
time and season for everything
under the heavens? There must be
a time to cry and a time to laugh.
For Ubulu-Uku, early September
was a time for celebration, rejoicing
magnified, and dirges had to
disappear and echoes of festivity to
reverberate. This article began with
celebration and so this should be the
place to stop. This I believe!
•Eluemunor, a 1991 Fellow of the
Nieman Foundation for Journalism at
Harvard, is a foremost Presidency
scholar and lives in Abuja.
C
M
YK

SATURD
TURDAY Vanguard
anguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016—19
My goal is to save
lives on our roads
– Boboye, FRSC boss
Speed Limiter begins October 1
with commercial vehicles
•Boboye
By Theodore Opara
Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi, Corps
Marshal and Chief Executive
Officer of Federal Road safety
Corps, FRSC, was the guest of Vanguard
editors at the company’s corporate
headquarters, Apapa recently. He spoke
on the operations and activities of the Corps
under his supervision in the last two years.
In the cause of the interaction he shed light
on the proposed speed limiter which the
Corps said would be in use from October
1, 2016.
According to him the agency’s primary
concern for the introduction of speed
limiting device was to save lives on the
highway.
He told the editors that he would be
fulfilled as FRSC boss if he could check
over-speeding and save lives of Nigerian
road users.
He spoke on the tyre campaign while
lamenting the pressure on the nation’s
road transport sector.
“Nigeria is a big country with large road
network. If we focus on integrated
transportation, it would be better and
eliminate the pressure on the roads,”he
said.
So far, he said the tyre campaign has
been successful. “Motorists now know
that tyres expire. My focus is to raise the
awareness, and save more lives,” he
stated. He answered some questions.
Why are you introducing speed
limiters in the country and why start
with commercial vehicles?
Let me use this opportunity to correct
a report by your staff that speed limiting
device initiative could be a ploy to
defraud Nigerian vehicle owners. The
introduction of the speed limiters was
necessitated by our findings bordering
on major factors responsible for road
traffic crashes in Nigeria. Last three
years alone, speed limit violation
accounted for about 50.8% of road
crashes in the country between 2013 and
2015. This informed the initiative by the
FRSC as lead agency on road safety
management to convene a stakeholder’s
forum since 2013 with major
stakeholders in the transport sectors,
fleet operators and the Standard
Organization of Nigeria (SON) to come
out with specific standard of speed
limiters to be used in the country. We are
not involved in the importation,
selection of brand of the speed limiters
which vehicle owners should install on
their vehicles. It is therefore out of place
to associate the Corps with any scam
intent.
Regulation 152 Sub Section (4) of the
National Road Traffic Regulations, 2012
states “a person cannot drive a vehicle
that is not fitted with speed limiter on
any public road”. In the same vein,
Section 10 Sub Section (3m) of the FRSC
Establishment Act 2007, also empowers
the FRSC to make the use of speed limit
device mandatory on all vehicles. For
avoidance of doubt, the speed limiter
If we can restrict them
with maximum speed
limit that they
supposed to move,
even if there is an
accident, the fatality
will be minimal
initiative is in partial fulfillment of the
UN decade of action on road safety for
which Nigeria is a signatory. Similarly,
speed limit violation has remained a
major global issue in our quest to
engender sound road culture. It is also
worrisome to recall that the issue of speed
has been identified by the World Health
Organisation (WHO) as a key risk factor
in road traffic injuries, influencing both
the risk of a crash as well as the severity
of the injuries that result from crashes.
Interestingly, this interaction yielded
some positives with SON endorsement
of the standard specifications for speed
limiters in 2014 and we took further steps
to secure the endorsement of the
stakeholders for nationwide advocacy
drive which was followed with a timeline
for a nationwide enforcement.
Could you tell us the difference
between spider technology and speed
limited?
The major advantage of the speed
limiter over the spider is that the spider
technology only detects over speeding,
whereas the speed limiting device ensures
that drivers do not drive beyond the
calibrated speed limit and proactively
prevents speeding and fatal consequences
like death and injuries. Spider technology
means camera which picks the vehicles
while over-speeding but we did not settle
for it because we would prefer to prevent
that accident from occurring than issuing
tickets for fines to the driver.
Apart from that, it is the government
that provides cameras and because of the
state of the economy and giving the fact
that government is focusing on
rehabilitation of the roads we have
decided to restrain people from over
speeding in order to save lives. We need
to do everything possible to bring down
the rate of crashes resulting from over
speeding.
Motorists feel that the N36,000 price
fixed by FRSC for the installation of
speed limiter in a commercial vehicle
was astronomical, what’s your reaction
to this?
FRSC is not a profit making
organisation, neither is it
manufacturing speed limiters, hence it
has no financial stake in the speed
limiter procurement or distribution.
The FRSC’s interest is restricted to
regulatory practices and enforcement.
FRSC has no intention of limiting the
scope of procurement of the device nor
specifying who to purchase from. But
we are maintaining that standards and
specification prescribed by Standard
Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and
National Automotive Design and
Development Council (NADDC) must
be adhered to.
For your information, some
companies like Julius Berger, ABC
Transport, Peace Mass Transit had
already complied with the speed
limiting device.
Julius Berger for instance brings its
vehicles from abroad with speed limiter
and some commercial vehicle
importers bring their vehicles with
speed limiting devices installed from
the factory broad.
We are not going to pursue vehicles
on the highways because of speed
limiter. We have a way of checking
without pursuing the vehicle so as not
to cause accident.
On the appointment of vendors for
speed limiters installation. May I
explain that the expression of interest
for vendorship of the speed limiter and
selection of successful vendors were
duly executed in accordance with extant
guidelines.
It is also important to note that apart
from the safety benefit, the
implementation of the programme has
job creation potentials as the approved
vendors had already trained over 200
technicians who had commenced
installation of the limiters in vehicles.
This figure is expected to increase when
the second phase commences. In
addition to this, some vendors are
looking into the possibility of
establishing speed limiting device
manufacturing plants in the country
which will further create more jobs
for the youths.
Don’t you think that the device
could prevent people from escaping
from kidnappers and robbers when
being pursued on the highways?
This can not be enough reason for
people to kick against installation of
speed limiter in their vehicles. Most
vehicles or kidnapping do not involve
chasing the victims, but rather
surprise and sudden attacks. When the
goal of ensuring that all vehicles are
fitted with speed limiter is achieved
both the armed robbers vehicles and
other vehicles would move on the
same speed.
As I speak with you, many countries
now have speed limiting laws which
made speed limiting device compulsory
for commercial vehicles.
You shifted the earlier date for
enforcement to October 1st 2016,
what informed the shift in date?
Despite the numerous obstacles
faced by officials while analysing the
technology, and trying to convince
Nigerians about the benefits of
accepting it, the agency was forced
to shift the launching date from
initial June 1, 2015 to October 1,
2016.
The final directive from the
presidency is clear. The enforcement
date for the implementation of speed
limiting device is October 1 and we
have had series of stakeholders
meeting which the outcome is very
impressive.
There are about 12 million vehicles
on Nigerian road including private
and commercial vehicles, not all will
use speed limiting device. The focus
now is on commercial vehicles
which include mini buses, luxury
buses, trailers trucks etc excluding
taxis and buses in urban areas.
If we can check the over-speeding
of commercial vehicles which
account for 65 per cent of vehicles on
the highways, we would save many
lives.
When there is a crash of one bus it
usually involves many lives and my
mandate is to save lives. If we can
restrict them with maximum speed
limit that they supposed to move, even
if there is an accident, the fatality will
be minimal.
Since the major means of
transportation in Nigerian is by road,
we need to have control. We wont stop
trucks on the highway. We will simply
use the technology to verify if the
vehicle had complied with the speed
limiting standard by the Corps.
When are you going to arm your
staff with firearms?
It is in the act establishing FRSC
for us to carry arms. We need it for
night operations. Legally we have the
power because it is in the act that
established FRSC. Over 5000 of my
staff have been trained on how to
handle arms.
What are the documents a motorist
is expected to possess while driving?
A road safety official can demand
for original drivers license, vehicle
license, road-worthiness and
insurance but for commercial
vehicles they are expected to be in
possession of their hackney permit.
However, they are not supposed to
stop you and demand for these
documents except if you have
committed major offences like
making use of phone while driving,
not using your seat belt etc.
But if you are flagged down for any
of these major offences the officer can
ask for spear tyre, C-caution, fire
extinguisher and others.
C
M
Y
K

20—SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016
Kemi Adeosun:
A ‘Zuwo’ or a Nero?
She is neither. Rigour has
become outdated, noisy
charlatanism reigns. Howlers
are everywhere. So Kemi Adeosun
scampered to safety. She left her case.
The accusation of blasphemy by
Nigeria’s ‘Almajiris’ , religious or
political, is not fought with reasons
and arguments. A minister of finance
has a duty to be honest and
compassionate, and a compelling
duty to prevent and stem panic. The
proposed emergency economic bill is
evidence of direness and government’s
appreciation of it. It’s
incontrovertible that sufficient
urgency and dexterity haven’t been
marshaled against our predicament.
But it isn’t because Adeosun is
ignorant or callous.
The ordinary people are prostrate
and bleating miserably. And if their
hellish and progressively
deteriorating circumstances have
been rechristened recession then it
must be unholy to describe recession
as a mere word. The anger of the
ordinary people cannot be faulted,
servants and messengers should aspire
to clarity. But if recession is a
statistical classification, then it has no
life outside the set of circumstances it
labels. Recession describes preexisting
state of affairs. Adeosun was neither
wrong nor insensitive. She is neither
a ‘BarkinZuwo’ nor a Nero . And
not a Marie Antoinette.
But there are mourners gifted in
Mockery
must be for
those
whose
acquisitive
instincts
tucked
billions
under the
beds of their
cooks and
seamstresses
wailing, feeding on the grief of the
ordinary people. They claim
cognitive capacities capable of
subtle discrimination but revel
in intellectual sophistry and
verbal thuggery. Their stomachs
can’t remember hunger pangs and
their thoughts have never been
muddled by suffering. Yet, they
find room in the pain of millions
to make mischief, to foist
amnesia on all. They have become
self appointed chief mourners.
Their naked complicity can’t be
atoned by vacuous empathy or
sardonic humour. They, who walked the
corridors of power with Corruption, and raised
not a whimper.
Adeosun is saddled with a treacherous
economy. All the chicken of the prodigal era
have come home to roost. The rebasingof
GDP and the trophy that came with it was
cosmetic nonsense. “The biggest economy
in Africa” was a phrase. The naira is
bleeding and the economy, rendered
chronically anemic by avaricious tapeworms
is now in shock. With the currency relentlessly
emptying its value,she knows that her lips are
being watched. Like a doctor in an emergency
room, urgency must be demonstrated but
nervousness is counter productive. The line
between masterly calmness and perception
of lack of empathy is thin. While the economy
needs comprehensive policies to
rebound,reassurances as cosmetic as they seem,
are important.
So she says, recession is just a word - do not
fret. Because recession, a tag that effectively
dropped on us about 2 months ago is not a
plague,not damnation, not an imminent
Armageddon. The attachment of the epithet
does not materially change our pre existing
state of the affairs. Power has forever been
epileptic,infrastructure has always been
neglected, the health system is decrepit . The
regularity of workers salaries has been lost
since2014. Our foreign reserves were depleted
prodigally by the last regime. Unemployment
didn’t start today, Abba Moro can attest to that.
Millions turned up for his scam.
What exists today despite Reuben Abati and
his like, is an effort to stem the bleeding. It
may have been poorly coordinated, but it’s not
the wanton profligacy of the past.
Sophistry is intellectual fraud.
Abati insinuates Kemi Adeosun is
either out of touch with the pain
of the Nigerian masses or with
modern economics. So he decides
to teach Kemi Adeosun what
recession means. He dismisses
any figurative reading of Adeosun
and points her in the direction of
recession. Recession, he
postulates, exists in brothels where
prostitutes , he reveals, have
crashed fees to rescue declining
patronage. Satire is good but
any public figure conscious of
public morality would look for
healthy examples. But
opportunism rarely countenances
moral constraints. So he counts
the reduction in prostitution as
loss.
There is nothing wrong in
insisting that this government has
contributed to our economic
predicament through its
tardiness. And criticizing the
government is a civic duty. It doe
not create navel gazing,
ferocious”children of anger”.But
with Abati, conjectures become
facts very easily. He cites an
example of two suicide cases and
concludes that suicides rates have
been on the increase and rushes
headlong to attribute it to
recession. Abati wasn’t an editor
of a tabloid. How has he become
enslaved to sensationalism?
And what happened to the rigour
of the Patito’s gang? If after
reading Emile Durkheim, Abati
thinks that anomie has birthed
suicidogenic currents, he may be
right. But would he need a
soothsayer to tell him that the
rampant corruption of the
government he promoted left
more moral confusion and ethical
deregulation than needed to
trigger a suicide epidemic? An
astronomical rise in suicide rate
would be the social
complication of spawning a few
“nyoungnyoung” billionaires and
private jets and leaving the vast
majority disillusioned
Ordinarily, Abati should be
ignored. But since he is a
prominent partaker in the
collective irresponsibility of the
past that contributed to the present
misery , his lack of contriteness is
particularly irritating. Left
unchecked the prodigals,
unremorseful and unrepentant,
will make a re-entry through the
window grief and desperation .
When you deliberately refrain
from speaking out against the
Avengers, you must let innocent
others, battered by the effects of
their economic sabotage, grieve.
Mockery must be for those
whose acquisitive instincts
tucked billions under the beds
of their cooks and seamstresses.
Abati must take them to the
brothels to see the new price lists,
to see how the girls now work for
nothing.
Wouldn’t you think that an epistle
aimed at excoriation would be
careful with inconsistencies? Even
beer parlour banters are not so
totally deficient of coherence. Abati
thinks ‘enjoyment joints’ are
suffering low patronage like
brothels. He could be right. He
claims authority . He blames it on
recession. But he thinks breweries
are still making huge profits. So he
needs an ingenuous explanation.
Then, he manufactures one. Men,
with pockets made lean by recession,
go home to drown themselves in
liquor and sorrow. Purchasing
power has fallen drastically but
Ogunpa hasn’t overflowed yet.
There is a desperation to paint the
picture of apocalypse. And to
counter that fraud, you run the risk
of irritating the masses who are
fed up with excuses and the trading
of blames. So the likes of Abati
guffaw away, feeling redeemed.
As the International Energy Forum, IEF
biennial meetingconvenesnext week
in the Mediterranean port city of
Algiers, participantsmay be glimmeringfor
opposing forces to effectively cancel each other
out and maintain stabilityin what has been
described asthe longest and deepest oil price
decline since 1986.
The IEF accounts for 90 percent of global oil
and gas supply and demand. It has the largest
gathering of energy ministers, international
organisations, CEOs, experts and senior
officials from 72 countries including Nigeria.
It comprises prominent members of power
blocs including OPEC, Group of Seven, G7
industrial nations, the G20, International
Energy Agency, Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development, OECD; and
the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and
South Africa).
The 15 th International Energy Forum, IEF15
scheduled for the Algerian capital from 26 to
28 September 2016, would have price
regimetake centre stage. Global
geopoliticssparked off crude oil prices
slumpby over 60 percent in the summer of
2014 and resonating in supply glut. Aflurryof
who controls production and market share led
to the present global instability.
First were the American drillers whose shale
outpaced global oil supply from January 2011
to June 2014 to make America the number one
oil producer. Between June 2014 and
September 2015 the Middle East
producers’response of increasing production
and market sharedwarfed the American
dream of becoming a price giver. The
American deployment of shale rigs is still
vulnerable with total drilling rigs at 416 by
last week.It thus rekindled the 1973 American
support for Yom Kippur Arab-Israeli war that
led to the first oil embargo.
Coming to common grounds had severally
appeared gloomy but gladiators in the crude
oil power play, Saudi Arabia and Russia that
were up in retaliatory oil moves in a crisscross
of geopolitical strongholds of market share are
now in arelaxant mood against previous
feelings ofhopelessness and despair in oil
production freeze.
Saudi Arabia made significant inroads into
European market and was accused of selling
oil to Poland at dumping prices.In December
2015, Saudi Arabia was reported to have
discounted crude oil to two most important
markets, the United States and Asia, two days
Algiers forum and oil
stability Algorithm
Impediments for some OPEC
countries like Nigeria that relied
heavily on crude for export
revenue has a production
reprieve from militant activities,
to ramp up supplies to two
million barrels per day
before the 168th OPEC meeting. The Saudis
with considerable offshore downstream
investments in the United Stateslowered official
selling price for all crude grades.
Russia in turn struck deals with the largest
oil importer, China, along with huge gas
pipeline deals. A fit of temper betweenthe two
petroleum grooms, Saudi Arabia (a marginal
supplier) and Russia culminated in petroleum
brides,China (largest global petroleum
importer and second consumer) and Europe,
both marginal consumersbeing wooed with
generous price discounts of crude oil to secure
markets in 2015.
Importers benefitted from a
generousoversupply of crude coming from
Russia and the Middle East inwhat portrayed
oil bazaars.With cutthroat competition, some
OPEC membersgalvanized support for a fair
deal in crude pricing. In discordant tunes, some
contemplated output pare down (reducing
output gradually), while others increased output
for survival.
Last year,the Saudis conditionalitywas that
unless co-leading producer, Russia was in the
production cut deal, OPEC should count her
out.That meant the Saudis are slow to react to
production cut, so the glut continued with low
oil prices as theycontrolledthe market
share.With economies in cleft stick,OPEC non-
Gulf members Nigeria, Venezuela, Algeria,
Angola and Ecuador expressed
disenchantment in the no deal communiqué
that came after the OPEC meeting in
December. Venezuela which has been hard
hit proposeda strategy akin to the late 1990s
price band that made OPEC keep a floor price
above $70 per barrel.
The April 17 2016 disagreement in the Qatari
capital of Doha rekindled fears that the two
major producers went back to issues of market
shares which drove prices to a 13-year low of
$27 per barrel in January after the December
2015 Vienna meeting ended without a decision
on production cap.It was disappointing for the
non-OPEC producers Russia and Mexico that
yielded to pressures for negotiations on crude
oil market stability deal. A freeze was again
not achieved at the OPEC’s scheduled meeting
of June 2, 2016 at the Vienna headquarters.
Recent eventsat the sidelines of the G20
meeting in China on September 5, 2016,
witnessed a joint press conference by the
Russian Energy Minister Alexandr Novak in
company of his Saudi counterpart, Khalid Al-
Falihwho said Russiawas ready for production
freeze. It is still not clear how Russia would
contemplate production cap when
speculations are rife that by year end an
additional 200,000 barrels would come online
from her Caspian oil field.It is also doubtful
whether Saudi Arabia would go for an oil
freeze,thus raising concern of a repetition of
more talk without action.
Prominent oil leaders have had high level
diplomatic descants for production cuts.
Algerian Energy Minister Noureddine
Boutarfa last week in Paris held meetings with
the Saudi Energy, Industry and Mineral
Resources Minister, Khalid Al- Falih and the
IEF Secretary General Xiansheng Sun. He also
held a meeting with OPEC Secretary General,
Nigeria’sMuhammed Barkindo on the world
oil market and the preparation for the OPEC
sideline meeting. Boutarfa had diplomatic
shuttles to Moscow, Tehran and Doha on oil
stability.
Venezuela Oil Minister Eulogio Del Pino last
week canvassed for a cut in global oil
production from 94 mmbpd to 85 mmbpd to
sustain consumption. Venezuela’s President
Nicolas Maduro also said that OPEC and non-
OPEC members were close to reaching a deal
to stabilize oil markets. Iranian President
Hassan Rouhani pledged his country’s support
for oil market stability.
Impediments for some OPEC countries like
Nigeria that relied heavily on crude for
export revenue has a production reprieve
from militant activities, to ramp up
supplies to two million barrels per day.
Iran had stuck its guns on returning to prenuclear
sanctions 4 million barrels per day
production to reclaim lost ground. Libya is
coming back with about 1.2million barrels
per day by year end.
OPEC abandoned its traditional role of
swing supplier since November 2014.
Currently it is producing about 33.5 million
barrels per day far and above its quota of
30million barrels. Implication is that most oil
companies have cut their capital expenditure
(CAPEX) from 10-30 percent since 2015. With
the American drilling activity down by over 50
percent the current price level of about US$50
can only support about 33 percent new
production. (Boston Consulting Group)
Survivals of some countries threatened by
depressing oil prices are devaluing currencies.
A cut now may have significant impact on
prices since the level of oil in storage is
decreasing and consumption increasing. Oil
gluts may continue to lower oil prices, reduce
revenues and occasion tighter budgets for
liquid fossil fuels dependent economies. The
danger signal is economic volatility which
should be addressed at the International
Energy Forum.
C
M
Y
K

The children of the late Mrs
Florence Jadesola Aboderin last
Friday held a posthumous 80 th birthday
party for their mother who was the first
wife of Chief Olubunmi Aboderin, the
founding Chairman of the Punch
newspapers. A call first came before the
invitation card to inform me of the date
and to ask if I would be available. I had
no hesitation in confirming my
availability. For one thing, Punch holds
too many memories for me.
Professionally, it was where I was
shaped. It was where I churned out my
greatest body of work. It was where I
transited from a naïve lad who just
wanted to write to a well-heeled
professional. I moved from Reporter to
Writer to Columnist to Star Writer to
Editor. Punch gave me all, including
foreign travels (by age 25, I had been
to four continents) where I met and
interviewed renowned personalities.
But as important as this is to my
development as a professional
journalist, what I often remember is
Punch as a family. The three founding
Executive Directors of Punch were in
their 30s and they mixed very easily
with us. They worked with us, joked
with us, invited us to parties and ate
with us. In fact, the canteen was the
liveliest section in Punch where lurid
and explicit jokes were often shared.
Nobody who worked in Punch during
that first year would ever forget the
canteen. And the bond we formed
during that year is still tight and
binding. We meet whenever we can and
relate with each other with fondness
and respect.
Mrs Aboderin often came to Punch in
its early years. She was pretty but
reserved. She had a small smile for you
if you came close to her and was polite.
On the whole, she minded her business.
In my young mind, I thought she
complemented my chairman who was
witty and exuberant. I admired her
quiet dignity and the way she handled
her challenges back then which was
another reason I came to honour her.
The final reason was because of Wale,
her first son and Angela his sister. We
grew close during those early Punch
years when they used to come around.
I played chess and table tennis with
titbits2012@yahoo.com
Basket of deplorables
Wale and discussed music—the past
time of youths- with both of them.
They were also the reason I first
visited the Aboderin residence in
Ilupeju. Oh, Punch does bring back
memories and it is tempting to
indulge in them. That is however,
not my intention today except to
say I am happy I honoured the
invitation and its opportunity to see
Ekwueme was a
deeper, more
intelligent and more
temperamentally
suited person for
the job than
Obasanjo
some old faces. May the soul of
Mrs Aboderin continue to rest in
peace.
Seated by my side at the table
was Mr Niyi Alonge—an egbon in
age and the profession. He was
very close to the Aboderin family
in those days and I remember the
two of us once went with Chief Olu
Aboderin on a professional visit to
South Korea and Hong Kong. The
event for which we came was slow
in starting so we used the
opportunity to catch-up on current
affairs at home and abroad. This
was when he asked me what I thought
of the chances of Mr Donald Trump as
the next American President. My answer
was short and direct. ‘I don’t know’. I
replied. It was probably not what he
wanted to hear but it was my new reality.
I had earlier expected Trump to fade
away but he grew stronger and stronger
instead. Most voters are sentimental and
emotional when choosing their
candidates with many often ignoring
attributes like competence and
experience for something as intangible
as a candidate’s view on marriage and
single parenthood. I witnessed it when
America chose George Bush Jnr over Al
Gore. It seemed obvious to me that the
latter was more competent, more aware
of the issues and yes, more intelligent.
Yet, America chose Bush and the rest of
the world is still grabbling with the
consequences of that choice.
One can say this is different in that
Clinton is clearly a better candidate and
picking Trump over Clinton raises the
bar in ignorance and sentimentality. But
we did the same thing in Nigeria in 1979
when we picked Shagari over Awolowo.
I covered that election and it was obvious
to me just as it was to many of the
politicians at the time, that Awolowo was
a better candidate. He was more astute;
more recognised and respected
internationally. More importantly, he
was better organised and better prepared
and had we chosen him, Nigeria would
have hit the ground running. But we
chose other parameters outside
competence and experience and we are
living with the consequences of our
choice. Not that we learnt any lesson.
Ekwueme was a deeper, more intelligent
21
SATURDAY Vanguard, , SEPTEMBER 24, 2016 — 21
and more temperamentally suited
person for the job than Obasanjo. But
did we pick him? So was Falae, a
respected economist and technocrat.
Again we had other more primordial,
baser parameters—right up to
Jonathan and Buhari. The state of the
country today is one of the
consequences of our choices.
Back to the American election. Hilary
Clinton described those who blindly
support Trump as ‘a basket of
deplorables’. It might be a harsh and
impolitic description. But it is not
really far from the truth—when you
allow bigotry to override reason; when
you preach hate and fear and
segregation; when your hero is a man
who picks Putin as his hero—a man
who has scant regards for democracy
or world opinion and rides rough shod
on his own people; when your
preferred candidate is a man who flip
flops on almost all major issues and
stands almost for nothing. Hilary
Clinton has a lot of baggage—very few
people who have been in the public
eye for so long can escape making
mistakes. But she knows the issues and
is better prepared than any American
President to date. If nothing, the ship
of the American State will be in steady
hands. Donald Trump on the other
hand, will not make America great
again. Instead, he will diminish
America; he will exacerbate the fault
lines in the deeply divided country but
that is not my fear. America might
implode; but that is not my greatest
fear. My real fear is that the ripple
effect of his words—and actions—at
home and abroad, will have dire
consequences for the world as we
know it.
If you think ‘the basket of
deplorables’ is limited to America, go
to the social media and see how some
Nigerians are defending the
indefensible and the reasons they
adduce for supporting thieves and
failed politicians. Read the bigotry and
nepotism between the lines as they
lash out and curse their own country.
Read how blind, ignorant and selfserving
some people are when they
support a cause or a leader. Do you
then wonder why we are where we are
today?
Political Editor
emmanuelaziken@vanguardngr.com
08052201189
Divide and Rule:The Presidency’s
game against National Assembly
It was an unusual meeting at the
Maitama, Abuja residence of the
Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki last
Wednesday. His guests were the principal
officers of the Senate and their
corresponding colleagues in the House
of Representatives who were led by
Speaker Yakubu Dogara.
The regularity of such joint meetings of
the leaderships of the two houses of the
National Assembly has, over time varied
according to political expediency—
mainly, the influence of the presidency
on the two chambers.
The leaderships of the two chambers of
the various Assemblies adapted to one
another sometimes with warmth and
sometimes with official bureaucracy that
belied the hostility between their
leaderships.
Who would forget the scene in the year
2000 when Speaker Umar Ghali Na‘Abba
led House members in a march into the
chambers of the Senate to express
solidarity with the militant leadership of
Senator Chuba Okadigbo. It was no
surprise that after the impeachment of
Senator Okadigbo that the Na‘Abba
leadership became cheeky towards
the Anyim Pius Anyim leadership
that took over from Okadigbo.
The relationship between the Saraki
leadership in the Senate and the
Dogara leadership in the House was
supposed to have been the most
cordial ever since the advent of the
Fourth Republic. The reason for such
expected amity was based on the fact
that the two presiding officers in the
Senate and the House came out from
a joint rebellion that benefited both
men.
Saraki’s emergence as Senate
President boosted Dogara’s
aspiration as it helped to convince
North-East legislators to rally behind
Dogara given that the option was
between him, Dogara and another
Yoruba man, Femi Gbajabiamila. The
thinking was that it would be
awkward for the two presiding
officers of the National Assembly to
be Yoruba.
On the other hand, team Saraki
had also quietly forged an alliance
with team Dogara with the hope
that support for Dogara would undermine
the prospect of Saraki’s main challenger,
Senator Ahmad Lawan.
So, given the kind of collaboration that
existed between Saraki and Dogara, the
expectation was that both men would have
immediately struck a partnership on
confronting the assault that came the way
of the two men.
While Dogara sought conciliation with
their All Progressives Congress, APC,
Saraki for one reason or the other, forged
an independent streak that later
metamorphosed into what his associates
alleged to be a persecution of the country’s
number three man.
The alleged persecution some said was
seen in the trial of the Senate President
for alleged corruption and false
declaration of assets when he was
governor six years ago.
Saraki’s and the Senate’s misgivings
towards the presidency was worsened by
the decision to also try Saraki alongside
his deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu for
the “offense” of forgery of the Senate’s
Standing Order.
While Saraki moved from court to court,
Dogara, on the other hand, waxed
stronger in his relationship with the
Presidency.
It was as such not surprising that during
the last Islamic month of Ramadan that
while Dogara led House members to break
fast with President Muhammadu Buhari,
that Senator Saraki was conspicuously
absent.
That custom of divide and rule has been
the practice over time, and it has been
successfully used by the Presidency to
achieve its desire against the legislature.
Keen observers would recall that in the
period after the late President Umaru
Yar‘adua settled into office in 2007/8, that
his inner circle developed a relationship
with Speaker Dimeji Bankole who
subsequently wielded influence in the
presidency that none of his predecessors
ever did.
Whether the relationship between the
Bankole House and the Yar‘adua
presidency rubbed positively on the
polity was, however, open to question.
The House probe of the investments into
the power sector by the Olusegun
Obasanjo administration was one of the
acts allegedly masterminded by the
presidency Turks or cabal as they came
to be later known in the Yar‘adua
presidency.
Just about that time also, the cabal also
allegedly got their collaborators in the
House to stymie the work of the National
Assembly Joint Committee on
Constitution Review through an
unfathomable crisis over the
chairmanship of the committee.
A process that had hitherto been done
without rancour as a joint committee was
derailed leading to separate constitution
review processes that inevitably raised
the cost. While some alleged at that time
that the split was directed towards
undermining Senator Ike Ekweremadu
who was to have been the chairman,
others said it was part of the conspiracy
plot by the cabal to use the House to
undermine the Senate led by Senator
David Mark who the cabal was
supposedly dreadful of.
It was as such noteworthy that the two
leaderships met last Wednesday, joining
heads to oil the frictions that had been
placed by those who would want to
divide and conquer the National
Assembly!
C
M
Y
K

22—SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24 , 2016
See where we need
you, Lagos residents
tell Ambode
By Bose Adelaja, Ebun
Sessou, Damilola Olabiyisi
& Obinna Mbajunwa
Governor Akinwunmi
Ambode of Lagos
State is daily
winning the hearts of many
residents. No week passes without
the commissioning one project or
the other.
Road construction appears his
major focus although other sectors
are also receiving attention. The
first phase has the government
commissioning 114 roads across
the length and breadth of the state.
The second phase will commence
soon. Ambode stands out among
the governors. His performance
speaks for him.
In spite of this, a walk round
Lagos reveals that many major
roads require urgent attention to
ease off traffic jam in those areas.
Some of the roads have turned
death traps. Hoodlums rob and
dispossess innocent road users of
their belongings on these bad
spots.
The 114 roads were designed
with walkways, medians, street
lights and standard drainage
systems in readiness for the
building of the mega city.
However, some scenes may not be
pleasant to a first time visitor during
the rainy season.
In Apapa, some of the roads
begging for attention are Airways
junction, Eleganza to Flourmill, in
Ikorodu, places like Isawo road,
Igbo-Olomu, Ijede road, Ebute/
Igbogbo road, Bayeku road, Igbe
road, Erunwen road and Bola
Ahmed Tinubu Way, Igbogbo
require government attention before
the next wet season.
In Mende, Maryland, areas like
Arowojobe, Soluyi and several
others are deplorable due to years of
neglect by by the past
administrations.
At Soluyi, Gbagada, residents
complain about poor state of access
roads to their community.
A walk round the area reveals
there are about four roads in the
community to connect Ogudu,
Maryland, and Ifako areas, but the
routes are inaccessible to vehicles
and some of the residents have to
park their cars and trek a long
distance to their various homes.
They are left with the option to
•Airways juction, Apapa
In Apapa, residents
claimed the Airways
junction was formerly
rehabilitated by a Good
Samaritan who was later
discouraged and the road
is now out of use to
motorists
access the only road near Gbagada
General Hospital which is far for
many of them.
In Mushin, places like Daleko,
Ojuwoye, Oju-Erin, Olosa,
Moshalashi, Palm Avenue, Idi-
Araba and many others are also
begging for attention while in
Surulere, Lawanson, Itire Ijesha
and so many others require
reconstruction and rehabilitation.
•Gov Ambode
Others are Ayetoro/Itele road,
Ekoro road, Meiran road, Suberu-
Oje road, Kollington/Agbado road
and Ajegunle/Abule-Iroko road all
in Alimosho area which have
turned to death traps.
In Apapa, residents claimed the
Airways junction was formerly
rehabilitated by a Good Samaritan
who was later discouraged and the
road is now out of use to motorists.
During Saturday Vanguard’s
visit to the area, residents lamented
the deplorable condition of the road
which has affected a lot of
businesses.
Same is the case with Lekki-Epe
where road users groan daily
because of the near collapse of
some roads. A commercial bus
driver Obi Chukwu, lamented
the poor condition of the roads,
he said, “The effect of bad roads
in Lagos can be frustrating, not
only does it cause untold
hardship to many road users but
also exposes them to danger and
insecurity,”
Narrating her experience, a car
owner Uju Nwokedi told
Saturday Vanguardhow she was
attacked by hoodlums on her
way home last week.
According to her, “there was
traffic jam on Lekki/Epe
expressway and I decided to
use the alternative route but
barely five minutes into the
Ikota First Gate route to burst
out to Ilaje, I was attacked by
some hoodlums who collected
my phones, laptops and cash.”
At Mushin/Isolo road, a
commercial driver, Kazeem
Fatai narrated how he ventured
into the business in 2010,
unfortunately, the effect of bad
road is already taken its toll on
him.
In Igbogbo, Ikorodu, the
immediate past administration
started a road project on
Igbogbo/Ebute road but this
was done half way leaving road
users to die in silence due to
the dilapidated road network.
A resident of Abigail Sobajo
street James Ogunyemi urged
the state government to look
into their plight by fixing the
road.
A pupil of AUD Primary
School, Igbogbo, Lukman
Oduniyi said ‘’this is the only
road leading to my school but
we have been finding it difficult
to access it especially at peak
hours because some commercial
motorcycles charge
astronomically due to the poor
condition of the road,”
During a visit to Apapa, it
was observed that the Airways
junction and Flourmill areas
have been washed off by rains.
The Sole Administrator of
Oshodi/Isolo local government,
Adebayo Taiwo said the reconstruction
of some streets in
Oshodi which include Ogunlana
and Boladale among others can
only commence later.
Reacting to the development,
the Chairman House Committee
on Works and Infrastructure,
Abiodun Tobun, said the state
government was trying its best to
ensure that roads in Lagos are
in good shape.
He disclosed that, apart from
the 114 roads that are being
commissioned by the state
government, the
representatives of all the local
councils have been asked to
submit the list of bad roads in
their communities to begin the
second phase of road
construction.
C
M
Y
K

SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016 — 23
I don’t have sex and I will
remain so for a while
— Bolaji Ogunmola
•says, no poor man in her diary
Highly endowed Bolaji Ogunmola is an up and coming actress who has
everything going for her; the looks, voice and charisma. Bolaji was part of the
Next Movie Star Academy and since then, she has continued to pursue her
passion for acting relentlessly. She talks about career, her definition of love
and more in this interview:
BY ADERONKE ADEYERI
Your experience at the Next
Movie Star Academy?
It was a great experience and that
was in 2013 if I am not mistaken.
When you go for any reality show, one
should understand that at some point,
someone will be shown the way out
irrespective of their outstanding
performance. I was also evicted
because I was troublesome.
An actress recently said her big
boobs brought her to limelight,
should we expect such statement
from you some day?
Anything could push anybody to say
anything. I am pretty, tall, confident
and have a beautiful smile. So mine
will be a combination of many things
and not my big boobs alone.
Nollywood often celebrates lightskinned
actresses, do you see your
skin as a barrier in your career?
Not any longer. We are gradually
leaving that myopic belief. I believe
my craft will sell me.
(Cuts in) But we have many
actresses who were dark-skinned
when they came into the industry but
have turned light-skinned over
night?
I am saying this categorically that I
do not support bleaching in any form.
Any man in the picture?
I am single but not searching. I am
independent and working hard to
make money.
Will you agree that finding love for
a rich lady might be difficult ?
A true and complete man should not
be intimidated by a woman’s success.
In fact, a man should help his woman
become more successful.
Don’t you think this is one of the
reasons why we have many spinsters
in Nollywood?
I totally disagree. These actresses
have not just met the right man.
Regardless of your chosen career, the
right man will find you someday. We
have A-list actresses who are married
with kids. A good woman will meet
her own man at the right time. We
have men who will never settle for
actresses for one reason or the other.
But my point of view is this, it is not
what you do, but who you are.
What will you never be found doing?
I am very spontaneous. I will never say
never. Please, don’t make me shoot myself in
the foot.
Secrets of sustaining healthy relationship?
Discovering one’s self is key to sustaining a
healthy relationship.
Your definition of a successful movie?
A successful movie is that which impacts
positively on the viewer. A movie people can
remember for a long time is a successful one.
Intimate things about you?
I am left-handed, like light-skinned guys,
very emotional, can’t date a poor man and
would have preferred having a bigger butt.
I don’t have sex
and will remain
like that for as
long as I can
hold it.
Are you saying if a man has all the
attributes but poor, it’s a ‘no’ from
Bolaji?
Relationships are about responsibility. A
man can’t have all the qualities of a good
man and be poor. A woman should not
date or marry a man who cannot be
responsible for her. It goes both
ways anyways. It’s better to
be single than cutting
corners in a relationship.
If a man has all the
prospects but poor,
then his goal at that
time should be
finding money and
not a woman. If you
can’t take care of
your partner, then
the relationship is
faulty.
•Bolaji
Ogunmola
Can you quit
acting?
I can’t quit acting for
anything.
What if your
boyfriend asks
you to quit?
My boyfriend
has no right over
me.
Many actors
seem to be living a
fake life, why?
It is not our fault.
Being a celebrity is an
illusion of somebody who is
perfect and we are not. Meaning,
we have to act being perfect.
How often do you have sex?
I don’t have sex and will remain
like that for as long as I can hold it.
Why?
That is the way I want it .
An actress once said, it is better
to have sex outside a relationship
than having sex in a relationship
and suffer heart-break. Your take?
I am very emotional and as such,
cannot sleep with a man without
any form of commitment.
Will you leave if your man
cheats?
I will be stupid to do
that. There are other
ways to punish a man. I
won’t give him the
chance to be free.
To what length
can you go for
love?
Today’s love is
realistic. It’s past
the Romeo and
Juliet thing. Love is
mutual understanding.
Future plans?
That is setting up my own
production company, settle down
and have kids.
Anything new?
There is the film with the
titled Mami water from C.J
Obasi and I am really
excited about it.

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24—SATURDAY Vanguard, September 24, 2016
JULIET EBIRIM
08137897935
Would you marry someone
who once had a blood
covenant with an ex?
We know that people hardly know everything about their partners at the
beginning of a relationship, because most times, couples are not willing to
disclose everything about themselves from the outset. Let’s say you’re in the
middle of a serious relationship and discover your partner once had a blood
covenant with an erstwhile lover, would you go ahead and marry that person? Here are
the reactions of some celebrities;
Yes I can
— Nazareth Bako
Jesse, Actress
Yes I can for so many reasons.
Marrying someone who once had a
blood covenant is like marrying a
married man who already had a
commitment
before.
Commitments can be broken
especially if the two agree or
when one dies, so a blood
covenant doesn’t make one a
slave forever especially if you
have this understanding. I
can marry someone who once
had a blood covenant if that
person has settled the
differences between him and
his former partner. And also if the
partner is dead or the covenant
has been broken. If not, NO!
No, I don’t want
to end up a
widow — Doris
Simeon, Actress
I don’t think I can marry
someone who once had a
blood covenant with
someone else. The reason I
wouldn’t do that is
because the covenant will
fight back at him and I do
not want to end up a
widow.
I don’t want to deal with
spiritual issues later
— Daniel Lloyd, Actor
Doris
Nazareth
I don’t believe in
things like that but
— Seyi Hunter,
Actress
I can marry someone who
once had a blood covenant
with another woman if I’m in
love with him. Besides, I don’t
believe in things like that.
But if I feel it’s going to affect
us in the future or hinder
anything, I’ll go on my knees
in prayers and fasting to God,
because prayer answers all.
Dan
Seyi
I can’t, it’s
too deep
— Dan
D’Humorous,
Comedian
Absolutely not oo, I
can’t do that. Blood
covenant is very deep
and can lead to
problems later. Besides,
who does that in this
time and age. This is the
21st century.
No, because blood covenant is deep and
spiritual. Life begins with blood formation,
so having a blood covenant with someone
else means that you already have a life
with that person. Marrying such a person
is like getting married to a person’s body
while their soul is with someone else. I
don’t want to deal with spiritual issues
afterwards because they’ll definitely
come. Life itself is spiritual.
Yes, I do not believe in it
— Collette Orji, Actress
Yes, I would because I don’t exactly believe
in it. I think adults should be able to change
their minds, decisions and choices in things
as important as marriage. If it’s a cause for
concern, you simply ask them to denounce
the previous pact. We make laws and
decrees and void
them. God
even gave
us the
power to
say things,
cancel
them and
make new
pronouncements.
We can
make and
unmake any
i l l
pronouncements.
We shouldn’t
be bound by
things we
can control.
Collette
Daniel
Nanou
I will not get
married to him if
— Nanou Binga,
Beauty Queen
If I happen to
discover that
before a serious
commitment, I
won’t get
married to
that person. If
I didn’t know
about it, then
it’s a different
thing. A serious
girl has to pray
for the qualities
she wants in her man
and God definitely
answers the prayers of
his children.

SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016—25
Ooni of Ife set
for carnival,
tour to mark
first anniversary
By Juliet Ebirim
More than one million people are expected to participate
in a one-in-town carnival organized to celebrate the first
anniversary of the ascension to the throne of his
Imperial Majesty, Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, the
Ooni of Ile- Ife.
The carnival, tagged: “O ti see se Carnival, 2016”, is not only
aimed at celebrating the landmark reign of the monarch but also
to showcase the rich cultural splendor of Ile-Ife and foster unity
among the Yorùbá race.
Speaking recently at the palace of the monarch, the spokesman
for the toga users, Desmond Bushi, disclosed that the carnival is
also projected to bring all Odua descendants and well-wishers
from different parts of Nigeria and in the diaspora to rejoice at
the reign of Ooni Ogunwusi and the Odua legacy.
According to him, several promoters are already working on
behalf of Ooni Ogunwusi to host the unique event aimed at
showcasing the rich culture and tradition of Ile-Ife to the world.
The tour which is scheduled to hold from the 21st to 30th
October, 2016 will be the first historical visit of the Ooni of Ife to
Europe since his ascension to the throne of Oduduwa.
APC senators
celebrate
Remi
Tinubu’s
birthday
By Juliet Ebirim
The senator representing
Lagos Central federal
constituency and wife of APC’s
National Leader, Asiwaju Bola
Ahmed Tinubu, Remi, was a year
older on Wednesday, September 21.
Tinubu, who clocked 56 was
celebrated by her colleagues –
senators of the All Progressives
Congress (APC) at the National
Assembly. Isiaka Adeleke, who
represents Osun West, in his birthday
message, described Tinubu as an
“amazing woman”.
“Happy Birthday to an amazing
woman! Sen @oluremitinubu you are
another year older, kinder, and more
wonderful”, Adeleke said via Twitter.
In a similar vein, Gbenga Ashafa
(Lagos East), also took to his Twitter
page to felicitate with Remi Tinubu.
He wrote: “Happy Birthday to
distinguished Senator
@oluremitinubu. We celebrate you”.
Tinubu who’s married to Bola Tinubu,
national leader of the APC, has been a
member of the senate since May 2011.
•Oluremi
•Ooni
KSA glows at 70
By TOFARATI IGE
It is no longer news that popular and
immensely talented musician, King Sunny
Ade has joined the septuagenarians’ club.
The music maestro clocked 70 on September
22, 2016.
The King of World Music, as he sometimes
favours to be called, has hinted that his
birthday celebrations will run from now till
the end of the year at least. According to the
Grammy Awards nominee, several societies,
clubs, bands and associations already have
plans to celebrate him one way or the other,
and he can’t afford to turn them down.
However, beyond the carnival-like
Rakiya Abacha
gets baby girl
By TOFARATI IGE
The family of a former military Head of State,
Gen. Sani Abacha is in a very joyful mood at
the moment. The atmosphere in the Abacha
household became even brighter with the pittypatter
of tiny feet that was recently welcomed
into the family. The last daughter of the family,
Rakiya can safely be described as the happiest
person on earth at the moment as she recently
welcomed a baby girl. The new baby’s name is
Takwara Fatima Aida.
It should be recalled that Rakiya is married to
Kano-based businessman, Idris Ali, a son of
late Kano transport magnate, Idrisiyya Motors,
and they had elaborate nuptial ceremonies in
the ancient town some time ago.
Late Gen. Sani Abacha has three surviving
daughters, Zainab, Fatimah, Rakiya, and five
sons namely, Mohammed, Sadiq, Ibrahim and
Mahmud and Abba. The general’s wife,
Maryam is also resident in Kano where she
lives quietly.
Bolanle Ambode’s
charitable ways praised
By TOFARATI IGE
he first lady of Lagos State, Mrs. Bolanle
•Bolanle TAmbode is a woman who is incredibly
beautiful, and imbued with matchless charisma
and panache. Her upbeat personality and
cheerful disposition has also won her many fans across the globe.
Mrs. Ambode, who is a graduate of Physics/Mathematics from the Lagos
State University, also holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the
same university. The ever-smiling first lady has been lauded for the wonderful
way she has been carrying herself as the wife of the governor.
It is noted that she doesn’t struggle for the limelight with her husband, but
she rather supports him from the sidelines.
Before her husband became governor, she used to run a company known as
Rehoboth Chops and Confectionaries Limited. But these days, she’s busier
with her foundation, Hope for Women in Nigeria Initiative (HOFOWEM).
Through HOFOWEM, Mrs. Ambode has touched the lives of several
pregnant women as she recently donated gift items to hundreds of such
women in Lagos. This has invariably earned her more points, as her social
profile keeps rising.
We can only wish her more grease to her elbow.
celebration that would
herald KSA’s milestone
birthday, many are talking
about how fresh, handsome
and agile he is. Despite his age,
his strength seems to be
increasing, and he’s looking more
handsome by the day.
The new septuagenarian however
confessed that he also asks God about the
reason for his agility even at his age.
Meanwhile, KSA has already been
hosted in faraway Texas, USA, even as
President Muhammadu Buhari sent him a
personalized birthday message during.
•Rakiya and Daughter
•KSA

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26 — SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016
By Gabriel Olawale
The gracefully ageing Juju
music legend and
maestro, Chief Sunday
Adeniyi Adegeye a.k.a King
Sunny Ade (KSA) has
encouraged musicians in the
country to forecast whenever
they are planning to compose
songs and put into
consideration how relevant
such music will be in the next
20 years.
KSA, while speaking with
Showtime said, “I want the
young artistes to know that
they are very lucky. In those
days, no family wanted or
allowed their children to have
connection with music, but
today, family members
introduce their children to big
artistes to put them through.”
Speaking further, he said,
“Nowadays, we see more of
vulgar lyrics. It happened in
those days, but it has been
corrected…all what the artistes
need to do is what the ears will
hear and eyes will see that in
20 years, they will not be
ashamed or regret anything.
Moreover, we don’t have many
schools of music in Nigeria, yet
we are still progressing. What
I want them to do is to give a
sense of belonging to
Nigerians, Africans and sense
of belonging to music of black
people where they have their
roots. Very soon, I’m going to
be laying the foundation of
By TOFARATI IGE 08068792241
tofaratiige@gmail.com
Compose
music you
won’t be
ashamed
of in next
20 years
– Sunny Ade
There’s more investment
in music now — Blackface
Former Plantashun Boiz rapper, Augustine Ahmedu
Obiabo aka Blackface has said that new generation
singers are lucky because there is more investment in the
music business than in the days he newly came on the
scene.
In a chat with Showtime, Blackface quipped, “I think
the industry is growing, and people are trying to add
their input. Let’s see how it goes. Let’s expect something
different and great to come out of the country. The
difference between what the industry used to be like
years ago to what it is now is that there are now more
people willing to invest in the music industry. That’s
unlike what it used to be before.”
•Lynxx
King Sunny Ade Musical
School to compliment the
Music and Culture radio
station recently launched in
Ondo State.”
Sharing the secret of his
energy on stage at 70, KSA
said that the question has
been thrown to him on
several occasions and “when
I am alone with God, I ask
God too. I am just fortunate
to have that. I love music.
Moreover, dancing on stage
is an exercise on its own. I
also engage in different types
of sports and eat healthy
foods.”
ECONOMIC RECESSION:
Show more kindness to
people, Lynxx pleads
There is no doubt that ‘Fine
Fine’ Lady rapper, Lynxx is a
changed man. Ever since the
athletic-looking entertainer became
more serious with his spiritual life,
his outlook on life has changed.
His social media pages are
always full of life lessons and
admonitions. During the week, he
cautioned people to be nice to
people with their words and
actions because majority of the
populace are going through trying
times as a result of the recession
in the country.
Lynxx wrote, “There’s no doubt
Sean Tizzle features Canadian singer,
Tory Lanez in new single Hit and Run
BY IYABO AINA
After a long break from
mainstream pop music,
•Blackface
that times are tough for
everyone...with all the craziness
going on in our country...the
economic recession and the
madness in the world, everyone is
dealing with something....”
He went on, “Watch what you say
to people; words do more damage
than we can ever imagine, and to
those dealing with depressing
situations, talk to God, he has the
answers, he heals and comforts.”
His followers evidently agreed with
him, as many of them promised to
be kinder to people they come in
contact with.
Sean Tizzle is finally set to
reclaim his top spot in the
industry with his latest song
titled Hit and Run,
featuring one of Canada’s
finest singers, Daystar
Peterson otherwise called Tory
Lanez, and produced by Dr.
Frabz.
According to reports, it is
the first single off Sean
Tizzle’s Moving Forward
sophomore album under his
Tizzle Nation imprint.
Speaking on the new single,
Sean Tizzle disclosed that it
is another beautiful
international collaboration,
connecting African music to
the world.
Recall that the artiste,
whose real name is
Oluwaseun Morinhafe
had dazzled the music
industry with hit bangers
like ‘Sho Lee’ and ‘Loke
Loke’.
Music is
like food
to me —
singer, Joy Ikade
Budding singer, make-up
artiste and event planner,
Joy Ikade has stated that music
is not just a passion for her; to
her, it is more like food.
Ikade says she started singing
from an early age, and she can
never do without music. In her
words, “I love music because it
makes me happy. I feel good
when I sing because music is just
like food to me. Whenever I am
down, I just listen to some of my
mentors’ songs, and I feel
relieved.”
On what she intends to achieve
with her music career, the 22-
year-old vocalist enthused, “I
want to use music to change
people’s thinking out there. I
want them to feel the power in
music, because it is a very
powerful tool that can be used to
change the world.”
Ikade, who participated in the
Miss Bikini pageant, 2015
edition, also stated that she has
lots of goodies in stock for her
fans before the year runs out.
According to her, “My fans
should just keep their fingers
crossed because I would be
surprising
them in a
good way
soon.”
•Joy Ikade
C
M
Y
K

SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016—27
Davido, Phyno
emerge
‘Kings’ for
October’s
Concert ‘3
Thrones’
Phyno
David Adeleke; popularly
known as Davido
alongside wordsmith,
Phyno, have been unveiled for
this year’s highly anticipated
upcoming concert; ‘3 Thrones’
set to hold on the 23rd of
October 2016 at EKO Hotel
Convention Centre, Lagos.
The concert is to parade three
headliners which are referred
to as “kings” and they are
prepared to occupy three
thrones at the concert, hence
the name ‘3 Thrones Concert’.
DJ Jimmy Jatt and DJ Neptune
have been unveiled as ‘The
Guardians’ of the thrones.
However, the third headliner
By AYO ONIKOYI 08052201215
onikoyi68@gmail.com
hasn’t been revealed so far as
fans continue to hanker for the
third revelation.
Speaking on the choice of
these artistes, one of the
organizers, Adetoro Suleiman
had this to say: “After careful
consideration, Phyno and
Davido were meticulously
selected by the team, owing to
Marriott lands in Nigeria
with Renaissance Hotel
History will be made next
month in Lagos as the
first Mariott Hotel in Sub-
Sahara Africa opens its doors
to customers.
Strategically located on Isaac
John Street, GRA, Ikeja,
Marriott, the global luxury
brand in hotel management,
will make its debut with the
grand opening of Renaissance
Lagos Ikeja Hotel.
According to Ahmed
Tajudeen, Director of Projects,
Avalon International, owners of
the hotel, the glamour of the
assortment of marble-like
finishing on the floors and
walls, combined with a unique
carport at the entrance, will
make lodging irresistible for
guests.
“The suspended glass floor
and glass bridge at the
reception area is to create a
unique class for a hotel that is
first of its kind in Africa. With
an underground car park,
security within the premises is
reinforced, starting with
electronically controlled
bollards at the gate, at the car
park entrance and body
scanners at the entrance to the
reception area, “ he explained.
The date for the grand
opening ceremony of the hotel
would soon be announced.
Davido
their undeniable eminence and the
impact they’ve made in the Nigerian
music industry and Africa at large. These
are individuals who are hardworking and
have put Nigeria on a pedestal through
their art over the years. So far; two of them
have been revealed - the last king will
be revealed in due time. This is a concert
that will be talked about for years!”
Sixth Lights, Camera Afric Film Festival holds
This September, the Lights,
Camera, Africa Film Festival,
brings to audiences an offering
of films under the banner
‘Music Makes the People…’
The three-day festival (30th
September - 2nd October 2016) set to hold
at The Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos is
an unabashed display of works of film
that speak to the power of music and
indeed other art forms to create love,
express sorrow, build bridges and end
wars.
The Lights, Camera, Africa Film
Festival, through its consistently bold
representation of diverse African cinema
shares its sixth edition with a theme that
is perhaps the most appropriate motifs
for its native city, Lagos.
Featuring the famous Festival Souk,
inter-disciplinary showcases of literature,
visual art and live music, the festival
promises to be one of a lifetime.
Naija’s biggest DJ event
‘Jimmy’s Jump off’
comes to town
Come Sunday October 2nd 2016, from 7pm, the Ikeja
City Mall (ICM) will be the centre of attraction as
this year’s Jimmy’s Jump Off comes to town with several
super star DJs set to rock the wheel of steel at the widely
talked about event.
The concert which has held every year since 2008 is
regarded as one of the most revered entertainment events
in Nigeria, it is popularly referred to as Naija’s biggest
DJ Event.
The event which is an initiative of pioneer DJ, Jimmy
Adewale Amu popularly called Jimmy Jatt will attract
the finest DJs in the game. Ever since this event debuted,
it has always been held on the island and this is the first
time the event will hold on the mainland and it will be
at the biggest shopping mall within the Lagos metropolis.
The musical event which has been tagged ‘The
Mainland Invasion’ will have in attendance big names
such as DJ Humility, DJ Spinall, DJ Neptune, DJ
Xclusive, DJ Enimoney, DJ Lambo, DJ Prince, DJ Oz,
DJ X-Gee, DJ TTB, DJ Nana, DJ Stramborella, DJ Obi,
DJ Switch, DJ Spicey, DJ Big N and a host of top Nigerian
artistes.
Omoni Oboli’s
‘Okafor’s Law’ sold
out three halls at TIFF
It’s no longer news that the widely publicised Toronto
International Film Festival (TIFF) has come and
gone with Nollywood in the lead, in terms of presence
and recognition but what is indeed news was that a
Nigerian movie sold out three halls in the city of
Toronto.
Omoni Oboli’s new movie ‘Okafor’s Law’ sold out
three halls at the theater where the movie was shown
in the city of Toronto so much so that people who came
to the theatre few minutes after the viewing time were
turned back because there were no longer seats.
The Nollywood actress who could not conceal her
joy when the news of the sold out halls got to her
quickly shared the news on her social media accounts.
When asked how she felt when the news of the sold
out status of her movie got to her, she said ‘’ ’I did not
see this happening in Toronto, maybe in Nigeria but
not here. I know Okafor’s Law is a good movie, but
did I envisage there would be packed halls here in
Canada? The answer is NO! When I was told the halls
have been sold out, I was really moved to tears. I just
couldn’t believe it!”
Okafor’s Law featured Richard Mofe-Damijo
(RMD), Ufuoma Mc Dermott, Tina Mba, Blossom
Chukwujekwu, Kemi Lala Akindoju, Yvonne Jegede,
Ken Erics,
G a b r i e l
Afolayan,
H a l i m a
Abubakar, Toyin
Aimakhu, Mary
Lazarus, Betty
Irabor and
others.
Okafor’s Law
states that if a
man sleeps with
a woman once,
he can always
bed her again
irrespective of
n e w
developments
like marriage,
new boyfriend
or break up.
Miss Tourism Ogun returns
with new promises
BY IYBO AINA
Miss Tourism Ogun State
(MTOGS), a creative and
purposeful beauty and talent
competition whose mission is to
revitalise tourism in the State through
beauty is set to hold the second
edition of her annual beauty contest
on the 5th of November, 2016 at
Beatitude Events and Entertainment,
Abeokuta, Ogun State.
According to the organisers of the
event AGL Technologies, the 2016
edition will crown a queen who will
embrace and promote the tourism
potentials of Ogun State and Nigeria
at large, a queen who has spunk,
charisma, attitude, and the selling
point to be the next face to grace
billboards and pages of magazines as
well as exude ‘life’ across televisions
around Africa and the world.
The event will feature style,
glamour, comedy, music, dance and
awards, as the finalists compete in
different costumes ranging from swim
wears, Nigerian traditional attires
and their evening wears.

28—SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016
Edited by Ayo Onikoyi
08052201215
By BENJAMIN NJOKU
Chioma Okoye cuts the image of an easy-going actress, who
has earnestly enjoyed a flourishing career devoid of
controversy. But recently her hard-earned reputation was
dragged through the mud, leaving the actress traumatized and
gripped by fear.
Recall that Chioma said recently that she was attacked by a group
of women led by a woman who claimed that the actress used her
life story to make a movie that destroyed her marriage. The woman
accused the actress of using her new movie to expose how her
husband sexually harassed her under-aged daughter, his own
step daughter to the point of getting her pregnant.
She allegedly sought Chioma’s help as a film-maker to
expose her unrepentant husband’s evil deeds as she was
tired of fighting him over it.
The movie titled, ‘Lagos Men’centres around a man
who was constantly having sexual intercourse with his
step-daughter.
Showtime Celebrity, however, went after Chioma
during the week to hear her own side
of the story.
According to the actress, the woman
in question approached her about
three years ago and pleaded with her
to help tell her story to the world
through a movie. She relayed her
pathetic story to the actress and
pleaded with her to use it to make a
movie. After listening to her story, the
actress agreed to do it but due to some
reasons, it took her about three years
for the movie to be produced and aired
online. But trouble started recently
after the actress released the movie on
her online TV platform, where the
woman’s sister-in-law watched the
movie from abroad and later, drew her
husband’s attention to it.
The husband was said to have
threatened to throw the woman out of
their matrimonial home, if the movie
was not taken down within 24 hours. A
threat that prompted the disenchanted
woman to gang up with her friends and
attacked the actress at her Lekki, Lagos
residence.
How the story began
Chioma narrates her story, “I was
in my house with my friend, Ujunwa
Okafor of blessed memory when one
of her friends called her on the phone,
and asked after me. She wanted to
know if I was in town. We directed
her on how to locate my home, and
when she finally traced it, she told
me a story of how her husband was
sleeping with her daughter. She said
she was looking for a pay back as she
didn't want to commit murder.”
“According to her, she wasn’t
observant enough to notice that her
daughter was pregnant for her
husband .Then, I asked her what she
was doing about it, and she replied
that she reported the matter to the
General Overseer of their church, but
he warned the man to mind his
business. At the end, she told me she
wanted to expose her husband by
using the story to make a movie. I told
her that I would not use his real name
in the movie, but a similar name,
which was what I did. When I finished
writing the story, I shot the movie
which is about three years now. I was
looking for a better platform to
showcase the movie,” she narrated.
How she was attacked,
threatened
Recalling how she was attacked in
her home, Chioma who started her
acting career in 2002, after starring in
the movie, “No Shaking” said, “On that
Saturday morning, I heard a knock on
my gate and when I opened it, I saw
three flashy cars parked in front of my
house. I was starring at the occupants
of the cars in confusion, when one of
them walked up to me and introduced
herself as Oge, one of late Ujunwa’s
friends. I was still not convinced as I
let them in and wanted to know their
mission. But before I knew what was
happening, the three ladies that
accompanied her started wandering
into my rooms.”
How Chioma
Okoye's movie
wrecked a marriage
•Movie based on true- life story
•Woman involved attacks her
“I tried stopping them,when
Mrs.(name withheld) frowned at me,
fuming that she told me a story in
confidence and I went ahead to use
the story in my movie, using her
husband’s real name. At that point, I
recognized her face. But I didn’t use
her husband’s surname, anybody
can answer Eze or Ify. I didn’t know
why it should become an issue.
However, before I could say
anything, one of the ladies slapped
me and at that point, I slapped her
back and we started fighting. Later,
we went to the Ajah police station,
where her police friend tried to cajole
me to bring down the movie. He
offered me about N3 million which I
refused. That’s where we are right
now.”
Cost of taking the movie off the
internet
Chioma who’s currently gripped
by fear, wondered why the woman
in question is now spitting fire,
threatening to deal with her after she
had a mutual agreement with her to
turn the story into a movie. She said,
I tried stopping them,
when Mrs (name
withheld) frowned at
me, fuming that she
told me a story in
confidence and I went
ahead to use the story
in my movie, using her
husband’s real name.
At that point, I
recognized her face.
But I didn’t use her
husband’s surname,
anybody can answer
Eze or Ify
she spent about N9 million to produce the
movie and would not accept anything less
than the amount, before taking it down.
The curvy actress said, she has learnt her
lessons, revealing that the woman’s husband
has since sent her packing because of the
movie. "She’s threatening that she will kill me.
I spent a lot of money to make the movie and
they are asking me to stop showing it on my
platform. I am afraid of releasing the movie
on DVD. Her husband’s real name was used
as one of the characters in the movie. I have
learnt my lessons. I would have documented
whatever agreement I reached with her,” she
said.
The movie, “Lagos Men”, according to
her, focuses on men, marital vows,
secrets, scandals and more. She
explained that the essence of
turning the story into a movie was
to help give the woman a voice
and also to show what happens
in the society with the hope of
changing it.
Life as an actress, a
producer
Meanwhile, explaining
why her face has not been
regular on screen in recent
times, Chioma said, she wants
to concentrate on producing
movies alone. “I want to focus
on my production so that I
can bring a good product
into the market. I cannot
become an executive
producer and at the same
time an actress. It is one
thing at a time. I don’t
want to be distracted as
I want to focus on
my production.”
Chioma, went
down memory lane,
recalling how her
curves earned her,
her first movie role.
She described her
journey into
Nollywood as
“amazing and
rosy”, revealing
that “I didn’t
initially want to go
into
the
entertainment
industry.”
But she changed
her mind after
featuring in her first
movie, alongside
her uncle, Pete
Edochie who
incidentally
introduced her into the industry.
According to her, she attended an
audition where the producer was in
search of a plus-size chic who is endowed
with a nice shape and curves. “The movie
has to do with a village man who was in
search of a true and curvy African woman
for a wife. When I read the script, I
immediately knew I was the right person
for the role. During audition, I discovered
nobody was as curvy and sexy as I was.
And after the audition, I was selected for
the role,”she narrated.
Chioma said, she delved into movie
production because she wants to add
value to the industry. She, however,
regretted that most scriptwriters in
Nollywood are not creative. “We have a
lot of stories that we need to explore in
Nigeria. But unfortunately, our
scriptwriters are stereotyped. When it
comes to comedy, it is one story-line of
comedy until the comedy ceases, and
when it is blood money movie, it is also ,
one story-line of blood money . They are
not creative and that’s one major
challenge that we are facing in the
industry, “she lamented
C
M
Y
K

SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016 — 29
P
Untold story of Omoni Oboli’s plagiarism saga:
What my experience
with the actress
will teach Nigerian
film makers
• Why I didn’t drag her to court
Canadian-based Nigerian script
writer, Jude Idada, who
recently accused actress Omoni
Oboli of copying his script for her new
film, “Okafor’s Law” which made its
world debut at the just concluded
Toronto International Film Festival,
TIFF, has provided more insights into
the allegation,insisting that the
purpose was not to expose or tarnish
the image of the actress, but
importantly, to defend himself.
Recall that Idada, in a recent interview
with an online publication, TNS, accused
Omoni Oboli of copying his script for her
new film, “Okafor’s Law,” He also alleged
that Omoni’s 2014 ‘Being Mrs Elliot’ was
an idea she lifted directly from him
without giving him due credit.
However, providing more insights into
the allegation, while in an online chat with
HVP, Idada who is currently in South
America working on a new film project
said, his action was based on the need to
defend his integrity as a script writer.
He said, the actress has been going
about telling who cares to listen to her that
he was the one who stole her story. “To
ensure that the truth was being told, since
the journalist who approached me had said
he heard stuff from other actors and
filmmakers who knew that I wrote the
story and was going to publish... so I
decided that since he was going to
publish, he might as well publish the
truth and not hearsay,” the gifted script
writer said.
Speaking further, Idada said that part of
the reason he didn’t take legal action
against Omoni Oboli was because he
didn’t want to besmirch the image of the
country in the global stage as well as
tarnish the image of the other films that
were selected for screening at the just
concluded Toronto International Film
Festival. “I am very happy that Nollywood
is finally getting its day in the limelight
and I celebrate all the films that were
chosen. That is one of the reasons I did not
go the legal route with Omoni Oboli, even
when my lawyer had pleaded with me to
allow him serve an injunction to her and
TIFF as regards the film. I believe that
doing that would have besmirched the
image of Nigeria in the global stage and
tarnished the image of the other films
chosen.”
“ I couldn’t stand the world saying...
“See them, you give them a chance to
shine and you find out that as usual they
have issues with crime!” I had to put my
own interest on the back seat and put the
PFI inducted into
LESA hall of honour
encils Film and Television Institute,PEFTI, got a standing
ovation at the 2016 edition of the Lagos Entrepreneurship
Students Awards,LESA, which took place at University of Lagos
last week as it was inducted into LESA’s esteemed Hall of Honour.
The event, which awarded several enterprising students in Lagos
State, also inducted other selected institutions and persons who
have been very instrumental in developing the entrepreneurial
drive of the youth, including Dr Idiat Adebule, Deputy Governor
of Lagos State; Hon. Kehinde Odeneye, Member Federal House
of Representatives Abuja; and Hon. Rotimi Agunsoye, Member
Federal House of Representatives Abuja.
The Managing Director of PEFTI, Abiola
Adenuga said “Since the institute was
launched in 2004, we have trained over
6,000 young people from across Nigeria
and other parts of Africa; and we are
excited at the great things they have
accomplished within and outside the
entertainment industry. This recognition
by LESA means a lot to us, and we
continue to play our role in
strengthening the nation’s economy, by
training future employers of labour.”
— Jude Idada
I couldn’t stand the world
saying... “See them, you
give them a chance to
shine and you find out
that as usual they have
issues with crime!
interest and image of Nigeria on the front
seat... so I am totally in a celebratory mood
as regards the City to City focus on Lagos
at TIFF. I hope that my experience with
Omoni and “Okafor’s Law” will let Nigeria
know that as Nollywood gets on the world
stage, things have to be professionalized...
whether friends or not... contracts have to
be entered into for everything, duly signed
and breachers,” Idada narrated.
On the issue of signing a contract with
the actress, Idada explained that they
never signed a contract. Rather, he sent the
contract to Omoni’s husband, in 2015,
which he refused to acknowledge the
receipt of the contract.
‘In that contract, the story, characters,
plot lines, reversals, dialogue etc were
mine. And the name ‘Okafor’s Laws’ were
•PETFTI MD
*Jude Idada
BY EMMA UNA
ORGANIZER of Cross River Most
Beautiful Girl pageant, Ms Isabella
Ayuk yesterday announced the sack of
two of the pageant’s beauty queens, Miss
Victoria Ana, winner of the 2016 contest
and Miss Favour Ezeh holder of Culture
and Heritage pageant over what she
called “misconduct capable of bringing
the image of the event to disrepute.”
Isabella Ayuk who is ex- Most
Beautiful Girl in Nigeria organizes
the pageants through her
Belle’Sabel Grooming
Agency told HVP
that the sack of
the duo was to
save the image of
the pageants
from being
dragged in the
mud by the
misconduct of the
two beauty queens
She accused Miss Ana of
keeping late nights in addition
to being lackadaisical in
honouring invitations that
concern her office as reigning
queen of CRMBG as a role
model for girls and young
women.
Ezeh, was also accused of
keeping late nights without
due regards to her position
as title holder to CRMBG,
even as she is also said to be
making public
utterances capable of
theirs since they told me they wanted the
film to be based on the name and the law.
If we do not go ahead with the project,
I will take my story, characters, plot
lines, reversals and they can
keep the name. They did not
sign the contract, but
instead went ahead to
write a version of my
story that was 85%
similar to the story I
had told them in their
house in Oniru in
2014... to shed more
light... it was after I
told them the story,
that Omoni pleaded
with me to write it
for them... they had
asked me to come
over and give them
a story based on
Okafor’s Law...
because they had
no story... I sat at
the dining table
and told her
husband, herself
and her PA the
story.”
Idada, who has
written many
Nollywood flicks
including “The
Tenant”, “Comatose”
which he wrote in conjunction with
Mickey Dube and Fabian Lojede, an
adaptation of my stage play “Coma” said,
he is very evasive to publicity and fame. “
I loathe the limelight. To have come out to
speak about this in the first place was a
herculean task. That was why I didn’t
even speak about “Being Miss Elliot”
when it happened. I acted in 8bars and A
Clef. I prefer creating the magic and
writing the stories... and let it speak for
itself... just like a spielberg will do... I
want to play with my strengths, not try
and do everything and be everything.”
Meanwhile, efforts made by HVP to get
Omoni’s reaction proved abortive as her
cell phone was not going through. A
message sent to the actress via her
Facebook page was neither
acknowledged nor replied.
Reigning Cross River beauty queens sacked!
tarnishing the image of the reputable
pageant. “The organisation shall never
hesitate to correct any excesses witnessed
in line with the intent and purposes of
the tenets establishing the office which
you occupy,” Ms Ayuk said
She said in the interim 20-year old
Miss Precious Brendan Omini, will serve
as the acting Cross River Most Beautiful
Girl while Jenifer Udofia will serve
as the Cross River Most Beautiful
Girl , Culture and Tourism.
Meanwhile, reacting to her
sack, Miss Ana said, the
allegation levelled against
her was not substantiated
by fact or any witnesses.
She, therefore called for her
reinstatement.
I was “shocked by
her suspension. I was
neither queried
verbally or in
writing of any
alleged misconduct
because I am not a
nocturnal person or
entertain visitors at
night. The claim by Ms
Ayuk to suspend me was
not substantiated by
fact or any witnesses. I
am calling for my
reinstatement,” she
said in a letter she sent
to Ayuk.
•Miss Vicky Ana
C
M
Y
K

30—SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016
BY IYABO AINA
08184172548
End of the road fairy tale
How Angelina hired
investigators to spy
on Brad
Angelina Jolie hired a private
investigator to spy on Brad
Pitt on the set of his new film
amid fears he was having an
affair with co-star Marion
Cottilard, it is claimed.
Pitt has been at the centre of rumours
for months about growing close to the
French actress while filming “Allied,”
prompting Angelina to act.
A source told the New York Post: “She
hired a private eye because she felt he
was fooling around with her on the
set”
The film, which Brad and Marion shot
in February in London, is based on a
true story about two assassins who fell
in love during a mission.
Remarkably, Brad and three-times
wed Angelina met and fell in love on
the set of 2005’s Mr & Mrs Smith, in
which they played married rival
assassins who are unaware of each
other’s job.
And it seems the end of Brangelina
was also played out on screen in
2015’s By the sea which Angelina
wrote and directed in which they
starred as a couple with relationship
problems.
DEVASTATED
Marion, who is with 43-year-old actor
Guillaume Canet, has yet to respond
to the claims, but a source said she
would be “absolutely devastated” by
them.
The star, 40, is said to be expecting
her second child with Guillaume, who
she has been with since 2007. They
have a five-year-old son, Marcel.
A source close to Marion’s family in
her hometown Paris said: “Marion
and Guillaume are blissfully happy,
and these kind of claims are not what
Marion wants to be hearing.
“She’s said that all she wants to do is
to enjoy some quality time with
Guillaume and their boy.
“Claims that she’s now cheating on
Guillaume with Brad will leave her
absolutely devastated. This doesn’t
sound like her at all.”
Marion gave birth to Marcel, five,
while still working extremely hard at
her career, but she has recently
indicated that she wants a ‘quieter
life’, said the source.
“She guards her private life, and
wants to enjoy more of it,” said the
source. “All this fuss will be a huge
•Brad and Angelina
shock to her.”
Marion, who turns 41 at the end of
this month, has been hugely busy
working on up four films this year.
A source close to her also denied
the affair rumours to the New York
Post.
Stunning actress Marion played
Brad’s wife in Allied, which tells the
tale of an intelligence officer in North
Africa, who meets a female French
Resistance fighter on a deadly
mission.
When the lovers reunite in London,
their relationship is forced to deal with
the pressures of war.
Unfortunately, it’s alleged that
Angelina was not happy with some of
the romantic scenes.
Oscar-winning Marion is one of the
most successful actresses in recent
French movie history, and has built up
a multi-million pounds fortune.
Her greatest triumph to date was best
actress Academy Award for her
portrayal of French cabaret singer
Edith Piaf in the 2007 film La Vie en
Rose.
It meant she became the second
actress to win an acting Oscar
performing in a language other than
English.
Pitt is no stranger to growing close to
his co-stars having been romantically
involved or linked to several.
In 1995 he met and fell in love with
Gwyneth Paltrow while on the set of
Seven getting engaged before
splitting two years later.
In 2005 he grew close to Jolie while
filming Mr & Mrs Smith despite still
being married to Friends star Jennifer
Aniston.
Brangelina have six children together
- Maddox, 15, Pax, 12, Zahara, 11,
Shiloh, 10, and twins Knox and
Vivienne, 8.
Angelina is said to be upset over
Brad’s parenting skills and doesn’t
want him to have physical custody of
their children, only joint legal custody,
TMZ said.
Jolie has been repeatedly telling him
that he is “not in his 20s anymore” as
details have emerged of Pitt’s boyish
antics around the world.
On Father’s Day earlier this year
Angelina was in New York with Knox,
while Pitt was in France at the Le
Mans race.
On June 26 Pitt attended the Born-
Free Vintage Chopper and Classic
Cycle Show, where the actor was
“getting up close and personal” with
fans.
One insider at the time said that
Continues on pg 31

SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016—31
BY IYABO AINA
•Brad and Jennifer Aniston
•Angelina and ex-hubby
Jonny lee Miller
How Angelina hired
investigators to spy
on Brad
Continues from pg 30
“seeing Brad at this event with all these
woman has sent Angelina over the
edge.”
The couple have been together since
2004 after falling for each other on the
set of Mr, and Mrs. Smith - while Brad
was still married to Friends star
Jennifer Aniston.
A year later, they went public with their
relationship but only tied the knot on
August 23, 2014 in a surprise ceremony
at their French estate, Chateau
Miraval.
There was speculation their marriage
was beset by problems as early as the
honeymoon when the couple moved to
Malta and the island of Goza to film
their joint venture By the Sea
In June this year, the couple reportedly
fell out over plans to put their Chateau
Miraval property in the South of France
on the market.
Pitt reportedly refused to part ways
with the property, but she wanted to
sell up to enable her to become a
member of the House of Lords.
Reports suggested Jolie had been keen
to become a peer from as early as 2014 -
for that, she is required to be a tax
paying UK resident.
Pitt owns a house in LA, but it is
unclear whether Jolie holds any stake in
it.
THE DIFFERENCES
A source said: “Brad’s wild partying
was completely at odds with Angelina’s
political aspirations. Their lifestyles
were growing increasingly different,
and with that, their lives were going off
at a tangent until they had very little in
common anymore.”
Jolie’s political aspirations were
sparked when she struck up a close
working relationship with Baroness
Arminka Helic after meeting as
•Marion Cotillard
advisers to William Hague, and
the pair started the non-profit
partnership JP.D.H London
together.
When the actress watched Helic
take her seat in the House of
Lords in 2014, she said: “She’s
been in many ways a mentor to
me and she’s an extraordinary
woman and I’m very, very
honoured to be here today.” The
pair are reported to “share the
same vision”.
The same year, the Queen made
her an honorary Dame to
recognise her services to UK
foreign policy.
In 2015, the actress, Angelina,
Angelina was not
happy with some of the
romantic scenes.
Oscar-winning Marion
is one of the most
successful actresses in
recent French movie
history, and has built
up a multi-million
pounds fortune
•Angelina and ex-hubby
Billy Bob Thornton
gave her clearest hint that she was
considering a career in politics to
Vogue: “I’d like to be part of
international work, and see where I
can be useful, whatever way that
takes shape. I still don’t know what
I’m capable of.”
Just under a fortnight ago, Jolie
gave evidence at a Lords committee
to investigate sexual violence in wartorn
countries, telling heartbreaking
stories about child rape victims.
Next year, Jolie will be a visiting
professor at the London School of
Economics when she joins Lord
Hague as a lecturer at the
university’s Centre for Women,
Peace and Security.
There, she will draw upon her
experience as a goodwill
ambassador for the UN Refugee
Agency while teaching a course on
the impact of war on women.
In legal documents, the couple’s
date of separation is listed as Sept.
15, 2016.

32—SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016
'I get t energy from my y wife'
AN 85-YEAR-OLD Rus
sian actor famous for
over 140 roles in Soviet and
Russian films has claimed his
wife – who is more than 60
years his junior – makes him
feel young.
Actor Ivan, 85, and Natalia
Krasko, 25, married on September
9 last year.
Having started a family, the
couple claims they have spent
the year being happily married.
The Kraskos say they
couldn’t live without each
other, with Ivan insisting he
is still living because of his
love for his wife.
He said: “I am getting energy
from my wife. “She jokingly
calls me an energy vampire.
08116759
6759759
“I usually reply that I am an
absolute vampire, who enjoys
this feeling.”
Natalia plans on introducing
her husband to her mother,
Svetlana, for the pair’s first
wedding anniversary.
Svetlana lives in the city of
Sevastopol, in Russian-annexed
Crimean Peninsula,
while the Kraskos live in St
Petersburg, in north-western
Russia. Natalia said: “We plan
to introduce her to my husband
until the end of the year.
“Most likely we will fly to
Sevastopol ourselves.”
The pair admitted that, while
they may have a row every
now and then, they iron out
any problems very quickly.
Despite criticism, the pair
described their relationship as
a “match made in heaven” in
an interview on their engagement
last year.
The pair met while the father-of-six
was teaching fine
art at the St Petersburg Institute
of Liberal Education.
Natalia, who was one of his
students at the time, started
writing him poetry, and the
rest is history.
‘Master editor’ Mark Zuckerberg criticised
after Facebook deletes es ‘napalm girl’ picture
Seven-year-old girl made goddess in Nepal because
she has 'eyelashes like a cow and voice of a duck'
As Facebook cracks down on
nudity, CEO Mark Zuckerberg
has come under fire after deleting a post
featuring the famous ‘napalm girl’
photo.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph
shows a nine-year-old girl running
naked after being severely burned
on her back by a napalm attack in 1972.
But Norway’s biggest newspaper has
published an open letter accusing
Zuckerberg of ‘abusing his power’ after
Facebook deleted the powerful image
from its site, reports Aftenposten.
Editor-in-chief of Aftenposten, Espen
Egil Hansen, said he is ‘afraid’ of how
the social media site is affecting democracy
around the world.
He said: ‘I am worried that the world’s
most important medium is limiting freedom
instead of trying to extend it, and
that this occasionally happens in an authoritarian
way.’
The post in question was by Norwegian
writer, Tom Egeland, who wrote an
article about the photographs that
changed the history of warfare.
But Egeland was suspended from
Facebook for posting the image called,
‘The Terror of War’. And when
Aftenposten reported on the suspension,
it was asked by Facebook to remove or
pixelate the image, shortly before the site
deleted it. Egeland said the removal of
the photograph shows an inability to ‘distinguish
between child pornography and
famous war photographs’, and an unwillingness
to allow ‘space for good
judgement’. He added: ‘The media have
a responsibility to consider publication
in every single case.This right and duty,
which all editors in the world have, should
not be undermined by algorithms
encoded in your office in California.
‘Editors cannot live with you, Mark, as
a master editor.’
A spokesman for Facebook
said:’While we recognize that this photo
is iconic, it’s difficult to create a distinction
between allowing a photograph of
a nude child in one instance and not others.
‘We try to find the right balance between
enabling people to express themselves
while maintaining a safe and respectful
experience for our global community.
Our solutions won’t always be
perfect, but we will continue to try to improve
our policies and the ways in which
we apply them.’
Earlier this month, following
protests in Norway and elsewhere,
Facebook reversed its decision and
allowed the photo, known as ‘Terror of
War,’ to be seen on its pages. ‘Sometimes,
though, the global and historical
importance of a photo like ‘Terror of War’
outweighs the importance of keeping
nudity off Facebook,’ Sandberg said in
a letter to Solberg. ‘After hearing from
you and other members of our
community, we have decided to restore
the photo.’
Now the youngster’s parents have
had to leave their jobs because
under Hindu tradition she is not allowed
to leave her home except for special occasions
– and her feet can’t touch the floor.
Nepalese prime minister Pushpa
Kamal Dahal even had to bow before
the ‘Kumari’ girl, who is called Yunika,
as he paid respect to her along with thousands
of others at the religion’s annual
festival of rain. The child is thought to
bring good luck to those who look at her
after being declared by royal priests and
officials as a living incarnation of the
goddess Durga in an ancient Hindu custom.
But when Yunika hits puberty, she
will revert back to being a normal member
of society. Her dad Ramesh
Bajracharya said: “When my daughter
was selected as a Kumari, I felt very
happy. “It's because Kumari is hugely
regarded and respected living goddess
in Nepal.” The criteria is extreme – with
children needing “eyelashes like a cow”,
“thighs like a deer” and a
“voice as clear as a duck”.
Her astrological chart also
has to be favourable to the
King of Nepal’s and youngsters
are also tested on fearlessness
and serenity. Yunika’s mum
Sabita has to apply intricate
make-up patterns on her face that
mark her out as a goddess – but
she admits to feeling sad that her
daughter can’t enjoy a normal life.

SATURD
TURDAY Vanguard,
SEPTEMBER 24, 2015—33
Igbinedion
@ 82
L-R. Former First Lady of Edo State, Mrs Ekhi Igbinedion, the celebrant,
Chief Gabriel Osawaru Igbinedion (the Esama of Benin Kingdom) his
wife, Lady Cherry and former Governor, Edo State, Lucky Igbinedion.
September 11, 2016
was yet another
birthday of the
Esama of Benin
kingdom, Chief Gabriel
Igbinedion. The birthday
which attracted bigwigs
of the society was
presided over by the
President
of
Pentecostal Fellowship
of Nigeria, Rev. Felix
Omobude in Benin City.
Igbinedion, the great,
celebrating the
abundance of God’s
grace @ 82 was the
theme for this year’s
celebration.
L-R: Prof. Victor Uwaifo; Vice Chancellor,
Igbinedion University, Okada, Prof. Osagie
Eghosa and Sir. Ambassador Garrick Eboigbe.
Oboroegbe
oegbeyi’s yi’s daughter
er
weds
BARRISTER Austin None Oboroegbeyi and his
wife gave out their eldest daughter, Barr. Alero
Oboroegbeyi to Mr. Osazekomwen Obaseki as
wife.The marriage ceremony, according to Itsekiri
tradition held recently at the bride’s residence, in
Ugbuwangue, while the church wedding held at
Love Baptist Church, also in Ugbuwangue.
L-R: Vice Chancellor, University of Benin, Prof
Osasere Orumwense; former Foreign Affairs
Minister, Chief Tom Ikimi; the celebrant, Chief
Gabriel Osawaru Igbinedion, (the Esama of
Benin Kingdom) and his wife, Lady Cherry.
L-R: Rev. Osadiaye Dewosco; Dr. Efionayi Iyayi;
the celebrant, Chief Gabriel Osawaru Igbinedion;
Vision Bearer Intercessory Women Ministry,
Evang. Margret Agbonifo and Vice Chancellor,
University of Benin, Prof. Osasere Orumwense
Urhobo So-
cial Club
Women
Association’s
dinner in
Lagos
Mr. & Mrs Obaseki cutting their wedding cake.
L-R: Mrs Joy Agbah, Mrs Kigho Isire, Mrs Florence Okuesa, Mrs Tina
Diejomahor, Mrs Margaret Owhofa, Mrs Doris Edojah, Mrs Onome
Ogbon, Mrs Albert Feludu and Mrs Elizabeth Okotete.
The members of
the Club, the
L a g o s
branch,which was led
by the President, Chief
(Mrs) Margaret Owhofa
was hosted by Mrs
Doris Edojah at Lekki,
Lagos, last weekend.
Mr. & Mrs. Obaseki in a group photograph with
Barr. & Mrs. Oboroegbeyi, bride's parents.
Oluwat
atoyin Olatilewa a weds Adek
dekunle
Adefehinti
A cross section of Urhobo Social Club Women Association, Lagos, in a
Dinner Party, led by the President Chief (Mrs) Margaret Owhofa, and
Hosted by Mrs Doris Edojah at Lekki, over the weekend
Former Miss
Oluwatoyin
Olatilewa signed
the dotted lines to
become Mr Adekunle
Adefehinti’s wife on
August 13, 2016. The
couple exchanged the
nuptial vows at Christ
Apostolic Church, City
of God, Idimu, Lagos
Oluwatoyin Olatilewa & Adekunle Adefehinti
C
M
Y
K

34—SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016
Every man and
woman wants a
healthy baby, but do they
want a boy or girl? Even without
admitting it, we all have a preference.
For instance, if you already have a
boy, you’d probably like a girl, or vice
versa.
The big question is whether you can
actually determine the sex of your
baby before birth? The answer is yes;
thanks to modern Assisted
Reproduction Techniques, ART.
There are various reasons why a
couple may want a child of a particular
gender, therefore choosing the sex of
a baby during pregnancy and before
birth is commonplace.
A recent survey revealed that about
half of all Americans want their first
child to be a boy. Among married
couples surveyed, 47per cent said they
would prefer to have a son first. Only
21 per cent of the respondents said
they would like to have a daughter as
their first child, and 32 per cent said
they had no preference either way.
While the majority of couples want a
son first, the reasons behind their
gender preferences are varied. Most
of the couples who want a boy—45 per
cent—say they feel that having a son
would be less hard work than a
daughter.
On the other hand, a third says they
want a boy because older sons are
better at looking after their younger
siblings.
Strong preference for sons
Another survey showed that in Africa
and Asia, the preference for sons is
strong and increasing. Further
findings show that traditional
family systems predict in
advance the nature of these
gender preferences, while
religion does not, and that the
magnitude of preferences is
stronger for wealthier and more
educated women.
Yet more research shows that
once parents are closer to
achieving their total desired
number of children, the gender
composition of children already
born becomes an important
determinant of whether they
would have another child.
For instance, in a number of
Asian or African settings,
families with four or five or even
six children are more likely to
add another child if all of the
children up to this point are girls
rather than boys.
Under these conditions, sex
selection can help couples
maximize their chance of having
a small family size of both sexes.
So instead of trying repeatedly
and hoping on chance, they
would prefer a more certain
method of selecting the sex of
the child more so as economic
and population parameters will
suggest that families limit the
number of children they have.
It is perfectly normal to feel this
way.
Medical reason vs Family
Balancing
In the view of the Medical
Director, Nordica Fertility
Centre, Lagos, Abuja and
Asaba, Dr Abayomi Ajayi, there
are countries and societies that
only allow sex selection for
medical reasons in order to
You can choose your baby
boy or girl before birth
•A boy and
a girl playing
with toy...
eliminate genetic diseases
like Haemophila A and
Duchenne’s muscular
dystrophy that occur in males
but are only carried or
transferred by females. A
family with a history of these
conditions may want to have
only female children.
Ajayi explained that opting
for sex selection for family
balancing is quite popular
and could be done to help
“balance” the family by
having children of both
sexes. For instance, families
with all girls or all boys may
wish to have the other
gender to balance the family.
According to him, Nordica
Fertility Centre Lagos, offers
scientific and evidencebased
sex selection that is
backed by results in
conjunction with a centre in
Europe.
Pre-implantation Genetic
Diagnosis, PGD
Giving a rundown of sex
selection techniques, he
described Pre-implantation
Genetic Diagnosis, PGD, as
the best scientific method at
present for selecting the
gender of a child.
“The best available is PGD.
It is almost 100 per cent
certain of selecting the
desired sex. In PGD the
woman first goes through a
process of In Vitro
Fertilization (IVF) where her
ovaries are stimulated using
medications to produce eggs,
the eggs are retrieved from
her body using a special
The various
scientific methods of
sex selection help to
significantly improve
the chance of
couples having a
child of the desired
gender instead of
relying on chance
technique, they are fertilized
using her partner’s sperms and
the resulting embryos are
biopsied (a small cell is
removed from each) and
analysed to determine the
gender of the particular
embryo. The embryos of the
desired sex are then
transferred into the woman’s
womb with the hope they will
attach to the uterine lining and
grow into a viable pregnancy.
Sperm Sorting/Microsort
Ajayi described another
method, Sperm Sorting/
Microsort that involves the
sperms being sorted using
fluorescent technology into Y
chromosome for the boy
carrying sperms and X
chromosome (girl) carrying
sperms. The technology is
based on the fact that the X
chromosome is substantially
larger than the Y
chromosome.
He said the process uses a
fluorescent DNA stain that
attaches to the DNA of each
sperm and a sorter to identify
and separate the sperms.
“That of a girl is 82 per cent.
Not all couples are suitable for
Microsort. The sperm count of
the male partner must be
within normal limits (at least
20 million sperms per ml with
50 per cent motility). Sperm
samples are collected over a
period and banked until a
total of about 200 million
sperms are collected. They are
frozen and sent for sorting.
“The sorted samples are sent
back usually within three to
four weeks and depending on
the desired gender, the
appropriate sperm is used to
inseminate the woman or to
fertilise her egg during
processes of assisted
reproduction. For the chances
for a boy is 73 – 81 per cent
while that of a girl is 88-92
per cent.
Pros & cons
He however noted that in
PGD, the embryos may be
damaged during testing. “The
desired sex may not be
achieved as all the embryos
produced in PGD may be of
the sex being selected
against. The Microsort
method may also result in
getting the undesired gender
as it is not 100 per cent
effective. “Because Microsort
method is based on separating
sperm according to how
much DNA is in the sperm,
if a sperm with extra or less
DNA per chromosome
(abnormal sperm) fertilizes
an egg, it could cause a
failure of pregnancy to occur
or a high risk of
miscarriage.”
Further, he stated: “PGD
can alongside sex
determination also check if
the embryos are genetically
normal so the chances of an
abnormal embryo even if is
of the desired gender being
transferred into the woman’s
womb is reduced
significantly.”
In conclusion, sex selection
can be done either for
medical reasons or for family
balancing. The various
scientific methods of sex
selection help to significantly
improve the chance of
couples having a child of the
desired gender instead of
relying on chance.
Natural method
For the natural method, it
is believed that the boy
carrying sperms are faster but
don’t last as long as the girl
carrying sperms which are
slower. “So if the woman
wants a boy she should aim
to have sex as close as
possible to ovulation as the
boy sperm will beat the girl
sperm in the race to the egg.
If she wants a girl, she needs
to have sex two to four days
before she ovulates. These
methods have not been
scientifically proven to work,”
Ajayi stated.
C
M
Y
K

In today’s contemporary world nudity is
celebrated in almost every sector, from
the music videos to advertorials. Wrong is
the new right and right the new wrong.
This pretty much explains the topic we’re
discussing today. What really is wrong in
sending nude pictures to people, be them
pictures or videos? This is gradually being
seen as a norm among adults and youths.
Little wonder we keep hearing about
leaked sex tapes and nude pictures.
The most recent being that of a pastor
who sent a picture of his manhood (Nude
photo) to his church WhatsApp group. The
picture was supposedly meant for a female
church member who he was apparently
having an affair with, given the caption.
He committed suicide because he couldn’t
bear the humiliation. Suicide, in my
opinion shouldn’t have been the answer.
Another story that made waves was
about an Italian young lady who sent a
sex tape to her ex-boyfriend to make him
jealous, and the said video went viral on
social media. She couldn’t bear the
embarrassment anymore even after
winning the legal battle to have it taken
off the internet. She also committed
suicide.
As a journalist, I enjoy hearing firsthand
information from people directly. Today’s
Woman took to the streets to get people’s
opinion on this issue that has become a
disturbing trend in the society.
Debola, a Businesswoman, had this to
say: “I have actually sent nude pictures to
my boyfriend on so many occasions. I felt
I should because it strengthens our love
for each other. I don’t want him thinking
about other ladies like that. So when he
asked I obliged him”.
Oreva ,an undergraduate : “I do it all
the time. I’ve been with my boyfriend since
200 level and we’re both in our final year,
its normal. I feel he has seen my nakedness
Before you send
that nude picture!
Unless you have plans
to turn it into a milliondollar
business like the
famous Kim Kardashian
(which I very much
doubt, in a country like
ours) then there is
absolutely no reason to
let the world see you in
your birthday suit
and so it’s cool. Besides I don’t send my face,
just from the waist down.
Chike who works in one of the telecoms
companies does not think there is anything
wrong with it. He says “I’ve actually asked my
girl to send me her nude pictures. It’s just
something for me to look forward to whenever
I’m alone and so that I would be thinking about
her. She’s not always around. It’s not really a
big deal”
32-year-old Ebiere, reacts strongly against it.
“I can’t think of doing that. Apart from it being
disgusting, it’s also morally wrong. What if you
fallout with your guy and he uses that to spite
you by posting it online? You never can tell. You
hear about many leaked nudes and sex tapes
these days, girls that still do that need to stop
and think.”
Morenike, a banker would not stand it. “I met
a man and I liked him when we started chatting.
After that day he sent me a text that I should
SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016—35
send him my nude picture, just my
lower part. I found it disgusting and I
told him so. He told me that I was
old-schooled and that it was in vogue.
It was the end of our interaction.
Jide, a gym instructor : “It’s not
really a big deal. I believe if you trust
yourselves in the relationship then it
shouldn’t be a problem. Truth is, I’ve
asked my fiancé to send me her nudes,
she refused at first but I assured her
that it’s all good. It’s just a way for me
to excite myself whenever she’s not
around”
From the feedback above, it can be
seen that three out every five persons
have done it. It is mostly MEN that
ask for nudes. Some do not see
anything wrong in sending nude.
There are grave consequences for both
the sender and the receiver. As recent
happenings have shown, it never ends
well. It is never right to send nudes, no
matter how we try to justify it. It is so
WRONG. There are men who show
their fellow men in offices and even in
some social gatherings the nudes of
some of the girls that they have gone
out with. They crack jokes over it.
Some pride with such pictures.
What if the person you’re sending it
to betrays your trust and shares the
picture with his friends and reveals
the person? Some do so. What if
someone stumbles on it while
scrolling through your phone or your
partner’s. What if after a bad parting
, your partner decides to hurt you by
making the picture go viral? Can you
deal with the aftermath? It can be
horrendous.
That everyone is doing it now does
not make it right. Some actually send
inside of the real thing. And feel good
when their men confirm the pictures
make them crazy. To all the ladies out
there, you may want to reconsider
before sending that nude photo or
video. Unless you have plans to turn it
into a million-dollar business like the
famous Kim Kardashian (which I very
much doubt, in a country like ours)
then there is absolutely no reason to
let the world see you in your birthday
suit. Think of the possible
consequences before you send or post
that part of you that should remain
private and even sacred .
TAKING statins cuts the risk of
dying from a heart attack by
up to half, researchers have
found.
Experts have long urged people to
take the cheap pills to prevent the
development of heart problems, but a
major study has now found that they
also improved the chances of
surviving any attack.
In the latest contribution to the
debate about the pros and cons of
using the cholesterol-busting drugs,
researchers looked at 15,000 heart
attack victims and patients with
severe unstable angina.
As well as statins, their study found
that other pills used to prevent heart
attacks, including aspirin, betablockers
and ACE inhibitors, were
also linked to improved survival
chances. The researchers said the
findings should help persuade more
people to take the drugs.
An estimated six million people in
the UK take statins to reduce their
risk of having a heart attack or
stroke. But experts want another six
million to take the pills, which cost
less than £2 a month. Many GPs and
patients, however, question the value
of giving statins to healthy people at
low risk of heart disease.
The debate has been fuelled by
questions about side effects, with
some experts claiming statins are
completely safe, and others warning
that the risk of muscle pain, tiredness,
type 2 diabetes and blood clots in the
brain have been ignored.
The researchers behind the study,
from the University of Sydney and
Peking University in Beijing, said the
main aim of taking the drugs is to
The drug that cut your
risk of dying from
heart attack by half!
•Statins
avoid having a heart attack. But
even if someone has an attack
while taking the drugs, their
survival chances will be boosted,
they added.
The authors tracked 14,790
patients with acute coronary
syndrome, which includes heart
attacks and severe angina.
They then divided them into
groups, according to whether they
had taken certain drugs before the
attack – statins, betablockers,
antiplatelet drugs such as aspirin,
or ACE inhibitors, which cut
blood pressure. The study,
published in the journal PLOS
One, found patients who had
taken statins were 48 per cent
less likely to die, compared to
people who had not taken
statins. They were also 9 per
cent less likely to suffer a repeat
heart attack that did not kill
them.
Taking antiplatelet drugs saw
the chance of death drop 38 per
cent and repeat heart attacks by
36 per cent. Those on betablockers
were 37 per cent less
likely to die and 33 per cent less
likely to have another heart
attack.
People taking ACE inhibitors had
a 45 per cent reduced risk of death
and a 58 per cent reduced risk of a
repeat attack.
Each drug also helped cut the risk
of developing other heart
conditions, including an
arrhythmia or irregular heartbeat.
C
M
Y
K
•Ruke

36—SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016
The rich kids of Singapore lie
on beds covered in money and
drive their luxury cars NAKED
SINGAPORE is the land of expensive
stuff. It is the most pricey place to
live on the planet and is home to
more millionaires than anywhere else.
So it’s little wonder than the Rich Kids of
Singapore have the world’s most luxurious
lifestyles.
Their swanky supercars, ceiling-high
piles of cash and designer luxury items make
our London lot look like peasants.
The bio for their jealousy-inducing
Instagram account reads: “Singapore is the
millionaire’s playground.
“Featured are the most flamboyant, flashy
and famous socialites of Singapore.”
And they’re not exaggerating.
These spoilt 20-somethings lie on beds
covered in money, bathe in champagne and
drive their shiny motors naked.
A lavished Rich Kid was pictured lying
face down on a double bed covered in
hundreds of dollar bills.
Meanwhile, another pampered teen was
caught zooming around town completely
in the buff. Why? Because she can.
A privileged brat was captured sitting in
an empty bath tub while dressed in a Chanel
paper hat and a T-shirt emblazoned with
the slogan, “Stop being poor”.
A couple were also snapped running a
romantic bath together – but instead of hot
water they opted for Veuve Clicquot
champagne.
The Rich Kids of Singapore also sparked
envy after sharing snaps of their luxury
holidays.
One was seen wearing a thong while
sipping on champers in a crystal blue infinity
pool. While a group of pals were
photographed flaunting their enviable
bikini bodies while lapping up the sun.
The eye-opening online account also
showcases a giant silver safe – you need
someone to store all of these designer
garments, right?, a car boot full of pricey
booze and a huge stash of Kanye West
trainers.
A guy dressed in a blinging silver chain
was also pictured standing on his car
collection, while another wealthy dude
sipped on Patron tequila while leaning on
his yellow motors.
•A Rich Kid lies down amongst hundreds of dollar bills
• A spoilt brat drives her
supercar in the buff
•A group of rich pals flaunt
their bikini bodies
•A girl has a very clear
message for peasants
C
M
Y
K

SATURD
TURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, , 2016—37
bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk
Humiliated by wife and mistress!
IT was supposed to be one
of these common-place
flings that married men have
all of the time but when Banky
embarked on his a few years ago, it
changed the course of his life, and
his family’s for ever. According to
him:
“I was one of the early casualties
of the so-called current economic
crunch. I
lost my job when the small
company I worked for pruned its
staff to just six. I was the accountant,
and my misfortune happened just
about when the bi-annual rent of
our flat was due and I couldn’t pay
up. In the end my parents-in-law
agreed to accommodate us ... in
their home until I found a job.
“My father-in-law eventually
found a job for me in one of these
sophisticated hotels on the Island.
The owner happens to be his very
good friend and I was to double as
personnel manager along with my
accounting job. I often mingled
with other members of staff at the
bar during our less busy periods
and became friendly with one of the
waitresses. She’s a bubbly and
pretty girl with a fantastic body that
I couldn’t help being attracted to
her.
She was so caring that I found
myself telling her about my
problems, and she seemed to
instinctively understand. When she
had her birthday, she invited a few
of us to her place for an impromptu
party.... We sneaked in a few booze
and snacks from the hotel and we
found ourselves kissing and
cuddling. When
every-one else left, she asked me
to stay and we spent the next few
hours having the hottest sex I’d
ever experienced.
“From then on, we took every
opportunity we could to have sex—
at work in one of the free rooms, in
the car, or back at her place if I
could get away with it. Then this
girl started talking about’ our’
future. I’d told her I didn’t want to
break up my marriage, but she
seemed to resent my wife and kept
asking when I was going to leave
Never
underestimate
how a
desperate
spoiler of a
lover could
wreck
everything
for
you
her. I didn’t tell her I had no
intention of doing that
because I didn’t want the sex
to stop ... One night when I
arrived home, my
parents-in-law met me at
the door looking like they
wanted to strangle me.
They told me frostily that
my lover had phoned the
house, telling my wife about
our affair, and my wife never
wanted to see me again. They
threw a
couple of suitcases at me
and told me they didn’t want
me in their house any more. I
was so stunned I couldn’t say
a word.
“I’m currently staying at my
lover’s boys-quarters
apartment because I have
nowhere else to go. Only I
hate her now for what she did
to my marriage and plan to
dump her as soon as I find
somewhere to live. I love my
wife and our two children and
want them back, but she won’t
answer my texts and her
parents won’t let me near
her.”
As Banky babbled on about
how betrayed he felt by his
mistress, I asked what
responsibility he’s prepared
to take for the break-up of his
marriage? The fact he hadn’t
even been kicked out of the
job his in-laws helped him to
secure
shows they might not be
aversed to the marriage being
resuscitated. But what chance
of a come back does he have
if he still lives with his
mistress—and works the
same premises with her.’
“Stop playing the part of a
victim here
and grow up. If you want
your wife back, you need to
find a completely
different job and a
temporary accommodation;” I
warned him.
“Friends warned me I
shouldn’t accept favours from
my in-laws,” he whined.
“I’m sure if I were the owner
of the flat we lived in, my wife
would be the one moving out.”
Typical male thoughts if you ask
me but I’d already given him a
piece of my mind. Jobs might be
a bit thin on the ground but
they’re not
impossible to find. In the
meantime, why didn’t he write
to his wife, since she
wasn’t picking his calls, and
ask for forgiveness? He should
forget about
giving excuses and let her
know how much his family
means to him.
When next I saw Banky a few
months later, he was a new man
and back with
his wife. “I didn’t take your
advice of course,” he told me.
“I thought it
wasn’t the macho thing to do
snivelling to my wife and
begging her to take
me back. But Fade, my
mistress took the decision right
out of my hands.
She’d gone to work and
forgot to take her phone. A
phone-message bleep alerted
me and when I opened the
message out of curiosity, I was
shocked to
find it was from a lover and
other messages attested to the
fact they’d been
sleeping together long
before she even called my wife
to tell her about us.
“I fumed all the way to work
and when I confronted her with
messages on her
phone, she told me she was
sick and tired of my stringing
her along with lies
of a permanent relationship.
If I didn’t mind she was sick
and tired of me
being under her feet all the
time, and I should find
somewhere else to live!
Shock couldn’t really
describe how I felt. Within
days, I was out of her poky
apartment and living with my
younger brother and his family.
It was my
brother’s wife who went to
see my wife without even
telling me. How she
persuaded her to see me was
a miracle.
“To my shame I burst into
tears when I saw her. I guess
I was just re-acting to the
shock of the slap-in-the-face
treatment I got from my
mistress. I missed
my wife and children and I
begged her to take me back—
all thoughts of pride
flying out of the window.
She didn’t agree right away
but she agreed to keep an
open mind until I found a
place for us to stay and
another job. Thanks to the
experience I had at my old
place of work, I was able to
find a job, again through my
sister-in-law and she helped
me look for a modest
apartment.
“With time my wife’s resolve
thawed and she grudgingly
moved in with our children. I
will be deceiving myself if I
expect her to fall back into my
arms as if nothing happened.
But we’re gradually picking
up the pieces of our broken
marriage. For those of you
enjoying the heady sensation
of a fling, be careful!
Never underestimate how a
desperate spoiler of a lover
could wreck everything
for you. Don’t learn
the hard way like I did!”
Spotting the tell-tale signs of dementia
How to spot early tell-tale signs of
Dementia.
The first symptoms of dementia could begin
as many as 12 years before patients are
diagnosed, research shows. Forgetting to turn
off the lights, mislaying objects around the home
or coming back from the shops without
something you meant to buy could all be early
warning signs. Researchers in America found
that 80 per cent of patients who went on to
develop the illness noticed their memory was
slipping years earlier.
On average they first became aware of these
slips nine years before being diagnosed, but in
some cases it was 12 years. Although experts
urge patients not to worry if they occasionally
mislay the keys, they should speak to their
doctor if they are often forgetful. There is
currently no cure, but researchers are
increasingly hopeful of finding new treatments
that can be given to patients very early on or
before the disease takes hold. Scientists at the
University of Kentucky studied 531 pensioners
with an average of 73 who did not have
dementia. They were all asked whether they had
noticed their memory slipping, such as
forgetting items on the shopping list, mislaying
personal belongings or neglecting to turn off
the lights.
Over the next ten to 12 years the patients were
asked the same questions and they also
underwent tests and scans to diagnose
dementia. The study,
published in the journal Neurology, found that
one in six patients went on to develop
dementia, of whom 80 per cent had noticed
lapses in their memory several years earlier.
Dr. Tichard Kryscio, who led the research,
said that what was notable about the study was
the time it took for the transition from when
people first realised they were having
problems with their memory to when they were
actually diagnosed with dementia. That
suggests that there may be a significant
window of opportunity for intervention before
a diagnosable problem shows up. “Certainly,
someone with memory issues should report it
to their doctor so they can be followed.
Our study adds strong evidence to the idea
that memory complaints are common among
older adults and are sometimes indicators of
future memory and thinking problems.
Doctors should not minimise these
complaints and should take them seriously.
However, memory complaints are not a cause
for immediate alarm since impairment could
be many years away. ‘Unfortunately, however,
we do not yet have preventive therapies for
Alzheimer’s disease or other illnesses that
cause memory problems’. ‘Many people will
experience a decline in memory as they age,
and this single study adds to evidence showing
that some people who experience mild memory
loss in older age go on to develop dementia.
Although we all forget things from time to
time, memory loss in dementia is more severe
than occasional bouts of forgetfulness.

38—SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016
Jonah Nwokpoku 07069021472
zaboris2006@yahoo.ca
Rosabon announces collater
eral-free N1.8bn
loan at 2.5%
Nigeria’s financial services
provider, Rosabon has
announced disbursement of
N1.8 billion in personal loans to its
existing and new clients.
The loan facilities will be made
available to both their new and existing
clients for as low as 2.5%.
The personal loans which could be
obtained without guarantor or
collateral will see qualified individuals
obtain as much as N3 million to pay
back in six or eight months.
However, to qualify, the individual
must be more than twenty-one years of
age and not more than 58 years. He/she
must also be in paid employment, have
a salary, pension account or tax
identification.
Once an individual is qualified by
meeting the terms and conditions, loans
can be accessed within 48 hours or less
following documentation.
Managing Director/Chief Executive
Officer of Rosabon Financial Services,
Chukwuma Ochonogor said: “As a
company, we have remained committed
to driving access to financial services
over the past two decades. This is no
different from what we have been doing
in respect to our commitment as one of
Nigeria’s foremost financial service
provider.
“More so, providing access to
personal loans at this time has become
even more imperative as a result of the
current economic circumstance. It is no
longer news that we are in a recession
L-R Mr Femi Akeju, President and Chairman, Board of Governing Council IOD,
Emperor Chris Baywood Ibe, President, Baywood Continental; and Empress Pat
Baywood Ibe at the presentation of Institute of Directors’ Fellow Award Held recently
in Lagos.
and that has serious implications for
disposable incomes especially for most
households. So this scheme is geared
towards providing Nigerians the
financial liquidity they need to meet
their financial needs at very friendly
and ridiculously low interest rates.”
Also speaking, Head of Marketing,
Chidimma Onyeokoro said: “At
Rosabon, providing people’s financial
needs remains our goal. We understand
what the economy is at the moment
which means that there is limited cash
circulating in the economy. But this
does not mean that people should put
their lives on hold. And that is why we
are offering people these loans at
these low rates. So that people can
still meet their financial targets and
sustain their lifestyles despite what the
economy says.
“Over the past twenty-three years,
this is what Rosabon has remained
committed to, driving access to
finance, helping people meet their
financial obligations without going
bankrupt, thereby touching lives in a
very sustainable manner.”
StarT
arTimes hosts 2016 Chinese cultural fes
estiv
tival in Abuja
Digital television company, StarTimes
has hosted the Chinese Cultural
Festival in Abuja.
According to the company, the event
which is tagged: “The 2016 Beijing TV
Dramas and Movies Broadcasting Season
exhibition” is geared towards sustaining the
historically deep and friendly relationship
with Nigeria and other African countries,
adding that the cultural exchange has
remained a sole means of supporting the
communication between the two sides.
According to the Global Vice President of
StarTimes, Ms. Guo Ziqi, “Nigeria is home
to the largest subscribers of StarTimes and
I believe that this cooperation will further
promote the friendship between Nigeria and
China. This event will screen five mega hot
series and five star studded big budget
movies such as Chasing After The Love,
Woman From The Family of Swordsman,
Mazu, Go Away Mr. Tumour, Finding Mr.
Right, Beijing Love Story, Back In Time,
etc on StarTimes’ platform. Beijing leads
China in producing TV dramas and
movies. It now has more than 3,400
institutions specializing in Movie and TV
production and operation, producing over
3,000 TV episodes and nearly 300 movies
per year.”
The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Press,
Publication, Radio, Film and Television will
host the much anticipated Beijing TV
Dramas and Movies Broadcasting Season
in Nigeria, Rwanda and Tanzania this
September initially for three months and
lasting till September 2017 to further
promote and consolidate inter cultural
relations and promotion particularly on
movies and drama series.
Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy
Director of Beijing Municipal Bureau,
Ms. Yang Peili said that, “The launch of
the Beijing TV Dramas & Movies
Broadcasting Season in African
countries aims to bring more Chinese
stories into Africa and promote the
cooperation in film and TV industry
between the two sides.”
Also speaking, StarTimes’ Head of
Public Relations, Mr. Israel Bolaji, stated
that, “After two years of development,
Beijing TV Dramas and Movies
Broadcasting Season has become an
endearing and enduring brand in Africa,
which helped popularize Chinese
culture while facilitating friendly
exchanges between China and Africa.
Goldberg supports cultures for community development, empowerment
Apart from gathering people
of all walks for interaction,
cultural festivals have a way of creating
markets for host communities, promoting
economic empowerment through tourism
attraction thereby reducing unemployment
and as well creating awareness and market
for supporting brands like Goldberg, a
stable of Nigerian Breweries Plc that has
not relented its efforts in partnership with
traditional institutions for economic
development. The people of Oshogbo is still
counting the dividends of the recently
concluded traditional festival in Oshogbo.
In recognition of the development accrued
to cultural festivals, Ijebuland has never
played down its traditional festival. And for
Goldberg, a brand of Nigerian Breweries
Plc that supported these festivals, the
traditional rulers, the Awujale and
Paramount ruler of Ijebuland, Alaiyeluwa
Oba, (Dr) Sikiru Kayode Adetona, CFR, JP
Ogbagba II had commended Goldberg
brand for a successful support of 2016 Ojude
Oba Festival in Ijebu Ode this month.
During the brand’s team visit to Oba
Adetona’s palace, the traditional ruler said
that nothing binds us more in unity than
celebrating our aged beliefs and values and
Goldberg is indeed a true brand for always
recognising who we are as a people and
celebrating with us. Being excited, he gave
his royal blessings Goldberg brand for its
contribution to the overall growth and
development of the festival.
Public Affairs Manager, West and Mid-
West, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Tayo Adelaja,
expressed gratitude to Kabiyesi and the
B-R-I-E-F-S
BIPORAL, Nigerian
Breweries, Airtel, others
promote culture
Following the unity, tourism attraction and
economic empowerment associated
with cultural festival in the world today, Banana
Island Cultural Festival 2016, an annual
international cross-cultural event in Lagos is
celebrating the next edition on October 1 to
commemorate the country’s 56th Indepence.
Considering the dividend cultural festivals
attract, Multichoice Nigeria, Leadway
Assurance, Arik Airline, Coca Cola are
collaborating with Banana Island Property
Owners and Residents Association Limited
(BIPORAL) to ensure a colourful event and
success come October 1, at the Children’s
Playground, Banana Island.
According to the Chief Executive Officer,
Gelmine Consulting Limited, consulting for
BIPORAL, Ms Jasmine N. Onyemachi, “this is
a platform where representatives of different
countries among the residents exhibit their
cultures in terms of arts, dances, dressing and
most especially in variety of foods”.
“This year’s edition cuts across all agegroups,
even children will have fun dancing,
learning some forms of art such as tie & die,
painting as well as sampling and tasting variety
of foods. The climax of the event is usually the
raffle draw where different prizes will be won
by attendees via the raffle tickets purchased.
Onyemachi said that this event has aided in
fostering a strong sense of unity and
neighbourliness within the community and
most importantly it continues to send a positive
message to the outside world about Nigeria’s
rich culture, extraodinary intellectual prowess,
friendly nature and investment potentials.
LG emerges industr
try y group
leader in annual
sustainability report
LG Electronics has been named as one of
the Industry Group Leaders in the competitive
Consumer Durables & Apparel Industry
Group category for the third consecutive year
by the globally recognised Dow Jones
Sustainability Indices (DJSI) review. The
Industry Group Leader distinction is awarded
to the best performing company in 24
industrial sectors incorporated in the DJSI
global index.
According to Head Corporate Marketing,
West Africa Operations, Rajesh Agnihotri, “LG
Electronics earned high marks for its
innovative management practices in R&D
investment, brand management, consumer
relationship development, effective climate
change solutions, toxic substance
management, social contributions and
stakeholder engagement. LG was the only
South Korean company listed as an Industry
Group Leader this year and one of only three
Asian companies honoured. Developed by
S&P Dow Jones and RobecoSAM, the
investment specialist focused exclusively on
sustainability investing. The DJSI is the first
global index to track the leading global
companies based on analysis of each
company’s environmental, social,and
governance practices. Only those companies
that place in the top 10 percent are listed in
the index and the results are published
annually every September.”
Brownsville tasks govt vt on economic growth via quality education
The management of Brownsville
College, Ikoyi, has advised
the government to invest in quality
education in order to develop the
Nigerian economy. It said further that
a resilient economy is one that is
governed by best brains, nurtured and
groomed with quality education.
In a chart with media men in Lagos,
the Proprietress, Mrs. Alaba Kasumu
said, any education system that cannot
produce quality science students that
would compete globally in science and
technology will find it difficult to
develop that economy. “So, if our
economy must develop like Asia,
America, Europe etc, Nigeria must
lead in science and technology through
adequate investment in our education
system”.
According to her, economic growth
people of Ijebu for finding Goldberg a
worthy partner to Ojude Oba festival,
saying “we shall continue to contribute
to make festivals like Ojude Oba more
befitting for the people.”
and development will be difficult to
attain if we don’t have a sound
educational system in place.
Brownsville which built ultra
modern laboratory science has vowed
to contribute its quota to nation
building by raising future science
students through standardised
education system that would also
encourage industrialization, science
& technology.
With our state of the art laboratory,
she said, “we want to give our students
the 21st century experience, so they
can compete with any school out
there”.
Kasumu also advised on the need
for vocational centres where Nigerian
children during holidays can visit to
acquire skills for self-employment
and job creation so that the rate of
unemployment would reduce then economy
would grow.
She advised parents to secure the future of
their children by giving them quality
education, saying further that the rate of
unemployment in the country today is due to
the fact that most of youths don’t have the
right foundations and it is affecting their
future and also the country.
The Proprietress who said that one of the
visions of the school is to raise leaders of
tomorrow that would drive the Nigerian
economy towards the right direction, said
Brownsville College also uses British
curriculum to boost students academic
soundness, even as admission is ongoing now.
She encourages government to ensure that
an average Nigerian child receives education
empowerment which would help to reduce
crime waves in the society.
C
M
Y
K

Young entrepreneurs
need infotech to remain
competitive
—Mgbenwelu
The information technology gap
affecting business management and
development amongst young
entrepreneurs has attracted the attention
of an independent management and
information consulting firm, Genika
Consulting, to provide consulting services
to governments, communities, businesses
in technology advisory, strategic planning
and management.
In this interview with Moses Nosike, the
CEO, Meekam K. Mgbenwelu, explained
that his work experience in the United
Kingdom, Nigeria, Benin Republic, Ghana,
Botswana, Rwanda, and Uganda has
positioned him since 1995 to focus on the
use of data and its transformation to
information, knowledge and wisdom which
include human capital development,
effective leadership etc.
How has information technology
improved business dealing in
Nigeria?
Information technology has
significantly improved the range of
options for doing business and
offering services in Nigeria. The
more immediate examples are the
availability of GSM and
Smartphones in the
telecommunications sector. In the
banking sector, we can readily point
to the adoption of ATMs, internet
banking and other technology driven
services that have broadened the
customer experience.
That said, we still have a long way
to go and some of the initiatives that
would further boost ICTs in the
country would be to see greater rollout
of internet broadband
infrastructure nationwide, with the
attendant fast internet and low
bandwidth and data costs; adoption
of e-government by the federal and
state governments to provide robust
and sustainable government to
citizen (G2C) services;
establishment of ICT incubation
centres in each state capital targeted
at SMEs where reliable power, low
cost internet would be a basic
provision. Ideally, this should be a
collaborative effort between
government and the organized
private sector. The inclusion of Civil
Society Organizations, (CSOs) in
the ICT incubation centres would be
a sure way of ensuring the
sustainability of the initiative.
Again, thanks to ICTs, it is now
safer, less costly and faster to transact
business in Nigeria. What is needed
is a broadening and deepening of
these benefits in such a way that it
combats the scourge of corruption
and theft in our society. We cannot
eliminate these to 0% but using ICTs
in a more pervasive manner will
enable probity, transparency and
accountability which is a
prerequisite to attract investors and
grow our economy.
Govt is doing something to
improve SME activities in the
country, what is your advice to the
youths?
Whatever the government is doing
regarding SMEs in Nigeria needs
Information
technology has
significantly improved
the range of options
for doing business
and offering services
in Nigeria
to be doubled or even trebled. SMEs
offer one of the fastest routes to
employment creation and economic
regeneration.
On their part, the youth need to
build stronger
networks and
associations to
access SME funds.
They also need to
create and
invigorate
advocacy groups
in the various
sectors that
young people
are able to grow
business
particularly
those to centre
around ICTs.
What are
t h o s e
challenges you
are facing in
Genika Consulting?
The primary challenges revolve
around infrastructure, i.e. unstable
Ubiji
country’s economic development
agenda and policies since 1960 in
which the Industrial Policy has
SATURDAY VANGUARD, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016—39
as institutional, i.e. doing business
in Nigeria and the misperception of
an intangible service such as
consulting. Key decision makers
need to embrace knowledge driven
services that clearly show a positive
impact on their organizations’
performance. In fact, I would
suggest that a ranking of business
that are knowledge friendly be
instituted and widely promoted as a
way of gaining mind share and
acceptability of the relevance of
knowledge management in the
world we currently live in. Nigeria
cannot dissociate itself from the
modern world and expect to grow its
economy.
What do you advise young
entrepreneurs in the country?
There’s always room for new well
managed, creative and customercentric
businesses. Young
entrepreneurs should be visionary,
think outside the box and be prepared
to embrace sacrifice as part of the
journey towards success.
Young entrepreneurs should
not subsume all endeavours
to a profit and loss
framework. Beyond
the incentive to
making money, there
should be room in the
young minds for
addressing the
challenges of lack of
access and inequality
in our society. This will
often mean “giving
back” either through
volunteering or
another scheme that
does not involve a
profit motive.
Finally, there should
be work-life balance,
the recent visit by
Mark Zuckerberg,
CEO exemplified this
as he made time to
relax and participate
in exercise despite being a huge
power and expensive internet. Other business mogul. New insights and
primary challenges would be classed solutions can be found during
moments of recreation.
SMEs suffer from non compliance to Industrial Policy
•222 industries in 11 states dying
About 222 small and medium
enterprise, SMEs, in 11 states
are facing collapse as a result of
government’s non-compliance
with its Industrial Policy, IP.
Executive Secretary/ Chief
Executive, Nigerian Association of
Small and Medium Enterprises,
NASME, Mr. Eke U. Ubiji, in a
presentation at NOI polls
manufacturing sector survey,
disclosed this while identifying
that Nigeria’s non compliance
with the IP as one factor for low
performance in the manufacturing
sector. He said that recent survey
NASME conducted in the country
in February this year revealed that
a total of 222 SMEs from 11 states
in Nigeria are almost collapsing,
and immediate action needs to be
taken to revitalise them.
According to Ubiji, “Nigerian
industrial sector has occupied a
pre-eminent position in the
As a means of fostering
entrepreneurship ecosystem
growth and development in Nigeria,
FATE Foundation (FATE) is hosting
its 2nd annual policy dialogue series
on entrepreneurship on Thursday,
September 29, 2016 at the Four
Points by Sheraton Hotel, Victoria
Island, Lagos at 10.00am with the
theme: “Nurturing Public & Private
Sector Collaboration for
Entrepreneurship Growth and
Development in Nigeria”.
Executive Director, FATE
Foundation, Adenike Adeyemi, said,
“Highlight of this programme is the
presentation of key findings from
Nigeria’s entrepreneurship
ecosystem mapping research.
“Panel discussants are: Rocio
Fonseca, Executive Director, Startup
Chile; Aisha Abubakar, Honourable
Minister of State, Ministry of
Mgbenwelu
Industry, Trade and Investment,
Nigeria; Akintunde Oyebode,
Executive Secretary, Lagos State
Employment Trust Fund; Bosun
Tijani, Founder and CEO, CcHUB;
and Bisi Lamikanra, Partner/Head,
Management Consulting, KPMG
Nigeria.
“Policy dialogue themes and
recommendations will be
incorporated into the final”.
She said, “Since 2000, FATE
Foundation has been at the forefront
of providing business knowledge;
mentoring and enterprise support
for aspiring and emerging Nigerian
entrepreneurs. In line with its
mission of fostering wealth creation
by promoting business and
entrepreneurial activities in
Nigeria, FATE last year expanded
its focus to cover research, policy
dialogue and policy advocacy
become the instrument for
stimulating and gauging the
industrial development process.
“The country’s Industrial Policy
details the objectives and strategies
for the optimum attainment of the
goals of non-primary production,
particularly manufacturing,
taking into consideration the
resource endowment of the nation
in terms of labour, land, capital,
entrepreneurship, global goodwill,
etc. But Nigeria has not adhered to
the aforementioned Industrial
Policy guidelines and that is why
we are where we are today”.
He further identified poor access
to credit, foreign exchange, high
interest rate, poor state of
infrastructure, multiple taxation,
legal and regulatory, low capacity
of investment in R&D, ICT and e-
commerce, inadequate linkage to
local and international supply
chains, lack of vibrant local
procurement policy to open up
around key issues in entrepreneurship
in Nigeria.
“FATE’s inaugural policy dialogue
initiatives last year focused on
good market for local
manufacturers, that is to promote
the buying of made in Nigeria
products as various challenges to
the above mentioned.
However, Ubiji said all hope is
not lost if government, industry
players can implement short,
medium and long term solutions
which include: To raise capacity
utilisation in manufacturing, work
on manufacturing firms that face
difficulties with a view to reviving
those with good prospects, provide
support services that can help
manufacturers to take advantage
of existing opportunities for access
medium and long term funds
among others.
According to him, medium term
funds would help to strengthen the
competitiveness of manufacturers
by facilitating access to
technology and best practices,
stimulate development of small
and medium size enterprises.
FATE foundation hosts policy dialogue on entrepreneurship
distilling key Micro, Small and
Medium Enterprises (MSME)
policy structures and frameworks
required to see the MSME sector
develop.
Participants discussing the way forward for entrepreneurship
development in Nigeria.
C
M
Y
K

40—SATURD
TURDAY Vanguard
anguard, , SEPTEMBER 24, 2016
The new Commissioner
of Police in Anambra
state has, for long,
earned the sobriquet ‘Crime
Buster’. This was borne out
of his dexterity and expertise
in fighting criminals all over
the country. With an
unenviable record of
traversing the length and
breadth of the country in
different capacities in the
police force. Sam Abichele
Okaula spoke with our Crime
Editor, Emma Nnadozie in
Awka, recently.
Excerpts:
Assessment of security
situation
As a matter of fact, I want
to say that Anambra is the
safest state in country now.
The security agencies
have cooperated.
They have been doing
this together and the
result has come to
the fore that
Anambra is the
safest state in the
country. We are
excessively in
control. We have
placed a platform
where we work
together and I can
assure that this is
the place to be.
Investors are
smiling to the
state. Everybody
is coming home.
The feeling all over town now
is that a crime buster is on
saddle. Could you give us the
resume of your background
that has made this to be
possible?
Yea, before I do that, let me
tell you that I want to commend
the governor of the state. He
is the one that has created an
enabling environment to do
what we are doing. He is
passionate about fighting
crime. He is like the
Commander- in- Chief of the
army of anti-criminals. So, I
want to seriously commend the
governor of Anambra state,
Chief Dr Obiano. He is doing a
very marvelous job and we are
proud of him and we will not
disappoint him. Getting back to
my background, I think it is
simple, I joined the police
officer as a cadet officer and I
have transversed across the
length and breadth of this
country. I have worked in
almost all capacities. The
records are there for everyone to
see and I have been in the
investigative arm for quite some
time, the commissioner of police
for investigation for CID. I have
also been in operation,
administration. My background
is such that I have received it
all and I have accumulated
experience that guides me in
the performance of my duty. I
think I have a very rich
background as far as this job is
concerned.
How did you tackle crime on
assumption of duty?
Like I told you, I already have
what it takes to do the job. So
while I was posted here, I knew
that I had to key into the
platform that had been created
and I did just that. That has
been the reason for the
successes. I also came with my
wealth of experience and
imparted it on the officers. I
wrote riot act to Divisional
New Anambra CP,
Sam Okaula, sends
words around
•Come home for Christmas, gone are the
days of kidnapping, robber
obbery, violence
Police Officers and Area
Commanders and I told them what
I wanted and they have not
digressed from this directive.
Recently, there were skirmishes
between two communities and
you dangled the big stick. What
really happened?
I think that case is already in
court and I don’t want to talk
about it. It can amount to subjudice.
Suffice to say that we will
not allow anyone to take laws into
their hands. The issue here is not
about two communities. Police
formations were attacked and
somebody lost his life, a DPO lost
his life, three other police officers
were shot. One of them is on
danger list as I am talking to you
now. Well like I said, the case is in
court and I don’t want to talk about
it but we are also going out to look
for other members of the gang that
did that. It is an act of crime and
that is the way I will look at it. We
would want to warn members of
other communities that if they have
any grouse, any reason to complain,
they should go through the right
channels. They should go to the
court or to the police station.
•CP Sam
Okaula
Nobody should take laws into
their hands. We will not allow a
situation where there would be
break down of law and order.
There is this allegation that a
reputable millionaire was —-
I don’t know about that. I
don’t know about that.
How do you check the excesses
of your men especially in
Onitsha which is a commercial
nerve centre?
Like I told you, Anambra has
changed a lot and the men have
now embraced decency.
Yesterday, I went to talk to the
SARS men in Awkuzu and also I
am going round. I am giving
them the dos and don’ts of this
administration. The Inspector-
General of Police is explicit about
that. There will be no act of
corruption; there would be no act
of indiscipline. If you don’t go
the right way, we’ll break you.
What have you done about the
notorious Awkuzu SARS cells?
I don’t know whether I want to
accept the word notorious because
it does not connote anything
good. I check my entire cell, I talk
to the commanders of these outfits
and I make sure that they do the
right thing. I have not received any
report that the place is notorious. If
it is, then fine and good because they
have a new sheriff in town and this
sheriff does not condone such.
As a gateway state, Anambra is
precariously prone to infiltration by
criminals. What are you doing about
it?
We have our men. We have special
squad around our axis and Enugu
and all other outlets, Imo and all.
These men are working and they are
being checked every now and then to
ensure that they are doing a good
job. We are in control of the
situation.
What about cultism
We don’t have much of it here
but we have a very effective unit
called Anti-Cult based at
Enugwu-Ukwu. Yesterday,
like I said, I went to address
them and commend the
good job that they are doing
in talking to people, in
talking to institutions.
We are also talking to
stakeholders and we are
getting results from that.
I think cultism is not really
pronounced here but
wherever they raise their
ugly heads here, we are
always ready to
checkmate it.
Recently, the Inspector-
General of Police directed that
we should invite every prominent
person within our state, our area of
jurisdiction. I did that last week and
it was marvelous. I am proud to
tell you that our former Vice
president of this wonderful country,
Dr Alex Ekwueme , a whole lot of
prominent sons and daughters
attended and we discussed and
exchanged ideas. I intend
keeping it up in line with the
directives of the IGP.
What have you done about the
menace of cattle rearers in your
state? Are they a threat?
They are not a threat but we have
it happening around our
neighbouring states. What we do
is that we put mechanisms to
ensure that we don’t experience
such in this state. We take
proactive measures to ensure that it
does not stray over to our
command.
What is your message to the
good people of Anambra state?
There is this officer that has
come to town. His name is Samuel
Okaula. He has no patience for
crime and criminality. He has no
patience for corruption and corrupt
practices. He is a man who wants
to do his job and has been doing
that all over the places. The
message is that Anambra people
should cooperate with me and I
can assure them that I’ll create an
enabling environment for them to
do their lawful duties. I can
assure them that gone are the
days of kidnapping, armed
robbery, violent crimes etc.. We
will do our best, I will ensure that
I do my best to maintain the
standard that I have met and
improve on it. I will ensure that
Anambra state remains the safest
in the country so that we can
attract investors, so that people
can go about their lawful duties,
so that Anambra children can
come in during Christmas and
other festivities. This is the state
where I think everybody would be
proud of. This is a state that I
will make sure I maintain.

SATURDAY Vanguard, , SEPTEMBER 24, 2016—41
Anxiety over death of toddler
inside septic tank in Lagos
• I will miss my Oyinbo - Father
By Ebere Aham & Amaka Uche
This is certainly not the best of time
for the Nwajuofor family from
Anambra state, as they are
presently thrown into mourning following
the death of their four-year-old son ,
Ifechukwu. The bloated body of the
toddler who was declared missing during
a church service last Tuesday, was
discovered inside a septic tank in the same
uncompleted building which serves as
worship centre for the family.
When his mother left her No.1, Otto
Wharf road, Canal close residence for a
prayer session that morning, alongside
her three children, little did she envisage
that it would be the last time she would
see her son, Ifechukwu popularly called
Oyinbo. Trouble, however, started for the
family following the disappearance of
Oyinbo while service was still ongoing at
Empower to Change Christian Ministries
located at No.1, Olorun Ni Shola Street,
in Ajegunle area of Lagos after his mother
released him to go and urinate.
A search party combed the entire
environment, calling the toddler’s name
without any luck. Since he was declared
missing, series of prayer sessions for his
safe return were offered. Three days later,
some boys were said to have raised the
alarm after discovering what looked like
a bloated body inside the septic tank in
the uncompleted building. When the body
was brought out, it was discovered to be
that of the missing toddler.
When Crime Guard visited the
devastated parent’s home yesterday, only
the agonised father was around but he
•Pit
was too stunned to speak with sympathisers
who thronged their one-room apartment, as
he kept shaking his head and legs. One of the
sympathisers who simply gave her name as
Mama Ibeji said; “Everyone including the
Pastor of the church joined in the search for
Oyinbo. The pit where the boy was later found
•Denis Nwajuofor
was also searched but he was not there. We
are so shocked that he was later found in
that spot.”
One of the neighbours, Eseoghene David
said; “That boy is just too smart to be dead.
He was very intelligent. We will miss his
presence in this house. I hope his parents
are strong enough to bear the loss.
At this point his father, Mr Denis
Nwajuofor , screamed; “Oh! My Oyinbo!,
see how people are coming to watch my
son as if it was a goat that died. I don’t
attend the church with my wife. I am not a
church goer and I cannot stop my wife from
going to church. My Oyinbo is gone and I
cannot get him back again. Who did I offend,
God?. It is so bad that it even happened in
the house of God. I am just tired of this life,
honestly.”
Another sympathizer who remained
anonymous said; “This thing is not ordinary.
How can that child get missing like that in
a compound that is not even large? That
pit is not deep. Apparently, that boy was
forced into it. Even his elder brother said
that he saw one uncle leading him
towards that part of the compound. The
miracle service she went for usually
started at 11am and closed at 5pm. Since
it is a miracle centre, they should have
prayed for the boy not to die. I have learnt
my lesson here. This world is not safe any
longer.”
The landlord of the building who
simply wanted to be addressed as Baba
Block also expressed shock over the
incident. “They have been my tenant for
a while now. I know that they have three
children who are all light skinned, that is
why we call them mama and baba
oyingbo. The woman sells
confectioneries and other household
items in front of the building. They have
been good tenants. It’s unfortunate that
a thing like this occurred to one of their
children.”
A police team from Ajeromi division
was sighted at the scene of the incident,
yesterday. Who directed traders
around the scene to lock up their
shops. Crime Guard gathered that a
pastor in one of the churches in the
uncompleted building was arrested
Thursday, after the body was
discovered. A police source
confirmed that the deceased body
was not dismembered to dispel
insinuation that he could have been
used for ritual purpose. “His body
parts are complete. There were also
no mark of violence or incision on
the body. All the vital organs were
also intact. His stomach and head
were swollen while his skin was
shrunk, dried and leathery,” the
source stated.
Our kidnappers are members of Niger Delta Movement
—freed captives at Isheri Estate
•We were fed with banga soup, rice , bread
By Evelyn Usman
Relatives and friends thronged
Liberty and Peace Avenues at
Oshorun Estate in Isheri North
area of Lagos state, yesterday, to rejoice
with the freed residents who were
abducted by gunmen last weekend.
The residents, three of whom were
landlords and a coach who usually
comes from Ajah to take the residents on
aerobics, were released last night.
There were, however, conflicting
figures on the actual amount paid as
ransom. While some relatives claimed
that they paid N2 million each as
ransom, others said it was N3 million.
But the freed men all maintained that
they never paid a dime to the kidnappers.
Rather, the kidnappers who claimed to
be members of the Niger Delta
Movement, according to the freed
residents, attributed the cause of their
action to neglect of their region by the
Federal government. When Crime
Guard visited the estate yesterday, none
of them was willing to speak with the
crowd of anxious journalists. One of
them, coach Ola was said to have gone
back to his abode in Ajah.
Another victim, Dr Omololu Bello, who
resides in Peace estate, later disclosed
that they were never maltreated during
their five -day stay in the kidnappers den.
He revealed that they were fed with banga
soup, rice and bread.
Narrating his ordeal, Bello said: “The
place is about an hour journey on water
from here. They called themselves Niger
Delta Movement. For the first three days,
I did not eat, I fasted. I only ate on the
fourth and fifth day and the food tasted
nice. Asked if ransom was paid, he
responded, “We did not pay any dime. They
requested for money but we told them we
did not have money and they allowed us
to go. They brought us back themselves,
last night . They gave us a message to
deliver on their behalf to government and
political leaders. They said they were
angry with government and leaders . They
said we should help tell the govenment to
take care of their roads and water in the
Niger Delta region.”
On his part, another victim, Mr Kennedy
Ucheagwu, expressed gratitude to God
for seeing them through the ordeal.
He said : “ We were doing our routine
exercise when we started hearing
gunshots. Before we knew it , we saw the
gunmen and we could not escape. They
took us to their den and actually took good
care of us by ensuring that we ate and
relaxed as much as possible. They said
they were kidnapping people because
they are fighting a cause they want the
entire country to know about. We asked
why us? And they said if people of our
caliber are kidnapped, government
would give them attention and listen to
their demands.
“When we asked what they were
agitating for, they gave inequality,
injustice and degradation of their area
without anyone thinking of how they
survive, as the cause. They said they are
naturally gifted with great wealth but
that they are not part and parcel of it, as
they can’t live their normal life which
was dependent on fish farming and
agriculture because their waters and
lands are polluted. We told them we have
heard and would pass their message
across. We asked them the way forward
in order for peace to reign and they said
government has to right the wrongs that
have existed for a long time. They said
they should be recognized and given
what is due to them in terms of
development stating that they have
become slaves in their own country. They
said if the ills are addressed, they were
ready to surrender.
“They also said that so many things
were removed from the Amnesty package
and that the genuine militants that
surrendered were not the ones
benefiting. They gave example with
ghost workers at ministries claiming
that unknown people are the ones
benefiting from the amnesty. We told
them they have valid points but were not
using the right approach. From what we
saw, it seems those guys (militants) are ready
for war.
To them, there is a revolution and they
don’t care if they die, as long as their
generation benefit from what they are
struggling to achieve. Government should
consider that innocent people might fall
victim of what they know nothing about.”
Commissioner of Police, Ogun state
Police command, Mr Ahmed Ileyasu who
visited the released residents, attributed
their release to pressure mounted on them
by the Police. Meanwhile, the Assistant
Inspector-General of Police in- charge of
Zone 2, Lagos, Mr Abdulmajid Ali, has
commended police operatives and other
security operatives detailed for the rescue
operation of the Isheri captives over what
he described as ‘their steadfastness and
commitment’ towards the rescue of the
affected victims without payment of any
any ransom.
He also reassured residents of the area of
adequate security, informing that he had
deployed adequate number of operatives
from Lagos, Ogun and Zonal headquarters,
Onikan, Lagos to the area,to fortify its
security.
The AIG, according to the zonal Police
Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa
Adejobi, in a statement said; “The AIG “
had earlier met with leaders of the
communities in the area and approved the
immediate construction of a police station
(with the help of the communities) in the
area to serve the communities for adequate
protection of lives and property.

42—SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016
Chiedozie Alex Ogbonnia
In the lottery of life, there are some vital
attributes among the humans which only
the Almighty can bestow. Some of the
attributes include Life, Beauty and Intellect.
Over the years, scientists have tried with limited
success to manipulate these attributes in man,
but would always stop at the point God takes
over. Personages, through the ages, have never
ceased to appreciate the transcendence of life,
beauty and intellect in the affairs of men.
Alexander the Great, the Prince of
Macedonia, died at the age of 33 despite the
fact that he had at his beck and call the best
medical personnel, which the Ancient Greek
Kingdom could offer. In his Last Three Wishes,
moments before his death, he proclaimed that
only God could give life.
Plato, the Greek Philosopher, stated that
only men of intellect, i.e. the philosopher Kings,
should rule a State. On beauty, Saint Thomas
Aquinas, defined it as that which not only
pleases the heart when seen, but also shines
forth with lustre, expresses wholeness and
harmonium, possesses necessary and desired
proportions and above all, epitomizes
perfection. According to him, beauty is that
intricate tapestry woven by the mysterious
hand of God.
Aquinas’ empirical perspectives on beauty
refute the weird saying that beauty lies in the
eyes of the beholder. In the Greek mythology,
Helena’s explosive beauty was so
overwhelming that the greatest powers of her
era, Greece and Troy, had to sacrifice thousands
of their young men in the battle field. The
sight and thralls of beauty are transanimatory,
hence beauty can ride on the back of a tiger.
It therefore takes an exceptional woman,
in fact a role model, to manage the attributes
of classical beauty and robust intellect
with panache.
My profession as a teacher and vocation
as a humanist imposes on me the moral burden
of condemning evil in the society and extolling
the virtuous. I am tasked by conscience to
strike a mortal blow at arrogance, immorality,
NWANNEKA EKWEREMADU:
An exceptional woman at 50
•Nwanneka Ekweremadu
drug abuse, adultery, obscenity, greed,
delusion, etc that pervade our society and
to hoist aloft the beauty of excellence,
tenacity of truth, and good conscience
as well as the genuine passion to lend
listening ears to the poor and needy in
society.
In the first place, there are several
young girls that cannot discern or
interpret correctly their mirror messages.
Many become so enthralled and
overwhelmed by their beauties that they
end up in the public convoy. But here is
an elegant, skillful, beautiful girl who
remained wholesome, determined, and
focused. This became the bedrock of her
succeess story.
Most young ladies, when asked about
the ideal husband, will among other
factors, be confronted with the paradox
of wealth, job security, professional status,
physical attributes, family pedigree and
social foundations, etc. With Holy Ghost
fire and audacious disdain, most ladies will
reject for marriage, suitors with scarce
means. But here is a young lady highly
endowed with amazing qualities but chose
to marry a young man from the Mpu of
yore, whose only qualifications appeared
to be his legal profession, vision, and
determination to succeed.
Second, most ladies present two livespre-wedding
and post-wedding lives. The
former is the loving and angelic feminine
essence whose disarming humility and
pleasant animation can change even the
hardest of hearts. The latter is a drama
queen, an overbearing termagant, a
nagging harridan, an irrepressible gender
activist, always stressing her rights. But here
is a graceful presence who has remained
the most esteemed physical, emotional, and
spiritual companion to the husband.
Third, most ladies married to the
wealthy and the mighty develop such a false
imaginary sense of grandeur that they look
at the less privileged with contempt and
condescension. But here is a woman who
accords respect, humour, compliments and
dignity to even the lowest in society.
Fourth, most married women engage
in a psychological and, sometimes, open
warfare with the their husbands relatives.
But here is a woman who holds her mother
in-laws in the noblest and highest reverence,
and radiates peace and love to all.
Fifth, most women married to the
wealthy hardly humble themselves to the
rigours, discipline and ethics of public service.
But here is an exceptional woman of substance
who in spite of the enviable height attained by
her husband, strives to carve a niche for herself
in public service.
Sixth, some women abandon the culinary
duties of the house to maids, claiming to be
too big for the kitchen. Here again is a mother
figure that excels in every cuisine she tries hand
on and throws her dining table open to all her
guests. Seventh, there is a general gradient
for tastes, social relation, and companionship
to respond to people’s stations in life. The higher
in the social stratum, the more selective in
friendship. Here again is a woman who derives
pleasure in sharing jokes with her
subordinates.
Eight, human needs are insatiable. It
requires moral restraint for the wife of a
Council Chairman to support the
establishment of a charity outfit, the Ikeoha
Foundation, back in 1998, for the upliftment
of the less privileged. This is the noblest of all
virtues.
Ninth, most women eavesdrop deliberations
with their husbands and would betray signs
for invitation to the discussions. They strive at
being instrumental to the thought process of
their husbands. But here is a very stable woman
who has total confidence in the judgment of
his husband.
This exceptional woman is Mrs.
Nwanneka Ekweremadu, PhD, Nneoma Ugbo
and wife of Senator Ike Ekweremadu, PhD,
CFR, Ikeoha Ndigbo, the Deputy President of
the Senate, Federal Republic of Nigeria.
It is for these reasons that we cannot but
salute at 50, the Ikeoha crown, the summary
of virtues, the end of discussion in
womanhood; a woman with a spark of God,
a benevolent spirit and quintessential
compassionate mother. We salute at 50 an
amazing Amazon, a paragon of discipline,
kindness, sensibility and spirituality; whose
inner feminine qualities play an archetypal
role in the Ikeoha subconscious.
•Ogbonnia, Okeosisi Ugbo, writes from
Enugu
Our attention has been drawn to
your publication of 17 September
2016 authored by your Northern
Regional Editor, Soni Daniel titled
“SPECIAL REPORT: PROFILE OF
FRSC’s SPEED LIMITER VENDORS
REVEALED”.
Besides the critical minded, many who
read the said publication would see that
it was not only out of character, from the
usual rigor and incisiveness associated
with the flagship but also devoid of the
objectivity.
Much as the latent intent of the
publication was not different from your
last week’s publication on the speed
limiter and authored by the same person,
we still feel the onus lies on us to make
available some clarifications, as
contained in the 17 th September 2016
publication, for the benefit of your
teeming Nigerian readers.
For the umpteenth time, we wish to
reiterate that as follow up to prescription
of minimum standard for the speed
limiting device, the Corps organized
series of stakeholders’ for prospective
vendors in Abuja and Lagos, where it was
resolved to set up a screening/technical
committee comprising of the Standard
Organization of Nigeria, National
Automotive Design and Development
Council and the Federal Road Safety
Corps to screen and ratify the Vendors for
the Speed Limiter.
Further to this, Expression of Interests
adverts were flagged in major
newspapers including the Tenders’
Journal, in line with the Procurement Act.
It is instructive to note that the said list
of Vendors was an outcome of 2015
screening exercise and FRSC took further
steps to place the same list on the public
domain for public scrutiny.
As usual, authorized service providers
(Vendors) only remain such as long as
they meet the criteria as stated from the
on-set. There was also a caveat to delist
RE-SPECIAL REPORT: PROFILE OF
FRSC’s SPEED LIMITER VENDORS
REVEALED – A REJOINDER
any Vendor who is found wanting
during the yearly recertification
exercise of vendors. This measure is
also effective due to a monitoring
and evaluation system in place that
receives feedback from the public.
It is pertinent to add that all the
firms as screened by the members of
the technical team, were checked
and ratified based on the evidence
presented as at the time of the
screening. All the Vendors presented
Corporate Affairs Commission
certificates and it was on the basis
that they were attended to in the first
place.
On the allegation that some of the
approved companies belonged to
foreign firms, it might interest you
to note that part of the criteria was
not to discourage any foreign
investors that showed interest to
invest in the country in area of speed
limiter as long as they meet Nigerian
standard and are law abiding.This
was informed by the fact that Nigeria
is relatively new in this area and from
all indications; it will take time to
see many Nigerian investors in this
specialized area of investment. We
also encouraged firms with related
business concerns to participate
since we do not expect many
Nigerian investors in the specialized
area of speed limiter.
On the issue of the authenticity of
the two firms’ registration at the
Corporate Affairs Commission, as at
time of screening, all listed Vendors
met the criteria, which include CAC
registration. The registration numbers
for the two firms as claimed by the
publication are as follows:
a) Elkaris Nig Ltd- No RC 423206
b) Best Practices Ltd- No RC 403213
c) SATTRAK Ltd- No RC 692359
Photocopies of Corporate Affairs
registration of the above-listed
companies are attached.
It is also very important to point out
that in your publication, “Best
‘Practices’ Ltd” was misspelt “Best
Practice Ltd”, while SATTRAK was
referred to as SATTRACK. This could
be the reason the companies’
registration with the Corporate Affairs
Commission were not discovered as
alleged.
As stated in a previous rejoinder, with
a free market situation, it would be
much easier for the fleet operators,
especially those with large fleet to be
directly involved in the importation
and installation of the speed limit
device on their vehicles. In fact, fleet
operators with very large fleet of
vehicles such as manufacturing
companies and corporate bodies are
upon application, granted waivers to
conduct in-house installation and
calibration of speed limiters of their fleet,
provided they satisfy the minimum
prescribed standards.
The Corps has no intention of limiting
the scope of procuring the device or
specifying who to purchase from.
However, standards and specifications as
prescribed by the Standards Organization
of Nigeria (SON) and National
Automotive Design and Development
Council (NADDC) must be fulfilled and
enforced at all times.
As the nation’s lead agency on safety
management and traffic administration,
the FRSC remains committed to its
resolve to reform the attitude of road users
in the country through its numerous
efforts to bequeath an enduring legacy
on road safety management to Nigerians
in line with global best practices.
We therefore request that you remain
consistent in your strides to complement
the Corps’ functions through meaningful
suggestions, consultations and
contributions to further conscientize
Nigerians on appropriate road conducts.
Road safety is collective responsibility.
•Bisi Kazeem, is the Head, Media
Relations and Strategy, FRSC

SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016—43
Obiano’s stimulus
have economic benefits on the people
of the various communities and this
also helps the economy of the state at
large. We think what the governor has
done is a case study in the country and
package has nothing to do
we hope to run it with vigour and
competence.
The governor is determined to prove
that governance is service where you
prove to people, all that one learnt
with his 2017 re-election
from the various business schools he
attended for the benefit of the people.
Some people believe that the
package is political, considering that
– Nnachetta
the governorship election will take
place in this state next year, coupled
with the fact that the state would be
losing a lot of revenue especially at
a time most state governments were
By Vincent Ujumadu
looking for ways of improving their
1GR.
Government is there for the good
GOVERNOR Willie Obiano of
of the people. There is need for people
Anambra State, last week
to be prepared before going into
unfolded what he described as
government by acquiring the
a stimulus package to cushion the harsh
necessary training. The question that
effects of the current economic recession
should be asked is, did Anambra
in the country on the people of the state.
create the recession? The answer is no.
In the package, the governor suspended
Did Anambra fix the date for the
levies imposed on operators of Keke,
governorship election next year? The
commercial motorcycles, hawkers and
answer is also no. All these are events
school children, all of which amounted
that had been there before the decision
to about N250 million. In this interview
by the governor to unfold the package.
with Saturday Vanguard, the state
We thank God that the governor
commissioner for Information and
prepared himself very well for this job.
Communication Strategy, Ogbuefi Tony
To answer the question, the stimulus
Nnachetta said the package has nothing
package has nothing to do with the
to do with politics but meant to reduce
governor’s second term. Recession is
hardship on the people on the lower rung
a creation completely outside our
of the economy.
control. We are reacting to what will
Excerpts.
help our people survive. If we don’t do
anything, many of our people will be
This package came at a time many
socially destroyed before the so-called
state governments were looking for
election. We have to be alive before
ways of improving their revenue base
the election. What we are doing has to
and here in Anambra, the governor is
do with the fact that the governor,
suspending some aspects of revenue
fortunately, is well educated and set
windows. What informed this
up a team that shares the same values
decision?
with him. It is a team work. We have
My governor is a man who sees the
future. In this cabinet, there are six senior
•Gov Willie Obiano
been talking about it for so long. So
we are not playing politics. It is
bankers and five chartered accountants.
something that determines the life and
It means that we are not scared of
death of Ndi Anmbra. We had
numbers. So, when we talk about
government had done it or not. And as
expected a situation whereby the
recession, we are considering what it
far as we know, no state government had
governor and members of his cabinet
means for Ndi Anambra. Bearing this
done something like this. We called it
cut their emoluments to drive home
in mind, all of us constituted a thinktank
to evolve ways of reducing the
billion in four main parts namely, tax
stimulus package that will take N20
the seriousness of this package. In fact
that had been done long ago. It was
effect of the recession on the people. By
intervention, social intervention, tax
done during the first quarter of this
last week, we brought it down using
relief and infrastructure development.
year. By the time we did our first
statistics and assumptions that can work
Under it, every graduate from Anambra
It is individuals who quarter review, emoluments were
and the government had to inject all
State University will get employment.
reduced across board for all political
the ideas into the state broadcast which
We are taking 300 persons into appreciate the fact that
office holders. We didn’t want to make
the governor made on the economic
agriculture. We are funding the clearing
government has
it an issue anyway because the reason
package for our people.
of 500 hectares of land in the three
it was done was to ensure that salaries
The governor has proposed N20
senatorial zones of the state. We have provided adequate
are promptly paid and other
billion stimulus package to this effect
asked for 500 persons in our road
security, who are
government businesses taken care of
and he is at the same time, being
maintenance programme.
with ease.
reactive and proactive. The whole idea
Small businesses are the bedrock of bringing their money
is to relieve the burden on the poor and
our communities’ economic growth and
here to invest and they What is the level of the state’s IGR?
the vulnerable members of the society.
the banks cannot give this category of
It has been growing from N450
Among those burdens were the levies
people loans and so the state are happy that they took
million when we came in, to
imposed on them in the markets, on
government has decided to inject N3
that decision
N1.2billion and now N1.7 billion. We
Keke and commercial motorcycle
billion into this area to assist them. We
have not been doing any magic, but
operators, hawkers, drivers, among
will give the money to Anambra Small
we are ensuring that the leakages are
others, who live with these levies
Business Agency, ASBA. ASBA had to God for giving us the determination blocked. If we can sustain this for the
alongside their normal taxes.
already shepherded N1.5 billion CBN to do it right because it has recorded a next one year, we will hit N2.2 billion
Government earns about N250
fund for Ndi. Anambra for the growth of huge success.
monthly.
million from these levies and most of
small business and the state government The other intervention programme is
these levies contain leakages which do
has put down another N3 billion to the one we told the communities to Various figures had been quoted as
not even come into government coffers.
support the venture. The interest rate is choose what they want and as at investments so far attracted to the
We have said to them, don’t pay again.
just 9%. This is a major development as Monday, more than 160 communities state by this administration. Some
We did this because we noticed that after
this money is neither coming from the out of 178 in the state had come up say it is $3.4 billion or more. When
they paid to government, they also pay
CBN, nor the commercial banks. Our with their projects. Some of the will the impact of these investments
to three other units. We have observed
people in the Diaspora have also been communities chose markets, some be felt on the lives of the people?
that some people are riding on the back
injecting money into the state and this chose maternities, some chose water Don’t forget that this is not
of government to charge them and we
has been of great assistance to our supply, some chose civic centres, some government money. It is individuals
say no to this. We could not abolish it
people.
chose abattoirs, and so on. Once the who appreciate the fact that
completely because it was put in place
The beneficiaries are expected to form project is chosen, the contractor from government has provided adequate
by the law of the House of Assembly
cooperatives of 10 persons, or a that community will come and bid for security, who are bringing their money
and so, we merely suspended it.
beneficiary can get somebody on Grade it in an open and transparent manner. here to invest and they are happy that
It is a very bold economic decision. It
Level 14 in government to stand as surety The projects will be ready by December they took that decision.
was not the issue of whether the federal
for him. It is something we are grateful this year. Localizing the projects will
C
M
YK

C
M
Y
K
44— SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016
EFCC detains Nigerian fashion
designer, fake U.S soldier over love
scam
Soni Daniel,
Northern Region
Editor
LUCK has run out of two
internet love scammers,
who are now locked
up in the custody of the
Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission after
successfully using the
internet to fleece many
unsuspecting foreigners and
Nigerians and smiling to
their banks in the process.
The duo of Egbedayo
Semilore and Elijah
Jeremiah aka (jerry), a self
styled fashion Director of
Datsol Industries Limited
were hauled into custody
after being picked up by the
commission’s operatives for
their criminal operations on
the internet.
A statement signed by the
EFCC’s Spokesman, Wilson
Uwujaren, and made
available to Saturday
Vanguard, said that while
Semilore, 26, engages in
Internet love scam, Jeremiah,
29, is a predator on online
auction sites.
“Semilore while posing as
an Afghan-based U.S Army
officer with the phantom
names of “Sergeant Shaft
Pagan” and “Perrie
Edingson”, defrauded
unsuspecting women in
search of men for marriage
and partnership.
“His last victim is one P. J.
(full names withheld), a U.S
national from whom he
claimed to have obtained
about N4 million in tranches
and bought himself a car, the
EFCC said last night.
“Though arrested
differently, the suspects have
both made confessional
statements.
According to the anti-graft
agency, Jeremiah confessed
to using fake instruments to
order goods from China
through online auction sites.
From left: Opeoluwa Mesonrale, SLYEF 3rd position Ruyi Com prize winner;
Soni Irabor; Ayo Obadina SLYEF, 1st position Union Bank prize and Victor
Chukwu, SLYEF, 2nd position Medview airline prize for the most innovative
Business plan during the presentation of cheques to the winners in Lagos
recently.
He admitted downloading
letters of credit purportedly
issued by “Scotia Online
Financial Services of Scotia
Bank Worldwide” from
Google with which he pays
for his purchases.
“The auctioneers, unaware
of his antics, often fall victim
of his game by shipping the
goods to him ahead of
confirmation of payment.
“Semilore, during
interrogation also confessed
to have used proceeds of the
romance scam to sustain a
flamboyant lifestyle and
bought himself a 2010 Lexus
car which he registered in his
mother’s name.
The commission said that
its operatives recovered
several items from Jeremian.
Among the items, are: a
laptop, three modems, one
iPhone, two Nokia phones,
international Passport, forged
Union Bank statement of
account with NUBAN
number:10141411389 for
Datsol Industries Limited
and an envelope containing
several documents.
On the other hand, three
identity cards bearing
different names and biodata,
a 2010 Black Toyota Lexus
car with registration number
(Lagos) SMK 475 EH, two
laptops and one Blackberry
Passport phones were
recovered from Semilore.
Several scam mails were also
found and retrieved from his
laptops. The EFCC said that
the two men would soon be
tried in court to account for
their action.
Fruitful engagement of youths is solution
to recession— Saraki
By Henry Umoru &
Joseph Erunke
SENATE President
Bukola Saraki said
yesterday that if Nigeria
must get out of the present
economic recession, it has
become imperative to
engage millions of youths
in a very fruitful manner to
increase the nation’s
productive capacity.
According to him, the
country urgently needs to
unleash the energy and
creative capacity of the
youth to ensure that we
produce goods and
services for local
consumption and imports,
adding that creation of jobs
for the majority of the
nation’s youthful
population remains a
challenge and that the 8th
Senate has started laying
the solid legal foundation
upon which the efforts to
positively reverse the trend
would be predicated.
Speaking yesterday
while delivering the
keynote address at the 2016
King’s College Founders’
Day Lecture organized by
old students of the
prestigious post-primary
institution in Lagos, Saraki
said that such foundation
would enable the youths
not only to find gainful
employment but find a
conducive legal, economic
and socio-political
environment to engage in
entrepreneurial ventures
through which they would
generate jobs opportunities
for their peers.
In a statement by his
Chief Press Secretary,
Sanni Onogu, the Senate
President said: “The
biggest challenge facing
Nigeria, even in the best of
times, is how to create jobs
for our 60 million young
people between the ages of
18-35. What we are working
towards is so that when you
get out of school and wish
to embark on whatever
career path you desire; be
it entrepreneurship or in
the employ of a company
or even in public service,
that you have an enabling
environment to thrive in.
“I am sure like in my time,
there are one or two of you
that are already testing out
the entrepreneurial waters,
brokering deals here and
there (trade me your
cornflakes for my milk); but
if you wish to register a
business and legitimise
yourself, you will hit some
hurdles that at your young
age would be most
daunting.
B-R-I-E-F-S
NNPC posts N24bn deficit
in one month
By Michael Eboh
THE Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation,
NNPC, yesterday, announced a deficit of N24.18
billion for the month of July 2016.
The NNPC, in its Monthly Financial and Operations
Report for July 2016, compared it to a loss of N26.51
billion recorded in June.
According to the report, the deficit was in spite of an
improvement in its operating revenue to N128.43 billion
in the month of July, compared to a revenue of N118.39
billion in June 2016, and representing 49.84 per cent
and 54.07 per cent respectively of monthly budget.
The report said,”Similarly, operating expenditure for
the same periods were ¦ 144.9 billion and ¦ 149.97 billion
respectively, which also represents 69.10 per cent and
72.78 per cent of budget for the months respectively.
“A deficit of N26.51billion and N24.18billion were
recorded for the months of June and July 2016
respectively. The net cash flow improved by 8.77 per
cent or N2.32billion in July 2016. This improvement
was largely due to increase in revenue stream from NPDC
and PPMC, despite the upsurge in upstream and
downstream vandalized points.
“NPDC, substantial portion of crude oil sales for the
month estimated to be in excess of N27 billion could not
be realized due to Force Majeure declared by SPDC as
a result of the vandalized 48-inch Forcados export line.”
Commenting on the performance of the refineries,
the NNPC, “The combined value of output by the three
refineries, at import parity price, for the month of July
2016 amounted to ¦ 20.09 billion while the associated
crude plus freight cost was ¦ 19.31 billion, giving a
surplus of ¦ 0.780 billion after considering overhead of ¦
7.38 billion.
Dialogue, best way to end
vandalism of oil installation
—Minister
By Ike Uchechukwu, Calabar)
THE Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr. Usani Uguru-
Usani, has disclosed that the federal government
would continue to fine-tune ways of dialogue with the
Niger Delta Avengers, stressing that it was the best option
to end pipeline vandalism in the country.
Uguru-Usani who stated this on Friday during the
opening ceremony of a retreat of top management staff
of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs holding in Calabar
said that the President Muhammadu Buhari led
government was doing all it can to dialogue with the
militants in the Niger Delta creeks in order to put an
end to the destruction of oil installations as well as ending
youth restiveness in the region.
Chinese community in Nigeria
donates to IDP
CHINESE Community in Nigeria weekend donated
relief materials worth millions of Naira to the
Internally Displaced Persons camp in Adamawa State,
north east Nigeria ravaged by the insurgency of Boko
Hatam. The relief materials donated include 20 bags of
sugar, 40 bags of rice, 500 cartoons of noodles and 50
cartoons of powder milk. According to the coordinator,
Jiang Hug Wang, the community which is made up of
92 individuals and business owners in Nigeria came
together with their resources to support and alleviate
the suffering children in the various camps go through.
He said: ‘’Despite the efforts of Government at various
levels for the upkeep of IDPs, it is heart-rending that
the children in the camp still look poorly fed and the
sight of seeing them dying daily is disturbing hence
their decision to donate these items. We intend to do
more after this. He urged other well meaning individuals
or group of individuals to come to the aids of the IDPs
suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
Receiving the relief materials on behalf of the people
and Government of Adamawa State was Senator Binta
Masi Garba, Senator representing Adamawa North
senatorial district and founder BNG foundation based
in Yola, Adamawa State capital. He assured them of
equitable distribution of the relief materials to the IDPs.

SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016 — 45
Arsène Wenger:
20 year
ears at Arsenal
— an incredible journey
of joy and frustration
When you look at Arsène
Wenger what do you see?
A shining light for
longevity, the last of his kind
overseeing a period of time at one
club, something that is now
unique? A 66-year-old manager
who seems past it, his methods
overtaken by younger, hungrier,
craftier coaches? A stubborn man?
A loyal man? A romantic? A
revolutionary? A relic? A survivor?
It explains a lot about him, and
how he is perceived, that after an
extraordinary 20 years at Arsenal,
he can be all of them. Here we
chronicle the seven ages of his time
at the club.
Twenty years of Wenger: where
are the Arsenal manager’s rivals
from 1996 now?
Brave New World (1996)
Nobody, least of all the man
himself, envisaged the depth of the
opportunity ahead when Wenger
weighed up the prospect of joining
Arsenal in 1996. He gave the offer
careful thought in his apartment in
Nagoya, where he was living while
manager of Grampus Eight. His
spell in Japan provided an
experience that fascinated him. Far
away from the madding crowd of
European football, he immersed
himself in a culture and in a way of
life that was by its nature
challenging, engaging, eyeopening,
and at times lonely. The
work was stimulating. But friends,
family and familiarity were almost
10,000km away.
The Arsenal opening
represented a mighty leap in every
way – professionally, culturally,
personally. “I was at a dangerous
point and I had to make a decision.
I felt that if I didn’t come back now
I would stay forever in Japan,” he
explained. “After two years you get
slowly emerged into this spirit.
What you miss in Europe is slowly
drifting away. I was at a point where
I thought, I will make my life here
if I don’t come back now.” His wife
was pregnant with their daughter.
Either they would make the big
move to Japan to join him and
Wenger would commit to
deepening his roots in Asia, or he
would return to Europe. In
hindsight, this was a sliding doors
moment. Who knows how his
subsequent decades – and
Arsenal’s – would have turned out
had he taken the other decision?
Half a world away in London, his
friend, the then Arsenal vicechairman
David Dein, awaited
Wenger’s choice. From their first
chance meeting in 1989, when
Wenger was passing through
London with some time to kill on
the day of a north London derby,
Dein had been wowed by this
individual who struck him as
completely different to the average
manager. He first proposed the
idea of appointing this clever,
worldly Frenchman working in the
J-League in 1995, only for his
fellow board members to reject it
as far too risky. A foreign manager?
What an audacious suggestion.
There was no evidence to suggest
it would work at all.
There had been only one
experiment with a manager from
abroad in the top flight before.
Aston Villa hired Dr Josef Venglos
(predictably welcomed as “Dr
Who?”) in 1990. He arrived fresh
from coaching Czechoslovakia at
the World Cup, a multi-linguist who
could communicate in Russian,
Portuguese, Spanish and English
as well as his native tongue. But a
lot was lost in translation and
Venglos left after one troubled
season narrowly avoiding
relegation. Venglos tried to
introduce ideas relating to what he
called: “The methodology of
training, the analysis of nutrition,
recuperation, regeneration and a
physiological approach to the
After two years you
get slowly emerged
into this spirit. What
you miss in Europe is
slowly drifting away. I
was at a point where I
thought, I will make
my life here if I don’t
come back now
game.” Frankly, most of those
words sounded like they came
from outer space to your average
1990 English dressing room.
Arsène Wenger should have
won more but English football
owes him a lot
We now live in an age when
the currency of overseas
managers in the Premier League
has never been higher. With the
richly decorated backstories of Pep
Guardiola and José Mourinho
dominating the Manchester
scene, Jürgen Klopp reigniting
soul in Liverpool, the fiercely
competitive Italian Antonio Conte
tasked with whipping Chelsea
into shape, Ronald Koeman and
Mauricio Pochettino bringing
elements of the Dutch and
Argentinian schools to Everton
and Tottenham in the chasing
pack, we are familiar with all
accents, philosophies, tactical
preferences, foibles.
When Wenger arrived with his
French lilt and sophisticated ideas
he came into an environment
with a deep mistrust when it came
to the possibility that a foreigner
could succeed in England. If Tony
Adams, Arsenal’s influential
captain, felt unsure, then so would
everybody else. “There was a fear
of someone else, a fear of change,”
Adams remembered, later
describing the mood succinctly as
“contempt before investigation”.
The general reaction from players,
managers, supporters and media
across England was pocked with
suspicion.
Wenger was conscious of it. “I
felt quite a lot of scepticism,” he
said. “That’s normal, especially on
an island. This phenomenon is
more emphasised on an island
because people have historically
lived more isolated. They are more
cautious about foreign
influences.”
22 September 1996. When
Wenger made his first public
appearance as Arsenal’s new
manager, sporting a gaudy club tie
and dark blazer, with a press
conference at Highbury to formally
introduce himself before properly
starting work on 1 October, nobody
knew quite what to expect. The only
other foreign coach working in
England had only just been promoted
– Ruud Gullit took over from Glenn
Hoddle to become Chelsea’s playermanager
during the summer. After
“Dr Who?” came “Arsène Who?”
Unlike Gullit, who had a global
reputation and was already a
familiar face in Premier League
football when he was appointed to
the Stamford Bridge dugout,
Wenger was a virtual unknown.
Pass With Flying Colours (1996-
1998)
It was Patrick Vieira who started
the ball rolling. This rangy and
athletic young midfielder – another
Frenchman few in England knew
anything about – was signed all of a
sudden from Milan and represented
a sort of advanced party before
Wenger was freed from his
commitments in Japan to start work
with Arsenal. Actually it was more
of an advanced present. Vieira made
his debut midway through the first
half of a modest performance against
Sheffield Wednesday at Highbury
under the caretaker control of Pat
Rice. He came on and it was a
shining lightbulb moment. Dennis
Bergkamp, who was injured and
watching from the sidelines, felt the
crackling energy sweeping through
dear old Highbury. “When he came
on he changed the game. He
completely changed the game!” the
Dutchman recalls. “And I think
everyone in the stadium was
thinking, ‘What happened here? Did
I really see it right?’”
culled from The Gaurdian
To be continued tomorrow
C
M
Y
K

46 — SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016
BY JACOB AJOM
2018 W/Cup qualifier:
Iheanacho
to spearhead
Eagles attack
BY JACOB AJOM
JUST last week, Sports Vanguard reported
that there was mounting pressure on
Nigeria coach, Gernot Rohr drop Watford
striker, Odion Ighalo and hand Super
Eagles’ top striker’s role to Manchester
City wonder kid, Kelechi Iheanacho. The
call grew louder as the former Golden
Eaglets striker continued to
paint England red with goals
for Manchester City.
Apart from the vocal
Nigeria football fans, Rohr
has of late come under
intense pressure to drop
Ighalo in favour of Iheanacho,
even from within the Eagles
technical crew. Atop assistant
of the Franco-German
tactician last week said, “I
can’t categorically say it will
happen but I can confirm to
you that talks have been held
and the prospect of Iheanacho
leading the line against
Zambia is a possibility.”
He further informed that
“talks didn’t start because of
his(Iheanacho’s) recent goal
scoring form, not at all. It
started since after the
Tanzania game. Rohr is a big
fan of his finishing abilities
right from the training ground.
He could lead the line ahead
of Ighalo and Ideye in Ndola
when we play Zambia in
October,” he said.
On Thursday, Rohr released
a list of 23 players invited for
next month’s 2018 FIFA World
Cup qualifier clash between
the Super Eagles and
Rangers International
Football Club of Enugu
have not won the Nigerian top
flight in 34 years. With two
matches to the end of the
current season and with the
Coal City outfit sitting atop
the table, it is believed that
this is, perharps the best time
for them to break the jinx and
become Nigeria champions
again. They travel to
Abeokuta to face Ikorodu
United in this weekend’s
NPFL clash. The outcome of
this encounter will either
make or mar Rangers hope of
clinching the title.
Rangers were in devastating
form as they whitewashed
Zambia’s
Chipolopolo in
Ndola.
Conspicuously
missing was Watford
forward, Odion Ighalo,
who will attend his
father’s burial in Nigeria on
Saturday, 8th October, the
eve of the big match at the
Levy Nwanawasa Stadium in
Ndola.
With this development,
Kelechi Iheanacho becomes
the natural choice for the top
striker’s role, except Rohr
decides to use Olympiacos of
Greece forward, Brown Ideye
for the role. However,
between Iheanacho and
Ideye, we gathered the Super
Eagles technical crew will
rather go for the Manchester
City starlet whose rich vein of
form has seen him net four
goals in five matches for club
and country.
Ikorodu United 4-1 in
thereverse fixture at the
Nnamdi Azikwe Stadium,
Enugu. That was in the first
stanza of the league.
Ikorodu United lads who lost
last weekend to Plateau
United in Jos have vowed to
stop Rangers’ title challenge
with a victory.
It is a threat the Enugu kings
must take seriously as the
Oga Boys have witnessed an
upward swing in their
fortunes since the coming of
Dutch coach, Theo de Jong,
who was described by former
Super Eagles forward, Daniel
Amokachi as being as good as
legendary Johan Cryuff.
UNLESS there is a
dramatic change in the
fortunes of the Nigeria
Football Federation, the
nation’s football governing
body could witness a drama
on its premises if plans by
former head coach of the
bronze-winning Olympic
football team, Samson Siasia
are anything to go by.
•Iheanacho
“Iheanacho has earned his
number one position in the
Eagles set up,” a top official
of the powerful NFF technical
committee echoed, adding
that Ighalo’s absence will be
an opportunity for the goal
monger to prove his mettle”.
Given the lad’s consistency
and ability to take chances
when they come his way,
Iheanacho, it is believed will
make a feast of the
opportunity. “He is sure to
make a meal of it,” our source
said, adding, “with the
support of another youthful
player in Arsenal’s Alex
Rangers set to break 34-year jinx
•As Ikorodu vow to give them heartbreak
•A Rangers player
UNPAID SALARY:
Siasia gives NFF
2-week ultimatum
Saturday Vanguard Sports
gathered that Siasia’s salary
arrears are still being held
and the coach who toiled with
the U-23 team to win the
solitary bronze medal for
Nigeria at the Rio Olympics
is not finding it funny. He has
threatened to storm NFF’s
secretariat and sit tight even
at night until he five-month
salary is paid. He also
•Siasia
made case for his assistants
who are also owed salary
arrears.
“Trust me, you don’t need
my distractions before your
next game. It won’t be healthy
for NFF, please.”
In a letter he sent via e-mail
to the General Secretary of the
NFF, Dr Mohammed Sanusi,
Siasia said, one month after
the Olympics their salaries
had not been paid and there
was no explanation to the
coaches.
Siasia then appealed to SG
and the President to ensure
their outstanding debts were
settled within two weeks. “If
I don’t get my salary in two
weeks, I will come to the office
and stay there until I get paid
. If I have to come there every
day until I get paid that’s what
am going to do.”
A source at the football
house confirmed the receipt of
Siasia’s letter and said the
NFF scribe has since
responded to Siasia letter.
Sanusi, on his part pleaded
with the coach for
understanding as the money
that was earmarked for the
coaches’ salaries was intact
but said they can’t access it.
He further said they were in
the final lap of getting the
money. He therefore, pleaded
with Siasia to exercise
patience as the wait will soon
be over.
Okorocha gives cars,
cash to Paralympians
Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha has
honoured three Imo State indigenes who won gold medals
for Team Nigeria at the just concluded Rio 2016 Paralympics Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil. The governor rewarded each of the victorious
Paralympians with a brand new car and the sum of one million naira
each. He also extended his magnanimity to some of the coaches
who have brought honour to the state.
The medallists who broke world records on their way to winning
gold medals include Roland Ezurike, Nwosu Ndidi and Orji
Josephine Precious
The Honourable Commissioner for Public Safety, Youth and
Sports, Rodney Ajaelu had on arrival at the Government House
presented the 3 gold medallists to the governor for recognition.
The elated Paralyampians sang a Happy Birthday song for the
Governor and promised to continue to set the pace.
The Governor while addressing the athletes said that the best
things that can happen to Nigeria will always come from Imo state
saying they did not only make the state proud but the entire nation.
Ikoyi Club 1938 celebrates
78th anniversary
Africa’s foremost social Club, Ikoyi Club 1938, is set to
roll out the drums in commemoration of its 78th
Anniversary which will kick off tomorrow, through October
2, 2016. The Anniversary theme has been dubbed, ‘’Harmony
in Cultural Diversity”, in accentuating the global
membership composition of the Club which was founded
on September 29, 1938.
The Anniversary Week promises to be one of excitement and fun
for members and guests alike who will be attending another oncein-a-life-time
event when the anniversary eventually kicks off. Part
of the activities lined up for the week amongst other things include
intra-sectional games, arts exhibition and piano recitals, charity
visit to the Children Developmental Centre at Surulere, Lagos State,
grand finale/international cultural day on October 2, 2016 which
will feature fashion, cultural displays, among others.
According to the Anniversary Committee Chairman and the Vice
Chairman of the Club, Olusola Adeosun, the event is billed to record
a lot of unforgettable memories going by all the different activities
that have been lined up to mark the anniversary of the Club.
C
M
Y
K

SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016 — 47
Adebayor’s travails:
C
M
Y
K
No end in
sight
A former
associate
proffers
solution
BY JACOB AJOM
CAPTAIN of Togo national
team, Emmanuel
Adebayor is in the news again.
This time for all the wrong
reasons. Adebayor who
became a free agent at the end
of last season, after a stint
with Crystal Palace was
reported to have been
contacted by Coach of
Olympique Lyon, Bruno
Genesio for a possible
contract. The talks that
followed fell through as the
French club boss backed out
of the deal for reasons
Adebayor described as
‘frivolous’. It is just one of the
many battles Adebayor has
had to battle with in his
troubled career.
Emmanuel Adebayor
arrived Arsenal in the 2006
season from Monaco. He was
given the number 4 jersey,
made popular by lanky former
Nigeria forward, Nwankwo
Kanu. He did not disappoint
as he won the hearts of
Arsenal faithful with his Kanulike
skills and plenty of goals.
In 2009, Adebayor was
shipped out of Arsenal under
acrimonious circumstances
and sold to Manchester City.
In 2011, City loaned him to
Real Madrid where he had a
remarkable season with the
Galacticos. After the loan spell
in Spain, Adebayor returned
to Manchester City but was
soon loaned out again, this
time, to Tottenham. Spurs
bought him at the end of the
season. That was where and
when his travails started.
In the 2012/13 season,
Emmanuel Adebayor scored
14 goals in 25 games for
Tottenham. In the
succeeding season however,
the Togo international netted
only 2 goals in 12 matches.
Adebayor could not stomach
it and soon went to town with
a bizarre claim, that
because his family members
were performing black
magic on him, his goals had
dried up.
It was sometime in
November, 2014 that
Adebayor, who is of
Nigerian descent accused
his mother of performing ‘juju’ (a
West African term for black magic)
on him. Earlier, the Togo
international was accused by his
brother, Kola of sacking their mother
from the house he built for the
family. Kola told the Sun in 2014,
“Eight months ago he kicked
his own mother out of her
house. She is having to sell
tomatoes to survive. She
makes one or two euros a
day — which is not
enough to live on.
“This is the woman
who suffered for all of
us and carried him in her stomach
for nine months. This is the son she
gave birth to and looked after all his
life.”
But the striker denied this, even as
he insisted that members of his family
were working tirelessly in seeing to
his downfall.
He told Ghanaian radio station
Peace FM: ‘Obviously I’m not a
pastor, I am a footballer so I cannot
point out a witch. I never sacked my
mum from the house — she decided
to leave the house.
‘But how am I going to be in touch
with my mum if my mum is the one
telling everyone that my work will not
go forward.
‘They should stop talking, they
should stop doing juju on me — they
should leave me alone.’
Adebayor’s mother, Alice 68, was
left heartbroken when she heard of
the son’s claim.
Ever since the former Arsenal star
fell out with his family and mother in
particular, he has never found peace.
He has had the most troubled career
in recent history. After a troubled spell
at Tottenham, Adebayor was a free
agent at the end of the 2015 season.
He moved to Crystal Palace. He
featured in 15 games but scored just
once.
Adebayor explained why he
struggled at Crystal Palace. “I’ve
been playing at the highest level for
15 years and I have worked with some
of the best coaches in the world -
Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho, Didier
Deschamps, Roberto Mancini,”
Adebayor said. “It’s the first time I’ve
been in a team battling relegation and
the play didn’t suit me.”
Lately, there was a ray of hope for the
troubled Togo international when Coach
Bruno Genesio of Olympique Lyon, a
French Lique 1 side indicated interest
in him.
The Ligue 1 club had considered a
move for the 32-year-old free agent due
to Alexandre Lacazette’s injury, despite
also signing 19-year-old Jean-Philippe
Mateta from third-tier Chateauroux. The
deal fell through as he was said to have
refused to pull out of the Africa Cup of
Nations in January.
Adebayor angrily accused the French
club of a “ridiculous excuse” for opting
not to sign him
But now Genesio has revealed the real
reason for the collapse.
“We had a place in our squad for
Manu, so I arranged to meet him for a
coffee in Lyon,” he is quoted as saying
by the Sun.
“But, to my surprise, when he arrived
he asked for a shot of whisky in his
coffee. He also had a cigarette hanging
out of his mouth.”
The twist in the Lyon talks has been
attributed to the effect of the negative press
that followed the squabbles the former Man
City striker had with his family and his
mother in particular. A former close associate
of the Togo international who pleaded
anonymity told this writer that unless
Adebayor returns to his mother and renders
an apology, nothing good would ever come
his way again. “All he needs
do is to go and bring his
mother back and apologize to
her. Until he does that, his
travails may continue. God is
watching. He listened to some
juju men who claimed to be
seers. They wanted his money
and fabricated stories which
he believed and estranged his
mother, the woman that made
it possible for him to even go
to Europe in the first place. It
is bizarre. He has to aplogise
to the mother and commit
himself to God and not juju
men. He may still play one or
two more good seasons but if
he does not retrace his steps
it is a pity his career will end
in this sad state. “
*Sweet mother
23/09/2016 Sat page 46, 47
Mourinho dares Rooney:
I need goals!
Jose Mourinho was unequivocal when asked
what he wanted from Wayne Rooney ahead
of Manchester United’s EFL Cup tie at
Northampton, midweek.
“Goals,” said Mourinho, with that familiar
dead-pan delivery and death stare designed to
underline the weight of his words. “Goals. I hope
he scores goals.”
To say Rooney failed to fulfil his manager’s
remit is an understatement. Rooney was so
wretched, so out of sorts, so shot of confidence,
that Mourinho now surely has to make the
biggest call of his United tenure thus far and
drop his skipper for the visit of champions
Leicester to Old Trafford on Saturday.
There can be no other decision if Mourinho ,
who has endured a frustrating and unconvincing
start to his time at United, is to retain credibility
in the eyes of his club’s fans and the wider
football public.
Sir Alex Ferguson was not afraid to drop
Rooney, while David Moyes and Louis van Gaal
were too in thrall to the England captain to spot
the obvious signs of decline and bench him
when necessary.
We’re fearless – Ranieri
Claudio Ranieri, manager of the English
Premier League champions, Laicester
City has sounded a note of warning to his
Manchester United counterpart, Jose Mourinho
not to expect pity from last year’s surprise
champions.
Speaking ahead of today’s visit to Old Trafford,
Ranieri roared, “we are fearless. Why are we
scared to go there? More than lose, what can
we do there?
“I enjoy - 70,000 people is amazing, fantastic.
I don’t want to go when there is just you and me
to play. It is a very bad show.
“When you go in this big stadium you want to
show your best.”
Mourinho, on his part admitted last week was
one to forget. “We had a bad week. I know that
the world is full of Einsteins, I know that they
tried to delete 16 years of my career, they tried
to delete an unbelievable history of Manchester
United Football Club and to focus on a bad week
with three bad results.
“If the fans have been disappointed with the
last week, I understand completely but I am sure
they will be behind the team like they always
are.” United will assess the fitness of Luke Shaw
and Anthony Martial, who were substituted with
respective groin and head injuries against
Watford last weekend.
Aguero knocks off
Iheanacho
Pep Guardiola’s perfect start at Manchester
City suffered a rare setback when Vincent
Kompany was injured midweek, but prolific
Sergio Aguero returns for the Premier League
leaders at Swansea today.
It seems unlikely Kompany will be able to play
any part but, significantly, one player who will
be available for City is Aguero.
The Argentina forward has completed a threematch
suspension imposed retrospectively after
television cameras caught him elbowing West
Ham defender Winston Reid during a league
fixture last month. With Aguero certain to
return, the impressive Kelechi Iheanacho, who
has deputised for City’s star striker, may be
forced to return to the sidelines.
Aguero, as with all the players in contention
for Saturday, has spent much of the week in south
Wales already, with City choosing to stay at
Celtic Manor, the 2010 Ryder Cup venue near
Newport, between the two Swansea games.
“If we had come back to Manchester on the
Thursday for rest and recovery, then on the
Friday morning, we would have to come back
again,” Guardiola said.

SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016
Pg.47
Pg.46
Pg.46
TODAY'S FIXTURES
NPFL
Sunday, 25 September
El Kanemi v Plateau 4 pm
Heartland v Kano 4 pm
Ifeanyi Ubah v Enyimba 4 pm
Ikorodu United v Enugu Rangers 4 pm
Nasarawa v Akwa 4 pm
Niger Tornadoes v MFM FC 4 pm
Rivers United FC v Abia Warriors 4 pm
Shooting v Wikki 4 pm
Sunshine Stars v Warri 4 pm
EPL
Man United v Leicester City 12.30 pm
Liverpool v Hull City 3 pm
Bournemouth v Everton 3 pm
Swansea City v Man. City 3 pm
Stoke City v West Brom 3 pm
Sunderland v Crystal Palace 3 pm
Middlesbrough v Tottenham 3 pm
Arsenal v Chelsea 5 pm
Sunday, 25 September
West Ham v Southampton 4 pm
Bundesliga
Mainz 05 v Bayer 2.30 pm
Eintracht v Hertha BSC 2.30 pm
FC Augsburg v Darmstadt 98 2:30 pm
Hamburger SV v Bayern Munich 2:30 pm
Sunday, 25 September
Hoffenheim v Schalke 04 2:30 pm
FC Köln v RB Leipzig 4:30 pm
Pg.47
Okorocha rewards Paralympians with cars, cash
CROSS WORD PUZZLE
ACROSS
1 Ugandan Vice President, Mr.
Edward – (*)
5 L.G.A in Ebonyi State – (4)
7 Vapour – (3)
8 Country in North America – (4)
9 state in Nigeria known as “The
Sunshine State”? – (4)
10 Hebrew Alphabet – (5)
12 Chief Executive Officer,
Nigerian Mortgage Refinance
Company Plc (NMRC), Professor
Charles – (9)
15 African Desert – (5)
17 Former Super Eagles
Attacking Midfielder, Wilson –
(5)
18 British Currency Unit – (5)
20 Former President, Chartered
Institute of bankers of Nigeria
(CIBN), Mr. Erastus – (8)
23 L.G.A in Kogi State – (5)
26 President International Civil
Aviation Organisation Council
(ICAO), Dr. Olumuyiwa – (4)
27 World’s Longest River – (4)
28 Sporting Event – (3)
29 England & Tottenham
Hostspurs Midfielder, Dele – (4)
30 Number – (8)
DOWN
1 Chairman, Code of Conduct
Bureau, Mr. Sam – (4)
2 L.G.A in Akwa-Ibom State –
(4)
3 Cross-River State
Commissioner for Information
& Orientation, Mrs. Rosemary –
(9)
4 Ethnic Group in Nigeria – (5)
5 Former Governor, Central
Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr.
Clement – (5)
6 Director of Computer Services,
West African Examinations
Council (WAEC), Mr. Magnus –
(8)
11 Meadow – (3)
13 Former Central African
Republic’s Primer Minister,
Andre – (9)
14 L.G.A in Ekiti State – (4)
15 State in Nigeria known as
“The Home of Solid Minerals”?
– (8)
16 Indian Prime Minister, Mr.
Narendra – (4)
19 Young of a Lion – (3)
21 Mozambique’s President, Mr.
Felipe – (5)
22 Edo State Capital – (5)
24 Senator Representing
Gombe Central Senatorial
District, Senator Danjuma – (4)
25 Former Ugandan President,
Mr. Idi – (4)
Pg.45
Solution on page 44
Pg.46
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